AirAsia - now everybody can be impressed...

I did not find it easy to contact AirAsia. They do not seem to have a straightforward system I could use to ensure that my letter went through the right channels to the people that really mattered. Not that I could find anyway. So I did what most people do when they come to a dead end. I googled. After a little searching I discovered the personal blog of the founder of Air Asia, as it is today, Tony Fernandes, to whom I sent my ‘letter of grievance.’ I explained that it was not a complaint letter as such because I did not expect anything from it except perhaps a hightened level of awareness from staff on such issues. I was astounded and impressed to receive the very next day a reply from Tony Fernandes himself:

"Thanks for the note. Bo is our Head of Operations and will look into this matter seriously."

tony

It would not have been foolish of me, owing to the level of personal attention usually given to matters such as these by large corporations, to have assumed it would be the last I would hear of the issue. But sure enough, the Head of Operations from AirAsia, Bo Lingam, wrote to me later that same day:

Dear Nick,

“Thank you for the note. We do not condone such behavior from our staff. They will be called for a meeting and cautioned. I will inform the airport authorities to increase their security sweep.”

Kind regards,
Bo Lingam

I even responded to this out of courtesy, mentioning how impressed I was that a) they were taking the matter so seriously and that b) I received correspondence so quickly for an issue that had been passed on from the original recipient. This was also replied to:

“No excuse when u have the Blackberry. Appreciate u flying us and please continue to give us feedback.

Have a great weekend.”

Not only was I amazed that I heard from them at all, I was impressed to witness how down-to-earth they were. I was not sure initially what to expect from my letter as I did not want it to come across as just another complaint – the kind of which I am sure they must receive plenty since the general public are very often so hard to please.

AirAsia is an award-winning airline, founded and developed in to what it is today by the entrepreneurial skills and ingenuity of Tony Fernandes, so I am quite sure it does not need any plugs from me. But credit where credit is due, I always say. And as the paintwork of one of AirAsia’s planes illustrates, by its elaborate design in a series called ‘AirAsia Allstars’, Bo does actually Rock.

Tony Fernandes

Bo Lingam

Bus Ticket Conundrum

As soon as we got to the Philippines we were straight on a bus to Baguio. No fee was paid in advance. Most of the buses in SE Asia have a conductor, so we paid on the bus when he attended to us. He stood there punching holes in the relevant boxes, handed it to us and moved on, ready to collect payment on his way back down the bus. Well, try as we might, we could not work out how much the fare was, despite that we had the ticket in our hands. It baffled us like we hope it will baffle you. Otherwise it will only serve to highlight our stupidity. See if you can work out the fare. Answers in the comment box please!

Banaue Rice Terraces, Philippines

As you can see from our update, we visited the world famous UNESCO World Heritage rice terraces at Banaue in the Philippines. We hiked through them for a whole day. I know that the words awesome and epic are overused and cliched but I'm afraid my vocabulary does not stretch any further, and besides, they are fittng words to describe what we saw. It truly was an experience never to be forgotten. See for yourself.

Our journey so far continued...Philippines

February 2011

25th – Flight to Clark for our first experience of the legendary Jeepney to catch a bus to Baguio. Arrived so late and, owing to the renowned Flower Festival for which every Filipino was in town, we struggled to find a room. A run all over town in a taxi, a quick sim card purchase from the 7-Eleven and a few phone calls later we finally found a room at midnight. The next day revealed the extent of the madness when we couldn’t even get a taxi driver to venture in to the melee by taking us to the bus station. Anyway, we got there in the end for a bus to Sagada where we met a brilliant English couple, with whom we have so much in common, and with which we have become very good friends, Chris and Sarah.

26th – Arrival in Sagada at about 5pm. We teamed up with Chris and Sarah and stayed in the same hotel. We enjoyed a couple of evenings with them and together visited the Hanging Coffins at Echo Valley and explored the local village where we picked up a local, young and unofficial tour guide by the name of Tony and his friend whose morbid curiosity showed no restraint. 

28th – Bus to Banaue via Bontoc. Our first ride in the bizarre tricycle, the chosen method of transport around those parts, to a viewpoint over the rice terraces nearby. All day hike next day through more famous and epic UNESCO World Heritage rice terraces and mountainous terrain (see coinciding blog). Treacherous and, frankly, dangerous tricycle journey to our drop-off point will never be forgotten. Especially by Nick’s bones.

 March 2011

2nd – All day bus to Manila that seemed to take a week longer than it should have. Visited third biggest mall in the world, the Mall of Asia, where we wished we had more time.

3rd – Flight to Boracay where we met up again with Chris and Sarah, who were more or less doing the same route. Spent 4 glorious days on a beautiful island, which we all agreed was paradise. We all hired a sailing boat to explore around the island and enjoyed beer o’clock on many an occasion. It’s five o’clock somewhere! Did not want to leave.

6th – Flight to Manila. Whistle-stop tour of Manila, which included the must-see Intramuros, some of which has survived since the Portuguese occupation. Sought out the site of the 1975 Thrilla in Manila between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, the Araneta Coliseum. A PBA basketball game was about to begin so we bought nosebleed seat tickets for about 50pence so we could get inside for some pictures. Was bummed to see that the likes of Kermit the Frog and Fred Flintstone, among other more worthy acts, had graced the venue with its presence over the years and it had not survived as a shrine to the legendary fight, but I guess the show must go on.

7th – Flight to Kota Kinabalu, Borneo to sleep in airport for early morning flight to Taipei, Taiwan.

Unattended Baggage

Recently, while we were at the airport in Kuching, Borneo waiting for our flight to Kota Kinabalu, we encountered some unattended baggage. We were incensed at staff reaction to it once we had brought it to their attention. So much so that I wrote a letter of grievance to Air Asia. You can read it yourself and see what you think. We'll let you know if and when we receive a reply...

To whomever this may concern,

Recently, I had an unpleasant experience concerning several Air Asia staff that was both extremely concerning and disappointing.

I was travelling with my partner from Kuching airport to Kota Kinabalu. While waiting for our flight at gate R3, my partner went for a walk while I completed some work on my laptop. Sometime later my partner returned and immediately noticed a wheeled bag slightly larger than is normally allowed as cabin baggage directly opposite us about 8 feet away. With nobody in its direct vicinity appearing to own the bag, we were both alarmed enough to move away from our gate, even though we were about to board. Whilst moving away from the bag, I notified a cabin crew member, who was uninterested. I then alerted three Air Asia staff at the next gate, all of whom had radios. Their response was, “it’s ok, it won’t be stolen.” I was made to feel like I was stupid and that I was overreacting.

As you can imagine I was shocked at their lack of interest in something that was causing us some distress, despite the fact that they completely misinterpreted the reason why I was alerting them to its presence. It took three visits to the desk before I informed them that our concern was not that it may be stolen, but that it may contain explosives, which is why it was left there – something that is not so unimaginable in today’s world. I also stated that in England it would have been taken away and destroyed. Even at this point, staff showed little interest and the bag remained where it was left.

We were outraged at this incident, which consequently made us feel very unsafe, and Staff reaction at something so important stunned and angered us both. I am sure you will agree that terrorism is a universal and worldwide fear, especially at airports, and security is therefore everybody’s responsibility.

We have travelled Air Asia many times over the past 6 months and have been impressed by the customer service and efficiency shown by Air Asia staff. It is an excellent airline that we will not hesitate to use again, which is why this incident has exacerbated our disappointment.

Yours faithfully

Our journey so far continued...Borneo.

February 2011

22nd – Flight to Borneo to see the Orangutans! The charming riverside town of Kuching was our host for visiting our ginger-haired friends. It was very clean, which made me question if we were still in Asia. Kuching is the Malay word for cat, and they seem so proud of this, which is evidenced by the numerous cat statues around the town. They even have them cast in iron on their drain covers.

Anyway, we were not guaranteed to see any but the Orangs didn’t let us down. We visited Semenggoh Wildlife Centre where they have 22 Orangutans that they have rehabilitated and set free. Their feeding times are twice daily at 9-10am and 3-4pm and they can choose whether they come back to eat. Some of them are completely wild and rarely come back for the feeding, whereas others come back more regularly. We only saw 4 Orangutans on the day we went but were assured it is a good thing as it means the less they come back, the less reliant they are on human support. We were just happy to see the ones we did. They are four times stronger than humans, which was obvious in the way they gracefully and effortlessly moved through the trees using the vines and branches. They were so playful they would make us chuckle to ourselves as they randomly just hung from the vines or branches upside down by their feet or threw things down for fun. Of course we were advised not to stand directly below them. There were buckets of bananas, of course, and other fruits for them to come down and collect at will. Many came and put several fruits in their mouths, hands and feet while keeping a hand and foot free with which to climb. It was amazing to see them free like that, with no restraint or timetable, and even after we had left the park it made us wonder where they were and what they were up to. Since nothing was put on for show and they were doing exactly what they usually do, we suspected they were off doing exactly what they were doing while we were there, which made us laugh so much. Helen couldn’t help but sing ‘I’m the king of the swingers, the jungle VIP’ from the Jungle book all the way back to the bus. I may have joined in once or twice.

25th – Flight to the Philippines.

Asians will transport anything on a bike!

There is no doubt that Asians are incredibly resourceful people. They have to be be. However, while we constantly marvel at their ingenuity, sometimes we can't believe their stupidity. Often, it is just plain dangerous. But then what difference does it make as long as you get an item from A to B? Judge for yourselves...

Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia

Battambang, Cambodia

Hanoi, Vietnam

Saigon, Vietnam

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Vientiane, Laos

BOH Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

I know it sounds boring because it did to me when Helen said we were going. And I cannot stand tea! We walked for an hour to get there but it was no chore when we saw the scenery - rolling hills blanketed with vivid green tea bushes that produced thick wavy lines across the landscape, no matter how steep. It was stunning, so we thought we'd share a few of the pictures with you.