Ah Gua

I had an interesting past couple of days.

Over the weekend, I was invited by IDC to speak at their Directions 08 Conference in Singapore.

IDC is a huge international marketing research group much like AC Nielsen, and their Directions 08 conference was one of their bigger events where delegates from Dell, HP, Microsoft, etc reportedly paid some SGD$680 each just to attend this one-day conference!
Goodness! The only time I would pay THAT much money to attend a conference is if Mariah Carey is the speaker and I get to Touch Her Body afterwards… I mean, LISTEN to her sing ‘Touch My Body’ afterwards.

Anyway, my purpose on the the conference was as part of a 4-person panel, talking about what us Generation-Y bloggers think about the Internet trends. Joining me on the panel were social media blogger Daryl from Singapore, tech blogger Victor from Hong Kong and sex blogger Meenakshi from India.
Our panel session lasted for 35 minutes, and I think I spoke for a grand total of only like just 10 minutes.

The coolest thing about speaking at a large-scale conference like this is that these people fly you in and let you stay at some super expensive swanky 5-star hotel that I would never be able afford on my own.
The even cooler thing is that sometimes these hotel rooms are all booked out. When that happens they automatically upgrade you to a suite.

Yes, a friggin’ SUITE!
Complete with separate living room and bedroom!

Damn nice marbled bathroom with a jacuzzi!

What more?
They even gave us not one, but TWO RUBBER DUCKIES in the bathtub!
OMG.

Of course I was excited! Not everyday I get to play with rubber duckies.
Oh, and also get to stay at a suite in the Grand Copthrone Hotel in Singapore, just for talking 10 minutes about blogging. 😛
I know, I hate myself sometimes.

On Saturday night, I met up with Stickgal at CHIJMES.
As you can see, Stickgal looks nothing like the stick figures that she draws, but she is definitely just as animated.

The funniest thing happened before my return trip at the Changi airport.
The flight to Kuching was delayed and we were given meal vouchers to redeem at the airport food court.
So I while was there at the food counter, waiting for the uncle to prepare my bowl of noodles, this middle-aged Indonesian lady who obviously speaks very limited English came up to him and asked.
Lady: “Ah Gua?”
Uncle: “Har? What Ah Gua?”
Lady: *pointing towards the uncle* “You! You! Ah Gua?”
Uncle: “Har? No! No! I not Ah Gua leh!”
Lady: “No! No! Ah Gua! Ah Gua!”
Kenny: “Eh Uncle, I think she’s asking if you sell water or not. Water is called Aqua.”

Uncle: “HAR? How come water call Ah Gua?”


My verdict on the latest Malaysian Dreamgirl Couture Batik photoshoot:
The most talented two, Nadia and Jay, was disappointing. Ringo was average. Hanis the Manis showed good promise. What surprised me the most was that the worst performers from previous shoots bounced back with a vengeance: Cindy and Adeline looked brilliantly stunning. And Adeline looked like Paris Hilton in the Escada video shoot!

121 Replies to “Ah Gua”

  1. whoa. i was just here a couple minutes ago and when i was came back coz i needed to look up a link from this blog, you have a new entry. wonder if i’ll be the first commenter…. lol

  2. i comment earlier before finish reading the entry coz i want to be the first commenter. *sheepish* lol. anyways, im an indonesian whos been in US for almost 8 yrs, and OMG it’s been sooooo long since ive seen a bottle of AQUA. barely even remember it exists……kinda makes me miss indo. *sniff*

  3. kenny! how can u say cindy’s batik couture pix is nice??? =_=! her face again totally expressionless and whereas everyone else tries to show of their dress, she just stands there and lets the assistants flip her dress for her… =_=”
    the best ones were hanis n nadia’s laaaaaa…..
    AND i cannot stand cindy in episode 13 (isit ep. 13?), where you and the other few guys went over for dinner! omg….she acts like she’s never seen a guy in her entire life! or is it because she stuck in the dreamhouse that she is so desperate now? =_=! the way she swoons over JP just makes me sick man…

  4. hahaha! lame but funny!!!! =DDD
    and i agree that adeline looks stunning in the newest photoshoot..;) adeline.. dont know lar.
    but i think ringo couture batik’s the nicest among all the photoshoots she has taken..
    am wondering who will be the top 3.. hmmm.

  5. hahaha
    the luxury… things us mere mortals get awed by so easily…
    no comments about MDG … except that I just want it to end soon. don’t want to watch anymore

  6. haha..lucky you were there to tell the Uncle, if not maybe some arguement may happen.
    Uncle (to police) : She call me Ah Gua!
    Police : So how she know you are Ah Gua?
    Uncle : How I know why she call me that?
    Police : So are you Ah Gua or not?
    Uncle : Of course not la!
    and it goes on and on and one…
    The poor lady would probably die of thirst!

  7. what happened to stickgal’s picture? i’ve never seen stickgal before but your picture of stickgal doesnt seem to load. was it removed?

  8. Aqua is actually the first and also the most famous brand for mineral water in Indonesia. That is why no matter what brand it is, Indonesian people called mineral water as Aqua as the word Aqua has become general term for mineral water in Indonesia. The word aqua itself is actually a Latin word means water.

  9. Wow …. lucky u, talk 10 min get to stay in a 5* suite, with rubber duckie some more!! we ordinary people talk whole day got 0!! Life not fair!!

  10. Yellow duck….. quack… quack…
    Kenny Sia… my mom think i’m crazy for checking out your blog daily… so she asked me to tag u in my blog… and then, she taught me how to call u ka na sai cause she really look like one in MDG… great job…..in MDG
    So, i tagged u la…. see you so ka na sai…

  11. Hi Kenny,
    Hope u got back safe and all is good and well. I was just wondering if you received my email, and if so, hope u see it as worth your time & consideration.
    regardless all the best and and my warmest regards & wishes.
    Love & respect,
    Raj

  12. stickgal very lenglui worrr…..^^
    at first i thought she was ur gf….=.=
    rubber duckies? OMG?
    anyway, great joke^^

  13. Hahahahaha…. nice trip Kenny tapi the duck is an additional excitement… Akua… hmm an Indonesian style to call mineral water… macam kat Malaysia they call Colgate for every toothpaste… cerita lama lah…

  14. Hey!Kenny.you & Stickgal “BAGAI PINANG DI BELAH DUA” lah!, Ei Sai Lah!.(stickgal ask kenny what is that malay words mean)ha..ha..

  15. Haha yeah I totally get that, we Indonesians think that the only brand of bottled water that exists in the market is Aqua. That was before I came to Singapore where there are too many brands of water to be bothered anymore that is..

  16. what!? cindy’s good?? she’s the most “tame” in the photos..at least the rest of the girls had more action..she just stood there…..

  17. Water is called ‘Aqua’ or ‘A gua’ in Indonesia. Try order ‘mineral water’ or ‘air sejuk/panas’ in Indonesia, they won’t understand you. Majority drinks mineral water by the brand ‘Aqua’ in Indonesia, that’s why water is called Aqua there.
    Only the really really poor ones boil water from tap. I remembered asking for kettle to boil water from hotel recep and they were laughing at me. Ordered ‘air suam’ or ‘air sejuk’ or ‘air mineral’ from hotel cafe and they don’t understand me. After that i found out that they call water ‘Aqua’

  18. Wow, stickgal looks gorgeous eh. Kenny i starting to hate u, bcoz u r dating a lot nice chicks than I.
    Anyway, i guess the indon chick is not pointing the uncle said ah gua right, u make it big, damn. xp

  19. hahhA! nice entry there! love the ahgua… remind me of the time when i was in thailand looking at the Ah Gua show… ^^”

  20. stickgirl is pretty….kenny sia oso handsome…can’t wait to see the real u in Cleo’s 50 most eligible bachelor party…

  21. Kenny and Stickgal look cute together… ^__^
    Ohh..Aqua..yesh, like some comments given above, Indonesian are just used to use the word “Aqua” to refer to mineral water.
    No matter how many brands of mineral water exist, they keep on saying ‘Aqua’
    So..someone who sells mineral water (gallon packaging) here always have to re-confirmed buyers like :
    ‘Do you want the brand Aqua or another brand?’ just to make sure.
    Haish..the power of a brand..

  22. ah! rubber duckies! omg.. so cute!
    can’t imagine you playing with the duckies in the bathtub.
    smart la you, know what that ‘ah gua’ really is.

  23. Yes the room looks nice and yes the bathroom is all charming with the rubberducks.
    Great job with the blog, I love reading your stuff!

  24. Wow, u r so fortunate to be paid well and get to stay in a luxurious suite for speaking 10mins. Thats why u r a top blogger.
    And the Agua incident is funny.

  25. your credibility must have rocketed a million levels more now that you have IDC on your portfolio. (respect)

  26. Kenny, is that really stickgal? She doesn’t seem to be the kinda girl who will hv all kinds of trouble in her relationship as shown in the blog?! she’s so hot and cute man! what’s with the guys around him (Aahahha.. except KennySia) ?

  27. gosh… this is lame… its not even funny… posting some stupid duckies and chick in this blog, juz for a bottle of water… get a life k-ny!!!

  28. Hahaha! Your right ! I remember when I was in Jakarta, Aqua = water.
    I believe it was because the branding of the water tere.
    When I asked for water in a high end Indonesian food court, they told me they did not have WATER! … I ended up having a Teh botol and when my friend asked for Aqua… he got a cup of water…

  29. Something else took my attention. I HATE THE TIE and SHIRT … just doesnt match lah Kenny 🙂
    Sorry

  30. i’ve never been here to comment like to say go on blogging kenny, but this time i would. i know you’ve said once that u blog only at most twice a week but i open your page everyday without fail. I cant wait for more of your posts! It’s like an addiction already. Can you post more than just twice a week? like maybe 4? please pretty please!
    It’s nice to read your blog. Even certain adverts are nice. If only you could lessen down the adverts, you’ll be just perfect.

  31. Aqua is a famous brand for mineral water in Indonesia… hehe…
    It tastes better than Sea master …
    believe me… haha…

  32. Thanks for sharing, great pictures!
    Agua is water. Check your beauty products, that’s the fancy term they use for water.

  33. I’m surprised no one has pointed this out so far, but……
    the Spanish word for water is “agua” too.

  34. scholes was a joke! he shud not play vs Chelski and the return leg! where’s andy? wat the fuck wif rooney on the wing? n put psrk instead of a fit nani? joker!
    hargo or tevez shud take penalties…also hargo shud take freekicks! ronaldo shud not bossed everything!
    P.S : anyone knows where is david may and jesper blomqvist now? both retired or still playing? thanks!

  35. FYI,sometime hotel decided to updg the guest to a suite room not because they r FULL….when the hotel occupancy allow and they CONSIDER u as their VVIP, then the mgmt team will decide to upgrade your room to a suite..so if u got a suite,most probably because u r the VVVIP for them….

  36. Wow. That’s one hideous combo of a suit.
    Pink tie, deep crimson shirt.
    Where was the wedding?
    And what’s with 118 suck-up posts? Nothing more constructive to say than “you’re so cute”… “I was laughing hahaha”.

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