CARLSBERG 'WHERE'S THE PARTY?' ON 25 JUNE 2011

kee@fswmag.com

The party was at Golden Palm Tree resort at Sepang Gold Coast!

Always kiasu, I was the very first to arrive with Deborah who was not used to a lavish welcome and bowed her head whereas I expected a grand welcome to the MOTHER OF ALL PARTIES and got it!

This wrist tag allowed me to play and accumulate points to redeem for prizes

Like this, see

The welcoming crew

The welcoming walkway

It was all fun and games but strict rules applied!

What a Blast!; Here were the 6 sexiest deejays ever to step foot into Malaysia, from left, Sam Cooke, Kellie Acreman, Maxine Hardcastle, Kee Hua Chee, Charlotte, Miss Pink and Catherine McQueen

The girls and boys getting ready to welcome the guests

Gosh so many pretties in a row

Enough to make strong men go weak at the knees

Winsome 3some; Patricia K from Denmark, Kee Hua Chee from Kota Baru and Joey G from somewhere in Malaysia

I must say Joey G needs more hair compared to us

Just in case you were unaware who was footing the bill

The arrival of Soren Ravn who was paying the humungous bill!

Here is Superstar Soren!

Soren lurking at the back with the welcoming committee

Ok now we can see Soren

I love it when the wind is blowing the right direction

You can press your mini skirt down now as photo's been taken

Nothing beats drummers when it comes to creating a din

Soren Ravn and York Spencer welcoming their guests

So rare and wonderful to see a guy in pink I think!

Big bands should be restricted to broadband only

Think pink!

Soren is practically a head taller

No one can accuse me of blending with the furniture or potted plants

The Carlsberg team with the 6 redhot deejays from England

I think the beers turned warm too

Sexy sirens; Deejay Catherine McQueen,deejay Sam Cooke and deejay Kellie Acreman

Looks like Posh Beckham a bit she is deejay Maxine Hardcastle, deejay Charlotte and deejay Miss Pink.

MD Soren with DJ Maxine Hardcastle, DJ Charlotte and DJ Ms Pink

Kee Hua Chee with the world's sexiest and hottest deejays; left, Sam Cooke, Kellie Acreman Maxine Hardcastle, Kee Hua Chee, Charlotte, Miss Pink and Catherine McQueen

Soren Ravn with Miss Pink, Catherine McQueen, Charlotte and Maxine Hardcastle

Kee Hua Chee with Justin Lim

Kee Hua Chee, Rebecca and Chen Tian Chad

Free foot massage

Just what we needed to prepare for the beach party that night

My massage lady Nin came from Chiangmai and is a trained masseuse

No, this was not a free vaccination but temporary tattoo

Free fortune telling

Who asked you t0 tattoo your forehead?

Always tattoo on your bosom

Me getting my fortune read

Getting geared up for Step Up game where the player had to run up a slippery slope to ring the 3 bells, preferably all 3 in one go

Justin Lim's sinister snigger revealed his comfidence

This guy getting ready to make a dash for it

Lord almighty, he failed

The bungy rope pulled him back

There he fell again

He must be getting used to this horizontal position!

Another attempt...

Another failure!!!

Justin Lim, the smiley face, just walked up and banged 2 bells

On his second attempt, he managed to ring all 3 bells! Incredible!

Meanwhile, I drank Carlsberg and posed with the girls

This guy succeeded too on his first attempt

This guy from Penang did it too

And then fell down...

A bit of theatrics did the job

Wild Wild West; aim and shoot!

This is the Bumper Race; just sit on the ball and bounce your way to finishing line

Er, you are supposed to sit on your ball and not get bounced off

Playing hardball can come with a downfall


CARLSBERG'S 'WHERE'S THE PARTY?' WAS THE BEER PARTY OF THE NEW MILLENIUM! I HAVE ATTENDED PARTIES WORTHY OF 'PARTY OF THE YEAR' TITLE AND THIS WAS DEFINITELY THE BEST BEER PARTY OF THE CENTURY!

'WHERE'S THE PARTY' BY CARLSBERG WAS SO ELABORATE, EXTRAVAGANT, EXOTICALLY EXCITING, EXTRAORDINARY AND EXPENSIVE THAT ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR SOREN RAVN DECLINED TO PROMISE THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER 'WHERE'S THE PARTY?' NEXT YEAR!

WE ALL CALCULATED IT MUST MUST AROUND US$1 MILLION AS SOREN REFUSED TO GIVE ANY FIGURES EXCEPT THE ENIGMATIC 'OH, VERY EXPENSIVE' WHICH WAS OF COURSE MEANINGLESS BUT TO HOST SUCH A PARTY WAS GENEROSITY AT ITS HEIGHT, PROVING THEIR NEW SLOGAN 'THAT CALLS FOR A CARLSBERG' IS INDEED TRUE!

EVERYTHING WENT LIKE CLOCKWORK AND NARY A HITCH WHICH WAS QUITE MIRACULOUS CONSIDERING THE LOGISTICS OF LOOKING AFTER AND HANDLING 500 GUESTS AT A SECRET LOCATION! THANKS TO THE CARLSBERG TEAM WHICH I AM SURE HAVE ALL TAKEN LEAVE FROM OFFICE TO RECOVER AND ALSO CIA INTERNATIONAL THE EVENT ORGANISER AND BRANDTHINK WHICH LOOKED AFTER THE MEDIA.

THE INVITE HINTED AT WHAT WAS TO COME WITH THE THRILLING CAVEAT---'NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED'. WELL, I HAVE DONE THE BUNJY JUMP NOT ONCE BUT THRICE IN NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA SO I GUESS I AM NOT FAINTED-HEARTED OR A YELLOW-BELLIED CISSY.

'WHERE'S THE PARTY?' WAS BETTER THAN BEST AND PROVIDED ALL THE REASONS WHY 'THAT CALLS FOR A CARLSBERG' IS A CLARION CALL FOR PARTIES OF ALL SIZES.

WHILE I WAS INVITED BY SOREN RAVN HIMSELF NO LESS, MERE MORTALS HAD TO APPLY IN ADVANCE TO BE INVITED WHILE OTHERS LIKE CARLSBERG RETAILERS AND FRIENDS OF THE COMPANY ALSO GOT THEIRS.

NO ONE KNEW WHERE WE WOULD BE GOING AS THE HIGHLIGHT WAS THE 'SECRET LOCATION' WHICH COULD BE ANYWHERE AS RUMOURS FLEW WE WOULD MEET AT STADIUM BUKIT JALIL CARPARK AND TAKEN TO LCCT AND FLOWN TO LANGKAWI, PANGKOR LAUT OR PHUKET!

Zorb Zorb was the most fun!

The giant plastic ball was blown up with you inside..

Before the fight started, you should try stand up first

Like this...

The winner is the one who pushes the other out of the water enclosure

Easier said than done!

This one has the upper hand...

One hefty push and he wins!

You are unzipped out

Another round

Life's never easy...

Losers got sprayed!

But these guys were doing OK as the five gave a high five

This is Head On or Human Bowling

Almost there...

A strike!

Dunk Me is the ever popular game where you aim to hit the ball through the hole to trigger the release mechanism so the victim falls into the water

Like this!

The victim tried to get her revenge but failed

Carlsberg MD was one of the sacrificial lambs

In he went into the cold water

Soaked!

This Justin guy quite action, taking photos with his waterproof camera

In he went

All wet

Carlsberg Soren Ravn trying out the Human Bowling game

Nearly there...

Not easy to just hit the middle skittle you know

Patricia K does not suffer from any hang-ups so she could play Pick Me Up

She was supposed to pick and throw the balls into a giant basket

Throwing the balls backwards required special skills, Patricia, try throwing them the other way round

Yes, like this!

This was Ride On and she rode on but fell flat

Justin Lim showed how it should be done

Human Car Wash; now you know how your car felt like

The drying part was the nicest



However, this 'secret location' thingy was a double-edged sword and cut both ways. While most were amused and enthusiastic to be driven to an unknown, mysterious party venue, some invited guests declined as they could not plan ahead. More so when the invite was non-transferable.

Said an editor who refused to attend, "The secret location could well be Sunway Lagoon Hotel, Resort and Spa since they have a huge theme park and wave pool which sounded like an ideal place for a party and even MTV World Stage concert was held there. I live right next door and can walk there. So imagine my frustration if I have to drive all the way from Subang Jaya to Bukit Jalil Stadium only to be drive back to my home next to Sunway Resort! Then I will be forced to take the coach back to Bukit Jalil Stadium as my car is parked there and then be forced to drive home again! Ridiculous ain't it? So they should let us know in advance as wherever the venue is, I am sure it will be a fab place so why the drama?"

So there I was at Bukit Jalil Stadium at 10am with Deborah Lee who picked me. Even onboard the coach we were still in the dark as where we would be taken but I didn't care as I promptly fell asleep!

However at the carpark I, like the heaving masses, had to register and get my wrist tag containing a computer chip. We had to pay RM 20 as deposit to ensure we return the computer coded wrist tag the next morning.

I was given KFC box which was our lunch. When Deborah poked me in the ribs, we had arrived...at Golden Palm Tree hotel at Sepang Gold Coast!

Well, this was great as I have never heard of Golden Palm Tree resort so I was keen to check it out.

Our coach was the first to arrive and Carlsberg appeared to have annexed the whole of Golden Palm Tree resort! A giant floating balloon had Carlsberg's name on it and buntings, flags and banners were fluttering wildly.

Golden Palm Tree resort and spa is obviously inspired by the Palm developments of Dubai as Golden Palm Tree is a hotel version of the world famous trio, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira. The Malaysian version consists of rooms and freestanding water villas on stilts that stretch and fan out like palm fronds almost 1 km into the sheltered waters of the Straits of Malacca!

I was floored by the architecture as I never knew we had a Dubai-like Palm resort at our doorstep! As I arrived, I noted the 3 huge cones that form the centrepiece of Golden Palm Tree which houses the lobby for checking in. This leads to the 'trunk' of Golden Palm Tree which is the main artery as everyone has to use this to reach their rooms. Buggies ply nonstop to carry guests to and fro their rooms though of course you can walk and enjoy the balmy breezes.

My water villa has 2 bedrooms and a living area inbetween plus 2 verandahs where I could sit and sip tea as the waves lap below! There is a life buoy too in case I fell overboard though this would be hard to do as I would have to climb over the railings.

My luxurious 2 -bedroom water villa

The sitting area separating the other room

This room had twin beds

Twin beds in second bedroom



View from my master king-sized bed with my bag with my face painted on it



Pool view from the cabana

Kee Hua Chee was already orange without sunburn

The infinity pool blends with the sky and sea

Fun in the infinity pool

The main action centre



My villa costs RM 1,500 at published rates but Golden Palm Tree is now having a special offer at just RM 600 per person per night in Traveller Palm Villa which includes meals served in any of their restaurants, complimentary drinks including wines, beer and spirits plus 2 types of snacks, internet access, gym pool and beach activities like volleyball, biking, canoeing, frisbee, kart sailing, yoga and fitness activities!

Sounds like a fab deal! Mind you, RM 600 (RM 599 precisely but let's donate the RM 1 to round up the figure as RM 599 is not the same as RM 500!) is for 1 person and you may not wish to come alone which means you need pay surcharge for single occupancy so you might as well bring your lover or friend and pay RM 1,200 for 2 and enjoy all the facilities and food for two! Contact www.goldenpalmtree.com for details.

As we reached the entrance, there were dozens of young men and women standing along the steps headed by Joey G and Patricia K who is supposed to be his girlfriend and undergoing training by him as an emcee and I am sure he is an excellent tutor and she a willing pupil! I was the first to arrive and they suddenly burst into song and dance with drums thrown in! They hollered and howled and brought the roof down in a raucous welcome loud enough to wake the dead. Just as well Carlsberg had taken over Golden Palm Tree by booking 300 rooms for the 500 guests so no one could complain!

This was more fun and entertaining than walking the red carpet at Academy Awards! That revved us up into the mood. Then came the press conference with Soren Ravn MD of Carlsberg, York Spencer, Carlsberg new marketing director, Teh Chui Hoon the marketing manager and the stars of the show---6 sexy, scintillating and smouldering deejays!

All white, all long-legged, slim-limbed and everyone bountifully endowed with all the curves in the right places! I could just visualise them in bikinis! They were so hot the aircon had to be switched on full blast and the male reporters had to down several bottles of Carlsberg to calm their nerves and control their urges.

"This is a once in a lifetime party!" exclaimed MD of Carlsberg Soren Rav who is practically 2 metres tall and blonde to the core, being a great Dane. "Since we were planning a party, we decided to make it the party of the year so it would be the talk of the party circuit for years to come! This upscale hotel is new, unusual and still close to KL so Golen Palm Tree is ideal for a beach party as we wanted a real beach facing the Straits of Malacca! The 6 deejays have been performing since April and this party on 25 June is the grand finale of our recent rebranding exercise with the new slogan 'That Calls for a Carlsberg'."

I protested there were no hunky, handsome, male deejays as the female guests had been left out in the cold! The men could drool over the sexy female deejays but what about the female guests who we had to assume were not lesbians?

"The bands, dancers, security guards and ushers consist of many men so you can admire them," said Soren Ravn unconvincingly. "This party is meant for everyone to enjoy but in moderation as one must drink responsibly. This is why we restrict one guest to only 5 beers till 7 pm when it is free flow."

Good idea as this should prevent some from drinking all afternoon and sleeping away all evening when the beach party started!

END OF PART 1