PWM's 13th Annual General Meeting

Yesterday morning, PWM held its 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Berakas. Breakfast was provided and members started to throng in at 8.30am. The Ex-Co members came much earlier to prepare for the meeting. Even though the meeting was scheduled to start at 9.30am, it only started at 10.00am as our President only touched down at Brunei International Airport at 9.30am. PWM's patron, His Excellency Dato' Abdullah Sani Omar, the Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei officiated the opening and left shortly afterwards after mingling with the crowd. The meeting ended around 12.00noon.

iPhone MicroSIM Cutter

Ever wonder how they cut the regular "sim card" to fit into the iPhone? If you go to a mobile phone shop to do it, it would probably set you back by at least B$10.00 and there's a "no warranty clause" which means if it doesn't work, it's not their problem! I came across the above "stapler" shaped "cutter" and it only costs B$20.00 at Sim Lim Square in Singapore. Just insert your "sim card" into the slot, press the lever and your new "sim card" is ready for that coveted iPhone. My friend bought this MicroSIM cutter and used it only once! LOL.

Ten Fu's (天福) Tea House @ Zhangpu

On the way to ZhangZhou, we stopped at Zhangpu County for tea and you can never missed Ten Fu's Tea House which has a giant decorative teapot outside the shop, just beside the main road. Founded by a Taiwanese in 1993, it now has more than 1000 retail outlets throughout China. Here, you can taste the tea first before buying and the attendants will explain all the different flavours and origins of the tea while it's being served. As we continued on our journey, we came across "Ten Fu's" tea farms on both sides of the road and also a "Ten Fu's Tea College" along the way. Our host informed us that they even have a "tea museum" in Zhangzhou as well!

FengDongShi (风动石) @ DongShan County

View from the entrance of  "FengDongShi"

 Entrance to "FengDongShi"

Ancient houses lined the path leading to "FengDongShi"

Guan Yu (God of War) Temple

Intricate carvings and figurines adorned the roof of Guan Yu Temple

The rock that Heaven splits into two!

 The tablet that explains the incident of the "split rock"

One of the main tourist attractions in DongShan, a county in Fujian Province is the "FengDongShi"  (风动石) which is a 200 tons rock perched on the edge of another rock surface and will not toppled even if it's being pushed as claimed by local residents (I dare not try it as I feared it might topple over as it looked very precarious!). Ancient houses built with rocks lined the pathway to the entrance of "FengDongshi" and further away, the Temple of Guan Yu (God of War) stands magnificently overlooking the Straits of Taiwan. Entrance fees to this "tourist" attraction is RMB60 (B$12) per person and applies to tourists only. Local residents can visit anytime without charge and apparently they are recognizable by the "hokkien" dialect spoken widely in DongShan but with a unique slang! 

Hari Keputeraan Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong

 The military band from M'sia which was in Brunei for the Brunei International Tattoo (BIT) 2011

 His Excellency, Dato' Abdullah Sani Omar

 Mr. Hassanal of Maybank, Brunei

Ms. Teresa Chai, the winner!

Ms. Maggie Chai, the 3rd place winner

Last night, The Malaysian High Commission in Brunei Darussalam hosted a dinner reception to celebrate The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia's Birthday at the Hall of the Malaysian High Commission. Representatives and members from several Malaysian Associations and companies attended this function which included an opening speech by His Excellency, Dato' Abdullah Sani Omar (the Malaysian High Commissioner), lucky draws and a karaoke competition. Nine singers contested and two from PWM walked away with the 1st and 3rd place! Congratulations to Teresa Chai (1st place) and Maggie Chai (3rd place) for making PWM proud (incidentally I represented PWM at this function!). 

Rotary Club Blood Donation Campaign

This morning from 10.00am to 1.30pm, Rotary Club of Brunei Darussalam organized a blood donation campaign at the Lexus Showroom in Gadong. As I have not donated blood for more than a year (the last time was on 5 December 2009, also at Lexus Showroom and by Rotary Club as well), I decided to do my part for charity. This is my twelve time (officially stamped on the blood donation booklet though I've also donated a couple of times without stamping the booklet) and for the first time, I felt dizzy after donating blood! Must be a sign of old age! The doctor, attendants and my friends at Rotary Club were very helpful in making sure I'm comfortable and insisted that I rest for awhile before leaving but to be safe, I called two of my colleagues to come by to drive my car home and sent me home to rest. However this incident will not deter me from donating blood in the future and I will be back!