Studio Scene Brunei : Dance Concert Recital

This event was where I felt need for a more portable drums. Stuffing and carrying a Tama Imperial Star with extra 2 floor toms and 22" bass drum, cymbals and stands, plus a keyboard into my tiny sedan in bad weather is more than enough to make you feel like a worn out rag.

The concert was held in Jerudong Park Amphitheatre. Back in the mid 90s was the popular venue for concerts of famous artists like  Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and a few more others.
 

The wonderfully made program.

My task was to play drums together with a band for the intro song Juke Box Here and I Love Rock n' Roll from the musical/movie Rock of Ages.

Click here for footage of our performance. 

Tama Imperial Star and Silverstar.

The teachers briefing dancers before the program.

Mary Poppins

 The Addams Family and Lurch

to be continued...

Tamron Quick Comparison (17-50mm and 18-200mm)

I bought  the Tamron 18-200mm as surf season is supposed to be coming and I needed one. Hopefully the waves will come soon. Since a few mos ago I've been using the Tamron 17-50mm and its a nice lens for taking portraits, quite sharp and built tough like a grenade. 

The 18-200mm is cheaper than the 17-50mm by a few hundred dollars  and it isn't that sharp but if in well lighted situations, i think it will be a good lens to have specially with the price and 200mm range. The AF goes crazy trying to focus in low light so its best to use Manual.

For Tamron and Sigma lenses, the most common problem is Err 01, which is faulty communication between the camera and lens. Once you have this, other people would say a firmware update or simply cleaning the contacts will fix it, but 99 percent of the time, it does not. So when you buy these brands, make sure it is still under warranty and thoroughly test the actual lens.

 Click here for a background on this problem.

Click here for  price and specs  comparison.
For 17-50mm REVIEW.
For 18-200 REVIEW.

Tamron 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 XR LD Aspherical (IF) Macro
Made in China

200mm f6.3 1/80 ISO100

  38mm f4 1/250 ISO100

 54mm f4.5 1/125 ISO100

 200mm f6.3 1/100 ISO100

200mm f6.3 1/250 ISO100

 200mm f6.3 1/80 ISO100

200mm f6.3 1/6 iso1600

 18mm f3.5 1/30 iso1600

87mm  f5.6 1/15 iso1600

54mm f4.5 1/6 iso1600

 200mm f6.3 1/800 ISO200

200mm f11 1/320 ISO200

47mm f4.5 1/15 ISO 400 A photo of the other lens using the 18-200mm

For a video test CLICK HERE.

 Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR LD Aspherical (IF) 
Made in Japan

50mm f4.5 1/30 ISO400

50mm f2.8 1/1250 ISO200

 17mm f2.8 1/640 ISO200

50mm f2.8 1/800 ISO200

19mm f2.8 1/160 ISO800

 31mm f2.8 1/50 ISO1600

45mm f2.8 1/40 ISO200  A photo of the other lens using the 17-50mm.

All photos are unedited and was shot in JPEG.

Brunei: Pilong Snorkeling

  A day at Pilong Rocks and Tanjong Pelumpong.

View of Pilong Rocks from Muara Beach.

Click on  this link to read on The Legend of Pilong.
 

Expect a whole day of fun under the sun. Bring lots of sunscreen,  water, food, and an umbrella. 25 BND(prices may vary) inclusive of boat and snorkeling gear(dive mask,snorkel, flippers) for the trip. You have the option to hang out for the rest of the day and barbecue at Tanjung Pelumpong near Serasa.

Waiting for our boat in Serasa.

 Here it comes!

Enjoying the fresh sea breeze.

  Owner and Captain Mr. Rosland. Well known local dive instructor.

  

First stop, Fish farm in the middle of the water. It reminded me of the movie Waterworld where people lived on floating houses on rafts. 

Docking.

 

 Puffer fish, excited to see people.

Now you see,

now you don't.

Assorted fish.

 Also a popular fishing spot.

 Lights to mark the artificially constructed 50m-wide 10m-deep Muara cut, which separates the spit from the mainland to provide access to Muara Port.

 Pilong Rocks. It kinda looks like the head of a dolphin.

 Up close.

A 'No Trespassing' sign.

To help prevent the boat from running aground.

Swimming time! People who don't know how to swim can still enjoy using the orange life jackets and ring bouys found in the boat.

A non-swimmer having fun.

Here I go!

 Most of the corals were bare and almost no visible sign of life. But still thumbs up.

It is best to warm up and stretch before doing anything or else...cramps.

Everybody else busy.

After an hour or two swimming and floating around we decided to relax and dock in Tanjong Pelumpong nearby. Also called Pelumpong Spit in English or "The Spit" by expats from the Yacht Club. Finally the shade of trees and no more swaying from the boat.

 

Land ho! 


Setting up camp for the rest of the day.

 More swimming.

 

 The Captain, his son and guide (Pau) also relaxing.

 'Body Surfing'

 Lunch.

Bowling.

I have to read on how its played.

Friendly reminder: To help preserve this beautiful place, please bring own trash back with you to the mainland as no one really keeps the place clean except for tourists themselves. If you take a walk along the beach, you would be surprised to see random stuff like washing machines washed up on the shore.
 

 On the way back to Muara.

More patrol boats.

International Port.

 Back to reality.

A day well spent. Hoping to visit the place again sometime in the future and take friends to try this wonderful Brunei experience. Don't forget the sunblock! 
 

Video of the trip.

Package per trip is minimum of 4 persons and a maximum of 8. Prices may vary. If you want to book your own trip, you can contact them in

Facebook.