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

 

Unveiling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

So what’s my first impression? Definitely getting one for myself. But not the iPhone 6 Plus just yet. My primary target is the iPhone 6 and I must say that though the features are not as innovative as we expected from Apple but it’s a massive improvement from the previous model iPhone 5s.

Their motto “Bigger Than Bigger” says it all. I’m not sure how many of you stayed up to watch the Key Note address by team Apple but they always know how to put on a great show and I’m pretty sure some followed the announcement last night. I remember Debbie Too’s rant on previous announcements or key notes made by Tim Cook were pretty disappointing when iPhone 5 and 5s were announced back then. This is because we always expected some thing better or some thing more innovative from Apple but most of the time it’s just an enhancement from the previous model.

This time round I can safely say that this announcement a few hours ago is also just enhancements of the iPhone 5s hence the motto “Bigger than Bigger”. The screen has increased by 0.7 inches but sadly the screen is not a sapphire-protected screen but uses an ion-strengthened display.

The iPhone 6 is thinner than the 5s so it feels like an air version of the 5s. Now what’s impressive about the iPhone 6 is the camera. Though it still stick to the 8MP sensor, it packs a bigger pixels with detection focus which will result in snappier shots. Even now the camera is able to record at a super slow-motion video at 240fps as compared to the previous model. Awesome!!! This will give me some ideas for my IG videos in the near future too. Can’t wait.

Battery life, well, of course it has improved but not significantly better. I believe it just improved by an hour or so which still comes in handy. Graphics wise its 50% more powerful than the 5s and the new A8 processor is 25% faster than the iPhone 5s’ A7 chip.

Now with the iPhone 6, you are able to use Apple Pay which turns your phone into an e-wallet and you can store all your credit cards inside your phone and yet it is fully secured as it only detects the owner’s fingerprint to make payment. Neat stuff there.

The best part about the iPhone 6, for me, is the storage size options. They have finally introduced the 128GB version for both iPhone 6 and 6 Plus but they have scrapped off the 32GB option entirely. So now both iPhones will come in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB.

The price is out already and you can pre-order from the Apple website. I just checked from Singapore Apple website that you can start your pre-orders on 12th September 2014. You can click here for more details.

Prices for iPhone 6: 16GB $988, 64GB $1,148 and 128GB $1,288

Prices for iPhone 6 Plus: 16GB $1,1148, 64GB $1,288 and 128GB $1,448

Sorry, I didn’t talk much about the iPhone 6 Plus because I’m more interested in the iPhone 6 instead 😀 The images taken from the screen shots of Apple.com

Improved battery life, camera and processor

Improved camera as usual on every announcement

The new processor A8 chip

The different sizes of the iPhones so far

You can start pre-ordering by Friday 😀

Now next is the Apple Watch. Yes, people might be ranting that the Pebble watch came in first and Samsung also introduced their own first of a smart watch. But hey, Apple has hit the mark this time by making the watch pretty sleek and innovative at the same time. Judging from the key note presentation, the Apple Watch will be a big hit among consumers and I don’t know where to start with the Apple Watch. It seems revolutionary and the things the watch is able to do is quite interesting.

I just love how the interface works on the Apple Watch and though the screen is small (since it’s a watch), it still able to make the interface user friendly and the dial of the Appel Watch called the “crown” makes navigation much simpler. I guess it is true what Tim Cook said last night that this is the most personal Apple product to date and it will have an impact on our daily lives.

The thing is I don’t sport a watch apart from the Garmin watch if I do my runs. I’m not a watch person even. But with this interesting Apple Watch, I might have a change of heart of wearing a watch. However, the Apple Watch will only be released early 2015.

I won’t be talking in depth about the Apple Watch but you can click here to find out more and what it does. Awesome!!