They say in life, it is not just what you know, it is who you know.

I first heard of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) through Marcus Luer, who served as my mentor for MillionaireAsia’s Enterprise Development Challenge two years ago. In fact, joining EO was the very first advice Marcus gave me.

"It is very important that you surround yourself with like-minded individuals," he said. "When you are in the company with other individuals in similar position in life like yourselves, you get access to a whole group of people who supports you, mentors you and gives you opportunity to mentor back. When that happens your whole thinking and approach to life and business changes."

Alright I’m interested. So how do I get sign up for this EO thing?

"Well, you cannot just join like that. They are quite selective about who gets into the organization. First, you must be the founder or shareholder of a company that makes USD $1 million a year."

Okay. Not quite there yet.

"Next, there’s the membership fee, which is around RM8,000."

Once off?

"No, a year."

*gulp*

With that, I put off my thought of joining this elusive club called EO, until late last year when these two letters popped up again.

Joanna Ling, a friend of mine who is probably the only EO member in Kuching, asked if I would be interested to go on an bicycling experience of a lifetime organized by EO called the EO Tour de Malaysia – 5 Days, 4 States, 300+ km, 1 bike.

Sure, why not? After all, what’s there to lose… other than my pair of legs?

With that, I packed my bags and my bike to KL to have a glimpse into what this exclusive organization called the EO is all about.

DAY 0 – PREP TIME

What do founders and directors of companies making more than US$ 1 million in revenue look like?

Well, they look just like you and me. But one common thing that stood out is how open, friendly and unreserved members of EO are.

Everyone goes out of their way to talk to you or help you out, even if they don’t know who you are. There’s no such thing as who is more senior or who makes more money. Everyone sees everyone as an equal.

When EOers organize events for other EOers, they always seek to create magical moments that money can’t buy. Examples in the past include shutting down Petaling Street for a Chinese New Year celebration, or getting toured around Manchester United by actual former football players.

For the EO Tour de Malaysia, you know this event is highly exclusive when the special guest invited to give a lecture is a Tan Sri from Royal Selangor.

Lesson Learnt: Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep on moving.

Malaysian cycling legends honoured by the organizing committee.

DAY 1 – PUTRAJAYA & TELUK INTAN

Woke up at 5:30am. Just in time to take a selfie clad in lycra.

This is probably the only time in my life I would be seeing 65 company bosses carbo-loading in preparation for a 100km ride ahead.

The morning of Day 1 is a 50km ride around Putrajaya.

It’s such a joy riding in the administrative capital of our country. The roads are relatively flat and the the boulevards wide. As one rider remarked, "Finally, we have found a use for Putrajaya!"

I thought it’s also pretty cool we were given a police motorcade around Putrajaya, like we’re some VIPs in a city with no shortage of VIPs.

Ironically, the official colour of our jerseys for Day 1 is yellow.

Wonder if Najib got worried when he looked out the window, and thought a bunch of BERSIH protestors were riding towards him!

It’s a crime to still look this good after a 50km bicycle ride.

Anyway, we kinda cheated and took a 2.5 bus trip up the North-South Highway to the sleepy town of Teluk Intan, Perak – where the local’s claim to fame is this leaning clock tower.

Of all the designs we could have copied from the Italians, we copied their lousy building construction method.

From Teluk Intan, it’s a 70km bike ride to the Lumut jetty.

It was a tough ride, and the leisure riders have opted to take the bus to the destination instead. The hardcore ones gulped down a few cups of FruitBank juices and continued the journey with no complaints.

The skies turn golden just as we were about to depart for Pangkor Laut.

And after a gruelling 130km first day, we finally "kaw liao".

Time to celebrate in Pangkor Island!

Lesson Learnt: Good entrepreneurs must learn how to take risks.

Snagging a photo op inside a ring of fire probably isn’t one of those risks.

DAY TWO – CAMERON HIGHLANDS & BANJARAN

The day barely broke, and we’re already departing Pangkor Island. Some EOers probably haven’t even slept!

Day 2 of the EO Tour de Malaysia commences at Cameron Highlands, Pahang.

Despite being a Malaysian, it’s my first time here and I like it! It’s so picturesque!

Our first stop is the ‘BOH’ Tea Centre in Brinchang.

Like primary school kids, we line up two by two, holding hands, as we visit the very fascinating tea factory to see how tea leaves are processed.

An obligatory group photo before we journey 120km downhill!

The downhill bike ride is super easy. All I had to do was control my brakes!

Lesson Learnt: In life, you must learn to take plenty of breaks and enjoy the smell of tea leaves.

Our next pitstop is my most favourite out the entire trip – the Banjaran Hot Springs near Ipoh, Perak.

I have long heard about The Banjaran, and how it is the only true 5-star wellness retreat in the whole of Malaysia. I’m glad I wasn’t disappointed.

The Banjaran is truly beautiful. Set amidst lush green rainforests and vertical limestone hills, I felt serene as soon as I stepped into the gardens.

Nothing beats soaking my tired legs in these geothermal hot spring waters.

I didn’t wanna leave, but I have to be careful my eggs don’t get cooked.

Massage is not included in the price of entry. But heck, after riding almost 200km in two days, I could care less paying nosebleed prices for a 45 minute treatment.

Next, we were given a tour of Sunway Group Chairman Jeffrey Cheah’s private wine cellar set inside a lime
stone cave.

This was another one of those magic moments that the EO team sought out to create.

When Jeff’s Cellar was first opened, only his families and close friends are allowed to enter. Eventually, he opened it up to his hotel guests, but still, it remained the most spectacular wine cellar in Malaysia that no one has heard of.

Thanks to some "connections" within the EO group, we were able to wine and dine with stalagmites.

Departure

Sadly, I had to leave the EO Tour de Malaysia prematurely.

Tour de Malaysia 2013 Century Ride from Kim Boon on Vimeo.

But the few days I spent with this bunch of EOers is enough for me to appreciate the unique bond and camaraderie they have with one another.

In a short course of two days, I had met a real estate consultant from Hong Kong who taught me how to "read" shopping malls, a young Harvard graduate who is also a CEO of a drink manufacturer, and a brash businessman who said being in EO "saved his life".

All of them I wished I could spend more time with. All of them have lessons I could learn from. All of them have stories I could be inspired from.

Unfortunately I had to leave because after cycling 2 days straight for 200km – dammit… MY BUTT HURTS!

I Went Onboard Qatar Airway’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner. What I Saw Inside Will Blow Your Mind.

15 January 2014

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Travel Log 10 Comments

#AttemptAtFacebookClickBaiting

“Finally, it’s happening.”

I made it. My dream has come true – I finally got to fly business class on an international long-haul flight for the very first time.

Granted, I was on board as a guest of Qatar Airways, but still – this was a very special moment for me. With repeated awards and accolades such as “Best Business Class” and “Airline of the Year”, I knew I was in for a treat.

“So this is how the one percent travels,” I thought to myself as I stepped into the front cabin of Qatar Airway’s brand-spanking new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Maybe it was the dynamic LED mood-lighting overhead, or the large oversized windows that resembled those on a spaceship, but my first impression is that I was stepping into something futuristic.

“Welcome on-board Mr Sia,” a cabin crew greeted me by name and took time to introduce herself. “Would you like something to drink before we take off?”

Yes certainly, miss. Maybe something to calm down my excitement.

I knew immediately this will be a flying experience like no other.

Qatar Airways is the first airlines in the Middle East to launch the Boeing 787. Described as an advanced aircraft built for travel in the 21st century, it generated a lot of excitement in the aviation industry when the first aircraft rolled off the production line two years ago.

It’s not difficult to see why.

They say the Boeing 787 was designed for passenger comfort in mind. I say they certainly got the goods to back that claim up.

As my flight rolled off Munich International Airport, the first thing I noticed is how blissfully quiet everything is. Compared to the noisy engine sounds of other aircrafts, the Boeing 787 barely whistled when it took off. It’s as if the aircraft magically levitated into air, instead of using any form of jet propulsion engines.

This is just one of many little things the Dreamliner did to minimise the stress on taking a long-haul flight.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner feels spacious, and even more so in the Business Class cabin.

There’s only 4 seats in each row in Business Class, compared to 9 each row in Economy. What this translate to is plenty of leg room.

You can even prop your feet up on the cushion if you like.

I love the Business Class seats! They are so cleverly designed to maximise usage of space, making them both private and spacious. A very rare feat indeed!

Qatar Airways’ Business Class amenities are the stuff of legends.

It’s not just the standard pillows and blankets that they provide. They went all the way – giving each Business Class passenger fluffy pyjamas to ensure a comfortable sleep.

I’m not surprised if these get taken home by passengers after their flight as souvenirs.

Another bag contains ear plugs, combs, compression socks and…

Errrrr…?

Actually, it’s an eye mask. Hehe.

It’s so big it wraps around your ears, and even comes with nose rests so it doesn’t slip down your face.

Each Business Class seat, of course, comes with a multitude of
adjustments.

For the ultimate comfort, it’s possible for the seat to lie fully flat with a press of a button. Your feet goes underneath your monitor screen, and your arm rests also slide down to give you a wider sleeping area.

In terms of toiletries, each Business Class passenger gets a stylish Salvatore Ferragamo toiletry kit specific to their gender.

I must admit, it looks so nice I didn’t even use it. I just wanna bring it home and stare at it every so often to make me happy.

Again, there’s never a shortage of space to store your belongings.

Apart from the humongous overhead compartment, there’s also no less than 5 mini compartments on the left side, right side and underside of your seat to put your stuff away discreetly.

As expected, there are USB charge ports and power sockets cleverly tucked away on the side. Economy passengers also get USB ports and power sockets in every seat.

Oryx – Qatar Airways’ Inflight Entertainment System is also legendary. On the Android system, it’s feels even more high-tech and awesome.

The 17″ screen are touch-enabled, but there’s also a touch screen remote… you know, just in case you don’t want to lean forward.

Then there’s the beautiful noise-cancelling earphones – something only Business Class passengers get to enjoy.

Once you put those cans on, and choose from over 1,000 movies, games and songs, it’s easy to forget you’re even on a flight.

Wanna log on the internet at 30,000 feet in the air?

It’s possible on Qatar Airways’ 787. Of course there’s a fee, but at RM15 for 10MB, it’s comparable to typical data roaming charges, and very, very, very, very reasonable.

Not a fan of high-tech?

There’s a huge selection of internationally magazines neatly arranged at the back. I think these were barely even touched by the passengers throughout my 6 hour flight.

IMG_3861-001

Meal time on Qatar Airways’ Business Class is when things start to get interesting.

No longer are airline passengers held ransom to bland food, or God forbid – instant cup noodles! Qatar Airways has teamed up with an incredible line-up of globally-renowned chefs to ensure the dining experience in the air is as close as possible to dining at these chef’s Michelin-star restaurants.

Forget eating your meal out of an pre-packed aluminium box.

In Business Class, you get food served in real ceramic bowls, placed neatly in between real silverware, served on top of luxurious Frette tablecloths.

This is Chef Tom Aikens’ grilled seabass.

Tom Aikens is a famous for being the youngest British chef ever awarded two Michelin stars by perfectly combining British and French influences.

And his creation is amazingly good. I never imagined airplane food to taste as good as this, but this is something I would take my date out to a romantic fine-dining restaurant for.

Delicious dessert accompanied by a glass of Bloody Mary to finish off my meal.

I swore I gained more weight stepping off the plane than when I stepped on!

And a quick nap to take advantage of the fully-flat seats.

Interestingly, I didn’t feel as dry as a prune when I woke up. I attribute this to the higher humidity and lower cabin pressure of the Boeing 787 compared to other aircrafts.

Although I was travelling alone, I rate this was one of my favourite flight experiences. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a technological wonder, I was very impressed with Qatar Airways’ service and attention-to-detail.

Compared to other airlines, Qatar’s airfares from Malaysia to Europe is consistently one of the most competitive, yet their service standard is always one of the highest.

The Business Class experience on Qatar Airways, for those who can afford, is an absolute indulgence at around RM8,000 return.

With over 250 aircrafts on order and new routes to many interesting destinations, a Qatar Airways experience comes highly recommended from me!

The SONOS Playbar Review (for the laymen)

19 December 2013

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Reviews 5 Comments

“All the Music on Earth, in Every Room, Wirelessly.”

That’s all the introduction you need to know about the makers of the world’s most sophisticated wireless speakers.

Picture this scenario.

You have a huge stack of music sitting somewhere – it could you on your PC, your network connected hard disk, your phone or even somewhere in the cloud on the Internet.

Our homes are silent. Yes, we can all do with some music in our lives.

So, it’s the weekend and you wanna enjoy this treasure trove of music throughout the different rooms in your house – could be your living room, bedroom, your bathroom or even the kitchen.

Now. You got several choices.

Do you… buy some Bluetooth speakers? Which is nice, but it means you can’t stray more than 10m away from them?

Do you… spend lots and lots of money to place a speaker in every room and wire them up to a central console? Meaning nobody can change up the music unless they are near that console?

Or do you simply play the music from the tiny holes you called “speakers” of smartphone? And bear with the tinny hollow sound quality?

The idea behind SONOS is simple.

You can place any amount of SONOS speakers throughout your house, all wirelessly linked to your central console.

You can have can set these speakers to play different songs in every room, or play the same song throughout.

Best of all, you don’t need to me near the central console to do any DJ-ing. Everything can music selection to volume can be controlled from your Android, iPhone or iPad.

No wires.

Pretty cool, huh?

I have heard of SONOS before. But it wasn’t until I tried the SONOS Playbar that I truly realised what I was missing out on.

(Disclosure time: My SONOS Playbar is provided by Tat Chuan Acoustic, the exclusive distributor of Klipsch and SONOS products in MY & SG.)

Like other sound bars on the market, the SONOS Playbar is designed to hook up to your TV to take over the job of your typically pathetic-sounding TV speakers.

UNLIKE other sound bars though, the SONOS Playbar can stream music from your computer/network harddisk/Internet at the touch of a button. Obviously this works better if you already have other SONOS speakers located throughout your house.

Appearance-wise, the SONOS Playbar is like the speaker version of Wong LeeHom – it’s slim, it’s handsome and it’s also very down-to-earth.

Minimal buttons on the outside gives it a nice Apple-type feel.

It is sophisticated without being complicated. With a built just nice enough to slide underneath your TV, the Playbar certain looks good in any living room setting.

Hidden beneath it’s minimalist looking exterior is a plethora of high-tech goodies: nine speakers, various sensors to optimize tweaking of the EQ, and the wireless ability to hook up with other SONOS speakers to create a 5.1 surround sound system – if required.

Enough about the looks. How does the Playbar sound?

In two words: bloody amazing.

The audio experience is rich and immersive. This is astounding, because the Playbar is so much more compact than your traditional set-up, yet it is capable of delivering the illusion of surround sound.

The bass can be a little weak, so pairing it with a subwoofer would obviously help. But make no mistake about it – on it’s own, it is sweet as it is!

I haven’t even begun to rave how easy it was to set up the SONOS Playbar.

Because there are no wires, the set up suddenly becomes so simple. Quick Start literally means quick start – download the app, launch the software, press a button, and everything’s configured.

From unboxing to music… less than 15 minutes!

The only negative I can think of with the SONOS Playbar is perhaps the price. A S$1,299 price tag puts it firmly in
the premium category. And although it is nice on its own, the SONOS system truly shines when there’s at least a couple of SONOS speaker products scattered throughout your house.

For a more lengthy, geeky review of the SONOS Playbar, you can read reviews from sites like Engadget, Mr Brown or Hardwarezone.

To get your hands on these awesome speakers, look out for them in your local Harvery Normans or Machines. If all else fails, you can always buy them online from sonos-sea.com – they would even deliver to Malaysia!

SONOS – really they should have named it So Nice!

30

27 November 2013

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Re-discovering Myself 21 Comments

30 Things I Did When I Was 30.

1. Celebrated my “Big Thirty” with the important people in my life.

My girlfriend knew I was under a lot of stress at the time, so she did something I never thought she would do – she contacted our common friends and asked to write some words of encouragement for me. These words were printed out and stored inside a box, so whenever I needed a power-up, it’s there.

(I also got a lot of “marry this girl, Kenny!” from our friends.)

2. Took the long way home from KLIA.

It was Christmas week. I was in KL for a business meeting, but on my way back I missed my flight.

It was a grave mistake. All MAS and AirAsia flights from KL to Kuching were full for the next 5 days. Not only that, all Penang to Sarawak, Johor to Sarawak and Singapore to Sarawak flights were full. Basically, there are no flights plying between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia whatsoever for the next several days. It means I’ll be stranded with no accommodation, unless I think of something wild – which I did.

For a moment, I thought about sailing from KL to Kuching on a boat, like in Life of Pi.

In the end, I booked my flight my KL to Jakarta, then Jakarta to Pontianak on Garuda, then took a 9 hour bus ride from Pontianak in West Kalimantan, to Kuching, Sarawak. By the time I arrived home, I smell like an Indonesian.

Lesson learnt: Never miss your flight during Christmas week.

3. Sold my apartment and bought a house instead.

I got hitched shortly after purchasing my apartment. By then, I realised an apartment wasn’t right for the both of us.

Thinking long-term, I put the money down on a landed property and most likely this will be where we’ll be staying for at least the next few years – my first major responsibility as a grown-up.

4. Slept inside a campervan for the first time.

I took my girlfriend on a long holiday to the UK for our second year anniversary, but because hotels in the UK is so expensive, I thought it might be a better idea to rent a campervan and sleep in the back instead.

It was winter when we travelled to UK and Iceland, so we braced for the worst, but turns out sleeping in a vehicle didn’t turn out as bad as we had thought. We had a rather comfy Toyota Estima. In the morning, we would drive the vehicle around. When we felt tired, then we just parked wherever it’s quiet, popped down the back seat and slept till the next morning.

The best thing is that we saved a ton of money: the car hire costs us RM700 for 4 days – that’s roughly the cost of a single night in typical hotel in London!

Definitely gonna be doing this again.

5. Saw the Stonehenge.

Yeah, the world’s most famous pile of rocks.

6. Watched a Liverpool match at the Director’s Box in Anfield.

It was a money-can’t-buy prize from the Enterprise Development Challenge competition I won last year.

(Come to think of it, I experienced many things for the first time during this trip to the UK and Iceland.)

7. Travelled to Iceland.

It’s the furthest north I have ever travelled to in my life.

8. Made snow angels for the first time.

9. Went horse-riding in the snow.

And got a horse that loves me a little bit too much.

10. Dived in a lake for the first time.

But not just any lake – it’s a lake filled with glacial waters.

The dive site is Lake Silfra – a crack between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. It was also the first time I donned a dry suit to scuba-dive instead of the traditional wet suit.

The water in the glacial lake is so clean, it’s like diving in Evian water.

11. Walked on a glacier for the first time.

Sounds romantic, until I fell inside a hole.

Lucky I didn’t get stuck, ‘cos I’m too big-sized.

12. Went dog-sledding.

13. Saw the aurora borealis.

And it’s as breathtakingly beautiful as I had imagined it to be.

The aurora borealis is like weather – it is difficult to predict when exactly it is going to happen. All we can do is stay in Iceland as long as we can and hope for the best.

We were in Iceland for 5 days without seeing a single shred of green light.

Then, on the night when we were supposed to depart, the northern lights came out to play in all its glory.

It was magnificent.

14. Celebrated two years with my girlfriend.

After one week of sleeping in cars and saving every single cent way we can during our ten-day break in UK and Iceland, we splurged on the last day on our two-year anniversary trip at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in London called Petrus.

15. Voted for our country.

Note to self: Don’t scratch your forehead when there’s still indelible ink on your finger.

16. Saw sunrise at Alishan.

17. Experienced an earthquake for the first time.

18. Ran my seventh 42km marathon.

The Perth City to Surf was the first ever running event I participated in. Back in 2001, I took part in the 4km run and swore to myself I don’t want to run again.

The event has since grown to include a marathon.

Although I didn’t beat my personal best (the route was easily the hardest I have ever competed in), there’s a nice sense of nostalgia to complete a marathon in a city where I spent most of my teenage years.

19. Trained to become a Les Mills GRIT Coach

20. Opened my third gym outlet.

My latest outlet is located next to a Buddhist temple where my father’s soul resides. And interestingly, the YB who officiated the opening of my gym was a former student of my late father.

I don’t think even my father knew that one of his students would grow up to become a politician, to officiate the opening of the business of his youngest son.

Guess it was meant to be.

21. Flew business class on long-haul for the first time.

Thanks Qatar Airways!

22. Went on a solo backpacking trip through Central Europe.

Although I flew on Business Class using Qatar Airways (sponsored) from Kuala Lumpur to Poland, I travelled from there to Czech Republic and Southern Germany on the cheap. I slept in hostels, buses, trains and train stations… basically, any place that does not have a hotel reception desk.

Instead of taking subways and taxis, I cycled everywhere as much as I can.

Flying on a broomstick is also a viable mode of transport.

Going on solo backpacking trip is something I enjoyed doing this during my single days in my early 20s. It’s good to get lost in a foreign country every once in a while. Makes you wiser.

23. Saw two of World War II’s most infamous and horrific sites of mass murder.

The Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland…

24. …and the site of the Nanking Massacre in China.

You lost a bit of faith in humanity after seeing those two places.

25. Experienced Oktoberfest in Munich.

26. Continued to learn, learn, learn and be better at my job.

27. Appeared on a poster of a warung in Bali.

It all happened last year when we went cliff jumping at a spot in Nusa Lembongan.

I knew our photo was taken. Next thing I know, our sweet young Malaysian faces appeared on their poster. #SocialExperiment

28. Participated in a cycling trip organized by the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO) of Malaysia.

This was such an eye-opening experience for me. On the surface, this may be just a bicycling trip from point A to B. Yet, I learnt so much just from having small talks and little conversations with members of EO Malaysia – all of whom are movers and shakers, founders or owners of very successful companies.

Full story coming up!

29. Completed my Invisalign treatment.

I’m smiling so much more now, thanks to mydentist.com.my. Again, will do a follow-up on my journey soon!

30. Asked my better half for her hand in marriage.

She said yes. 🙂

You know you have found the one when you’ve dated for two and a half years and you never even had a single argument.

Today, I am 31 years old.

Qatar Airways’ Premium Terminal Is Like A Hotel

13 November 2013

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Europe 5 Comments

More often than not, transiting in airports between long-haul flights can be a dreadful experience.

But not at Doha. You see, there are airport terminals.

And then there is Qatar Airways Premium Terminal.

If you’re flying first or business class into other airports, most of the time you have access to a nice and cushy VIP lounge, inside a noisy, crowded airport terminal.

Well, if you fly Qatar Airways’ into Doha, you don’t get access to a lounge.

You get access to THE WHOLE ENTIRE VIP AIRPORT TERMINAL.

Seriously, I don’t even know how I’m gonna step foot into LCCT anymore.

Recently, I experienced not just my first ever long-haul business-class flight, but have the privilege to have my flight sponsored by Qatar Airways.

This Middle-Eastern Airlines recently took home awards for World’s Best Business Class and World’s Best Business Class Lounge at the 2013 Skytrax Awards. Naturally, my expectations were running high.

Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Qatar Airways’ Premium Terminal is the world’s first premium terminal exclusively for First and Business Class Passengers.

It is so exclusive that it isn’t even linked to the main airport terminal used by *cough* Economy Class passengers, or even *cough* passengers from other airlines.

The experience began as soon as I stepped off the plane.

There are no aerobridges at Doha International Airport, but the shuttle bus waiting to whisk us off ain’t your ordinary airport shuttle bus either.

It’s a Premium Terminal shuttle bus, with premium seats specially contoured to fit our Business Class backsides.

15 minutes later, we arrived at the Qatar Airways’ US$100 Million 10,000 sqm Premium Transfer Terminal.

The first thing that greeted us was the Concierge Desk. This is where you stop if you have questions about your connecting flights.

A quick security check later (where the security staff actually smiles at you), we were greeted by the mandatory Duty Free shops.

This can be useful if you travelled 10,000km from home and forgot to bring along a gift for a friend you’re visiting, like I did.

Otherwise, where you really want to go is up the escalators to where the magic is.

The Business Class Lounge at the Premium Terminal is a massive hall, decorated very tastefully with Middle-Eastern influences.

Even at 12 midnight, the terminal was bustling with people. Yet, it wasn’t so busy to the point of feeling cramped and crowded.

They even went as far as to transplant artificial palm trees into the Lounge.

Maybe next time they can even bring in a camel for kids to ride while waiting for their flights.

I won’t be surprised you know.

A lot of praise have been given on the food served inside the lounges.

Let’s face it, the quality of the food is indeed really, really good. Not only that, the selection of buffet spread is amazingly extensive. I counted no less than three separate buffet areas, serving cuisines as far ranging as Asian…

… to Western…

… to exotic-sounding Middle-Eastern food such as Lamb Kibbeh?

There are even little packets of dates and nuts nicely w
rapped up in Qatar Airways ribbon. Good for more munching en route to the plane. Or as last-minute gifts for all you absent-minded folks.

(I used them as last-minute gifts for my friend I’m visiting in Poland.)

Then there’s the dessert selection – lots of them.

And if self-service buffet isn’t your thing, you can always choose to sit down on a proper table, complete with white table cloth, linen napkin, ceramic plates and metal cutleries, and choose your food from a menu.

It’s obvious Qatar Airways’ spared absolutely no expense in making the tummies of their Business Class passengers happy.

Whatever it is that passengers want, Qatar Airways give back with multiple options to choose from.

I was impressed with their tea selection, which comes with no less than six different types of whole tea leaves to choose from.

Even if I just wanna sit down and order a bottle of water, there is still a choice to make between still water from France or sparkling water from Italy.

I wished I could have stuffed myself with food, food and more food during my 2 hour layover. Alas, my stomach has already been pampered very nicely by the air crew during my flight from KL to Doha (more on that next time), and I couldn’t possibly stuffed myself with more food without violating the weight-limit on the Airbus 330.

Instead, I peruse the shower facilities to freshen myself up before my 7 hour onward journey to Poland.

I was surprised to see L’Occitane shampoo and bath gel inside the shower cubicles. I must admit – I couldn’t resist putting the leftovers in my pocket after my shower.

How I wish I could fit these OSIM massage chairs into my pocket too.

Apart from the yummy food and the delicious buffet spread, there are lots of other interesting areas to explore within the Qatar Airways’ Premium Terminal.

There’s a fully-equipped Business Centre, a nursery for kids, a Playstation gaming area, and get this – a 24-HOUR MEDICAL CLINIC.

I bet they treated lots of patients with “severe food overdose”.

Mad?

30 October 2013

admin

Europe 3 Comments

U mad?

iMad.

Drug smuggling and weapons trafficking from your RM3 cigarettes

They say you can buy a pack of cigarettes for RM3 all over Malaysia.

Considering the average price of cigarettes are usually RM10 to RM12, it goes without saying that these RM3.00 cigarettes are probably illegal.

Heck, we all know cigarettes are bad, but illegal cigarettes are badder-er.

These are smuggled into the country without duty paid stickers. Not only do they carry unimaginative names such as John, Canyon and Luffman, they are also the works of criminal syndicates.

If buying illegal cigarettes just a case of enriching one or two fat taukeys to pay for their China dolls, maybe it isn’t quite so bad.

The problem here is that the sale of illegal cigarettes have been linked to funding criminal syndicates who are also involved in drug smuggling and weapons trafficking. Yeah I know, smuggling cigarettes may look innocent enough, but its links to greater crimes has far more sinister societal implications. Cigarette smuggling provides a lucrative form of funding for criminal syndicates because of its high demand and low risk. It’s worth it to smuggle cigarettes because the law enforcement of it is piss weak. And the penalties for getting caught are piss weaker.

Well, when the buying stops, the crime stops too. If you come across any smuggled cigarettes in your neighbourhood such as John, Canyon and Luffman, go ahead and report them to the Customs Department at 1800 888 855.

And stop supporting those damn criminals!

9/9/2013

22 October 2013

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Re-discovering Myself 29 Comments

The day I proposed to my better half.

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She said yes!

The Best Way To Describe This Election’s Aftermath

8 May 2013

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Thoughts & Musings 16 Comments

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It’s Been 8 Years Now

4 May 2013

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Re-discovering Myself 7 Comments

Dear Papa,

Here I am writing to you again.

You left us 8 years ago, after a brave but painful fight with cancer. Here I am, remembering you once again.

Yes, I still remember how it felt like 8.5 years ago, when you sat us down in our living room after a visit to the clinic, and told us the doctor had found cancer cells metastasised to your lungs.

You didn’t know how you got them. You didn’t know how long you’ve had it. All you knew was that the doctors gave you 6 months to live.

Some call it the calm before the storm. The lull before the tsunami. The feeling of unease because something big was gonna hit very hard very soon.

We didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know how to handle your illness. All I knew back then was that a major chapter in my life was about to end.

Something was about to change. I must get a dose of manhood. I must grow up real fast. Whether I like it or not, that was what I must do.

And that’s the reason I started this blog – to document the changes that I was going through that particular phase of my life.

Eight years since then, things have been falling into place more or less like a routine. Found some success in blogs. Started my business. Found a girl. Things has more or less become very… predictable.

Until now.

Papa, that feeling of unease is coming to me again.

I’m in the process of starting a new business concept. So far, things has been exactly smooth-sailing. If anything, the project has been continuously delayed by contractors and impracticalities in design.

I’m feeling uneasy because although I’m optimistic about my project, I do wonder if others share my optimism.

How I wish you were here to guide me!

Two, I am very, very happy in my relationship with Ming. And I understand eventually I must settle down and start a family. At the same time, I know being in a relationship is so different than having to provide and care for a family.

How different will things be when I eventually settle down? Truthfully, I don’t know. I just hope I have the ability to be a good husband and father, just like you are to me.

The Elections is tomorrow.

Although I think the current administration is doing a decent job thus far, the response from the ground is overwhelmingly pro-Opposition. It is almost as if the only people left supporting the Najib are those related to the candidates, rural folks or Bangladeshis.

The Opposition-led rallies night after night have been crazily massive. If these sentiments were to translate into votes, I think we’ll be seeing something quite unprecedented in history. Never thought I would be seeing a two-party system ever happening in Malaysia in my lifetime, but after tomorrow, who knows?

I can only hope that whoever leads our country tomorrow is able to restore our confidence in the education system, so we can happily send my children to school here, and stay as a family in Kuching. Last thing we want is to see our family unit split apart again because of the lack of opportunities here – like the way it had split ours.

What they say is true. Tomorrow, we’ll be voting not for ourselves, but for our future generations.

Papa, all your life, all you ever wanted is a better future for us. How I wish you were here to see change happening right in front of our eyes.

I miss you, Papa.

Love from your youngest son,

Kenny

ADV: It Ain’t Work If You Love What You Do

6 February 2013

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Thoughts & Musings 10 Comments

I wrote this entry more than a year ago: "Don’t Go To University For The Sake Of It".

Till today, I still get feedback from students who agree with my piece, show my blog to their parents, and then make me kena abuse from their parents because they think what I wrote was too controversial.

Of course lah, I wasn’t saying don’t go to University and just lepak lepak scratch your balls do nothing.

I was simply saying that if you haven’t found your passion, don’t spend too much time and money on higher education.

Rather than spending 3 years in University doing engineering, another 3 years doing Masters, then after 6 years realizing that wasn’t what you love to do for the rest of your life… why not just spend more time discovering where your passion lies in the first place?

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I wanna write this piece as a follow up to that blog entry.

Some students say, after finishing SPM, they still have no idea where their love lies. To that I say, start doing research lah!

Most Gen Y-er are clueless about what they expect out of a job. A good way to learn how to marry your career with your passion is to start reading up on anecdotes written by those who have already done it. The myStarjob.com Career Guide (available both online and in print every Saturday) is a good place to start.

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I feel every student, out there gotta be doing this as early as possible. Find out as much and as early as possible about what your future job might entail, because what you imagine your job to be and what it actually is might be very different.

Don’t say you want to study to become an Oil & Gas Engineer because of you "heard" people say the money is good, then later regret when you discover you don’t actually wanna live on an oil rig with seagulls as friends!

But hey, if taking a helicopter to work everyday sounds exciting to you, then by all means – chase your dreams!

Once you got a target career to work towards (even vaguely), start educating yourself. Not just in terms of completing your assignments and University degree, but also by attending seminars, workshops and talks by industry leaders.

From my experience, many industry people are very frank with students about the realities of the working world. I don’t mind walking to a seminar full of fresh college graduates and tell them straight that they can’t go into a job interview, expect to get a senior management position and a fat pay cheque that comes with it!

Next, start applying for your dream job!

I get tons of application from graduates every we advertise for it. One thing I always enjoy doing is reading resumes written by those who put an extra effort onto it.

Nowadays, pretty much the only acceptable way to apply for a job is via the Internet. And please, don’t just send a one-line e-mail with an attachment of your resume. Always write a cover letter.

Here’s how not to write a cover letter:

And this is one of the best, perfectly-blunt and brutally-honest cover letters I have seen:

Gotta love an honest job applicant sometimes.

Nowadays, you can even send in VIDEOS instead of your cover letter. myStarjob.com called it a Visume.

I love it.

It’s so much more enjoyable to watch videos of potential candidates than to read boring resumes that almost all sounds the same!

When you upload your resume to MyStarJob.com, you have the option of uploading a video of yourself too so your potential employer have a chance to see how you’re really like. Perfect for those applying for positions like model, actor or Old Town Kopitiam waiters who like to pretend customers don’t exist.

But there’s more! From now until mid-March, you stand a chance to win a weekly prize worth RM100 if you do the following:

Register as a myStarjob.com member (registered members can proceed to Step 3).
Upload your resume (Word or PDF format).
Answer 1 question correctly.
Click submit!

If you’re lucky, you might even with the overall grand prize – an awesome car!

Not bad eh?

So once you got your dream job, you too can join the rest of us working crowd and get stuck in a traffic jam every morning to work!

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