Ahmad Faez (Ezy) of Khalifa MMA was dominating in his division and crowned champion in the light weight division of The Palawan Amateur Boxing Competition 2017

Wan Farhan Hj Ibrahim also won his division last weekend

This was the first time I saw a real boxing competition in Brunei. Well, I did see one long time ago when I was still a little kid. Thanks to @pahlawanboxingbrunei for making this event a reality and there were surprisingly many entries (more than 50 boxers).

The event was dubbed The Palawan Amateur Boxing Competition 2017 and it was organised by Palawan Boxing Club. The boxers came from different local clubs in the Sultanate, namely Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts, Chainblock Gym, ATIM boxing, Wolfpack, Pahlawan Boxing Club, Abdul Rahman Boxing and 018 MMA to name a few.

I managed to catch Ahmad Faez (Ezy) of Khalifa MMA in action and wow, he was really solid as a boxer. All his matches and even the finals forced his opponents to retirement. He was solid from start to finish and dominated in the light heavyweight division. The best performer of the tournament by far.

Another friend of mine Wan Farhan Hj Ibrahim won his respective final in the middle weight class. Well done, mate 🙂

For the rest of the news and results, you can check out Brusports stories.

Well done to the organizer on making this event possible. I hope to see more of boxing competition in Brunei. More room for growth indeed.

Quite a crowd that showed up at Sungkai Kebun Sports Complex

By the ropes

The participants and volunteers during the tournament

Ready for a fight

The Arabian decoration and display in conjunction with the Wafa Hotel & Apartment’s Arabic Food Festival 2017

Wafa Hotel & Apartment inaugurates the first Arabic Food Festival 2017 last weekend at Annajat Complex. The partner for The Arabic Food Festival is Gwad Basha Arabian Restaurant & Catering (one of my favourite Arabian cuisine in Brunei). I just came back from Saudi Arabia and it makes me crave for the Arabian food more.

The food promotion aims to enthrall the patrons and diners with a myriad of enchanting flavours from the Arabic lands and this also gives Wafa Hotel & Apartment’s guests and customers to enjoy and indulge in the food and fantasies of an Arabian feast located on the 3rd floor of Wafa Hotel & Apartment.

You will also get to see a Middle Eastern ambience and decorations to feel the ambience of Middle Eastern.

The Arabian food promotion will run from 23rd December until 6th January 2018. Now with payday and bonus season, I would highly recommend you to check their food.

For further information, you can contact Wafa Hotel & Apartment at 242 5889. The hotel is located at Annajat Complex, the newly opened building near the Beribi Roundabout.

The promotional poster

Pg Md Khairuddin Pg Abu Bakar, the Assistant Manager of Wafa Hotel & Apartment giving his welcoming remarks

Guest of honour Hjh Aidah bte Hj Mohd Hanifah, Director of Agriculture and Agrifood

Members of media with representatives from Brunei Shell Marketing Co. Sdn Bhd during the shortlisting of the draw last week

#BELIHELIX (Buy Helix) promotion has garnered loads of interest. Not just because the Shell Helix Ultra products are of high quality. Because there are monthly draws and the grand prize will be BMW 118i, Dubai package tours for two and BND 2,500 cash card.

Tomorrow (27th December) will be the first monthly draw and Brunei Shell Marketing the organizer of the promotion mentioned that they have more than 5,000 entries for the month of November alone. The draw was done last week by media representatives and witnessed by Brunei Shell Marketing management.

Those who purchased Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40, HX-7 10W-40 and HX5 15W-40 will be eligible for the draw. They will have to purchase a pack of four liters of Shell Helix Motor Oil and fill in the lucky draw entry form.

There are 190 participating outlets (car dealers, independent workshops, high streets and petrol stations) across the Sultanate. The current promotion ends on January 2018 and the next consolation draw will be held in January 2018 while the grand draw will be February 2018.

Shell Helix Ultra with PurePlus Technology is a next-generation, fully synthetic premium motor oil made from natural gas making it stronger and less volatile at the molecular level than those made from traditional crude. Key benefits include performance through engine stress, superior protection against wear, protecting the engine in extreme temperatures and it is designed for ultimate power and performance. Engine manufacturer partners including BMW Motorsport, Hyundai Motorsport, Maserati and Scuderia Ferrari use and trust Shell Helix Ultra. The Shell Helix portfolio is suitable for both diesel and gasoline engines.

Waqiuddin of Motor Sport BN doing one of the draws for the month of November

Let it roll

PastaMania in celebration of the holiday season is holding a Pasta-licious Festive Celebrazione featuring new colours, new combination and new flavours.

During the celebrazione, Bruneian Pasta Lovers can choose from three tastefully pasta-licious dishes such as the succulent Rosemary Chicken with Creamy Tomato Sauce, a flavourful Breaded Steak with Tomato Sauce or the Baked Salmon with Cream Sauce.

These pasta dishes can also be accompanied by a refreshing Ribena Rosemary Soda and a choice of appetizers – a delicious pumpkin pasta salad or Crispy Calamari Salad.

This promotion is valid from 23rd December 2017 till 31st January 2018 at your local PastaMania stores.

For more information, customers can visit our Facebook and Instagram @pastamaniabrunei or call us at 2338061 for our Times Square Branch, 2338000 for our Bunut Branch or 3342967 for our KB branch.

PastaMania is the largest Italian restaurant chain in Singapore and spans across 12 countries with over 50 retail points in strategic relevant markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, China and the Middle East Countries. We are a pasta player with an authentic Italian heritage. PastaMania presents a truly unique concept that possesses great mass-market appeal.

Breaded Steak with Tomato Sauce

Baked Salmon with Cream Sauce. I like this 😀

Pumpkin Pasta Salad

Wu Chun being featured on Vogue magazine

December is said to be the busiest month for China. Holidays are on the side, and preparations for the coming year. One the most cited activities is the awarding ceremonies organised by the top media companies in the country and to no surprise, our very own superstar from Brunei, Wu Chun.

International Superstar, Endorser and Philanthropist, Wu Chun a Bruneian pride bagged 3 three notable awards:

• The 2017 Best Achievement Male Role Model Award at the “China Women Media Award” organised by United Nation Women.
• 2017 MAN OF THE YEAR Award at the BAZAAR Men China in Beijing.
• 2017 Most Influential Male Artiste Award at the NetEase award ceremony
•
Aside from being a busy bee with numerous endorsements and being ambassador for numerous international brands this year alone (namely, GAP, Skechers, Safeguard, Nutrilon, Cosatto, Milka, Lancome, Fisher Price) and while running numerous businesses, Wu Chun’s year has also been fruitful making films for his avid supporters and fans.

 This year he filmed Martial Universe (A mythology martial arts romance) alongside with Yang Yang and Zhang Tian Ai. “Daddy, where are you going?”, a TV reality show with a 6 billion online viewers alone in China featuring his daughter Nei – Nei and first broad cast TV appearance of his son, Max.

One of the highlights for Wu Chun is his recent appearance on the cover of VOGUE magazine. Very few male artistes has the opportunity to appear on the cover of this very top female fashion magazine and on top of this, Wu Chun, on a number of occasions, has been ranked number 1 in China’s online celebrities influential power list and this year has certainly push Wu Chun to another level in his showbiz career.

This year, he also promoted and released My Other Home ( “A New Yorker in Beijing”) an inspiring true story about Basketball and friendship directed by Zang Yi  casting alongside with Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson. He is also currently the ambassador for charity organisation IFAW or Internantional Fund for Animal Welfare, which is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. He has been chosen to be an ambassador for Brunei Anti Narcotic Drug Association in 2012. Since 2014, he became the international brand ambassador of Royal Brunei Airlines.

As a young idol and super-dad, Chun is a progressive young entrepreneur and a social welfare advocate. Not only he is constantly breaking records in performing arts, but he also advocates gender equality, taking care of his children and family, and accompanying them to grow happily.

Wu Chun’s contribution to the country has been massive all these years and has literally put Brunei on the map among the chinese around the world. It has been noted that recognition and acknowledgement and being active in the community is not something new for the actor. To name a few,  Wu Chun has received the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) Young Entrepreneur of The Year (2008), CQE Geneva QC Total Quality Management Model Award (2012), APEA Corporate Social Responsibility Award (2013). In 2015, Wu Chun was one of the recipients for Brunei’s Excellent Youth Award.

I’m very grateful for being part of the At-Taqwa Travel & Tours for the current Umrah trip as part of Group 3 (9th December to 20th December). Apparently there are batches of 8 groups in total with the final group departing on 23rd December 2017. It has been a while since I actually stepped my foot in Jeddah, Medinah and Mecca. My last visit was back in the year 1998, together with my beloved family. Hence, it’s good to be back to the Holy land and I’m loving the service here at At-Taqwa Travel & Tours.

Allow me to share with you the journey from when I made the decision to fly for Umrah to my first few days in Medinah. It will be in a form of images and captions to show you the flow of things and why I would recommend future customers to At-Taqwa Travel & Tours for their next Umrah trip this coming February and March 2018. Do enjoy the images for your reference and don’t forget to spread the love around.

The Radiah session with the pilgrims from At-Taqwa a few weeks before umrah. This was to prep them for the Saie for umrah led by Ustaz Qahar.

The briefing session for the pilgrims at Al-Falah school two weeks before umrah for the pilgrims to be familiar and be prepared for the Umrah trip.

The management of At-Taqwa Travel & Tours and the officers for the Umrah December trip during the briefing

One of the appointed officers for At-Taqwa, Ustaz Khairul Nazif, also known as UKN.

The practical session of Umrah for the pilgrims at Sg. Kebun Sports Complex.

The pilgrims had a practice session, walking around seven times for Tawaf while being briefed on the dos and donts during Tawaf

All the customers of At-Taqwa were given a hand carry luggage. Inside the luggage, you will get a slipper bag (for entering the mosque), water bottle, power bank (useful), sling bag, neck pillow, luggage tag and not forgetting the passport cover. All the pilgrims were also given a special name tag so others will be able to identify.

The time where we have to do our finger print session before sending our passport for visa purposes. This is something new implemented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The queue can get very long as they are only two people working there. I do hope they improve the manpower situation there.

For all those who fly to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, you will have to get an injection jab for influenza. This is a must!! This is at the vaccination centre near Times Square, behind the petrol station.

Thank you, Hitesh, the director of YMRM Galleria, for sponsoring some gamis and songkok 😀

For all the pilgrims, it is required for them to do advanced check-in the night before the flight. This is to make sure smooth journey for the passengers and they don’t have to worry to check in on the actual day itself.

We are allowed 30 kilo of weight for check-in. I reached around 19kilo so far, allowing space for some shopping during my visit to Jeddah, Medinah and Mecca.

Ustaz Abdus-Salam brought his own chilli, just in case. It was recommended by others to bring your own chilli sauce as the local ones (in Saudi) do not taste as good.

What a privilege for the pilgrims to be featured on RTB news before their flight

This was the first batch that flew. Well, it was only Fahmi from this group and his friends sent him off. The first batch flew off on 2nd December.

The first batch of pilgrims from At-Taqwa. They will be returning to Brunei Darussalam on the 13th December.

I belonged to Group 3 from 9th December to 20th December.

Thank you, sis, for sending me off the other day. Thanks for being so concerned of my well being and dropping my room to check on me. Don’t worry, my maggi days are over (for now). Day 67 and counting 😀

All the pilgrims on the flight to Jeddah will enjoy a much better facility on their flight because it’s the Dreamliner 787. Woohoo!!!

After 10 hours later, we have arrived at the International Airport of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

At-Taqwa is a step ahead of other travel agents because they prepared us sim-cards in Brunei Darussalam. This will make the passengers at ease so they can contact their loved ones upon arrival at the airport. A well thought gesture for their customers. Thumbs up!!

We were greeted by the At-Taqwa’s Managing Director at the airport. A man will a strong vision and he makes this happen. I’m happy for his new journey as an entrepreneur and also giving back to the community. May Allah bless you and your family!

The bus trip from Jeddah to Medinah took 6 hours. From the airport, we headed straight to Medinah and we were provided with refreshment on the way.

Every group will have their own Mutawif. A Mutawif is someone who will help to lead and guide us during our Umrah procession with the doas and such. The Mutawif also will help with logistics to make the trip of the pilgrims more smooth and convenient.

Upon arrival at Dar Al Taqwah Hotel, Medinah and making sure that all the room numbers are written on their luggage tags to make it convenient for the concierge to send the luggage straight to their rooms. We arrived around midnight.

Some of the pilgrims having breakfast at the hotel after Subuh prayers at Al-Masjid an-Nabawī

It was definitely great to be back at Al-Masjid an-Nabawī. I fell in love with this place on my first umrah trip decades ago. This will be my fifth time here. Alhamdulillah.

The umbrella outside being erected during the day, to shelter from the heat

The first batch of officers from At-Taqwa at one of the visiting sites near Mecca

They were fortunate to bump into Malaysian celebrity Adflin Shauki

I’m glad to have my friend Ak Nabil Pg Abdul Kadir to be on the same group as me. You might recognized him on my IG previously. I know this lad from toastmasters.

The books I bought and these only cost around BND 4

Pg Razi briefing Group 3 before the visit to makam Rasullullah

It was tricky to steal a shot inside. I still managed.

The view inside Al-Masjid an-Nabawī

The hotel we are staying is strategically located in front of Al-Masjid an-Nabawī. Very, very convenient.

The birds are aplenty nearby

It’s better to change money at Saudi than in Brunei. You will get more 😀

I might be eyeing on this jubah soon. A bit pricey but it has the quality,

Stuttgart. After the success of the illuminated Mercedes star in the grill, the Mercedes-Benz original-parts program now offers an additional customization option based on modern LED technology: LED Projector AMG Emblem. When opening the driver’s and passenger doors, the AMG emblem is projected into the entry area in 3D with the help of the entrance lighting mechanism at the bottom of the door. The LED Projector AMG Emblem is now available at Mercedes-Benz sales partners for numerous vehicle models from A-Class to GLS.

The AMG emblem shows the cornerstones of the high performance brand, 
Mercedes-AMG: an apple tree on the river symbolizes the location in Affalterbach, Germany. The cam, valve and valve spring symbolizes the engine manufacturing. With the new AMG emblem projector, the emblem can now be projected into the entrance area next to the vehicle in a high-tech 3D look. Thus, making the ingress into a Mercedes-AMG an impressive experience.

Mercedes-Benz partners can assemble the AMG emblem LED projector in just a matter of minutes: just simply replace the factory-installed entrance lighting at the bottom of the front doors. The new projector uses state-of-the-art LED technology, consumes little power and has a long service life. Moreover, it fulfils the high quality requirements that Mercedes-Benz places on all its original parts and accessories. This new individualization option is available from the A-Class to the GLS in combination with the corresponding door lighting packages.

The AMG emblem LED projector is not only for Mercedes-AMG enthusiasts, but there is an LED projector for Mercedes-Benz drivers as well. In this case, the Mercedes star, possibly the world’s best-known trademark, is projected into the entry area when the front doors are open.

The Illuminated Mercedes Star available for many lines from the original-parts program is also a real eye-catcher. The outline of the Mercedes star centred in the radiator grille illuminates by means of the light conductors as well as LED technology, and thus adds a special look to many Mercedes-Benz models.

Officiating the newly revamped and upgraded Sky Lounge and also the new Business Class Lounge at Brunei International Airport. Guest of Honour Yang Mulia Dr Hj Abdul Manaf Bin Hj Metussin, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Primary Resource and Tourism, & RB Board Director, and Karam Chand, RB’s CEO.

Royal Brunei Airlines has launched its newly refreshed and upgraded Sky Lounge and introduced the new flagship Business Class Lounge at Brunei International Airport on 06 December 2017.

The launch of the new lounges were officiated by Guest of Honour Yang Mulia Dr Hj Abdul Manaf Bin Hj Metussin, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Primary Resource and Tourism, & RB Board Director, and Karam Chand, RB’s CEO. The launch was also attended by RB’s Board of Directors, officials from the Department of Civil Aviation, various Government Agencies, RB’s corporate partners and Royal Skies elite members.

The RB Business Class Lounge takes on board the needs of the sophisticated and frequent travelers that is RB’s business class guests and Royal Skies gold members. Features that take care of guest comfort, relaxation, fine dining and entertainment has been provided for in the new lounge. With a capacity of 72, the new Business class Lounge has plush, comfortable décor and furnishings designed to make the guests feel at home and for them to relax and enjoy the warm hospitality of RB. Guests at the Business Class Lounge have access to executive meeting rooms and all the facilities offered at the Sky Lounge in addition to the coffee bar for those guests who are squeezed for time.

RB upgraded sky lounge is open to Royal Skies Silver members, corporate guests, customer airline guests and for the first time in Brunei, to walk-in guests. RB is pleased to welcome Priority Pass customers to its lounge and is in discussions with other corporates who have shown interest in getting access to the lounge. These will be announced in due course.

Karam Chand delivering his welcoming remarks

Members of the guests during the launch

The Business Class lounge

Surau

The kids play area

The dining area

Accommodating up to 120 guests, the upgraded Sky Lounge features buffet dining, all the existing facilities including the prayer room. However RB felt the guests deserve more and thus have added exciting facilities such as a movie room, kids’ room, family zone, gaming area featuring PS4 and Xbox Kinect as well as a Virtual Reality station highlighting places of interest in Brunei and other RB destinations giving our visitors an immersive experience of the various attractions on offer. This is work in progress and more destinations and RB products will be added over time. We hope through this innovation we can entice more transit guests to consider taking a stop-over holiday in Brunei on their return journey. There are no extra charges for the air content for stop-over guests when booked via our online booking portal.

With a ceiling to floor glass exterior, the lounges overlooks the departure hall and features the warm and refreshing colours that is now synonymous to the RB brand. The lounge glass exterior also maintains previous design elements like the Brunei iconic Ayer Muleh design and a unique brass art piece depicting Kampung Ayer in keeping with our Bruneian identity.

“At RB, we believe the service experience right from research for the holiday options, bookings, service at the airport and inflight is our key strength and we continuously strive to innovate and improve the guest experience at every touch point. We are pleased to offer our guests the best Bruneian hospitality and positively position Brunei International Airport (BIA) to international travelers. With the peak holiday season on the horizon, we are excited to introduce the walk-in product, a first for Brunei which we believe will be very attractive to the long haul economy guests who have been asking for such a facility at BIA for some time. With the expanded facilities and top quality food and beverages on offer, we trust the new lounges will be exceed guest expectations and help us achieve four star airline ranking. ” said Karam Chand, RB’s CEO.

RB is pleased to introduce its business partner Savy’s Brasserie. Savy’s has partnered with RB as the caterer and service provider and has designed the menu to suit all taste buds. Today they launched the full product offering for RB guests including fine dining in the business class lounge.

There’s a playroom for gamers too.

Frozen anyone? #playstation #xbox

There’s a movie theatre room

Some of the invited guests

Some of the invited guests

Click banner to register and find out more

One of Brunei’s toughest obstacle challenges, the Alpha Obstacle Challenge is a sure way to kick off your new year with a great WIN this 31st December 2017. Organized by D’Sunlit Sdn Bhd, it is a sure way to prove yourself tougher or challenge yourself. Challengers of the race will conquer all the obstacles in their paths based on their categories, ranging from 4 obstacles in a 2 km fun run to an 8 obstacle run in the 5 km challenge.

Obstacles are not that common in Brunei but has been very popular in regional countries. So it’s great to see an event management company coming up with similar theme. The idea of the Alpha Obstacle Challenge is to highlight the importance of teamwork and communication. Through the challenge, participants will learn to be a team player during the obstacle check points and this can be an important skill to have which will also uplift the team spirit.

Participants will be enjoy attractive race-kit that not only consists of the t-shirt and medal but it will also include a headband, wristband and most of all, an Under Armour coupon. There will be several activities for the runners to wind down and enjoy after the challenge. There will be a slip n slide, water balloons and food fiesta as part of the attractions.

A few more days for you to register if you are keen to be part of The Alpha Obstacle Challenge. You can register at www.thealphachallengebn.com. For those registering as a group (of 4 and above), you will to enjoy 10% of the registration as a team.

This event is supported by the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism and the event is in conjunction with the Brunei December Festival 2017. You can also follow updates on @thealphachallenge on Instagram or their Facebook Page.

You will get a 30% coupon off Under Armour footwear

First customer Ricky Chua unboxing his new iPhone X

The distribution of the iPhone X as Ricky Chua received his new iPhone X at DST outlet at Airport Mall

Following the wave of excitement since the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus bundle plans were launched one month ago, DST opened its doors to the public for the long-awaited iPhone X which was released together with DST’s bundled plans.

DST celebrated the launch by congratulating customers for their purchases of the iPhone X who patiently awaited the arrival of the iPhone X and the plans offered by DST. A consensus of eager customers who queued in line waited for the release of the plans despite offers elsewhere that offered pre-orders earlier than DST.

For the launch, DST gave the first 50 customers in the queue DST vouchers worth B$100 together with an iTunes gift card worth USD15 to take home. First 50 customers also received special access to the iPhone X Launch Lounge. All customers were also treated to special food and beverages from Little Gourmet, Gong Cha, Magnum and the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I was privileged to be among the Top 50 customers, being the 19th person in the queue. The first person was Ricky Chua.

DST also entertained customers hours before the launch by playing games and providing giveaways. There were around 5 iPhone X covers being given away with DST merchandise such as umbrellas. One of the prizes was the latest Apple TV for those who were queueing up.

In attendance to open the doors to welcome the first customers was Suhaimi Hussain, CEO of DST and Haji Marshad Bin Hj Ismail, Deputy CEO of DST.

The postpaid bundles of the iPhone X offers various monthly subscriptions and upfront payments. For example, an Apple iPhone X 64GB with a $938 upfront payment is bundled with an B$85 monthly subscription for 24 months and customers will receive 9GB local data.



The plans are launched exclusively at DST’s Airport Mall branch only.

Aside from postpaid plans, customers can choose based on their preference whether to purchase an iPhone without a contract.

DST is Apple’s certified carrier with the largest and most preferred 4G network nationwide.

For more information on DST’s iPhone bundle plans, please visit: iphone.dst

A huge crowd at the iPhone X launch. Almost 80 people queued up for the launch.

The queue half way after the official launch at 10am.

Jason Rumpus was one of the winners of the mini game

Magnum ice-cream for customers

DST officials helping out with the pre-registration

iPhone X customers get a special treatment with food after receiving their iPhone X unit

Such a wonderful reception by DST officials

Gongcha anyone?

Doing my face detection huhu 😀

He dropped his phone a day before the launch. He was already targeting the iPhone X for a while. A huge upgrade indeed.

A former iPhone user before switching to Samsung. Now he’s back to Apple 😀