HahaHanoi

After Abu Dhabi it was off to Hanoi the following week.

What a contrast from Abu Dhabi !! People and more people , people on motorbikes everywhere with zero traffic rules adhered to, it was indeed an organised chaos !

The Pix:
"Our ride."

"Ahhhh..so we are going to Hanoi."

"The view from my room at The Intercontinental, Hanoi."

"Wherever I lay my head..."

"The Italian restaurant at Intercontinental, the chef didnt quite get it when I asked 'AC or Inter?'. "

"Arguably the best Italian restaurant in Hanoi."

"Might not look like much but this was the best Osso Bucco I have ever tasted."

"Chaos..Bikes everywhere but they do give way if you want to cross the street..the trick is hold your hand out and cross..and they will USUALLY stop !!"

"The streets of Hanoi are dotted with building with beautiful facades like these."

"One of the purposes of our trip was to visit Art Galleries and visit we did..i think I used up my quota for the year."

"Inside the gallery.."

"Yet another gallery.."

"Inside this gallery are two Viet Ninjas, cleverly camouflaged...can you spot them ?"

"Street sugarcane anyone ?"

'Me and my homies."


© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

AbuDhabiF1:EmiratesPalace

We flew to Abu Dhabi on Ethihad as we were guests of the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi and our accommodation was the totally ostentatiousEmirates Palace.

A hotel so freaking huge and bling that it took USD1 billion to build on 85 hectares of land.
Oh, and it only has 300+ rooms. Someone remarked that they will never get their money back.
With that sort of money that the Royal family has , I doubt that was even in the back of their minds when they built this hotel.

The pix:
"TSY in the rather strange Business-Class configuration of Ethihad Airlines."

"The chairs were rather narrow but it had a massage feature !"

"Driving up to The Emirates Palace Hotel."

"The rooms on the VIP Wing had this gold coin as a key which you waved in front of this gizmo at the door to enter."

"This was my room, the living area."

"The bedroom."

"The room had TWO 61inch LCD TVs."

"The bathroom."

"No dinky lil' chocolate mints that they put on the pillow at night like some hotels..here they give you a whole tray of Paatchi chocolates!"

"The view from my balcony."

"Bernie Ecclestone has a near-priceless collection of F1 cars since F1 started and displayed them in the lobby of the hotel."

"More of Bernie's toys."

"This was displayed at the entrance of the hotel..Sebastian Vettel won this."

"Other than the safety car..I want this !!..haha!"

"Drooooool !!!..."



© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

AbuDhabiF1:VisitToTheSheikhZayedMosque

One of the highlights of our visit was the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan mosque.

It took 12 years to build, can accommodate almost 45,000 people and is the 3rd largest mosque in the world, has 24-carat gold chandeliers all designed with thousands of Swarovski crystals.

Click here for more.

The pix:
"The Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan mosque."

"One of the entrances."

"One of the many chandeliers."

"Clock showing the various prayer times."

"The World's biggest single carpet is here...my question is how did they get it in ?!"

"The Mimbar where the Khutbah is given."

"Tours are conducted for tourists detailing the building of the mosque and Islam in the UAE."

"The courtyard which is used for prayers if the inside area of the mosque is full."

"The waiting room for the Abu Dhabi Royal family."

"HRH remarked that he thinks that Fav.No.7 would love this mosque and hoped she could visit this place in the future."


© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

AbuDhabiF1:TradionalArabDinner

On the night of the qualifying race we were invited by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Anhyan to a tradional Arab dinner.

The setting was outdoor (no chance of rain of course !) and everyone sat on carpets laid out on the desert sand.
They also had set up tents displaying certain Arab heritage.

The pix:
"The invite."

"The venue."

"Falcons which are used for hunting in the desert."

"Dogs which are used for hunting...what's the problem again here in Malaysia about muslims keeping dogs ?"

"This is a battle dance-song performance called the 'Ayallah', very haunting and mesmerizing."

"The spread."

"One delicacy on the menu was camel hump !!"

"Humpfrey the camel was quite distressed to hear his friend's hump was on the menu."

"With two Bedouin children."



© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

AbuDhabiF1:DayTwo/TheRace

The whole Yas Marina Circuit will be built at a cost of USD40 billion !! That includes not just the track but the surrounding Marina, theme parks and hotels.

A member of the Abu Dhabi Royal family told me after the race that they got complaints from the boat owners at the Marina that the water lever was too low and they could not see the race properly so next year, the organisers are going to do tide control and ensure the water level goes up by a few feet !!!... Unreal ! Well if you have the moola....

Anyway, despite a few protocol hiccups the race went well (almost too well as there were no incidents). One F1 official said the track is very safe, almost too safe.

For the record, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull won with team-ate Mark Webber second and Button third after pole position leader Lewis Hamilton retired.

The pix:
"Its all systems go for the inaugural F1 in Abu Dhabi."

"Its THAT safety car again....drool!!"

"So the other F1 venues have their Air Force planes doing a flypast just before the race, here the organisers said 'screw that we are going to use a couple of Airbuses for the fly-past' !..Excellent !!"

"The Etihad plane up-close as it buzzed the track !"

"Well, I'm ready...you may start the race, if you please."

"..And they're off !!"

"As they come under the hotel tunnel, led by Hamilton, Vettel, Webber and Button."

"Meanwhile in the paddock I asked VIJAY ARMITRAJ, tennis legend from the 70s-80s for a photograph and he duly obliged."

"Meanwhile in the paddock, JANET JACKSON, music icon of the 80s-90s asked for a photograph and I duly obliged."

"After Vettel's victory, the crew wonders whether they can sell these tyres to the 1-Malaysia F1 team for next season.



© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

AbuDhabiF1:DayOne/Qualifying

When you have the moola and have deep pockets you will be able to organise and build an incredible F1 circuit.

That is exactly what the Abu Dhabi government did with the Yas Marina Circuit.
The circuit cost approximately one billion US dollars to build.
The Yas Marina track is part of a $40 billion development of the emirate's Yas Island, which also includes a Ferrari World theme park.

Sometimes if you have the money and dont do it properly the event will suck but not in this case, the Royal family here have done a great job. But dont just take it from me; Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has also hailed Abu Dhabi's floodlit new circuit as the best ever.

Anyway it was our privilege to be invited by HH Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
How could we turn this invitation down....what ? And miss being part of history for the FIRST ABu Dhabi F1 race ? I should think NOT !

This is the pix from Saturday 31st October-Qualifying Day:
"Have passes..will..er..go to Abu Dhabi F1."

"Shams Tower where we are."

"The tower is located at the first bend and has a commanding view of the starting grid."

"The race starts at 5pm Abu Dhabi time....."

"...and ends at sundown or twilight as they are promoting it here."

"Malaysia represented !"

"The red roof is The Ferrari Theme Park, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, ready next year."

"A helicopter shuttle service is also provided."

"On pole position today is Hamilton followed by Vettel and Webber...with nothing to drive for, as the race champion and constructors championship has already been decided; this race promises to be interesting as the drivers are under no pressure and are racing for pride and to go in the record books as the first winner in Abu Dhabi."


© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

Perak300EarlyPostcards

A coffee-table book entitled 'Perak-300 Early Postcards' was launched on Thursday 29th October 2009 to commemorate the silver jubilee of the reign of HRH Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah , The Sultan of Perak.

The book was launched by HRH Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, The Sultan of Selangor.

The pix:
"The event."

"HRH Sultan Perak and HRH Sultan Selangor entering the event venue."

"HRH Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah giving his royal address."

"HRH The Sultan of Selangor launching the book."

"HRH Sultan Selangor was gracious enough to sign copies of the book."

"Got a copy of the book for Fav.No.7 and I..and...."

".....got it signed by HRH Sultan Perak, Raja Permaisuri Perak and Raja Muda Perak."


© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

OfficialOpeningHardRockCafePenang

"At the Hard Rock Cafe
Come to the Hard Rock Cafe
I hope you can find your way to the Hard Rock Cafe"
-Carol King-

Yes, the immortal words from the song..so find your way all the way to Batu Feringgi, Penang !

24th October 2009 was the official opening of Hard Rock Cafe in Penang.
The Hotel is also opened but the official opening for the Hotel is slated for next year.
We had a great time and boy, can someone's mother rock !!!

The pix:
"Have pass...er..will go to the official opening."

"Why we are in Penang this weekend."

"Waiting outside before we are let in; (L-R) Aubry Rahim Mennesson, Tengku Zatashah, Tengku Amir, Kaviita Kaur, Fav.No.7 and me. Aubry and TZ has their take on the opening. Click
this."

"A Hard Rock Cafe tradition during every opening is the smashing of a guitar. Here HRC Malaysia Chairman Tan Sri Syed Yusof does exactly that JUST when this idiot puts his greasy head in front of my camera."

"Penang Chief Minister giving his speech and officially welcomes the Hard Rock family to the Pearl of the Orient."

"Tan Sri Syed Yusof @ Jojo welcoming everyone !"

"What is an event without Dato' Razman Hashim belting out his usual 'All Of Me'."

"What is an event without Jojo belting out an Elvis Presley number !."

'Rock Queen Ella was there. Hard to imagine she has been singing since the 80's and still look the same !"

"Zainal Abidin who looks constipated here due to his minus-one breaking down."

"Resident band Groove Junction..not too bad..they did a reasonable version of Bohemian Rhapsody."

"Multi-talented cartoonist/Artist/Actor Imuda played the blues with his harmonica."

"Steph Hancox, T.Amir and Fav.No.7 rocking it HRC style."

"Our very own Adrian trying to do the hustle or is that a motorbike-riding impression with a member of Selangor's Exco (can you guess who?)."

"Imuda and I."

"Zainal Abidin and I."

"Towards the end of the night, the management of HRC asked Raja Muda T.Amir and I to sign this guitar which will be auctioned off for charity at a later date. Spot our signatures ?"

"Just before driving back on Sunday, the Fab 2 took a pic with the busts of the Fab 4."

"A trip to Penang would NOT be complete with out a visit to the BEST goreng pisang stall in the world."


© All Pictures by Headliner & Fav.No.7 unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

FaceBookUnwanted

My friend, Aubry had this on his FaceBook update :
Aubry Rahim Mennesson: What the ##@%# with Farmville, YoVille, MafiaWars? Some days my homepage is full of sheep, lonely cows, pigs, dolls... Is FB becoming a giant videogame?

And yes, that got me thinking (there I go, showing off again) that I too dont care if my friends on Facebook play games, cos I dont and I am sure many like dont too but we have to endure regular updates by friends on how well they did.
Seriously, I dont care if Cliff has killed the Tarano family and need help to get a cache of M-16s on Mafia Wars or how many sheep Albert has humped on Farmville or how good Alan's Scrabble scores are and how many percentage of luck Roger is going to have today or how dazzled you want me to be with your Bejeweled scores.

I have no objections to my friends gaming on FB but I just dont need to know how well or what help you need.

Fortunately there is a way to block these annoying posts (for those not in the know.)

Hover your mouse over that post and a "Hide" icon will appear.
Click on it and 2 options will appear.
The first blocks all updates from that friend which you do not want (Update from friends are ok).
The second blocks all updates from that application.
If the update is for Farmville, and by blocking Farmville you are effectively blocking all posts from the game, made by your friends.

Peace...out !


Pix by HeadLiner
Comments may also be sent to therevelation11@gmail.com

Sponsored2ndHoneymoon

EXCERPT FROM THE STAR

TERENGGANU OFFERS FREE HONEYMOONS TO COUPLES BENT ON DIVORCE
By R S N MURALI

KUALA TERENGGANU: A free second honeymoon trip awaits any Terengganu married couple on the brink of breakup. The state will pay for it.

However, the honeymoon package comes with some counselling.

The aim is to bring peace between feuding couples and check the reportedly soaring divorce rates in the state.

The honeymoon packages would be launched by the end of the year after specific modules were incorporated that would to help husband and wife to turn back to each and stay married, said State Welfare, Community Development and Women Affairs committee chairman Ashaari Idris on Monday.

The programme would be jointly implemented by the state government and the Family and Community Development Council.

He said the state done a pilot project where 25 couples facing marital woes were selected for the honeymoon package. They spend three days and two nights away from home at a cost of under RM1,500 per couple.

The outcome was positive, he said without giving details as to the number of marriages saved. When the love between couples starts to turn sour, normal counselling would be provided. But only those on the brink of separation or divorce would be offered the second honeymoon, Ashaari said.

Some of the marriages that had now hit the rocks have actually lasted up to two decades, he said.

“We can understand newly-weds having problems understanding one another where a slight skirmish could lead to a separation but it is unacceptable for those married for more than two decades to file for divorce.

“With this package, we hope the couples will treasure their marital ties and avoid separations,” he added.

ENDS

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isn't this subject to some kind of abuse ?
Maybe there are some savvy married couples who have never been on a honeymoon before and they register themselves and say their marriage is in trouble and before you can say "how-do-i-get-to-terengganu" you are are on your way to a state sponsored honeymoon !!


Pix from the World Wide Web.
Comments may also be sent to therevelation11@gmail.com