HSBC Walk Run Cycle 2012

Mike Leow

 Bobby & Mike

Last night, I participated in the HSBC Walk Run Cycle 2012 which is the biggest charity event ever organized in Brunei with more than 10,000 participants! I took part in the 11.5km run which flagged off at almost 9.00pm from Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin and I managed to get back to the park at 10.18pm. No finishers' medals were given for this event and with so many people queuing up for the certificates; I gave it a pass! The whole padang (field) was painted in red as participants wore the red T-shirts provided on sign-up, reminding me of images of the "red shirts" in Bangkok! Incidentally, yesterday was also the anniversary of the Thai Government's crackdown on street protests two years ago! (Images were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S2).

A Peek at the Venetian Macau

 Breakfast is served here at Cafe Deco

I just got back from a short trip to Shenzhen with a one night stop-over in Macau. James and I had originally booked one room at the Venetian Macau but since the hotel could not change the room to one with two beds, we ended up taking two rooms! My room (with no frills) costs B$264.00 while James' room costs B$306.00 inclusive of two breakfast, HKD500.00 shopping vouchers and two return ferry tickets to Hong Kong International Airport. Naturally, all the vouchers were used up! There were also 5 welcome drink vouchers for each room which we didn't have the time to consume. Rooms (or shall I say suites?) at the Venetian Macau are fantastic but I spent less than 5 hours in my room! What a waste!

Cunha Bazaar, Macau

We arrived in Macau from Zhuhai this afternoon, checked in into the Venetian Macau, chucked our luggage into our rooms and took a cab to Cunha Bazaar straight away to buy foodstuff for the folks back home! We even tried the famous crab porridge at Seng Cheong Restaurant after our little shopping trip (bought some dried pork and almond biscuits) before heading back to the hotel for a shower. After our shower, we headed out again for the bright lights of Macau (the casinos)!

Shenzhen 15 - 17 May 2012

James & Ah Long

 Sekou Ferry Terminal where we took the ferry to Zhuhai

 Across the border from Zhuhai into Macau!

I needed a break and when my friend, James, suggested that we go for a short holiday (to China), I couldn't wait! Actually, James had some business in Shenzhen and I was just tagging along. There, we met up with an old friend, Ah Long, who accompanied us for the two days we were there. Going out with James was fun as he knows Hong Kong and China very well as he travels frequently to these two countries. On 17th May, we took the subway to Sekou Ferry Terminal to catch the ferry to Zhuhai. We did some window shopping in Zhuhai (there is a huge underground shopping mall at Gongbei Port) before walking across the border to Macau. For more photos, click here.

YiHao International Hotel @ Dongguan

 James' room has a round bathtub and a PC in the room.

This is the first time I stayed at YiHao International Hotel, Dongguan on the recommendation of a friend who  is a regular at this hotel. The rate we got on his "recommendation" is RMB398-00 (B$80-00) on weekdays and RMB30-00 more on weekends. James' room is slightly more expensive as he opted for a computer (with internet access) in his room. Only one word came to my mind when describing the rooms, conventional! The lobby is huge but looked quite bare with a few oversized leather sofas in the centre of the lobby!