A Night of Christmas Choral Music 2012 at SAS Convention Centre, Kuantan

We inadvertently stumbled upon "A Night of Christmas Choral Music 2012" last Saturday night while buying cake at The Zenith Hotel.

We decided to attend, and it was free for all, at the adjoining Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC).

Exhibition Halls 1 & 2 were opened up into one big hall, which held 3,000 people on the night.

Put on by the Wesley Methodist Church in Kuantan, together with other participating churches, it was a wonderful event with inspiring music and words about Jesus Christ, the reason we celebrate Christmas.

This was a 2-hour performance of both choral singing and instrumental prowess which delighted the 3,000 spectators in attendance.

The Christmas season is well and truly underway in Kuantan!

The concert ran from 8-10pm and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We left a little early to avoid the inevitable jam around Putra Square!

The Zenith Hotel, Kuantan - A Year and A Half On

The Zenith Hotel in Kuantan is over 18 months old now and stands as Kuantan's tallest building. It is one-third of a complete structure which includes the Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC), and Menara Zenith.

At the end of 2011 I documented The Zenith Hotel after one year of operation

We attended the buffet dinner and soft launch opening on 31 December/1 January 2011.

A couple of weeks before the opening, I photographed The Zenith Hotel

The Zenith Hotel 2 months from completion

The Zenith Hotel 4-5 months before completion

Check out the progress of the construction of The Zenith Hotel from the earliest days of its existence back in April 2009.

Here's how The Zenith Hotel appears now, as of July 2012:

Kuantan wins silver award for environment management

Our little home called Kuantan is steadily growing. Kuantan has recently won the silver award for environment management at the annual Livcom Awards.

The Livcom Awards, otherwise known as "The International Awards for Liveable Communities", named Kuantan as silver award recipients in Category D, including towns with a population between 150,001 - 400,000.

Kuantan fought off 14 other towns and cities in its category to attain this silver award.

This is some recognition for Kuantan, which is steadily growing with buildings and business opportunities such as The Zenith Hotel, the Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre, Zenith Tower and Putra Square. Clusters of new housing projects are sprouting up around the town too, the project in Bukit Ubi a prime example. Kuantan's rivers are being cleaned up, with the addition of walking paths and children's playgrounds along river fronts, in an effort to beautify and make the areas more liveable.

The Livcom Awards are endorsed by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)

Hopefully Kuantan can now enjoy numerous benefits from this award, including greater publicity nationally and internationally, with an expected increase in tourist arrivals. It's an exciting time to be in Kuantan!

So what are you waiting for? When are you booking your tickets to Kuantan?!

CPB members, vote for my photos here

Zenith Hotel and SAS International Convention Centre

It's been a while since I blogged about the famous Zenith Hotel where I was privileged to be

•  taken on a tour of the developing hotel by the General Manager

• and later where we attended the New Years Eve buffet and official opening 

• enjoyed a wholesome food sampling session

• and finally were treated to a free one night stay by the General Manager

• February was the last time I took you into the SAS International Convention Centre (SASICC) which is attached to the Zenith Hotel

I must admit that those were good times indeed as I discovered that being a blogger can bring rich rewards! 

Last weekend there was a "perfectlivin" exhibition at the convention centre which I attended, if only to do some window shopping and snap a few pictures. I'm pleased to announce that the Zenith Hotel is almost completely finished with work going on on the 23rd and final floor. Here's how it looks:

There is lots of greenery lining the Zenith Hotel

Looking up the 23 floors of the Zenith Hotel

East Coast Mall, in the bottom right corner, has had a change of paint since the last time I was at Zenith Hotel and SASICC

Inside Zenith Hotel, the San Feng restaurant has opened it's doors on the first floor

A scene from the ground floor of the Zenith Hotel

Here are some of the highlights and images from the perfectlivin exhibition at the SASICC, which was covered over two floors.

I was attracted to this piece of Islamic art which portrays the 99 names of Allah (God), as found in the Holy Qur'an

The detail was beautiful

Aquariums

Garden landscaping

Plenty of taps!

My favourite thing to see was the lighting booths. Here are some real cool lights:

And here's an image from upstairs

Don't miss Fidelia's Friday tomorrow! Make sure to tune in . . . 

East Coast Mall, Kuantan

East Coast Mall is the newest shopping mall in Kuantan, located opposite the new 5-star Zenith Hotel and Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC). This whole area, known as Putra Square, also includes long shop lots entitled Malay Town, Indian Town, China Town, and a more recently constructed shop lot beside the Zenith Hotel, SASICC and Menara Putra (an office block almost identical in design to the Zenith Hotel).

East Coast Mall has had a new lick of paint. It used to be yellow and brown; now it's pale brown/cream. Lauren hates it!

East Coast Mall is the newest shopping mall addition to Kuantan

Inside East Coast Mall, Kuantan

Sembonia, The Body Shop and Starbucks are a few of the stores on the Ground Floor of East Coast Mall, Kuantan

The beautiful but expensive Carlo Rino shop

Lauren poses with lifeless models inside East Coast Mall, Kuantan

Skin and body care dominate this aisle in East Coast Mall

A view of Ground, First and Second Floors at East Coast Mall, Kuantan

The 'Sweetly' candy stall on First Floor of East Coast Mall, Kuantan

This stall makes nice waffles at East Coast Mall, Kuantan

What filling would you like in your waffle?

Leah outside aL-ikhsaN football shop, selling jerseys, balls, boots and other footy equipment and accessories

East Coast Mall main entrance at Ground Floor. At holidays like Deepavali (picture), a decoration is constructed to mark the day