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Review of Annie 2014 starring Rano Iskandar with special guest Singapore blogger Tiffany Yong

 

With 2014 almost ending, I have to say that my year has been fabulous. Normally you will hear familiar things such as having a roller coaster year but if we do end of high note and feel at the present, very likely tend to forget the bad days and sum up the year to be much better than previous year. I haven’t been blogging as I’m currently taking time off for a bit and spending my holidays in Singapore to cap off another awesome year.

So how do I rate my 2014? Honestly it was one of the best years I had in many years. For many reasons but I won’t be sharing all my best moments with you, only some. Maybe the most exciting part for 2014 was able to travel to places like Seoul and Moscow. Well, I didn’t expect to fly to Moscow but Seoul was one of my sought places to travel. I would like to thank you Harley Davidson for bringing me to Seoul for and also to MOE and Bluebox Services for making my Russia trip possible. Where will 2015 bring me? For sure, I have set a date to fly to Manila and guess what? The Philippines is the only ASEAN country that I have yet to travel. Surprise, surprise.

This year, I also truly appreciative of my close friends and my new found ones. It’s true that the closer ones tend to be the most challenging ones because of the level of expectations I have on them. These expectations have been making my relationship with my buddies challenging for many years. Somehow, this year, I feel much lighter than before and I was able to feel much freedom rather than feeling suffocated with my negative thoughts (with having a thought that I’m not enough for them). This year, I’m truly grateful for my strong bonding relationship with my close buddies and you know who you are.

I can’t believe that I actually made it to Moscow, Russia, this year and it was an unexpected journey. This is one of the highlights of 2014 as I hardly travel to Europe and secondly, having a ICI document (passport for Brunei PRs), it will be tricky to travel to European countries.

Since the first picture was taken at Burger King Moscow, let me share with you my favourite snack of 2014 – Burger King’s Taro Pie. Not the one that Gladys is biting but the one on her left hand 😀 Did you know Taro Pie was sold out? But I’m glad it was re-stocked to the delight of Burger King fans.

My other highlight was my Seoul trip back in May 2014. I was happy that Harley Davidson chose me to represent the social media for Brunei. In this picture, Alice and I were at the Trick Eye Museum (adult version) in Seoul.

We had a mini dress up competition at Harley Davidson Headquarters at Seoul. This is the first time I bumped into Malaysian celebrity Michele Lee, a presenter of Football Overload.

One of the reasons I’ve been flying out is for the personal growth workshop sessions I have been attending which has been ongoing for many years. The best part of this journey is rediscovering the strengths in terms of my mental and emotional state. Sometimes you will never know what kind of breakthroughs you will have along the way and I’m blessed to have a great environment around me and mixing with the right crowd too. I’ve never seen the core team so committed with their vision of empowering and making this world a better place to live.

Who would have thought my love for toastmasters grown so immensely after rejoining back as a member after a three year hiatus? Of course, all of this was reignited by my close buddy but along the way, I found my core value within myself as a toastmaster and that is to contribute and be a better leader. People who are not aware will think that toastmasters are just platform for good speakers. It’s more than just that. It’s to nurture and give the members and guests a chance to learn something about public speaking at all levels from beginners to advanced speakers.

Speaking of toastmasters, I’m totally impressed with one of my friends, Amran, who has improved immensely as a speaker and a leader and he is a truly a role model for many. He unexpectedly won also his first Table Topics last week and for someone who was so shy to speak in public last year, we have seen such tremendous change. One of my best highlights of 2014 was my mid-year trip to Kuala Lumpur for the Toastmasters International Convention to witness one of our members of Brunei Speakers’ Club to represent our club and District 87 in the International Speech Contest finals. Awesome!!!!! My aim next year to join the contest for International Speech category. This year, I managed to bag 3rd place in the Speech Evaluation Contest *surprised* while I gained experienced in the Humourous Speech Contest.

For the first time in many years, I enjoyed this year’s summer movies as compared to previous years. From Godzilla to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to Guardian of the Galaxy and finishing off with one of the biggest blockbuster for Bruneil, Yasmine the movie, locally produced by Origin Films. Yes, I’m a movie buff and my love for movie will hardly fade away. I’m also happy that my podcast movie review has been a success for this year and for those, who have been listening and downloading the podcast, thank you so much. The popular podcasts for The Popcorn Panel for 2014 is Yasmine (almost 1,000 listened), Big Hero 6 (650) and Transformers 4 (580). Because of The Popcorn Panel, you will hardly see a written movie review on my blog. I shall be blogging more on my reviews by next year so you will have two mediums of my actual review of the movies. Overall, a great movie experience for 2014. Do watch out for my Top 10 movies of 2014 early in January 2015.

This year, I met a bunch of new friends during my travels. Though English is a language for them but we still managed to converse. Life is full of unexpected beginnings.

What more can I say? We all cross path back in 2009 and it was always great to look back at older pictures and remind what great friendship I have made with my friends. Though Winnie has left for Penang, the friendship still remains solid.

Toastmasters is another avenue to learn and grow as a leader and also support one another in a conducive environment. These are my toastmasters buddies and this was taken during the Toastmasters International Convention 2014 in Kuala Lumpur. One of the top 3 highlights of my 2014 indeed.

After slacking off in Year 2011 for Toastmasters, I rejoined back in June 2014 and began doing my speeches. This was my third speech manual (CC3) which was entitled “The Art of Showmanship” where I impersonated The Rock and talked about how much of an entertainment WWE (or wrestling) is.

Early in March, I went to Singapore to catch both Hollywood stars starring in The Amazing Spider-man to promote Earth Hour in Singapore. This shows how much I’m a big fan of movies and I even had the privilege to catch a special preview screening of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in Singapore.

My love for WWE might have faded. Maybe because the WWE universe isn’t as exciting as before. My urge to catch RAW on Tuesday also has faded. Regardless of my less interest in WWE, I was more than excited to catch WWE Live in Kuala Lumpur. Ironically I had an invitation to catch John Cena live during a press conference and I’m not much of a John Cena fan. I managed to ask a question to him personally with regards to the title achievement in comparison with Ric Flair. The overall experience was awesome because I finally get up close and personal to a WWE Superstar. The wrestling show itself was full of adrenalin and that is purely due to the engaging crowd at Indoor Stadium. Let’s hope for another WWE in Asia and I won’t mind booking another flight to catch one.

Finally, to finish off a wonderful 2014 is my renovated room which has been so messy and old-school for the past 20 years. I didn’t spend that much on the renovation but more on spending on new furniture such as my single bed (though it has yet to be assembled in my room lol) and I have a new wardrobe area. The only item that hasn’t been completed is the extension of my bedroom to another room (office area). The new feel has made my environment more conducive and I feel so much better that I don’t have the feeling of suffocating and constrained. The extra space in my room does make a difference and I feel much more like home. There are still a few tweaking to do here and there. Other than that, I’m more than happy of my current room. Maybe you can try and renovate your room and see how your energy will be for the next few months. Oh, by the way, I dispelled the rumours that people thought I was gonna get married just because I was renovating my room.

There are many more I wanna share and I shall leave it for here. I won’t be recapping my 2014 in monthly formats but I will be highlighting the happenings in general and how it has impacted the country and myself overall. Thank you for all my friends who have been the change agent in my life. My advice: Always focus on the positive aspect of your journey while those negative ones, well, either you change your perspective of your thoughts or simply ignore the negative (though that’s tough as we are human beings).

Too surreal to be true.. I was only yards away from WWE Superstar John Cena who paid a visit to Kuala Lumpur back in August. Thank you so much for the opportunity though I didn’t like his guts so much but he does have important values such as supporting the breast cancer awareness campaign.

Though my room is incomplete in terms of renovation, the newly look has made me feel much more lighter and I feel more energized whenever I wake up or do my work. So do renovate your room because it can make a difference energy wise and a much more conducive environment.

 

Check out the C Class at Jati Transport Showroom

 

Things I learnt about Russia during my short visit. I still can’t believe that I made it to Russia despite holding an ICI document (my passport as a PR of Brunei). Knowing that countries like Dubai and Vietnam don’t recognize our ICI document, I was worried if I would trouble in Russia. It’s a great thing that there’s a Brunei Embassy in Moscow which helped us in a lot of ways. My only regret is not staying a few days longer in Moscow after my work duty. I would have stayed longer if it wasn’t for my upcoming Cambodia trip this weekend.

Anyway, below are just some short pointers during my 5 days experience in Sochi and Moscow but more in Sochi, Russia. I shall be updating and editing this content from time to time.

The Brunei delegates representing at the World Robot Olympiad 2014 led by Satinah binti Hj Abang, Student Officer of Science Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre. This photo was taken at Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia.

• It’s a freaking huge country that you will need to take nine hours to fly from Moscow to Vladivostok (furthest end of Russia) according to His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim, the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Russian Federation. It has a population of 144 million and it is the largest country in the world though China still holds the biggest population in the world.

• Moscow, the capital city of Russia but I spent more of my time in Sochi which is two hours away by flight. Moscow is way more happening than Sochi.

• The area we stayed in near Olympic Park is where the Sochi Winter Olympics 2014 took place as well as the Russian F1 Grand Prix. However, after the big events, the Olympic Park area is like a ghost town which reminds me of BSB after business working hours.

• Not many of them speak the English language so communication can be very difficult. We were lucky that the Brunei Embassy has Natasha/Natalia who is the Embassy’s translator and she does help a lot especially when it comes to checking in the hotel as well as at the airport.

• Do watch for fraudulent taxis and we tourists are already being warned with signages at the baggage claim area of the Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow. For instance, the taxi driver will give you a flat rate then upon arrival of your destination (hotel), you will be charged extra because of the number of luggages you bring or the type of taxi you used or the distanced traveled. Just do look out for the official taxi driver tags that they wear.

• You are not allowed to sit down on the floor at the airport. That’s understandable. But I was told off even when I was just sitting down on my luggage. The security told me to find a proper seating area to sit down.

• It’s encouraged to pay with their local currency, Rubles, and not in Euro or USD. Unless you are at the airport area, they accept both Euro and USD. Apparently, there is an ATM machine that helps to change your Euro or USD notes to Rubles. If you look out for the green coloured machines, that’s the one and it has English instructions.

• The drivers are pretty aggressive in terms of speed. I came across a few ones that would simply drive fast in the hotel area and brake promptly at the entrance of the hotel.

• Though I didn’t get to venture out at Moscow, the traffic congestion is one of the worst according to Hanafi. The peak hours starts from 7am to ……. 10pm *lol* Apparently, for the Russians, the traffic flow currently is considered a huge improvement from many years. So I can’t imagine how it was like back then.

• The magazines and books are all in Russian language. I couldn’t find anything written in English.

• Sochi Town is slightly backwards compared to Moscow. I ventured around and most of the shops reminds me of the early 90s era in terms of clothing and infrastructure of the shops. Yes, they are slightly old school stuff. I couldn’t even find an international brand and closest one I came across is the McDonald’s brand.

• My train experience was interesting. I caught the train from Olympic Park (Sochi) to Sochi City which was an hour’s ride. The train doesn’t go as fast as SMRT (Singapore). I’m surprised the train is pretty well maintained and clean too surprisingly. In the train, there was this person pushing a drinking trolley where you can buy canned drinks or hot ones. Interesting. Oh, at each stop of the journey, there will have announcements of the particular stop in English which I truly appreciate.

• They have many roundabouts at Olympic Park area (Sochi). Apparently, instead of having junctions, they use roundabouts. I remembered, during one of our bus trips, the driver didn’t go across the road to enter our destination but instead making one big round just to go to the other side of the road because that particular road has a double line.

• The roadblocks are carried out at the exit of the roadblocks. The policemen don’t use cones or signs like we do in Brunei. The policemen will use their batons to signal the drivers to pull over. I just find it weird they carry out their duties at the roundabout.

• I mentioned before that the drivers are aggressive. Well, that’s one reason why accidents are quite a norm in Moscow and plus they can claim their insurance within a week. This is also another reason why the roads are congested causing long traffic jams.

• The immigration does take a long time sometimes. If you are lucky, it won’t have to wait. The immigration officers will check your passport thoroughly. I’m always the worried type since I’m holding an ICI document (like a passport) since I’m a PR of Brunei Darussalam. So if you bumped into a rookie or newbie immigration officer, do have some patience. We are fortunate that we have a Brunei Embassy in Russia and the Russian Federation does recognized our ICI document as means of passport.

• The time difference between Moscow/Sochi and Brunei is 5 hours. I would have thought it will be similar to the UK (8 hours). So Moscow is 5 hours behind Brunei.

• You can get a simcard for Data which I did – Megafon. It costs about 300 Rubles ($10) which comes together with the sim card and 5 gig of data. The only set back is that when I bought my sim card at Sochi, it doesn’t seem to work universally when I reached Moscow. Maybe it’s the settings. I’m not pretty sure.

• The airports in Moscow and Sochi provide free Wifi unlike the ones in Dubai International Airport unless you go to McDonald’s to get free Wifi.

• The popular souvenirs are the doll known as Matryoshka and also Sochi Winter Olympics merchandises.

• I never tried bargaining because 1) the language barrier 2) the Russians have this uninviting presence that you will think twice about bargaining *lol*

• Their trademark car is Lada, a local car in Russia which is like their Proton version. I still saw some Japanese and Korean cars too on the road. I even come across a silver Santa Fe, just like mine 😀

• The Russians use more iPhones as compared to Samsung.

• Though Whatsapp is common everywhere else in the world but not for the Russians. Instead they use Viber to text and they only check Whatsapp once in a while.

• In terms of social networking, Russia have two popular local ones – Odnoklassniki and VK (originally known as VKontakte). Facebook is still huge but it’s losing traction against VK as of late. Instagram is also huge in Russia and thanks to the fashion bloggers, and public personalities. The only difficulty for me is understanding the Russian written language on their social network.

Zaitun binti Mohidin, spouse to the Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim, Brunei Ambassador to the Russian Federation, receiving a memento from Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School as a token of appreciation to the Ambassador for the hospitality provided during our stay in Moscow and Sochi, Russia. She’s a former geography teacher in STPRI and also had a short teaching stint in SMJA. She welcomes any Bruneian to pay a visit in Moscow and she will show you all the places of interest too. Thank you for hosting us breakfast and you are down-to-earth person.

I was told off not to sit on the luggage by the airport personnel on duty. Interesting.

This was the furthest I set my foot in Moscow…. outside the Domodedovo International Airport… boohoo.. Maybe on my next trip to Russia.

This is the Burger King in Russia. Too bad they don’t serve taro pie at all.

Their flagship car is Lada. This is the older model and it is still prominent in Russia. Of course, they have much more modern types but still have that classic feel.

The road blocks are conducted at the roundabout area

This is a typical Russian souvenir, a Matryoshka doll

 

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Representing the team from Brunei from Sungai Tali Primary School and Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School with their coaches and Satinah binti Hj Abang, Student Officer of Science Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre.

After entering the competition for the sixth time, Brunei finally made it to the Top 10 of the Open Category for Secondary Level. That team is a group of students from Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School with their team project “Robotlifter”.

Though Brunei went back empty handed, the spirit of the students were not dampened. They really had a great time and all of them didn’t expect to fly all the way to Russia to represent Brunei in the World Robot Olympiad in Sochi, Russia. They braved the cold (of Russia), the jet lag from flying and they did the best they could do with the resources given.

Brunei definitely has potential to break into the Top 3 with more competition and exposure such as participation in WRO. The next event will be hosted in Qatar in 2015 and funnily enough, they didn’t announce the following host for the year 2016.

Brunei’s participation in Qatar 2015 looks promising and I do hope this can spur more schools and students to join the Brunei Robotics Olympiad next year and you can stand a chance to represent your school in Qatar WRO 2015. The idea here is not just to represent Brunei but learn and gain more exposure and with this repeating behaviour, everything will come naturally for Bruneians and a bigger chance to break the Top 3 benchmark.

When I saw the students from Brunei did their presentation and Q&A sessions, I believe we can actually go pretty far with more resources and proper training. I salute the kids for their courage and able to speak to the public while showcasing their project.

It was also my first time experiencing how WRO was bring run and this event was no easy feat. The organisers had mixed feedback with regards to the handling issues and our LO for the Brunei team kept on changing and their English wasn’t that bad.

Hence, it made me realised how much effort the Brunei Embassy to the Russian Federation they offered to the Brunei delegate so everything would be smooth sailing. On behalf of the Brunei delegates, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Brunei Embassy especially His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim, the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Russian Federation, for continuously giving us support in terms of logistics and hospitality. It was also nice of him to drop the Olympic Park every day to give moral support to the kids at their booths.

A big thank you also to the Hanafi, Pg Madihi and Natalia for helping us during our stay in Moscow and especially Sochi in the past few days. It really made our trip less of a burden and I truly appreciate the kindness and dedication from the Brunei Embassy there. Thumbs up!!

As for the students, don’t be disappointed by the result and I’m very proud that all of you made it to Russia and gave your best against 49 countries. I’m pretty sure the Ministry of Education will be pleased with Brunei’s effort for making it to the Top 10 in WRO’s history. I also hope that sponsors will come along as well to help potential students for next year’s WRO in Qatar 2015.

His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim, the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Russian Federation watching the Regular competition at the World Robot Olympiad 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Thank you so much for your support and the hospitality to the Brunei delegates.

The students also managed to get their jacket signed by the Russian volunteers. All of them wore orange sweaters uniform.

Selfies with the Russians

Political move by China as they wanted Taiwan to lower down their flag and the Chinese team withdraw from the competition.

The robot made of orange.

The Gen II Robot finals between Thailand and …. Thailandd

His Excellency attending the closing ceremony which was slightly disorganised in my opinion especially coming from Russia

The Russian in green is bilingual

The Brunei Team waiting for the closing ceremony and the results

I shall see you next time, Rosmanov (Well, that’s not her name but I just feel like calling her that)

The Russian tradition with the weight bars

Host nation Russia didn’t manage to win any category but made the podium on some categories

Team Malaysia, Team Thailand and Team Taiwan dominated the World Robot Olympiad 2014 with a few gold and silver medals

 

The Century Run

Baiduri Bank introduced a new campaign to celebrate with their customers and educate them on how their products and services revolve around them and everything they do at every stage and step of the way – whether it’s getting his or her first car or setting up their own businesses or building their first home or planning their wedding or their first job or first child or even when u are just enjoying everyday life.

It’s U at the centre of Baiduri Bank because U are the centre of everything we do.

 

His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim, the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Russian Federation with the delegates from Brunei for the World Robot Olympiad 2014 at the Olympic Park, Sochi, Russia on the 21st November evening.

His Excellency as one of the special guests during the opening ceremony of WRO 2014

The first day of the World Robot Olympiad 2014 was mostly setting up and gearing for the judging day which fell on the second day. The opening ceremony was also held on the evening of the first day at the Sochi Olympic Park.

It was also a privilege that His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim, the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Russian Federation was invited as one of the special guests for the opening ceremony.

I’m pretty amazed with this event and it was my first time witnessing a world wide scale as I was already familiar with Brunei Robotics Olympic competition. This kinda reminds me of the World Cup where you compete among the best and to have Brunei to be part of this event alone is very encouraging and I do hope the students did their best and have fun at the same time.

Judging from their props and set up, it was nice to see students and coaches taking this competition very, very seriously. Well, sometimes, overdoing something might not be an ideal formula to win just as long your ideas and prototype do make sense. And yes, I notice the different judges have different opinions and perceptions on things and they can simply ask questions that are too complex for the students to understand.

Yesterday was already the presentation and judging period but the final day will determine who have the higher chances of winning as the shortlisted ones will be asked to carry out another presentation to the judges for the final assessment.

All the best to the Brunei team and I do hope we can bring more teams from Brunei Darussalam because this program is not just educational but also brings out a more positive character from the individual.

It was a full house affair using an open space concept

Students from Sungai Tali holding the Brunei flag on stage

What supposed to be a half an hour opening turned out to be longer but the opening didn’t look that grand but just nice. I kinda expected more coming from Russia.

The lady usher for the VIP that evening and I managed to take a selfie with her #score

This is the following day (2nd day of the event) which is the crucial part of WRO 2014 as the presentation and judging took place and it will determine who will be shortlisted for the finals.

I have to salute to many of the students as they are really full on gear for the presentation of their respective projects

Students from Thailand using their traditional clothes

Team Brunei with its project “Robotlifter” from Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School getting ready for their project

Nina explaining to the judge of their project

I’m proud of the students from Brunei. We do have potential and let’s start working for next year’s WRO in Qatar 2015 😀

Good to see kids taking photos with one another

The Japanese have great vocal for their presentation

Somehow the guy on the right reminds me of Scott Cassell

Interesting chair

These kids are really determined

Brunei didn’t send anyone for this particular category. Hopefully by next year or so.

The huddle from the Philippines. This project must have meant a lot to them.

 

His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim, the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Russian Federation (5th from left) with the Brunei delegates who will competing in the World Robot Olympiad 2014 (WRO) at Sochi International Airport, Russia. Click image to enlarge.

Finally, after 30 hours of traveling and transiting, I managed to check in to my room for the next few nights in Sochi, Russia. I didn’t expect to fly to Europe in 2014 and sometimes life is just amazing especially when you least expected it. I had mixed feelings about flying to Russia because 1) it’s just too far 2) my PR status but once I landed safely and passed the Russian immigration, my mood started to shift and appreciate the moment that I’m actually physically in Russia.

My trip is being sponsored for the coverage of Brunei’s involvement in the World Robot Olympiad 2014 which is being held in Sochi, Russia. Some of you might recall the Sochi Winter Games that took place a few months ago. Initially, the WRO event was supposed to be held at Moscow, Russia but only announced the change of venue a few months ago. Next year Qatar will be the host for WRO 2015 and we are hoping that Brunei, one day, will host this prestigious event.

A big thank you to the Brunei Embassy in Russia for helping us with the logistics especially in Moscow (transiting) and Sochi (upon arrival). It was nice to see the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Russia, His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim who has been serving for the past two years as the Ambassador. He welcomed the Brunei delegates at Sochi International Airport (Международный Аэропорт Сочи) and thank you so much for arranging the transportation and checking in for us last night. The process would have been longer without your assistance.

For those heading to Moscow or parts of Russia, you can contact the embassy at moscow.russia(a)mfa.gov.bn or brunei.moscow(a)gmail.com or call (+7) 495 783 1926/7 and they are quite helpful too. I also realised that Russians don’t speak much English so communication can be an issue unless if it’s in the airport or hotel, then you will be fine. Once you step outside, it’s a different ball game. Even the Ambassador said that there are many steps to understand and learn the Russian language and even the Russians understanding of English is different from ours which can lead to miscommunication. We’ll see how it goes in the next few days but I’m quite excited to be in Russia and perhaps, do a bit of exploring.

The Brunei students will be preparing their respective projects this morning at the Exhibition Media Complex, Sochi which just a walking distance from the hotel we are staying (Azimut Hotel Resort & Spa). For your info, Sochi time zone is only 5 hours behind from Brunei time.

I shall update the progress on my instagram @ranoadidas and that’s a faster way for parents/families and their friends to keep up to date on the happenings of our Brunei representatives in the World Robot Olympiad 2014. I wish the students the best and a big shoutout to one of the students, Nur Amni Amanina binti Hj Narudin, who celebrated her birthday yesterday (by flying for 27 hours huhu).

Thank you once again, His Excellency Haji Haini bin Haji Hashim and his team from the Brunei Embassy in Russia for assisting us and also to our organiser, Hjh Faridah and Satinah Hj Abg for guiding us from Brunei to Sochi.

My first selfie in Russia #priority #chanceofalifetime

Thank you, Hanafi from the Brunei Embassy for assisting us during our 3 hour transit in Moscow Domodedovo Airport. It wasn’t easy to get around due to most of the language written is in Russian.

A tip when you arrive in Moscow. Watch out for the fraudulent taxi drivers. They will give a fixed fee then later on, they will add more charges due to the number of luggage you bring or the size of the taxi and so on. So you might be paying double the amount.

The Malaysian contingent is bring quite a few participants

A tired Nina after 27 hours of flying. Happy belated, Nina 😀 She celebrated her birthday flying here and there and it was nice of the immigration officer at Sochi to greet her before chopping her passport.

Thank Natalia who helped with our checking in at Azimut Hotel Resort & Spa. More pictures of the hotel later.

Faridah and Satinah sorting out the rooms for the Brunei delegate

Azimut Hotel is a full house due to the participants for the WRO event. Awesome!!

 

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Sarimah Abu Bakar, Acting Head of STEP (right) with the Brunei delegates who will participate in the World Robot Olympiad 2014 in Sochi, Russia, accompanied by teachers, a judge and an LO at the Brunei International Airport.

This is the 6th time that Brunei is participating in the World Robot Olympiad and this year, Sochi, Russia, will be hosting the competition. Our Brunei contingent will be competing in two categories and they will be represented by Sungai Tali Primary School and Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School.

How they were selected to represent Brunei was when they won this year’s Brunei Robotics Olympiad a few months ago. One of the winners was team SIERRA SIERRA, a group of students ( Naimatul Basirah binti Haji Aliuddin and Nur Amni Amanina binti Hj Narudin) from the Sungai Tali Primary School led by Ronny bin Puasa, their teacher. They developed Agrospace, a portable autonomous space farm that supplies food to astronauts, an alternative solution to costly food for space flights. Interesting!!

Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School will represent the Secondary level and they are represented by team SMSUA TECH-NOBOT. Their project is called Robotlifter. The students presenting are Nor Muthiah binti Esa, Izzah Haziqah binti Hj Chuchu and Ummi Nur Su’aidah binti Sufrain which are led by Radzuan bin Hj Chuchu, their teacher.

The delegation is led by Satinah binti Hj Abang, Student Officer of Science Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre. Also part of the delegation is Ameliana binti A. Embran (Vokasional Nakhoda Ragam School) who will be a judge in the World Robot Olympiad 2014.

Brunei has been participating in 6 WRO competitions (Singapore 2004, Thailand 2005, China 2006, Malaysia 2012, Indonesia 2013). So it’s pretty good to know that Brunei is participating for this year’s competition. This will give more exposure to Brunei Darussalam especially for the students as well as the opportunity for Brunei to host the WRO in the near future.

Families and friends dropped by the airport to send off the participants. Also sending them off is Sarimah Abu Bakar, Acting Head of STEP.

I’m quite fortunate to be tagged along for the competition as the official social media for their progress in Sochi, Russia. A big thank you to the Ministry of Education, Russian Embassy (for the visa) and of course, Faridah, for this golden opportunity.

I shall be posting more pictures on my instagram and we are currently in Dubai International Hotel (hotel transit) before departing to Moscow. We have an 8 hour wait though. Boohoo. More updates soon. Till then, have a great day!!

Prayers before taking off to the first leg of the trip

It has been a while since I have been on a Dreamliner 😀

Getting our boarding passes for Moscow and Sochi. Yay, we are flying on Emirates

I forgot his name but he was quite helpful and he works for the Brunei Embassy at Abu Dhabi

Our official jacket is green

It’s good to see parents coming down to support

Heading to our transit hotel

Radzuan coordinating with the students

The Dubai International Hotel we are bunking in for the next few hours before flying off

Back in September when team SIERRA SIERRA from Sungai Tali Primary School won in the primary category in the Brunei Robotics Olympiad. Image courtesy of The Brunei Times.