TGV Cinemas Grand Opening on 12 March 2015

TGV Cinemas is well known throughout West Malaysia. It seems that it is about time that they started to spread their wings to the land of Borneo. That is what happened on 12 March 2015. TGV Cinemas finally comes to Miri, Sarawak. Now people in Miri and it surrounding areas has more choices to pick which cinemas to go to.

The grand opening was held at Permaisuri Imperial City Mall, Miri. The launch was officiated by Assistant Minister of Sports and Communications Sarawak  YB Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Mayor of Miri City Council Lawrence Lai, Chief Executive Director of Boulevard Group of Companies Ling Chion Sing, Chief Executive Officer of Boulevard Group of Companies Don Yew Hoon and Chief Executive Officer of TGV Cinemas Gerald V Dibbayawan. 

Right after the grand opening ceremony, we were invited for the press conference which was at hall 5 of TGV Cinemas and was also invited to the premiere of, Cinderella. Yes people, I watched Cinderella with my fellow bloggers! We sat at the beanie seat, which was a little uncomfortable, maybe because I was sitting next to my best-friend while watching Cinderella. Sorry for those that loved that chair, I just don't 'dig it'.

I did took some photos of the event but unfortunately all the photos are uploaded to my old laptop and now that laptop is basically dead. So, I am still try to find a way to retrieve all the photos and will upload all of them soon. For the time-being, here's a LINK for some of the photos I manage to get. 

Personal view on the cinemas? Well, they have 8 halls all together and I love the toilet pipe design. Sorry, just have to say that. The industrial look is awesome! Now back to the cinema, I haven't actually been to all of the halls but the sound quality is good but they need to work more on the soundproof of the halls. But it seems to be common amongst the cinemas here in Miri and people are not bothered about that. The seats are great, not the beanie-seat, but the individual seats. They are huge and more leg room so its easy for some customer to go in and out.

Ignore my awkward 'thumbs up' pose.

Before I forget, thank you again to the good people of TGV Cinemas, Ms. Nandini, PR Executive of TGV Cinemas and many others that are involve in this launch. Thanks again for the Air Force One complimentary passes, will put that to good use very soon. Just for the sake of sharing, here are some photos taken from my fellow bloggers.

Of course we must have this kind of shots!

 

Borneo Jazz Festival mark its 10 Year Anniversary this May 2015

SARAWAK, Malaysia – Year 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the Borneo Jazz Festival in Sarawak. The two-day exciting festival of Jazz music will be celebrated on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9 in the Resort City of Miri.   The organizer, Sarawak Tourism Board proudly presents the best performers’ lineup promising the festival to be a hit celebratory note by bringing back favorite performers from the past years from different countries to celebrate a decade of Jazz by the sea.
 
The performing bands will cover a wide range of jazz genre from all over the world. From the local scene, “All The Best”, a five-piece ensemble with Miri-born Syafiee Obe Hairunie, who is also the conductor of the Kuching SONS Jazz Orchestra to lead the local challenge. It parades contemporary jazz with a twist of Malaysian flavor with added Latin rhythms.  

Favorite international performers on stage this year will be one of the most on demand jazz pianists from the Spanish Blues scene, Lluis Coloma, boogie-woogie at its most inspired. Louis Coloma at the piano will dislodge all the keys with great big happy smile.  

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band from the United States of America, sparkly exhilarating and featuring exuberant traditional brass band from the rich jazz traditions of New Orleans. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorporating funk and bebop into the traditional New Orleans jazz style.  

From Perth, Western Australia, Diamond Dave and The Doodaddies are a four-piece Chicago style Blues Band offering a solid selection of uplifting grooves covering swinging shuffles, soul, boogaloo, ‘cry in your beer’ blues and more.  

The Doodaddies proves not only that the roots of the blues are strong and far reaching, but the future of the blues is bright.  

Jump4Joy, the Swedish high energy entertainment with a strong New Orleans flavor brings their music kind of feel-good energetic toe-tapping sounds from the stage.   Mo’Blow from Berlin, Germany, is more towards energetic spicy groovy funk. After hearing Mo’ Blow you will think differently about their country of origin because Germany is not exactly known as the home of soul and funk jazz.  

Other popular jazz band listed for this decade of celebration is The Nylons, a cappella jazz group from Canada. They are well known for their dazzling harmonies and slick stage performances.  
And finally, Anthony Strong from United Kingdom, hailed as “England’s new jazz superstar” after Gregory Porter, Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr. raised to become the No.1 on iTunes and No.2 on the www.amazon.com jazz charts in the USA.  

For intending festivalgoers, they are encouraged to check out for attractive promotional offers and discount tickets to be announced on the festival website at www.jazzborneo.com for latest offers and discounts.  

To encourage visitors coming and to explore the destination, the organizer is also working with various tour agencies to package the festival with wide array of local product experiences.  

At the festival site, festival goers will be able to enjoy a variety of local and international cuisine, purchase of souvenirs as well as local handicrafts during the festival to help the local business community to integrate and be a part of the event and contribute to the local economy.  

The host city, Miri, the gateway to Northern Sarawak is also a destination that has lots to offer to visitors. From budget hotels to 5-star accommodations, from adventures at sea and to the mountains, it has all. Visitors who are at the Borneo Jazz are encouraged to extend their stay and explore the Mulu National Park - the only UNESCO World Heritage site in Sarawak.   

The event scheduled in May, in conjunction with celebration of the Miri City Day. It is a month-long of celebration and the best time to plan and visit the area.  

The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) will continue to incorporate the tree planting campaign as part of the festival corporate social responsibility program and as a contribution to the city’s greening efforts. Other than the performing bands, various government organizations, Universities and Colleges will be invited to be part of the event for bigger and better impact. STB will take pride in incorporating the elements of greening at the venue.  

Borneo Jazz has grown steadily since its first edition in 2006, going from 3,000 spectators to nearly 8,000 in the last year. This growth is a reflection of the success of the festival and the growing appeal of jazz enthusiast around the region.  

Festival tickets is available online at www.jazzborneo.com. Fast updated information through Twitter account @SarawakTravel or Facebook at Sarawak   Travel.   Borneo Jazz is one of Major Event lineup for ‘Malaysia Year of Festival – MyFest 2015’.  

Organized by Sarawak Tourism Board, supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia and Ministry of Tourism Sarawak and endorsed by Tourism Malaysia.   

Christmas is Coming!!

Not sure how to start this blog but here goes! CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!! Why am I excited? No, I'm not getting any present from anyone 'special' this year but the environment.

How was your Christmas experiences so far? Lonely? Enjoyable? Fun? or just OK?

Remember the time when our parents told us that Christmas is about giving and having that 'Christmas Spirit'. Well, all of it are true.

For me, celebrating Christmas is the most important "Family Time" of the year. Why? Well, its the time where family members gathered and share the same table, enjoy having each other around, make fun of each other and basically anything that family members do. It is also the time where long lost friends are found back. Well, never had that experience before but manage to contact back all my primary schoolmates right before Christmas. So it counts for me.

In 2012, back when I was still doing my internship in PJ, Selangor. I missed out Christmas. It was sad but I told myself that I'm not gonna let it get to me. I miss everything back home then. I was alone and not knowing what to do. So, during Christmas eve, I cooked up something (just to get my Christmas mood), well, it wasn't something special but it was good enough for me. Cooked up spaghetti and had it all by myself. Most of my housemate when back to Sarawak and some stayed with their relative so I had no one to share it with. So the night of Christmas Eve I stayed home and watched some Christmas movie, text some friends and just wishing everyone Merry Christmas.

So, Christmas morning comes and I head off to KL city to catch on what is happening there during Christmas. To be honest, there was nothing special going on except for the Christmas sales. Since, that is the only thing that is happening so I tag along. Bought myself some cloths, pants, socks and anything I can get my hands on. Had some nice meals. Just your typical shop till you drop moments. The feeling of missing home is still there but I choose to ignore it cause I know I'll be back home soon. So it didn't bother me a lot.

So, above is the a sharing of my Christmas alone moments. I can never forget that moment. Even when there is not much going on but we all have or bound to have those moments someday. So, what is your Christmas memories that you couldn't forget?

Asia Music Festival 2014 Day 1 Photo Collage

Due to certain error while editing the photographs I am unable to upload all the photographs individually instead I choose to create a photo collage for the Day 1 of AsiaMF2014.

Had an awesome time listening and watching all of the performance and dance to the beat!

Asia Music Festival 2014

3rd and 4th October 2014 marks the second Asia Music Festival, which was being held at Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club, Miri Sarawak. The common question you get to hear is this "How was the event?" 

Good question, How was the event? Here my point of view on it.

I was there for the first AMF2013 and for a new project or event, it was great. Do I have high expectation for this year's event? Yeap! Some may not agree with me. Some may say that AsiaMF2014 was filled with Raggae music. True, Raggae vibes does took over the night. Well, both night to be exact. Why? Was the other acts wasn't as good as the Reggae acts? False, the other acts was equally fun to watch and enjoyable (not sure that I'm using the right word here).

Yes, the Raggae acts stole the show for 2 nights in a row, first night was by Salam Musik and Masia One and the second night was by Ras Muhamad. Now, there's another issue whereby Masia One, a hip hop/rap artist, was doing Raggae instead of performing hip hop or rap. Yes, her background is hip hop and/or rap but she decided to do Raggae that night. Well, its common for artist to bring something outside of their comfort zone whenever they are performing. I wouldn't say that Raggae is outside of the comfort zone of Masia One but she did bring something different. Yes, I too was expecting that she would do some gangster/badass rapping. But hey, she did Raggae and that's too bad. Nuff' said.

What really matter for me when such event is being held is to see the crowd have the time of their life. Dancing like there's no tomorrow, singing your lungs out and even scream! And that's what happen on the second night of AsiaMF2014. What about the first night? Wasn't anyone dance, sing or scream? I think its getting obvious for certain new event, for the first day, the crowd is a little bit slow. What more to say that the first night was being held on Friday (after working hours). Its unfortunately to see that the crowd was a bit slow on the first day as compared to last year's AMF2013. But the crowd kept on coming anyway. DJ Roundhead play his role well that night. He keep the crowd in front of the stage. Yeah, some are sitting down, enjoying the music and some are dancing away to the beat (that's us).  

The second night kicks off with a dance performance. Not being a hater but DANCE?? Yes, they are good (and the girls are hot) but DANCE??? AT A MUSIC FESTIVAL?? For me, it doesn't goes well. It might be okey for other event but not at a music festival. If they must mix a dance act try and put a DJ there to play or mix there song while they're dancing (just to show that there is an instrument being played). That would be great but it didn't happen. Well, its just my opinion but the crowd seems to love it. 

Ok, enough about the performance review. What really made my weekend at AsiaMF2014 memorable are the people I get to share this experience with. Members of Sarawak Bloggers (you know who you are), media friends from Brunei and KL. Given more opportunities like this, I gladly accept.

Photographs? I am in the midst of editing most of the photographs and picking those that are worthy to be posted. It might take some time but I'll post 'em here and in my facebook page. Please do check them out.

So, that's my review on this year's Asia Music Festival 2014.

DJ Roundhead spinning at Asia Music Festival 2014

Asia Music Festival will be featuring a DJ gig for the first time this year in which Malaysian famous DJ Roundhead will be playing at the post-festival late show on Oct 3 and 4.

According to a publicity release yesterday, DJ Roundhead will also be playing a huge array of famous dance music during a break between each band both nights.Asia Music Festival, now in its second year running, will bring again the very best eclectic mix of live music together for one mind-blowing weekend in Miri.

Performing as a DJ for at least 20 years, DJ Roundhead was once crowned as the ‘Malaysia DJ Champion’ three years in a row when he entered the Malaysian DJ Championship competition from 1995-1997.

When he was in high school, he would work part-time jobs during the weekend just to blow it all away on CDs and records.

That made him the ‘go-to-guy’ when it came to house parties from high school all the way to college.

DJ Roundhead would bring his own player and set up his own mini console and rock the crowd at the party.

Only after college did he join a company during the 90s called Clubworld Entertainment that supplied DJs to entertainment outlets around the country, where he started his professional career.

Among his best moments was representing the country in the Rotterdam Love Parade in the Netherlands for a strong crowd of 10,000 on a 34-wheel trailer while proudly flying the Malaysian flag in front of his console.

He played as a DJ residence in Melbourne, Australia, for a year before returning to the country and is currently attached to TraxxFM in Kuala Lumpur.

The major challenge for any real DJ is being able to perform under pressure.

The most interesting bit is studying the crowd earlier before any performance without undermining their expectations of entertainment.

According to DJ Roundhead, a real DJ can tell if a record or a song is going to be a hit or a dance floor filler. Knowledge is the key for everything.

The inaugural festival last year saw incredible performances from headliners from the Asian region as far as India, Thailand and Korea. With the main goal to develop the brand of Asia Music Festival to be an iconic music festival of mixed genre in the Asian region, the festival has recorded around 3000 music fans attending the first edition of the festival last year.

Asia Music Festival will also incorporate a range of Asian food as well as tattoo exhibition so there will be something for everyone. The festival will start at 5pm daily with a tattoo exhibition as well as food and village mart. Stage performance will begin at 7:30pm until midnight, followed by the DJ set with DJ Roundhead until 2am. Eight international bands have been confirmed for this year’s festival.

AMF14 Ticket and Bus Shuttle Service

Something new that the organizer had done for this year's Asia Music Festival is providing bus shuttle service. Now, on that day itself, if you're too lazy to look for a parking at Eastwood Valley, just use this service. Refer to the below schedule :

As for the ticketing, the price for PRE SALE TICKETS are at RM25 per day for adults and RM10 per day for children (age 3 to 18). Now this offer only valid until 2nd Oct. During the event itself, the ticket price is about RM30 per day for adults and RM15 per day for children (age 3 to 18). Other than that, you can purchase the ticket from TicketPro. For more details, please visit AMF Tickets Sales.