Happy new year, ladies and gentlemen. It’s only the third day of 2018 and I bet everyone’s trying to be in second gear. It has been a fruitful 2017 for myself and many moments those were my highlights. I shall just recapped them in no particular order. For the record, I hardly do any resolutions or milestones. It only works when you really set your intention and you mean it. Don’t just simply make resolutions that you will commit halfway or only in the first week of the year. Yea, I’ve been there and done that.

Business wise, it has been slightly turbulent but it has been encouraging at the same time. It has reminded me how it was when I started my blog as a business entity. 10 years ago, I changed the direction of my blog and now with the emergence of social media, the blog scene has demoted in favour of social media. The great thing is my social media presence has made my blog sustainable thanks to the power of Instagram. Sometimes I would ask myself what if instagram becomes less relevant or even Facebook per se in the next few years. We shall see what happens but it’s always important to keep up with the social trends to be relevant.

A shot with the members of the Royal Family. This was taken at the Royale Chulan Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the SEA Games in August 2017.

The Royal Shot. This was unexpected in terms of the number of likes I received for this photo alone. My average likes are normally from 200 to 300 likes. But this image caught so much attention that I hit the 10,000 likes barrier. Something I can never reached on a normal day. This shows how influential @tmski is on social media, locally and internationally. Sometimes I wonder how does he feel being in the limelight and being bombarded by his fans to take selfies. He is definitely a sporting person who is able to accommodate the wishes of his fans.

My separation with Maggi since October 2017. The struggle is real. So real. This was taken on Day 61 without consuming maggi curry.

The Divorce with Maggi? It’s getting there. Now it’s Day 92 with out having to eat my favourite maggi curry or any instant noodles. This was my mini resolution in October because of my health scare where my blood pressure hit its highest (almost 160). The doctor has advised me to cut down on salt and I finally realised that my daily consumption on maggi curry has done the damage. Yes, it has high sodium content and packed with MSG. So how do I deal with it? With difficulty because it has been 30 years and running that I ate maggi curry. It came to a point that my body has reached its toll. The health scare happened before I boarded a flight in October. In the end, I canceled my trip for the love of my health which also means to sacrifice what I craved for. I created a 100 day challenge and now with a few days left, what would I do? Let’s wait and see. At least, I know that my BP is back to normal. Phew!!!

Finally, it’s surreal that I’m back in the holy land of Makkah and Madinah. Sometimes it’s hard to describe the feeling. You have to be there to experience and you will know what I mean. This was taken in December 2017.

Umrah with At-Taqwa. One of the best memories and highlight for me in 2017 and a huge thanks for At-Taqwa Travel and Tours for making this trip possible for me. I was a bit scared in the beginning because of my health condition (BP). It was a good thing that I remained positive to counter those negative thoughts and Alhamdulillah, that I managed to complete my umrah trip in good health. I also loved the service and hospitality provided by At-Taqwa Travel & Tours and many have shared the same sentiments. Of course, I really missed the holy lands especially Madinah. I hope to be there one day again. InsyaAllah.

Coldplay concert “Pocket full of dreams” was so liiiitttttttt!!!!!!! Both Jolene and I had a great time at the gig.

My first taste of Coldplay. I have been wanting to catch Coldplay for a long, long time. I missed the first two concerts in Singapore until this year in March 2017. This was the best concert I’ve been to because of a different experience delivered by Coldplay. It’s not just the music but the atmosphere, the confetti, the wristband lights, the set up, the huge ass balloons. It was just a phenomenal experience. I have seen many concerts and gigs and Coldplay’s concert was by far the best I’ve experienced as a concert goer. I want more!!!!

TO BE CONTINUED

The balloons hit during the “Adventure of a Lifetime” song

Amazing lighting and atmosphere. Thank you, Coldplay

My oh my… It has been a while since I attended a concert. My last was Pitbull gig in Singapore. Yea that was fun and he was a great entertainer during his 2013 Global Warming Tour and merely a 5,000 crowd attendance. I heard that he will be back again in Singapore of Climate Change tour this coming May.

Fast forward to 2017, Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams tour was my next concert. Yea, I missed out Guns N’ Roses gig in Singapore last February but i heard mixed reviews due to the logistics, the venue as well as the sound system.

It was totally opposite for Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams tour held at the enormous Singapore National Stadium last weekend. I was worried if there was no shelter but I didn’t know that stadium has a retractable roof and it worked to great effect.

Jolene Law and I were fortunate enough to attend the first ever gig by Coldplay for the year 2017 and of course, the few familiar faces from Brunei who made it for Coldplay. The attraction was just tremendous. Coldplay first gig was back in Singapore, 2006 at the Indoor Stadium for a 10,000 audience. Then back in 2009 with Coldplay’s Viva La Vida Tour with 12,000 fans and now (in 2017), it’s a different story with 100,000 fans altogether for two shows. What a huge jump and I can tell you why.

People queueing in as early as 6pm

The merchandise was selling like hotcakes. Each t-shirt costs around $50

Hello Sue, I hope you were awed with Coldplay.

One of the guys who were selling spare tickets and also merchandise. Apparently he sold them t-shirts for $20 each

The tickets are barcoded. Well, you just have to print them and enter. But once you go in, you can’t go out.

Jaymee was also one of those who flew from Brunei 😀

Hello Jolene and I hope you enjoyed your belated birthday gift. See you next time in Singapore.

We were totally impressed with the Coldplay experience

The strong 50,000 crowd after the concert ended.

Now there are a few reasons why Coldplay is the most electrifying concert that I’ve attended so far. It’s more than just a concert. It’s the whole wham bam experience.

1. Chris Martin is a great connector. The lead vocalist and the main person behind Coldplay was able to engage the audience with his movement on the stage and also during transitions between songs. Of course, the crowd was quite responsive and some were even in tears. He even joked about the humidity in Singapore as you can see his sweat dripping when he was passionately hitting the notes on the keyboard (Yea, we saw it on the gigantic screen lol). Chris was so uplifting from start to finish and the star of the show.

2. The LED wrist band. One thing was fans and not-so-big fans looking forward to Coldplay is the technicolour experience that you will enjoy from a Coldplay concert. The theme “A Head Full of Dreams” was fitting enough for fans to enjoy a euphoric feeling as we became awed with the random bright luminous colours from the electronically controlled wristband. The colours of the light will be in tuned with the songs and my favourite one would be the yellow/green moment.

3. The props and stage design. Yea, we might be seated at a restricted view as highlighted on the tickets. But we didn’t feel restricted at all. Ironically I loved the view as I was able to see the overall experience such as the confetti, the balloons and the laser light effects. The only setback would be the angle of the gigantic screen due to our seating position. But I ain’t complaining since it didn’t really bother me as much. The pyros, the confetti and the colourful balloons created a whole new experience as a concert goer. Those who paid more were privileged to experience the shower of confetti.

4. The sound. This has always been a big issue in other gigs such as Madonna and Guns N Roses. The acoustic was at its best (and I probably believed that there was a lot of planning in this). Speakers were not just on the main stage area but also around the arena. I missed the first song but I could hear it clearly with the vocal and music outside the arena. So imagine being one of concert goers inside the arena. Every single note from the musicians was noticeable among the 50,000 strong crowd and once you reach that almost perfect acoustic and sound, it will bring more energy to the crowd.

5. The crowd participation. Of course, with the help of the electronically coloured wrist band, it will make the audience waved their hands with the flow of the music. The fans can really make a difference to a concert experience and that night, it was one of the best I’ve been too. They were singing even though they don’t remember the whole lyrics (like me). Some were even so emotional because it felt so surreal. I had my moments of screaming because I felt quite high in energy. Coldplay + the crowd were a win-win situation and that made it ever more rewarding and fulfilling.

Overall, it was the best concert experience to date and it’s no surprise if tickets were sold out in other cities. The best moment for me was “A Sky Full of Stars” and “Up & Up”. I’m hoping to get another gig of theirs in the future. Even replaying the videos I shot still gives me the goosebumps. For now, I can say my dream has been fulfilled. Thank, Coldplay and Singapore. Verdict: 10/10