The Magic of Macau

My first real trip for Engine Block was to the 2006 Macau Grand Prix. Three years later, I decided that it was about time that we revisited the event and went back to one of the most historic races to be held in Asia.

Since there were no direct flights from Singapore, my cameraman Kheng How and I went via a night in Hong Kong while Paula’s busier schedule meant that she’d budget it direct to the island. Turned out that an ex colleague was also in Hong Kong that weekend and we all met up for dinner and drinks.

Wait.. do what here?

Hmmm... fish balls on a stick... nice

Dinner at the infamous Goldfinch restaurant where they shot the movie in the poster

The next morning and a ferry ride later, we were ready to start shooting around Macau before heading to the circuit. I think Macau is actually a very pretty place. It’s got well preserved Portuguese heritage and that also means excellent food!

At the World Heritage Site

 

It's all NOT in English...hungry

 

Well this turned out well... food was  excellent the entire trip

When we finally made it into the paddock, I instantly remembered why Macau is so special… and really, it’s all about the grid girls. Maybe it’s because even the strippers in Macau need a day job, so these grid girls have no qualms about wearing the skimpiest, skankiest and non existent pieces of cloth to get the job done… and by no means is this a complaint, merely an observation.

Tattoo marks the spot

 

"And shorty got low, low low low..."

 

Remember, it's still work!

When we eventually did get down to work, we went about interviewing the stories for the weekend, including Alex Yoong who was racing a Malaysian built Buffori around the street circuit. I also managed to grab Daniel Ricciardo who was racing in the F3 category ahead of his test with the Red Bull Racing F1 outfit.

With Alex in his dungeon pit garage

 

Might see Daniel in the F1 paddock in a few season

The highlight of the trip for me had to be completing my first ever bungy jump for the show…. It was all in the spirit of a race fan’s desire for an adrenaline rush. But jumping of the 233m Macau Tower was mind blowing! It’s surprising the thought process that you go through before taking a leap of faith. It took me a couple of attempts to muster up the willpower to override my natural sense of preservation and jump off, but once I was falling, all I can say is that it is the most blissful experience ever! I can’t wait to do it again.

A

All dressed up with somewhere to go

 

The "What was i thinking" moment before the jump!

No Macau trip would be complete without a visit to the casino and we headed to the Venetian. I managed to skim a couple of hundred from the blackjack tables and splurged it on dim sum. The best food is always free food.

Dim sum with Kheng How and Calvin

A couple of friends of mine from Hong Kong came over and we had a good night, enjoying a few drinks and chatting the night away. It’s strange that even though we all live in different countries and have different lives, common relationship chaos seems to be a common thread amongst most people…or maybe it’s just a case of birds of a feather.

Jessie and Charlotte's first visit to the paddock

The tables are turned on Paula

Whatever it is, a few drinks amongst good company after a hard days work is always welcome.

Motocycle Madness

When i sat down to write this post, i was torn between writing about what was going on versus what i have been going through the last month or so. But i decided that writing about what was going on would be much more cheerful business, so here it is.

We road tripped up to Sepang to shoot an episode of Engine Block during the Moto GP weekend. And it turned out to be quite a fun weekend indeed.

The Moto GP paddock was much more warmer than in Formula 1 and the riders were much more impressive. When we met Jorge Lorenzo for the first time, there was a sense of a rugged and more masculine character that seems to be lacking in Formula 1. All the driver in Formula 1 are so polite and PC to the point they are quite boring sometimes. They say that motorbike men are a different breed, and you know what? It was quite apparent.

Jorge Lorenzo was sitting at his table and his personal minder asked if we could push back his interview till after he’d gone to the medical centre and cleaned up a nasty gash on his hand that he’d suffered during practice. And on top of that, he already had a cut on the bridge of his nose from his last fall in Philip Island. This man has broken so many bones in his body that it’s amazing that he keeps getting quicker and quicker on his machine.

In Formula 1, I can imagine the press officer cancelling an interview cause the driver was bitten by a mosquito or something ridiculous like that, but here, you could sense that blood and broken bones came with the territory. Riders make drivers looks like little girls.
 

Paula chatting up Jorge Lorenzo

Interviewing Marco Simoncelli was great fun

 

 The crowd waiting for autographs at the main mall area

The best thing about the whole experience was the fact that the organisers were going out of their way to try and make sure that we had everything that we needed for the weekend. I happed to mention to them that it would be great to try the Moto X2 which is a two seater ride around the circuit and they made it happen. It was awesome! It’s the second time this year that I’ve done something like this and it just keeps on getting better.

All geared up

And so was she

 The best motor sports experience ever!

My ace rider, Randy Mamola

And just in case those pictures don't say a thousand words, then here's the video to give you and idea of how awesome this was...

We made our way to the starting grid and were under the podium for the prize giving. It was awesome to just soak up the atmosphere cause Rossi had just nailed the championship and the whole Yamaha team was in full celebrations mode.

 

Getting busy on the starting grid, pole sitter, Rossi in the background

The celebrations begin

Stoner wins the race but Rossi bags the championship

I went to interview Rossi after and walked away with the best score of the weekend… forget investing in unit trusts… this here is my retirement fund!

 

Rossi's autograph on my t-shirt!

Arabian Days and Arabian Nights

It’s been a while since my last posing but I have been extremely busy. As the motorsports season draws to an end, there seems to be more to do. Actually we are ending the year on a high, with a few road trips that require a great deal of planning. This post is about one such trip, to Abu Dhabi.

As a prelude to the Formula 1 season finale, the Yas Marina circuit decided to invite select member of the media over to see the circuit for themselves and more importantly, to experience a ride around the circuit in a two seater car.

I’ve never been to the middle east and was pretty curious as to why dozens of people flock there and come back raving about the lavishness of the place… it’s a desert for goodness sake. But once I arrived, I immediately understood.

We were put up in the ultra lush Emirates Palace. Now I have stayed in some very swanky hotels, but I must admit, this was establishment truly lived up to it’s name. It wasn’t a hotel, it was more like a palace, as the pictures can prove.

The Emirates Palace

The corridor leading to my room

My fabulously lavish room

Perfect tub to soak in after a long day at the circuit

The organisers were aware that many of us might not have had an impression of the capital of the UAE so they organised a heli ride for us. And I have to admit, there’s no better way to get a sense of a city then by flying over it… awesome!

Valen, Our Pilot, Me and Tiff

Ferrari World, next to the circuit... will be ready next year

The most famous landmark, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque

The food in the middle east was very meaty. I love my meat, but even I got a bit sick of eating so much of it.

Bread stuffed with delicious meat and a plate of vegies

Valen enjoying a smoke indoors, yes, it's totally legal

The highlight of the trip was a two seater Formula 1 ride around the Yas Marina circuit. Former F1 driver Martin Brundle was my driver and he did a magnificent job of putting me through the G-forces that a driver experiences. I could go on and on about this but check out this video instead.

Since there were no flights back the following day, we had the day to ourselves and made full use of it by lounging around the hotel, enjoying it’s private beach and pool before heading on a desert safari.

This was probably the most authentic middle eastern experience that I could ever have hoped for. We started off by sand bashing, which is basically driving our 4x4s up, down, over and across sand dunes as the sunset around us. I was just a passenger but I could tell that it takes a lot of skill to do this right. Our guy was great and was really taking us for a ride!

After a quick stop at a camel farm, we headed out to our “oasis” in the middle of nowhere. It was so great to get out of the city cause I finally felt that I was in a desert. Surrounded by sand under the stars, Valen and I rode a camel and then attempted to sand board down a the dunes. It’s almost like snow boarding but on sand. After two unsuccessful tries, I finally got it right and flew down a sand dune but getting sand down my pants in the process.

Sand bashing

Free falling

Snowboarding in the desert

The buffet at our oasis was great and once again we piled on the meat. Post dinner entertainment was none other than a belly dancer… and in the middle east, a belly dance actually comes with a belly! At least ours did. It was hard to appreciate her moves when I was fixated on her jiggling tummy.

After entertainment, we moved to a nice area with cushions to chill and smoke sheeha under the stars. The guys switch off all the lights and we leaned back, smoked, starred at the starts and just enjoyed the moment.

Our entertainment

Sheesha under the stars, just before the lights went out

It was brilliant to just lie on the sand and stare up at the Arabian sky. As a kid I’d read Arabian Nights a hundred times and had always wondered imagined what a night in the desert under stars would be like… and finally, I got to experience it. The sky was beautiful, the stars were plenty and the silence of it all was extremely calming. I wish I could have lied there for hours longer.

I would highly recommend this for anyone travelling the same way. I’m not one to fall for tourist trips but this experience was definitely a highlight.

It’s hard to escape the impression that money is coming out of the ground in Abu Dhabi. Everything is so lavish, from the malls, to the hotels to the buildings to just about everything. But sadly, it’s quite apparent that there is a caste system. Emirati, Caucasian, and then everyone else, with Asian minorities at the bottom of the food chain. But I guess most countries start off that way, even Malaysia, except that we put the Caucasians above our own people.

Strangely, there’s nothing like living in complete luxury to help me realize that it’s the simple things in life that truly make me happy. Maybe that’s just me.

Surreal Singapore Pt 2

When last year’s Formula 1 rolled out of town, I was left with brilliant stories from my friends who had had the best party of their lives. And there I was thinking how lucky they were that their work didn’t revolve around covering the actual event so that they could fully enjoy whatever wild adventure the city threw at them.

This year, I decided that I wanted in. I didn’t want to spend another year just working and not really experiencing the full effect of Formula 1 in my city. And so I did, and what a ride it was.

I pick up this posting from where I left off, the Friday before the Grand Prix.

Fuel Party

We spent most of Friday night in the paddock covering the post practise interview sessions.

The view from the TV Compound

The last turn before the start finish

It had been a long day and to be honest, the events of the past nights were slowly catching up on me and I was thinking of hitting the sack early. But an old friend, Joanna was in town and we’d spent the day texting trying to meet up. Finally, at about midnight she said she was in New Asia Bar and Jac convinced me that we should head out for a while at the very least. Since I hadn’t seen Joanna in years, I gave in to Jac’s persuasive ways and we headed to the Swissotel.

After quickly freshening up, we used our Red Paddock passes to get us in New Asia with no problems. Upstairs I met Joanna and a few guys from KL. We were on the dance floor when Jac spotted Maya. What a small world.

I chatted with Maya for a while but since everyone wanted to head to the Fuel Party, I said goodbye and joined them. The Fuel Party was at the National Musuem and we were prepared to pay to get in. Just as we got out of our cab, a random stranger asked us if we wanted tickets and we gratefully accepted.

It turned out that his tickets were VVIP tickets and we had access to the most prestigious piece of real estate in the place. Inside we met more people, including Tiff, Uday and Debbie from work, Jill and Jeanette and a few more.

Our free tickets

The scene inside the National Museum

Party time

Me, Tiff, Joanna & her friend

Sarita, Jill, Jeanette & me

No Doubt was partying right there as well, minus Gwen, but still. It was a great night, and I was so glad I didn’t follow my instinct and headed home early.

No Doubt just meters away from where we were partying

Samantha Ronson was great on the decks and Lindsay was partying in a sheltered corner, it was awesome!

Samantha Ronson on the decks

The girl has talent, music was awesome

Pre Quali BBQ

After stopping by the office and sorting out the qualifying show, I stopped by Lev’s place for his pre quali BBQ lunch. Was hungry and the food was excellent. Embarrassingly met Ashley for the second time (I somehow don’t recall our first meeting at Brix) and we chatted and caught up.

Our host, Lev who grills a mean chicken

Was great meeting Ashley again :-)

Headed down to the circuit and grabbed Karun for our pre qualifying show, which went smoothly enough.

Karun and I

Working the press scrum, grabbed Liuzzi

Beyonce made an appearance and Lewis gave her a garage tour

After quali and once the post session interviews were done, we headed out to the official F1 After Party venue, Stereolab, which was organised by Tamara Ecclestone.

The entrance to Stereolab

For some reason, I was so bored there and was glad when Jac suggested we go and meet her friends at Wine Bar, outside Zouk. Headed there for a couple of easy drinks and a massage, and then called it a night. Still had a big day ahead of me tomorrow

My masseuse

Raceday

So the big Sunday finally rolled in and I was all psyched for our biggest F1 show of the season. Today it was Alex in the paddock with me and we went about with our throws and interviews. The big news was that Alex was named by Tony Fernandes to be apart of the new 1Malaysia F1 Team and so we included a significant part of that into our show.

Raceday with Alex

Grid Girls

The highlight of course was the on the grid interviews. Fernando was great, but the other big boys were hard to get. Went to the end of the grid and they boys were much more willing. Worked my way back up to the front before we had to leave 15 minutes before the start. On the way out, I saw Tun Mahathir and quickly grabbed him for an interview about the new Malaysia team, which was aired in Sportscenter Malaysia. I’d interviewed Dr M when he was still Prime Minister and it felt nice to be able to do it once more.

Alonso just before the start

The other Ferrari driver, Fisichella

Will I Am and Nicole heading to the McLaren garage

Interviewing Tun Mahathir

The rest of the night was spent watching the race and waiting for the drivers who crashed out to appear for an interview.

We finally finished at about midnight, and Paula had secured a table at New Asia Bar for us. On the way there got a call from Sarah Ann, the grid girl who was holding the British flag next to Lewis Hamilton’s pole grid spot, and I told her to join us. She asked if she could bring a few friends and I said “Of course!”

It was great to be with the team after such a massive weekend. Steve Dawson, Paula Malai Ali, Alex Yoong showed up much later, but essentially we all had a drink together and it was great to unwind.

Also met Dom, from Channel V who turned out to be a massive fan of my work. Felt nice to get a bit of kudos from people within the same circles.

Spent a lot of time, and money here over the week

Sarah Ann, me and Sarah

Our Dream Team, me, Steve, Jac and Paula

Love the view from up here

Before I knew it, it was 5 am and since we were in the VVIP area upstairs, no one wanted to come and tell us that the place was closed… finally I think we noticed that we were the only ones there and so the five of us who were left standing did the only thing that we could have.

We left and headed for dim sum supper. Sarah had a favourite place that she insisted we head to and I wasn’t about to argue.

Breakfast in Geylang

By the time I got home, the sun was rising and it was about 7am, just enough time to catch a short nap before heading into the office for Engine Block at 10am!

Ah Singapore, I now know we can be friends.