day 1

hi everyone!
so day one has been and almost gone already.
Today we had lunch at old precious china which was very yummy and traditional, we ate with our fingers!
We then went on a tour of KL (Kuala Lumpur) which included going to the Malaysia museum, seeing the kings of malaysia palace, pertranus towers, and the national mosque.
It is very very hot and muggy here!
We are all having a great time. Our rooms are great and the hotel is amazing! lots of fun activities are still to come including tonight when we are going to the Buk Bintang night markets where we are all very excited to do lots of shopping!!!!! yes that means presents for you all.
some intersesting things we saw/did today were:
-a little pussy cat on the side walk, he was sick but cute!
-we decided to get group photo's and during the process other tourists wanted to get photo's of us. but we also found ourselves getting filmed by randoms all over the place.
- we ate blue rice, papaya, yellow watermelon, dragon fruit and we ate our lunch with our hands!
some of the more daring/experimental people, like me, ventured out and tried an icecream hotdog! and a chrisanthemum drink, yummy yummy.
ok so all is going well and lots of fun things to look forward to.

please write back to us if you feel like it.

will be posting something new every day!

bye for now, but not forever.

Bree.

A safe arrival and the program begins!

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Low Cost Carrier Terminal (otherwise known by the massive acronym KLIA-LCCT). It was humid getting off the plane but fortunately not too hot. 

The immigration arrival area of the LCCT is a bit like a giant shed...and it was pretty packed! We had to wait about 20-30 minutes in the line for our turn, but happily everyone got through immigration okay :)

The good thing about waiting a long time at immigration is that you don't have to wait a long time for your bags, and all of ours were through pretty quickly. There were a few nervous moments when we thought Colette's may have been lost, but in the end it was there too - phew!

Rithzuan, from Asian Overland Travel, was waiting outside past customs for us. He's a funny, jolly fellow who used to be a chef and seemed really pleased to be telling us about Malaysian food, as well as all the info about this part of Malaysia. The driver, Mr Mizi, took us the 1 hour drive from the airport to the Renaissance Hotel and there was even a solid downpour to welcome us to KL.

Checked in to the Renaissance and, after a shower and change of clothes, headed out for the short walk to the Petronas Towers and the Suria KLCC shopping centre food court for dinner.


Tomorrow we have our first tour of KL city!

Contact numbers

Hi everyone,

Here are each person's contact numbers in Malaysia. If someone wants to call from Australia they need to dial +6(016-655.......)

Within Malaysia you can contact each other by just dialling the number (016-655.....)
Teneale - 016-6553762
Lucy - 016-6553676
Sommer - 016-6553745
Harley - 016-6552834
Megan - 016-6553128
Rebecca - 016-6551954
Diana - 016-6552079
Sheri - 016-6552279
Andrea - 016-6552286
Donna - 016-6553648
Brianna - 016-6553210
Justine - 016-6553281
Colette - 014-9975441

You will receive you sim card at the airport in KL.

Departure just moments away! A few last tips.

Well, your flight is just days away. Time to get packing and get really excited about what’s to come!

A few last tips from me.

Firstly, the final schedule for you is now available in an earlier post on this blog. Read it, print it, get excited. This is amazing! It is going to be a very busy, very full, extremely rewarding 3 weeks!

Now, packing.

It is going to be an average of 24-34 degrees C in KL during your stay, and it can be quite humid. In the afternoons and evenings you can expect the odd downpour. Pack accordingly (bring a small umbrella or raincoat :), bearing in mind that much of each day you will be spending indoors where everything is air-conditioned and where it can get chilly.

You will definitely need a jumper for the trip to Genting Highlands which, at 2000m elevation, can get down to 10 degrees.

As part of your working time at the Renaissance you’ll need to bring a white blouse, knee length black skirt and closed black work shoes. Or two pairs of each :D

During your work placement you will be treated like any other Associate (employee) of the hotel, meaning you have the same rights (staff meal whilst on duty) and responsibilities (proper behaviour, not allowed to use the pool etc) as other Associates.

You are going to be rotated between 4 different stations: banquet, events, PR (Marketing/Communications) and the Club Lounge (executive level club). Shift times will vary and you may be working either an early or a late shift. You'll be advised of this on Monday. You will be doing some shadowing work and need to bear in mind that space may be limited in the area in which you will be working, so your patience is appreciated.

You’ll also need to bring along your mobile phone, minus your Australian sim card. When you arrive in KL I will be providing you with a Malaysian simcard and phone number. You’ll also get an adaptor and monorail ticket upon arrival.

For the plane, I recommend you get hold of some earplugs and eye drops. Planes can be noisy and extremely dehydrating. As you’re on AirAsiaX you should also bring some snacks along to supplement to service they provide. The flight isn't so long (7 hours or so).

Also bring an empty water bottle that you can carry through security (empty) and then fill up on the other side before you get on the plane. You might also want to bring a small pillow or something with you on the plane and be sure to wear loose clothing – both of these are for comfort. The space available to stretch out on the plane is limited, so make sure you take the time to get up and walk around and stretch.

Remember some sunscreen and a good pair of comfy shoes for the tours you’ll be doing. Your Lonely Planet book will also give you some good tips for your trip to Malaysia so make sure you’ve had a squiz at it!

With regards to documents, please make sure you bring a copy of your travel insurance policy document and leave a photocopy of both your passport and any credit cards that you are carrying with your parents. On the off chance that these get lost whilst you are abroad it will make things much easier to have them replaced.

That’s about it from me – I’m looking forward to seeing you all in KL in a couple of days!

Study Overseas AIM Overseas

Change to working arrangement in KL

Previously we had been talking about everyone undertaking a working period at the KL Convention Centre. Unfortunately that has fallen through due to visa reasons :(
so instead everyone will be undertaking their full working period at the Renaissance Hotel :)

The schedule looks amazing - spending time working in 4 separate departments and getting a taste of what it's like to work in a large Asian 5-star hotel. It's going to be great.

The program will still pay a visit to the KL Convention Centre on December 8th, so we'll still get a look at all the going-ons of one of Asia's finest convention spaces.

2 More Sleeps!!!

How exciting! Not long now till the Aussies chicks hit the Malaysian shores!!!

Final Study Tour Schedule

Hi and welcome to the final schedule for the Study Tour!

This is it team! The final schedule for the GCIT study tour to Malaysia.

Over the 3 weeks you will rotate through 4 departments at the Renaissance Hotel, getting to experience Banquets, Events, the Club Lounge and PR (Marketing/Communications). You'll receive the final details about these rotations on Monday at the Renaissance.

So now, on to the schedule.

Working Periods are noted in GREEN.  
Cultural activities are noted in BLUE
Professional visits are noted in PURPLE

Saturday November 28th
0600 Meet group at Coolangatta International Airport
0615 Check-in for AirAsiaX flight D7 2703 to Kuala Lumpur
20kg baggage (absolute maximum) and a meal will be provided on the plane
0910 AirAsiaX flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1525 Arrive Kuala Lumpur Low-Cost Carrier Terminal
Pass customs and immigration, collect luggage and transfer to accommodation (Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur)

Sunday November 29th 

- Country, city and accommodation orientation (transport, pharmacy, laundry, health and safety etc)

- Lunch at Precious Old China Café

- Discovering KL City Tour

Monday November 30th

- Renaissance Hotel work placement briefing: 1 day intensive training

Tuesday December 1st

- 11am: Australian High Commission visit and briefing ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL NEED TO BRING ALONG THEIR PASSPORT TO THIS VISIT

- Evening: Putra Jaya and Agricultural Heritage Park tour

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Wednesday December 2nd
- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Thursday December 3rd 

- 9:30am Visit to the Malaysian Association of Hotels

- Evening cultural activity: Learning to cook the Malaysia way

Friday December 4th 

- Renaissance work placement

- KL by Night Tour, Cultural Performance and Dinner

Saturday December 5th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Sunday December 6th 

- Morning: KL ‘Amazing Race’

- Lunch at Old China Café

- Afternoon/Evening: Tour to Batu Caves and Royal Selangor Pewter company

Monday December 7th 

- Tour to the Genting Highlands

Tuesday December 8th Morning

- Visit to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre including lunch

  10:30 Arrival at the Main Entrance lobby of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre where will be met by an HR Executive

  10:45 Video presentation Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

  Visit briefing (Sales and Marketing)

  Visit briefing (Event Coordination)

  11:00 Tour of the Centre

  12:00 Lunch at Ten on Call

- 3pm Tourism Malaysia briefing at Renaissance Hotel

Wednesday December 9th

- Renaissance work placement

- 10am: Visit to the Renaissance Hotel by Senator the Hon. Brett Mason including morning tea with students

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Thursday December 10th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Friday December 11th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Saturday December 12th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Sunday December 13th 

- Fireflies and Kuala Selangor Tour

Monday December 14th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Tuesday December 15th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Wednesday December 16th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Thursday December 17th 

- Visit to a tourism/hospitality Polytechnic Institute in Malacca: arranged by the Malaysia Ministry of Education

- Tour of Malacca historical city

Friday December 18th 

- Renaissance work placement

- Evening: wrap up session and journal time

Saturday December 19th 

- Morning wrap-up session and debrief

- Work on reports, packing and free time

Sunday December 20th 
0630 Meet in Renaissance lobby for check-out
0645 Transfer to Kuala Lumpur Low-Cost Carrier Terminal
0745 Check-in for AirAsiaX D7 2702
20kg baggage (absolute maximum) and a meal will be provided on the plane
1020 AirAsiaX flight to Coolangatta (Gold Coast)
2030 Arrive Coolangatta (Gold Coast) Airport

Senator the Hon. Brett Mason to visit GCIT Program

Hi everyone,

Some very exciting news today from Malaysia - the program is going to be visited by Senator the Hon. Brett Mason. Senator Mason is the shadow parliamentary secretary for education in the Commonwealth Parliament, and he will visit the program on Wednesday December 9th.

As part of his visit, he'll be meeting with students and staff on the program and observing a bit of the work you are doing. At this stage it also seems like you'll have an opportunity to have morning tea with him. Very exciting stuff and a great profiling exercise for the GCIT. You guys will do us proud!

greetings

Hello everyone just trying to do my first ever blog Colette

The Gold Coast Institute of TAFE Tourism and Hospitality study tour to Malaysia

On November 28th a group of students from the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE will jump into the arms of an AirAsiaX flight from Coolangatta to Kuala Lumpur for the experience of a lifetime! The group will spend 3 weeks living and working at the Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, whilst also visiting business and organisations related to tourism, hospitality and event management, and undertaking plenty of cultural activities.

The Study Tour is being generously supported and managed by the Australian Government's VET Student Mobility grants, AirAsiaX (who are offering sponsored flights), the Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE and AIM Overseas.

Over the course of the Study Tour, students from the group will share their thoughts and experiences on this blog so stay posted or sign up for updates!