This is ground zero. This is where AirAsia started it's social media initiatives and it has been close to a year since the launch of all our social media channels with guns ablazing. And there is no other place I would have chosen to say goodbye.

In normal traditions on the last day of work where emails would be sent out to all colleagues at the workplace bidding farewell, there is no other appropriate platform to say goodbye other than the place that started it all. Most would not know me as the social media specialist for AirAsia that kickstarted the entire show but I am glad to have made so many friends along the way and this goodbye is to all the others that "unmasked" me along the way.

In over a year and a half I've been here, I have made several departmental pitstops and although the flight was not smooth sailing all the way, it was a joyride to the finish. I started at AirAsia with practically not many people knowing what social media is and did not understand the vision that Tony had for the group. Was kicked around from department to department and today, when so many people gets what social media in this company, it means a lot to me from where I started out.

Still remember when social media was all a one man show, and every reaction I got to asking people to blog was this:

At least I consoled myself I was my own boss. Or I thought I was.

I remember encountering a lot of struggles at the beginning with lots of running up and down, conjuring up blog posts, trying to light fires in internal communications and to get people pumped up about the blog and social media initiatives to come. Was practically a chained slave dedicated to making it all happen but it had it's perks too (probably not the best picture but..)

I remember running around shooting with a hand hold camera up and down the office and back down to the terminal to generate content. Coming up with concepts on the go was a daily routine and developing interactive ideas in my secret dungeon was more a normality which now all know as the competitions we run on a frequent basis on Facebook and Twitter. My strategy was simple, to get the public to get more involved and simply know that AirAsia was embarking on social media.

Then this happened. And AirAsia's social media channels simply took off into the social media stratosphere and began gaining mainstream attention.

The feeling of "getting it" is one of the high points of being in AirAsia. We never looked back since.

There were so many highs and lows but look at where we are now. We're not the best (yet) but we've got what it takes to get there. Once the dust is settled and all is said and done, nothing compares to finding the queen of my heart in AirAsia which was the greatest present AirAsia could have given me back in return.

The team grew with time and now is actually expanding to incorporate Thailand and Indonesia which is fantastic for internal growth and maturity in embracing social media. I sincerely hope that we continue to assume the mantle as catalysts of growth for social media not only internally but also to the world that an airline can "get it". I leave on a high knowing that the foundation for social media for AirAsia has been cast in stone and with proper guidance, the team can only prosper ahead. I leave with a note of thanks to Tony, Azran, the management, the TEAM, to my colleagues, to all our fans and friends of our blog, Facebook and Twitter. You made my days and broke me on some, but undeniably you made all of this happen.

Looking back, doesn't it seem funny how a short period of time, it can seem such a long road to get here. I still am very much intrigued by the possibilities within AirAsia (still so much to do!!!) but there's also simply so much potential that lingers out there in the market and this is an opportunate moment to "go get it" again.

I shot this video early last year but never had the opportunity to launch this competition, "So You Think You Can Blog?" when Facebook and Twitter overwhelmed me and left me gasping for air until now. Do you think it would have kicked a** and rocked your world?

I sign off one last time with these words as echoed by Steve Jobs. Stay hungry. Stay foolish. See you later and miss all of you! Thank you for everything!!!

Seeing as so many of you enjoyed Part 1, here is the rest of Question time with Malaysian cricketer Arul Suppiah.

6. Do you have any personal goals for 2010?

Yes I do have personal goals for 2010. My main aim is to achieve more than 1000 runs for Somerset. Another aim is to get into the England Lions squad and performance groups.

Who do you look up to in the professional sporting world; any idols?
There are so many names out there who have achieved a lot of success. As a child I always followed Sachin Tendulkar and I still do. He is one of my favourites and has played cricket at the highest level for over 20 years. He still has that hunger and determination to perform. To me he is pretty special.

7. How do you like living in the UK in comparison to Malaysia? Do you miss anything about Malaysia?

I’ve lived longer in the UK than in Malaysia so I guess am pretty used to the lifestyle over here. Well both places have its advantages and disadvantages. I definitely miss the food in Malaysia especially its readily available at any time. I miss the warmth and sunshine too, and not to forget being able to wear flip flops at anytime in Malaysia.

8. What do you look forward to on your trips home to Malaysia for holidays?

I look forward to many things, more importantly spending time with my family. I try to make an effort to catch up with all my friends as well. As mentioned above, I try to eat everything while am back in Malaysia, the food taste second to none. Normally when I come back for holidays, I try to relax as much as possible and recharge my batteries.

9. If you could chose one new route for AirAsia to fly to, what would it be?

London to New York

Catch part 1 of the interview with Arul Suppiah right here if you missed it previously http://tinyurl.com/ykblsz8

Congratulations to Ang, Sing Lung, Tay Yew and Sook Chien!

Please check your email for further details. Do ensure that you reply to facebook@airasia.com with complete details as per email to activate your prize!

Dont forget to share your travel stories and pictures with us once you get back! Have a wonderful trip!

Thank you for all your entries!! Stay tuned, we have many more things coming your way! :)

After a couple of weeks in India I’ve pretty much gotten the hang of communicating with locals without speaking. Essentially you’re good to go in India with three gestures


1. Wobble your head right to left and smile to mean ‘no’
2. Wobble your head right to left and smile to mean ‘yes’
3. Wobble your head right to left and smile to mean ‘thank you'

Another neat one we discovered was to hold out your hand to street beggars in mimicry when they come asking for change. Somehow it disorients them. Oh and don’t forget to wobble your head right to left when doing that. You may look a little clumsy and awkward at first but the wobble is so contagious it’ll soon become second nature.

As I tried to keep my head wobble as unexaggerated and authentic as possible I chuckled at the thought that somewhere in these tall buildings of the Bangalore skyline young Indians were being trained to mimic accents of other countries in order to authenticate the customer experience.

From the backwaters of Kerala we’ve arrived at the back-offices of Bangalore. The pace of life picks up once you set foot in the capital of Kanartaka. This is after all India’s third largest city and its fastest-growing thanks to the booming tech industries. BPO and software companies are the biggest employers in Bangalore. Many of the India’s wealthy cluster here.

Bangalore’s lesser known sobriquet is “Garden City”. Being a hub for India’s wealthy surely fired up its real estate sector but fortunately this hasn’t obliterated its green spaces. Two well-maintained landmark parks are worth a visit, weather permitting. Lalbagh is the botanical garden planted by Hyder Ali, the 18th century rule of Mysore and Cubbon Park is a construction of the British in 1884. Temperatures were too high and the air too still for a long stroll so we scurried over to a pub – the other biggest draw in Bangalore.

Desperate to cool off, I order a lager from the tap, wobbling my head with delight when the bartender placed the pint before me.

Let Madam Araisia's Airstrology cards read What's Your India at http://www.facebook.com/AirAsia?v=app_273284093628&ref=ts (read more...)

Sook Chien

We love AirAsia, We love ChengDu, We love Panda and We love our Family. Because of love, we can get all the precious prize in our life.

Tay Yew

I deserve to win 4 return tickets to Chengdu because i am passionate about travelling and the fantastic offers of Air Asia.

Mohd Hafiz

I would like to visit Chengdu, China. Panda is very close with my childhood memory. I still remember when I was a kid, Panda illustration was easily found at water colour case, kite, junk food wrapper and pencil case especially those stuff made in China. I used to have a small Panda soft toy besides transformers robot and patrol cars :-) When AirAsia launched a flight to Chengdu, I was so excited and dream about to visit this beautiful place. Furthermore, AirAsia's marketing strategy of using Panda in its advertisement inspired me to visit Chengdu and see the Panda. However, as of now, I am yet to see the beauty of Chengdu. But, I believe this school holiday is a right time for me to spend time with my family and it will be nice if I can spend it with Panda too..I think I deserve it :-)