Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze and Stallion – my Winning Team!

What a year 2013 has been!
I was in some really fun but challenging races this year and WON them ALL! 🙂
In Sept, I was in Hong Kong for the Hong Kong es-capers scavenger hunt by Accor Hotels (read –> HERE)  and we (my sole team mate & I) beat media representatives team from 6 other countries – Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, China, Australia and Thailand!
Yes the Malaysian team took 1st prize, and we were proud to have won it!

1 hong kong - escapershk - escapers scavenger hunt accor hotels 3

Then it was The Influencer by Nokia. Since it is still embargo, all I can tell you is that I won a few episodes from the total of 6 episodes. Heheh! 🙂
Watch Episode 1 –> HERE.

winner episode 1 - Nokia The Influencer

And just a week back, my team was the winning team for the Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze! 🙂

HELL YES! What a year!

maxis 4G bloggers blaze - rebecca saw - curve , e-curve, laundry bar 1

The Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze is a challenge with a tech twist. It aims to demonstrate the coverage and speed of Maxis’ 4G LTE speed by associating activities containing elements of speed, adrenaline and high energy levels.
However as with all competitions (I have been in many enough to know), a bit of brains and luck doesn’t hurt. 

I scrolled into The Curve at 8.15am, still laggy and slightly feverish from The Influencer race just 2 days back and my overnight trip to Singapore a day before.
While sipping Milo and chit-chatting with some friends, I surveyed the area. A row of cars with the Maxis + race logo, balloons with QR codes and the end time of about 2-3pm.
I smell a race where time is of essence, where there are a few locations involved (since we have 4-5 hours and a car) and we are to use Maxis’s 4G/LTE capabilities (duh, it is a MAXIS event!). 

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team

In any team based races, team mates are of paramount importance. You will surprised how much a person can do, and how the mind can overcome almost anything, when a person is sufficiently motivated and when the desire to do well comes from within themselves.
The moment I knew who my team mates was, I made sure to keep the team morale high.

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-004

It wasn’t difficult. Rawlins was out-going from the start and hyperactive. Joel is quiet but sporting. I could tell he’s all game for a day of fun. Charmaine complained that her phone sucks and needed a new one. She is always a gentle person and I knew I could rely on her to keep the team grounded and she would be very useful for keeping track of locations, time, and etc.

I was somehow elected Team Leader, though I had at first said to the team that Rawlins should be the TL. Anyhow, from experience, I knew it didn’t matter.
A TL with no leadership qualities or brains is as good as a weak team mate. Anyone in the team can stand up and take over, for team mates (or people in general) will automatically respect and look up to the one who knows to lead, and lead intelligently.

Maxis 4G Bloggers Blaze - team stallion

Each team were given a Samsung phone with pre-installed Maxis 4G LTE SIM card, a ‘passport’ of which we were to verify completion of each challenges and our name tags for identification.

Strategy 1: Identify the person who knows best to do the job.
The moment I saw the phone, I checked to know which of my team mates are current Android users. The reason is simple; in race you do not want someone fumbling with the phone and unable to find the apps or features needed as precious time tickles. An Android user would anyhow be able to find and use the phone faster and better.
Rawlins uses Android, and so does Charmaine. Joel  said he’s familiar with Androids.With that established, I washed my hands off the phone. Throughout the entire race, I barely touched it, other than using the camera, which I told Rawlins to set everything to the home page of the phone. And I made sure I know how to operate the camera feature.
We downloaded the QR code app as well, and as expected downloading wasn’t an issue with Maxis’s blazing 4G speeds at The Curve. 🙂

Strategy 2: I even had the team’s “group selfie” formation ready. The reason?
Having 4 people undecided on where to stand and pose will waste precious time! We knew we had to take group selfies at each location. So I got the team to practice! LOL! 😀
The formation is this; AT EVERY LOCATION, instead of “err, you take, I take?” , ONE elected person (which was me) will hold the phone, 2 girls in the middle, 2 guys at the side (and a bit to the back to fit into the frame), everyone looks at the lens (you’ll be surprised but there are some who looks at the screen instead!) and “the elected fella” will take the shot.
We took a few shots as practice at The Curve and one shot was photobombed by Ben Jern! 😀

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-004

Happy and in high spirits, we were all ready to start!

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-004

 1st Challenge:
What: There is a barcode on every balloon in a sea of balloons in the middle of the square.
Objective: Scan and HOPEFULLY find one that will give you the clue to the NEXT challenge.
HOW: Each team sends ONE rep in intervals of 20 secs to enter the balloons zone till someone in the team manages to unlock one QR code so the team can start the race.

Remember what I said earlier about luck and brains in races? Well, this was where Lady LUCK plays its card.

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-001

Who decided to abandon us that morning. We were almost the last team to go!

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-002

Rawlins did the best job here. He was calm, his hands was steady and he was FAST! The 3 of us tried our best but it was Rawlins who finally got the code and we are OFF!

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-013

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-008

I was elected 1st driver and I was pleased to play the role. The timing from one location to another is not counted, and I fully concur with Maxis’s decision.
It is dangerous because not all bloggers are level-headed enough in a competition like this to drive safe and in their excitement to win, accidents might occur. Races where traveling time are counted are usually for automotive media drives where drivers are experienced automotive enthusiasts and also because the routes are pre-planned in advance.

m Maxis 4G Bloggers Blaze - team stallion 1

Here, there are no police escorts and we are to take any routes we please as long as we get there.
Why do I go into details about this? It is because I have personally read, heard and seen bloggers grumbled that they didn’t win though they were first to arrive at some destinations, or the first few to reach the FINAL destination.
I hope my sharing above clarifies. 🙂
Having said that, the Waze worked well and I drove fast but steady; just like our Maxis 4G LTE speeds to our 1st location at Sunway Lagoon!

2nd Challenge: 
What: Download a 25MB ‘Drag Racing’ game onto our smartphone & race a virtual car to win by getting to the finish line in the shortest time.
Objective: To demonstrate the speed of Maxis 4G LTE for downloads and its stability while playing games.
HOW: Each team member had to play once, take a screenshot of the EACH of the results and send it through Whatsapp to the Whatsapp Group created for us.

Our strategy here was simple; whoever who are familiar with the app plays first, while the others watched and get tips. Thank god for Joel here. He explained well and was very confident in navigating the app. I was the last one to play for obvious reasons. 😀

Our strategy worked, and we finished the game very fast. The screenshots were sent while we were running from the entrance to the Go-Kart area, and though at lower levels (where the lagoon is) the Maxis 4G LTE speeds did not disappoint!
All required screenshots were submitted with less sweat than it took us to run to the Go-Kart pit. LOL!

maxis 4G bloggers blaze - rebecca saw blog 2

3rd Challenge: 
What: Go-Kart for 3 laps for the best timing.
Objective: To race faster than Maxis 4G LTE line here! Ok, just joking.
HOW: 2 by 2 in a team, race 3 laps, take 2 photos and send it through Whatsapp to the Whatsapp Group created for us. (The Google+ didn’t work so we were told to send through Whatsapp instead).

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-014

Our strategy here was simple. Do not bump into each other and risk losing time cos when bumped, the go-kart engines stops. The faster and more confident driver goes first, and the next car follows closely, BUT should never overtake. As usual, we identified the strongest person for the job, and in this challenge it was Joel.  That way the path is always clear and each driver has their goal in mind; Joel to race as fast as he can, Rawlins to follow as closely as possible.
The passengers (me and Charmaine)? We are the cheerleaders of course! 😀

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-005

That’s me that’s me!! 😀
Go RAWLINS!!! I was shouting all the way, I think the people at the track had a headache after our race. 😀

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-007

Our strategy got us a very good timing and no setbacks. By then we were running on adrenaline as powerful as the Maxis 4G LTE and raced back to the desk for our next clue, forgetting lunch in the process!

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-016

4th Challenge: 
What: Climb up a wall!
Objective: To scale the wall as fast as you can!
HOW: 2 team mates starts with climbing the set route on the rock climbing wall and get the flag. Then the other two mates are supposed to place the flag back.

maxis 4G bloggers blaze - rebecca saw blog mad monkeyz

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-002

Once again, we deployed a strategy. The key thing is this, we have not done rock climbing before but we know our strengths and weak points. Joel is agile and light and confident. Rawlins is strong. I’m fit. Charmaine is apprehensive and worried.
I suggested that both “stronger” ones goes first – me and Rawlins. The reason is simple, we show the other 2 how it’s done (and we identify what are the tricky parts) AND once we are back on ground, it’s our job to “guide” the next 2 on the same route. 

Rawlins was fabulous. I find the wall easy even though I was at the harder “male wall” but he was so swift he got the flag first. Anyhow it was a race against time, not a race between any of us so it didn’t matter who got the flag.
Joel and Charmaine was tasked to take video of us in action and the roles were reversed the moment Rawlins and I touched ground. Me and Rawlins had already agreed, he will support Joel (who turned out to be a “monkey” himself & didn’t any guidance!) while I’ll take on Charmaine.

Charmaine was very sporting and though I could see her struggling she hang on tight. She fell but she got up and tried again. That’s the spirit girl! I did my  best to guide and calm her down while she was on the wall. In the end, Rawlins saved the day and took over her climb.

maxis 4G bloggers blaze - rebecca saw blog mad monkeyz 1

This is our happy moment when we were told we clocked a very impressive timing. Woohooo! 😀

maxis 4G bloggers blaze - rebecca saw blog mad monkeyz 2

Our next clue told us to head back to The Curve and Rawlins took over the wheels at this point. Charmaine, our scorekeeper busied herself trying to upload the video we took of our rock-climbing challenge during the journey back. We took Duke Highway and the Maxis 4G LTE was steady. The video was huge and Charmaine focused on getting it uploaded while the rest of us terrorized the road matching our driving speed with the Maxis 4G LTE connection.
Ermm, just kidding. Of course we were driving at 35km/hour as advised by Ben Jern at the beginning of the race. 😛

5th Challenge: 
What: Eat a serving of watermelon without using your hands
Objective: To consume the watermelon at blazing 4G LTE speed!
HOW: 3 team mates eat while the last team mate can help to hold the watermelon in place for them.

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze - Team Stallion

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-018

Again I gave some ideas to my team mates.
In my mind I thought “Logically it is slow to consume the watermelon since it’s big. Bite by bite takes time. Chewing and swallowing takes time. Watermelon flesh is big in size but not in solid mass. In pulp form (flatten), it is easier to take on a BIGGER mouthful, and faster to swallow.
Since no hands are allowed, the only way to flatten the mass was to use our heads, specifically foreheads! 😀

I ran through this idea with my team mates and as usual, being the sport that they are, they said they would attempt to do so.
And as usual, I was the most gung-ho and went all out. You can watch this video by TianChad.com.
Thanks Tian Chad for the memories. I was shocked seeing myself in action! LOL.

Happy us with our finished watermelons! 🙂

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-020

And clocking in with an impressive timing!

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-021

It was lunch followed shortly by the announcements of the winners.

Below: A short speech by Ms Yogeswari Thangavelu, Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs Maxis Berhad. She said she hoped that we enjoyed ourselves, of we all replied in unison “YES!” 🙂

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-023

Team Leopard was in 2nd place and each one of the won an iPad Mini, a Maxis 4G LTE Mobile WiFi Modem (MiFi).
Congrats guys!

Maxis4GBloggersBlaze-025

We certainly did our best in all the challenges and because we were not able to see the other teams performs and compare results, it was hard to predict which team could have won. Besides, the results are based on 5 challenges, not one so if you’re fast in one challenge it doesn’t automatically means your team wins!
But we were announced as the winner! 🙂

I was really ecstatic that we won! I mean who wouldn’t?
The prizes are great no doubt, but nothing that I can’t afford. To be frank, the satisfaction was working together in synergy in our journey to glory, and a personal plus point for me was the fact that everyone in the team was happy with me.
I read their posts, and it warmed my heart to read that they had fun, thought I was crazy and a good team mate! Rawlins even mentioned on camera during the interview that I was a good TL. THAT, that can not be bought. It is EARNED.
Thank you Rawlins. Thank you Joel and Charmaine for believing in the team and for having the faith to agree to some of my crazy ideas.

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - Stallion - my Winning Team-009

We won as a team and heck, everyone sure contributed. Watermelon head-smashing was more of an amusement show than anything. Everyone ate. Charmaine did as she was told; alternatively holding the watermelon for each team mate. Joel lead #LikeABoss and Rawlins followed in sync to race for our best go-kart timing.
Rawlins took to the rock climbing challenge like a born monkey and was way faster than me.
Joel, quiet, unassuming but so steady! Thanks for your guidance in the racing app, else we wouldn’t have clocked such impressive race times! And to Charmaine, who never gave up, even with her fear of the rock wall she did her best. She was also the timekeeper, ensured all pictures are sent out as instructed, kept our score sheet tidy and ensured that we are driving in the right direction! 😀

Just like what I have always believed, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. In a team, how you plan and use those to the team’s advantage are more important than just blindly doing the challenges and relying on luck. Think of all that when you’re in a race next time, instead of whining about it when you didn’t win.

For more information about Maxis 4G LTE, check out their webpage at https://new.maxis.com.my/content/maxis/en/personal/internet/network-and-coverage.html.
THANK YOU MAXIS! If there’s another race soon, I’ll say “Bring it ON!” 😀

Watch this video for the overall event story!

And this is the latest Maxis 4G LTE  Mobile WiFi Modem device which allows up to 10 devices to be connected to this one hotspot!

Maxis 4G LTE Bloggers Blaze - LTE wifi modem

PS: Thank you my dear team mates for the pictures which I used in this post. And also from Maxis’s video & facebook page.

This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Sean Eat Drink KL

    congratulations on all the consecutive, well-deserved victories! and u all look so fierce and determined for the watermelon challenge. if i’m ever in a competition, i wanna be on your team! oh, and this is great to also read as a maxi 4g endorsement, as i’m planning to get this package and device for my home use starting next month! 😀

    1. Rebecca Saw

      Haahahaha we would rock being in the same team together! 🙂
      Oh cool! So you would need the WIFI device then. I hope the 4G LTE coverage in your area is good, then you would really enjoy the blazing speeds for your blogging work! 🙂

  2. mabel lyn

    Woohoo Stallion! Great teamwork!!

  3. Andy

    Would love to try the Maxis 4G LTE Mobile WiFi Modem device. High time to change my P1:P

  4. KathyOh

    Your team certainly did the best in all the challenges. Thanks for sharing. Felt the adrenaline!

  5. Veron

    GREAT JOB becky!!
    You totally killed the watermelon!
    And congrats on leading your team to glory. And winning 2 episodes of The Influencer!

  6. Nascar News

    Way cool, many incredibly good tips! I truly appreciate you penning this posting and the rest of your web-site is top-notch!

  7. Refa

    You are crazy! But that’s Rebecca Saw for you! 😀

Leave a Reply to Refa Cancel reply

Related Posts