wild dragon chase: The Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011

As one of the 30ish (i think) Singapore bloggers who won a trip to attend the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011 (or NAPBAS in short), I was super excited about this trip and the award ceremony because I'd seen and heard so much about the last NAPBAS, which was held in Singapore in 2009.

How different would it be from the Singapore community?

What would it be like to meet other Nuffnang bloggers from the region?

Which famous bloggers would I be able to see there?

Those were all questions that raced in my head. And as the awards ceremony approached on Friday at the Marriott Putrajaya, the hype was rapidly building up.

Us Singapore peeps only managed to get to our hotel rooms at around 5:30pm, and had only about an hour or so to get ready for the night's proceedings, so it was a bit of a rush. Then again it probably wasn't so bad for us guys because we don't have to fuss quite as much about our outfits, make-up and hair as the girls do.
Together with HongPeng, my roomie for the trip, we were down at the reception area for the event by 6:30 as scheduled.

*mingle mingle*

To sidetrack a bit, I'll be blogging about my experience in the trip as a whole in a separate entry so you can check that out for details about the rest of my weekend in KL. This one will be dedicated to the awards ceremony proper.

As it was a black tie event, the whole thing was really formal, like this was probably the most formal it will ever get in terms of blogger events. And I liked it because black tie events give you a reason to dress up in elegant outfits and look all glamorous and yet appropriate to the occasion.

And since we're all bloggers, it meant camwhore opportunities abound for everyone! We took so many pictures on so many cameras that night. Too bad someone had to conveniently forget to pack his camera in after charging it the night before. *sigh*

BUT, that didn't stop me from taking pictures on other people's cameras ^_^

Here's some of the pictures and group shots...

Thanks for the photos - Celine, Rachel, HP, Ann, Amanda, Issac, Marco

The ceremony cum dinner commenced, and we were greeted with a warm welcome by the co-founders of Nuffnang, as well as performances by Viva Circus, Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander and several others.
The event was really well planned, and proceeded really smoothly, aside from 1 or 2 minor technical glitches.

Below: bossMing giving a speech, and the hosts Liang and Nadia Heng

Above: sort of the view from my seat, and super pro pole-dancing by a member of Viva Circus

And I really liked the food. The main course I had was, and I quote.. Pistachio Crumbed Baked Chicken Supreme with Thyme Gravy served with lasagna potatoes and garden green vegetables. I loved it because it's chicken breast fillet and I absolutely love eating that. (It feels healthy).

Oh look, I'm eating.

A lousy not-so-appetizing shot of the chicken I mentioned, and Tiger Crystal.

As for the award winners, I think you've probably seen the list of blog winners somewhere else already, so I'm just going to pick out a few award winners that stood out to me.

Best Photography Blog: photoblog.hk
This HK blog has some very nice photos. And they're presented in a way that the varieties of photos stand out to you but don't overwhelm you at the same time. I think its the layout really. Nice stuff.

Best Food Blog: ladyironchef.com
This was one blog I was actually quite familiar with to begin with. To me it's really the photos taken (that are all very visually appealing) that make this food blog stand out. My opinion is that the reviews themselves are written in a cursory manner.

Best Fashion Blog: cheeserland.com
Another blog I know of. I think Cheesie has really crafted a name for herself in the fashion blog circle. This award just proves that fact, and if that wasn't enough, her outfit at the awards was a true head-turner. Her look for the night was super glam and yet had that playful gyaru chic style to it.

Cheesie with her win

Most Influential Blog & Region's Best Blog: xiaxue.blogspot.com
Congratulations to Xiaxue! I'm so happy for her that she won both most influential and region's best blog awards. I really think she deserves it, because if there is one blogger in the region who has the clout to shape the internet, its her, and she's proven it time and again. Of course, I am biased because I like her. But I also thought she gave a very touching thank you speech - it made me tear up and I know a lot of others who did the same.

And I finally got to snag a photo with her, after attending countless events where I didn't really dare to approach her to take picture ;p

Well, thats about all I have to say about this year's NAPBAS. I was kinda hoping I'd see more bloggers that I knew, but then again a majority of them are Singaporeans and there probably weren't as many SG bloggers in attendance as the 2009 NAPBAS.

Oh yeah.. there was an after-party at Zouk KL! I'll cover that together with my entry on the rest of the trip another day. I want this entry to only have glam pics :p

All the award winners and nominees

In conclusion, the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards was such an amazing experience and I felt like I learnt a lot simply from being able to attend it. From this alone it really inspires me to be a better blogger; a better writer; a better person.
Maybe at the next NAPBAS I'll be able to play a bigger part in it.. like getting nominated or something. One can dream. :)

All this could only be possible because of Nuffnang, without which this awards ceremony wouldn't exist in the first place. And also for allowing me to attend the awards (and covering my travel costs), and being the awesome blog community that it is over these years.