New ministers and deputy ministers sworn in. Video by The Brunei Times.

Brunei’s new Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers were sworn in for a five-year term at Istana Nurul Iman this morning, October 26, 2015.

The swearing-in ceremony was held three days after His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalamm, announced the Cabinet reshuffle on state television.

A total of 21 office-bearers took their oaths before the Sultan during the hour-long ceremony, including His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister ‘s Office.

His Majesty retains the posts of prime minister, defence minister, finance minister and took over the foreign affairs and trade portfolio from His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah.

Five new faces are also included in the Cabinet line-up. Source: The Brunei Times.

So what flavour are you?

It was great to see Richard To (in Superman tee) and his mother at Chatime last weekend. I do miss my Power Ranger days *lol*

The well known bubble tea franchise is here in the city. The first one was opened in Kuala Belait. Now the Taiwanese tea franchise, Chatime, opened its second branch in Citis Square. I only noticed of Chatime when I was traveling to Kuala Lumpur and apparently, it’s quite big in KL and to my surprise, a few of my friends kinda know of Chatime and they prefer the drinks from Chatime. The soft opening was last Saturday and the responses were great to begin with.

Grace Chen, the master franchise of Chatime for Brunei market, was happy that the second outlet was ready to serve the customers. The grand opening is slated soon and it will tie with some promotion as well. So what flavours are the popular ones? Do try the QQ Passion Fruit, the Maccha Red Bean or the Chocolate Milk Tea or the usual Pearl Milk Tea. My personal favourite is the blend mix of maccha and red bean.

Chatime can also cater to your sugar level and even ice level and you can enjoy a selection of 8 toppings.

Chatime in Citis Square is located not far from Burger King. Enjoy!!! You can follow on their IG @chatime_brunei

Sin Yi and Ming Rui enjoying their Chatime. However, Ming Rui is craving for the taro flavour which is not available just yet

The interior of Chatime at Citis Square outlet

It’s gonna be a busy month at Chatime

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar, the Minister of Home Affairs was the guest of honour during the BIBD CE ALAF’s prize presentation last Sunday.

BIBD CE ALAF became another hit among the locals. Thousands showed up last Sunday for another edition of BIBD CE ALAF programme. It stands for Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Charity Expedition for Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future. The event took place at the usual Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium.

The guest of honour was the Minister of Home Affairs, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong presented prizes to the winners.

It was also nice to see former Minister of MIPR at the cycling category. Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar cycled during the expedition accompanied by Javed Ahmad, BIBD’s Managing Director and both of them are cycling enthusiasts.

Javed was quick to point out the volunteers for their great contribution to the community. Did you know they have roughly 900 volunteers in helping out the BIBD event to be a success? Amazing feat.

Great job to the BIBD team especially to Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar , Head of BIBD’s Corporate Social Responsibility, in leading the team to greater heights and also making the event another success.

Below are the winners of the respective categories.

Stephen Mungathia Nikubitu 1st place, Charles Munya Njaki 2nd place and Bernard Muthoni 3rd place in the Men Open 21km

Sefli Ahar 1st place, Abdul Malik bin Hidup 2nd place and Mohammad Samsul Zamri bin Muhammad Samsul Zam 3rd place in the Brunei Male 21 KM category

Tarus Gladus Jep Kechei 1st, Cheptoeck Careen 2nd and Esther Wambui Karimi 3rd in the Open Female 21KM category

Jenny Tan Feng Ling 1st place, Marnie Ahmad 2nd place and Jalquirey Cheng Nee 3rd place in Brunei Women 21 KM

James Cikunga Karanja 1st , Charles Kipkorir Kipsang 2nd and Titus Kipngetich 3rd in the Male Open 10Km category

Mastani Yussof 1st, Razali Sabli 2nd and Mohd Shah Azahar bin Abdullah 3rd in the Brunei Male 10Km category

Isabelan Kigen 1st, Valentine Jepkemoi Serem 2nd and Sarah Powdrill 3rd in the Female Open 10Km category

Nice t-shirt

Nurul Amirah Kariml 1st, Nurizyenny Muslim 2nd and Liza Hamid 3rd in the Brunei Female 10K category

Nikmatul Fatinah Haji Ismail 1st, Shazana Hamiroldzam 2nd and Dawn Lovell 3rd in the Female 5Km category

Kamau Kamau 1st (amazing feat of almost 16 minutes in the 5km run), Muhd Qamarul Ariffin Hifn 2nd and Lim Wei Kuang 3rd in the Male 5Km category

The winners of the Brunei Travel Fair feted two weeks ago

Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei thanked all the stakeholders involved in the Brunei Travel Fair and also their customers

Late post: Well done to all the 13 winners of the recent Brunei Travel Fair as they won from the lucky draws organised by Acabus (B) Sdn Bhd which was held at Royal Brunei Recreation Club. The prizes were sponsored by Abacus Brunei, Royal Brunei Airlines (RB), Nautilus Diving Bali, Holiday Inn Express, Pathumwan Princess and Tourism Authority of Thailand and the official bank, Baiduri Bank.

The biggest winner was Nor Liyana Naqibah Bahren as she won one return air ticket to London and it was an anti-climax moment when new born Siti Nurzafirah Abd Azim won two air tickets to Melbourne. Maggie Sim won four return economy air tickets to Ho Chi Minh City and the fourth prize went to Kok Ngean with three return tickets to Bali. All the prizes were sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines.

Holiday Inn Express (Thailand) sponsored prizes as well. Both Mohammad Hajatul Nazri Roslan and Mastura Kalong won a two night stay at Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sathorn and Siam while Morsidi Haji Damit won a three-day-two-night free accommodation at Pathumwan Princess Hotel.

My friend @marul69 had one in five chances to win the GoPro Hero 4 but the Abacus grand prize went to Tan Meng Gueh, who purchased a ticket from Freme Travel Services. Instead Marul and the other consolation winners won a handy power bank. This category prizes were sponsored by Abacus Brunei.

Abacus Brunei also awarded prizes to the top travel agencies who registered the highest incremental bookings during the Brunei Travel Fair. It was no surprise that Pan Bright Travel won first place (as they have a good marketing gimmick) and this was followed by Darussalam Holdings Sdn Bhd and Freme Travel Services Sdn Bhd.

Present during the prize presentation were the representatives from the organisers and partners. Handing the prizes were Joan Lim, Head of RB’s Commercial Service; Pengiran Azaleen bin Pengiran Dato Haji Mustapha, Head of Baiduri Bank Retail Banking and Branch Network; Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei and Abd Halim Haji Abd Rahman, Senior Manager (Sales and Marketing) of Abacus Brunei.

According to Abacus Brunei, they have an increase of bookings compared to last year. This shows that the travel industry is a lucrative market because we love to go on holidays. I managed to buy tickets to Kota Kinabalu and Bali but unlucky not be shortlisted in the lucky draw. Maybe next time 😀

The winners of the flight to London, Melbourne, Ho Chi Minh City and Bali

The winners of the hotel accommodation in Thailand

Tan Meng Gueh won a GoPro Hero 4

The winners of the Abacus Brunei lucky draw

It was a packed occasion during the Brunei Travel Fair

The top three travel agents during the travel fair – Pan Bright Travel, Darussalam Holdings and Freme Travel

A message from Royal Brunei Airlines

Dermot Mannion, Chairman of Abacus Distributions Systems (Brunei) with senior management of Abacus with partners for the Brunei Travel Fair

It’s the time of the year that people will flock in because of travel fair. I have been planning my final quarter of the year as I will be away for most of the time (and about time too).

As usual expect, some great fares from the Brunei Travel Fair at Royal Brunei Recreation Club (RBRC) and it’s organised by Abacus Distributions Systems (Brunei). This is the 12th edition and it’s good to see new partners in this travel fair too.

Leading the press conference yesterday was Dermott Mannion, Chairman of Abacus Distributions Systems (Brunei) cum Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) and he is very excited of the upcoming travel fair in Brunei. He thanked all the partners involved in making this another exciting event especially for the potential customers.

There will be more than 40 terminals to the seven travel agencies participating at the fair to ensure they can efficiently meet the travel needs of visitors. Also for the first time, there will be participation from the Ministry of Tourism Republic of Indonesia (awesome). Other tourism vendors include Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, Taiwan Tourist Bureau and Tourism Authority Thailand.

The official bank partner is Baiduri Bank and there will be also collaborations with other banks such as BIBD and HSBC with Royal Brunei Airlines.

Abacus Brunei General Manager Irene Soon said, “The fair provides an excellent opportunity for Brunei-based travellers to shop for both international and regional travel packages, making it an event on the travel calendar not to be missed.

The Brunei Travel Fair will be held this weekend 26th and 27th September at RBRC.

Joan Lim, Head of Commercial, Royal Brunei Airlines, addressing some promotion during the press conference

Check out the fare to the UK.. Read more below to find out

So what’s on offer?

For Royal Brunei Airlines, there will be a special fare to London. For an all-in price of BND 999, you can fly to London. The flying dates are from 23rd to 29th December (out of Brunei) and returning will start on 6th January 2016 with a one-month validity period. This is ideal for parents or family to visit their children in London during winter. There will be also attractive fares to Dubai, Shanghai, HK, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Melbourne and you can purchase them at the participating travel agents during the Brunei Travel Fair.

Royal Brunei will also have a daily lucky draw where winners can walk away with prizes such as a ticket to a mystery destination, Royal Skies miles or RB merchandise. RB customers can also test their paper plane flying skills at the Betterfly Game area where they win discount vouchers (5%) on your next travel.

Let’s not forget the the grand lucky draw for RB customers – flight to London or Melbourne or Bali or Ho Chi Minh City.

For Tourism Malaysia, it’s simple. Take advantage of the weaker Ringgit and explore Malaysia. During the fair, there will be invited demonstrators on Henna, Batik Canting and Nyonya Beaded Shoe. For those who purchase tickets or holiday packages or hotel rooms with regards to Malaysia, you will be entitled for a RM 20 Parkson shopping voucher.

There’s also a chance for a lucky dip to win travel accessories if you spend more than BND 500 for every purchse tickets or holiday packages or hotel rooms.

If you also have a BIBD card, you can swipe your purchases if you booked your flight to either KL or KK on Royal Brunei and you can stand a chance to win a lucky draw prize (3 days 2 nights at Grand Millenium Hotel Kuala Lumpur with a return ticket, return airport transfers and 100,000 Hadiah points) which is jointly sponsored by RB, BIBD and Tourism Malaysia. The winner will be announced at 8pm on 26th and 267th September. Awesome!

Now the official bank here is Baiduri Bank and they also have great promotions during the travel fair and it’s a great advantage if you happen to own a Baiduri Card (Debit or credit). For instance, for Prestige customers, if you fly to London, Dubai or Melbourne, you can redeem BND 200 at their booth (applies to the first 25 members). Another thing is when you swipe with Baiduri card, you will be entitled to 3 lucky draw coupons for the grand draw. Lastly, if you are a Smart Executive member, you can redeem BND 50 if you book your flights to Hong Kong or Shanghai (Limit to the first 20 members). There are more things that Baiduri are offering (refer to poster below for details).

I also read the papers that Pan Bright Travel Services are bringing back the “Travel and Win a Car” promotion since it was a great success last time round. You can also stand a chance to win a brand new Hyundai Accent from Pan Bright. The promotion is not just limited to customers who bought air tickets but also to those who buy any inbound tour package from Pan Bright. For your info, Pan Bright (KB) was the runner-up for Abacus’ travel agent award which was feted during Abacus Silver Jubilee dinner recently.

So mark your calendars for this weekend.

Three weeks ago, Abacus celebrated their Silver Jubilee

To all the Teachers out there in Brunei

Dermot Mannion, chairman of Abacus Brunei with Aji Hj Puteh, Director of Abacus Brunei, Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei and Abd Halim Hj Abd Rahman, Senior Manager, Sales & Marketing of Abacus Brunei and the management of Abacus Brunei during the cake cutting ceremony to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Abacus Distribution System (Brunei)

Dermot Mannion with representatives of the Top Travel Agents in Brunei

This is a delayed post. This took place last weekend at the Royal Brunei Recreation Club. Abacus Distribution System (Brunei) Sdn Bhd celebrated their 25th anniversary – the Silver Jubilee, and they are currently Brunei’s leading travel technology provider. For instance, all those travel bookings you make at travel agents using the Abacus system.

The guest of honour was Dermot Mannion, chairman of Abacus Brunei. Also present were Aji Hj Puteh, Director of Abacus Brunei, Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei and Abd Halim Hj Abd Rahman, Senior Manager, Sales & Marketing of Abacus Brunei and the management of Abacus Brunei.

Among those who attended were representatives of shareholders of Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) and Sabre, also include partners from Malaysia airlines, Singapore Airlines, TTCO, Tourism Malaysia, Baiduri Bank Sdn Bhd, Cityneon Brunei and Royal Brunei Catering (RBC).

Dermot Mannion expressed his gratitude towards the travel partners for their continuous support. He highlighted how applications such as RoomDeal, ETPIR, Reissuance are now fully integrated with Abacus Workspace to boost efficiency and productivity for travel agents.

Now with advanced technology, travel agents are able to access Abacus Worklite via their mobile devices and provide 24/7 service to their customer with Abacus WebStart and online booking solutions.

Do you know that Royal Brunei Airlines owns 85% shares in Abacus Brunei while the remaining shares are owned by Sabre?

Abacus Brunei hinted that they will be a travel fair coming this month. So stay tune to my updates on social media. I will be making my traveling plans again 😀 Thank you for the invitation, Abacus. Enjoyed the evening and some entertainment as well. Too bad I didn’t win any prizes on the lucky draw :p

Dermot Mannion giving his welcoming remarks

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 1st goes to Century Travel Centre (BSB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 2nd goes to Pan Bright Travel Service (KB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 3rd goes to Freme Travel Services Sdn Bhd (BSB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 4th goes to Darussalam Holdings Sdn Bhd (BSB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 5th goes to Anthony Tours & Travel Agency (BSB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 6th goes to Pan Bright Travel Service (BSB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 7th goes to Syarikat Straits Central Agencies (B) Sdn Bhd (BSB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 8th goes to Southern Cross Travel Agencies Sdn Bhd (Seria)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 9th goes to Freme Travel Services Sdn Bhd (KB)

Top Travel Agent 2014/15 – 10th goes to JJ Tour Service (B) Sdn Bhd (BSB)

Around 200 guests showed up last weekend

I’m amazed by Annabelle Pei Pei. Keep it up!!

Audi A4 S Line

T.C.Y. Motors as the sole Audi dealer/importer introduces another exciting variant in its Audi A4 line up- the S line Competition.

Exclusive from quattro GmbH which specializes in Audi’s high performance S/RS models and components, the S line Competition offers an enhanced sportier character to the A4 range with dynamic highlights from the exterior to the interior.

The S line Competition for both Sedan and Avant features the side mirrors, Singleframe radiator grille, roof frame, side skirts and rear diffuser frame in glossy black. The roof rails for the Avant (station wagon) model will also be featured in glossy black.

The interior features the main instrument cluster in piano black finish with aluminium gear-shift paddles behind the S line multifunctional steering wheel and stainless steel pedals (brake and accelerator). The S line Competition is complemented with the quattro GmbH exclusive Audi Sport aluminium wheels in 5-V-spoke design in matt titanium look, gloss turned finish.

The Audi A4 S line Competition is now available for viewing at the Audi Kiarong showroom which is now also open on Sundays 10.00am to 2.00pm.

Kids are creative indeed. Taken at Paddington House of Pancakes (Berakas branch)

As part of the celebrations for their second year anniversary, Paddington House of Pancakes held an event for their Kids club at the Berakas branch.

Members of the kids club participated in activities such as colouring and extending their creativity with play-dough with their parents watching on and some some even joining in on the fun.

As part of the event, PHOP also created a special pancake set meal, with fun character pancakes such as minions and Spongebob Squarepants,which comes with a drink and ice cream which is specially priced at $5 just for Kids Club members.

You can sign up for the Kids club at both the Gadong or the Berakas branch. Privileges include invitations to monthly gatherings, 10% off the kids menu at every visit and exclusive offers during kids club activities.

 

Get Connected through ICONIA

BIBD’s latest promotion

Top up tia. Click image to enter website.

 

Click image to enter ICON Design Store website

 

Click image to enter Citroën Brunei 

 

Click image to enter

 

Speakers: Reuben Chin, Pat Lee, Shinny Chia, Fitri Ali, Huifong Ng, Florina Tan, Delwin Keasberry and little Aman Izad-Ryan

The title says it all. This is a world wide event where it is known as PechaKucha and all the presenters have to do is a simple presentation with 20 images, each for 20 seconds while they talk about each of the images. They won’t have control of the flow of the images and you will just have to talk along to the images. All in all, the presentation is supposed to last exactly 6 minutes 40 seconds.

Brunei made history last Saturday when they organised their first PechaKucha which was held at TruSynergy office at Telanai. The responses were quite overwhelming and I’m impressed with the organisers for making this event possible. I’m a regular member of toastmasters and this is kinda similar but with imagery and of course, using your presentation skills with nice pacing.

There were 8 speakers last weekend to showcase their presentations and I was quite entertained because of the variety of knowledge that I learnt from their presentation. I learnt about how we shouldn’t trust the doctors just easily or learnt being inspired to be a traveller and the list could just go on.

I’m looking forward for the next PechaKucha and I’m eyeing myself to present one by 2015. The best presenter for me that night was Huifong Ng because of her great pacing and she hardly looked at the slides which made her presentation more effective. The most charming presenter went to the youngest presenter Aman Izad-Ryan who shared her hobbies on Minecraft and online games.

This is another creative avenue for the public to showcase their experiences and of course, bring back that message that will have an impact in our lives. Thank for making this possible 😀

Such a great crowd last Saturday

I was so intrigued by Huifong Ng’s presentation. The best speaker of the night.

I learnt so much from Florina’s experience and makes me mindful and aware next time

The most charming speaker of the night – 7 year old Aman Izad-Ryan

Isn’t she such a charmer?

Fitri Ali makes me want to just take that extra step to be more adventurous

Pat Lee shared her personal journey in helping the community and I was really touched with her commitment

Delwin Keasberry @bruneitweet shared the dangers of social media

Shinny Chia’s vision of bringing more creativity to Brunei and you have my support 😀

Amazing perspective of Reuben Chin’s account with his photography

Huwaida Ishaaq brought PechaKucha to Brunei and I am thankful towards her and the volunteers that made it all possible. The team behind deserves much appreciation as well.

 

Crowds thronged Paloma Home and Living store at The Mall last week for a partnership soft launch event between Royal Brunei Airlines’ (RB) loyalty programme Royal Skies and Paloma.

Aside from launch, members of the public as well as the media witnessed a MakeOver Contest where winners walked away with $120 Paloma Shopping Vouchers inclusive of the products that were used during the contest as well as a Bed Makeover contest where the winner also took home a $120 Paloma shopping voucher while others received consolation prizes of $20 vouchers.

Managing Partner of Paloma Julian Wee said the company strives to continuously develop itself as a brand that is synonymous with quality and value for money. “Paloma is very proud indeed to become the first retail brand to partner with Royal Skies,” she said.

Meanwhile RB Manager Yasmin Abdullah said that the national carrier is excited to introduce Paloma as its new partner.

“We are always looking for ways to provide our frequent flyers with new benefits and ways of redeeming their air miles,” she said.

Among the things that the company carries under the Paloma Perfumes & Cosmetics are a wide selection of cosmetics and well-being products from countries including the United States, Europe, Australia, Taiwan and Malaysia while at Paloma’s Home & Living Store, customers will be able to find a wide range of bed and bath products imported from United Kingdom.

Customers spending a minimum of $30 at participating Paloma outlets (Paloma Home & Living store, Paloma Perfumes & Cosmetics, Paloma Electronics Store and Paloma Duty Free Shops) will earn double RB miles.

The first 50 customers will also receive RB merchandise and Paloma shopping vouchers. Text and images courtesy of Rebecca Oi of The Brunei Times.

RB Manager Yasmin Abdullah (L) ,Managing Partner of Paloma Julian Wee (2nd L) with the winner of the MakeOver contest

 

Abacus and its partners concluded the final lucky draw for the 11th Abacus Holiday Travel Fair followed by the prize presentation today at the Emperor’s Court Restaurant, Manggis Mall last week.

“The annual 11th Abacus Holiday Travel Fair was held recently with a very encouraging turnout of visitors from across the state. The booking was increased by over 8% compared to last year, mainly due to the positive customer reviews of the annual fair.” Said Ms Irene Soon, General Manager, Abacus Brunei.

“Abacus would like to thank our partners: Royal Brunei Airlines, Baiduri Bank Berhad, Cityneon Brunei, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Malaysia Airlines, MasWings, Royal Brunei Catering, Singapore Airlines and Tourism Malaysia as well as the participating travel agents: Anthony Tours & Travel Agency, Century Travel Centre, Darussalam Holdings, Freme Travel Services, Pan Bright Travel, Southern Cross Travel and Straits Central Agencies for their continuous support and participation.” Irene added.

All the winners with representatives from Abacus Brunei, Baiduri Bank Berhad, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines and Royal Brunei Catering

The winners of air tickets to Melbourne with representatives from Abacus Brunei and Royal Brunei

Tajuddin Hj Saban receiving on behalf of his daughter Nur Nasuha a return air ticket to Paris from Irene Soon

The Winners of the prizes sponsored by Abacus Brunei and Baiduri Bank

There were four promotion categories during the travel fair. The first category was for travellers who had purchased tickets on Cathay Pacific or Dragonair. The winner is entitled to win one economy class return air ticket from Hong Kong to Beijing sponsored by Dragonair.

Travellers who had purchased Malaysia Airlines tickets during travel fair stood a chance to win return economy class air tickets to Bangkok and Krabi sponsored by Malaysia Airlines in the second category.

The third category was for travellers who had purchased tickets on Royal Brunei Airlines. Two winners are entitled to one return economy class air ticket to Melbourne sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines.

The fourth and final category was for all visitors who had purchased tickets during the travel fair. They were entitled to win one economy class air ticket to Paris, GoPro Hero3 and Momax iPower S2C (2 sets) in the lucky draw. The prizes sponsored by Abacus.

A lucky draw was conducted last Friday to pick the winners for all the categories. The draw was witnessed by representatives of Malaysia Airlines and travel agents.

On hand to present the prizes were Ms Irene Soon, General Manager, Abacus Brunei, Ms Lee Ai Cheng, Senior Manager – Sales & Service, Card Centre, Baiduri Bank, , Encik Zainal Abidin Sulaiman, District Manager, Malaysia Airlines and Ms Evelyn Ang, Country Manager Brunei Commercial Services, Royal Brunei Airlines.

 

This is it!!! The battle to represent Brunei, Area K6 in this year’s Humourous Speech and Evaluation Contests. We have passed the club level where three clubs in contested to be selected in this edition of the competition.

In Otters Club, they will be represented by Allen Ang and Shih Ching Yong. In Brunei Speakers’ Club, they will be represented by Zainal Bostaman and Reubin Chin. In Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club, they will be represented by Hazwan Kamarulzaman and Elizabeth Sim. All the six contestants will be vying for the Humourous Speech Contest title. I believe the winner of the each category will represent our Area K6 for the Division K level in Kota Kinabalu in mid-October 2014.

As for the Speech Evaluation Contest, Allen Ang, Melati Yussof (both Otters), Zainal Bostaman, Reuben Chin (Brunei Speakers’ Club) and Hazwan Kamarulzaman and Elizabeth Sim (Brunei Advanced Speakers Club) will be competing for the Area K6 title.

This event will take place for the first time ever at the iCentre at the auditorium and a big shout out to iCentre (BEDB) for lending the venue for toastmasters purposes. It take place tomorrow (Sunday) 28th September and I advise all of you who are interested to witness a spectacle to come by 1:15pm before the competition kicks off. There will be a $5 entrance fee and refreshments will be provided as well.

I will be the Contest Chair for the event (more like an emcee) and good luck to all the contestants and I can guarantee you that you will be entertained by their humourous speech.

Reuben Chin competing in both humourous and speech evaluation

Allen Ang competing in both humourous and speech evaluation

Shih Ching Yong competing in humourous contest

Melati Yussof competing in speech evaluation contest

Zainal Bostaman competing in both humourous and speech evaluation

Hazwan Kamarulzaman competing in both humourous and speech evaluation

Elizabeth Sim competing in both humourous and speech evaluation

Rano Iskandar (myself) as the Contest Chair which is more like the host/emcee for the event

Ruey Narcis the Area Governor (Brunei) for Toastmasters International

 

The event was officially opened this morning by Mr. Dermot Mannion, Chairman of Abacus. Yes, the fair is only for two days and it’s organised by Abacus Brunei and they have done a tremendous job in partnering with various airlines, National Tourist offices, hotels and of course, the biggest pie of all, the travel agents. This is always an important calendar especially for travelers even like myself and I managed to make three bookings this morning before the human traffic got higher.

It was definitely a crowded affair and Abacus Brunei have achieved their objective in stimulating the demand for travel with great packages offered by travel agents, airlines and hotels.

I could see that Mr. Dermot was pleased with what he saw earlier this morning and he thanked the organiser and the partners for making this event a possibility. He shared how the travel fair went far back as 2004 and this platform has proven to be a success in attracting the public to get special offers for their travels and vacation.

Of course, there is a lucky draw gimmick for passengers who booked their tickets during the travel fair. They can win attractive prizes such as return air tickets to London, Bali and Ho Chi Minh City (a route that will be added by 17th October) which are sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines (RB), 1 return air ticket from Hong Kong to Beijing sponsored by Cathay Pacific and 1 return air ticket each to Bangkok and Krabi sponsored by Malaysia Airlines.

So drop down to the 11th Abacus Holiday Travel Fair, located at the Goldstone Ballroom, Centrepoint Hotel and tomorrow’s the final day. And for a little plug, I chose to buy my ticket at Darussalam Holdings because of their great incentive of double Royal Skies Miles for every transaction you make during the travel fair. I believe you need to spend at least BND 300 to entitled for the double Royal Skies Miles. Awesome, right? Thank you, Darussalam Holdings for that special incentive. As you know, I’m just a newbie for Royal Skies but I’ve been accumulating tons of points ever since Day 1. My target is to reach Silver in a few months’ time 😀

Mr. Dermot Mannion, Chairman of Abacus, officiating the event with Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei at the 11th Abacus Holiday Travel Fair

Mr. Dermot Mannion visiting Royal Brunei Airlines booth

My preferred choice for bookings, thanks to their great incentives and service

At the Amazing Thailand booth

Mr. Dermot Mannion and management and associates of Royal Brunei Airlines

Pan Bright Travel is also aggressive in their marketing campaign and they are also having a special lucky draw which is a car

Tourism Malaysia has a separate hall so I do hope you guys don’t miss out their great offers from Malaysia

You can take a selfie with their instagram props 😀

Baiduri Bank is the official bank and I managed to get some deals from it too

Siaw Ling (in white) of Singapore Airlines (Brunei) with her colleagues

Another popular travel agent in Brunei and I like their queueing system

Guest of honour visiting the Taiwan Tourism Bureau booth

Mr. Dermot with Halim Abd Rahman, Sales and Marketing Manager of Abacus Brunei

 

Check them out in two weeks’ time

 

The launch is tonight. Brace yourself!!

It’s always great to see retail shops bringing in genuine products and goods to Brunei and we need more of this. I remember buying my first Snapbacks cap back in the UK in 2006 and even until now the cap is still in good condition. Snapbacks have been very popular in the US and most baseball teams have their own prints of New Era Snapbacks versions and they were hot sellers, even to this present day.

So it’s good to have a genuine store that sells New Era caps that comes in fitted, snapback and strapback version and they will be available at the first store in Brunei called The Cap City, located 2nd floor (arcade area) of The Mall, Gadong. The shop has been opened for a month or two and it has been receiving positive responses from the public and not many people especially the youngsters are aware of the existence of The Cap City. They will also Malaysia’s brand apparel – Negative Clothing.

The Cap City is a popular store in Kuala Lumpur and it is great that the owners are willing to set up its store in Brunei for the first time. You can check out their instagram @thecapcity which updates regularly on their stores in KL and Brunei and of course, the latest focus on their updates are on Brunei’s newly opened store The Cap City.

Today will be a special one because the Brunei store will be closed for today but it will opened its door at 8pm to 10pm tonight for a grand launch. There will be a special gimmick where customers will get a 20% discount on ALL their caps only for that two hour window tonight. Another awesome gimmick is that the first 20 customers will get A CAP for FREE. Yea, it did mentioned on their IG and poster that it was only for the 1st 10 customers but the owners from KL are kind enough to sponsor a few more items for the Brunei grand launch.

Also in the country is Nigel Sparks @nigelsparks the man behind The Cap City and he is here with @tristweiliang to give support for the grand launch for the Brunei store.

So pen this down on your calendar to check out the grand launch for The Cap City at The Mall, Gadong, tonight. For more updates, check out on their hashtag #thecapcity_brunei on instagram 😀

The New Era caps now available in The Cap City, The Mall, Gadong

The New Era caps now available in The Cap City, The Mall, Gadong

NY Yankees Snapback caps

@nigelsparks and @tristweiliang at Brunei’s The Cap City store and they will be at the grand launch too

Purchase any 3 New Era caps & get the 2 pack cap carrier for FREE or purchase any 4 New Era caps & get the 6 pack for FREE!

The long awaited New Era Tropical Minimalism snapbacks finally arrived

Negative Clothing apparel also available

The look of The Cap City store in Brunei

My first Snapback New Era customized cap. Yea, it looks a bit dusty :p

 

Starting today and tomorrow only

The great thing about Darussalam Holdings is that for every transaction you make from them, you can earn double Royal Skies Miles regardless of different airlines you choose. This deal only applies during the Abacus Holiday Travel Fair. I’m making three bookings under Darussalam Holdings just to enjoy this special offer 😀

 

The last time I was kinda confused with the Abacus Travel Fair and Travelmania event and of course, everyone is quite familiar with the Abacus brand since it has been around for many years in terms of travel fairs. So when the word Travelmania came into the picture with their partner Abacus, it was a bit tough to recognize who was actually running the show.

Yesterday I missed the press conference of the travel fair which will happen this Saturday and Sunday which will take place at Grandstone Ballroom, Centrepoint Hotel at Gadong. It’s good to know the travel fair is back and it will be called the 11th Abacus Holiday Travel Fair. This will give me another great opportunity to travel in a much cheaper and affordable fare and I know my traveling period starts again in October till December 😀

According to the press release, there will be seven travel agents under the Abacus Brunei such as Anthony Tours & Travel Agency, Century Travel Centre, Darussalam Holdings, Freme Travel Services, Pan Bright Travel Service, Southern Cross Travel Agencies and Straits Central Agencies.

Tourism Malaysia as well as Taiwan Visitors Association and Tourism Authority Thailand based in Kuala Lumpur will be participating again in this fair. Baiduri Bank Berhad, Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) and Singapore Airlines will be having their booths to extend support to the participating travel agents as well as provide assistance to the visitors.

Abd Halim Haji Abd Rahman, Sales & Marketing Manager, Abacus Brunei and Ms Irene Soon, General Manager, Abacus Brunei leading the press conference. Image courtesy of Ak Fairol.

“At Abacus Brunei, we have successfully organised ten previous travel fairs since 2004,” said Ms Irene Soon, General Manager, Abacus Brunei. Abacus Brunei thanks its partners as well as travelers for their support in the previous travel fairs. At this much anticipated event, we are looking forward to delivering fresh content and attracting thousands of people in search of their dream vacations.”

“With the support of our partners and travel agents we are confident that we will be able to see a positive growth again this year.” Irene added.

Abd Halim Haji Abd Rahman, Sales & Marketing Manager, Abacus Brunei explained “There will be seven Abacus Brunei based travel agents participating in this travel fair connected to more than 40 Abacus terminals. This will help travel agents efficiently service visitors.”

He continued “The travel fair provides an excellent opportunity for Brunei-based travelers to shop for both overseas and local packages making it an event on the travel calendar not to be missed.”

Something to look forward to for Baiduri Bank customers

So what’s the catch this time?

Every booking or purchase made during the fair, customer has a chance to win Go Pro HERO3 (1 set) and Momax iPower S2C Powerbank (2 sets). Additional 2 chances for Baiduri Bank cardholders who make payment using any Baiduri Bank debit/credit card.

Exclusive gift from Abacus and Baiduri for the 1st 100 customers who purchase and make payment using Baiduri Bank debit or credit cards with minimum purchase of B$1000.

Return Economy Class Air ticket sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines:

1) Two air tickets to Saigon to be won by two winners (1 ticket each winner)

2) Two air tickets to Denpasar, Bali to be won by two winners (1 ticket each winner)

3) Grand draw – Two air tickets to London to be won by one winner

Return Economy Class Air ticket from Hong Kong to Beijing sponsored by Cathay Pacific

Sellers under Tourism Malaysia pavilion: Sarawak Tourism Board, Sanrio Hello Kitty Town & The Little Big Club, Mahkota Medical Centre, Imperial Hotel, Miri, Imperial Palace Hotel, Miri Marriott Resort & Spa, Grand Palace Hotel, Miri, Chanteek Borneo Gallery and PNB Darby Park Executive Suites.

 

The Jerudong Park Medical Centre is offering an attractive promotion for professional teeth whitening treatment valued at BND799 (Usual price is BND1000) with free initial consultation. This promotion will run from 15 September to 15 November 2014 and can be redeemed till 30 December 2014.

This was announced at a press conference by Ak Danny Pg Tajuddin, the Marketing Officer, and Dr Ravi Pai, Consultant Endodontist and Head of Dental Department of JPMC. Also present was Dr Dharma Rai, Consultant Prosthodontist at JPMC.

“Oral health makes a huge presence in our lives especially in our simple daily activities. With our promotion, it can help to enhance the whiteness of your teeth in just a single visit to our Dental Clinic”, mentioned Ak Danny Pg Tajuddin, the Marketing Officer of JPMC.

“Professional In-office Teeth Whitening Procedure is the quickest way to whiten teeth under carefully monitored conditions which allow for the safe, controlled use of whitening gel – yielding results that are visible immediately”, stated Dr Ravi Pai, Consultant Endodontist and Head of Dental Department of JPMC.

Teeth discoloration is caused by natural darkening and yellowing as people age, drinking tea, coffee or fizzy drinks, natural and artificial food colorings, smoking and tobacco stains.

Ak Danny Pg Tajuddin, the Marketing Officer of JPMC, Dr Ravi Pai, Consultant Endodontist and Head of Dental Department of JPMC and Dr Dharma Rai, Consultant Prosthodontist at JPMC

An appointment is required for the treatment, where patients are advised to come 15 minutes earlier prior to the appointment time. Before deciding whether teeth whitening is suitable for the patient, the dentist will first conduct a comprehensive examination of their teeth and gums to ensure proper teeth healthcare which is free during the promotion period.

They will also consult on their oral hygiene and lifestyle habits to determine if they will benefit from the treatment. Patients with extensive dental work, expectant mothers and children below 16 years old are not recommended to go through the procedure.

The procedure takes up approximately 2 hours. Patient’s gums and mouth are first protected with isolation materials. The dentist will carefully apply the whitening gel to their teeth and uses a patented blue light to oxidize the gel during the procedure.

The procedure is normally painless; however a very small percentage of patients may experience a minor sensitivity during or after the procedure. A sensitivity relief gel will be used to tackle the sensitivity.

The teeth whitening treatment can last up to 2 years if the patient take care and maintain the brightness of their teeth.

JPMC’s Dental Clinic offers a comprehensive range of dental services such as orthodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, implantology, oral surgery, general dental procedures and more. The clinic is open every Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm and on Saturday from 8am to 12noon. For more information, please visit their website at www.jpmc.com.bn. You can call 261 1433 ext 2229/2114.

 

Bending the iPhone 6 Plus by Unbox Therapy

Bending the Galaxy Note 3 by Unbox Therapy

 

A Message from Liz: Hello Everyone, Liz here from “Time Out with Liz”

For this coming episode we have an amazing line up, as always, from lifestyle, food and the music facets of Brunei. I’m always working hard to find the trendy, current and inspiring people who are amongst us to share their stories with us. And believe me, they are everywhere! So hold on to your horses and be a part of the audience last Saturday of the month with me, yours truly, Liz.

Food

This time we have a mother and daughter trio who wanted to start something simply delicious, simply delectable and simply family. We bring you the owners of Ximply Chriz – meet Christina, Chee Lin and Jo Lin. Join me to find out more about the story behind Ximply Chriz and get front row seats to a food and coffee demonstration by the ladies.

Music

She was the youngest Brunei representative at the recent World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) 2014 and she came back with 5 medals and an Overall Division plaque for her original work. I get a chance to sit down with the talented Eden Chiam

Lifestyle

What would you do if you found out you have cancer?

4 years ago Jacqueline Teo was told she had two tumours in her head. The news brought this ultra- marathoner Jacqueline into depression and to the brink of suicide before her mother dragged her to a running track and ordered her to run again.

Today, she stands strong and is proud to say that she’s completed her 12th Marathon as at August 2014. So come on down to hear her story of struggle and survival.
Time Out with Liz brings you all these inspiring individuals to the stage this 27 September 2014 at kaleidoscope (Saffron) from 7-8.30pm. All you have to do is step 1 -book your seats by sending in your name and how many seats you would like to timeoutwithliz@gmail.com or Facebook message us at www.facebook.com/timeoutwithliz. Step 2- pay at the door. Step 3 – Be Inspired!

Ticket details

At the door $15 per person

Special Tickets for Ranoadidas fans/readers will be at $10 if you email us between today until 26 September 2014 and quote “I’m a Time Out and Rano Fan”

Eden Chiam

The inspirational Jacqueline Teo

Chee, Chris and Jo of Ximply Chriz