FEEDING the rainbow-coloured lorikeets, plucking sweet oranges, stroking harmless kangaroos, hugging a cute koala, riding on the Tower of Terror at Dreamworld or being amused by endearing dolphins. There are hundreds of things one can do when visiting the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

When AirAsia X invited us to go Down Under for a familiarisation trip recently, we found ourselves on cloud nine. We didn't mind that the journey would take approximately eight hours, especially after Edd Razhe (PA to chairman and group deputy CEO AirAsia Berhad) informed us minutes before departure that we would be flying business class. Yeehaah!

AirAsia X flew direct to the Gold Coast on Nov 2 last year for the first time, and in the process, created history by becoming the first airline from Asia to do so. Prior to this, only domestic Australian flights and those from New Zealand were allowed to land there.

Since the launch, AirAsia X has seen a steady influx of tourists from Malaysia to Australia and vice versa.
"As you can see this morning alone, there are close to 300 passengers waiting to check in. The demand is more than what we expected and it hasn't even been six months since the inaugural flight," said AirAsia X chief executive officer, Azran Osman-Rani who saw us off at the airport.

Thanks to low fares, travelling abroad is affordable. Azran adds that because of the direct route, travellers are doing it more spontaneously too.

Last month, for instance, AirAsia X took 60 media personnel to the Gold Coast to catch Duran Duran and Smashing Pumpkins perform at the V Festival. And last Christmas, many Australians flocked to Malaysia on weekends to do their Christmas shopping.

"They come here with an empty suitcase for a couple of days just to shop. At the moment, the ratio is 60: 40 where 60 per cent of our passengers are Malaysians and Asians while 40 per cent are Aussies. The unique thing is, when they come here, Australians not only stop in Kuala Lumpur, they extend their trip to Kota Kinbabalu, Phuket, Hanoi, etc," explained Azran.

There was a time when Malaysia used to lag behind Singapore and Thailand but now, travellers look at Kuala Lumpur as the new hub for aviation. Said Azran: "Surfers, for example, stop in Kuala Lumpur before continuing their journey to Bali, Sipadan and so on. Before this, they had hardly ever heard of us, let alone this stopover."

Presently, AirAsia X flies to Gold Coast four times a week and Hangzhou, China five times a week. The airline will be getting two new aircraft by the end of the year, so it will include stops at other cities in Australia like Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

"In the short-term, we are looking at adding Amritsar or New Delhi in India to our list. As for the United Kingdom, it all depends on who wins the English Premier League. If Manchester United wins, then we will fly there but if Chelsea wins, London may be our new destination," explained Azran, adding that Beijing, China too will be added to the list.

AirAsia X has ordered 25 new aircrafts which will be delivered in stages, starting from the end of this year until 2013.

"In the next five years, we will cover 30 new Asian destinations and two or three more in Europe. All our new Airbus aircrafts (A330 and A300) will be equipped with the latest technology. Every seat will have in-flight entertainment screen which is more interactive.

"For instance, there will be games and quizzes where one section competes against the other section. Or, if you want to chat with the person at seat 29F, you can do so. The seats will have new designs which are more comfortable," adding that each carrier will cost close to US$200 million!

The evening we touched down at Gold Coast airport, the temperature was 9'C since it was autumn. Although I didn't have a particularly wonderful experience at the airport, where I was asked by the immigration officer to empty my suitcase, I wasn't going to let that and the cold form my first impressions of the country.

Mantra Legends Hotel, where we stayed, sits smack in the city centre of the Gold Coast. A walking distance to Surfers Paradise where it's all happening, it is also close to boutiques, restaurants and clubs.

Our tour guide, Greg Floyd, who is in his 50s, told us that one of the reasons people love coming to the Gold Coast is because it's clean and the people friendly. Well, he's right about that. However, Floyd warned us that it was not advisable to walk alone at night.

TV3's Majalah 3 crew, which included its beautiful host Nurul Syuhada Nurul Ain Mohd Zain and producer Abdullah Sidek Majin, were with the journalists.

Heads turn in Nurul's direction every time she was being filmed for the TV magazine show. Nurul is a toughie inside. You only need to catch the Majalah 3 episode, which airs over TV3 tomorrow at 9pm to know what I mean.

Nurul didn't think twice about carrying a koala or a wombat at the Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary or getting on the Tower of Terror ride at Dreamworld. Imagine travelling at 160kmh 200 metres and back in seven seconds!

She was also spotted sand-surfing at MacLaren's Landing. At Warner Bros Movie World, Nurul stunned her colleagues when she showed no fear of trying out all the 'terror' rides!

We had a fruitful time at Tropical Fruit World (did you know that avocado is good for slowing down the ageing process?).

Harbour Town is a great place for shopping and Sanctuary Cove is for those looking for high end property. However, performing the Friday prayers together with 600 Australian Muslims at the Gold Coast Mosque had to be the most poignant moment for us.