My bit done

I just returned from the Gala Dinner for the Conference. It was very well organised by the Event Manager. It featured a traditional Iban wedding, fused with elements of other subcultures is Sarawak. It was really a fun event, although I must say, the crowd dispersed in double quick time when the performers came down to get the audience to participate.

As I said, it was based on an Iban wedding. At intervals, the performer explained elements that unique to each of the groups and a form of dance unique to the tribe was then performed. The highlight was an Iban warrior with a blowpipe who appeared out of nowhere from the main entrance funny chap. He then grabbed the hand of one of the ladies in the audience, took her on the stage and started showing her the dances as well as how to use the blowpipe.

The dances were very well-performed. After a while, I had to call it the night as well after such a long day. I finished my talk - right after the lunch break. I was not expecting a crowd, but the turnout was quite good. The talk went well, and I managed to finish it well within the allotted time. It turned out that the main projector at the conference hall was able to handle widescreen projection, which was perfect for the size of my slides. Suffice to say, it went as planned. I'll blog more when I am more coherent.

Day Two Already?

Day One passed by so fast, I hardly had time to catch my breath. Apart from keeping myself busy in the photography side, I took time to catch up with friends, mingling about. I thought the day would stop by 6, but it turned out that the Annual General Meeting was on the first day rather than the second.

After the meeting, which ended around 7.15, I was at another meeting with the examination board. I only managed to escape for dinner after 8 - for note seafood. I was sure my cholesterol level would have doubled by the time I return to KL. That took me to after 10, when I finally managed to catch up with the Royal Wedding. A quick shower, and before I knew it I was already slumped on the sofa. Luckily, I had my slides already set to go for my talk later today. I woke up, freezing as it turned out it was raining heavily outside.

I have just checked in for the Second Day just now. It turned out that the committee had organised a Congress Dinner for tonight, complete with Cultural Shows. Would be looking forward to that.

Day One done

It was about time for me to hit the sack. It has been a long and productive day, starting from initially a quick lecture at the CML Support Group meeting, followed by a small group discussion. The discussion was very good, with many intelligent question as well as rank ones. At the end of the day, it was enjoyable for everyone involved. Again, the MaxFamily did it again.

Next came the time for the Myeloproliferative Neoplasm CPG group to meet. We discussed about updating the guideline to make it more relevant, as well as finalising the template for the national MPN registry. By the time it ended, I was both tired and hungry. I did not really fancy the hotel food. As soon as I was asked to join a group going out for seafood dinner, I was just unable to say no.

I would blog about the dinner on another entry. I really need to get some sleep. I took some test shots of the conference hall earlier and I could imagine I would need a ton of batteries for the flash and the venue was huge. I did not uitenhage like the layout however as there were no table for the audience to write on, and the posters would be displayed inside the main conference hall as well. At least that was what I observed earlier today.

Checking in

My flight into Kuching last night was delayed quite a bit and I ended up checking into Pullman Kuching just before midnight. The hotel was one of the new kid on the block. The lobby was spacious but ether empty. You can still smell the coating on the walls, it was so new.

Close to midnight, I just headed straight for the shower and unpacked. I was too tired to wait for the Barca-Real Champs League semi-final match. I fell asleep while doing done reading, and woke up after 7 this morning.

Another shower, and then breakfast. Since I was on the Executive Floor, breakfast was just a floor up at the Lounge. It was quite at the time I showed up and the spread there I was sure was a lot less than at the main kitchen, but minus the crowd of course.

I had a quick wonder around the exec lounge, there was free Internet station, some massage chair, plenty of coffee and drinks, spacious sofa with the TV showing CNN - the typical business types hanging around there. I wished there was a small gym here rather than having to head downstairs for the treadmill.

30 minutes passed before I headed back to the room. I still had some reading to do and some stuff to prepare, so better start cracking. My first engagement would be straight after lunch for the patient support group talk. Will blog about that later.

Colmar Weekend - The Bad

Unfortunately the place was not prefect and on the whole, there was more bad than the good. The main problem then was the fact that the Japanese and Tropical Garden complexes were both closed for renovation. During my conversation with the receptionist beforehand, that piece of crucial information was not mentioned. Because if so, we might have delayed our stay there. Apparently, to compensate, the entrance fees were halved, but that was hardly a consolation.

I brought my camera specifically for the gardens and as you can tell, I was left disappointed. It was a good thing that the weather was nice that we could spend the time in the pool instead.

The next issue I had was the rooms. They were in a desperate need for a renovation. The decorations were still unique as the furnitures still retained the European Alpine feel to the place. The room smelt moldy. The bathroom floor looked used and the drapes look destined for the bin. Rather than just closing the garden for a facelift, they could do with closing the whole resort for a while. The carpark and the lift needed a bit if work as well. Certainly the feel the feel of the whole place did not fit the 4 star status it carries. At least for the moment.

And now let's talk about the food, or the lack of it. The resort fees included breakfast for the family, and apart from the breakfast, we also had a buffet dinner at the main restaurant on the Saturday evening. We were amongst the earliest to arrive as to avoid the crowd, but we were made to wait even though we arrived 30 minutes after the advertised start of the buffet.

The excuse - the barbecue grill needed heating up. I left 45 minutes later, and the food were still scarce. Not only that the spread was very basic - for rice, the were only a couple of gravy - the buffet was slow to be replaced when it ran out. The restaurant were also not really designed for buffet as the seats we're rather too big, and it was not very easy to get in and out to the spread. It was more obvious during the breakfast the next morning, the crowd were much bigger.

During the buffet dinner, we were also surprised that there were not much choice for the kids. We asked for an ala cart menu, but there'd weren't any, despite room device orders going through the same restaurant. Hence, we ended up picking a few things up to fill the tummy before retiring to the room to order for room service. Room service also arrived late as they claimed that there were not enough staff. Frankly, that should not have been our problem. It was the resort's problem to sort out. They should be able to sort their staffing issue out as the place was established close to 10 years now.

To be honest, the place had so much potential if only the management were thinking it 'big'. Consistent with most Malaysian resorts, maintenance was an issue. There seemed to be lack of investment into infrastructures. It was all about making an easy buck, and lay low when the place starters to beak down. Looking around the place, they could have more activities for family and children. A proper bicycle track for a start, horse-riding maybe. But for God's sake, be honest about what you have to offer. If only I was told that the gardens were closed, we may have delayed our stay .....