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I was in Singapore last week for Ad:Tech, a digital marketing conference. The event was on Thursday and Friday, but I decided to extend it over the weekend. So as you can tell, the trip was a mixture of business and pleasure. I took the time to also meet up with my brother, cousins and aunts plus also to go shopping since it was the Great Singapore Sale happening when I’m there.

The first 2 nights, I stayed at the Carlton Hotel which is just within walking distance to Suntec Convention Centre where Ad:Tech was held. The hotel was excellent and situated in a very strategic location where SMRT (City Hall and Esplanade) stations are accessible just within walking distance.

My room @ The Carlton Hotel, Singapore

The 2 days I was there was spent attending the conference of course. But the first 2 nights were spent together with the media owners who sponsored my trip there. I tell you, they are one bunch of party animals. Or maybe because I haven’t been partying as much as I used to, so seeing how they do it 3 straight nights in a row is really something even too much for me. I joined them only on the first 2 nights where on the first night we went to a bar in Chijmes which is just across the street from our where my hotel is. Not going into details, but lets just say there was a bottle of single malt + 6-7 rounds of Jägerbomb involved.

The second night, I met up with a friend in Orchard for dinner and then went to Jolene’s “house warming” party at LeVel33 @ Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1. The concept was the World’s Highest Urban Craft-brewery with a unique dining experience complete with one of the best views of Singapore’s Marina Bay and city skyline. I must say, while the view was nice, I didn’t really enjoy the outdoor dining area as it can get a little hot and stuffy if there isn’t any breeze, especially on a warm night. Didn’t try the food though, but I heard it’s decent but rather pricey, so maybe next time.

View of Marina Bay Sands from LeVel33

After the “pre-party” drinks, I met back up with my fellow sponsors to a club called Stereo Lounge in Pan Pacific hotel. Apparently, the place is newly renovated so everything looked kinda new. It had 2 rooms with one playing R&B and the other playing House music. One thing I like about the clubs in Singapore is that all clubs are “smoke free”…meaning, you cannot smoke in the club while you’re inside, instead you either have to go outside or go to a designated smoker’s area if you want to light up. Good way to avoid breathing second hand smoke and you don’t have to worry about going back home smelling like burnt rubbish.

Alice, Shi Yin, Eileen, Jaclyn and Ivy @ Stereo Lounge

The next day, I checked out the hotel to spend the night at my brother’s place. I had an early check out from the hotel and then left my luggage at my brother’s place before meeting up with my aunts, uncle and cousins for lunch at VivoCity. It was really nice meeting up with them again. I guess I will make an attempt to visit them more since I technically have “free accommodation” each time I’m down in Singapore :)

After lunch, we shopped around VivoCity a bit before heading to Queensway Shopping Centre where it’s a shoe collector’s paradise. If you’re a shoe lover/collector, this is the place to be. It consists of rows after rows of shoe shops which also includes a few shops that carry limited edition shoes. I was actually looking for a new pair of shoe for awhile back in KL, but I thought I would check the prices and variety in Singapore since I’m there.

A limited edition shop at Queensway Shopping Centre

In the end, my brother bought me this pair as an upcoming birthday present! :) Thanks bro!

My new kicks! Puma Faas-300…endorsed by Usain Bolt, world’s fastest man!

Later on that night, we headed to NEX Serangoon to meet up my aunt for dinner who flew in from KL to spend the weekend. After dinner, my bro, sis-in-law and I decided to try our luck at the casino tables at Marina Bay Sands Casino. Well, luck wasn’t on our side that night as all 3 of us lost…and it’s even more painful to the person earning Malaysian Ringgits instead of Singaporean Dollars..oh well.

The next morning, the 3 of us went for brunch at Jones The Grocer @ Dempsey Hill. It is really something you should try on a Sunday morning. The place serves premium Australian gourmet foods as well as premium off the shelve products like roasted coffee beans, chocolates, cookies, home made sauces, just to name a few. The food was really good, but the place comes with a warning….go there early as there is always a long queue for breakfast especially on Sundays.

Coconut pancakes with mangoes topped with ice cream

Black Forest Coffee…nice but a tad too sweet

Jones’ Breakfast – meat and eggs..can’t really go wrong here

After a hearty brunch, we went over to 313@Somerset for some last minute shopping. Initially, I was suppose to meet up with Sonia, Reyhan and Yi Lane over lunch, but seeing how full I was after brunch, I just had soup while we caught up. I must say, time really flies when you’re with good company. Before you know it, we spent about 3 hours just sitting and talking. Nevertheless, it was really great seeing my ex-colleagues and drinking buddies again. Hey you guys, if you’re reading this, I will be down in Singapore more often now…so be prepared! Haha!

Reyhan, Sonia and Yi Lane

After saying our goodbyes, I headed back to my brother’s place to pack up and head to the airport for my evening flight back to KL. The trip overall was great, as it had a little something of everything…work, party, catching up with family and friends, shopping and of course relaxation to certain extend. What a great way to spend the weekend. Looking forward to another weekend like that down in Singapore for sure.

Last month, I was nominated to participate in my company’s regional conference called ConFest, which is a festival of conferences over the course of 2 weeks. It was held in Shangri-la’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The place was simply awesome. Imagine attending this event, held at a seaside resort for a couple of days, and working not from your office work desk but on the deck chairs by the pool or by the sea. My colleagues and I wished it was like this everyday at the office and didn’t want to work anywhere else!

GroupM Interaction ConFest 2011

So anyway, I’m not going to be focusing much about the conference itself as I thought that it would be too long and too many things to cover (and not like everyone will be interested to know anyways), so instead, I’m just gonna show you on how the place looks like.

And you know what??..I got a junior suite all to myself! It had a living room and a king size bed. I’m not complaining, but I did think the room was a bit large just for myself so it became the envy and the chill out spot of my colleagues.

The living room area

Can you see 2 LCD TVs?

The view from my balcony…

Oh, did I tell you..my company also rebranded and took over their resort bar! We had free flow of booze (from Heineken and Corona to self branded cocktails) from 6-11PM daily. I must say, if you were there for 2 weeks…it could really do some serious damage to your liver and your health.

We “rebranded” it the mbar

We even have our very own customized cocktails

Of course after the happy hours ended, we went into KK town to check out the local night life. A colleague had a friend to take us around town for seafood as well as a taste of the clubbing scene in KK. We were at KK Times Square where we bar hopped. We went for a live band performance and then ended the night in this place called The White Room. I must say, I have totally underestimated KK’s night life. The bands and music were better than I expected and the crowd is pretty decent too. Hey, it’s my first time clubbing in KK and clubs in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have become sort of a benchmark. Nevertheless, we all had a great time.

The following day, before we left for home, we went to the Sunset Bar at the resort. They have this elevated bar facing the sea. Really nice place to chill and to watch the sunset (hence the name of the bar).

Imagine chilling and doing your work right here!

Sunset @ Sunset Bar

All in all, it was a really good conference. Learnt a whole lot, networked a lot and most importantly had a really great time. Up next in my company travel itinerary..Singapore in June and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam in July…until then.. :)

Happy New Year! This year for NYE, we celebrated at Somerset service apartments. It was among good friends with dinner and then the usual drinks.

Later on, we played the usual drinking games and waited for midnight where we saw fireworks from our balcony. I got to say, this year’s view for fireworks is probably the best so far. Watch the video below and you’ll know what I mean. It’s like having a front row seat to a concert!

Apart from that, nothing much different happened. I guess it’s another sign of aging. Oh well, as they say, another year older another year wiser too. Here is to having a wonderful year ahead!

I recently was in Bali for the second time. This time, it was with just a few friends of mine and we chose to stay away from all the buzz of Kuta town and decided to stay in Ubud which is further north up in the hills of Bali. We rented a private villa all to ourselves equipped with a swimming pool, driver and personal caretakers to make you food as you wish. All these of comes with a price of course. You can rent the villa for about USD $250 per night which I think it’s not bad considering we had 4 of us and we stayed for 5 nights.

DAY 1: UBUD (Murni’s Villa)
Arrived at Bali slightly after lunch, tired from the 1 half hour journey from the airport after a 2 hour flight from KL. Before we reached our villa, we stopped by for some Nasi Ayam Campur which was recommended by our driver. Something quite different from the normal Nasi Ayam you get back in KL, as this consist of chicken liver and other chicken parts mixed with spices. It’s not too bad actually, but a word of caution as it is a bit spicy for those who cannot really take it.

Nasi Ayam Campur

After lunch, we checked in to our villa, to which we were greeted with welcome drinks and snacks. Here is a tour of our villa..

some crackers and ice blended lime juice to welcome us

our infinity swimming pool =)

the bedrooms and living room

After settling down, we decided to head to Ubud town for dinner and a nice night of Jazz. We went to Murni’s Warung, a multi-story restaurant which serves authentic Balinese dishes in Ubud town. I like the ambiance in this place as each level of the restaurant has a slightly different theme which caters for different occasion. After dinner, we then headed to Jazz Cafe for some live Jazz performances.

Us at Murni’s Warung

DAY 2: SEMINYAK
It was a day at the beach and shopping. The girls booked massages at this place called Jari Menari in Seminyak even before we arrived in Bali. They apparently require you to do booking weeks in advance and to confirm your booking upon your arrival in Bali as it is very well known and mostly fully booked. They are very famous for their “4 Palm Massage” which you will get a massage from 2 masseurs simultaneously. Prior to the massage appointment, we went for some shopping and also to the beach.

Oli and Jo posing while they went shopping

Along the way, stopped by this place called Fashion Point for lunch. This place looks like it’s an artist’s haven despite it being called Fashion Point. Furniture at this place are decorated with art pieces combined with Balinese statues to make it look authentic.

Insert bulb into wine bottle and add a few ornaments and wahlahh! a nice art piece..

Oh, this is my lunch btw – Fried rice w/chicken sate

Beautiful Seminyak beach…need I say more?

Oli, Jo & I @ Seminyak Beach

After the massages, we went for dinner at Ku De Ta, a place I would recommend to someone who wants to have do a marriage proposal or an unforgettable party. The place is a club/restaurant facing the beach where deck chairs and candles make up the lounge area during the night. Accordingly, the place is renovated every year with a new theme to attract customers. The food there is categorized as “Australian Fine Dining” (whatever that means), and it’s a bit on the pricey side. The 4 of us did had dinner there and the bill came up to 1.8million…Rupiah that is, but still its about RM 600+ after conversion. Seriously, it’s really nice and I would definitely want to go back there again. I wouldn’t go back there for the food, but the drinks there however are reasonably priced.

Jo, Oli & Mike fine dining at Ku De Ta

Our infamous bill…I suddenly feel like a millionaire!

DAY 3: UBUD TOWN
It’s a whole day of shopping for souvenirs and also eating famous Babi Guling or Balinese Suckling Pig. Now, our driver took us to the famous Ibu Oka Babi Guling, which has won an award for one of the top restaurants in Bali. I got to say, Babi Guling is simply out of this world. I would recommend it to all serious pork lovers out there.

Babi Guling with rice

I think these are deep fried pork innards and it’s damn tasty 

After lunch, we proceeded to the Ubud market, where we spent most of our time (and money) there shopping. I bought a few unique items as well as some paintings for my home. Most of us used up most of the cash we brought for that day.

I bought this steel hot air balloon lantern which I thought is cool

In the evening, it started to rain, and we slightly soaked, hungry and tired. We stopped by to have dinner at a nearby restaurant and then decided to head back to the villa and call it a night.

DAY 4: KUTA & SEMINYAK
We decided to head to Kuta beach today. After experiencing the beach in Seminyak, my friends thought Kuta will be just as nice. Boy were we wrong! I’ve been to Kuta beach a couple of years back, and I know how packed it can be and how irritating the street peddlers are. I hate it when I’m are being constantly pushed to purchase something when I already made it clear that I’m are not interested. Now imagine walking every 5 steps and these peddlers selling you the same thing again. It’s bloody annoying! Plus, the beach is hot and packed, you don’t even get to have a decent spot to put your things down to get into the water without being constantly bugged by these peddlers.

We were all annoyed, so we decided to just have lunch head back to the beach in Seminyak. But before leaving Kuta, the ladies (as usual) decided to go shopping again.

Shops in Kuta Square

This shop is called “The White Shop” where everything sold is…WHITE

I like this sign. It makes customers stop to take a look

Oli and Jo, happy shopping at Kuta

After swimming in the beach at Seminyak, we had dinner by the beach where we also managed to watch the sunset.

Sunset @ Seminyak beach

My dinner – Grilled fish with herbs and seafood

After the delicious dinner, we went to this place called Hu’u which is situated just off Seminyak beach. The place is an old colonial mansion, converted into a club/restaurant/bar. There are garden furniture, together with dimly lit lights and chilled out music to create a very relaxing environment. There is also a swimming pool in the middle upon entering the garden that doubles up as a centerpiece with an ice sculpture at night. Inside, they play more hard house music compared to the garden area. We didn’t try the food, but the drinks here are also quite reasonably priced. Another nice place I would definitely come back to try the food.

Jo and Oli chilling out @ Hu’u

DAY 5: KINTAMANI
Mike and Oli felt that they wanted to be spending more time in the villa “vegetating” since we’ve been out most of the time over the past few days. Jo and I however, wanted to go to the coffee plantation that serves Kopi Luwak, or Civet coffee – which is the world’s most expensive coffee. We wanted to simply get a taste of it to see what all the hype is about. Apparently, this coffee cost around USD$60 per cup in some places. We headed up to Kintamani, which is about an hour journey from our villa to have buffet lunch on the hill side facing the volcano. The place is nice, especially the scenery and the buffet spread was not too bad either. To me it’s a bit over rated, but then again it’s something to experience.

Simple buffet spread

The view from our table

Jo & I

After lunch, we headed to the coffee plantation where we were shown how the coffee was made, and the creature that made it famous.

“We are here!”

The Civet Cat that eats the coffee beans

Coffee beans before…

…and after being digested by the Civet Cat

It’s then dried..

then roasted..

then pounded into coffee powder..

Mix with hot water and you get a cup of Kopi Luwak

Overall, the coffee is nothing to shout about really. Despite it being smooth and you don’t need to add sugar to enjoy it, for me it’s just taste like another cup of coffee. Don’t know what the fuss is all about.

We then went back to the villa to rest. We didn’t want to go out that night, so we ordered dinner in to be served to us. It’s like our last night in Bali, so we wanted to be pampered with people serving us in the comfort of our villa I guess.

Us eating in on the last night.

DAY 6: BYE BYE BALI =(
It’s time to say goodbye to our villa and our vacation. It’s really been great and a relaxing one. We woke up, with breakfast served to us one last time and then begin to pack to catch our flight back in the evening.

Will miss this the most – breakfast being served to us every morning!

taken with our villa caretakers, guards and driver – awesome bunch

*Click here to view more pictures

P.S: If you’re in Bali and you need a personal driver, I seriously recommend you to call Mr. Made (pronounced Mah Day) at 081 64741286. He is reliable, honest and humble. You can let him know that Nick from Kuala Lumpur who stayed at Murni’s Villa recommended you and he should remember. =)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!! It’s a brand spanking new year and 2010 in my view will be (I hope) an awesome year! Yes, for several reasons, I’m really optimistic about this year. 2010 will be themed “Rebuilding” for me. Rebuilding – career, friendships and relationships. I have several new year’s resolution which I shall not mentioned because I feel the moment you tell someone or let anyone know what it is, you’re under pressure to fulfill it. I do not want that! As we speak, I have already received some awesome news which already fulfilled one of my new year’s resolution. I’ll tell everyone about it when things are more certain.

Now for some updates. First up, I want to wish my sis Zara “Happy Birthday!” Her birthday falls on New Year’s Eve every year, therefore most people are usually too busy to celebrate it with her. This year, being her big 3-0, her best friend Rozell, schemed a surprise for her on the eve of her birthday in Mezze in Medan Damansara…and boy was she surprised! You should see the expression on her face when she came in the restaurant hoping to have a quiet dinner with just her boyfriend Harng, who just came from Aussie, and her best friend, when we all jump out of our hiding spots to surprise her. It really was an unforgettable moment.

“Hello…my name is Zara the birthday girl..”

Zara, Tina & Joanne

Suzanne & May Lynn

Zara & Harng

Group pic @ Mezze

I also have here a video of the birthday girl giving her thank you speech and blowing out her birthday cake.

Up next, NYE. Now then, it’s almost an annual affair that I celebrate New Year’s Eve with a party. This year (well, last year to be more exact) we rented a hotel suite in Ritz-Carlton Residences, Kuala Lumpur. All I got to say is the place was FREAKIN’ HUGE! It has 3 bedrooms with walking wardrobe in the master bedroom, a dining, kitchen, living room and study/library. According to the website, its about 2,362 square feet.  The place can accommodate 30-40 people easily!

Ok, to cut the long story short, I have some pictures taken from that night.

(click on photos for larger view)

The return of the sheesha!

“bottoms-up!”

Alcohol for the night..not all shown in this pic though

Counting down…

Fireworks view from our place…nice leh??!

“0-0-7-Bang! Ahhhh!”

“Big Cow, Small Cow”

“Say Cheezzee!”

“Cheezzee!”

“Damn…have to drink again!”

If you’re wondering, NYE this time round was a very “civilized” affair. There were surprisingly no casualties but some of us including myself stayed over till the next morning. What a great party it has been, and what a way to usher in the new year. Looking forward ahead for more better things to come! :)

NYE Photos by: Chen Yih Wen