Call 221 222 for more details

To hardcore DPMM FC fans, Royal Brunei Airlines have came up with a special package for the upcoming match between DPMM FC and Home United FC on Thursday 19th April 2012. The fare is as low as $598 and also subject to availability as well.

The price stated is packaged with a hotel called Ibis Novena in Singapore. The price also include tickets to watch S-League match. There are other hotels listed but perhaps the price is slightly different. The hotels include Hotel Royal, Gallery Hotel, Peninsula Excelsior and Futama City Centre.

For more query and reservation, do contact RBA reservation 221 2222.

This is Ibis Hotel. Image courtesy of passportchop.com and you can click the image to read more of Ibis Hotel

The bragging right continues… Why? One reason is the emergence of instagram on Android platforms (finally) and these have brought some smiles to Android users where some were accustomed to mytubo and picplz which didn’t last long on their interest level.

Now that instagram is available on Android platform, there have been news that IOS users will switch to Androids because instagram is one of the reasons why they remain loyal to IOS *lol* Hence I said the bragging rights continue to which platform is better.

This morning I received a healthy amount of new followers on instagram in the wee hours and my bet is that they are Android platform users. Now they will be squabbles on which platform is better for instagram *lol* Let the tension begin..

Finally Android users can share the same joy as IOS users 😀

Sorry for ignorance and I never realised that there is a Newcastle supporters group in Brunei. According to my friend Azrul, they have around 40 members of Newcastle United Supporters Brunei (NUSB). For your info, Geordies are names given to Newcastle hardcore supporters.

NUSB are seeking for other Newcastle United supporters in the country. For those interested, you can contact through email azrul.zain(a)gmail.com

Picture taken during Newcastle United Supporters Brunei gathering during Newcastle 2-0 victory of Liverpool

Something to be excited about in WWE now after watching last night’s WWE RAW, a day after Wrestlemania. The Rock has a vision of winning back the WWE gold but I wonder how he’s gonna achieve that considering his Hollywood busy schedules and I’m sure his Hollywood agent won’t be pleased if he gets a lot of ring time which can jeopardise his career through unwanted injuries.

But the best part of last night was the return of Brock Lesnar who F5-ed John Cena out of the blue (or green) and stamped his return with such a huge roar from the Miami crowd. Now I wonder if Brock will be a face or a heel.. Now there’s more reason to look forward to WWE after some stale period.

Brock Lesnar marked his return by F5-ing John Cena

I missed this event back on 25th March as I was outstation then. Ultimate Frisbee is a new thing here in Brunei and they had a few mini tournaments along the way too. Last March, they organised a Ulti-Jim Frisbee tournament and it was a success and the most important thing was that everyone had fun. Judging from the pictures, it was surely fun. Thanks Steph for the photos and I hope you recover soon from your injury.

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam gave his official seal of approval for the new layout of Borneo Bulletin. His Majesty highlighted that the colour has changed which lightened the atmosphere. He also described the new layout, “very nice and something different”.

Few days ago, I uploaded some photos of the wee hours of the prints of the latest layout of Borneo Bulletin. I’m a regular reader of Borneo Bulletin and I have good relations with most of the reporters from Borneo Bulletin. Congratulations Borneo Bulletin on the new layout.

His Majesty and the Crown Prince with the Borneo Bulletin journalists and photographers

His Majesty browsing through the new version of Borneo Bulletin

This is the guy behind the hoax letter. Image taken from Brunei FM facebook page and a screenshot of RTB news

[Edited] Now who’s the culprit behind all this? So this evening we find out that this guy named Lakim Hj Md Noor is the mastermind behind all this. The story grabbed today’s headlines in Borneo Bulletin and The Brunei Times and apparently the hoax government letter was being circulated in social networking sites such as Facebook to warn others of such scam or hoax.

Around 45 women and 31 men from the 300 recipients provided statements to the police to assist with the investigation.

“I actually applied with the Municipal Department and a few other government offices last year,” said one of the women. “I went through the examination and I didn’t think much of the letter when I received it,” she explained and added that she is still employed with her private sector employer in Kuala Belait but was in the final process of resigning. “I’m actually starting to hand over my work to my replacement,” she said.

Some unlucky ones were instructed to hand over cash between $250 to $300 in order to secure a government position. Now this is really sad to whoever created this hoax and scam and ruining the careers of our own people. I believe this could be an inside job since some of the complains had applied to the Municipal Department a few years ago and the letters also contained their full names and identification which made the letter more legit to their eyes.

The fake letter was posted on a popular Facebook page “Brunei FM” which went viral from there onwards. For your info, Brunei FM fan page is not affiliated with fmBrunei Group of Companies. But it was good that Brunei FM fan page alerted the public on the hoax letter.

I do hope the authorities do catch the culprit asap and punished accordingly. [Source: Borneo Bulletin, The Brunei Times, Brunei FM].

The Fake Letter that many fell for.. Taken from Brunei FM Fan Page

Today’s headline at The Brunei Times

Today’s headline at Borneo Bulletin

I was disappointed with the previous two pay-per-views – Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber and I was a bit skeptical about WWE’s Wrestlemania.. There’s no Money in the Bank and the match between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan only last 2 seconds *lol*

Nonetheless the HHH vs Taker was pure classic and I have a huge respect for the Undertaker for pulling off another great show. He doesn’t wrestle as much as he only wrestles once a year for the past two to three years because of his age and body tolerance. This is one of the best matches I’ve seen for quite some time and this is enough to make my money’s worth for the PPV on Kristal Astro.

The other big match is between the two icons – John Cena vs The Rock. It’s not as spectacular as The Rock vs Hollywood Hogan but it was still entertaining from start to the end. I also had doubts of The Rock’s ring ability after his last wrestling performance was back in 2004. The Rock has still what it got in the ring though he was rusty at times. Loads of boos for JC as usual because Wrestlemania was held at The Rock’s home town, Miami.

I wished the other matches lived up to Wrestlemania’s expectations. Missing were Money in the Bank match and TLC matches. I would still give this a high rating though. Wrestlemania 28 verdict: 8/10

The Rock and Cena went head to head at Wrestlemania

The Rock looked a bit out of shape for a wrestler. I could see some flab from his tummy *lol*

Are you willing to take up this challenge?

There have loads of talks about interest in animation in Brunei alone. This is still an untapped industry in Brunei and I’m pretty sure quite a few Bruneians here are talented in this field of animation. We are living in the digital media age and AITI has come up with a competition or challenge known as the Pro-Digital Animation Challenge.

The digital media is paving more channels for new job opportunities, sustainable growth and economic diversification.

PURPOSE
The purpose of the Challenge is to source out local talents in the ICT-related industry to produce short digital animations that utilize digital technology in a creative and innovative way.

There are two themes for this Challenge: 1) Public awareness and education on ICT related topics such as, but not limited to, cyber security, internet etiquette, social media networking, or

2) Brunei Folklore such as any legends, myths, cultural values or history relating to Brunei Darussalam.

ELIGIBILITY
1) The competition is solely open to ICT businesses and production houses registered in Brunei Darussalam.

2) Participants must produce Brunei-made components, i.e. animations that are made, developed and produced wholly or partially in Brunei by Bruneians.

3) All submissions must adhere to either one of the themes of this Challenge.

PRIZES AND AWARDS
Three (3) best entries will be selected from the submissions and will receive a prize money of Ten Thousand Brunei Dollars (BND$10,000) each.

Out of the three (3) best entries, the judges will select the best of the best, who will be awarded with:
1) A grant of minimum Twenty Five Thousand Brunei Dollars (BND$25,000) to further develop their winning entry; and

2) Be eligible to participate in a mentorship program in order to gain opportunities to collaborate with international players in the field of digital media production.

So guys, what are you waiting for? Showcase your talent and we Bruneians can do it 😀

A timeline to guide for interested participants

You may have read in the papers with regards with the recent luxury cruise ship The Azamara Quest which suffered from a fire at the engine room and left the ship stranded off southern Philippines coast. The ship was safely docked at Sandakan port at Malaysia’s Sabah.

Royal Brunei Airlines and Department of Civil Aviation came into the picture yesterday as they combined their efforts to help chartered a few relief flights from Sandakan to Brunei and transiting to Singapore on the same day which is happening now as we speak. Some passengers from the cruise ship have flown to Singapore via BI421 at 9:15am this morning.

So thumbs up to @royalbruneiair and DCA for their involvement in transporting the passengers from Sandakan to Singapore via Brunei.

In this handout photo taken Saturday, March 31, 2012 and released Sunday, April 1, 2012 by the Philippine Air Force, the stricken cruise ship Azamara Quest is seen in the Sulu sea, southern Philippines. The cruise ship with 1,000 people on board that had drifted for 24 hours after being disabled by a fire was headed toward Malaysia following repairs and was expected to reach shore Sunday, the ship’s company said. PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE,HO — AP Photo

Passengers from the Azamara Quest are taken by bus from the port in Sandakan, Malaysia, Monday, April 2, 2012. The Azamara Quest carrying 590 passengers and 411 crew, was left a drift for 24-hours after a fire broke out in one of the ships engine rooms on Friday night. MARK BAKER — AP Photo

Earlier today, the U.S. Embassy’s Consular Officer was at the Brunei International Airport to extend assistance to American citizens who were among the passengers of the cruise ship Azmara Quest. The passengers were transiting through Brunei Darussalam from Sandakan, Malaysia where they disembarked following an emergency last Friday, when a fire broke out in the ship’s engine room.

There have been no reports of any injuries among the 590 passengers, which included 201 American citizens. Before the passengers arrived in Brunei Darussalam, the Azmara Quest reported that propulsion has been restored and the ship will sail to Sandakan, Malaysia. Consular Officer Ms. Christin Ho met each chartered flight on Royal Brunei Airlines, which the cruise line passengers took from Sandakan, and facilitated their transit to Singapore. The last group of the cruise line passengers departed in the evening. Consular Officer Ms. Christin Ho commented “those of us providing American citizen services

were very glad to be of assistance to the passengers of Azmara Quest. I would like to thank Royal Brunei Airlines and the staff at Brunei International Airport for all their efforts in helping all the stranded passengers get home safely. The Americans who transited Brunei expressed their delight in the beauty of the country and the efficiency of the staff at the airport.”

The Department of State places Consular Officers at Embassies and Consulates worldwide whose primary responsibility is to aid American citizens abroad, particularly in emergency or crisis situations. While in Sandakan, the Consular service team from U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur provided consular services and assistance for the U.S. citizens onboard the cruise line. Press release courtesy of U.S Embassy to Brunei Darussalam.

That’s one huge number for a run especially for when it’s running for good cause. There will be 4,000 participants which is way beyond Standard Chartered Bank’s expectation and this is first time that SCB Brunei is holding a half marathon race which received a favourable response from the public.

For your info, there will be best fancy dress category for male and female and the most creative will win prizes sponsored by SCB. There will be also Spot-the Liverpool – Tshirt contest where individuals may choose to wear their SCB Liverpool FC shirt for a chance to win some exclusive Liverpool FC merchandise.

There will be lucky draws with exciting gadgets such as Macbook Pros, Macbook Airs, iPhone 4s, iPads and iPods (woohoo.. lots of Apple products). Did you know there are other runners from different countries namely Australia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The winner of last year’s best dress at SCB’s run

The Rubiks also made an impact that day

The Flash also took part in the fancy dress competition last year

ALL participants of the upcoming Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon are reminded to collect their running packs during the Race Entry Pack Collection (REPC) that will be held on April 5, 6 and 7 at the National Indoor Stadium.

The REPC will be open from 10am to 7pm on Thursday, April 5; 8.30am to 7pm (breaking for prayers between 11am to 2pm) on Friday, April 6; and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Saturday, April 7.

All runners collecting their Race Entry Pack (REP) are required to produce a printout of their confirmation slip, identity card or passport (for participants of adult race categories), a photocopy of their birth certificate (for child participants only), personalised donation card (or a police report slip, in the event the donation card is lost) and the donations collected.

The Race Entry Pack (REP) will consist of a running bib number, an exclusive event running t-shirt, a timing chip (for half-marathon and 10km categories only) and a lucky draw ticket.

Timing devices will not be issued to 5km and 2.5km Fun Run participants. T-shirt sizes will be given on a first come first serve basis, depending on stock availability. As there will be no collection of race packs on the race day, all participants and appointed representatives are to collect the race packs during the REPC period only.

Over 4000 participants have signed up for Run for a Reason across the four categories 2.5km, 5km, 10km and 21km, exceeding the number of runners in the Standard Chartered Charity Run last year by over 83 percent. This number has way exceeded the number of runners in the Standard Chartered Charity Run 2011 last year by over 83%.

Will these pretty ladies join again this year? See you again :p

Cits is the face of this year’s SCB’s Run for a Reason promotional poster

Dermalogist Beauty Therapy which is located in Serusop, is using DERMALOGICA, one of the high end products in U.S. This year their facial treatment is famous of oxygen facial, diamond dermabrasion facial, anti aging facial, Chromawhite skin brightening facial, Vitamin C facial and Skin Lifting facial. Their location is at Serusop, same row as DST and opposite of Secret Recipe (Serusop). Any enquiry pls call 2342928 or 8716680.

Earth Day Clean Up brought to you by Beach Bunch on 22nd April 2012 at Jerudong Beach. Let’s volunteer and show some support 😀

Robbie Fowler scored quite a few goals last year at the EPL Masters. He will be back again this time round.

Profile of Robbie Fowler. Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English footballer. He is best remembered for his playing days at Liverpool and is the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League. Fowler is widely recognised as the most natural finisher of his generation. Fowler scored 183 goals in total for Liverpool, 128 of which were scored in the Premier League (162 Premier League goals in total). He subsequently played for Leeds United and Manchester City, before returning to Liverpool in January 2006.

He moved clubs 18 months later to sign for Cardiff City. He refused a one year “pay as you play” contract extension and signed with Blackburn Rovers on a three-month “pay as you play” deal instead. In December 2008, he departed Blackburn and has since forged a career in Australia. He has been capped for England twenty-six times, scoring seven goals.

Early Life. Fowler was born in Toxteth, Liverpool and brought up in the inner city area of Liverpool. At this time he was known as Bernard Ryder, his mother’s surname. He lived in Toxteth at the time of the 1981 Toxteth riots, when he was six years old. As a youngster he supported Everton F.C., regularly travelling to Goodison Park. He played regularly for schoolboy team Thorvald, and once scored 16 times in a 26–0 rout.

In 1985 a 10-year-old Fowler was selected for Liverpool Schoolboys and was spotted by Liverpool scout Jim Aspinall. He began training with Liverpool once a week and signed schoolboy forms with the club. On leaving school in 1991 he signed as a YTS trainee, and turned professional on his 17th birthday less than a year later.

International Career. Fowler has won 26 caps for England scoring 7 goals and has not been called to the England team since 2002.

Do get your tickets for the upcoming EPL Masters Cup 2012

Visit the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Times Square for the TOTAL Scholarship Open Day on Friday, 6th April 2012 from 3pm to 8pm

These are some old news but worth mentioning during my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur and Terengganu last week (a big thanks to Tourism Malaysia for giving me the opportunity). What I’m the gonna miss the most is the company I had with me – DJ Daffy, Jake Ten, Melvin Jong, Pg Azmy and Ari. They are a fun bunch to be with and the days just passed by so quickly despite the week long itinerary.

Perhaps the highlight moments for me were the F1 Sepang race and the Terengganu Kg Teluk Ketapang Home stay which I have highlighted in my previous post. The hospitality from the Tourism Malaysia ground handlers were excellent and making sure that all of us are in good hands.

So peeps.. Malaysia have so much to offer other than just shopping. I know the primary objective for KL bound passengers focuses on shopping. But it will be nice if you actually spend a day or two and wander at places such as Putrajaya to see the government buildings around.

And if you want to travel to other states of Malaysia, you can make use of Air Asia domestic flights as we did on our 1-hour trip to Terengganu. Do check out Air Asia cheap fares from Brunei to KL and you can plan your holiday trips to Penang or Terengganu or JB for instance.

We took the cruise boat at Putrajaya and the lake is man made by the way

There’s no such thing as “you jump, I jump” moment here. Don’t worry guys. It’s not what it seems *lol*

We paid a quick visit to Putrajaya International Convention Centre and they had a wedding exhibition there and here we have our main actors

Notice the odd man out?

After the Putrajaya trip, we all headed to Sepang for the F1 race

We all had fun at Sepang and the crowd was pretty sporting with the continuous Mexican wave

We have been playing this game from time to time – taking photos of each of us sleeping in public or during our rides *lol* Here we have Dj Daffy falling asleep during the race

This was taken prior to the F1 race. We all were pretty knackered by the end of the day.

Jake also had his sleeping moments and he made use of his camera bag as cushion

Every hotel we checked in has these signs though the mangosteen sign was quite rare. Good thing bananas are not banned as they really help for my Zell-V consumption *lol*

Great thing of the Terengganu home stay is the dedication by the young people at the community and they put so much effort and time to entertain the guests who joined the home stay programme

I was doing my work half way while touring some parts of Terengganu *lol*

The food is great at Terengganu and we couldn’t stop eating

Daffy and Jake are big fans of durian but unfortunately it’s a no-no for me

We went to visit a small lekor kitchen at Kuala Terengganu and this is how they produce lekor crackers and this picture shows the 2nd procedure of making the Lekor

Before the lekor is being steamed, there are molded into sausage like shapes

Another thing about Terengganu is the kain batik and songket and we dropped by Atikah Songket where they have awesome songket materials. They even have high quality design songkets that start from RM 4,000 to RM 17,000 and I truly love their designs. We had a photo opportunity with the lady behind Atikah Songket

Whenever I’m in KL, I never fail to dine at Old Town White Coffee and you should try the 3/4 egg … Yumm!!!!

Guess who’s coming to town next weekend? It’s the Ombak Rindu star Aaron Aziz where you get the chance to meet and greet the superstar at Tarindak D’Polo Restaurant Jerudong. I will be giving out a few silver tickets worth BN 100 each on my Twitter @ranoadidas so stay tune for more details

Check out the poster for details. Click to enlarge

Great deals at Hush Puppies located at Rizqun International Hotel and the discounts is up to 50% which began since 30th March 2012. So drop by Hush Puppies on the 1st floor of Rizqun International Hotel (next to Zell-V and Tourism Malaysia office).

Check out the great sales at Hush Puppies

If you are in Melbourne, then I suggest you dedicated a day to visit the 12 Apostles which is quite a ride from Melbourne. There are interesting histories related to the 12 Apostles and we were being explained by Darryl our bus driver along the way. I was pretty nervous in the beginning when I was being offered to catch the helicopter ride to view the Apostles as I never been on a helicopter before.

Thanks to Azhani @emmagoodegg for sponsoring me for the ride 😀 and the chopper ride is not that cheap too. It costs around $145 per person for a 15 minute ride and they have different price ranges too but that was the lowest range of the lot. But I tell you…. the 15 minute ride was worth it. The view of the Apostles was priceless and yes, I highly recommend you to catch the chopper as it’s a life time experience. Perhaps the best time would be in the afternoon due to the glare of the sun that might make photography a bit trickier. I don’t mind bringing my friends here next time on my next visit to Melbourne.

The helipad where they load and unload passengers for the Apostles chopper ride

We had a small helicopter and I was already getting slightly nervous as I’m scared of heights *lol*

Thanks to @emmagoodegg (behind) for giving me the opportunity for the helicopter ride

Our pilot that took us around the Apostles

The view from the helicopter. Some of the Apostles though there aren’t 12 Apostles as a few have gone missing

Awesome view from the helicopter

This one looks like a question mark, aye?

This was taken from the main land

The famous Loch and George and there’s a beach where you can go down and take some photos (and even get wet)

It’s happening on the 5th April till 8th April

I never caught the first one – Clash of the Titans which is a remake of the 1980s classic. But I did manage to catch it on Astro instead though bits and pieces. I knew the movie was gonna be a disappointment and surely it was. So I wasn’t really look forward to watch Wrath of the Titans. However, it was the only movie available that was either on Gold Class or Bean Bag movie. Initially I booked online for “The Raid” which is a much talked about movie but I missed it since we came back from the Ocean Road Drive/12 Apostles trip 20 minutes late and I had to forgone my tickets as that was the only time showing.

Anyway, I know this movie will be raking lots of $$$ as the 1st one did. It won’t make as much as the first though which opened at over $60 million. The Wrath of the Titans fell short of its predecessors as it only raked in $45 million. Rottentomatoes.com weren’t also generous with their ratings (below 30%) and I totally agree with the critics. It was visually great but less focus was given on the plot. I didn’t have high expectations anyway. I’m looking forward to Mirror Mirror. If you are looking for a popcorn movie with a “no rocket science” plot, you will probably enjoy this. Verdict: 5/10.

It was my last night at Melbourne and I wanted to give the cinema a go. So I had a choice of either Gold Glass Village Cinema or the Bean Bag Cinema at Hoyts. I was hoping for The Raid at Gold Class or Bean Bag but the timing didn’t suit me so I opted for Wrath of the Titans on the Bean Bag Cinema. Woowww!!! I really enjoyed the new experience at the Bean Bag cinema and they only had limited bean bags and I was slightly “sakai” by it hahaha..

The Bean Bag seating costs almost AUD 40 where it can accommodate for two people. Prices of cinema in Australia is pretty expensive and one normal movie ticket can costs up to AUD 17-18 per person. That’s like BND 22 per person for a movie ticket which is three times more than what we pay at the Mall Cineplex. Anyway, if you happen to be in Melboure, try out the Bean Bag Cinema at Melbourne Central and the experience factor is awesome because I’m a bean bag person. Now I wonder where can I source for that kind of bean bag?? Hmmmm.. Verdict of Bean Bag Cinema: 8.5/10

Instead of using the number icon, the Bean Bag cinema has its own unique symbol for cinema goers. The Bean Bag cinema is only available at Hoyts Cinema.

I’m glad I took the opportunity to try out the Bean Bag cinema

The American (Pie) Reunion casts were promoting their latest installment

I should have brought my blanket next time. The bean bag was pretty comfortable and not too soft either. It was so comfy though I have to admit that I fell asleep during the climax of the movie. I had to get Ain to update me on the ending of the movie *lol*

Thanks for the company and catch you soon mate..

LOL I found it funny that all the years I have been in Victoria that I never paid a visit to the Great Ocean Drive. It was great to be back in Melbourne after 12 years of hiatus and the feeling was somewhat surreal in a way. We had the opportunity to visit places of attraction in Melbourne and thanks to Royal Brunei Airlines for organising this trip to benefit the travel agents and the local media so we will be able to share with you guys on places to visit while you are visiting Melbourne.

So one of the tourist destinations is the Great Ocean Drive which is quite a fair ride from Melbourne. It was roughly 2 to 3 hours drive by bus though we did have a few pitstops along the way where we had the opportunity to view wonderful sceneries in the state of Victoria. I know a few of my friends have been the Great Ocean Drive during their short stay at Melbourne and I felt so ashamed that me being a student for at least 6 years and I didn’t have the opportunity to visit this place *lol* But now I’m glad that I did and it was a wonderful experience.

Oh yeah, I do recommend you to hire Gray Line for the bus tour service and they have great bus drivers who are educational and hilarious too. We had Darryl who drove and kept us entertained and he was always making sure that we are on time so we will be back by the hotel at a certain time. Our trip took us almost 12 hours to tour the Great Ocean Drive and 12 Apostles as the main spots and of course a few pitstops here and there.

Dermot Mannion enjoyed his visit to the Great Ocean Drive

Some great views along the way of Great Ocean Drive

Mr. Foo of Century Travel was helping out Darryl. He was always on the outlook to make sure our group was okay and he’s quite helpful as well during check-in at the airport counters. Awesome lad!!

Dermot Mannion had his first taste of Vegemite but I’m not sure if he’s a fan of it now *lol*

Mr. Reedz of @anakbrunei loves Vegemite on his roast lamb

Darryl showing us how the “billy tea” was being made. The tea has a minty taste by the way.

Congratulations to Borneo Bulletin on the new layout and this is something refreshing after many decades of the same layout for Borneo Bulletin. So today marks something special for Borneo Bulletin on the 31st of March. Awesome!!! Too bad I’m not in Brunei to grab a copy of today’s Weekend Borneo Bulletin. Thank you to Jake Ten and Hakim Hayat for the updates. The photos were taken during the printing time at 2am 31st March 2012 at Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.

The new layout of Borneo Bulletin from today onwards

The sports layout of Borneo Bulletin

Let the printing begins

Dean Kassim is one of the photographers for Borneo Bulletin

Hakim Hayat, a journalist from Borneo Bulletin

Jake Ten, another young journalist from Borneo Bulletin

Today’s edition of Borneo Bulletin ready to go

Royal Brunei Airlines celebrated the 1 year anniversary of its inaugural flight to the Australian city of Melbourne on 30th March 2012 at the Melbourne Zoo. The anniversary event is also held in conjunction with the launch of the Brunei national carrier’s daily services to Melbourne that was announced last January.

Present at the event is Yang Mulia, Dato Paduka Hj Awg Alaihuddin Pehin Orang Kaya DiGadong Seri Lela Dato Seri Utama Hj Awg Mohamad, Permanent Secretary of The Ministry of Communications, as the Guest of Honor, and Bruneian High Commissioner to Australia, His Excellency Adnan Jaafar. Joining on Royal Brunei Airline’s flight to Melbourne for the event is the Board of Director and General Manager of Sabah Tourism; Datuk Irene Benggon Charuruks.

Dermot Mannion, Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines said, “Today we celebrate not only our one year anniversary of our flight into Melbourne but also the increase of our services from four times to Daily. We would like to thank both the Brunei and Australian government for their continuous efforts to promote Royal Brunei Airlines’ presence in Melbourne. We hope that with this increased frequency, our customers in Melbourne would be able to enjoy efficient connections to Asia and London”

Customers can book flights with Royal Brunei Airlines through travel agents, visit the Royal Brunei Airline’s Melbourne office at Level 10, 45 William Street, Melbourne Victoria, 3000, Australia or visit us online at www.bruneiair.com

The event took place at the Melbourne Zoo. Apparently this venue also offer corporate functions

There was some local tradition music during our arrival

The local dancers and Royal Brunei Airlines welcoming the guests to the RBA dinner event

Guest of honour Dato Paduka Hj Alaihuddin (2nd from left) and His Excellency Adanan Jaafar, Brunei High Commissioner to Australia

It was such a cozy and relax evening at one of the rooms at Melbourne Zoo

Dermot Mannion, Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines, gave a word or two, on the anniversary of the Melbourne flight as well as RBA’s migration to Amadeus

The cake cutting ceremony before dinner

The cultural dance performers entertaining the crowd

The Guling Tangan musicians also came all the way from Brunei

The Brunei travel agent sharing a happy moment with the photographers

We had some fun and trying to be creative with our poses on the Royal Brunei Airlines photo

The guests also joined in the fun

Congratulations to DPMM FC on being back on top o the S League again after their comfortable victory over Gombak 3-0 with goals coming from Shahrazen and Osman Basiru. The other goal was an own goal. The victory means DPMM FC have four wins and two draws and they have taken over Home United and DPMM FC also have one game in hand.

Thank you to Carol who kept me updated and sending me pictures from the Jurong West Stadium 🙂

Before the kickoff between Gombak and DPMM FC

The DPMM FC supporters were also there

I’m loving the room at Crown Metropol

Caught up with Lucien Ong and Stephen Ong the night we arrived Melbourne. Thanks for the treat and the company.

The view from my room during sunrise 😀

We paid a visit to the Aquarium.. A must visit place

I could feel my balls at its sensitive level on the 88th observation deck. Yoong braved himself and took photo at the corner of the slightly reclined floor.

One of the most sought places in Melbourne – Victoria Market

At Melbourne Central

I caught up with Ain who’s currently studying in Melbourne *envy* haha and thanks for the company

I bought a few t-shirts here at Adidas store along Bourke Street

I bumped into Brunei students in Melbourne

I finally had this ice-cream – my favourite of all time – Golden Gaytime. Sophia, you think this can outshine the yam ice-cream (at Swensen’s)? hahaha :p

A few weeks ago, I asked myself if it was possible to accept the invitation from Royal Brunei Airlines for the daily flight to Melbourne which was initially scheduled from 25th March. I turned down because I would physically still be in KL/Terengganu for my Tourism Malaysia Mega FAM trip. Then to my delight, Royal Brunei Airlines rescheduled their invitation to the 29th of March which was just perfect because it was the same day I finished my duty in KL/Terengganu.

So I accepted the invitation which only allow me a two and a half hour window (between my arrival from Kuala Lumpur at 9:10am and my departure to Melbourne 11:50am) to check-in and rush home to shower and refreshen up. And it worked!!! Oh I challenging task was that I was only given the notice two weeks prior to Melbourne trip and I had to make arrangement for my Australian Visa which can be only issued in Kuala Lumpur. So my FAM trip was such a great timing and I managed to get my visa approved the day I arrived KL back in 22nd March.

I’m quite excited that I will be flying over to Melbourne a city that I have left 12 years ago during my high school and university years. So I have to say there will be a lot of emotions once I have touched down Melbourne and we will be busy visiting places in Melbourne during our 3 night stay in Melbourne. Thank you Royal Brunei Airlines @royalbruneiair for making this trip possible and congratulations on making Melbourne a daily flight which is another strong sector.

Dermot Mannion, Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines, giving his short welcoming remarks

Mr. Mark Sawers, Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, spoke of the strong bilateral ties with Brunei and Australia

The cake to commemorate the 1st year anniversary to Melbourne

The cake cutting ceremony

Dermot Mannion and associates of Royal Brunei Airlines with the local travel agents who will be on the same flight as well

There was a short welcoming speech by Dermot Mannion, Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines, at the Berakas Room, Airport Restaurant. Also present were the Australian High Commissioner to Brunei, Mr. Mark Sawers and CEO of Brunei Tourism Board, Sheikh Jamaluddin. There was also a cake cutting ceremony to commemorate Royal Brunei Airlines’ 1st year anniversary to Melbourne.

Dermot Mannion, Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines, – “This is a unique setting opportunity for Royal Brunei Airlines. We have also have been working around the clock as today we have successfully migrated to a new system. It has been a terrific success and we are among the first in Asia to Amedeus system and Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines will follow suit soon.

Hence this shows Royal Brunei Airlines aiming to provide the best technology, the state of the art service/ system to make the experience easy between the travel agents and the customers. This is an indication that Royal Brunei wants to provide high quality service, better quality system. This is the message that we would like to convey in the next couple of days for the customer to experience the peace and tranquility in Brunei Darussalam as well as the service from Royal Brunei Airlines.

I managed to catch with Carol in the wee hours at LCCT, Kuala Lumpur before our departure to Brunei and Singapore respectively. I wish you the best and I shall be seeing you soon in April. Thank you for showing up in my life and take good care of yourself 😀

I noticed that I’ve been always been positioned by the wing side. I’m quite happy that @AirAsia flew quite early so I was able to make the flight o @royalbruneiair to Melbourne this morning

The media and the new media were also invited for the Melbourne trip. Thank you Royal Brunei Airlines @royalbruneiair

Half of the SocMed gang is on the same flight. We are definitely missing the rest of the bunch. Thanks for your support guys. Next will be yours 😀

We had a quick view of the cockpit and the pilots who will be flying us over to Melbourne

Syazwan and Hamidah enjoying the comfort in business class of RBA Boeing 777-200 ER

Yay!! My neighbour @AnakBrunei at the middle row. Now I’m missing my neighbour Dj Daffy who sat next to me during our KL/Terengganu trip recently

These guys are another factor for the pleasant and awesome service in Royal Brunei Airlines. Keep it up, guys!!

Too bad my sister Rini couldn’t join us for the flight to Melbourne and it was great seeing you at the airport and thanks for sending us off 😀

So many reasons why you should travel in business class and one of them is the dedicated reading light

There are also a few pockets to place your documents or mobile phones and the distance of the screen and the passenger is quite spacious

Another great thing is the food selection and I have to turn down a meal because I’m quite stuffed from eating *lol*

Good course meal I had before my power nap

I love the fact that I can charge my Macbook and iPhone during the 7 hour flight 😀

I love the fact that the seat can recline to horizontal

Like I said in my previous post that Brunei and Terengganu have a similar culture but Terengganu is more laid back in terms of shopping malls or entertainments such as movies (You need to drive at least 2 hours to go to the nearest cinema). Instead Terengganu has more cultural places to visit and the food is awesome too. One of the biggest pulling factor for Terengganu is “resort getaway” and also home stay programme.

The Brunei delegate was given the opportunity to try out the home stay programme at Teluk Ketapang which is also supported by the government via Tourism Malaysia. Though the community is small but most of the efforts were done through volunteerism which is something very unique that I’ve learned from the community of Terengganu. Their warm hospitality is priceless and most of us felt slightly embarrassed by the welcoming party because of the awesome welcoming treatment they gave.

The rooms were pretty decent and if you are lucky enough, the owners might give you their password to their wifi access *Awesome* Oh, by the way, if you happen to be in Terengganu, Maxis line has better coverage. I was using DIGI line but I could only get E signal but I was still able to tweet, whatsapp and post pictures on instagram 😀

Apparently some Bruneians had experienced the Teluk Ketapang Home stay programme and most of them are exchange students. Perhaps, the youth community in Brunei can take opportunity to give this home stay a go because you can benefit and learn on the culture of Terengganu in just a span of a few days.

I would also like to take this opportunity especially for Brunei Tourism to tackle into this industry of “home stay” programme where it can draw quite a lot of visitors to the country as there is a market for this kind of programme. Yes, I did hear of Kg. Matan home stay but I believe it wasn’t heavily promoted and not many people are aware of this. I’m also not sure if the programme is as exciting as the ones provided at Teluk Ketapang, Terengganu.

Anyway, enough of my rants *lol* and a big thank you to the community of Teluk Ketapang for their warm hospitality and also to Tourism Malaysia for giving us the opportunity to experience a wonderful home stay programme.

Apparently one of the guys from Teluk Ketapang can make a “belalang” from leaves.. Cool stuff!!!

One of the activities programme was playing congkak and mat salleh Jake gave it a go

Dj Daffy had an attempt to make roti jala

Melvin had a quick run on the ATV nearby the beach side

Having a quick race with Ari (writer for AirAsia online content). Image courtesy of Melvin

The crystal mosque at Kuala Terengganu and the mosque is located at Islamic Heritage Park. It was officially opened in February 2008.

At one stage, we had 6 meals in one day and one of those meals was the roti tuning.. The texture was totally different and it has a unique taste too 🙂

This was Jake’s foster family during the one-night home stay at Teluk Ketapang

Dj Daffy and I stayed with this family and the owner is a well known architect in Terengganu. Beautiful house too.

Group photo with the Teluk Ketapang Home Stay community

AirAsia’s Big Sale is back again, with all-in-fares from as low as RM25 one way to domestic destinations and RM55 one way to international destinations across both AirAsia and AirAsia X’s route network.

The return of the Big Sale is available on offer online from 28 March – 1 April 2012, and guests will be able to travel from 1 October 2012 to 31 January 2013. The promo fares will be available on www.airasia.com and all of AirAsia’s mobile booking platforms. All-in-fares are from RM25 one way to domestic destinations such as Penang, Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kota Bahru, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and many more.

Exciting international destinations such as Bali, Jakarta, Batam, Medan, Surabaya, Semarang and other exotic destinations in Indonesia are available from as low as RM55 all-in, one way. Guests can also travel to other great destinations such as Singapore, Hat Yai, Krabi, Phuket, Da Nang, Hanoi, Vientiane, Chennai, Kochi, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau and many more from RM55 one way as well.

Guests may take advantage of this Big Sale and fly long-haul with AirAsia X from as low as RM225 one way to China (Tianjin, Hangzhou, Chengdu) and from as low as RM295 one way to Japan (Osaka, Tokyo), Korea (Seoul), Taiwan (Taipei) and Australia (Perth, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney).

In addition, guests may have the luxury of flying long-haul with extra comfort on AirAsia X’s Premium flatbeds one way from as low as RM949 to China (Chengdu, Huangzhou, Tianjin), from RM999 to Taiwan (Taipei), Korea (Seoul), Australia (Perth, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney) and from RM1,699 to Japan (Osaka, Tokyo).

Click image to enter website

Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s Regional Head of Commercial said, “AirAsia recently held our first Big Sale of 2012 in mid-February, with 1,000,000 seats on promotion, and the response was really overwhelming. This time around, we are also expecting massive traffic into our website and we hope our guests will be patient if they face some delays in accessing our flight booking system. We know that there is a huge demand for travel out there especially in the ASEAN region, and with AirAsia’s extensive coverage across 150 routes, 22 countries and 13 hubs in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong (both are virtual hubs), guests should not miss out on this Big Sale to travel to new destinations or revisit their favourite ones.”

Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X said, “The return of the Big Sale, would offer guests another round of X-citing offerings on the long-haul, low fare affiliate of AirAsia; AirAsia X. Guests from Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea where AirAsia X flies to may connect from its Kuala Lumpur hub to various exotic destinations such as Bali, Phuket, Bangkok, Siem Reap, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong and many more at X-traordinary low fares. In addition, with the additional flight frequencies on the AirAsia X route to Tokyo, Taipei and Perth; connectivity to South East Asia and beyond from Australia, Japan and Taiwan are now more accessible. Guests may also take advantage of our fly-thru services for a seamless travel experience.”

Guests are strongly encouraged to book their value-added services such as Baggage Supersize, Hot Seats, Pick-A-Seat and AirAsia Insure online together with their flights as they are able to save up to 50%. As for in-flight meals, guests can now pre-book more than one meal on board, and at lower prices as well with the recent reduction of in-flight pre-book meal prices.

Apart from that, AirAsia has also recently reduced its processing fees from RM8 per guest per sector, to only RM5 per guest per sector. Processing fees are not applicable for BIG card users.

Counter check-in fees are also waived for international bound guests across all of its hubs and stations throughout the route network.Earn BIG Points every time you spend with AirAsia and other BIG partners worldwide to redeem free flights with the world’s best low cost airline. More details on BIG at www.airasia.com.

Get tips and tricks on how to grab your Big Sale seats at AirAsia’s social media channels by following them on Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia) apart from getting the latest promotion updates and other AirAsia activities.

*All fares quoted are all-in fares, inclusive of airport tax and fees for one way only. Text courtesy of AirAsia.

I’m impressed with Terengganu so far. Initially, my mindset was more of a resort place since lots of people associate Terengganu with Pulau Redang, one of the most sought destinations in Malaysia. Tourism Malaysia (Brunei) decided to give the Homestay a try for our group and I’m glad that we were given the opportunity to do so.

I won’t go to far with the details as yet but I shall further elaborate in next post. The only I thing I might say is that this is one of the key factors of drawing tourism to their country through home stay programmes in Terengganu. Now I believe we can do the same for our Brunei Tourism and this should be given a more aggressive push apart from the sports tourism where loads of $$$ have been pumped in instead.

I shall explain how interesting the home stay programme is in my next post.

Printing our boarding pass at LCCT to catch our @AirAsia flight to Terrenganu

The airport at Terengganu is simple and pleasant looking

This is one of Terengganu’s cultural food – Nasi Dagang

We paid a visit to one of the batik places called Noor Afida and we saw how they handmade the fabric

Pg Azmy of Tourism Malaysia (Brunei) thanking the Kampung Teluk Ketapang

Melvin with his adopted family during the Homestay Teluk Ketapang

We had a great welcoming reception with the live band performance

Dj Daffy was knackered on the first day of Terengganu

Click image to enter website and start shopping

Catch the HSBC Fair at the Airport Mall

Wowww!!! Simply wow!!! I have never read the book or even heard of the plot or the word “tributes” until my first experience in the cinema catching the premiere of The Hunger Games. It was simply an eye opener in terms of storytelling and I was pretty taken back by the graphic nature during the “Battle” but it was something I’ve never saw coming too. Friends have been recommending me to read the book but I don’t handle fiction books that well.

Another reason why I enjoyed The Hunger Games is because of the lead role played by Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. I noticed her in Winter’s Bone which she played a tough daughter to a meth-cooking dad and she was outstanding too. By the way, The Hunger Games put Twilight series to shame when it comes to the love chemistry/romance. This movie also clocked the 3rd biggest opening of all time with a whooping $155 million on the first weekend.

This movie won’t get a 10 for me. There’s something slightly missing I feel. I can’t wait for the 2nd movie now. Catch in cinemas while you can.. Katniss is one awesome actress. Verdict: 8/10.

Katniss Everdeen played by Jennifer Lawrence

Brunei’s first feature film! Good initiative by Origin Artistic Management as the Brunei director Siti Kamaluddin teams up with Hong Kong’s director Stephen Tung Wei and Chan Man Ching. They have also working with Indonesian screenwriter Salman Aristo and with all these combinations, they are gonna bring the very first Brunei feature film *Awesome*!!!

Auditions have been extended to the 2nd of April (initially 27th March)! Do email to enquiry@originartistic.com with your headshot photo to attain the casting form. For more info, you can check out their Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/YasmineTheMovie

Looking for Bruneians:
– Aged between 18-25 yrs old (3 Female & 1 Male role)
– Aged between 36-45 yrs old (1 Male role)

Now I wonder this film will turn out to be 😀

I dunno why but it’s always great fun to return back to Sepang. I can’t remember how many times I’ve been (a few invites from Tourism Malaysia, one from Maju Motors and one on my own). However this time, the Grandstand we were allocated was at Grandstand K where the first corner is. I realised this is the best spot of the Sepang track for spectators as this is where most of the action takes place (the crashes, the nail-biting start, the over-takings etc). So I do hope the next time Tourism Malaysia will continue to send the Brunei delegates at the same Grandstand and I highly recommend Brunei enthusiasts to select that particular seats too.

I was a bit disappointed that Schumi struggled in Sepang despite being 3rd on pole position. He fell a few positions behind after spinning and he never recovered. The race was put on hold for at least 30 minutes due to the rain. Of course, as a spectator, I didn’t want the race to take a break *lol* i remember two years back, Jensen Button was declared a winner after a few laps due to the heavy down pour.

The race itself was already full of excitement though the momentum suddenly fizzled out midway through the race. One exciting part is the battle between 1st and 2nd place – Alonso vs newcomer Perez. I believe Perez will have a bright future who came 2nd in Sepang and he was pretty close in some occasions but he didn’t have the edge to beat Alonso on the track. Give it some time as this guy will definitely deliver.

Sorry peeps for the late of updates because of the time scheduling here in Malaysia. Sleeping hours are lesser on some nights and at this moment, I’m in Terengganu with my media buddies. Awesome place and I shall share with you my experience in Terengganu.

Sweet looking lady selling Red Bull

Our Brunei Jay Chou version was also at Sepang F1

The beautiful Petronas models

The Red fans of Ferrari 😀

McClaren fans at Sepang Race

Our F1 Sepang view… Awesome!!!

I wasn’t feeling well lately and it’s such a bummer that I’m outstation and feeling lethargic on the 2nd day and rested myself for at least 8 hours at the hotel and missing some of the pitstops that I was supposed to cover. The ActiFast Panadol did the job of clearing my head and I even bought some Redoxon to put more vitamin in my system. But I’m glad that I’m feeling much better now after that rest though there are still times my body would just heat up. I have 8 days to go now before I return back to Brunei and for those who trying to reach me on my Brunei line, I’ve switch it off but you email me or for those who have my whatsapp, you know what to do 😀

The Brunei delegates attended the welcoming dinner hosted by The Minister of Tourism, Malaysia, Dato Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen who is one charismatic and outspoken person. Though she said she won’t speak too long in the beginning but ended talking more than 10 minutes *lol* I would say she does sell Malaysia as a tourism industry pretty well though by comparing with other countries in terms of climate, natural disaster, petrol, duty free goods and many more.

The Minister also highlighted Malaysia as “My Second Home” where the Government is heavily promoting foreigners as they can stay in Malaysia for as long as possible on a multiple-entry social visit pass. As you know, the Social Visit Pass is initially for a period of 10 years and now is renewable click here to find out more. She summed up tourism in Malaysia as being “fun” and in the end, she welcomed guests to dance to the 1Malaysia theme song and boy, can she really dance too..

The Minister also joked about Non-duty free goods and discourage the guests to spend on these particular items when they are in Malaysia 1) cars 2) chocolates 3) glassware 4) liquor 5) cigarettes.

The Minister of Tourism of Malaysia speaking to the guests during the opening night ceremony of the F1 FAM trip

Even the waiters and servers were wearing F1 gears

The dance culture were enjoyed by the guests

Even the Minister got the groove.. Oooohh Yeaaahhh (WWF Legend Macho man’s taunt)

The Minister taking photo with the Brunei delegates

If you purchase any Holika Holika or Sariayu or Follow Me or Mustika Ratu products (above $10) then you will be entitled the OKF Health Beverage for only 0.50 cents while stocks last

I had my blood pressure checked when I was feeling under the weather on the 2nd day. This was taken at Guardian Pharmacy, KLCC. This lady was pretty helpful.

I made used of the Rapid KL since it’s quite convenient to get around KL and plus it’s pretty cheap. Cost me RM3 instead of RM10-20 on taxi

I finally got my Australian visa approved *woohoo* Thank you to the Australian High Commissioner in Malaysia, Royal Brunei Airlines (for the letter), Ogy and Diwi for the paperwork 😀 Now I can fly to Melbourne after a 12-year hiatus

Fans of Girls’ Generation were asked to move to another area 10 hours before the concert. These are real fanatics of the Korean celebrities.

Well done Schumi for making 3rd in pole. Mercedes is heavily promoted in Malaysia due to their partnership with Petronas.

We stayed here on the first night. I love the room.. Huge, spacious and it’s at Sunway Putra Hotel.

Our visit to KLCC Twin Towers and I love how our ticket entrance shows a 3D visual presentation using censor

Guys from the media with a Tourism Malaysia official (Brunei) and AirAsia official. This was taken at the Sky Bridge (41st floor) of KLCC Twin Towers

Is Jake afraid of heights? This was taken on the 86th floor9a

They have many sweet looking police (women) securities working at Twin Towers

Melvin bought this fan spraying water for RM50. He complained that the power of the fan is pretty weak though *lol*