Last Day in Bintan (Day 4)

 27th November 2022, Sunday

Today is the last day of my short gateway and have to go back to reality again. Woke up around 6 am and prepared to go for breakfast. Was thinking what to do after breakfast as the checkout time was 11 am. In additional, i still can stay around and use the facilities in the resort until the pick up time to leave the resort. The weather was very gloomy and could see very thick dark clouds up in the sky. I also noticed there was a cocktail session today at 11 am, so i went to the reception to enquiry where can i sign up for it. The staff informed i could enrol for it at the poolside bar at 9 am. So i went to the main restaurant for breakfast first. There was nothing much special today, so i took the same food i ate yesterday. While i was still eating, the rain came and there was strong wind. After eating, there was still about an hour to 9 am. So i went to sit at the bar at the main building and could see the lightings flashing with thunder sounds.

Breakfast

Main Reception

I just sat around until about 9 am and went down to the poolside bar to enrol for the cocktail session later. After that, i just went back to my room to rest (just sat by the windows and watched people doing aerial yoga) till about 10:30 am. After that, i left the room and walked to the reception to do the check-out. After that, i went down to the pool side bar and there were already snacks available which i went ahead and had some. There were 3 small tables setup at the back of the corner and i went over wondering if it was for the cocktail session. Luckily it was and there were another 3 groups with kids joining too. The bartender gave a brief introduction of herself and a short introduction of the tools used by a bartender to mix any cocktails drinks. She had prepared the ingredients for a particular cocktail for us in this session. So the ratio was all the same, only difference was those with kids has no rum given. The white color liquid was personally mixed by the bartender and consisted of coconut as the base. It is for sweeting the drink, so you can add as little or as much as you prefer. The blue liquid was for the colouring and the last liquid is rum. So the bartender guided us through on how to mix the liquids and ice together. I added only 1/3 of the given rum but i had poured all the white liquid into the mixture. After mixing, we can drink our own cocktail. Boy, it was soooo damn sweet and i can't even taste the rum...😅

Cocktail Tools

Finished Product!!

After playing with the cocktail, I stayed on in the pool side bar to have some snacks as the staffs were cooking satays and sausages. There was also fruits available. By then, the aqua gym had already started for today and the people were having water polo games too. At the end of the exercise, some of the sports team staffs also came by and began to dance around the pool. There were also some foreigners being sporty and started to dance while the music played on. I stayed for quite some time there since there wasn't much left to do. 2 of the massage staffs were also giving a 5 mins trial as part of their promotions to get people to sign up for their massage packages. So i went over and was treated a short massage on the shoulders. It was quite shiok...hahaa.....

Satays

Water Polo game

When it was around noon, i went up to the main restaurant for my last lunch there. I just ate a little and i wasn't very hungry. There was still about an hour left before the bus comes, so i walked around the resort again. Later on, i went up to the reception and collected my ferry boarding pass from the staffs there (which was great, don't have to collect from the ferry terminal). The bus came around 2 pm and everyone started to board the bus. While boarding, the resort's staffs were at the entrance bidding goodbye to all the guests leaving.  And we were off to the ferry terminal. There was nothing much there except a few mini shops selling some souvenirs for tourists to buy. I saw there were some people already starting to queue at the gate and it was only like 3:00 pm (Ferry was 4:30 pm)!! But still, i joined in the queue as there was nothing to shop. And slowly, the others started to join the queue and a line was formed quickly. The kid who was throwing temper when he arrived on the first day as me was in front of me. Same thing again, he was being naughty and throwing temper on and off while the parents queued. Think we waited till 4 pm and the gate opened for people to go in. Another queue was formed quickly inside the gate to the ferry too. It was another 15 or 20 mins wait inside before we could board the ferry. After that, it was just ferry back to Singapore which I reached about 6 plus or 7 pm. 

Laksa

Bintan Ferry Terminal

And this marked the end of my Bintan Trip of year 2022.

Bintan, Indonesia Trip (Day 3)

 26th November 2022, Saturday

Woke up around 6 plus and headed out for quick walk before breakfast in the main restaurant. The food was quite the same as yesterday with some different varieties today. After breakfast, i headed to the reception and waited for the power walk (activity by the resort) to start at 8:30 am. So when the time reached, the instructor was already waiting near the entrance. He was Logan, the south korean guy and quite handsome...hehee...Apparently, i was the only one who participated. So we walked out of the resort and the target was to reach the first power station outside the road (which was like 2 km plus away) in 30 mins (back n fro). But my walking speed was so pathetic until the instructor commented that it wasn't even a power walking...😅

Breakfast

But he still followed to my walking speed and i tried to chat with him so that it won't be so boring and quiet. From the chat, i got to know that he just arrived at the resort two weeks before and the club med staffs always get to rotate to different locations every year. So they have to adjust with different culture, people and climate every time they shift between different locations. And the instructor said he is quite enjoying his job as he is doing what he likes in his job. They do have a day off each week but most of them just stay in the resort as the nearest town in Bintan is like 15 to 30 mins away. Anyway we didn't manage to walk till the target destination, so we headed back after half the distance as he could only spend 30 mins for the activity. The instructor did mentioned that there were people who walked faster than him and he could not even have chat with them as we were having. And some people brought fruits along and the monkeys will snatch from them. 

When we reached back to the resort, i thanked him and went for another round of basket ball despite having muscle ache. I played for a good full hour, but while playing there were monkeys walking on the fence and passing the court. I scared the monkeys will take my stuffs, so i headed to the inner court but the condition of the board and net was not not as good as the outer court. I headed back to the outside court after some time when the monkeys were gone. Then my left sandal also opened it mouth...hahaha

After basketball, i went down to the practice golf area and attended the beginner course conducted by the resort. There were two instructors around, Putu and Osman. There were no one around when i reached there. Putu was the one who guided me first and then there were other people coming to join afterwards. It was not easy to learn the golf techniques and to be able to hit the ball correctly. Anyway, i played there for an hour since there is not many people playing and the pits are available. Also, had chat with the instructors while I played After playing, i left and walked slowly back to the poolside bar. The aqua gym has already started and the instructor today was Logan. Everyone seems to have a lot of fun working out in the pool (seems this is one of the popular activity). After that, they had water polo game which looked fun. I ordered a coke and had snacks (chicken wantons) in the bar to cool down first before headed back for shower. After that, i went into the leisure room, there were 2 pool tables and 2 mahjong tables at the back of the room. One of the mahjong tables has an auto shuttle mechanism too. 

Aqua Gym

Snacks

After that, i went back to my room for shower. Luckily the housekeeping came early today and i was able to rest in the sofa until past two. Later, i went to the other restaurant for lunch which i ordered 2 main dishes (a cold fish dish and sotong rice) and a dessert (blue berry cake) today. The fish dish was nice but the toast bread was very hard and mine was missing a lemon slice. The cake was too sweet for me though. After lunch, i headed to the sport centre and played archery again. This time i played from 2 plus all the way to almost 5 pm as there weren't many people playing around 3 plus. So the staff has no problem of me playing longer there. Heard the staff  going to leave the company soon, he was quite a nice guy though.

Cold sea brass dish

Sotong with rice

After that, i went to the bar at the beach to check out the snacks for today. There were a vietnam style pop piahs, beef satays. So i took the pop piahs and went to the poolside bar to eat and watch the world cup match. I stayed a little longer today as i wanted to go to the The Terrance and try their dinner menu. However, when i reached there, reservations was required for dinner as they have limited tables and there were more people for dinner. So i had to go dinner at the main restaurant and there were many people there. The food tonight was not quite nice, though the first clayfish dish i ate was favourable. Anyway i ate my dinner slow since it was the last night in the resort. Tonight's performance was by the kids who joined the kids' club so it was performance for the parents. So i did not went for the performance, instead i just watched the 2nd match of world cup in the bar until it was time to go back to rest. When i was switching the channels in my room, i realised i could also watch the world cup in my room...hahaha...But it seems more fun to watch in the bar with all the football fans around.

Pop piahs

Clayfish dish (Up for grab dish)

Roasted duck & sotongs

Bintan, Indonesia Trip (Day 2)

 25th November 2022, Friday

Woke up around 5 plus, thinking to see the sun rise of the day. However, it was cloudy and the sun was already rising behind the thick clouds. Since it was still early, i tried to walk around the resort to find where the facilities were located. I took a walk around the bench to pass time and walked up to the sports centre. It was located up on a hill and have to climb flights of stairs before reaching the centre (like a warm-up before you start your exercise). There were basketball, tennis, squash and badminton courts available. You can also get to the gym and archery station. Found there was a turtle nursery located at the end where the turtle eggs were nursed and released out to the beach. Too bad, it wasn't time for turtle eggs to get hatched.

Golf Training Ground

Seats available on beach

Morning sun

As it was getting time for breakfast (started on 7 am for the main restaurant), i decided to go for the breakfast first. Just ate some breads and bacons and fruits as wanted to go exercise. Was planning to go for a power walk activity (organised by the resort) but it started to get raining. So i changed my mind to go up to the sports centre instead. Waited for some time before a staff managed to come by and i asked to borrow a squash racket. There were 2 pathetic squash balls available and when i played with it, the ball can't even bounced properly. However, when i asked the staff for another new ball, he said there were the balls available. So i just played with it for half an hour (not bad for a lousy ball and just wearing with sandals...^_^).

After that, i switched to playing basketball (also had to wait for some time before the staff comes back and i could ask for a basketball. But the staff said i could just go in the counter and get whatever equipment if there is no one around...haha). Anyway, i was glad i played basketball (Still my favourite sports). Also, the ball was soooooo much better than the pathetic squash ball. So i just played for 2 hours straight with my sandals. And of cos, my right sandals gave way and started to "open its mouth"..... hahahaa.....After that, i decided to go back to my room to change to my swim suit and went for a swim in the pool. But i still walked around the resort for a breather break. Passed by the spa reception and decided to book a spa package (as there was a promo for 1 for 1). But realised, it was expensive and the cash which i brought along was not enough (can pay by credit card in the spa place later on. Did booked but cancelled it later on). So i ended up going to the boutique to get a pair of slippers to replace my sandals. The slippers cost $150k Indonesia rupees.

Tennis & badminton courts

Basketball Court & Football Pit

Open mouth sandals..😅

Then i saw there were snacks available at the poolside bar, so i went to have some snacks and ordered a glass of orange juice. Omg, the orange juice was sooooo sweet (until i don't dare to order any drinks for the rest of my stay there). Then i went back to my room for a change of clothes and walked back to the pool. Saw the aqua yoga activity was going to get started but there was like no space available to join. They had taken up the 1.2 m space and since i can't go to 1.6m side, i went down to the other pool which had the 1.3m side. There were 4 gals playing there too and the life guard passed them a volleyball to pay with it in the pool (The life guards had all their balls hidden in the tall vase beside them). So i just soaked myself at my side watching other people. Later on, there was a couple who came into the pool but i think they wanted to get passion with each other rather than swim. The gals were still playing with themselves and don't even want to get out of the pool when the father asked them to get out for lunch. Later, there was a young boy coming in to the pool with the mum. The mum did not want to get into the water, so she sat on the edge and tried to get the son to show his swimming skills to her. But the son was trying to bargain with the mum to stay in the water longer and making all those whining sounds (kind of annoying).

Spa packages promotions

Before lunch snacks

I was still thinking if i should go over to the beach and try stand-up canoe (which i had decided to have a try before i get here). In the end, i didn't go for it cos i don't like having all the sands on my feet and don't like water. I headed back to my room to take a shower and then i just rested on the sofa watching out the window. I was waiting for time to pass until 2 pm, then i could go for lunch in the other restaurant (The Terrance) which serve late breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just so the housekeeping arrived to clean my room, i headed out for my lunch. In the other restaurant, the guests has to place ala carte orders. But everything was included inside the package (except those with prices), you can literally order everything off the menu...hahaa...I ordered a coke and a fried rice dish with grilled chicken. The food was much better than the food from the main restaurant. And the view was on the beach, no ac though (natural wind). There was also not many people eating there too cos most of the people will be out doing whatever activities. 

Restaurant Entrance

Lunch!! 😁

After lunch, i walked back to the sports centre and went to the archery range. There was some guests playing there. So i joined. There was only 3 arrows for each person, and at the end of the 3rd arrow fired, everyone will walk to the target boards together to retrieve the arrows back. At one time, i pulled the arrow out from the target board too hard and the whole target board fell off. Luckily it didn't fell on me but still brushed against my back...hahaa...later on, the staff need to get some help from some guy guests to help carry the board back up...It was super heavy for one person to carry it. We played for about 4 rounds, then i left even though the staff said we were free to play since there was no people to queue. But i still left and went back to my room for some water (very easy to get drinks from any of the bars around but the drinks were all too sweet). So i rested for some time in the room before going out again. I really love sitting on the seat by the window and just see outside the window cos i could see the spot where the yoga classes will be conducted (It was so funny watching the guests doing aerial yoga...hehhe). 

Archery Range

Aerial Yoga Class

When it was about 4:30 pm, i headed out to the bar at the beach and checked out the snacks prepared today. It was satays, bbq wings and sausages and there were a lot of kids and parents around. Seems like there was an activity for the mini club earlier on. So i just walked over and took some food and went to the poolside bar to eat as there wasn't any available tables around at the beach bar. There was a weird taste to the satay sauce and the bbq wings wasn't nice too. Sausages were still ok to eat. So i just went to get a table inside in front of the screen in the poolside bar and watched the first half of the first world cup match of the day. The snacks were brought out at around 6pm for the poolside bar but there weren't much difference from the day before and today. So i didn't eat much snacks today, i went back to my room for some water and waiting for the dinner from the main restaurant to start. 

Bar by the beach

All having fun...😀

Teatime Snacks

Afterwards, i just walked back to the main restaurant for dinner. Tried a pasta dish, sashimi, soup and sea brass dish. The food wasn't nice tonight, the sashimi i got wasn't fresh (it was having a bad fishy smell). But i overheard the other guests were commenting the roasted pork was nice (didn't try it though). After dinner, i went down to the theatre and there was a bingo game going on with the kids. So i can't play even i want to..haha...I just sat there and watched the kids playing the bingo. There was one kid wasn't even interested in playing and it was the parents' playing. But when the parent called for Bingo, it was the kid who got out to pick the prize...hahaha...After some time, i walked outside to the poolside bar and sat there watching the world cup match while waiting for the performance to start. There were some mini stalls setup by the pool to sell some local souvenirs tonight too. 

Snacks at Poolside Bar

Carrots & chips

Kids' Bingo Game

I made my way to the theatre when it was about time for the performance. Tonight's performance theme was Music Hits (of the 80's and the 90's). But i did not know what to expect from tonight's performance. When it started, the staffs put up an amazing performance by imitating the popular singers and bands from the 80's and 90's.  They did not sing but just danced to the music. Everyone got so excited and were having so much fun. I think i really enjoyed their performances and night parties more here...hahaha.....The host introduced all the performers for tonight and the staffs were a mixture of different nationality too. Some were from South Africa, Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, etc and the host introduced one very fit guy - Logan who was their number 1 handsome guy in the resort....hahaa. Of cos, the night party started immediately at the poolside after the performance ended. Tonight party's theme is Bintan (45/88) with neon colours. You can actually buy the tshirts for the daily theme from the boutique. Tonight, the bartenders also did a domino of drinks around the bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The bartenders had mixed the drinks themselves for the party. The host was joking to the bartenders if the domino breaks, the bartenders will have to go into the pool...hahaa...However, when the domino started, there was break in between but the bartenders just continued the flow manually and everyone was very high to bother...Everyone took the drinks and the party continued on.....I stayed on for a little while and then headed back to the room as it was getting late (also starting to feel muscle ache coming).

The Beetles?

No idea who this band was...😂

Deng Li Jun

Guns n' Roses

Backstreet Boys

Pool Party

Bintan, Indonesia Trip (Day 1)

24th November 2022, Thursday

Finally, traveling is more ease now but there are still many regulations while traveling to different countries. So, I booked an all-in package ($1,100) with Club Med Bintan for a 4 days short weekend gateway. This was my first trip to visit Bintan. Left house super early to go to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, took 1 and half hour to go from punggol. Bus 35 is also took a long wait to arrive, the frequency was like 20 mins per interval. I got confused and climbed over to the opposite side which was the wrong direction. Luckily, i realised and made the way back to the opposite direction. The bus finally came and off to the terminal. Reached the terminal around 8:45 am and went to the Bintan Resort Ferries counter to collect my ferry ticket. Then i went to find a breakfast place in the terminal. Unfortunately, there was only one small coffeeshop for breakfast. Ended up buying a hot milo ($3), 2 eggs ($2.60) and 2 plain toast ($2.50), expensive breakfast. The gate only open at 10:15 am, so there was a lot of time for me to pass.  There were also many people going to Bintan and Batam today. Later on, i passed by the Bintan Resorts Ferries counter, the queue was super long with people queueing to collect their ferries tickets. 

Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

I went through the customs and went in to wait at the gate. There was a mini duty-free shop and a mini eating place inside. Nothing much to do but to sit around and wait for the ferry. So waited until almost 10:30 to 10:45 am before the gate was opened for boarding. At last, the gate opened and everyone scrambled to board the ferry. There were a lot of families going Bintan today and everyone was choosing the seats. I found a 2-seats on the right side of the ferry and there was some empty spacing which i could put my backpack without blocking anyone. But so unlucky, a kid was seated behind me and tended to kick my seat. Since the ferry ride's duration was 50 mins, the parents had to keep the kids entertained with some chips...

Doulos Phos The Ship Hotel

When the ferry was about the reach the dock, the ship hotel can be seen from outside. Everyone all rushed to get ready to alight the ferry. But at least the people still tried to align in an orderly manner. The Indonesia customs officers collected everyone's health declaration form and everyone walked towards to the customs counters for clearance. There was a little gal, seems to be very bad mood...kept whamming since she boarded the ferry to the time she alighted the ferry with her parents. But could see she was very active and getting naughty. After i passed the customs counters, there was another boy who was crying and just sat on the floor instead of going through the scanning gate. But of cos, when the father moved ahead, he just got up and followed crying. After that, I went to the Club Med office in the terminal. It was a very tiny office which just a small counter and 2 staffs trying to register all the guests. It was quite confusing because of the people standing outside with their luggage and making the place so crowded. So if you are going there for registration, you can just walk towards the counter and see where is the queue. If you are travelling with big group, it may be good that one representative to do the registration for everyone while the rest of the people can wait outside. 

I went for my registration and i was greeted by Miko (Welcome and Services Manager) warmly.  Pity them, they had to find through a paper name list of guests arrived today printed in tiny fonts. The registration was quite manual, so it took a while for each group. And i was given my door tag and club med map. However, there was a group of 18 people doing the registration first. So she had to scan all their passports first before she could scan mine. So i had to wait patiently for my passport to get scanned by her. After that, i exited the terminal and boarded club med bus while waiting for the rest of the people to get boarded. Once everyone boarded, the bus left to go to the resort which was 15 mins away. The club med welcome staff first greeted us and welcomed us. Next, he told us to always lock the balcony door in our room as the monkeys there already know how to open the door themselves and make their way into the room. It could be troublesome for them as the monkeys always make a mess in the room. After the announcement, there wasn't much to do on the bus until the bus arrived at the resort. 

My room's door tag

Cafe at the Ferry Terminal

The bus waited for some time at the guard house and when the bus drove into the resort's main entrance, the welcome team were welcoming us. And each one of the staffs was holding a piece of paper printed with our names to receive us. Each group was handled by a staff individually, so it was like 1 to 1 handling. The staffs would bring their own group to seat around the main lobby and started introducing the resort and providing information like what facilities do they have and what was included in the package. There was a $300 sgd security deposit which the staff charged to my credit card. The security deposit will be refunded back later when you check out from the resort on the last day. Some of the groups had their rooms ready, so they were able to proceed to their rooms. However, mine was not ready yet, so the staff told me to go the main restaurant for lunch first and proceed to the reception again at 3 pm to check on the room. 

Bar at Main Building

So i went to level 2 and went to the main restaurant for my lunch. There was many different cuisine and each counter was manned by a "chef" to prepare the dish of the day for you. There were some food which you could take on your own like buffet style. Anyway everything was included, so you can eat to your fill with the food and drinks. There were a lot of nice looking food, like gourmet standard. I tried a sea brass dish, soba, ebi curry rice and some fruits. The serving was quite nice for 1 pax but you can take as many servings as you like. The food wasn't that fantastic but was not too bad too. But i found their milo is damn sweet. After the lunch, i wandered downstairs to the poolside bar to have a look as it was still early. Then I returned to the reception and saw Miko from the registration counter at the terminal. So i checked with her if my room is ready for me. Funny thing was, the housekeeping staff was telling her that they had already informed that the room was ready since 11 am. Some more, i arrived in the resort past 12 pm but i was not given my room at tat time and i had to carry my heavy backpack around for extra 1 hour plus (Jialat). 

Anyway i was so glad that i can proceed to my room and dump my heavy bag in the room. The room was quite spacious and there was even a sofa beside the window. After resting for a while, i decided to go to the pool for a swim but i realised i actually forgot my swimming goggles. Gosh...but i just went ahead and ended up soaking in the water...hahha...only swam a little once a while...There was two pools..one pool was 1.2m and all the way to 1.6m while the other pool located below is with 1.0m and all the way to 1.7m on the other end. So i just stayed in the 1.2m side. One thing i wasn't quite happy was that there was no staff to enforce the kids to shower before going into the pool after coming from the beach. If the parents did not enforce, the pools will end up having sands inside. There was an opening space where swimmers can see out to the palm trees and beach. I tried to swim towards it but realised it was deep when i no longer can touch the ground. Then i quickly paddled myself back to 1.2m side...so scary (no confidence of swimming without my goggles). 

Rooms

 

After soaking in the pool for almost an hour, i headed back to my room for a shower and rested until it was near to dinner time. Went out to explore around the resort and tried walking the road behind the block where my room was. There were a lot of monkeys swinging around on the tall palm trees and they even climbed around the resort rooms. They could literally climb up and down from the sides and sliding down from the top to the bottom. Even saw one monkey climbing around with a pair of shorts on its mouth and other monkeys tried to snatch it from it too. There was also squirrels running around on the trees too. So i just walked back to the beach area as fast as i could (too many monkeys and getting scary).  The spa was at the end of blk D resort rooms too (but you need to make reservations at the main building's lobby and it was not included in the package).

Later I passed by the bar at the beach, saw there was bbq going on. The guests were having bbq wings and satays. Then i headed to the bar at the pool and the first world cup match of the day had already started screening on the screen. So i ordered a cocktail and sat there to watch the match. At 6 pm, the bar staffs brought out some mini snacks. So i tried the snacks as the dinner at the main restaurant will only be available from 6:30 pm onwards.

Cocktail with snacks

I found the cocktail was super sweet until i don't order any cocktails for the rest of my stay...hahaha...After this snacks, i went up to the main restaurant for dinner. The concept was the same with lunch but the dishes were different. There were some big groups where they had their designated tables for their meals. So i just tried whatever dish i feel like eating..didn't find the prata and seafood nice but the soup was not too bad. After dinner, i went back downstairs to the pool side bar to watch the football match again while waiting for the evening's performance to start in the theatre. When it was near to 8pm, most of the staffs will head to the theatre entrance and form a line on the left and right side. Whenever there were people walking towards the theatre, the staffs will start clapping like welcoming the people. Today's performance is called "Colours", a dance performance by some of the Club Med staffs. The performance is about a girl who was finding colours of happiness and sharing the happiness to everyone. There was also circus performance incorporated in the performance. It was a nice performance and the staffs did made great effort in putting the best show for the guests. At the end of the performance, all the performers were introduced one by one and they were staffs we would see during the day like the yoga instructor, or the staffs working at the reception. The host was asking everyone not to go back to the rooms after the performance as there will be a party starting at the pool side...

Mini salmon don & Soup

Acrobat part

So everyone left the theatre and headed to the pool side. Immediately the party started and the emcee brought up the atmosphere. Everyone and the staffs started to dance in front of the stage (it wasn't a big space so i just stood at the back to avoid the crowd), everyone started to have a great and fun time. The theme of the party was a tribute to the Queens, so the songs were quite 80's. There were 2 mini stages and there will be two of the staffs doing imitation of the Queens (i think). I only knew some of the songs and i was even surprised that the emcee was able to sing the chorus part in Chinese when they played "小苹果" as i think he wasn't Chinese-speaking. Anyway everyone went so high when this song was played as it was known by everyone. I left the party earlier as it was getting past 11 and i getting tired. So i walked back to my room and showered so i can rest for the day. 

Party Time!!

An Experience at Sheng Siong Live Variety Show

 12th Nov 2022, Saturday

Woooo!! I was lucky to have a chance to go watch Singapore's famous long running variety show - 缤纷万千在昇菘 tonight, LIVE in Mediacorp studio!! I was slightly disappointed early in the morning when I was informed I had entered my mobile number wrongly during the submission of my form and failed to reply them when contacted. By late Thursday, the organiser had actually informed me they had let go of my ticket to someone else as they didn't get a reply from me. However, don't know what luck I was on today, the organiser actually emailed asking me if I am still interested to go as someone had withdraw due to unforeseen situation. OF COS I AM INTERESTED, HAHAHA!!! However, to be frank, I did not even watch one full episode from the TV for this show.

So we were told to have early dinner and meet at Punggol 21 CC at 6:15 pm. Around that time, 3 of the event organizers came and started to take attendance. They were actually from Punggol 21 CC Women's Executive Committee and they organise events for women, families and kids for Punggol Shore area. We waited till 6:30 pm or so and we boarded the bus. Off we go to Mediacorp!! 

We reached Mediacorp at about 7 pm (I think) and we took some time to take a group photo outside the entrance. Then the security guard brought our group to wait at the studio entrance which was upstairs. There was another line queuing to go in on the opposite side of the entrance and they were audiences with tickets entry. These were usually families of the performers, contestants or fans of the guest of the night. 

We were told masks are mandatory inside the studio before the security ushered us in and we had to wait for a while for bags checks. So everyone had their bags check and we walked in to wait for the lift. Since there was only 1 lift available, our group were split into 3 batches to go down to the studio. Once we went down to level 1, there was another security staff telling us to wait at the side before letting us into the studio.

When walked in the studio (Studio 1), there were a lot of props and stuffs around, the staffs were also running around to have the preparation done. There were a lot of big spot lights and stick-size mic hanging from the ceiling. And the stage wasn't as big as you would see on the TV. It was "projected" to look big by the camera which was moveable crane arm. We made our way up to the seats, I also just followed and ended up sitting behind a tall lady who was blocking my view. But I ended up sitting somewhere in the middle row too. The first 4 rows were for Sheng Siong staffs and the 2 big bosses. There were groups from Dover RC, Telok Blangah CC, fans/friends of Richie Koh, family members of the performers and contestants for the kids' singing competition. So the whole studio was actually full for today's episode. And tonight was the first show of their new season, which will run until sometime mid of Feb 2023. 

There was this 1 guy who was like the emcee and conductor for the show and he was the one who gave the audience information and instructions on what to do when the show starts. So this guy (forget the name) started to entertain us from 7 plus, he would tell us to applause when the hosts, the big bosses and the judges for the singing contest entered the studio. He would also tell us when to clap, cheer and of cos when to shout the famous verse - 百倍...still have to do with hands action woo.... ^_^! ..... During the waiting times, the 2 hosts (Xu Zheng Rong & Zhong Qing) came in one time and they needed to do short previews for the upcoming episodes. So the shot with Xu Zheng Rong, he was standing at the 2nd row and made his opening. The audience (including me) will have swap our light sticks (provided by Mediacop) around him. We did it for like 3 or 4 times before the staffs said it was okay. As for Zhong Qing, she will have to stand in the middle within the audience (about 4 or 5th row, somewhere in the middle) and every one will have to shout "百倍" exact 3 times as soon as she finishes her opening. We did some rehearsals with the emcee and really, there were times people can't stop shouting after the 3rd time. It was funny. Even when it was time for the real shot, there was also NGs for 1 or 2 time. Hehehe...There were also times the hosts will need to record for some previews and which the emcee will tell the audience to keep silent. And after these were done, the hosts exited from the studio. 

The emcee also asked the Sheng Siong staffs why they were all females and the staffs replied him that they were all working as cashiers in the company. The emcee joked and asked if he could apply as cashier too and be the only male cashier there...hahaha....

1 hr before the show goes live

By 8pm, there were people still coming in the studio and going out for toilet breaks. The emcee kept talking to us to keep us entertained. We were also shown to a short clip regarding the stuffs we shouldn't do which was no food/drinks, no recording & photography and no smoking and where were nearest exits in case of emergency. Later on, the emcee started to give us a walkthrough on what will be happening on the show. He told us not to walk around or leave the studio when the cameras were rolling, toilet breaks will be during the commercial breaks. And he also explained there will be 5 cameras rolling during the show. 3 cameras will be facing the stage but these cameras can rotate 350 degrees, so if there is a need, the camera men can just turn the cameras back to face the audience. Then there will be another camera from the moveable crane arm, which was responsible of taking wide angles. Meaning it can capture the whole studio in one shot, also mean u will be captured where ever you are seated..And the last camera will be the running around camera, which the camera man will carry this camera and do close-up shots. So if u r lucky to get a close-up during the show, everyone at home watching the show will see your face on TV...heheee....

The emcee was telling jokes like the section where the judges seated will usually get captured by the cameras and was telling the people seated there not to do funny stuffs. He said previously got people digging noses during the show (not sure if it is true, but it is...it will show on TV...hahaa). So during the walkthrough, he introduced the performers of the night who were 6 young wushu champions and they were ranged from age 13 to 16. There was a short introduction and chat with them while waiting for the time to pass. Along the way, he will tell us to clap or wave with our light sticks and he also shared some of his past experiences for the past seasons. Then he will also let us know how much time is left before the show goes live. I think by 8:30 to 8:40 pm, the 2 Sheng Siong bosses had arrived and seated. Following that, were the 3 judges for the kids' singing competition which will be shown on the show.  Till the last 10 minutes, we could see the 2 giants boxes of lucky entries collected from the Sheng Siong marts from the whole of Singapore. It was crazy but it is that many entries for a week as you would watch from the TV and it is REALLY REALLY by luck. Nothing else.

1 min before the show goes live

By the last few minutes, the 2 hosts re-entered the studio and started to do last minute preparation before taking their position. Actually what you don't know from the TV was the hosts also like to take selfies whenever they got the chance. Once the cameras were off them, they tend to take selfies too...hahahaha....At the last 1 minute, the 2 hosts went into their professional mode and took their position (which was standing at the left and right side of the stage, outside of the cameras view). Of cos, you can hear the staff shouting the countdown in the studio too.

9pm - Show goes LIVE

Once it hit 9pm, the TV on the sides started showing the Mediacorp logo (everytime show before a show starts) and the opening music started to play. The 2 hosts walked into the cameras view and started making their opening. Of cos, the emcee was standing at the corner near the audience, making signals to us to wave our light sticks and make cheering sounds to bring the atmosphere up. Of cos, the first item on the show was the famous jackpot game, which 3 lucky winners were picked and called. And if the winners pick up the call, they will have a chance to choose any of 4 lucky boxes which contain a multiplier odds (x40,x60,x80 and x100). This odd will be multiplied by the amount which they had spent in Sheng Siong. Not sure why the first 2 winners did not pick up the calls, but you can see there will be a back stage making signal to the hosts to cut the call after a certain number of rings. So the hosts will do a spin on their spinning wheel and helped the winners to decide which box to open for them. For this round, only the 3rd winner picked up the call and chose the box himself. Of cos, when the caller asked for hints, the whole audience (us) will shout out the box to open. Actually, we have no idea where the x100 odds are. People were just shouting any boxes at random but somehow there will be one box being shouted very loud and clear for the receiver. Then it's up to the guts of the receivers.....Hahaha.....

1st Commercial Break

As soon as the jackpot game ended, the show would go into commercial break. So for TV viewers, it will be those ads playing. But in the studio, the emcee tried to keep us entertained by telling us what will be the next upcoming game. And of cos, people started leaving to go for toilet breaks. But if you are not back by the show resumed, you are not allowed to enter until the next commercial break. The backstage staffs also started pushing out the big props on stage and got the players ready. Then one of the staffs will start counting down the timer for the next section. The hosts will also get ready for the show.

2nd Game - Tikam Tikam

The show resumed and it started with another game. This game was to be played by 2 lucky participants picked every week to come on stage to win $$. The objective of the game was to pair 2 random sticks and the colour of the sticks must be blue and green. If success, the participants will win $500 per pair. Heard from the emcee mentioned there was also rehearsals conducted with the participants before the show and they were very nervous. So what we could do was to give them applause for the participants whatever amount they won. And so the game went on for what was being shown on TV and ended with the 1st group winning $1000 and the 2nd group winning $2000 home.

2nd Commercial Break

Again, we went into commercial break and it was pretty much the same thing. The crew started to move the jackpot lucky entries boxes and the phones back to the stage as the next item will be the jackpot game again. 

3rd Game - Jackpot Game Round 2

So, it was the same playing method as the first round and the same thing happened too where the 1st 2 winners did not pick up the calls. Luckily the 3rd winner picked up the call and chose the correct box. The total win was almost near to $18K plus...as the winner had spent over $100 plus in Sheng Siong. It was amazing to see them win big $$, somehow you also feel happy for the winners. Like we were also giving the $$ to the winners. However, once the game ended, it was commercial break again.

3rd Commercial Break

The emcee mentioned for the next item upcoming will be the wushu performance. And he also commented the clapping and the cheering was good and everyone did a good job. He even asked everyone to keep it up for the rest of the show. But there was so much clapping until my palms were so hot.... ^_^..... and was also feeling warm on my back bcos of those giant lightnings.

So the show resumed and the performance went smoothly with no problem. And it was back to the commercial break. This show really had a lot of commercial break... :P...The emcee told us we were be seeing Mediacorp's longest chopsticks and biggest tang yuan in the upcoming game...hahaa...

4th Game - Picking up giant tang yuans

The game went by the participants picking up the giant tang yuans with the super long chopsticks and placing them in the giant bowl. Each tang yuan cost $500. The participants were also chosen by luck and were given a chance to come to studio to win $$. As the game went, the 1st group won $3000 by placing 6 tang yuans on the bowl. Then the 2nd group won $2500, which was great. After that, the show went into commercial break again.

4th Commercial Break

Nothing much changed during the commercial break, just the crew were busy preparing for the next segment and people were still walking around. This time, I was lucky. The 2 ladies sitting in front of me went to the washroom and didn't managed to come back on time. So I got to watch the next section without being blocked. Hahaha....

5th Game - Jackpot Game Round 3

This time, the audience got a chance to help the lucky winners choose the box if they did not pick the calls.  Apparently, the first 2 winners didn't pick up the calls again and we got to choose the boxes for them. The last winner did managed to pick up the call and had chose the box himself. You can hear the excitement of the winner when they know the amount they won.

5th Commercial Break

This time, the emcee mentioned the clapping sound was getting slightly softer and needed to be more louder. So for the next segment will be the kids singing competition. 

6th Segment - Kids' Singing Competition

The show resumed with the kids' singing competition and all the groups performed very well, especially the last group. When they started to perform, they were able to get the atmosphere high. All the groups got higher than 77 scores and today was just the start of the competition. Once the segment ended, the 3 judges just left the studio during the commercial break time.

6th Game - Lanterns matching

For this game, the chosen participants were to hang the red lanterns off the shelf from the left of the stage and hang it over onto the shelf on the right of the stage. They will have to form a phase - 兔年吉祥 and they have to clear the bottom row before they can move onto the next row on top. They also have to use a hook (those we used to hook the bamboo poles for clothes hanging) to carry the lanterns from one side to the other. It was a quick game too and both the groups won $3000 and $3750 respectively. 

Last Segment - Performance by Richie Koh

Finally, it reached towards the end of the show and was a performance by Richie Koh. He sang the main theme from 你的世界我们懂 TV drama. After the performance, there was a short conversation with the actor and the hosts (as shown on TV). The crew will also signal to the hosts the time to end the show. Once the cameras were off the hosts, the hosts were taking selfies with the actor themselves. It seem they were also having their own fun on stage.

And so, the hosts left the studio first, followed by the Sheng Siong bosses. Only then, the audience started to leave row by row and slowly. Luckily everyone was quite disciplined and left in a proper order. Then we left the studio and went back to the entrance we had aligned earlier to wait for the bus. 

Richie Koh was also waiting by a corner quietly and was spotted by some Sheng Siong staffs. They started to take selfies with him and he politely took with them. Then our bus came and we went back to Punggol 21 CC. 

Overall, it was a fun and interesting experience watching a live show from the TV studio. It was so much work to be done behind the scenes, it was not easy. They probably have to prepare since 6pm or earlier than that. Though there wasn't much interaction with the hosts and the audience, the emcee did a great job of entertaining us through the 2 and half hours.