Cheaper "Duty Free" items?

When we thought duty free items are always cheaper, you are only half right! There are cheaper duty free prices, you just need to look harder :-P

Whenever I travel, my travel agent always asked me to get them a carton of ciggy. Till recently, I noticed there were differences in price if you shop in the plane. For 2007 (price may change), in the duty free shop at KLIA will cost you RM48 for each carton. Meanwhile the price at the Malaysian Airlines catalog is RM45!

Isn't this great? All you need to do is sit there, pass the card, and get your goods. On top of that you gain mileage points. This is what I call a truly wheelchair bound kiasu-shopper! I wonder if they will come up with a personal toilet in the future.

So make an effort to study the airlines catalog, or take them with you! It's your copy anyway. Then walk to the duty free shop and mark down the shop's prices in the catalog! You may find a few surprises :-P

Royal treatment at the Immigration Line

Have you ever wonder in certain countries the immigration can be a nightmare. It took forever to get your passport stamp especially after a long haul flight. Well the kiasu solution to this is with a 4 letter word : A-P-E-C! The Magic word!

There are a set of requirements in order to qualify for this card, however, I had seen my colleague in Australia had done it without a sweat. For Malaysian, the fee is only RM100 (claim them under company expense). Once approved you will receive a credit card size of APEC delivered to your home.

Everytime when you visit an APEC country (see listings in website) you can queue at the priority APEC line. Say goodbye to long queue, say hello to APEC!

For Malaysian : http://www.imi.gov.my/eng/perkhidmatan/im_Apec.asp
For Australian : http://www.businessmobility.org/key/apec_application.pdf

IKEA Non Furniture Special?

When we thought of IKEA we though of furnitures, oh well, this may changed soon :P This morning I went to IKEA at Mutiara Damansara, Malaysia. In fact my 2nd trips. If you are an early riser, hit to IKEA at 9am sharp, then you will noticed a long lines (especially weekend) waiting and roaring to rush into the premises. One must be wondering why?!

Since few months ago, IKEA has this special breakfast treat daily! Usually comes in set, the first time I was there was Nasi Lemak with 2 decent pieces of chicken, and bottomless drinks (coffee, tea, soda). Today, I had Sausages and rolls. All in all only RM2! Yes RM2! You have to be there between 9am-10am for this special. After 10am it will be RM3!

For those with big families, this is a real treat. For RM2, probably Roti Bakar (toast bread) at coffee shop excluding drinks!

OK great now you know where to go on weekends especially for the Papas and Mamas! I should venture at other IKEA in Singapore or Hong Kong. Let me find out if they have the specials too :P

Sir/Maam, Coffee, Tea or Wine?

Few days ago, I was talking to a friend who is in the airline industry. After a conversation with him, I was able to relate to a few pleasant occassions in my previous flight.

OK for all of you - the kiasus - who drinks wine, listen up! Next time when you see the air steward(ess), be nice to them. Smile to them and call them by their name (look at the tag!). One time, the air stewardess in US told me, never in her industry life, anyone call by her name! Look at your watch and probably 45mins or 30mins prior to landing usually that's when the air steward(ess) start packing up their pantry areas.

This is what you need to do. Press the flight attendant button, (smile), and asked the air steward(ess) especially the one you know by name, ask them if they have any opened bottle of red or white wine. You see in case you do not know ya! My friend told me once the bottle is opened even just for a glass, they are not allowed to re-use the same bottle in the next flight. 80% of the time, if they have leftover, they will usually wrap them in a plastic or paper bag and will hand them to you nicely. If you are nice enough, you can even put down in the feedback form that you had a fantastic experience during the flight and remember to name the attendant.

Ta Dah! Who says must get things from the Duty Free, when you can actually drop the word DUTY literally when you are travelling!

The Annual Meeting you must not Missed

Everyday and month we have so many meetings at work. However, there is one meeting you should not missed. I believe some of us invested in share markets. Every year, the public listed companies will run an annual meetings for the public and will share with you the health of their past and future businesses.

For those who has shares with businesses like KFC, Parkson, Starbucks or so on. And especially for those who attends the annual meeting will be treated with freebies like FREE VOUCHERS and sometimes meals. All you need to do is to attend this 1-2 hours sessions! Why not ?? It's only once a year and you get free stuffs! Good deal eh!

So I encourage all the kiasus to attend whenever possible. Who knows if you have shares with MAGNUM (a betting company), they may give you a HORSE!