Mr. Li Dian Chun, CEO of Hong Kong Airlines accepting a token from Mr. Karam Chand, CEO of Royal Brunei Airlines

Mr. Tokuro Ambe, The First Secretary of Economics from the Embassy of Japan in Brunei Darussalam, Her Excellency Ms. Noriko Iki, Japanese Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Mr. Li Dian Chun, CEO of Hong Kong Airlines, Mr. Karam Chand, CEO of Royal Brunei Airlines, Mr Fu Fengsha, Charge’d Affairs of China Embassy and Dayah Hjh Airah Hj Abdullah, Director of Transport, Ministry of Communications

I’m kinda excited that Royal Brunei Airlines have a codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines and this is one of the first of many connecting flights that will be favourable for both parties. This afternoon, Hong Kong Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines signed on the dotted line where Hong Kong Airlines will be used connect flights exiting Hong Kong from in-coming flight from Brunei Darussalam.

So the first city outside Hong Kong that will be utlizing the codeshare will be Tokyo. Woohoo!! It is still not operating just yet and ti will be launched sometime in November but pre-sale will begin early September. So under the agreement, Hong Kong Airlines “HX” code will be placed on RB daily flights between HK and BSB.

Here’s the flight itinerary to Tokyo via HK.

BWN to HKG – Flight No. HX 1635/BI365 Departure 10:30am Arrival 13:35pm

HKG to Tokyo – HX 610/BI3403 Departure 15:30pm Arrival 20:55pm

Tokyo to HKG – HX611/BI3404 Departure 9:30am Arrival 13:30pm

HKG to BSB – HX610/BI3403 Departure 15:30pm Arrival 20:55pm

So far this is a pretty reasonable connection. With Hong Kong being an international hub, it does make economical sense to have connecting flights to other parts of Asia especially Japan. I traveled earlier this year to Taipei via HK. So hopefully there will be more connecting flights under Hong Kong Airlines which will be in the future stages.

Mr. Li Dian Chun, CEO of Hong Kong Airlines, said that, “The commencement of our codeshare partnership with RB is great news for the passengers of both airlines. It’s a win-win situation for both parties. This will give more choices for the passengers for traveling within Asia.”

He added that the influx of foreigners to HK has increased year by year and this will be a good opportunity for them to also flight to Brunei to experience a city with a beautiful culture.

Mr. Karam Chand, CEO of RB, shared that this is an important collaboration with Hong Kong Airlines as a codeshare partner. He believe that there is a great demand for passengers heading to Japan especially Tokyo. Passengers will benefit from this codeshare flight with better networks and of course, choices for passengers.

Good job for RB on making this possible and let’s hope for some good promotion along the way to lure in more passengers.

Mr. Li Dian Chun, CEO of Hong Kong Airlines is excited with the collaboration with RB

Mr. Karam Chand, CEO of RB speaking to the press

Mr. Li Dian Chun speaking to the press

The first official codeshare trip will be in November 2016

My last trip to HK was in March. Now with more routes through codeshare, who knows I will frequent HK more

 

Finally I’m back in Brunei after 10 days of holiday and it seemed like a long time. I miss being active with my coverage and furthermore, I miss the familiar faces I see now and then (you know who you are). I’m almost out of shape.. Well, it was more of a reference to my fitness level where tennis is mostly involved. The tennis group recently had a short trip to Miri yesterday for a friendly match between our tennis group and from the Miri side.

I’m kinda out of touch but thanks to The Brunei Times social media updates and the multiple sharing on my Facebook feeds on The Brunei Times’ articles, I feel that I’m in the loop of the happenings in Brunei.

The cycling event was, of course, the highlight of the week. It was rare to see His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam participating in a cycling event and it was lead by over 800 cyclists. Amazing feat indeed and I’ve never known that there are many cycling enthusiasts in Brunei alone. His Majesty cycled in the 15 km bicycle ride to mark his 70th birthday. All I can say is 70 and still going strong.. Amazing!!!

In other news, Pokemon Go seems to have taken Brunei by storm or Asia for that matter. When I was outstation, my social media feeds were dominated by Pokemon statuses and images. Is this a good thing or a negative thing? There’s nothing wrong for sure but just make you don’t drive and PoGo or escape work time to level up on your game. The question is how long will the phase last for? The developers had already made a few hundred millions through their purchase add-ins and in the first 5 weeks, they have earned more than USD 268 million. Amazing!! So for now, Pokemon Go is here to stay and no, I’m not one of them players huhu.

So enjoy your week, peeps and stay in touch through my social media feeds. Oh yea, thanks the Bluehost support team for scanning and cleaning my site. It was attacked by some unwanted Viiiirrruuussss… 🙁 So I’m glad it’s back and running.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, yesterday led over 800 people in an unprecedented 15 kilometre bicycle ride to mark his 70th birthday. Accompanying His Majesty was His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office. Image courtesy of Vincent Hong.

This could be one of the reasons why bicycle sales have increased

My final day in Malaysia before heading back. I’ve been lacking sleep but enjoyed my break so far in Ipoh, Penang and Kuala Lumpur

A successful event hosted by Honey Carsmart last weekend for their Grand Sale weekend and also getting involved with charities

The tennis friendly match between our tennis group (Aiman’s students) and players from Miri. It was held at Miri yesterday. Too bad I couldn’t make it and it was great exposure for the young players to play abroad.

It was first time staying in an AirBnB apartment in Kuala Lumpur and it was pretty good. I love the room and the host, Melvyn, is friendly and helpful. I also met a new friend from AirBnB and she’s staying in the other room of the apartment. I’m impressed with her resume as she has worked in Malta before. It was nice knowing you, Michiko. I hope you visit Brunei one day and we both have something in common. We support Liverpool 😀

My third Kpop concert and I kinda like the energy of the boy band, iKon. The concert took place at Indoor Stadium Negara. Kuala Lumpur last weekend. I had the privilege to cover the event (many postings on Snapchat). Congratulations to Kelly Wee and Vili Tee on winning the tickets and big thanks to Yuslin for arranging the tickets and my media pass.

The second consolation prize draw was held last Friday for the “Win the Helix” promotion. So far they had 5,925 entries for the month of July alone. The promotion ends 31st August. So you still have a chance to win the grand prize – Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI. Image above are the members of the press who drew the names and witnessed by the management of Brunei Shell Marketing.

I caught a record of 6 movies in my recent trip. Suicide Squad and Bad Moms twice actually *lol* You can tell how much of a movie buff I am 😀

Though I complained too much about Batman v Superman, I still caught again from the in-flight entertainment on Royal Brunei Airlines. Thank you, Aunty Jacky for the upgrade 😀 It was nice catching up again and see you this Friday

 

The Audi A4 2.0 TFSI S Tronic Glacier White Front. You can view this at their Audi showroom.

Press release from @audibrunei. More powerful, more efficient, more intelligent: the new Audi A4 features numerous premium technologies which set higher benchmarks for its class. Elegant design blends with an innovative control concept, and lightweight construction meets new, efficient drivetrain solutions. The A4 is also ahead of its peers in terms of infotainment and assistance systems. As a result, Audi drivers can look forward to a truly high-tech experience ― an innovative synthesis of technology and aesthetics.

The new Audi A4 now available at the Audi Kiarong showroom also achieves top ratings for efficiency. It boasts the best-in-class drag coefficient of just 0.23 and has shed as much as 120 kilograms (264.6 lb) in weight compared with the predecessor model. Three economical four-cylinder engine variants delivering up to 185 kW (252 hp) also play a major part in this efficiency gain.

The Audi A4 is also available here for the first time with the high-efficiency gasoline engine 2.0 TFSI ultra developing 140 kW (190 hp) which uses an innovative combustion process and has been designed based on the rightsizing principle. The economical power unit reduces the NEDC consumption of the new A4 Sedan to 4.8 litres per 100 kilometres (49.0 US mpg) and CO2 emissions to 109 grams per kilometre (175.4 g/mi).

Audi A4 1.4 TFSI S Tronic Monsoon Grey Front. You can view this at their Audi showroom.

Audi A4 1.4 TFSI S Tronic Mythos Black with Nougat Brown Interior. You can view this at their Audi showroom.

The new Audi A4 comes equipped with an extensive selection of improved technologies making their first appearance in this model, such as LED headlights, Audi Drive Select with Efficiency mode, sports suspension with damping control, fly-by-wire gear shifter and a top of the line Bang & Olufsen 3D Sound System.

In terms of safety, the new A4 has been awarded the highest ratings from both the Euro NCAP and IIHS safety tests.

Premium features will include multicoloured ambient lighting, front/rear parking aid and convenience key with ‘kick’ motion rear luggage door release.

TCY Motors will offer the new Audi A4 Sedan with three engine variants: a 1.4 TFSI (150hp/250Nm), 2.0 TFSI ultra (190hp/320Nm) and 2.0 TFSI quattro (252hp/370Nm) all utilising the 7-speed dual-clutch S tronic transmission. Wheel sizes will range from 17”, 18” and 19” based on the respective engine variant.

 

7 years in the making. How our friendship have come along. Reunited with Winnie Cheng aka Eryn at Penang. It was a great catch up session. Till next time.

For the past week, I’ve been away and taking some time off the keyboard.. Yes, it feels good and liberating. I used to have the mentality of constantly updating my blog every single day and it came to a point that I feel burnt out *lol* Maybe age is catching up on me and I’m already in my 40s so I’m doing the best I could to be energized especially when it comes to posting. Mind you that I still have the energy to do my rounds of coverage here and there. It’s just the finishing of the articles has been slowing me down (or is that an excuse of me being lazy?)

This is my 6th year spending my week in Ipoh and Penang. The major difference – the hotel I stayed at Ipoh. It’s good to experiment with different hotels from time to time and I’m impressed with Weil Hotel at Ipoh, located just adjacent to Ipoh Parade Mall (movies, movies, movies). Don’t be fooled that Ipoh hasn’t got much to offer apart from cultural attractions. I really don’t mind this city from the hustle bustle of Kuala Lumpur and even Penang, Ipoh allows me to be calm and composed and I can still have my dosage of fun and of course, their delicious food (oh yea, try the Assam House there).

It was great to catch up with Winnie once again whom I know for the past seven years. I’m happy for you and your career. You have the courage to pursue your passion in arts and it paid off. A short visit to your art space made me one to have a working space like yours. Keep up the great work and empower others with your talents. I hope one day you can visit Brunei. Truly miss your presence and being in your sold-already-Ford car *lol*

Now I’m in Kuala Lumpur, capping off an awesome week with my friends from all around the world. I’m catching the iKoncert tomorrow with the winners on my IG contest. This will be my third Kpop concert though I’ve no idea who are iKon (don’t go hating me fans huhu). This is surely a guarantee that I will enjoy the concert no matter what.

With my friends from Malaysia – Lingly and Siew Li. Appreciate your friendship and companionship. See you again in February in Thailand 😀

My first time blogging at Cave Kek Lok Tong. Felt refreshed and how I wish I feel this way whenever I blog

Maccha ice-cream at Ipoh are the bomb

I didn’t know we have the same age. Welcome to the club, bro #40

Hello Zoe and she was happy with the henna artwork. It was gone in two days.

The Art Space where Winnie works and pencil her ideas. Good to see you found your footing in Penang. I’m inspired already.

The school of knocks. I remember visiting here 3 years ago at Straits Quay.

What we all have in common? We are bachelors and bachelorettes *lol*

Till next time, ladies 😀

 

Javon Leong Weng Wah, Hjh Nurul Yusra Bazilah Hj Yussof and Nurulain Mohammed Idrus reached the peak of Markha Valley Trek at Ladakh, Himalayan region in India last week. Image courtesy of Javon Leong.

Congratulations to the three of you 😀

Any fans of mountain climbing or trekking? Apparently quite a few from Brunei and the common mountain that many would talk about is Mount Kinabalu. Today, I will be mentioning something different and this is a totally different area of trekking. Three Bruneians reached the peak of Markha Valley Trek at Ladakh, Himalayan region in India. First off, let me just say that conquering such feat is never easy. You will need a good mental strength together with physical aspect to make the journey a successful one.

The three Bruneians who recently completed the trek were Javon Leong Weng Wah, 27, Nurulain Mohammed Idrus, 28, and Hjh Nurul Yusra Bazilah Hj Yussof, 26. They were accompanied by two porters, Oregan and Abakarok, a guide Stanton and a photographer, Dorjay Kaya.

The trio wanted something more challenging and adventurous and thanks to Nurul Ain, she sparked the initiative and organised the plans. For Hjh Nurul Yusra Bazilah, it was more of getting out of her comfort zone and she glad that she was part of this milestone. Mind you the peak of Markha Valley Trek at Ladakh is 5,230 above sea level. Now that’s pretty high and based on my experience, the higher you climb as in altitude, the harder it gets to breathe and thus makes breathing more challenging.

Apparently the trio is the first Bruneian to ever reach the peak so congratulations 😀 Furthermore, the trip was self funded and they had prior training before their expedition. The trip lasted 7 days from 5th July to 11th July.

There are many messages that you can derive alone from the trekkers but the obvious was surely that you have increased your comfort zone and take more risks especially for the younger generation. Good job once again to all of you.

Now that’s a scenery worth visiting

No pain, no gain

Hjh Nurul Yusra Bazilah with the Bruneian flag

The trio with their handymen during the trek

 

Check out the dormitory at Adamson Lodge, located at Little India, Singapore. Click image to book on Agoda.

The type of beds available

Something for you to know that there is a dormitory if you are interested to bunk there in Singapore. The prices are quite affordable too but I’ve never tried staying at Adamson Lodge. Apparently a local Bruneian has some shares at Adamson Lodge so I thought why not give this dormitory some plug on my social media platform. The rooms are even as low as BND 30 according to Agoda.com and of course, it’s a shared room so you will definitely be sharing with others as well.

It will be ideal if you are traveling with friends in a big group and you don’t mind the style of a dormitory. I ever experience it for many years as a school boarder in Australia but I supposed that’s a different matter.

Adams Lodge provides free WiFi and it’s located at the Little India (Perak Road). The closet MRT station will be Rochor MRT.

Despite the concept of sharing like a hostel, it has one of the highly rated places on Agoda with a score of 9.2 with the hostel condition and cleanliness being the top. Who knows one day I will give this a shot.

So do check Adamson Lodge on Agoda.com and you will definitely enjoy the hospitality of the staff also there according to the testimonials of the guests.

Another room at Adamson Lodge

Lockers available depending on the bed number you choose

The shower area

The price based on per bed. Pretty affordable too, being in the most expensive city in ASEAN. Prices are subject to changes.

The closest MRT is at Rochor, 100 metres away from Adamson Lodge

 

The gang from Brunei on a road trip to Sibu (8 hours) and staying over at Premier Hotel, Sibu for two nights. Missing here is our photographer, Reuben.

A road trip to Sibu. There’s always a flight that I could catch to Sibu thru Miri (one hour) or simply go on a road trip if you have tons of hours to spare. I’ve always heard of this town from Sarawak but never had the luxury to visit the town until last weekend. The reason (for the trip) being is toastmasters where we get to learn new things in communication and especially in leadership (motivating and managing conflict).

I have to say it was a great trip and I’m glad I was part of it. I had the chance to expand my network of friends and learning different cultures and experiences. One of the best moments is perhaps where some of them from Sibu will be heading to Brunei in October for the Brunei Conference in October 2016. Sometimes it pays to move forward and be involved in the thick of things.

I shall be posting more about the trip soon but for now, I shall post some pictures. Yes, I haven’t been updating my page for a while but not to worry. I’m still active on social media and hopefully more active on my blog posts 😀 Have a great week, readers!!

The reliable Hyundai H1 carrying 8 of us during the journey. This was a short pitstop at KB Sentral, dining at SugarBun before heading to Miri

The conditions on the road along the way weren’t as favourable and I believe the H1 will need a great service at the workshop 😀 Thanks to drivers – Shawn, Reuben, Allen and Amran

A quick pitstop to sing our hearts out. Pranika slowly getting into the groove of things. More to come.

A surprise anniversary moment for Shawn and Ruey 😀 Happy 11th Anniversary you too

The Eric Clapton lover taking the stage as one of the District Leaders for the Division S’ TLI session last weekend

Group photo with the 90 plus in attendance for the educational workshop

Pamela Vong from Kuching was invited to speak for one of the Mandarin sessions on team building

The very much attentive toastmasters from Sibu

I had 5 minutes to share about the upcoming conference in Brunei and I sold a few tickets along the way 😀

Reuben charming the audience and managed to get selfies after the meeting

Allen Ang stole the show for committing to his commitment as a speaker despite many challenges before the session

After the joint meeting, we had a quick pitstop at Hisham and Lydia’s open house in Sibu. Thanks for your hospitality.

The first joint meeting in Sibu with different areas joining as one

It was good to see you again, Pamela.. See you again in Brunei

Pranika still obsessed with filters on her phone *lol*

 

The showroom at Bobby Electrical Company located at Unit 9, Ground floor, Block B, Abdul Razak Complex.

Some of the wall lights available at the showroom

Now that’s a milestone to know of a local company that has existed for more than 30 years. If you are looking for electricity appliances especially bulbs, switches or fans, then head yourself to Bobby Electrical Company showroom based in Gadong. To be more specific, they sell electrical engineering products, from industrial cables and accessories to even LED bulbs.

The in-thing now is the LED bulb and I own a few to myself because it’s very economical and environmental friendly since it uses less energy than normal bulbs.

It was the first time to visit the showroom at Gadong and they actually revamped the showroom back in March to showcase to their customers on the benefits of the bulbs (GE, Meagan and others) and switches the company supplies. I’m quite sold with one bulb from “Meagan” where it has bluetooth capabilities as the one I’m currently using requires WiFi or wireless connection.

You may not think of it but hey, switches are quite important too. Bobby Electrical have brought in different variety of switches for your home or office. They have the Legrand “Arteor” range of switches or if you prefer the “Mallia” range from the same brand, a much more affordable brand. You can view the products from Legrand here.

So if you are looking for a minor refurbishment for your home before Hari Raya, Bobby Electrical Company can tailor to your needs and wants.

Apart from switches and bulbs, the company also sell electrical fans (mounted on ceiling) and also water heaters. So do check them out 😀

Perhaps you want something efficient for your home, Bobby Electrical Company also bring in this awesome product Fibaro Home Centre, which can support up to 200 devices especially if you have a big home. This means you can preset the environment of the particular rooms to “dining mode” or “movie mode” or “working mode” and by just a press of button, that all can be achieved.

Since it’s payday, why not allocate a budget aside and beauty your space before the Hari Raya season. Bobby Electrical Showroom is located at Unit 9, Ground Floor, Abdul Razak Complex (not far from Escape Square).

The down lights for your ceiling

The switches from Legrand.

Another range from Legrand, a higher end.

The in-thing now for LED lights because the shape allows to be fitted in most socket

Testing out the lights

More range of switches that are available

My favourite Bluetooth ready bulb from Megaman

Something for Hari Raya and quite lasting too

Water heater for your bathroom

Electrical fans too

 

Almost the half way mark. It’s been a while since I actually blog, blog.. If you know what I mean. I’m still recovering from fever but the medication has been treating me well. So how have my year 2016 been so far? I would say it’s been amazing on many levels. A few ups and downs but mostly on the rise. Now let’s see how to categorize this in a simple manner.

Travels. It has been a slow period for my travels as compared to previous years. Surprisingly Singapore only once so far (or what is it twice?) I can’t remember but I did remember it was for the recent Volkswagen Sportsvan trip and a short one as well. I traveled to Taiwan (missed this city and it was raining cold then), Ho Chi Minh, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Jakarta (too much traffic) as well.

I was more intrigued with my Ho Chi Minh trip because it has been 10 years since I visited the city. Back then, I was skeptical about my trip to Vietnam due to the passport issues that most Brunei Permanent Residents will face. It was known that the brown look-a-like passport known as Certificate of Identity (CI) has been an ongoing issue in other countries (not regional) but I was surprised that Vietnam made it difficult for CI holders. The best trick is to bring an official letter from the Vietnam Embassy in Brunei and show it to the immigration officer to make our CI document legit to enter their cities.

Other than that, I love Ho Chi Minh and how they have diversified as well as becoming more developed. Even the cinemas were up to scale like those in Singapore and Thailand. Even a 4Dx experience. Interesting indeed. The food are great as usual and they have choices of halal restaurant (mostly run by Malaysians) but some of the food are a hit or a miss in these halal establishments. I love their coffee too. A must try if you happened to fly to Vietnam. Oh thank you to Fitflop for flying me to Ho Chi Minh City last February.

My next trips could be to Manila (supposed to fly with the boys last weekend) and KK (mid July) and if all goes as planned, Singapore 😀 So I would rate my travel trip so far a 7/10.

My second trip to Ho Chi Minh City.

I did my shopping at Mustafa Centre, Singapore to donate to the orphanage back in May. Thanks Volkswagen Brunei for the opportunity.

Shawn buying a few cartons of the Mi Goreng crackers called Chitato. I have to say it’s nice but quite salty.

The much hyped indo-mee cafe was such a disappointment in one of the malls at Jakarta

Friendship. Ah, Rano is heading onto a personal road now. It has definitely shifted over the years and I realised that has been my pattern. If I look back since I came back to Brunei after my studies, I have at least 5 cycles that I went through and I believe that’s part of life. I still rank friendship as the highest form of love and I’m blessed that all the cycles I have been through, they are still my buddies to date. It’s just that we have parted to different directions but still respect each other as friends.

Now my circle of friends are mostly from tennis and toastmaters as they are the bunch of people I interact with the most. That’s for the simple reason that I’m quite involved in these said activities. Of course, they are still a small bunch (outside those circles) that I catch up with now and then. But of all the “cliqs” that I went through, it was both my “awesome foursome” gang (2009) and RA6 (2003) that I missed a lot.

I would want to talked about relationship but it has no relevance for now since I’m not dating anyone. After a mutual break-up late last year, the transition took a little while. Well, that’s the case for most post-relationship scenarios, right? One thing that I would to share is that I’m blessed that we can still be friends and catch up with no expectations at all. Now, won’t that be an excellent approach in any relationship? … which is very hard in any case to give unconditional love and care.

Right now, I just focus on my mission to empower people to the best I can and be the light for others. Relationship is secondary and age is just a number 😀

The impromptu reunion of the RA6

The awesome foursome. Shot taken at Hua Hin, Thailand back in 2010.

BU2562. Now what is the significance of this number? It’s my plate car number and it belongs to my 13 year old Hyundai Santa Fe. Now I bring this up is because I finally have to give in, the fact that my car has already exhausted all the possibilities to be safe on the road. Now with a faulty transmission (hard-to-find spare part), it’s almost impossible to not be worried while driving on the road. Twice the car suddenly turned off its engine while I was turning in and locked my steering wheel. I was fortunate that there weren’t any cars heading my direction.

My almost defunct Santa Fe is still in the workshop, waiting for its parts to be replaced. It was tough to let go as it has so much sentimental value to me. It was my form of transportation to secure deals with clients and meeting friends. In other words, it was also a mark of my independence as I wanted to be less dependant on my family. Even through my hardship (financially), I won back the car twice from the HSBC Car Yard. That’s how much I value my nameless car. But for now, I’m driving my brother’s secondary car as my means of transport. Well, it’s better than nothing. But at the same time, I’m also hunting for a good deal on cars.

A small parody on my car classic car

Clienteles. This year, I must say, it’s quite challenging. Due to the drop in oil prices, it indirectly affect my blog in terms of advertisement. In the end of the day, it’s about how you climb out of that rut because this is also a test of your resilience. Back in the early years, I had a lot of homework in finding clients, meaning that I was trying to close sales for my blog. Yes, it was fun back then and it has been a while since I actually do that. I have to pull my socks up and be more active.

For this year’s sungkai, I saw a huge drop in clienteles but it was necessary for my case because I was aiming for quality in recreating a different avenue for my clients. For that, I have to thank Filterworks Production (do check out their videos) for providing that extra edge in our Sungkai coverage and the responses have been very encouraging. This also has opened new doors and opportunities due to our collaboration and now we already secured a few jobs.

A big thank you to all my clients (past and present) for utilizing my services and trusting how it can be impactful in getting the messages across. The remaining 2016 will be an interesting one indeed.

Our latest project with Filterworks at The Potters

Filterworks on the set at Pepperlunch two weeks ago

Toastmasters. How can I not mention of this topic. My friends kept saying that my Snapchat has tons of tennis and toastmasters. It does show how passionate I am in giving back what I learn to the community. There are plenty of reasons why I’m passionate about toastmasters. It’s not just only about public speaking but also on your leadership track where it tests my patience, my discipline and my responsibility. It totally has changed my perspective as an individual as I used to be quite defensive and judgmental when I get evaluated by my peers. Now I’m much calmer and able to listen on constructive feedback for my own good.

Speaking of toastmasters, I will be chairing a mega toastmasters event this October to be held at Rizqun International Hotel. Excited and nervous? Hell yes!!! It’s just four months away and our team has been very busy preparing for the convention. We have three international speakers, two of each are former World Champion of Public Speaking – Dananjaya and Willie Jones. It’s open to all of you and of course, there will be a fee involved which is BND 200 for a three day event. If you are interested, you can reach me ranoadidas gmail.com. I can assure you that this convention will be a great eye opener and I highly recommend for you to sign up for the convention 😀

The moment I pretended to be Dwayne Johnson in one of my speeches

Click image to enter our official website

Movies. Another passion of mine after toastmasters and tennis. Those who know me well know that I’m a movie buff but not necessarily that I will watch all movies. There are a handful of blockbuster ones that I choose to miss – Ride Along 2, TMNT 2, Divergent and a few more. Overall, I’m quite content with the 2016 releases for the first half of the year. I have to say though that the summer movies haven’t been all that and it fizzled after the release of Captain America: Civil War in early May. But thank god movies like The Conjuring 2, Central Intelligence and Finding Dory gave me some hope for summer movies.

The best movie this year so far have been Captain America: Civil War and Zootopia. I would also like to highlight Deadpool and it’s one of the best comic adaptation. It actually made more money than X-Men: Apocalypse (not to my liking).

Summer movies so far have been mediocre. TMNT2 (judging from Rottentomatoes), Independence Day (bleurgh), Now You See Me 2 (super ridiculous), Warcraft and even X-Men: Apacolypse are all subpar at best. Last year’s were better with movies such as Inside Out, Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Mad Max: Fury Road (my no.1 movie of 2015). Well, the summer releases this year are not complete just yet but I’m not hoping for much though.

One of the best movies of 2016. I can’t wait for my blu-ray to arrive from the States

Totally disappointed. It feels like a combo of Independence Day with Transformer 4 and Transporter

The era of Snapchat? Only in 2016, I have been heavily invested in using my snapchat more than my Insta. Well, I still scroll on my IG feeds and catch up on my friends’ feeds too. However, Snapchat has a more personal touch. So what if the posts get deleted after 24 hours. That’s the point and the fact that no one can comment or like that particular post makes it less intrusive in a way. Snapchat surprisingly is still new to some and not all are inclined to install Snapchat as they are more comfortable with their current social media accounts.

I would say that Snapchat will slowly grow in numbers and many corporate companies will see the benefit by using Snapchat as part of a marketing tool. Right now, the demographics of Snapchat users are relatively young. For my feeds, since I follow too many people on my list, I have to honestly say that I didn’t go through all their “stories” and surprise, surprise (or no surprise at all) is that Snapchat eats a lot of your data… mmmmmm. To let you know, I’m not so much into the filters inside Snapchat as most of my peers are.

So if you want to follow my snaps, just add me @ranoadidas and catch the personal side of me.

Have you snapchatted? 😀 Is there any such word though?

 

KBSentral Management with one of the recipients

KBSentral Shopping Centre in Kuala Belait contributed donations to six recipients today who are underprivileged, in an event organized by staff from the KBSentral Property Management.

Presenting the donations was the KBSentral’s Marketing & Event Manager Anwar Rosly, who explained that the donation was aimed to alleviate the recipients’ families’ burden during the month of Ramadhan.

The charity effort which is called The Limpahan Kasih Donation Drive is one of KBSentrals Corporate Social Responsibility project on lending a helping hand towards the underprivileged families.

The contributions were also intended to assist the families in preparing for the upcoming Hari Raya celebrations.

Among the donations given were kitchen goods worth $150.00 from KBSentral itself as well as donations handed to KBSentral which were sponsored by Jaya Hypermart such as Pensonic Toaster Oven, cartons cans of Pepsi and Sunny Soya Bean, Mee Goreng Sedap and Soto Sedap, packets of Beras Wangi and tins of Jacob Creamy Crackers.

One of the recipients, expressed gratitude to KBSentral and the Management staff for the assistance extended to those who are in need of help.

The event included a group photo together as well as mingling with the recipients’ families, getting to know them and understanding their plight as well as well-being.

For further information, please call 3339889 or email to kbsentralmarketing@gmail.com

Anwar Rosly, KBSentral’s Marketing & Event Manager, handing over Beras Wangi to one of the recipients

Norazizah Awang Damit, KBSentral’s Marketing & Event Assistant handing over a donationa to one of the recipients

 

Recently a group of media from Brunei did some shopping at Mustafa Centre, Singapore, and buying necessities for the under privileged children at Darul Ihsan Orphanage, Singapore. This was organised by Volkswagen Singapore and Brunei as part of their contribution to the community especially before the month of Ramadhan just around the corner. The items were transported by the newly launched Volkswagen Sports Van which will make its way to Brunei next week.

Louis and I shopping for milo and milk at Mustafa Centre recently in Singapore

Stocking up items at the Volkswagen Sports Van. Surprisingly spacey and it was able to load a lot of things at the back.

Can you spot me? 😀

The local media from Brunei had a great time shopping for the orphans. We overshot our budget but in the name of charity 😀

The items being unloaded at the orphanage

 

Mohd Razali Hj Junaidi won a trip for two to watch the opening match of the UEFA EURO Cup 2016 receiving the prize from Firdaus Mokim, Head of Marketing and Public Relations of BIBD At-Tamwil last weekend. Image courtesy of Analisa Amu of The Brunei Times.

Mohd Razali with other consolation winners. Image courtesy of Analisa Amu of The Brunei Times.

Late post: It was a pleasant surprise for Mohd Razali Hj Junaidi who won a trip for two to watch the opening match of the UEFA EURO Cup 2016 in France as the grand prize in a lucky draw by Grand Motors Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Kia vehicles in the sultanate.

The ‘Kia Lucky Drive to France’, which is one of the initiatives that is in partnership between UEFA EURO 2016 and the Kia distributor, aimed to boost the sports marketing approach of Kia and enrich customer’s driving experience.

“I am indeed happy with the prize and didn’t expect to win the trip. I am yet to see whether I can make it (to the trip) or not,” said Mohd Razali who recently bought a Kia Cerato in April.

The grand prize is inclusive of airfare, meals and hotel accommodation apart from watching the opening match and having a cultural experience tour of the host country.

The draw, which took place at Kia’s showroom in Beribi, also saw four other lucky winners receiving attractive prizes.

Nicholas Stuart Hendry and Nati Sumarto respectively won a 64GB Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and 32GB Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

Meanwhile, Noraha Abdul Malek took home with her a Samsung Gear S2 Smart Watch and Mohd Rifa’ie Muhd Shahren won a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.

Present during the draw were Baiduri Finance sales officers Md Saabeq Chong and Solon Chong as well as its Sales Manager Hj Muhd Ali BM Hj Metussin.
Also present were representatives from BIBD AT-Tamwil, Deputy Head of Marketing, Asharul Norshari and Head of Marketing and Public Relations Firdaus Mokim.

There were ten shortlisted finalists who were randomly selected in a draw on May 13 out of over 200 customers who purchased Kia vehicles from March 1 until April 30 this year. Apart from the grand draw, Grand Motors Sdn Bhd also launched the enhanced Kia Cerato with its new aesthetic features that is sporty and will surely capture the young and the young-at-heart.

Interested customers may visit any Kia showrooms or call 2453101 to book a test drive. There will be another test drive session in Tutong this Sunday and also a roadshow on 28-29 May at Hua Ho Petani Mall, Tutong. Text and images courtesy of Analisa Amu of The Brunei Times.

The roadshow and test drive at Hua Ho Petani, Tutong on Saturday and Sunday

 

Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gapar, the Acting Minister of Ministry of Development (center) with Mr Jackson Ting, Managing Director of D’Sunlit and Dato Paduka Haji Danial Haji Hanafiah, Executive Director of D’Sunlit

The highly anticipated 18th Consumer Fair was officially launched at the International Convention Centre, Berakas this morning, which was officiated by Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gapar, the Acting Minister of Ministry of Development in the International Convention Center, Berakas yesterday. At the opening was Managing Director of D’Sunlit Sdn Bhd, Mr Jackson Ting and Executive Director, Dato Paduka Haji Danial Haji Hanafiah, who gave an welcoming note at the start of the proceedings.

This iteration features the Food Fest, with lots of exploratory culinary experiences from award winning chefs, with baking classes from Bake Culture, food demonstrations by Her’s Kitchen, and Latte art by Piccolo.

Exciting activities await such as the “Junior Chefs Cookout and “Family Cook Out” by Hers Kitchen, Ice cream decorating challenge, Treasure Hunt Maze, photo booth, and a blood donation campaign by RIPAS.

After the opening ceremony, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gapar visited the various booths, which includes the 9th Thai Grand Fair featuring fresh exotic fruit, imported from Thailand. WIth over 400 booths with 180 exhibitors from Malaysia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cambodia, India, Singapore and Brunei, there’s something for everyone.

At the Concepts Computer booth. There is a special promotion. If customers buy an Acer pendrive (16GB), you will get another free. This promotion also applies to selected power banks and hard disks too. Great deal 😀

The VR glasses at Samsung booth (DST)

Baking Demo classes at the Consumer Fair, organised by Bake Culture

Baking demo

The VR glasses at Samsung booth (DST)

Check out the Koppair (inflatable bean bag without beans but simply air). Good pricing as well at BND 125. Do follow them at @koppla.bn on instagram

Photo booth

Thailand Grand Fair

Thailand Grand Fair

The crowd at Consumer Fair lately. Image courtesy of Concepts Computer

 

BHC Editor Amir Noor (2nd L) with Butra HeidelbergCement Sdn Bhd Managing Director Marcelino Ugarte (2nd R), BHC Project Director Stuart Lee (L), MMW Creative Director Hamdi Matussin (R) cut the cake during BHC’s 4th Anniversary celebration at Starbucks, Beribi. Image courtesy of Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times. Click image to read more.

Congratulations to the team behind BHC – Butra Home Concept

 

The Good, The So-So and The Bad. Ah, Jakarta.. It has been more than 10 years since my last visit to the city. I remember my last trip was with regards to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf trip, meeting potential franchisors in the region. I didn’t have much sentimental value back then but that changed over the course of the weekend during our toastmasters trip to attend the Jakarta Conference 2016.

I’m already feeling the pressure as I have volunteered myself to be responsible in running the Brunei Conference 2016 coming October. Then again, I have a reliable set of team in Brunei and it will also test my leadership skills in managing the event and striking the right chords with my team too.

Kashish Ajit Harjani (3rd from left) won the the Table Topics District Contest in Jakarta last weekend

Denish Vaswani (3rd from left)

Reuben Chin interviewing Pranika Lama

The contestants from the tables topic contest

With Allen, Fen and Pamela during Welcoming Dinner

So the Good… Well, I like the setting of the toastmasters conference. The venue was spot on for the toastmasters delegate and spacious as well (to a certain extent.. explain later). I can learn some pointers for the banner/backdrop that was used during the conference. The hotel we stayed at Santika Hayam Wuruk was pretty cool though the rooms were slightly small and it was about BND 650 for five nights.

The best part of the conference was the re-connecting with old faces and breaking the ice with new ones. Despite the minor friction from different divisions in our District, I made acquaintance with a few toastmasters members from Medan, Jakarta and Kuching. I learnt that I am able to get out of the comfort zone (as in being with my team members) and meet other members outside the Brunei contingent. That’s one way of expanding your horizons instead of imploding. This I have to take note for future conferences.

My final say of the juicy part of the conference was the actual speech contest, notably the International Speech category. Of course, we were all in Jakarta to support our Division champion Pranika Lama, a UBD Toastmasters member, and it was her first time reaching this level. I had faith in her speech because of her pure dedication and commitment to bring the best out of her.

To my surprise, the other contestants were equally good or better. They have just raised the bar for District 87 and sometimes it does pay when you have experience under your belt in this level. Dinesh Vaswani and Rebecca were no strangers and they had a 1-2 finish respectively and well-deserved too. As for Pranika, I truly grateful to witness you just being on stage and delivered a masterful delivery and many would be inspired to be a better speaker like you.

Now the so-so. It was cool know the fact that even a turnover of Chairmanship happened three times, things doesn’t necessarily will run smoothly. It means more transference and hand-over deals that could have been avoided before the actual conference. The Annual Conference is the second biggest after the World Conference and we could see teething problems along the way which I hope the organizing committee will bring it up during their post mortem.

Our rooms weren’t handled to a delicate manner and there were a few miscommunication with the logistic person and the front office of the hotel. It took me an hour to settle my room situation upon arrival.

Another teething problem was the actual contest. Yes, I did praise about the good quality speeches but behind the scenes, it was a total mess. There were no specific Organizing Chair for the contest. Nico from Medan was their standby emcee. Even the organizing chairperson asked me halfway during the contest if I could interview the contestants (But we all know that’s the task of the Contest Chair who happened to be Reuben and Pamela).

Among all these setbacks during the contest, I have to applaud Reuben Chin for lifting the energy of the audience when there was an unexpected delay before the prize presentation due to contestants’ protests on some matters. He was purely magical and charismatic in carrying the flow for at least 20 minutes to buy time for the Chief Judge to decide.

Like I said, just some teething problems that could have been avoided with proper communications. Something that we can’t take for granted.

Peter Voon from Bintulu and Gerald Goh

Yay, our area got awarded from Toastmasters International

Area K6, one of the strongest group in Division K, District 87

Now the Bad. Honestly, as a member of our toastmasters District 87, I was hoping for a better leadership from the District. The “Reaching Up, Reaching Out” but it didn’t reach the heights that was quite ambitious by our District Director. Perhaps the lowest point was when the District Director avoided a legit question by our Area K6 Director Allen Ang who raised concerns on the financial aspect of the District 87. A similar question was raised back in October 2015 in Bali but it was brushed off. This time, the District Director and the Finance Manager were put in the spotlight for a few minutes but their replies were fruitless and inconclusive. I felt embarrassed as a member that our leaders are not capable to answer a straight forward question and just be accountable for their actions. I hope the next term will turn things around with the newly elect Ivy Lau as the Division Director 2016-2017.

Another note, I wasn’t impressed with the Gala Dinner. We started quite early and we always know how draggy the Gala Dinner will be because of the award session. This is the time where toastmaster members and clubs will be recognized for their achievements and milestones. This is the time where delegates will sacrifice their personal time and fly to Jakarta at their own expense to receive their award.

However, it didn’t go as planned. The entertainment took bulk of the session over dinner where the awards should have given much importance. In the end, the award ceremony only started after 10pm which is pretty late and the overall experience seemed so rushed. It was probably the fastest award ceremony I’ve experienced as a delegate and it felt it was given less importance. Something for the organizers to look back and analyze on this event. The entertainment was already great on the Welcoming Dinner but to have on both nights, you will need to strike a balance on the Gala Dinner.

Brunei Speakers’ Club were awarded with two accolades

One of the energetic speakers at the Jakarta Conference. Cheeky too.

Our District leaders for Brunei, Indonesia, KK, Kuching and Labuan

During the District Council Meeting last Friday

Allen Ang raised a few valid points that still remains unanswered from District

The panels of District 87 leaders

The flag bearers for the opening ceremony

Some night activities during Welcome Dinner

There are many others that I want to highlight but I shall leave that offline. Overall, I had a splendid time because of the people around that I connected and reconnected with. Thank you, once again, to the organizers but don’t take my feedback personally but as a learning lesson.

Having said all these, it might backfire since I am the next organizing chair. I’m not raising any expectations for my conference either but at least, we as a team want to make everything run as smooth and make the delegates especially the international ones feel like home. That time will come and we will be ready to host all of you.

With the beautiful Pranika

Dinesh one of the most experienced public speaker. He will fly to Washington to compete in the World Conference this August. Good luck 😀

One of the table topics speaker

I was pitching for the delegates to come over to Brunie

Team KK are well ahead as they have secured 100 paying registrants for their convention next year