It's a Marathon of Life

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (10) 完结篇

2011-12-03T01:19:00.001+08:00

16May2011 - Gorak Shep (5160M) > Kala Patthar Peak (5550M) >Pheriche (4240M)
At 4am, my Suunto Core woke me up again. The reluctance interupted by Johnny who knocked on the door to officiate the wake up time. GWah expressed his intention to skip Kala Patthar. He seemed tired and discomforted by his sinus problem. Guess it was the right choice for himself. Everyone knows how to take care of themselves, which is great. Then, RWen too wanna rest from her self-illusion AMS scare. Heard she was so worried abt her dizziness, bloated face & vomit. All fit the AMS symptom. But personally, it was largely due to the spectacular way of how Ailing being sent off to hospital by helicopter. Worse, her China insurance didn't cover that.

Raj had gathered us outside the lodge. It was freaking cool. Freaking cool it was! A subtle blow of wind would send the chill right into your bone. I had 3-4 layers of clothing that morning. Temperature was at abt 8C. Surrounding was totally dark. We used torch light for the 1st time to trek. Raj had asked Dalwat to stay back and take care of the rest. Later, we were so appreciative when found out that he actually woke up and checked on RWen every hourly. Very thoughtful.

It was a windy night. Possibly every night at this altitude, at this hour. It caused me a headache at a time. My essentials worked at their best for me. My buff was such a great stuff to have for this trip. Kept me warm, and protect my face from the blizzard apart from the dirt. My borrowed Millet head cover, protecting my head & ears from the wind and keep me warm too. Otherwise, I could have more severe headache. My borrowed TNF jacket & Marmot jacket did the necessary too. Nonetheless, hands were the most vulnerable to the bliss. But even with glove, it is futile to stop the climate from freezing my hands. It was painful while I kept stretching my fingers to feel my hands were still functioning. Every joints was in pain due to the coldness. I had to wiggle my toes too constantly as I can't feel them! Frost bite did cross my mind although I know it was not possible.

My breathing was long and deep. O2 was 50% of sea level. I felt the effect vividly. It made me appreciate the air more. Mucus just rushed out perpetually. The water in my drinking bottle that I've attached outside the bag for easy access too, formed in ice. The environment was quite harsh for a tropical living petite Asians. Sunrise starts at 6am in Nepal. that was what we had been waiting for, the sunlight that warmed us up. I began to peel off 1 or 2 layer of clothing. A good windstopper as outer layer is good enough from there on. My steps were slow and heavy, which in synch with my deep long breathing. Gasping for air really. Remind me of the peaks at Agung & Rinjani. It was tough. But westerners who by passed us seem to have no problem generally. Well, perhaps, they will have their own problem if they tried Tahan in Msia isn't it. God is fair. By far, Tahan is the toughest trip I have had.

Around 630, I've finally reached the Kala Patthar peak! Yeah. Felt great! Relieved that the hard walk ended. Towards my NE, 3 majestic 8000M+ peaks in sight. Nuptse (7851M), Everest (8848M) & Lhotse (8414M). Awesome. While at the NW of Kala Patthar peak, there's a 7165M Pumori peak. Awesome too. To my SE, I saw the team was making progress. 30min away. I waved at them but received no response. Reluctant to spend they energy to wave back I guess. They must be thinking seem near yet so far. Last ditch of the peak is really steep. At 5550M, small step makes you puff for air already. Whenever wind blew, I shivered. Luckily the sun did beam consistently. Glad to have my Oakley. I sat down, tired, drank my icy water & some chocolate to settle down, pondering & suddenly I realised that oh God, mission accomplished. Sweet.

The team had finally made it! Johnny, his gesture was exactly like mine, puffing for more air. MChin, known for her toughness arrived with tear, tear of joy I reckon. RQing who subdued by the AMS on the 1st day arrived with joy too. All threw each other hugs. We were all so glad as it was really tough indeed. The peak was quite jam with climbers. Some just occupied the peak inconsiderately. Damn it, we shall share the peak view and the photo aren't we?

Some photo session, then off we headed back to Gorak Shep. A casual walking pace took us abt 1.5hr to reach our lodge. Met up RWen and GWah who were in better health. Just glad to see them. The remaining days weren't as happening as it would have be. Half of the team gone & I felt sorry for them. Nonetheless, the team mood was still fine. We waved good bye to Gorak Shep and headed down to Pheriche on the same day. That night, I felt bloody uncomfortable with my right eye in pain. Should be due to my fast descent that my eye's pocket didn't get equalised properly with the pressure? A hypothesis though, but that discomfort lasted for the remaining 2 days!

My eye was in pain for the next 3 days. We descended to Namchee Bazaar again, stayed a night to enjoy the surrounding and headed back to the ground zero of EBC adventure, Lukhla. Met KMeng at Namchee in the same Buddha Lodge. He did got the chicken pox! Miraculously, me & MChin didn't get any infection until today. Touch the bloody big wood!

Important lessons from this trip? Good trekking gears would mostly guarantee your comfort. Getting a responsible tour guide is paramount. Our guide leader, Raj & his team is 1 of the best I reckon. Only a mis-communication incident on how to tip our porters made me feels so bad until now. Hate that feeling still really. Nonetheless, this is 1 of my eye opening trips in my life for sure.

Ice formed in my bottle! Outrageously cold, to me.

Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse. Million dollar question, why Everest seems shorter in the middle?

Made it at Kala Patthar (Black Rock) Peak.

The route that I had been through, just now. Phew...

Go go go team!

A sigh of relieve!

Raj always taking care of us. Good guide. The ladies should be very thankful to him.

Hmm, I don't think I get the hugs from the ladies...

Half dead huh.

Pumori Peak at the backdrop.

Looking down to Gorak Shep. Awesome.

The black peak is Everest. Storm often happens and carry away the snow from the summit. Thus, you see black.

Back to Gorak Shep. This place is the helipad too.

Stopped by at Lobuche for lunch.

Farm at Pheriche.

Pheriche.

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (9)

2011-11-26T01:22:00.001+08:00

15May2011 - Lobuche (4930M) > Gorak Shep (5160M) > EBC (5400M)

This is it! This would be the toughest day of trekking. A 3hr walk to Gorak Shep, and another 4hr back n fro to EBC. Walking along the barren field with the surrounding snow mountains that are 3x closer than there were, I felt like I was trapped in between a stone age & ice age. It was such a majestic view that make me felt so insignificant to the world compares to the scale of the objects around. At a time, we were able to see a glimpse of EBC, those yellowish tents, from far, very far. I started to feel cold so, walked a bit faster. Eventually, I've reached Gorak Shep together with Dalwat. When all had arrived, Ailing didn't look good. Raj later confirmed that she won't join the team to EBC due to severe AMS. Symptoms were obvious with bloated face & fever. Fortunately, all team members bought a higher premium of travel insurance that covers helicopter transfer in the case of emergency, except RWen. RWen bought her insurance from China, but some vague T&C made her felt extremely anxious on whether or not, such emergency transportation was covered.

After an extremely light lunch (bcoz everyone lost their appetite, completely), we continued our quest to EBC from Gorak Shep, with Raj stayed back to take care of Ailing. He asked Dalwat to lead us to EBC instead. More or less, RWen carried along anxiety with her about her insurance coverage. The trail towards EBC isn't tough, but at 5200M, I really felt the effect of high altitude with shorter breathe by each small step. A good shoes really helpful throughout the journey by keeping my feet comfortable from getting wet, and any cut from the rough environment.

Unconsciously, I broke away from the group again. Could be AMS, could be due to the low O2, could be homesick, could be the frustration of missing some teammates, could be the overdue oppression of doing all things slowly to avoid AMS, I just sped up towards EBC, with the my mind well aware of getting AMS. Hell, I just lost it and sped up. Dalwat asked his little Sherpa to lead me. Frankly, I thought I was too fast, but the fact was, the casual walking little Sherpa always stay in front of me with a casual breathing. I was having a horsey deep and fast breathe already. But, I like that, bcoz I feel so alive!

I was so excited when I reached a giant rock that was half wrapped with prayer flags. That is a landmark of EBC! I've finally made it. Abt 20min later, the rest regrouped. We were so glad that we all did it. We then attempted to walk closer to the yellow tents where all the Everest climbers were having their acclimatization before their summit attempt. After a 30min walk, the fatigue surged through us, and we decided that's close enough and made our way back to Gorak Shep.

I can't explain it. I think I was quite emotional once I've finished my goal to step on EBC. On the journey back to Gorak Shep, I felt like a child who was finding a passage to vent his displeasure. Probably, I was very homesick thereafter. I miss my family dearly. I led my emotion took control of my act. I walked with speed again. There was a song in my head, Michael Buble - Home. About 2KM away from Gorak Shep, a tiny white compositions fell from the sky. The scale was mild though. Was that snow/snowflake? I think so. Then, I heard helicopter! Vaguely, I thought I heard TBK was calling my name from the chopper. Next thing I know, the chopper landed at the vast land just in front of Gorak Shep lodge. OMG, I thought something was really wrong with Ailing! I then ran towards the direction to find out why. Running at 5200M... Hmmm, didn't feel anything really coz some adrenalin took over my body.

The chopper left before I can reached it. Raj was standing there, and I anxiously reached him to find out why. It was Ailing on the chopper indeed. Raj managed to arrange the emergency evacuation for her as her AMS condition looked serious. I then gave Raj a big hug for making the decisive call to bring her down. He replied that it was his responsibility. My tears suddenly just flushed out. Bloodyhell, I can't explain it. All I knew I was very emotional & tired. Perhaps, I really didn't prepare to have so many team members not being together. Never in any OX trip, we crumbled into pieces like this. 6 left now. Anyway, those were the negative thoughts when the emotion took over. That made me even more tired & moody for the rest of the day. Another light dinner although we all knew we have burnt a lot of energy, and we must eat more. But, we just can't summon our appetite back.

At night, it was RWen's turn to have AMS problem. Her anxiety definitely aggravated after seeing Ailing being sent off so dramatically by a helicopter. What's more, she still not sure if her insurance covers such emergency evacuation. She could only rest on the night with Raj checking on her condition every hourly through the night. It was obvious that she won't be joining us to Kala Patthar Peak, 5500m at 4am in the morning.

What an 'action packed' day it was...

The longest walk in the trip.

Ah...

Wow...

People mountain people... ehhh... more mountains.

Nice team picture. That should be the Pumori Peak at the backdrop.

Add caption

A helicopter flied by. Someone is sick or hurt again at this mountain. We actually got a news that a Japanese had passed away at EBC on the next day.

Glacier.

Tough ladies in the house.

1st sight of EBC! On the way to Gorak Shep.

Our ever reliable guide, Dalwat. His has a tough life out there. His perseverance at work supports his family. And, he is one of many in the region. Hate how I feel when I am writing this out.

I saw EBC! But, not until we reach Gorak Shep, then, another 1.5hr to reach there.

EBC looks cloudy which concerned me initially. Thank god we had the best possible weather on that day.

After this camel back, we will reach Gorak Shep.

The team was progressing well from the back. Didn't pull over to wait for them as the risk of catching cold is very high. Didn't want to end up like TBK.

Gorak Shep.

Gorak Shep Village. A dramatic day in this lodge.

EBC looks closer and closer with the yellow tents became more visible by each step.

Carrying such weight at such altitude. A moment of solemn within myself to be more thankful on my life that I am having now.

Tough tough job by the Sherpa to support their family.

Dalwat took care of the team at the back. It got colder at 5200M, I had to walk a bit faster to get some heat. He sent this little Sherpa to lead me to EBC.

Looked near, yet still a distance away.

At 5200M, everything looks very different. The terrain, weather, air, coldness, and even my own mental state.

The environment turns extreme at geological perspective when we were nearer to EBC.

We made it! But it ain't finish. We continued to get closer to the camp site.

My watch reading.

My doodle, for the team.

That's the closest to the camps that we wanted to go.

That's the 'C'amps of the EBC! For those summit climbers, they will start their toughest climb of their life by following a trail at the right.

There's a helicopter in the picture, with Ailing inside.

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (8)

2011-10-30T22:24:00.000+08:00

14May2011 - Dingboche (4400M) > Lobuche (4930M)
It is the most healthy life style I have had in recent years. Sleep by 9pm, woke up at 6am for breakfast and started to move on 7am. AMS still stubbornly suppressing my appetite. Going towards Lobuche, 4930m. Every step after 4095m (Mt Kinabalu's peak) is a record breaking height for me. Once we passed a village at the start, we reached a vast flat land. All the 7000m mountains were at 2x zoom closer than they were. We were ascending gradual at comfortable gradient and pace until we reach Dughla (4620M) for lunch. Discovered a fantabulous spring roll that managed to penetrate my tastebud. With help of an extremely spicy chilli source, it further stimulated all the senses in my head. I felt like all the long trapped air within my head 'ejaculated' out from every poles! What a sensation it was. It made us felt that it had cured our AMS instantly. After that, a tough climb with a straight steep route ahead.

There were some giant memorial stones along the way. Name of fallen everest climbers were crafted as a respect to those who lost their life. Prayer flags were all over that special place. I humbly asked for safety blessing silently to the whole team. Ordinary ppl like me might question the worthiness of losing ones life while attempting the summit quest. But I believe they did it after they had found something meaningful to achieve in their life while well aware of the risk. It should be the same type of explorers who are working with NatGeo currently, letting us seen all those fascinating pictures comfortably at home, with 42' LED TV.

At abt 2pm, all of us reached Lobuche. Met a helper in the restaurant who speaks Malay. Amazing! He worked in malaysia before as security guard. Later in Kathmandu, we found even more Nepalese who speaks Malay. Glad to know most of them managed to cari makan in Malaysia and back to their own country to settle down.

Appetite had evaporated once again at lunch and dinner. For me, same strategy. Just ate the egg white. I hate to rest in this trip. Rest = idle = no energy burning = COLD! Especially at such altitude. It was the toughest time to pass. At night, Raj did a briefing abt the big day tomorrow, Gorak Shep and the ultimate EBC! It was the big day for 5 of us. All looked in great shape except Ailing who was with a mild headache. A rest should do a great favor to her.

An obvious ascent from the graph.

Leaving Dingboche for Lobuche.

That 360 mountain view.

Dughla stop by for lunch. After this, it is up up up.

Awesome fried spring roll.

A typical life of a sherpa. Do you complain about your life lately?

Prayer flags for the fallen.

Memorial to the fallen.

A good shoes is important for such harsh terrain.

Lobuche @4930M.

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (7)

2011-10-30T18:09:00.001+08:00

13May2011 - Acclimatization @Dingboche(4400M)
After spending the coldest night in the room, GWah woke me up with a confirmation news that Choy & Cleong will decent due to AMS. That means, Tiger n TBK will decent with them for the sake of their safety. The team really shredded into half now. Leaving 7 out of 12 to continue the quest. Words of encouragement & comfort exchanged before the final goodbye. It was a somber moment when they officially make a decent. Perhaps, AMS made us more emotional too. I personally felt bloody moody abt the separation. 1st, it was KMeng, now, another 4 gone. There was a sense of emptiness that made me felt this is a imperfect trip. It did cross my mind few times on wether the rest of the group will all fall in the war with AMS. Another bloody cold night ahead. Jammed my Core Suunto again.

The group photo before the departure.

Explored around Dingboche area & found a remnant of a melting snow.

Yak traffic. A common sight.

With Dalwat, the reliable assistance tour guide. 'Poisoned' me that I can do a 6000+m Mera Peak.

Possibly, the AMS cure to Malaysians. Instant noodle!

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (6)

2011-10-26T00:36:00.000+08:00

12May2011 - Debuche(3600M) > Dingboche (4400M)
Today, gonna be tough. From 3600m to 4400m. A nett ascent of 800m to reach Dingboche. Risk of having AMS amplified. TBK looked better but still not 100%. Stopped at a pass by restaurant for lunch, a restauraunt owner who had scaled Everest , helping in some expedition & a high altitude marathoner who clocked 3:47 from EBC to namche bazaar, 42k. Remind me of some Sherpas in trail running attire who rushed down the trail in super fast speed while we were on our way up. Must be their training.

The terrain became more & more 'retro' with the rocky n stony ground. We were indeed entering the higher point of Himalaya mountain range. We were surrounded by mountains. Humongous mountains. Land in Nepal is still growing with the tectonic plates activity at the core. When land kept pushed up, land slide happens to adjust the change. Eventually, it could become a flat land in few thousand years later. Some point at 4200m, it became cloudy and I do scare of rain at such altitude. We can't afford to fall sick! I broke away gradually from the group at the back, and tried to catch up RWen & GWah who had already reached the next lodge.

Once I settled my room with my usual roomate GWah, I instantly wrapped myself up with warm gears. At a time, the cloud covered the whole Dingboche. I thought, oh no, is it gonna rain? Chill wind kept blowing while I stood myself outside the lodge, on a rock-made fence with hope that the rest of the team can spot me from far, & that they will get the morale boost as they had made it for another day. So glad all made it safely but Choy & CLeong disturbed with AMS again. Dr TBK came to their rescue as usual although he himself was like a 'muddy buddha' who attempts to cross a river with his own health problem. At 4400m, we begged for sunlight & it feels like there's only 1 climate up there, COLD! Can't take off your socks, cold; always tuck in the hands into the pocket, cold; moisturize ur face & ur nose hole, dry & cold; insist to keep drinking water to hydrate & some said that keeps away AMS, but it makes you a frequent visitor to toilet at outside the lodge, cold; brushing teeth, clean your face in the morning, super bloody cold.

We settled ourselves to the cosy dining area. Once someone suggested to play UNO to kill boredom, we made that whole area like our own place. Can't forget pots of hot lemonade at that altitude too. It made us felt so good.

Unconsciously, AMS creeped into all of us too albeit at mild level. Everyone had lost their appetite. At dinner, I didn't eat much but forced myself to swallow some eggs for protein. Later, we had kinda heaty debate in a cold dining area about the itineary going fwd. Forgo Chola Pass seems a done deal after considering the overall team fitness. But with the next day is a rest day for acclimatization, we were still hopeful to step on EBC together as a team. Choy n cleong did look better n hopefully, the acclimatization day worked out a magic on them.

A winding high trail. 2 mountains divided by a valley with glacier river gushing down.

They are the transport, asset, and perhaps, Sherpas' best friends. Yaks. But, they are our cause of traffic jam ;-)

This reminds me of a chinese word. 田.

Amitabha. Colorful buddha painting on the rock.

Vast land.

Land slide.

Glacier water from the top.

Stones are stacked up as a boundary manifest as well as to fight wind erosion towards the house.

Ever changing landscape.

Glacier water.

Posing outside Sherpa Lodge. Amadablam Peak at the back.

The room that turned into a fridge at night. At 4C, it jammed my Suunto Core too!

In a second, mist?cloud? covered Dingboche.

Everyone loves this dining area. Because it's warm! Practically , it's each climbers' activity room. But for our group, we made it like Pasar! Riuh rendah.

I miss UNO! But BEWARE, when it makes u laugh so much until you feel dizzy easily. Thin air remember!

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (5)

2011-09-03T22:43:00.003+08:00

11May2011 - Namche Bazar(3450M) > Thengboche(3800M)
As usual, departed at 0730. But without KMeng. Sigh... Even CLeong who experienced mild AMS looked better. Towards 3800M, we started to realise that we were surrounded by Himalayan mount range. On n off, some unknown mountain peaks showed up whenever clouds made way for our sight. RQing walked slowly at the back. MChin n Raj accompanied her. I too tagged along them to start slow myself. I do scare of AMS! Call me chicken, but, I am a wise chicken ;-) Couple team, HWL n Choy were doing steadily too. As usual, RWen n GWah were at front. All seems well.

We stopped by at Phunki for lunch. Thereafter, it's all the way up to Thengboche. It got windy at a time so I walked a bit faster to keep myself warm. At one point, while i was walking with TBK, he decided to wait for those who were a distance from the front. We often do this back in Msia to close the gap between the team members at the front & back. This is exactly why I only choose to trek with OX, coz, we care about the team. Nonetheless, it was a wrong decision at such altitude though. We stood there for 15min, unaware of the chill wind effect, creeping in & took away our body heat without ourselves aware of it. We moved again once we saw them from far. At Thengboche, we waited for another 30min for regroup. Minus the Buddhist monastery, Thengboche does has the New Zealand feel. Vast green field with cows & yaks. Huts and lodges are at discreet distance in the misty environment. The blizzard wind was such a nightmare, although it was still day time. I was shivering hard & had to put on layer of jackets.

We were later told our stay over is at Debuche, another 30min but a descending trek, i speed down to have more body heat. But unfortunately for TBK, he later self diagnosed himself as hypothermia patient. What? TBK? Thought he has the muscle to generate enough heat for him? ;-) Lesson of the day is, never stop for too long. We were overzealous. When we wrapped him up with blanket, deva ju! He looked just lke RQing on the other day! That nite was bloody cold. Room temp was 12C before I slept. It's the 1st nite that i succumbed to use my rented sleeping bag. At USD1 per day, bloody cosy n warm!

Log of the day: 5hr walking day. 2hr lunch break. The peak refers to Thengboche.

We were at the waistline of mountain range. Looking across to the other mountain is a joy.

Mountain goats.

My feet need to breath too. My Salomon Elios GORE-Tex is a reliable partner.

A typical lunch place.

Potters took a break. It's a tough job. Chinese would say, blood-sweat-money.

A rare team photo session indeed.

Thengboche. Buddhist monastery & a lodge is there.

Thengboche. A great valley view at the backdrop.

A cattle with a heavy oversize head?

Our lodge at Debuche.

Similar bedroom setup as other lodges. But, practical.

I like this chart in the lodge. It tells that I have experienced the 50% Oxygen rate environment when I was at Kala Patthar peak at 5500m later on. And, it was really tough.

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (4)

2011-09-03T00:28:00.000+08:00

10May2011 - Acclimatization @Namche Bazar(3450M)
It suppose to be a relax day but KMeng shocked us with the possibility that he got chicken pox! A 2hr trek by himself to Khunde n paid a hefty USD50 consultant to doctor confirms this awful news. Everyone's mood got affected I am sure. He was determined to carry on initially. Although we know he is a bloody tough guy , but there is a risk for him to get pneumonia n pass on the virus n further disrupt the team formation. We managed to persuade him to stay back at Namche. He had reluctantly accepted the fate. I was bloody distracted by his dismissal. His present in the team means something special. At least, i would feel safer with his mountaineering knowledge he possesses in the team. More fun too. On the other hands, only MChin n me have yet getting chicken pox b4. We were wary the risk. RQing seems better. She joined the group for a leisure hike up to 3700M to an airport. That relieved her AMS fear i guess. We had fostered a good relationship with guide leadesr, Raj n his assistant Dalwat. Especially Raj who speaks better english. I had to switch the room with johny as i was sharing the room with KMeng previously. Until now, me n MChin are yet to get the virus. Naturally born with antibody? Hope so.

Leisure walk around Namche.

It's an old town sort of feeling. Vintage.

Even sleep, you need some essential gears. It was a cold cold night.

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (3)

2011-09-03T00:21:00.000+08:00

9May2011 - Phakding(2600M) > Namche Bazar(3450M)
Air got thinner n thinner towards 3400m. But it was a relax walk with too much stops for photo sessions with those DSLR holders. Anyway, that's what we were paying for the scenery. No hurry. Kept bumping into the cow herds from opposite direction. The whole trail is constantly fertilized by dang. At times, we trapped in between the animal traffic along the narrow trail. We did experience the thrill of overtaking some herds like those mad drivers in Msia. We tailgate the herd, once there's a space, we sprinted thru with mindful of their horns. Abt 4pm, we reach Namche! It was a WoW when the village 1st came into my sight. Sprawling terrace of grid-like hses built along the slope of the mountain. The mist n cooling weather amplifies the beauty of the town. We checked in Buddha lodge, our favorite lodge of all with the deliciously foods. 220rp for a hot bath up made us felt heavenly. For the sake of joke, its the quietest day in the group as our AK46 RQinging struck by AMS. That's the only beauty of AMS though ;-) This reminded me of the lurking danger. Everyone could get it regardless of ur fitness. Luckily, next day is our acclimatization day where RQinging had an ample time to recover. At dinner, she looked terribly sorry n still had to endured our mockery on her. Retribution? LOL. The dinner was great with the blow water chat while we catch-up KMeng story on what he had done in Nepal for 3mth! KMeng even WoW Raj & Dalwat with his successful solo attempt to Dhaulagiri glacier region. We all agree that he should look for a publisher to share his adventure in his around the world trip.

Log of the day: ~6hr of walking time. The graph shows the terrain. Highest altitude reached at 3338m.

Typical sherpa's kitchen. Neat n 'clean' suppose. Well, the air is dry & thin. Fly can't survive there.

Captivating scene at backdrop.

Before leaving Mountain Resort, it's water pumping time. Highly recommended to buy such filter. Save $$$ & save to drink the water.

Dal bhat. A common meal for Nepalese. In Msia, we will call it mixed rice. The vege always served fresh as the chef will normally plant some vege around their area.

Well, it's obvious that we were still at low altitude. But the scenery is already great.

Bridge crossing day...

Non stop bridge crossing day.

It's so common to come across such setup. A Buddhism mantra divider, where you should always pass it in CLOCK WISE.

Namche Bazar! 1st sight was amazing.

At 3400m, a misty day at Namche Bazar is a norm.

When the cloud is cleared, suddenly, a snow mountain showed up from my window! WOW WOW WOW~~~

Our bedroom. Simple & neat. Just good enough to have a good rest. At night, I felt like I'm in a fridge!

The 1st AMS patient. See, the illness can shut down a AK47 ;-) Nonetheless, AMS is no joke.

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (2)

2011-08-16T19:17:00.007+08:00

8May2011 - Lukla(2800M) > Phakding(2600M)

Lukla airport dubbed as 1 of the most dangerous airport in the world for its 460M mountain cliff side runway. When comes bad weather, cloud will cover the surrounding mountains, making it impossible for Twin Otter pilots to see n navigate the flight safely. Often, the passengers have to wait for a clear sky.

The landing at Lukhla was eerie. I still can recall the bumpy ride. KMeng greeted us at the airport exit. At last, we met! This trip was OX's ultimate goal since 6yr ago but it was abruptly cancelled due to the political turmoil in Nepal.

We then heading to Phakding after a breakfast n that, we started our climb to EBC in this vast Khumbu region, homeland of Sherpas. We immediately felt the thick culture of Sherpa. Symbols of Buddhism are crafted to stone along the trail. Hses that r built with stone n woods. Donkey, horses, cows, yaks were everywhere. A 4hr leisure walk, we checked in Mt resort, a serenity n tranquil lodge.

Twin Otter plane.

Inside the plane.

That landing moment at Lukla airport.

460M runway with gradient. At the end of the runway, there's a valley. VALLEY!!! Yeah, you only have 1 chance to take off & to land.

The team is excited to kick start the journey.

Hard earn $ by the potters. 30Kg at least person.

Buddhism mantra is all over the trail. That says enough abt sherpas culture & life influence.

Hmm... looking back this pic, who know 'that virus' is already inside him.

My same apparel until Dingboche. I felt the cold at my skin layer, but at core, somehow, Im alright. you just need to keep walking!

Our 1st day 'resort'. Very cosy & quiet lodge to rest.

Dining area. Filled with our laughter at the end of the dinner.

A tranquil valley view right in front of the resort.

Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (1)

2011-08-15T19:40:00.011+08:00

When my project officially pronounced 'delay' 2 mth b4 the trip, the dream of joining the team resurrected. Furthermore, the project freeze windows was just nice for me to squeeze in the EBC trip! It was all rush rush rush at work and doing the last min flight ticket arrangement n shopping for hiking gears. Surprisingly, ticket price remains the same as RM1700 for return. More surprisingly, my wife approved my leave without too much grudge. Love her for that! Some outdoor friends were kind enough to lend me all the essentials which later prove to be practical n perhaps, life saving indeed. Thank her so much for that. I merely bought a pair of 50% disc Salomon Elios Mid GTX shoes at SGD139 n a buff from NatGeo. Oh, and a Suunto Core yellow black watch too. Canon G12 is a miss for me.

Suunto Core yellow black- accurate. but suspect having outdated software which bloody local support center still yet to come back to me!#$^$%^&%&%$^

Salomon Elios Mid GTX-Very good buy. Tough with Gore-Tex.

Video conf with Captain a week before our departure.

7May2011 - KL > Kathmandu
The trip started with a very good omen. All of us except GWah (who was late) were upgraded to biz class! Ecstatic! But the only different of biz class is only a wider seat. Still, grateful for the upgrade. Nepali almost filled up the economy class. It is a human labor cargo to me.

A 5hr flight. RQinging managed to get her visa done on the spot at USD40 n she even passed the custom faster than we all did. Lucky her, it was a no crowd day. We paid RM155 and burnt a day off to pick up my visa back in Msia. we met Barbu, the MD of the travel agent that we engaged. Van picked us up and headed straight to Heritage hotel at Thamel. Met up RWen n CLeong at last. Had our 1st Nepali lunch filled with curiosity n excitement. Taste not bad at all. After that, it was all abt last min shopping for the team! Down jacket, backpack, sleeping bag... All ain't cheap to me.

Asics Kayano 16 Treasure Hunted

2011-03-27T22:50:00.005+08:00

Most running aficionados will recommend the Asics. But often, the price scares the runners away.

Intrigued by its renown comfort fit, I slipped a pair of Kayano 17 in a Junction 8's Royal Sporting Hse to try out. But there's no size 9. The salesboy was cordially alerted me that Kayano 16 is on 50% discount! Got size 9? Yes! Fantabulous! Bought it at SGD135 (RM323).

Slip my feet into the shoes and it's a love at first try. My feet loves it! Can't wait to bring it out for run! For now, Im stacking it in my storeroom before my Nike Victory+ is totally worn out.

I got cramp with 15KM - Thanks to the shoes!

2011-03-26T17:23:00.005+08:00

Unbelievable. I have problem with Nike Lunar Elite. After I season it by wearing it for casual and work, I thought it is good enough to serve me some miles.

So, I ran a 15K back from office. Never had such an excruciating 15K run before. I got cramp at the end and my feet were so sore and aching. Crappy shoes for my feet really even though I bought it at 50%!

On the other hands, Nike Zoom Victory+ has been serving me really well although I do not have any expectation from it initially. Should have clocking around 800K with some 'abrasive runs' in Macritchie but still it still look strong! Yeah, it's my trail shoes too. After so many runs, it has become light & cosy to me. Perhaps, I am very fortunate to have a feet that fits to most of the shoes.

Until it has worn down totally, I fail to find a reason to buy a new shoes ;'-( Let's get ROUGHER!

The SCSM 2010

2011-03-26T16:18:00.009+08:00

After my dejection in SCKLM, i was so aspired to do a revenge of the fallen act on my next 42k. I began the training well ahead of schedule. Already hitting several quality LSDs 2 mth before PBIM. Did well in 30k Newton run with a satisfactory timing. On the official record, thats my best 20k too. I was overwhelmed with confidence.

Then, the work caught me up. After a 20k run on 24Oct, i find no room to continue what i had solidly built on. What a shame. After a mth of inactivity, i threw myself directly to PBIM 42K. Drawn by penang foods in actual fact. Found Ameba as my pacer of the day. A 6k pace was bearable. At half way mark, mother of rain poured n father of wind joined the festival. That again put my nike + system to sleep but I felt refreshed n instinctively i sped on until i tumbled at 30k whr Ameba never look back from thereafter. Struggled till the end with my worst time of 4:43.

Did thot of forgo SCSM of such inadequate training. Somehow, managed to persuade myself to join the fun albeit it is not that fun if i don't have a target timing to run for. My Macricthie running pal, Chan drove me to the starting line. Thank god coz i later learnt that it was almost impossible to get a cab at that time. Aimed a 4:30 finish. Held no pressure at all but a bit ashamed as i sneaked myself at the 4hr runners section. I jz hate the human traffic, some call the infamous scene 'the cavalry surge'! At 5am, we started the run at the heart of the orchard rd with the glittering xmas lightings n decorations. It was a brand new route this yr. I got excited to explore the new sightings along the run. Indeed, passed by chinatown, back to esplanade and headed to east coast park. Subconsciously, i was able to maintain a steady 5.5 - 6 pace without having too much stress to my muscles. 1st 10k was a breeze. So does the next 10. But i didnt budge to speed off coz i was so sure that i will get the cramp at 30+k. Was i wrong? Amazingly it was 2:55 at 30k, my body told me that i am ok to push the pace but i chose to suppress the desire. I have no trust to myself due to the lack of training. At 32k the familiar contraction did not happen. Not even a slight ticklish. At 3:05, i thot i have the chips to bet on a surprise sub 4 with a 5.5 pace. Musics kept me consistent and on target until all the runners from all categories congregated at the shear bridge. Zigzag thru the crowd was quite tormenting especially the momentum has broken n it's always tough to reestablish the pace again. Steep bridge too. Started to be more rough with the casual runners (no disrespect but bloody hell, they were chatting, courting n strolling) by nudging them aside. Tried to push harder at the last 2k but the time was already against me. But the feeling was great as i did a strong finish. Saw Tey at the finishing line n started to punch fist to the air coz simply amazing with the result. I think he thot i was clocking a sub four with such joyce.

How my body react puzzles me. All i managed to do after the disastrous PBIM was a 5k recovery run n a 10k relax run. Was it bcoz i hv no target at all made my body so relax? Possible. How your body react after 32k would determine the result. Nonetheless, i am still a realist who believe in hardwork will pay off. Gonna look fwd for the next race, if time permits.

'Hacking' the Nike+ System

2010-09-25T12:09:00.003+08:00

Picture paints a thousand words.

For those non-Nike shoe fans, but looking for a low cost system to log down the run with Nike+. Dr. Tan, specially made for you. Pls get your legs right n RUN!

1) The essentials.

2) Place the sensor into the bag. Ziplock bag would be ideal.

3. Roll it.

4. Slide it to any shoes. What's more, it's waterproof!

Warning: I did ever lost the sensor before with this method. So, don't be slack to tighten up your shoe lace, and make sure the bag has the length from top to bottom shoe lace. Above, the last pic is a perfect example.

Nike LunarElite Shoe Problem

2010-09-02T23:08:00.004+08:00

I bought the shoes last week for my coming marathons training. 1st day in my office, it perpetually causing a subtle of pain. It hurt the joint between my phalanges & metatarsal area. Once I took off the shoe at home, pls look what it has done to my feet below. I am sure it causes me severe blister if I run even a 10K with it? Or even injury?

Initially, I thought it's just because it's new but it still hurting today albeit subtly. Sometimes, the pain is akin to a needle poke. To me, it's a flaw product. I worn many shoes as a marathoner. This is the only shoes that causing such problem to me.

Think it has now become my expensive shopping shoe. Sent a mail to nikeplus@nikeupdates.com.sg to highlight about their product problem but receive no reply though. Heck...

StandChart KL Marathon 2010

2010-08-10T23:00:00.004+08:00

The training started 4mth ago. Keep tracking d runs with low cost but less reliable nike+. Not alwaz reliable though with d sometimes disconnected feature. Hate it when it happens! Total distance ~550km. So, here's wat happened on d race day.

Water droplets started to leave mark on my windshield. Drizzling. Turn my sight to d sky, it was painted with red at 4am. Oh great... Expecting a wet marathon ahead. That cooled my burning passion. Park d car at LG, get myself prepared with nike+, n stretched to d starting line. Oh, thunders. Followed by d the pour! Was looking 4 my sub4 pacer but all d pacers balloons were not in sight. Gun-off with d blessing rain. My nike+ sys was the 1st to receive d blessing. The rain put them to 'rest' eternally. Was then bz to resurrect them but in vain. Thats really disruptive to my pace. Hate it! Luckily, d music stayed alive.

Saw PM1 sped up n passed over me at 5th km. Guess all d balloon pacers started late somehow. I gave up my nike+. Without it n any sub4 pacer in sight, i jz follow my instinct with d km marker.

At 18km, toilet call. Failed to purge them completely b4 i left home n d residue haunted my stomach 4 a vengeance. Saw a SHELL station n settle d internal affair. I was quite confident though. My split at 10/21/32k were 0:55/1:52/2:52 n still feel strong. Thn, my calf gave d 1st subtle ticklish signal again. I was frustrated n puzzled y cramp still happen to me. Suddenly i saw LFS at front. Must b passing me by while i got tangled by my problematic nike+. It was like our 1st face 2 face meet as we merely xchg words via FB. Tagged him 4 a while but lost him totally whn d cramp emerged at greater force at 34k. It was 3:00. I thk it was a big mistake tat i decided to rest n massage my calf. I conclude tat only cost me d time, n its practically unhelpful to relief d cramp. Sh hv jz continue to run (n some advised sh hv run faster. Maybe, coz i still feel strong) to get over d cramp. The circumstance is best described as the car still has lots of petrol but the mechanical glitch fails d car.

Nonetheless, at 38k, time was 3:35, at bkt tunku double-hill compound. I somehow optimistic but d last stretch of hilly route n without any info abt my pace cost me d ultimate goal. Perhaps, i ran too cautiously not to eggravate the cramp. N i underestimate d final 1km too. Hallucination. I didn't expect to run another loop while dataran merdeka is already in sight! In fact, I somehow don't like to know the route in prior. Everythg seems too wrong n too late to get it right. 4:00:56 at finish line.

That 56s regret! Abt 200m away from d goal.

A huge sigh, but a greater lesson learnt perhaps. To be optimistic, i got a better idea on training method nxt time. Quality must prevails quantity.

My 1st Foldie Bike Trip - 09-11.07.2010

2010-07-27T22:45:00.023+08:00

Dahon MU P8

It's HW's fault for intro Dahon to me. Then, I kept looking for a reason to buy & I got one. "For the sake of my wife's health, I want her to exercise more". Perfect. Swiped the card and I saw the lucky number RM2,222.

Day 1, 91KM, Sg Buloh-Genting Sempah-Bentung-Chamang Waterfall
From Damansara Damai, we began our journey on the horrific traffic at 730 2wd genting sempah. Man, that following 20km gave a tough time 2 me n foldie, our 1st hill ride. Regrouped w km at d peak at 11am. After a break, v enjoyed the downhill speed 2wd bentong, then, another sun grilling 38km. Lunch at 1pm. 'Auntie, add rice pls!' I fell asleep on the restaraunt table, while km did some shopping on the street for tonite's dinner. gonna spend our nite in camping style besides chamang waterfall. At 3pm, off we headed to the campsite with another 8km of uphill. Gosh, it was a 'hill' day if not hell. Loniness surged whn i realised thr's no mobile network. Somehow, I felt so down. Missing every1 i love n care. Its tormenting. Perhaps, i hv been so attached to d so call civilization. Negative thoughts flocked in my mind. The day of so many climbs had filled me with doubt that i mite not be doing it again. Then, rain started to pour. The whole ambience blended well with the sorrow mood that immersed into me. At dinner, km suggested 2 make all d way 2 kkb tmr. Mean, d 3rd day could end shorter. That news cheers me up a bit. I was wori 4 d ppl who wori abt me. Such feeling has urged me 2 get home asap, or at least, contactable. Day 1, v wrapped up the 91km with a creative dinner from chef, and a great shelter. Light off at 10pm Zzz...

Foldie at Genting Sempah.

Chamang Waterfall. Water roars after the rain.

Our waterproof campsite. The perfect shelter we couldn't ask for more especially it rained later.

km, the chef. A warm hearted dinner. From left, tuna+vege+anchovies soup; fried tuna; rice.

km, the chef in action.

Exiting campsite. On our way to Fraser Hill.

Day 2, 92KM, Bentung-Fraser Hill (Gap)-KKB
We started off very late. 1st day fatigue had overwhelmed perhaps. At 830am only v started 2 move out frm chamang waterfall n had a brunch at a restraunt on d way. After that, we turned into a winding rd 2wd Jln simpang 55. A quiet n serenity place but still kind off steep 4 me. Poor km bore more loads with d tent n misc items. Well, only his bike equiqqed with travel bags, so... At 29km, v reach d junction to fraser hill. D sun is bloody fierce with the continous UV beaming. I cycled zig-zagly 2wd the tree shade at left and right. Its all d way up up n up in 2hr15 of gruelling butt-pain and mentally challeged to reach Gap, the border of Selangor & Pahang. Fortunately, thr's a food stall 4 lunch. Stomach grousing, sun burnt, n a shaken legs. Regroup w km an hr later. pity him 2c his load. After our lunch, we took a nap. Suddenly, i overheard someone murmured 'hujan'. i jetted up n waken km as the sky was indeed in bad mood. Wasted d spf50 tat i had applied earlier. It was a fruitful feeling when our bike just gliding down all the 20km. So glad. But d sky started to sneeze. Drizzle n d wind sent a chilling shockwave into my nerve. Shivering uncontrolably. After awhile, all d bad weather disappeared. We ejy n nice shaddy sky but then, right after passing by Chilling waterfall, d initial campsite tat we planned 2 stay over nite, mother of rain greeted us again. our bike almost blown away by the strong father of wind. So damn lucky, thr was a pondok 1k away. All wet n sharing shelter w asli kids. V continued once d rain has stopped. A scenic view of kkb dam serves our sight. Felt d tranquility tat wil nvr b found in d bustling city life. V reach kkb at 6pm and chk in a RM30 hostel. After settling ourselves, v wander ard d small town. km reminded me that kkb is at 250ft. Kinda high land and surrounded by hills. D air n d weather were refreshing. craved 4 satay! Pulled d feverish km 2 eat 2gether. Sweet comes after bitter. That summed up Day 2.

Genting Highland was in our sight from Bentung.

Had a break at Raub-Bentung border. Puffing hard already.

The junction that we were looking for...

It's UP UP UP!

km's 'dashboard'.

Winding road. And steep too.

Jz like any other highland area, tanah runtuh is here n there.

Foldie made it! At GAP only ;-) The 'engine' surrendered to the next 10K steeper Fraser Hill Top.

Blessed by the rain??? Thank God there's a shelter not far away.

We were at KKB dam reservoir.

It's DOWN DOWN DOWN!!!

A satisfied smile.

That RM30 hostel. Check out that half roasted 'drumstick'!

Day 3, 56KM, KKB-Rawang-Kuang-Sg Buloh
Woke up frm a gd nite sleep at 7 n out 4 roti canai bfast. Gosh, its been a yr+ since i hv roti canai n teh tarik as my meal. We paddled the wheel at 830 twd rawang. Stopby 2 ask 4 direction n a bypasser directs us 2 go nkve n exit sg buloh. Kmeng is vry much resisting d idea. Highway is xtremely hazardous 4 him. While v dun hv other options, i try 2 allay his concern tat sunday, less cars. Somehiw, his instict urged him 2 ask a nangka seller while v r on d way. She pointed us an off road, twd kuang-sg buloh via a oil palm estate. I felt skeptic so I on my gps, chk d rd, oh, can do. Off v go. An estate rd indeed! Hilly, oil palm trees at both sides, cow dang, tribes of monkey and of coz winding rd. Sun ray flashed us at max. Thk I made a correct decision to put on a long sleeve. though stuffy but sure better than burnt. Managed 2 stopby at Kuang town 4 a refreshing coconut. Then, we nvr stop until sg buloh. At Bandar Sg Buloh, we were back 2 d main rd! Final destination is not far away but cant b slack on safety still. Sharing d road w reckless lorry n car drivers is no joke. Finally, reach dmsara damai at 12noon in 1 piece! Another safe journey that I have the chance to tell the story.

The Dawn at KKB town. Peacefully quiet.

From Rawang, sneak into an oil palm estate into Kuang.

The refreshing coconut.

The end of the journey. And, of coz, the foldie is in the car's bonnet.

The CNY is coming. So does the Almond Cookies!

2010-02-01T13:49:00.002+08:00

Getting the ingredients ready and off we go. It's so easy to do the Almond Cookies but it's very painful to get the sugar powder, Bienetta.

My nikeplus log for 2009

2010-01-05T23:16:00.002+08:00

Hippie Nude yr!

I have been running to prop up my motivation at work. So far, it does the trick on me. A new yr resolution in 2010 would be a sub 4 Marathon!

Nikeplus product has been a really good companion. But, there's a setback recently where the receiver keeps disconnected from ipod. That's very frustrating. Plan to join a running session which organized by Nike at Orchard, and make them aware of such problem. From the www forums, it seems that I am not alone.

Education in Malaysia

2009-11-20T02:13:00.004+08:00

Please tell us something we don't know...

Deja vu. Came across this write out & this write out recently. It reminisces of my passed education experience during my secondary & my horrifying pre-U.

Brain drain is not a new issue. Gov just not gives a damn abt it. Thus, it's natural that those creme de la creme from Malaysia 'reciprocate' it by emigrating to AUS & SG.

A recent news of a MNC pulled the plug to invest in Penang due to CM can't guarantee the number of highly talented engineers is saddening. That proves a point that, the gov screwed up the educational system, big time.

A recent news that a Malaysia's deputy education minister has said that speaking English in the workplace is "weird" and harmful to the culture and identity is absurd. It makes my hair stands to see such short-sighted vision human resource is running the existing education system. A China colleague once told me that, culture & identity is secondary. Cari makan is the priority. True. No?

CCG 2.5KM x 4 relay - 25.10.2009

2009-10-26T14:03:00.007+08:00

The competition route at Bedok Reservoir.

My timing & pace.

For the past 4 wk, I had been following a training pgm from a colleague. Seems it really improves my sprint. We got 2nd overall in Mix Team category with 41min23s (2.5KM x 4). 1st place is RBS with all angmo lineup at around 39min+.

Well, we will be back next yr for a vengeance.

Eunice reminded me that I only have exactly 6wk for StandChart Marathon! Gosh, I have totally neglected any long distance training. Im in deep shit indeed ;-(

PAUM-NUSS alumni games - 24.10.2009

2009-10-26T13:31:00.006+08:00

We are sister campus and will be holding similar event annually. We will compete each other in games like soccer, golf, squash etc to get our campus name stamped on a trophy. Met my fellow UM compatriots for the badminton games. With some talented foreign players, NUSS is a tough opponents to beat. A match between our top pair against theirs was very fun and thrilled to watch. The deciding games ended in 28-26, NUSS won it. Nonetheless, we did OK and won 5-2 overall in badminton.

Me and Yik Siong reached a milestone too! As a scratch pair, it's the 1st time ever we stretched the match to the max and won it at 30-29! Unbelievable.

At the end, UM managed to edge over NUSS by 4-3 in overall games.

At dinner time, NUSS's hospitality permeated into every member in the Kent Ridge Guild Hall with a fabulous dinner. Free flow of beers, fun entertainment and great foods. What an event that I wish to join every yr. Next yr would be our 25th anniversary. See you all at Melaka!

Hope UM can organize an event that could match NUSS's standard though.

Gn Korbu - 18-21.09.2009

2009-09-22T23:09:00.011+08:00

It's been a long awaited trip since my last visit to Gn Batu Putih. My changing life has keeping me away from the mountains.

18Sep09
Departed from PJ at 430am. A highway jam & Tiger's forgotten shoes caused us to be late but luck was very much with us. While we started our journey at Sultan Abdul Aziz Dam , 1145am, SKeng showed us what she did best in europe, hitch-hiking. A 4WD indeed stopped for us and drove us to the start point. It's a flat barren wide area where the construction to deepen the riverbed for the dam is undergoing. That saved us a precious 1.5hr by foot. Knowing a team of 40 ppl were heading off for the same peak earlier did made our goal to reach the Korbu & Gayong became bit uncertain. I did foresee we will be competing for space.

We rushed ourselves to Seroja Camp in 4hr. 13 tents + some 'preoccupied' space were there! Full house. An eye opening for such large scale hiking troop. When I found out how they organized their trip, I was amazed. They are not really a team but it comprises of groups and individuals where look-after-yourself manner was being practised. No permit, no guides. Wow... Choose not to be overzelous to give comment to them coz it might just backfire ourselves. Knowing it's imposibble to squeeze the camp site, KM ordered us to go on full speed for the next camp site, Kijang camp. The tent bearers attacked the steeps at full force with aim to setup the tents asap b4 the rain and nite come.

We reached Kijang Camp at 515pm. The trail was infested with leeches! I really bothered by it. The men did a 'bare all healthcheck' to each other. I shouldn't wear a to-be-thrown underwear. The grip is important to prevent those quirky leeches from COMING IN! I've got 3 hits at sensitive part! 1st time! Darn... Other than that, it's a nice camp site for 3 tents with the stream just besides us. Taking bath at higher altitude really test my guts coz of the icy cold water. But the feeling of wanting a clean body overwhelmed the doubt. And it really felt great after that.

As usual, ALing led the kitchen. Can u ever imagine having herbal chicken for dinner while camping? Then GW showed off his dessert skill with red bean soup. YUMMY! At the dinner, captain KM decided that we should be realistic and abandoned Gayong attempt coz the team as whole, wasn't moving fast enough. I can see why and respected that. Gayong summit is another 2hr back n fro from Korbu summit. I poked Tiger we should go for it ourselves. He grinned. We both know thats a joke! Im no more the person who MUST conquers all the G7 peaks. I enjoy more hanging out with the gang as a OX reunion. The latter is surely more fulfilling spiritually.

The nite was kind. No rain but the temperature in my tent did heat up with 5 ppl. Leong unzipped the tent's cover for air flow when he couldn't hold it anymore, but that also invited the notorious sand flies. My legs & hands are still with their itchy redish love bites.

19Sep09
Next morning, KM had instructed Tiger & Leong together with an Asli to lead Jason & Nicole for the peak with aim to balance the team's summit arriving time. The Asli is the most helpful guide I've ever seen so far. Im sure Nicole appreciates still to Jawavit coz he really led her at every step to the summit. The rest was left behind to clean up & pack up at the site. We only moved at 10am and it was all steep ascents! At the same moment, a lady from the 40ppl arrived at our camp site. She was the pioneer/infantry for the 40ppl group. Her task? Plotting papers with a fat man pic on it while she passed by some tricky paths that need to be clearly indicated as the route to the summit. I think that really help the rest of her group from getting lost coz they don't move in group.

At last water point, after all of us filled up 3L, KM passed me an additional fly sheet to carry. Just abt to start my grumbling, I swallowed it back instantly as I learnt he was going to volunteerly carry 5L of water! Salute. TBK and I then really pushed ourselves to chase the front pack to regroup. Managed to meet Tiger & Leong back at botak hill point in 40min. Then, it's all up up up & puff puff puff thru the mossy forest. The terrain is really challenging with some dangerous steep climbs. Some parts, we have to step on slippery tree brunches with rope in order to overcome a 3M high rocky slope. Sort of rock climbing stunts. Some teamates did struggle with what KM dubs it '5 star' rated routine.

At last, the tent bearers reached the top at 245pm. And, we have every luxury time to choose a camp site for our team. We settled down a site with all the plants fenced us around. That really blocked the chilly winds at nite, not mentioning a perfect privacy. All teamates reached at 4pm. Weather was unpredictable with dizzle and sunshine exchanging role. Not a huge issue anymore by then, coz all tents and the kitchen were ready. Just checked in! The chefs cooked curry chicken, lady fingers, warm hearted soup for dinner. Damn nice. Surprisingly, it was a stary nite but still windly. The nite almost freezed us at 12C. I wonder how did 40ppl squeeze themselves with the limited camp space. Well, I was sure the dust will settle eventually though. Some of them even arrived as late as 6pm!

20Sep09
Today, we plan to decend all the way to the starting point. A 9hr walk. After regroup at Camp Kijang, KM imposed a speed limit to us so that we all moved in group. That made me uncomfortable mentally & physically. Mentally, I really want to reach the next camp asap to rest earlier & physically, im not used to walk in slow pace and stop too much coz that actually added more pressure to my toes for too much braking while going downhill. Not to complicated KM's decision, I comply but was moody along the way. Nonetheless, I know captain was doing the rite thing to safeguard everyone. 630PM, finally, we were back to the barren construction field, a perfect place for camping, with a shallow river aside for water & bathing. Yes, bathe!!! It was a fun nite as everyone as in relax mood. Throwing out jokes & teases at full force.

21Sep09
Oh man, 1.5hr walk out. Weren't we so lucky to meet the uncle who gave us a free ride on day 1. Thank God. Everyone is safe. It's a perfect way to end the trip. Later, a group of us went for Tualang Prawn. Another authentic Malaysia food. Very nice at a very reasonable price. I would rate Korbu the 3rd toughest peak. After Tahan, and Chamah.

Running shoes vs muscle cramp

2009-07-05T15:07:00.008+08:00

At Sundown, I ran with Asics GT2130. My feet were sore and my both thighs cramped!

At the recent to-be-improved SCKLM, I wore Adidas Supernova Glide. My calfs and a very seldom heard muscle set (it was either Adductor Longus or Gracilis muscle) cramped! Even, there was a mild contraction at my face muscle, around my jaw area (buccinator I guess). Funny...

My running posture got to be a constant. So, it's down to my shoes. Perhaps, how both shoes absorb and distribute the impact to our legs are very different.

Which shoes is better? I believe it's by individual. For now, I will personally stick to Asics & Adidas still.

My SCKLM 2009 Official Result - Whr's My Official Split Time!

2009-07-02T17:04:00.004+08:00

The blunder continues. Only finishing time is stated. Then, what for each runner went thru the DAG stations ler...

And the event is getting HOTTER too from media. But I still hopeful for a better marathon next yr. I will be back.

SCKLM 2009 - My Best at the Worst

2009-06-29T13:50:00.006+08:00

Woke up late. Then, took me 15min to put on contact lenses. Gosh, eyes too small, hard la. The lenses are as big as my eyes liao.

Then, heavy rain poured at 415. We are dead, I murmured. Relieved when I reached Lake Garden. It's a dry road. It was 450, gotta speed to starting line. So, techinically, I have been running 43.125km that day ;-) Heard the gun shot when I was 200m away and drizzling. So, it's quite cool to be the last person to start from the finishing line.

Saw Tey, then Kenglu, joey, joey's dad (he was bz looking back for his daughter, so I didnt interrupt), songxiang, malcom, leelee before I crossed the finishing line.

iPod earphone gave me problem this time. Lost the music at 2oth k. So lonely after that. While at 30th, found a runner who ran at my pace. We paced each other till the end. Forget to get this name. Many thanks for his pacing. It's the 1st time that I finish the run strongly.

Forget abt 1 of the worst running event, this is my best finishing, period.

Split time: 10k-20k-30k-42k is 1:02-2:07-3:05-4:22

Oh ya. I also earned a free dinner in Spore too! Thx Tiger.

Ranting on SCKLM 2009

2009-06-29T13:17:00.003+08:00

By now, all complaints are flooding facebook network. To call the organizer Octagon as OtakGone, is classic!

What do runners want in a running event? SAFETY, WATER, SMOOTH RACE KIT COLLECTION. Those are basics expectation but the organizer screwed it up big time.

Since nobody died, runners can't complain that it's not safe. Maybe, even the JPJ is powerless to control the drivers in Msia. In many occasions, even traffic police stops them, the drivers will still drive bases on their on judgement. 'Oh, the runner still 10M away from me, let me cross 1st. Can, I just pickup!' Vrooom... they took off 5M in front of us.

Above is an old story. It happens in every BIG running event in KL. That's KL marathon is abt. To show you the true KL! KL, truly Asia...

But at least, after Octagon took over to organise, we the runners are expecting something different. Maybe comparable to Spore. They end up nowhere near.

It started to impress me by offering ONLINE registration with credit card pymt & some good advertisement around Msia. Good start.

But then, the stink choked us at Race kit collect & water station. Nobody likes to Q long under a hot tropical weather. Nobody likes to feel a-fish-out-of-water where all the precious liquid 'ransacked' by those 10K (and 5k???) at the last 2 water stations! That's me who clocked abt 4h30m. I can't imagine those timing who are later than me where number empty water stations grows. Pity.

Pissed me off further is, once I crossed the line, me, a god damn thirsty marathoner still have to walk far, fought Q with 5/10K for a cup of 100+!!! And, where the hell is the promised complimentary massage station!!! I can't find it!!!

Damn.

My Official Sundown Timing

2009-06-07T17:31:00.004+08:00

Crazy man! Really overspeed at the 3rd 10KM. 51min! But, in order to get sub 4, I think it was a promising timing at 30KM. Obviously, lack of longer run training.

Lowering down my target in SCKLM. 4hr15min ;-)

Sorry for those who want/wish me to do sub 4. Just being realistic. NO TIME TO TRAIN la...

Adidas Supernova Glide

2009-06-04T21:17:00.004+08:00

Specifically designed for a man’s stride, the popular Supernova™ Glide is a versatile indoor/outdoor cushioned running shoe. GEOFIT™ construction provides a custom fit and FORMOTION™ technology adapts to each foot strike for a smooth, natural heel-to-toe transition. The seamless upper ensures breathable comfort, while the adiPRENE® midsole insert provides forefoot propulsion and efficiency. The dual-layer, antimicrobial insole enhances comfort and prevents odor. The adiWEAR® outsole promises reliable traction on a variety of terrain.

I go back to Adidas Supernova series this time. I had a very fond memory with this model. My previous pair got stolen. Once I slipped into it, yes, I could feel it will not disappoint me. Officially appointing it as my SCKLM racing shoes.

At Queensway, Adidas shoes is no more offered at 30%. Max is 25% now. Gosh... wonder what happen! Aren't we having recession now?

Price: SGD129 (after -25%)

If friends visit me in Spore, I will bring them to EAT at...

2009-06-04T21:01:00.003+08:00

We have been pampered with all kinds of great foods back in Msia, so, it's hard to find something that suit Msian's taste buds here. At least, something that we can't find back in our own hometown.

Here's some of my favorites so far:
1) Paulaner beers. Seldom drink other beers since I tried this. Blends well with other German foods. Sun/Mon/Tue, the beers are 1-for-1. Thanks, recession.
2) Holland V XO Fish Soup @Chinatown. Authentic spore dish.
3) Pu Tien Restaurant@Vivo. Authentic dishes from China.

p/s: Mr High Class SAP Manager, the menu is above.

Sundown ended with a Sunrise

2009-06-03T23:40:00.012+08:00

I tried to be greedy in this run. Eagerly to test out what's my actual endurance in a long run with a bit speed. I found a good pacer. A lady. She ran so steady with her consistent pace. Then, suddenly, she slowed down at 21th. I can't 'wait for her' coz ahhem, I am married ;-) In fact, I actually had speed up without noticing it.

I was doing well until 33KM, the pain & cramp were back to haunt me. Whacked 1 pack of gel at each 10th KM seems a redundant effort. It didn't help to hold back the cramp. Not to mention, that lady strolled over me like the famous 'tortoise'. Yes, I was the 'hare' indeed. If I have more patience, maybe the timing would be very different.

Worse, my nikeplus was giving me a wrong reading. The distance read faster by 2KM. Time to calibrate la... And the iPod, it saved the best for last by failing to detect the signal and went into DISCONNECTED stage to the nikeplus device! Darn. Must be the sweat that had interfered with the nikeplus receiver.

Strangely, this is the 1st time I felt immense soreness on my feet with Asics GT2130 on. Time to have a new pair?

My time? 4hr32min. Shrug...

That distance should be 37KM, at the time of the transmission disruption.

Of coz, the highlight of this event is to witness our FIRST (& Im very sure the ONLY too) OX ULTRAWOMAN, Chui Miew.

When she replied the reporter (oh ya, forget to check on ST newspaper) that she felt can still run 1 more KM, I felt like @#$%^*& her... Big achievement for her. Clap clap.

Isn't that 1st photo is cool? If the organizer can guarantee me a shot of such, I mite think of joining. LOL.

The Sundown Race is on Tonite!

2009-05-29T23:13:00.005+08:00

Since last wk's 20KM, I have been hibernating. Carbo loading since Tue, now, feel like a bit overdone. Man, my little tummy just slip out!

A great day today. Went to GNC shop to buy some gels. Trying out the GU gel for the 1st time. Met up a lady at the counter who offered her membership card to me, so that I am entitled to 1-for-1 deal for the GU gels. How kind. So touched. Bought 4 packs. 1 each for an hour interval! Gotta pamper myself with better energy distribution this time. Hope cramp would stay away.

Had a dinner with Ameba, Rwen & Jason today. OX fish soup at Chinatown.

Tomorrow, can't wait to put on the shoes and run under the stary night. I hope it will be a stary night.

I've got my Sundown Marathon Race Pack

2009-05-23T22:32:00.005+08:00

A thicker fabric than last yr. Wont be revealing your nipples anymore. I like the vest very much.

My bib. I pin it at my work place. After a further 20KM today, can't wait for this coming wkend run.

Finally, I did it under 30min!

2009-04-23T22:09:00.002+08:00

Perhaps, my legs boosted by the LSD?

I ofthen run back home from office. It's abt 7K. Treat it as recovery run or speed run. My best timing was 30:30.

Today, did it at 29:50! Finally...

My 1st back-to-back LSD wkend

2009-04-23T21:52:00.003+08:00

Urged by desperation, forced myself to get up at 430am last Saturday. I felt like zombie. Just reach PJ from Spore at 1am. What to do, I have a 'date' with ameba.

She thanked me for pace with her, but I thanked her too. In fact, her pace is my pace. Just nice. Felt so good upon finish. I was wet, head to toe. Enjoyed so much to gulp down the 100+ non-stop. Once hit my bed, slept until 5pm after punishing my body. Rest well for the next day.

At nite, ameba sent me a text, she wants to do 30KM. I told her I surrender and she replied it was actually a joke. The fact on the next day is, no joke. She did 30K. Salute. At the end, the 100+ liquid made me felt so good again. It was a trophy winning feeling.

The Southern Ridges Run

2009-04-13T19:22:00.005+08:00

Long heard abt this trail but never have the thought of running it thru as almost every wkend, I will either back in Msia, or meet up running friend at ECP.

Until last Sunday, after I was back from Bali with extra kilos and then pampered myself with movies (Fast&Furious 4 is GOOD), the sin overwhelmed me and with sudden urge, I decided to try out The Southern Ridges which comprises a 9-kilometre chain of green, open spaces spanning the rolling hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park before ending at West Coast Park where I am staying now.

9KM. But I ended up with 25KM.

First, I went into a long wrong way in HortPark, running against Kent Ridge Park. Had to ask an angmo for the way out. Then, I did merry-go-round at Canopy Walk (suppose I should be heading towards West Coast Park by now) which I ended up following the trail to Science Park I. Sought for direction from a stranger on how to get out from the 'remote' area. It was until I ran thru a winding road along South Buona Vista Rd, I finally seeing familiar scene ahead, it's connecting back to Pasir Panjang Rd that will eventually led me to West Coast area.

Managed to ran thru all the above tourist spots. Each site is uniquely designed for nature lovers' convinient. Singapore is indeed a very well organized beautiful Garden City. But, I guess it's the human nature. When you have less, you tend to appreciate more. Less-is-more is utterly true in this context.

8wks to go for Sundown

2009-04-06T22:07:00.005+08:00

Trying hard to have more consistent training this time for Sundown.

Wanted to join PM1's gang but, it was too much for me to get up when my bus arrived Pudu at 1am. With Ameba going back to hometown (probably bring someone home too) for parents, I've turned my hope to Tey as my running companion last Saturday.

Fortunately he's available even after running 20K on Saturday. Very very lucky to have him paced with me. Extremely lucky when I needed tissue paper the most, he had it in his pouch! Don't ask too details. Embarassing. For those who might smell something awful around Tijani2, I am really sorry. It was an extremely urgent call that I must reply. At the verge liao.

At least, 20K is a comfortable distance for me now. Hope to push for 25/30K this Sunday, after Im back from a short Bali vacation. SGD50 back and fro airfare is hard to resist.

Gotta plan carefully my schedule from now on. Every wkend is crucial! I can't miss a single wkend LSD from now on!

It's my vow for this marathon preparation. 8wks to go. Im a bit excited.

Homebake Almond Cookie

2009-02-15T21:54:00.014+08:00

I never thought doing this yummy cookie is that easy.

Ingredients:
100g Bienetta sugar flour mixture
250g Fresh Almond Flakes
Wax paper
Mix half of Bienetta with almonds.

Stir to mix it evenly. You can add a pinch of salt if you like a bit of salty taste.

Distribute the mixture EVENLY onto the wax paper. Try to avoid using mahjong paper, else, it will stick to the paper after taken out from oven. Then, sprinkle the other half of Bienetta to 'close the gap'. As it contains sugar, once heated, it melts and becomes the base.

Bake abt 20min with 150C in the oven until it about to turn brownish.

Taa dah...

Once taken out from oven, while it's hot and still soft, use a knife to cut into grid line. Then, let it gets harden.

The final product!

This is the 'mouse' of course.

Detaching Nike+ from Nike shoes

2009-02-05T23:33:00.007+08:00

Nike+ product is a marvellous product, but without the shoes.

After relentless google, I have found some ideas from the net & youtube about ways to detach Nike+ from Nike shoes in the most economic way.

I feel this is the best for me, a Nike+ Sensor in a ziploc bag, fold it and slot it thru the shoelace like below. What's more, it's weatherproof and no issue of discomfort. To have 100% accuracy, just calibrate it.

Now, every shoes is Nike+ Enabled!

I don't want any medals or event tees

2009-01-26T16:27:00.005+08:00

I never mind paying for a race.

The event organizer has to mobilize resource/volunteers to ensure the road safety & water stations; the cost to apply for road permit perhaps; also a sum must have been gone to pakcik JPJ who deserve the credit/OT indeed.

But, I personally never intended to keep the medal or wear the event tee. As such, I always deem these 2 items are 'rubbish' to me. I hope I know there's a way to recycle those medals & those singlets or finisher tees. Furthermore, the size of the tees often give me a surprise. Although some registration form has been thoughtful to emphasize that it's base on 'Asian-Size', the final actual size can be still smaller or bigger.

I have a thought. What if the organizer give some discount on those who wants to opt out for tees & medal? Or, they can keep the medal and tees for themselves, I don't mind. It's more environment friendly.

Great Eastern 30K - 18.01.2009

2009-01-23T03:42:00.004+08:00

Can somebody pass me a steel bar? I want to bite! Arrgh...

I thought I wont get cramp in 30K. I thought the Phiten will work its magic. Diet didn't care much too. I started to get mild cramp at 25K and it was under 2hr05min. Gosh, I thought I was on the way to hit 2hr30min. I was so wrong. When the cramp aggravated at the last 2KM, it also dashed my hope to clock under 2hr45min.

What happen? I am not really sure. Frens said coz the route is very challenging with camel backs but I don't feel the hills causing trouble to me, except after I got cramp. I didn't even feel my heart had worked hard. I am aware I started with fast pace, and I did try to slow down after 15KM. Perhaps, back to the basics, not-enough-training. But for sure, I wont be running with Nike shoes for any distance above 20KM.

Ended with 2hr49min. Even Ameba over took me... Arrrgh... Where's the steel bar!??

那些在远方的朋友们。。。

2009-01-23T03:06:00.003+08:00

上了一下Facebook，才知道有个朋友人在Angola工作了。真的时撞鬼了。什么鬼地方啊？看样子应该是在那过'黑'历新年了。没法子啦，工钱多，而且公司是当初自己选的。没什么好怨。本来，我是很羡慕他有着一份高薪的工作。不过，上了一些年纪，结了婚，真的比较希望settling down的工作。That's the tradeoff.

另一个朋友，毕业不久，就只身去到Canada，也不清楚在那搞什么，直到现在，才晓得当了个老师。看样子，应该会在哪呆很久了。在大学，我非常欣赏他，看定他未来肯是有一番作为的白领人士。结果，好大的差异。家庭观念满重的我，其实好想问他是否想家。。。当初是什么事情让他有了这样子的一个决定，选择。

珍重吧，我远方的朋友。Happy 牛 Year!

My new Nike+ sensor

2009-01-07T21:48:00.006+08:00

Yes. I lost my previous one. Dont ask me how. I wish to know too! %^&*(@#$

Was very upset initially coz I thought I have to buy a new whole set, which includes with the Receiver that still attach to my ipod nano. By luck, I saw this place sells the sensor separately! The purchasing experience is at ease. Paid by credit card, indicated the delivery address & mobile numb, DONE!

The customer service didn't just stop there. Their delivery system kept me updated with the delivery status, via email & SMS! Apple Store is brilliant! They have a very good backend system that supporting their biz very well I guess. Coz, I am a very happy customer!

I hope my system is impressing customers too.

Do you know how does Nike+ Sensor work? Click here Overall, it's a very simple gadget with a good software to translate the data at http://www.nikeplus.com/. I like simplicity. That's why, I don't think I will throw in my bucks for Polar S625X. Not yet. But for sure, not Garmin GPS Forerunner. The idea of recharging its battery that last only 8hr isnt appealing to me.

My gadget should serve me, not the other way!

Updated:
Guess what I found!!! This is cool -> How to use Nike+ sports kit WITHOUT Nike shoes!

That 7,000 calories Xmas Dinner!

2009-01-05T21:35:00.006+08:00

For food lovers, I am proudly present you "My Xmas Dinner' as shown below.

Our starter:
corn + spinach + cream soup. 5-star taste.

Main course(s):
Turkey with stuffing + bacons. All were being further 'fine tuned' by the host. 5-star.
Salad that made of Capsicum+ apricot + Italian vinegar + secret recipe. 5-star.
Hams with cherry. Can't finish. Tah pao some more. 5-star.
Sushi from Sake Sushi. 5-star.

Wine:
Tyrrels Vat 1 semillion 2006 (from Hunter Valley). Splendid! 5-star.

If this article is correct, then, I really need to run more laps to get rid of extra yet expected calories. Base on my weight, I have to run about 100KM to clear all these exessive 7,000 calories!

Anyway, what a great gathering it was. The people who Me & wifey spent time with are far more fulfilling than those food. It's the ppl who bring the food together, not the food bring the ppl together.

What da heck! Merry Xmas again ;D

GE 30K Simulation Run

2009-01-04T10:58:00.002+08:00

Suppose to join Ameba & PM1 for the run on Sat. But, I overslept! Must be the Baileys the nite before... Felt so guilty not to run coz I must hit 30K by now.

Luckily, got to know Tey & Jamie will be running on Sun. Guess what, I didn't (can't) sleep the whole nite! Not that I don't want to! Think sh be due to the chilled Nescafe I had after dinner. At 4am, had 2 homemade Pao, a Milo and reach at 5am to meet Tey.

'Assume' Split time:
9KM - 1hr02
18KM - 1hr50
27KM - 2hr44

Punctured at 23KM. Right thigh started to contract! Darn. Blame the Nike Zoom Victory. I hardly feel the cushion. Soreness built up around my ankles. Lack of shock absorption had transferred the stress to my knees too, eventually, thighs. It is my own synopsis but I think it makes sense.

Of coz I don't rule out the main reason to puncture was due to my muscle was not 'fresh' at all... It's now 24hr now I didn't sleep. Good, once I got on the bus later at 4pm, reaching Spore needs only a brink of my eyes... Just hope I won't snore on the bus ;-)

你是真忙，装忙还是瞎忙?

2008-12-30T21:46:00.004+08:00

Are you really busy(真忙)? Pretend to be busy(装忙)? Or just being fuss around(瞎忙)?

It's such a common organization behavior.

MALAKOFF 12KM 2008 - 21.12.2008

2008-12-23T22:45:00.008+08:00

It has been a while I am missing from Msia's road race. Always, timing not right or having other priority. All OX somehow not even 1 in joining this event. Probably due to the RM30/40 registration fee. Ya, it's not cheap. But to me, I need a race to feel again the joy of crossing a finish line.

I brought along a new toy to the race, Nike+. Never before I logged down my own running pattern.

I am happy with my unofficial timing, 55:33. Graph above tells all. Trapped in the flock of surging cavalry once race started. Darn, I really couldn't get what is in some runners' mind. If you want to tuck yourself in front of the running pack, then please start to run once you cross the starting line la. Somehow they just start to WALK! Arggh, next time, I will choose to stand in front! Right after I got away from the jam, a steep accent followed.

Many said it's a boring route but I don't mind. Just make sure the safety and there's sufficient water station, I wont complain. Although, it's true this is a camel back's route. Saw PM1 500M before making the 1st U-turn. Damn fast. Knowing his finishing time is abt 49Min. A big room for improvement if I am able to be more discipline, which is the hardest part ;D

Next, the GE30K. Should meet some new runners in Spore asap else, I will have to train alone.

Hapi 1st Anniversary!

2008-12-06T14:33:00.003+08:00

Cheers!

Time flies in light speed. Don't ask me how do I feel abt marriage. I can't be frank here ;-D But, I do feel it's feasible for university to intro a new management subject calls Marriage Management.

Celebrating this mandatory yet wonderful event in 1 of my favorite western restaurants - Paulaner Bräuhaus. To be exact, I only go for its beer - Munich Lager. FANTASTIC! The Curve has 1 too.

That's the 0.5L Munich Lager.

German sausages.
Dessert - Crispy crunchy Silverfish.

Still feel quite unbelievable. Never thought I would get married so soon actually. Maybe my residing hairlines told me so. Hard to have someone who you really sure can spend together for lifetime. Made some bad investments over the years. Luckily, I got my marriage right! Haha.

缘.

I feel blessed.

Gosh... I bought NIKE+

2008-11-19T01:16:00.004+08:00

Cost me another SGD50. Eventually, I spent SGD175 on NIKE product over the weekend. Maybe I think that during a worse recession next yr, I wont dare to buy anything, so, spend now la. It consists only 2 simple components. A sensor and a receiver.
1 thing that Im sure going to find out is, how technically the gadget work. Then, will try to attach the sensor to any other shoes. Does anyone ever attempted before?

Legs still sore after sunday's 20km run. So, try it for the 1st time just to collect data. As usual, started from office and end at home. The ipod readings as follow:
Distance: 6.9KM
Time: 33:25
Pace: 4:49min/km
Calories: 430 (gosh, Im 60kg now)

Shoes... IN and OUT

2008-11-17T00:13:00.008+08:00

God damn it!
My Adidas Supernova Cushion 7 got stolen! Cursing hard the thief... Such a great shoes! Light, responsive, ventilated, comfort and cushioned. Bought at SGD127 last time.

Decided not to buy back the same shoes so that I can try on other. Somehow, this shoes just caught my eyes with its innovative design. Look really nice, Nike Zoom Victory+. SGD125. Took it to ECP for a 18KM 'ride. Narrow toe area. Sole is hard for my feet. Guess it's more like a shopping shoes for me now. Perhaps, a few more run it will fit more to my feet.

Months ago, bought an Asics GT2130 at SGD120, 40% disc. It should be my main racing shoes for now. Once, tried it on 30KM LSD. Light, responsive with cushion. Happy with it.

Do think of buying another pair specifically for training. I am thinking for AdiStar. My last pair of AdiStar Control left some fond memory with me. Great cushion. I felt my feet is proctected. Though it's heavier, but not a problem to me. The weight is good during training.

Take my strides back to the road

2008-10-27T10:24:00.005+08:00

Bothered by ever change project schedule. Bombarded by a series of RED BOOM in Dec too. Decided not to register any run. But I really miss Penang's running event. To be exact, I miss Penang Foods! Still remember my 1st Penang race where I endured the stomach pain after halfway coz was carrying some kilos of shit with me. Too much food the day before even though had it released before the run started.

Have been running at least a time at wk day. Running back from office to West Coast. Appox 7/8KM within 35min. Then, thanks to Rwen's companion at ECP for 20K. Really love the route with greens, pretty ladies, sea breeze and Old Town White Coffee that we eventually had our breakfast. Home sick? Just feel the same shop in Msia has the better taste.

The following week, back to Msia and found some 30K kakis for weekend. On Fri nite, I had some alcohol and it made me headache when I woke up at 5am. Abandoned the plan to run with ameba and Choi. I should stop thinking that I am still young la...

Luckily, Tey and Grace did plan to run on Sunday. Didn't have breakfast! Found there's no hot water for a Milo too, so, just left la.Made no mistake to be there on time. So nice in meeting them since my wedding. At least, keep myself updating abt the running circle there. Finished my run in 1hr50min. Wanted to wait for Grace and Tey but I was just too hungry and left.

I start to wonder if the Phiten really works in reducing tiredness? Since I put it on, I have yet to get any cramp! Sure hope it works on me.

My new Gadget

2008-09-29T20:45:00.005+08:00

LIVESTRONG™ STRAIGHT JACKET® (ASIAN FIT)

Lost my sunglass in NY last year. Have been thinking of a replacement since but in vein. I wanted something meaningful to me. Something that would spur me on, as an inspiration & aspiration.

It's so ironic. While I read his book, "It’s not about the bike, My journey back to life", I told myself to get ready with cancer, and must fight & win it like Lance. My family gen trait does have cancer history. Few months after that, my dad suddenly being diagnosed with leukemia. Somehow, I didn't feel sad, but rather, disappointed with the Dr.'s verdict. I tried to keep emotion at bay. I set my mind like a robot, focus the problem, and try to solve it. Now, I am a bit regret for not showing enough emotion towards him.

Can't wait to run under the sun with my new shades. Thanks ya, Tiger.

Bali Honeymoon Dive

2008-09-08T22:01:00.017+08:00

It's my 3rd visit already.

We went diving at Tulamben and Nusa Penida. Great diving experience to me but not for my wife. She had equalisation problem which I thought she has get rid of it. She's already an Advance but I wasnt with her during her course! Just got to know that her instructor had given her a drib of sudafed directly to her ear before 1st dive of each dive trip.

An instructor fren that I just met told me that it's not appropriate to do that. Reason? Sudafed will wear off by time and divers might have difficulty to equalize during the ascent! Worst, eardrum burst. So, I am really skeptical if wifey should do diving again or not. And, she quitted without any REFUND! Man, I am a bit pissed off with the diveshop.

Tulamben
It wasn't on its best that day. Visibility was abt 15m. But still able to spot cuttlefish, ghost/robust pipefish, pygmy seahorse etc.

Cystal Bay
The Mola Mola encounter happened the next day at Cystal Bay, Nusa Penida. It was a cloudy morning. News was that some divers had seen them 4 days in a row. I prayed for the lucky number 5. My wish was granted.

Water was cold towards the cleaning station, 24C. 3mm wet suit was futile in defending the heat outflow from my body. Then, the DM showed us 'the sign', 1) Palm Grasp & 2) Raise the thumb & the last finger. At 35m, from far, there's a giant shadow which got nearer and nearer until I saw the trademark dorsal fins. Yes, the MOLA! It swam away and disappear in deep ocean once it noticed us.

Thought that was it. Then, DM showed 'the sign' again, and pointing down. The 2nd MOLA! Obviously, it was cleaning itself. Moorish idols were dancing around it to feed on the parasites. I tried to get closer but somehow manage to have a look on my gauge. 40m! Afraid that my underwater casing will leak, I hovered steadily and did the video recording.

Felt drowsy once got on the boat. Was it too deep? Close to Narcosis? Not known. When the boat about to depart to the next dive site, shout from pair of divers at a distance attracted our attention. Gosh... they (divers from another group) had been drifted by the current! Yes, Crystal Bay is well known for the tricky current that from many direction. We picked them up and brought them to their boat.

Manta Point
From the boat, we already could spot the mantas 'playing' with wave at the cliff side. I was thrilled with the image of a school of manta circling above me already. Once got into the water, the chill just freezed whatever imagination that I had into ice cube. It was 20C! In the water, I kept moving my body moving to generate heat. useless. My muscle kept shivering until I felt pain. Worse, where did all the mantas gone? I remember my breath was short and fast. Gas tank was already at 50psi. Deva ju. When I felt gave up, a small manta swam towards us like a kite. Followed by an adult glided thru underneath us. That's it. Endured a 40min icy water for a 2min manta show. Priceless. Priceless? Priceless my ass!!! Sneezed out a chunk of bloody mucus from nose once I emerged from water. Too cold and it hurt my blood vessel at sinus. Felt damn unwell. Nose still bleeding and body still shivering. Sat under the sun to catch warm until I got burnt without notice.

Got so moody on that day. I felt unwell, wifey can't dive and dive shop refused to refund. Told me all kind of crap like it's already the best package and it's very cheap. My chilly ass! If it wasn't due to the proposed itinerary & the suggested stay, over my dead body I will engage them. USD288 per pax aint cheap at all. Blame on myself that I choose to be lazy not to plan the dive trip myself.

The underwater clip is HERE. Do go to my facebook for more pic.

Finally, I saw Ghost Pipefish myself.
1 of my all time favorites, cuttlefish.
Never see such Nudibranch before. A big one.
The hidden 'ikan bakar'.
Pygmy Seahorse. Very hard to spot this tiny little thing at the coral. Relying on DM's experience.
As little as 3mm.

Busy busy busy wedding (updated1)

2008-08-24T21:16:00.015+08:00

Not my 2nd marriage but it's my 2nd wedding dinner on 31Aug2008. 1st wedding dinner done in spore back in 5Dec07. As I've told my frends, it's ironic to loss my independent on the independent day! ;-)

2 things I will pray on that day:
1. No funny thing happens in politics on that day. But, I do hope for a CHANGE!
2. God, please gift me a sunny day.

Sharing our joy:
Here's a clip that I will play on my dinner day.
Here's our wedding shots & a slideshow.
Here's our wedding day montage. Fresh & Hot.

Olympic Marathon

2008-08-24T20:51:00.003+08:00

Watched the Olympic marathon race on TV today. A Kenyan won the race in 2h06m. World record is 2hr04m.

Previously, I will tune to other channel immediately when it's a running event. It's bored as per most people, and it's a 42km race. Not this time for me as I know a bit more about running. My heartbeat went faster when the race was tight between a group of 5 leaders. It was like I was 1 of them too. Keep the pace, keep close to the leaders, keep stride...

That's why, I won't rule out that I will never love golf in the future. It's the most boring sports for me, period.

King of the 'Rolling' Road, I am!

2008-08-12T00:42:00.007+08:00

I almost miss the fun. Watched Batman until 3am. Only managed to sleep for an hour. Luckily, the 'snooze' saved me from kidnapped by joker in dreamland.

Met up with appleyee & gang to depart. Have to be remora to tag along someone since I'm a genuine road blind outside PJ.

Surprise surprise. The long gone TBK was there. Even Rwen & Ironman-in-waiting, captain KMeng were there. KMeng made a wavy sign with his hand. Got it. Camel back route ahead of us.

As usual, the cavalry surge at the beginning. Packed. Wanted to pace with Ameba but hmmm... someone showed up besides her with the same pace. Just got to know they are the wind and fire pair.

TBK to the rescue! He sailed pass us, and I decided to tag him. Good decision, else, I mite be blown away by wind, or burnt by fire ;-) But the fact was, TBK damn kiasu. He was already in gear4 at 3KM and even used gear5 for hilly part. His pace was too fast for me and I knew I was going to have a weak finishing. Haven't been running as constant as I wanted to but work has been the shadow that I tried hard to get rid of. Anyway, guess even myself tired of giving the same excuse over and over again.

We turbo all the way and caught up KMeng at 13KM. At 16KM, I started to drop out from TBK's pace. Rupa-rupanya, he had been doing close-door training.

He finished with 1hr56min, me got 1hr58min. Good to have him back. At least, he will give a good fight with Tiger, when he's back from close-door-gym training in US.

Brunei Oh Brunei...(updated)

2008-07-24T22:00:00.007+08:00

Going to Brunei for HSBC Olympic Games, SouthEactAsia version. As usual, Im taking part in badminton.

Enjoyed very much (even losing) in my last 2 training sessions because, there's a very good player in my team now.

OK. All I know is, no selling alcohol in Brunei... Must be quite boring then... But, Im ready for any surprise...

Updated
It's a fun trip indeed. Fun to meet new fren like Dex, a local. Fun to meet back old frens from Msia. Most of all, fun to win & lose because every match was a tough match. I did a lot of jumping smash this time, mainly because I have finally put on contact lens. No more jumping-smash-then-adjust-spec routine. Try to nail each point, when the shuttle was lifted high. The point system now is very nervy as each point counts.

Dex had cordially brought me around Brunei on the 1st day. And, we finished round-the-country in 1hr. Some interesting facts abt Brunei:
- Petrol is $0.53.
- $50K can buy a Merc C Class.
- Only 30 taxi in Brunei, since everyone owns a car.
- Every buildings can't build higher than their mosque.
- Their Sultan portrait is everywhr. Absolutely everywhr.
- Underground beer can be bought at $5. Else, drive 2hr to Miri, 1 can costs you $1.
- Education is free.
- Civil servant can apply for very nice landed gov hse. Rental: $150 (!@#$%^)

Morning parade with a super tight track bottom.
Our loyal fans, soccer team and net ball team. I smashed harder for them ;-)
My partner & I. Learnt that he did jumping smash too. Later he told me it's because 'You jump, I jump'!
Acrobatic! Trust me. If you possess the correct & basic badminton skills, you will have a nice body line. It's my toughest sports.
My roommate cum star of my team.
My favorite pic. Jump Jump!
We got 2nd eventually. The best result we could get.

I was having a severe backache for the following 3 days. Too much jumping smash I think;-) Age does catching up.

Perhaps, the last 20KM before Adidas KOTR

2008-07-22T23:42:00.004+08:00

I felt lucky when Ameba told me that she will run 20K on Saturday. I just need a companion in running. Darn. Went to bed only at 3am. SMS her that I can't make it in the next morning.

I felt more lucky when I found out that she also failed to wake up and suggested to run on Sunday morning. And, we met at Lake Garden car park at 6am sharp!

Maybe, subconciously, I know Ameba is in good shape (Prize RM300 here and RM100 there sure good form right?), we started in a fast pace. Quite kan cheong when running with her now. There's also a uncle who paced along us. We split at 6K when she wanted to try a new energy product (she prones to lausai with PowerGel).

Stopped at Petronas at 54min. Felt good with a speedy end. Waited for Ameba while poured myself with Gatorade. She's not far behind. Really impressive. Abt 5min rest, off we go again. Then, decided to breakaway from Ameba again coz tried to catch with a lady. She's fast.

On the way back, saw PM1 'walking' from the opposite direction! He just join any events with medals I think. Medal tally in his network is close.

Ended with total time ~1hr43min running time. The fastest ever non-competition time. A good badminton match last week really help I think. Anyway, great to have such a good work out. Else KOTR sure die.

CCG Games 2008

2008-07-05T19:25:00.004+08:00

Captained the Mixed Team.

Good thing about being a captain is, you are the center of 'attraction'. Captains' group photo, captain armband presentation and get called by the control every time there's an issue. Even during gift exchange, there's a special gift for Captain.

It's cool to be the-Captain.
The team. We didn't do well. Knocked out at the group stage. But, I think the defeat is the perfect wake-up call for some who felt guilty. Hope we shine in our coming event - our very own HSBC Olympic Games, Brunei.

Badminton was the 1st sports that I picked up, along with my brothers. And, we started it RIGHT. A good volunteer coach passed on the basics but essential skills and foot work and it is very much relevant why I can still play good (not bad la) badminton once I pick it back.

No doubt, badminton had given me a strong fitness base me to excel in subsequent sports. When I was the fittest me, pumping & sit-up in 100 counts were sweatless. My light weight was a reason though.

Sadly, it's no more the passion that I felt once. It's now more like a social games, only when there's a tournament to play. Probably, it's due to difficulty in finding a bunch of players with the same standard. Perhaps, the really cause is I always want to try new things. But definately, I still enjoy any tough games in double though. With a good partner, and a good opponent, I always feel great even I lost.

Brunei, here we come! Pls serve us beer...

McD Olympic Run 2008

2008-07-01T21:49:00.005+08:00

Short distance race really makes me puff harder. 5min high speed run makes me feel like 30min. The mind, heartbeat, abs (6 in 1 also kira la) muscles & leg muscles all were not synchronized. When mind wanted legs to run fast, legs were yet to warm up. When legs were ready, abs' turn to have a contraction (not enough speed train, O2 flow not efficient). Then slowed down to let everything subside. By the time legs & abs were ready, the mind got de-motivated when I looked at the timing watch (out of target time).

Don't care la (我不管）, just run afap and don't accept any excuse or regret afterwards.

Sailed thru the finish at 34min. Approx.

*afap = as FAST as possible.
*many thanks to Julie who picked up the hassle to register for me.
*as usual, thanks to Tey for the photos.
Bumped to an old gila-gila fren from UM. Never expect that she runs... Hope she will continue to do so.
"It's what I eat & what I do" from McD sponsored shirt. After race, cokes and wall's aiskrim were served too. Good to refill the lost calories. Ironic right?

Poor oh poor KKK... (2)

2008-06-24T17:28:00.005+08:00

Deja vu. The current national coach vented his displeasure on his player again, publicly! What on earth is his intension?

Certainly, that's not the way to motivate a player.

Mountaineers - Storm-Over-Everest (end on 13Jun)

2008-06-05T00:39:00.006+08:00

Storm-Over-Everest

You might think twice to try Everest. But, human being human, million of reasons for someone to make such attempt.

Me, I can't dream of it no more. I have commitments now. Maybe, just put my steps at the base camp will be enough... Maybe...

Thanks Ameba. I need such story.

Sundown Marathon wrap-up

2008-05-29T23:41:00.010+08:00

It's a special run. A special night run of coz. Can't really tell the running course coz it's still dark. But I am aware that I did passed many many pavements, a reservoir, overhead bridges (according a source in PM1, 5 of them and I hate all 5 of them), HDB flats and East Coast Park (some lunatics offerred us beers there!).

So unexpected with the result. I clocked a PR for myself, 4hr27min.

Maybe some muscles sets were trained after Rinjani.
Maybe I ate lots of rice & bananas after my excessive badminton games on Thu.
Maybe the badminton games itself helps.
Maybe is my Phiten.
Maybe my dinner was Sakae Teppanyaki (Unagi Brown Rice with Shitake Mushroom).
Maybe I am nocturnal! Didn't yawn like I did Night 30K with Ching Tai & co.
Maybe it's the Supernova Cushion 7. Much lighter than AdiStar.

Definately, pressureless mentality helps. Not setting any target time at all.
Definately, a pacing with Ewe Cheong, a new Penang friend helps.
Definately, a pacing with a UNKNOWN lady at the distance between 3o-38KM helps. We kept exchanging lead.

The strong finish really revitalised my thought of aiming sub 4 in my next marathon. Anyway, I always hopeful but never stick to the training plan. What a shame but can't help much sometimes. . .

The island gang! Pre-run pose with Adizero apparel. Very body-fit.

The Adidas Response apparel. The finisher T.
This lady, is the one whom I started to pace from 30KM. Checked her result. 5min faster than me eventually. Courtesy from tekko & Tey who had directed me to his page. My nipples nice huh! The Adizero is too sexy for man. Thin and body tight.

我的名字叫‘青龙’

2008-05-26T21:50:00.007+08:00

看了后，暗笑了很久。好一个比喻！也好，终于知道我隔壁那只老虎的颜色了。昨天的21公里，有如这星期Sundown Marathon的救命泉源。不然的话，我真的不敢想象42公里后的后果。

话说回头，那个‘蓝色的’也真得让我非常惊异！跟得紧紧地，我还以为是我太慢了。心里想着，这‘蓝色的’才刚刚爬完山的脚是否那么‘四倍够力’，还是那位叫‘林义杰’的男生在作怪？果然是。。。

跑完不久，那只‘白的’也到了。一见到我就一轮嘴的告诉我他被那只‘蓝色的’追得他很惨。果然，脸色已经是‘白白的’。迷恋一个人觅到能自我提升战斗力，应该没多少人吧？

Lombok - Mt Rinjani (12-15.05.2008)

2008-05-09T01:31:00.037+08:00

No idea how on earth Captain KMeng came with the brilliant idea of volcano trekking 2 years ago. We did Mt Agung in Dec2005. That was a whole new experience of trekking. Subsequently, it had led the interest among other OXians. I can understand how they feel. It's like I've got the black belt in Taekwando and you are still in Pink! ;-) And, only I can blow a better water when comes to this topic. But today, the privilledge is levelled. We got a fair 4D3N package from lomboktrekking and start our journey.

Day 1:
We began from Rinjani Trek Centre, Senaru.
The checkpoints/campsites. Rain welcomed us during our lunch break at Pos II. It was suppose to be a dry month!

Our 1st night campsite, Pos III. It was the coldest night during the trip at only 2000m. 9C! Probably due to the rain. Freezing cool as my sleeping bag can only withstand 20C!

The guides and porters were preparing our dinner. We were apparently, served like Kings which, made us really paiseh.

Day 2:
Today, we would be able to witness the Rinjani Crater Rim from a small peak at 2600m. Then, we will descend back to 2000m, and camp at Anak Segara Lake.
Rinjani erupted 1 million ago, stood at 5000+m tall. Now, flora has grown around it. Until you see the crater, it looks just like the grassland in New Zealand.
It's a drastic change of terrain once you reach the crater rim. This confirms that you are on a volcano indeed. It erupted 1mil yr ago. From 5000M+, it stands now at 3723M. The baby volcano inside the rim erupted at 1994. The lake is Anak Segara Lake where we will camp aside.

Fishing at the lake is a common activity by the locals, for living or merely hobby. Some of them camp there for a week and have to endure a cold night.

Muksin the cook! Curry paku pakis freshly picked from the jungle. We had finished the dinner in the fastest manner ever! Within 10Min, all wiped out by our hunger and the chilly night.
Segara Anak Lake is my favorite camp site ever, so far. The ever changing climate, the fog and cloud forming, sunlight penetration into the rim never stop orchestrating the nature's beauty. Everything happens around the lake is very much lively. It's like in a fairy land.

Day 3:
We ascended to a height of 2600M, and spent a night there before attacking the peak. 4hr to reach. Piece of cake.
At campsite, Captain KMeng had the summit already in his mind?
The rim view from another angle, at our final campsite.
Loose rock. Now, that looks more volcano than New Zealand grassland.

It's a campsite with no median, only extreme. When you hide yourself under a tree shed, it's freezing cool. When you try to have warmth under the sunlight, it's burning hot. Ameba told me the temperature in her camp was 54C as per her analog thermometer. I'm still skeptical on the accuracy. Everyone was having the effect of the 2 extremes and tried hard to adapt it.

Dark comes as early as 6pm in Lombok. After the dinner, we slept with some 'brem', a tasteful Lombok rice wine. It chased the chill away from our body.

KMeng, Leong, Kenny & I have had the unfogetable tough experience on Mt. Agung. Now, the rest finally can have a hands-on on loose rocks trail. 1 step up, half a step slides down. More, it usually bundled with strong cum chilly wind at the barren top. It cut thru my windbreaker and almost swung away my walking stick. Almost.

Just nice for sunrise. TBK, Ailing & MC made it to the top! Kenny as the usual Kenny. Snapping pic like pro.
The iron ladies made it after fought the chills and winds.
How cold it was? Click the pic, and look what I have got for you. 'It' is between my mouth and my nose ;-)
That's the summit at 3726M! Like Mt. Agung and many other volcanos, it's a sacred place for the local. We shall always respect with hope that, in return, we are blessed with a safe journey back.
Loose rock ROCKS! From the pic from far, you will doubt if the trail is wide enough to walk pass.

We glided down the loose rock like skiing. It took us merely 2hr to get back to our camp. There's a technic! Step with your heel! But, watch out. Don't be too fast that you glide to aside. It would be a goodbye, forever.
We were back to camp at 9am. Then, the descend all the way from 2600M to 1000M to stay over night at Plawangan Sembalun village. The sun was too kind for us. A shaddy day all the way. Or else, we would be baked like the famous suckling pigs.

Arriving the village.

Summit view outside our stay.

Singapore Sundown Preparation

2008-05-04T15:13:00.003+08:00

It's so important to have companion in a long run. Back to hibernation after the KLIM.

Thanks to Rwen's invitation, we did a 20KM at East Coast Park (ECP) 2 weeks ago. Slow and easy. But fly kite Rwen on next week.

Fortunately, I was back to Msia to settle something. Bumped up with Tey via MSN and he led me to Ching Tai. They were organizing a midnite run of their own in preparation for the coming sundown in Spore.

So, 4May, 1145pm, I arrived to meet up them. Not knowing anyone, not even Ching Tai himself, I introduced myself. Asking around who is going to run 30K but with no reply. Everyone was going for 60K! Jaw drop... But then, what da heck, planned to follow them the 1st 25K, then, 5K back on my own. Jz hope that wont bump to any robbers.

Slowly, warming with a chat with Ching Tai and gang. We started with 11ppl. Most of them are Ironman & lady. Soon, left 8 who has the same pace. The rest flew off. In the group, a guy from Spore, Mohan, who pratically comes to Msia to run with his friends here every week.

After crossed over to Hartamas area, at every subsequent 5K, ChingTai had earlier dropped off a pack of drinks and foods for us to replenish ourselves. I was damn hungry. There's even icy fruits! Runners, you should be able to imagine how refreshing it is.

The pace was just nice for me. Thank god that they were aiming to run 60K. Or else, I am sure they would go faster. Met up Fook with his girlFRIENDS too. 1 man, accompanied by 3 ladies. Sigh, for me, that's history though. Haha.

At 20K, Hartamas Petronas, 3 runners wanted for just 30K. Great, I got companions. The last 5K was killing me. I puffed so hard, trying to keep pace with lady M. I was so sleepy and hungry I guess. But then, the harder you push, the faster you get over it, and you feel the stronger you are.

I can't remember why I stopped at the last 500m. Really bad memory nowadays. But I did and could only recall that I waited for lady M along. Safety in Msia, never take for granted. The other 2 went on for extra miles as their GPS showed they are 1K short of 30K.

Yawned and yawned. Drove back safely and plunged to bed immediately after bath. Satisfied.

Too bad that I would go trekking the week next. Else, I will join them again. And, I should contribute the foods and drinks too. Nice to know some new friends, who made of IRON.

清明

2008-04-06T02:36:00.004+08:00

早在上个礼拜，已经与妈妈一起去扫墓了。多年来，只有去年缺席。爸爸的离开，使到妈妈完全没心情再触景伤情。

今年，该是妈妈心情平静了许多，所以再次拜访爷爷与婆婆，以求心安。

每一年，我都祈求一家平平安安，健健康康，无病无痛。我的生日愿望也是如此。一直以来，都算准，直到爸爸出事时。。。顿时，看了看身边的妈妈，真的好害怕我失去她那一天的到来。。。不过，这反而更加让我珍惜与她一起的时候。

献给所有思念故人的朋友。蕭煌奇-阿嬤的話

KL Marathon 2008 - Race Day Updated!

2008-03-31T22:05:00.004+08:00

I am quite disappointed. Even though it has yet to start. Recent workload has piled up and family commitment do affect my training schedule. Should not have any excuse anyway. Else, it would soon become a habit... Well, let's see how far I can go. I won't force myself until stupidly, injure myself. Mentally, I am prepared. Preparing for the worst. No regret as I did not give out.

30Mar2008

I took 2 days off to settle my errands in Msia. Then, Qing Ming on Sat. It was tiring. I don't even remember to buy any PowerBar/Gel for this race. It just showed that I'm not taking seriously in this race. Or, not able to.

Woke up at 3am and just drank a cup of milo. Crazy, I can't find any solid bites for my stomach at home. Meeting ameba & Rwen (the one who had given me the idea to GAVE UP) at Dataran Merdeka. And, the 'Tiger' showed up too, coming for a free run. Hmm, I should have given him my bib!

From the start, Rwen had suggested to just run 27KM, the point when we wil turn back to Dataran Merdeka. That's luring, with my poor condition. Ameba kept coughing. I didn't aware that she's sick. Poor 'bride'.

I was hungry. And, it's the 1st time that I felt so sleepy while running. At 10km mark, I think the 'threesome' (Rwen, Ameba & Me) were already set the mind to stop at 27Km, with tonnes of excuses. Tiger had tried his best to wait for us but soon, missing in the bush of marathoners.

1st Failed Marathon. Not shame of it. Glad instead as being part of it.

Poor oh poor KKK...

2008-03-27T22:16:00.006+08:00

That's our way of treating sportsmen. We scold. A very typical chinese/asian way in educating their children.

古陳京奧大門未關上‧雷西盼健傑好自為之

As a sportsman, we always prefer motivation and support. Do we want to lose a game on purpose? Do we not wanting a good result and be proud of it?

My pity for KKK. A victim of a coach's frustration that he choosed to spit to media countrywide. That's alike a personal attack. Certainly, a level of damage has made to his mental strength.

'Diamond pair'? Who da hell crown this title to them? Then came along some comments from other officials. All are uneccessary pressure.

Deja vu indeed.

Overwhelming Day - GE2008 on 8Mar

2008-03-10T21:33:00.007+08:00

Stranded in Sg due to work commitment. But, what a historical day it was.

I slept until 830pm so that I could be awake later midnight for work. Then, my bro MSN me 'KAU LAT' and paste a http://www.malaysiakini.com/ link to me.

What a news. Penang Falls to DAP is the headlines. The following news, need no further telling. OVERWHELMING!

Back to the office, some of my colleagues also alerted me on the election news. Actually the TV channels here did bring the news LIVE! Then, came the news of BN 2/3 DENIED which was still unbelievable.

I was very much in excited mood all night long. Sharing my joy with my fellow Malaysian colleagues here. One of them, a Malaccan was so gung-ho that he went back to vote and came back to report for duty. For me, just too far for me and no bus ticket avail anymore. At least, I donated $ to the opposition. Guess that's the least I can do.

The new HOPE
5 new states changed hands. No one would buy that story the day before. A tidal turns into Tsunami indeed. Like the ultimate mandate given to PM last term, the oppositions better live up to the promise. Else, the Rakyat will show what they are capable of. Rakyat has done it once, we won't be shy to decide in the next term.

Syabas, Rakyat Malaysia.

Another good reason(s) to vote! Vote wisely! (Updated)

2008-03-03T23:51:00.010+08:00

The news made my blood boiling beneath...

1) RM350mil 'reinvestment' for RM1bil project. It's Motorola & Comintel. NEW Updates as of 6Mar. It is just like Taiwan always buy obsoleted weapon from the US.
2) My respectful journalists from theSun, R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez are leaving The paper has lost its credential. Voice of Rakyat Hopeful no more.

5Mar
[Quote from RockyBru]
Mahathir used to be called many terrible names: dictator, strongman, an anti-Semite, draconian, mamak. But they never could insult him like THIS.
[UnQuote]

Opposition dubbed him a sleeping PM. Compare to what others portraited Tun Dr.M (be it good or bad), it shows that people perceive that Pak Lah is 'weak'. Perception might not be the fact, but, it matters.

GE 2008 - Cast Your Vote! It matters!

2008-02-28T23:44:00.007+08:00

I'm sick of empty promises & primary school ministers.

There's a scheduled work. A regional drill on 8Mar. I'm not able to go back to vote though I really want to cast my 'minority' vote into the ballot box. I'm not refer to RACE. I'm never a racist though I think the Gov policy made every race has a reason to be racist. This coming GE, I hope for a larger opposition seats. We really need a strong opposition!

Since I will forfeit my vote, I could only donate to support the opposition machinery during this "10 thousands rush fire" period.

1. RM100 for Jeff 4 Malaysia Campaign. Here to donate! Look for 512222409165
2. RM100 for DAP for PJ.

We shall never lose hope to our country. We need a change, even a small one would be significant.

Long Time no Blog

2008-02-18T22:02:00.017+08:00

Finally, I must official declare that my Adidas AdiStar has worn out. It gone with 5 marathons under its belt, and numerous 21KM & 10KM. It was a tough shoes.

Succeding it, the brand new Adidas Supernova Cushion 7! I am sure it will do well as its predecessor too. It's soft, light and look great to me. Especially the 'no-seam' design at the toe area, I really able to notice the different instantly! It's very comfortable. Believe could provide a better toe-off. SGD127 (RM290). At retail Msia, prised at RM369 (-15% at M.valley for pacesetters would be RM314).
Did a charity work before I went back to Malaysia for CNY. An AngPow night for Old Folks.

My Phillipine friend, Rommel had been asked to play Choy San. Old folks went wild over him!

This is 1 of the folk that I was serving. Funny old lady.

Pick up tennis lately. Began with badminton strokes, but now, bring on Federer. Haha.

Department is shifted to The Comtech, a factory area at the West of Singapore. Boring place.

KL Full or Half?

2008-01-24T00:27:00.001+08:00

Two minded. Tossing a coin. Head, then full; tail then other wise...

Tossing... Head! Eh, 3 sets 2 wins la.
Toss again... Head. Eh, 5 sets 3 wins la.
Toss again... Head. Aiya, 7 sets 4 wins la.
Toss again... ... ...

Arrgh... 101 sets 51 wins la!!!

SAP 高级经理驾到.

2008-01-23T23:47:00.001+08:00

此号人物光临，小人当然须抽时间陪陪他。连同夫人与雯小姐一起约到SAP 高级经理最喜爱的火锅店享受美食。食物还好，酸梅水更棒！谈话中，他还是不经意的提起近来不小心成了我的'脚'下败魂的事。看来，还在耿耿于怀！而我是在暗(狂)笑着。。。

最重要的是，他埋单。不过，SAP SAP 水啦。

多多来叙旧喔！

GE 30K - 竟然可以顺利完成！

2008-01-23T22:11:00.001+08:00

To my surprise, I'm still able to finish the race unscathed in ~3hr8min. Perhaps...
- I had a 'in time' carboloading during a good friend's wedding dinner last night.
- I wore the 'Phiten' that my brother gave to me. Blood streamed smoothly in my body.
- I slept early.
- I took it too easy. No pressure & no target at all.
- It would be the last time that I will wear my adiSTAR shoes. Great shoes with at least 5 marathons by now.
- It would be Tey's last photo snapping as to be serious in running.
- It was due to SAP High Class Consultant's provocation ;-)

Perhaps Love... ;-)

Courtesy from Tey. Reaching finishing line. Man... I really need to snap wedding photo earlier before my hair runs out ;-)

Thanks to Hinwai too. More Pic to view. OXs & PMs are in there.

He's my brother. 请多多支持! (Malaysia Open 2008)

2008-01-16T22:00:00.001+08:00

Since he entered the arena by wining the World Junior Champion (twice) at such young age, I have no doubt that his pair would the the world beater. It's only matter of time.

I was half right.

Injury is a mammoth enemy to an athelete. Ask any runner how frustrated they are if it happens. I scare of it too. Not kiasi, but, when you cant give your best, it depleted the Ummp to go in full force.

Tonight, the 'new' pair vs a top China pair. Gotta watch because never expect them to reach this stage ;-) It has been some time that I do not watch a live badminton games. Since the 21 points system, the game is actually bad to your heart! Heart beats faster and make me cold sweat especially when the score is close ;-)

*** They lost. Not a surprise but seems they were just enjoying the games. Which is good.

Please help to snowball the news. Thanks!!!

Complain! Let's complain in Singapore!

2008-01-10T22:49:00.001+08:00

My personal observation is 'Singaporean has no fear to complain'. I often hear 'Can not like that one, complain la...' And they will. That contributes to a better customer service in every industry in a way. That's why Singapore is a very efficient country ;-) Agree right?

There's a richy customer, a Singaporean ends up in Kazakhstan (making 2nd Borat movie I suppose) wrote a stern complain to CEO directly, because he/she couldn't perform a certain transaction. Subsequent findings is due a holiday in that currency country involved.

There was also a customer who demanded a very special 'username' for their internet logon. i.e.: "asshole". No joke. Very often, customer will threaten the bank that they will report to MAS (central bank in Spore) because of this and that as they deem necessary. We have a watch dog!

Some of them are vigilant and I thank them to have corrected our system error. Some are just complain for the sake of complaint. Sometimes, we have to change the banking system just to cater ONLY for their own convinience. Personally, I see it is a selfish act.

With the high rate of complaint, indirectly, application system has been streamlined into more error-proof. Some errors that customer reported are indeed an error across the group. Why Singapore always the 1st regional site to discover it? I guess it's because customer at other country just live with errors, as long as the bank compensates the necessary for them.

Customer is always right. Yeah right. In todays' bloody realistic world, only RICH customer is always right. Because they insist so.

I'm married - 05.12.2007

2007-12-10T01:01:00.002+08:00

Oh yes I am. Oh yes we did.

The invitation card to our guests. Million thanks to Josephine, a lecturer in Design aka Christian's wife. Really lovely made. The ROM took place at 430pm. The family.
Like mother like daughter. Resemblance smile.
Like mother like mother-in-law. Resemblance smile, pose & attire.
Like boss like staff. Like sister??? Resemblance smile. For someone who believes in karma, my wife must have done great in her past life to have met a good boss (in many ways) in her present life.
We were the last couple of the day.
The heaviest downpour ever in the month. From Morning till 9pm. My colleague teased me that it is because I am so stingy! I refuted. Water brings $! Contingency plan invoked. All tables & chairs were to move into the building. And, I was having headache.
All the flower decoration within the dining premise is not from flourist. It's handmade by Jennifer, my wife's colleague. Simply gorgeous!

We have selected the finest wine for guests. Thanks to Grace again, and again and again...

to be cont... ZZzzz

Singapore Marathon - 02.12.2007

2007-12-04T01:35:00.001+08:00

Oops, I did it again! Yeah, without much preparation, I did not expect a good timing too.

Only manage to sleep for 1hr. Awaken by a call from office at 2am, and had to work for 2hr before I rushed out for the bus.

My legs lost the muscle power at 30KM mark (again). It took me 3hr+. Luckily, the will power was able took over.

The rest of the 12KM, 1hr40min. My mucles was between Cramp & Going-to-Cramp. Contraction was ON-&-OFF! Once I crossed the finishing line, the words surged to me... PAIN IS PLEASURE!

Hope other marathoners who I know have done well too!

Marathon. 再来一个！

2007-11-22T23:03:00.001+08:00

Rwen sent us a motivation clip. Yeah, it's a good mental food. As good as Team Hoyt & 'The Marathon Boy' (left).

3 different story with different purposes on their own about why they do marathon.

Why did you do it? Why are you going to do it? Let's share our own version of story.

Me 1st in the comment box.

CanOrNaut?

2007-11-12T02:06:00.001+08:00

In a recent news, our angkasawan have been regconized as 'Cosmonaut' by the Russian. The title is similar on how to obtain a 'Datuk'ship in Msia. Pay! My friend told me a joke recently.

... ...
In a classroom.
[Teacher]: In U.S, they call them Astronaut. In Russia, they call them cosmonaut. Can anyone tell me what do we call them back in our own Malaysia soil?

While the teacher is expecting the students to reply 'Angkasawan' as the word is more Malaysian...

[Students]: Huh? SureOrNaut?! CanOrNaut?!

It's the answer. It's the question either.
... ...

Quote of the day

2007-11-07T20:30:00.001+08:00

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
~ Winston Churchill

It has the resemblance meaning to my blog's quote above. But, the word 'enthusiasm' stands out distinctively from Churchill's quote.

How do we create an enthusiasm after a failure to move forward? Tricky right.

I always aim high but expect the least. Or I call it pesimistically optimistic myself. I believe a hardworking pesimist would get a constant surprise from time to time. That's how I often get a 'surprise positive result' at the end of a project that had me enthused. Sound like I am able to con myself to move forward ;-)

Heck, as long as I buy my own trick...

5yr Service Awards

2007-10-31T16:18:00.001+08:00

Can't believe that I have 'pledged my life' to my current company for such long.

What does this awards mean to me?
1. One-off SGD200 pocket money
2. Darn, time flies. (Time to change?)
3. If in average, my hair falls 200 a day, by now,
200 x 365 x 5 years x 5 (pressure factor) = 1.825mil fallen hairs.
Yes, Im balding... ;-( But, I don't give a damn ;-)

4. Very conservatively, assuming work 50hr per week, then
50hr x 52weeks x 5 year = 13,000hr - (720hr x5) (30days off annually) also ~22% I work in my life.

Say, I sleep 8hr a day, = 56hr per week.
168-56 = 112 my available hours.
112 x 52 x 5 = 29,120hr my available hours in 5yr.
[13,000hr - (720hr x5) ]/ 29,120 x 100 = 32.3% of my active life!

Worth it?

Anyway, what a milestone it is!

JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge NYC - 06.10.2007

2007-10-31T15:48:00.001+08:00

The weather:
The weather was just nice on the running day. Cloudy and not too cold. It's a significant sign of global warming wherever I go.

The Goal:
One realistic goal - not to finish LAST! Not having any timing in mind to achieve as I did not run for months and I was very much in vacation mood. Worse, I was sick.

The Run:
I jogged through the 3.5miles but really not enjoy watching other runners overtook me like Ferraris. My 1st ever running experience with dry air and low humidity. It hurt my nasal system quite badly. My throat was uncomfortable with mild pain after the run.

The Result:
Most of them are serious runners. Just look at their timing. And, we got 34 out of 35 in our Mixed Team category ;-)

The Gallery:
1) The representatives from Singapore. HSBC, Singapore Army - SAFSA (ladies in RED) & SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE - Gurkha (gentlemen in BLUE). Backdrop is the Grand Central in NY. Equivalent to KL Sentral Msia.

2) The aftermath: Half dead face. Puffed hard even I just jogged through it. Start to feel the chill too.3）My teamates. We reached a consensus - the best part of this trip is the shopping experience!

New York Trip - 03.10.2007-12.10.2007

2007-10-08T01:08:00.002+08:00

After a terrible experience with US embassy in sg, the horror continued at the US Custom. Me and my Indonesian colleague were held for an hr, being 'interrogated' at JFK airport. We were already tired with the jet-lag effect, so it really made me felt upset on how they treat on certain nationality. Halo, if not due to the invitation, I won't thk of going yo your country too!

Other than that, I really feel the courtesy of the organizer and the people in NYC. Yeah, courtesy. Say, when you ask for direction or you drop something, you can expect someone to give you a helping hand volunteerly. Everyone seems friendly. But, when day turns into night, it was my instinct to stay alert from any kind of crime. I don't feel safe at night.

Have to overcome the jet-lag on the 1st day. But, my team mates were already talking abt shopping. Words like 'Coach bag', 'True Religion', 'Ed Hardy', 'Abercombie & Fitch' kept being reiterated. Eventually, we went to shop at Woodbury warehouse. Absolutely fantastic shopping experience! And, Macy's deparment store too (The world's largest!) Tonnes of cheap branded stuff. 5-star recommendation!

Time Square at night: It is a MUST that every retail store to parade their brand in such vibrant ads. This area never sleep!

UN: This land area is owned by all the members in UN. Given by the US gov. No wonder US not shy to use their veto.

Underground Steaming System: It keeps the NYC warm. Reaching every neighbourhood.

Grand Central: Equivalent to KL Sentral but much better managed of course. The very beautiful Chrysler Building, once, the tallest building in the world before overtaken by the Empire State Building.

NYC Subway: The most sophisticated subway routes in the world. Cover almost every corner in NYC. But, the train & the statis looks rather out-fashion and a bit stuffy and smelly. Heck, as long as it brings the convinience.

Nobel Medal in UN: Special dedicated to TBK. Make sure you fulfill your promise ok!

Rockefeller Center: Equivalent to Suntec Singapore conceptually but far more larger in terms of vision and the size of development. Rich with history & vision. Can only feel it when you know more abt it.

NY Financial Center: View from Brooklyn side. The JP Morgan dinner was held in 1 of the tower in picture.

NYC Night View: From Empire State Building. Misty night.

Intercontinential Hotel: Nice. Sponsored by JP Morgan.
Statue of Liberty: Finally, I got to know why is it so special. History it is.

Empire State Building: Made famous by King Kong. In fact, that film rescured the building owner by making it a fame via the film. Full occupany after that.

Sky scrapers: Matchless in any other cities. Hardly feel the sunlight unless you are at the crossroad.

Parade of Sky scraper: Basically, that's the height of each building at each block in NYC.

Church in NYC: Each church is uniquely built by each nation along 5th Ave. Italy, Norway...

Time Square at dawn: Their never turn off the light.

Former Venue of World Trade Center: Paying tribute to this landmark... World Peace everyone! Imagining the magnitude of the destruction. All the buildings around it still undergoing repair.

It's an eye-opening trip indeed. A city rich with history. History of American entrepreneurship, American Dream, bold vision to develop the city, city of opportunity for all the post war immigrants. I have to admire how those people built this mega city.

New York? New York??

2007-10-03T03:13:00.001+08:00

Up to this moment, I still feel skeptic if I am going to make it to the New York flight or not. Thanks to the US embassy here. Due to 'unforeseen' reasons, they were yet to approve my visa until my sports club superior & team captain showed the quality of leadership to ask help directly from JP Morgan people to contact the embassy. Being told would get back my passport with visa tomorrow.

Keep the finger crossed.

New York! New York!

2007-08-26T01:34:00.001+08:00

[phone ring]
me: Hello IT.
eunice: Hi chongwah, are you free during 6/7oct?
me: Who's this?
eunice: Eunice ah. Running 1. So are you free?
me: [sounded cagey] yeah, should be ok. Y? Any running event that you need my service?
eunice: Are you interested to go to New York? For the JPMorgan run. Accom & flight all 'bao'.
... ... ...

We got 5th, and we are eligible to go? Yes in our case because all 4 teams in front of us have won in other category. So, after filtering... it's HSBC ;-)

What a late birthday gift! New York!? I never dream to go US for 1 reason -> expense in USD & yet to cover the whole SouthEastAsia. Furthermore, the date is just nice after my project release, and, before the OX mountaineering trip. Wonderful! New York New York! I'm coming!

JPMorgan Chase Singapore - 03.05.2007

2007-08-26T00:45:00.001+08:00

The official result from JPMorgan Chase on 3 May.

The lesson is, if I really want a good timing in a short run event, I must position myself at the front pack to avoid the 'cavalry surge' at the start. It was a massive jam!

But didn't feel I got a strong legs that day. Not having a luxury time. Damn... I keep running, but just can't run away from work! Work always catch up.

Time of 23m43s; ~4.23min/km.

My SGD30 bib. Self funded.

PJ Half – 11.08.2007

2007-08-23T11:11:00.001+08:00

Pick up Grace and reached Stadium at 545am. Found a carpark easily. At the starting line, somehow, I was lucky to meet up with wan lin. He was actually holding a bib. Photo Tey is very kind to pass PM Saiful bib to him (as he can’t make it), and then to me. Else, I will run illegally again.

I know what lie ahead at the last 5km since I have not been running more than 15km this year. So, to mitigate the torture of cramp, I try to run slower. At least, the pain strikes me at last 3km. Cramp almost came to me too. Wanlin overtook me at last 1km. Thanks for the shouting encouragement buddy, but I was in pain la. Do not want to aggravate until it turns to a real injury.

1hr58min.

For quite some time, I never have such a hard time in running. Chest pain, knee pain, Achilles pain and heart beat harder. My body was steaming, I can feel my blood streaming thru my nerves so quick which is a good feeling too. Oxygen was a luxury. But, the finishing made me felt so great. To get over an ordeal, always make you have the extra reason to celebrate more.

Ok, my 1st 21km of the year… have to sustain the mileage though. Else, it would be meaningless to run today. Cant wait to release my project in mid Sep…

Many thanks again to Photo Tey.

Corporate Community Games 28.07.2007 - 29.07.2007

2007-08-23T10:51:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Khong Lean for the write-up.

"We were blessed with a nice breezy weather on games day which was a welcome relief to the high humidity resulting from the afternoon showers from the previous days. A sweeping glance revealed that the runners from the various corporates were as diverse as you could imagine. From muscle-toned quadriceps to lean veteran running machines, the participants were all geared up to do their best. The race was a relay style where a team of 4 runners was each required to cover a distance of 2.5km around the Botanic Gardens. HSBC was the proud winner of the mixed-team category last year and we were determined to maintain that record. Our first runner, Simon Lu (CIB), was quick off the mark and came in 1st for his leg, passing the next leg to Eunice Yeo (HTV). Eunice did incredibly well to match the pace of other male runners and maintained our advantage. Our 3rd and 4th runner, Chong Wah (TSV) and Alen Sim (HTSG), gathered more steam and stormed ahead, eventually running out winners with a combined timing of 38:47 min. Once again, we managed to retain our championship position. The icing on the cake was that we managed to better the timing of the winners of the All Mens team".

*I clocked 9:27; 3.71min/km. It is a very nice star-fish like medal.

The route

The Team: (from left) xxx, Emmannuel, Khong Lean, fast-man Allen, ME, iron-man Simon (clocked under 9min!) and wonderwoman Eunice.

Continue another event on the next day and won the 3rd in badminton. The Team: (from left) xxx, Lazarus (my partner), PeiFun, beer-beater Pramodh, Captain Diana, Care Taker Calvin, single player Alphonsus and ME.

Looking back on what I had missed

2007-07-17T00:44:00.001+08:00

The site starts accumulating spider webs...

Looking at the growing missing events, I can only sigh...

-Seremban Half Marathon

-Siemens 10k run

-Ipoh International Run

-Penang Bridge International Run

-NB15K

and counting...

Can't really do much as I am having a marathon of work myself. Towards the end now. Must make sure it ends successfully!

Captain rings the bell... OX Annual Mountaineering Trip 2007

2007-05-31T01:26:00.002+08:00

OX Annual Mountaineering Trip 2007 - Announcement

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dear all,
Kindly to remain you that our annual mountaineering trip will fall on 12.Oct.07 to 15.Oct.07 (4 day 3 night). Our destiniation will be G.Yong Yap & Gunung Bubu(Mt Table & Chair) via Pos Brooke. If you wise to join us, pls apply your leaveor make yourself FIT enough for the trip.Yeap I know is still early, hope you can prepare for it and I will update youon ealy of september 07. see you there and we share our glory and enjoy ourfriendship at summit of G.Yong Yap.

" There is no same mistake what we did last year. More info pls log on to here "

Year 2000 : Gunung Korbu & Gayong (G.Gayong Mission Fail)
Year 2001 : Gunung Yong Yap via Kuala Mu (Perak)
Year 2002 : Gunung Ulu Sepat
Year 2003 : Trans Banjaran Titiwangsa via Cameron (Mission Fail end up we around G.Yong Belar)
Year 2004 : G. Chamah (Only 4 member attempt summit, Tan Boon Keat, Oah Ai Ling, Ng Geok Wah & Chua Rho Wen)
Year 2005 : Initial target Gunung Chamah Mission Fail end up with Gunung Batu Putih!
Year 2006 : Trans Banjaran Titiwangsa via Tanjung Rambutan => Mission FAILED!!!
Year 2007 : GUNUNG YONG YAP GUNUNG BUBU VIA POS BROOKE (LOJING HIGHLAND / KELANTAN )

Best rgds,
Chai Kam Meng
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

I heard your summon Captain. My ass will be there!

Nike Air Pegasus

2007-05-06T22:12:00.001+08:00

The award winning shoes NIKE AIR PEGASUS! Bought it at SGD104. Retail price in Malaysia is RM350.

Verdict: Put it on today and ran along Esplanade for about 9KM. Feel that sole is too high and my feet went numb and sore after 6KM. Perhaps it's still new. Perhaps, my feet never fit Nike shoes. Perhaps, it needs time to understand my feet and vice versa.

OX AGM cum Cameron Steamboat Trip - 07.04.2007

2007-04-25T00:09:00.001+08:00

<唯我独尊>
On the way to Gunung Cantik, the tree stands still in the middle of the tea farm. It was a misty morning.

百花争艳
Flowers with vibrant color are here and there. The best match up with the greenish Cameron.

百菜争桌
The steamboat ingredients. All fresh!

夜里，宿舍外的朦胧美。。。
A misty night. Yet, the temperature was cosy.

日光下的宿舍四周
Sunny day around the MNS chalet.

A relax excursion I would say. My 3rd time to have stay in the same chalet. Cosy and wonderful surrounding. It happened to be OXians AGM too.