Author Archives: Lesley Tan

Singapore Sightseeing – The Lion City

4th March, 2019 | Article By Lesley Tan

AttractionsSightseeingThings to doTourist InfoTravel Tips

Why The Lion City? Legend suggests that Prince Sri Tri Buana gave Singapore the name when he came to the island in 1299 and saw a creature that he thought was a lion. It is unlikely that there were lions in Singapore, though tigers did roam the island until very recently. ‘Singa’ in Malay means ‘lion’ hence the name Singapore.

Singapore is made up of 63 islands, including the main island. Around 10 percent of Singapore’s land has been set aside for parks and nature reserves and the highways are lined with beautiful, colourful, flowering shrubs, which is why it is now known as “The Garden City”.

Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, it usually rains in the afternoon and the temperature is always reasonably high, which makes it a great destination for holiday makers.

There are many great attractions to choose from and some of the best are on Sentosa Island, such as Universal Studios, indeed, different themed areas seem to cover the whole island including Resorts World, The Sky Tower, The Merlion, iFly (one of the world’s largest indoor sky diving simulators) and a beautiful lagoon area with manmade sandy beaches.

A short distance away on the main island, yet another casino, Gardens by the Bay with two massive ‘durian’ shaped covered areas where you can admire 250,000 rare plants and stroll among 16-storey-tall Supertrees! There is also Vivo City and The Singapore Flyer with fabulous views of the City by day and night. You can even book a ‘cabin’ for a special occasion and marvel at the F1 Circuit from the top!

These areas are quite new, but there is also a vast amount of ‘Old’ Singapore to visit, including The Raffles Hotel which houses the famous Long Bar serving the original ‘Singapore Slings’, countless Chinese Temples, Changi Prison, Little India, Clark Quay and Jurong Bird Park.

Singapore is a shopper’s paradise with the number one attraction surely being Orchard Road. Christmas is always extra special here as it competes with the rest of the world in being one of the best decorated for the occasion!

A very special place to visit is The Marina Sands Hotel which has an infinity pool on the roof! This is a trio of luxury hotel blocks joined at the top with a massive platform which houses the pool, a lovely bar and a walkway around almost the whole of it with the very obvious fabulous views of Singapore!

Hotels are abundant, the choice of food outlets is immense and the transport system is easy, buy one ticket and you can travel on the buses or the MRT, and all you need to do is top up the card when your money runs out.

Singapore is clean, one of the most law-abiding countries in the world and also steeped in history. I have been many times and still look forward to going, not just because I have family to see but because Singapore, The Lion City or The Garden City,  is a super place to visit!  Why don’t you find out for yourself?

Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival 2018

17th October, 2018 | Article By Lesley Tan

EntertainmentEventsFestivalsMusic

The second year of Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival was an absolute massive success!
After the excellent first year where there was an estimated 4000 festival goers, everyone was eagerly looking forward to THIS year’s festival! They were not disappointed… Crowds of Jazz enthusiasts, and indeed anyone who loves music, flocked to this excellent event. They sang along to some of their old favourites and were introduced to many new songs from 14 different bands and performers who came from far and wide.

The festival takes part on the waterfront of Grand Margherita Hotel which is in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The Grand Margherita Hotel, a subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) is the organiser of the Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival as well as being the official venue. The Minister Of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, officiated the festival and was so pleased to announce that his promise of a second year for the festival was actually taking place.

The picturesque Sarawak river and waterfront, the lovely sunsets and the local touristy spots make it an ideal venue. Kuching is also an excellent place for tourists so it makes good sense to plan a holiday there which fits in to this annual – Not To Be Missed – festival.

The festival was held over 2 days, 28th and 29th September, and has now become a yearly event. Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival 2019 will be held on 27th and 28th September.

During the Press Conferences the performers signed posters of themselves which would later be for sale in the festival grounds. The proceeds from these sales were for two local very deserving charities.

There were also three Workshops from Tuku Kame Jazz, Natalie Gillespie Band and Blues Gang. These excellent workshops were in the Club Lobby Lounge of Riverside Majestic Hotel, across the road from Grand Margherita Hotel, and were FREE and open to the public – Well worth attending!

Throughout the festival grounds were many stalls selling local products, food and drinks, an excellent way to support local businesses.

Rene Mark Barrow was the very professional MC and on Day 1 the festival kicked off with the Jazz Band Search Winner: ‘Sang Voyage’ which is a Kuching-based experimental ethnic-fusion jazz band formed by French Sape player Julien Cottet and drummer Alexander Ang. A very different and beautiful sound.  Next on the stage was a dynamic performance by ‘Jolynn J Chin’ on piano and her band, Jolynn also took part in last year’s fest and is from Sarawak. She has recently released her first single, TOCCATA. She is also a Piano Teacher and is very passionate about her work. I was so pleased to finally meet her in person.  We were next WOWED with a great performance from ‘Atilia Harun’ who is the new name in Neo Jazz here in Malaysia. The audience loved her and she got her dream of being invited to perform at the festival. She launched her album ‘Sangkar’ in 2007.  Indonesia’s ‘Aditya’ was next and had the crowd singing and swaying along. So far he has released 2 Albums and dreams to become the Number 1 Male Artist in Indonesia.  ‘Alemay Fernandez’ from Singapore has performed with MANY well–known artists and TimeOut magazine named her one of Singapore’s ‘best-loved entertainers’. Her performance in Kuching was excellent!  Malaysia’s ‘Dayang Nurfaizah’ was next on stage and her performance was very popular with the Jazz Festival crowd who loved her beautiful voice. She has released 8 studio albums so far and has received numerous awards.

The final artist of the evening was ‘Tulus’ from Indonesia who loves Pop Jazz. Tulus means ‘sincere’ in English and that is his aim when he creates music. The audience LOVED his performance and then he came off stage at the end of his set and allowed some of his lucky fans to take photos with him. After Tulus’ performance we were treated to a fabulous ‘Day 1 Finale’ where the performers got onto the stage and sang and danced their hearts out!

Day 2 of Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival started with ‘Tuku Kame Jazz’ from Malaysia and was formed from musicians from the Sarawak Cultural Village combining traditional Sarawakian instruments to make their exciting sound. Excellent music.

The next performers were the very talented ‘D’Cipta Band’ from Malaysia, who kept the crowds happy with their own special brand of music. ‘Aisyah Aziz’, from Singapore/Malaysia was a fabulous success; she has released three singles and gave an excellent performance. ‘The Natalie Gillespie Band’, from Australia, lead by Natalie Gillespie and backed by the excellent Dave Brewer and Elliot Smith really hit the stage hard! Gideon Jute, from Kuching, joined the band at short notice and he too was excellent! Natalie is a very vibrant character and her stage presence is awesome. ‘Carmen Souza Trio’ from Portugal added a very different flavour to the festival with their contemporary jazz style. Together with support from Theo Pascal, Carmen wooed the crowd with Afro-Brazilian and Cuban sounds. Very memorable!  The next band on stage was the very talented ‘Ito & The Blues Gang’ which was formed in 1975. Blues Gang has been named by many as Malaysia’s finest blues rock band. They jazzed up their performance in excellent style and the crowd LOVED them! Ito Mohd, Julian Moktar, Zzi Blues, Norman Abdullah, Abdul Munir Samsudin and Tok Ghani all follow their own paths now but continue to come together as Blues Gang for special events such as Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival. Magic!

Last, but not least, the crowd were entertained with ‘Tompi’ from Indonesia. He is a very talented performer and also has his own Plastic Surgery clinic. After his great energetic performance he and his band stayed on stage for the Grand Finale!

For the Grand Finale everyone was invited onto the stage and finished off the Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival in GRAND FINALE STYLE!

There were countless people involved in the creating of this festival, too many to name, but they all played their parts extremely well!
I loved every minute of it!
Roll on next year!
Blog by Lesley Tan
Photos by Lesley Tan and Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival
12th October 2018
#KuchingWaterfrontJazzFestival #KWJF2018
http://www.kuchingwaterfrontjazz.com/
Here is the link to their Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/kuchingwaterfrontjazzfestival/

Miri Marina Bay & Commercial Centre

20th February, 2018 | Article By Lesley Tan

LandmarksLocal LifeSailing-YachtingThings to doTourist Info

Miri City, Sarawak, Malaysia (In Borneo) is now an upcoming centre for many areas including: Tourism, Sports, Businesses, Music Events & Festivals, Restaurants, Cafes and Bars.

We now have Miri Marina, in a totally new ‘reclaimed land’ area off Miri which includes: a marina jetty or pier, a new park, stretches of beach, loads of new shops and even a new river mouth.

Marina Jetty is very scenic with a great mix of huge Super Yachts and smaller sailing boats from all over the world. The surrounding areas are still being developed.

The bay headland with the iconic ‘Seahorse Tower’ is situated on reclaimed land and is a very popular place for joggers, people like me who love to take photos of the sunsets, people who just want to relax and chill-out (usually in the evenings because of the daytime heat), and people who want to eat and drink as there are numerous food and drink stalls. Of course there is also the fabulous views of the coast and the Miri City lights to take in too which is somewhat dominated by The Seahorse which stands out. The seahorse is now a symbol of Miri and it can be seen on many roundabouts and signs in and around Miri itself. There is a magnificent ‘Balinese’ style building popularly called ‘Coco Cabana’ which can be hired for private functions, exhibitions and food and drink outlets. It backs directly onto the wide-open South China Sea. Its huge car-park is ideal for themed events like food carnivals and street-hawker food stalls.

The near complete park is extremely popular, especially with the ever increasing population of joggers, walkers and cyclists enjoying their local surroundings. And yes, there is a ‘Cycle Track’. There are fountains, long benches, stepped areas leading to what could be used as an open-air stage which could be used for future musical, staged, or community events and competitions of many kinds. Last year Miri hosted its first ‘Countdown to 2018’ at this venue. The important food and drink outlets with proper toilet facilities are also almost complete. The sunset views from the beach are excellent. Some of the toilets actually face out to The South China Sea so you can wash your hands AND take in the view at the same time!

Opposite the park on the landward side is Marina ParkCity Commercial Centre which is an area full of newish eateries, bars, gyms, convenience stores, home stays or inns and other attractions. It also houses the very first Robotic Steamboat restaurant in Miri.  A private hospital will be built here too. These shops and houses are also built on reclaimed land.

Miri is on the brink of an explosive expansion programme and it is exciting to imagine what will be coming up next!

Blog by Lesley and Tony Tan

The Quay Taphouse North Shields

28th January, 2018 | Article By Lesley Tan

EntertainmentFood and DrinkLeisurePubs & BarsRestaurants

The Quay Taphouse on the Fish Quay in North Shields, North East England, is a very nice pub/bar where you can get a good bottle of wine or beer, together with lots of lovely tapas at a very reasonable price. My friend and I are regular customers when I am home and we very happily starve ourselves all day just to enjoy a great treat eating here!

There are many choices of tapas such as fish, salads, crab, chicken and olives to name but a few. There are, of course, loads of other drinks available from the bar and other kinds of food should you prefer. This place is very popular so it is advisable not to arrive too late!

Located right on the quayside means there is always constant movement of boats, massive cruisers and other river traffic to keep customers entertained. As soon as we notice one coming down The Tyne, I am straight out with my phone to take photos and videos.

Last year, the Crossing The Tyne Festival 2017 took part in many pubs and venues around Tyneside and The Quay Taphouse was one of them; lots of local singers and artists performed and all collections went to a deserving charity. Watch out for Crossing The Tyne Festival 2018!

With wonderful views of South Shields and lovely breathtaking walks to enjoy after you have eaten, I would certainly recommend trying this great place if you are in the area.

Kuching – Cat City

27th October, 2017 | Article By Lesley Tan

Local LifeSightseeingStreet FoodTourist InfoTravel Ideas

If you are ever in Malaysia, do make a trip to Kuching. which is situated in Sarawak, not far from The Equator, on the island of Borneo. I was there recently for the first Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival and I was amazed at how much Kuching has changed since I was last there many years ago. The area where the festival was located near the famous Cat Statue, is a short walk from Kuching Waterfront and the Sarawak River.

The walks are scenic and the sunsets spectacular. There is a lot of activity on the Sarawak River including boat trips ferrying tourists up and down the river. There are streets full of eateries, streets full of souvenir shops, temples, shopping centres, and CATS!

YES! Cats! Kuching (kucing) is the Malay word for ‘CAT’ and you can see cat statues, visit a cat museum, buy cat souvenirs and generally see ‘cats’ as the symbol of Kuching in many places.

There are also great market places where you can browse through local produce, local handicrafts and more!

The food, of course, is exceptional and cheap, just take a walk through the streets and you will be spoilt for choice.

The Bako National Park is not too far from Kuching so is also worth a visit.

My favourite memory (apart from the festival and all that went with it) was the Mooncake Festival celebrations in Carpenter Street, which had food and drink stalls, people singing, Sape (local musical instrument) playing, dancers and a very great feeling of happiness and festivity.

We stopped for a while to listen to Julien Cotett who is a Sape maker, player and teacher who lives in Kuching. Beautiful music!

I am looking forward to returning next year.

Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival

| Article By Lesley Tan

EntertainmentEventsFestivalsMusic

Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival 2017

This year I was extremely happy to be invited to be on the Media Team for the very first Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival. In a way which I cannot explain, I knew it would be a success from the start. Managed by Place Borneo and hosted at the Grand Margherita Hotel in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia on 29th and 30th September, it was an OVERWHELMING SUCCESS!

The brainchild of SEDC, the SEDC GM and Festival Co Founder Tuan Haji Soerdirman Aini, this festival is now set to be an annual event!

The Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival Team comprises of Gracie V. Geikie (Festival Advisor), and Mona Manap (Managing Director), also Asif Ben Pishori (Music Director), Justin Mark Sylvester (Event Organiser), Ritchie Ramli (Sound, Lighting and Projection) Alcila Abby, Selbenaide Eday Helbat and a whole host of others too numerous to mention but their joint efforts, together with an army of hardworking and eager volunteers, resulted in a festival to be proud of.

Jazz greats came from all over the world and wowed the crowds from the start! Here is the list of performers (in no particular order):

  1. Balawan Magic Fingers (Indonesia)
  2. Lewis Pragasam and Asia Beat Featuring John Kaizan Neptune (USA/Malaysia)
  3. Abdul & The Coffee Theory (Indonesia)
  4. Sri Hanuraga Trio Feat Dira Sugandi (Indonesia)
  5. Kunto Aji (Indonesia)
  6. Mellow Motif (Thailand)
  7. Baihana (Philippines)
  8. The Shanghai Sisters (Malaysia)
  9. Diana Liu (Malaysia)
  10. Akoustik Connexion (Malaysia)
  11. Borneo Big Band Feat Jessel Yansalang (Malaysia)
  12. Andy Peterson (Malaysia)
  13. Ernie Watts and the Jeremy Monteiro Trio (USA)
  14. UKDB Brothers (Malaysia)
  15. Jeremy Monteiro and The Asian All-Stars Power Quartet with Eugene Pao, Tots Tolentino, Hong Chanutr Techatana-nan Featuring Melissa Tham (Singapore/Hong Kong/Thailand)
  16. Jolynn J Chin (Malaysia)
  17. Sheila Majid (Malaysia)

More information on the performers and the festival at Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival’s Web Page.

http://kuchingwaterfrontjazz.com/

In the two days there was so much talent to take in that it was quite amazing! There was such a great mix; different kinds of Jazz and performers coming from all over the world, all expertly ’emceed’ by Rene Barrow.

The weather held out for the most part with only a short rain shower in the later part of the second evening, but everyone just pulled out ‘ponchos’ and umbrellas and continued to enjoy themselves.

The Kuching Waterfront is a very scenic area which continues to evolve, an excellent venue to hold the festival with the famous Malaysian sunsets and warm weather to entice festival revelers from all over the world. The main stage was set up by the Sarawak River.

Vendors were invited to sell their wares and there were stalls for local handicrafts, open-air and indoor food courtyards, drinks, Jazz mementos, T-shirts, local paintings and much more. (I HAD to buy a t-shirt to add to my festival t-shirt collection!). There were also activities and games for children.

The whole festival was brilliantly received by the crowds and there was mega audience participation with the local ‘RELA’ keeping a close eye on security!

Many magazines, newspapers and publications wrote informative articles leading up to the festival, and social media shared widely too.  This ensured a wide coverage of details of the up-coming event.

All in all everyone connected to Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival 2017 are at the beginning of many more Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festivals to come.

Magic!

Written by Lesley Tan (Some Details from Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival web page)

Photos from Lesley Tan, Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival, Rentak Sejuta (Anastasia Doping and Kumaraguru Olaganathan), Primus Lee, Mellow Motif, The Shanghai Sisters, Baihana, Borneo Big Band.

Seaton Delaval Hall

15th September, 2017 | Article By Lesley Tan

AttractionsFamily DaysHistoric BldgsParks-GardensThings to do

My first visit to Seaton Delaval Hall in North East England, was this summer.

A Grade I listed country house in Northumberland designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1718 for Admiral George Delaval and now owned by the National Trust.

An unfortunate fire burnt down the central block in 1822 and that area is undergoing renovation; the National Trust is undertaking a massive conservation project to get the hall back to its former glory.

The rooms are lavishly decorated with memorabilia from the past history of the hall and there are extensive cellars below. The hall and grounds are very impressive. One of the rooms I liked the most was the dining room. The surrounding gardens and grounds are full of trees, flowers, horses, stables, an old Norman Church, a grave yard and a lovely tea area (indoors and outdoors) with a playground for the kids. There is a souvenir shop located at the entrance and there is plenty of car park space.

All that you could ask for of a lovely country house, this great hall is well worth visiting and with lots of activities laid on for children, it makes for a great day out with the kids too!

Plan a trip to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/seaton-delaval-hall

Harry’s Bar & Pinocchio Newcastle

13th August, 2017 | Article By Lesley Tan

Food and DrinkLeisureOccasionsPubs & BarsRestaurants

For a friend’s birthday celebration we went up to Newcastle (North East England) and met up in a super bar called Harry’s Bar. We had a great time there. The atmosphere is lively and they specialize in cocktails although you can order the usual wines and beers if you wish. You may drink inside or outside.

When we had refreshed ourselves we took a short walk to Pinocchio, a lovely little, well-established, Italian-style restaurant. Pinocchio is full of charm and super-friendly staff. It is very interestingly decorated with, of course, a Pinocchio theme.

We were well looked after from entering to leaving the restaurant and I would certainly recommend it if you love Italian food. We all had great food and wine and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

I would certainly recommend both Harry’s Bar and Pinocchio to anyone wanting an evening out in Newcastle.

Cafe Miri Bar & Bistro

17th July, 2017 | Article By Lesley Tan

CafesChristmasFood and DrinkPubs & BarsRestaurants

One of my all-time fave cafés is Cafe Miri – right here in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia!

Philip Ng has been operating in this location for 22 years now and we always love visiting, catching up with our old friend and of course having a great meal and a few beers.

They have a very well-stocked bar and they serve many kinds of Western Food such as steaks, fish, mixed grills, garlic bread, starters, desserts, salads and a whole lot more!

The café  is friendly, bright, airy, comfortable and very well decorated with memorabilia from all over the world with collections of beer mats, bank notes and posters just to name a few.

Another great thing Philip does is Roast Turkeys with all the trimmings every Christmas, and we usually order from him as it saves us a lot of time and effort!

I would certainly recommend a visit to anyone visiting Miri.

Mouth Of The Tyne Fringe Festival

16th July, 2017 | Article By Lesley Tan

EntertainmentEventsFamily DaysFestivalsMusic

Oxjam Stage

What a brilliant festival for original musicians who prefer the edginess of the fringe!

On 8th and 9th July, 2017 The Old Low Light Heritage Centre, North Shields Fish Quay, was the location of  Mouth Of The Tyne FRINGE FESTIVAL – Oxjam Stage. This, together with a Family Fun Event staged by Old Low Light, incorporated LIVE local music, Fight The Pirates, Crafts, Pirate School and much more.

The main idea of the Fringe Festival is to showcase all of the local talent, for free, and any money collected in the collection boxes will be donated via Oxjam, Nova Radio, to Oxfam. These events by Oxjam are happening all over the country to try and raise money for this worthy cause. There was a £2 entry charge to get into Old Low Light.

Nova Radio plays a very big part in this excellent effort to ease the suffering of the under-privileged by combining Oxjam Music Events with supporting Oxfam.

While the great local artists were playing, there was plenty of food and drink to be enjoyed including excellent sausages from Geordie Bangers and drinks from Tynemouth Coffee; the Old Low Light was also serving refreshments from its cafe.

The Line Up:

On Saturday 8th July – III Punctuality, Mink, The Phosphenes, Paul Allan Band, River Beat, Brook Miller and Aaron James Potter.

On Sunday 9th July – Jake Houlsby, Eve Simpson, Afnan Prince, Jenny Lascelles, Connor Thomas, Misti and Abbey Burns.

The Fringe Festival is in its second year and hopes to become a permanent local festival.

The 3rd ‘Crossing The Tyne’ Festival will be held on the 26th August which also showcases local talent. There will be performances on the ferries crossing the river and in many other locations in and around the Tyne area. Donations collected will go to a worthy local charity.

These are great family friendly events and highly recommended for great day out.

Photos by Darren Turner and Lesley Tan.