King of the Road KL

The day before the race, Firus and I went to collect our race packs at Sunway Pyramid, that was big and at some points, overlooked the amazing Sunway Lagoon where Justin Bieber had performed for MTV World Stage not too long ago. The collection point was full of energy, playing the latest Top 40 music and young folks doling out the goodie bags and manning the registration. There was the standard adidas stuff like apparel and their latest shoes.

When we collected our race packs, Firus got the ultimate lucky number (C3888) and the helpers made sure that he knew! The horrible fella was overjoyed and promised to frame his number tag!

 The running route was basically going up and down one of the major expressways, NPE highway. The challenge was getting there. Despite staying in a hotel that was relatively near, it was tough for a cab to bring us in the next day as the roads were being blocked. We could walk. But that would take us a good 40 mins! A good warm up but I'm not sure I had the strength to endure all that!



The next day we woke up at 5. As you can tell it's a lot earlier than I'm used to.. thus this stoned face! Strategically, we chose to take a cab and with luck, he managed to take us through the smaller roads to the residential area that was just behind the expressway.



We made walked there and it was really exciting to see the expressway signs flash stuff like- "this road will be closed for adidas king of the road" and "check Twitter for updates on the traffic situation". Very good use of social media!



As we continued walking, we were joined by runners and I went from being groggy to mildly excited. The road was huge compared to what I was used to back home. It was fantastic seeing everyone so enthusiastic, doing their stretching and warm-up jogs up and down and the highway when it was still pitch black. We did our own preparation as the crowd began to swell.



Standing behind the starting line, we heard the excited chatter of the runners, with some whipping out their cameras for pictures and others updating their facebook status. From their running attire, we spotted people from Singapore and many others from different parts of Malaysia, runners of marathons, school teams, state sportsmen all psyched and ready to go! The runners burst forth when the horn went off and there was this amazing drumming by some folks on the side, which I remember correctly, was possibly a school band. On the way back there would be a rousing group of percussionists, this time made of traditional drums and the like.



It was slightly smokey and the sky was still dark when we started, with houses lined along the side. Soon enough we hit the toll booths and it wasn't a breath-taking sight but it just struck me as utterly amazing to be able to set foot on this place normally reserved for vehicles! I thought it was funny and awesome at the same time!



Past that, the road got really wide and there was a lot of room for overtaking or running at your own pace. Being relatively out of shape and having not trained sufficiently, it took a lot of effort for me to hit the halfway mark of this 16.8km run!



On the home stretch, we were joined by runners who did the 10km race, with most of them tired out and walking. By then my legs were hurting like mad and I joined the crowd in their walk! After a cup or two of 100 Plus on the side I continued running, hobbling a bit as I finally crossed the finish line.



I confess to being ill-prepared but I enjoyed every moment of it. The crowd, the atmosphere and the sights were all fresh to me and it was great to be among everyone who fought so hard to conquer the distance and reach the end.



The majestic sight of Sunway Pyramid.



One of the cool things about this run was the different running tees that designed for the race! There were 3 for men and 3 for women so there was an amazing splash of colour as all the runners gathered at the end, taking photos and whatnot.



Firus was a good ten minutes in front of me. I really should've pushed myself harder! I was wearing the wrong shoes though so by the end of it all I couldn't wait to get my feet out of them and give them a break.



After that we, had a good meal at what I understand to be restoran kegemaran malaysia - KFC - overlooking the Sunway Lagoon. It was value for money and accompanied with a good view, possibly the best, most relaxing breakfast that I could have after the race.



Despite the pain (wow, the run really made my legs look good) I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. It was the highlight of this trip, definitely, and I've realised that this is the kind of stuff that gets me excited when I travel. It was a great experience, something "hardcore", something I'd remember for quite awhile. I'm keen to do other races overseas and when I travel in the future, I look forward to being part of something amazing, full of cheer and spirit, just like adidas' king of the road kl.

The Land Below The Wind

Okay back to the Kinabalu trip. This lack of good storytelling is blamed on school, laziness and loss of use of the English language.

The second day in Kinabalu was spent travelling to the Padas river for white water rafting. It was a crazy adventure and I hope to sit down and write about it properly soon.

We came back in the late afternoon, hungry and exhausted. We decided to try out this fantastic and famous Bak Kut Teh place that was along JalanGaya, opposite Jesselton Hotel. It wasn't easy to find, but once we got on the right street we could smell the characteristic smell of the soup. We almost ran to the place.



It was so crowded we were relegated to a table that was situated outside another shop that was selling western food and it had no customers at all. We felt a bit sad for them.



This was just the first round and we ordered another round of Bah Kut and innards. I can't remember if there were hearts but there were most certainly livers. I feel hungry and greedy just typing this! It was really worth it and it came up to less than S$10 per person.

We then dropped by a nearby shopping center and shopped till we dropped. And so it was time for Starbucks. Again.



Starbucks is reliably expensive and reliably comforting.



We went back to the lodge after this and my rashes had subsided somewhat. After coming back to Singapore and getting the dreaded rashes on a recent trip to Cafe del Mar, I have concluded that it was the fault of the fucking sunblock.

The next day we took a mini-bus.



And the mini-bus transferred us to a bigger bus.



That had somewhat dusty back windows. The bus took us to the mountainous areas and to the foot of Mount Kinabalu.



They let us get off at this "village" kind of place for a toilet break. There were a few interesting things for sale, but we didn't really buy any of them as we weren't feeling very rich. The day tour wasn't cheap at all and from what I remember, set us back by about S$60 each.



The views were fantastic though. We could see the mountain range and the temperature was significantly cooler at the higher altitude. It was the kind of place that I would like to have spent a day at.

Melvin was also rather inspired that he has vowed to go back one day to climb Kinabalu. I would also like to this and probably even stay at one of the lodges in the mountain for an extended period of time. This will really require some planning.



Us with said awesome mountain range and clouds that were wispy one moment and then threatening the next.



They were apparently gathering and the guide was slightly worried that it might rain. Thankfully it didn't but we still got wet at the end of the day!



The view from the top of the tower (from the previous picture). There was a rather idiotic female from another institution who said something like, "Why do they put maximum load of 15 people in the tower? As if I am going to count how many people are in the tower before I go up! How am I supposed to know? So silly?"

Er. Estimation duh.

We must be forgiving of people dumber than ourselves.

Anyway, we then took a bus ride to the Botanic Gardens where our guide pointed out many fantastic and interesting plants, for example:



The Naked Tree, because it has no bark.



I cannot remember what kind of orchid it's called but it is nicknamed "The Bikini Contest". HAHA.



And this is the pitcher plant. There's something so mysterious about plants that are insectivores.

After the rather educational tour we had lunch at a small chinese restaurant with a Japanese family. Funnily enough, it wasn't awkward at all and we were all inspired to have kids after that. The parents had 3 children, 2 boys and a girl. The girl looked like Pikachu. We were very tempted to kidnap them. It was horrible and we were thankful that they went to see the Rafflesia (which we had to pay to see GAH!!!) while we went to the tree-top trail.



It was a short walk up there. We were glad to be wearing track shoes.



The "hot springs" that we passed along the way and eventually tried.



A great percentage of rainforest activity happens above ground. However I have an untrained eye and I did not see that much activity.



The tree-top walk was initially used by field researchers and stuff like that before being opened to the public.



Aside from camwhoring we were amazed by how the bridge was built across trees and how the trees were amazingly tall and rather sturdy. The bridge was made of ropes and were rather shaky but it made the experience all the more memorable!

We had dinner Upperstar. The food was alright but it was slightly overpriced. It had good music though. It made me want to club!





On the whole I was really impressed by how eco-tourism was being managed in Kota Kinabalu. It had the right balance of rural, slow-paced living and decent toilets! It has managed conservation rather well from what I have seen. I'm not sure if this stemmed from the fact that the place wasn't as commercialised or popular but I think the measures that have been taken to preserve the area yet making it accessible to the public have been effective.

There is so much left to explore that I am sure that I'd go back again, even I'm not able to pretend to be a field researcher and live in the mountain for a month, then at least conquer Mt Kinabalu!

Being Outdoors

I've put this entry about Kinabalu off long enough. I wanted to write something more "narrative-ish" but maybe I'll try doing this a bit more scrap-book-style.

The place that we stayed at was called Lavender Lodge. It was simple, relatively cheap, had common toilets and the nicest hosts.



This is what a triple-sharing looks like.



It has minimal furniture but I felt really at home. There was just enough space for us to hang our wet clothes and dump our stuff. They provided towels and bathrooms slippers.



This is the view from our window! It's not one of the sea or a mountain range, but I like it. The air-con vents and random staircase that didn't seem to come from anywhere and didn't lead anywhere was... a rather unique sight. It was noisy as hell when rained pattered on the zinc roofs though.



This noticeboard found just before the TV area was stuffed full of useful maps (such as this one of Kinabalu City) and hilarious jokes. I remembered one between a French and British guy. The French guy said that there was a woman's clitoris like a melon. And the British guy said that it was impossible cause that would just be too big and she wouldn't have been able to walk if it were! And the French guy said, "Aah, you English, always thinking about size" replied the Frenchman. "I was talking about the flavor!"



Our simple breakfast every morning included toast and coffee or tea. It was served generously with hospitality, sugar, butter and jam. We got bananas and mangosteen on the last day. I was a bit sick of eating the same thing after the fourth morning but it was always exciting witnessing the bustling of activity in the morning.



We headed down to Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal to take a ferry down to Sapi Island. Our host told us the breakdown of the cost and gave us a coupon. It came up to about $39 to get there. There was the ticket, followed by tax and some conservation tax that had to be paid by the island. It was a bit confusing but we managed to get everything we needed before waiting for the ferry.



Jesselton Point had a great view and a wall depicting the growth of Kinabalu into the small city that it is now. I wish that it wasn't so blazing hot that we had to hide in the shade instead of sitting around and watching people walk past.



The waiting was a bit bad and we were bored. However there was a Korean family nearby.



Ness' boards the ferry like Superwoman, only hotter.



I loved the journey to the island. My hair was a mess after that and so was Melvin's and Ness', except theirs were way more dramatic. I would like to put up a few pictures here but I would be smacked. So I have decided to keep them to myself for now or maybe upload them on facebook when I feel like it.



People having a wonderful time eating on the island. The food was a bit expensive and there was BBQ and buffets but I think that one was catered. We had a bag of potato chips at Melvin's request and that was about $3 I think.



We were silly and bought sunblock at the Ferry Terminal. Please. For the love of your skin and your youth. Bring sunblock. Also your wallet and money because it was rather expensive to buy sunblock at the Ferry Terminal.



We took turns to go down to snorkel and see the fish. The water wasn't spectacularly clear and but there were a greater variety of fish than I remembered seeing in Phuket years ago. How is this related to a photo of me smiling into the camera? Er, well, we only got one pair of snorkel equipment so only two of us could go at any one time. And the other person had to look after stuff. So there.



The view at the other end of the island.



We waited for the ferry back at this dock. It was a bit chaotic. You've sort of got to trust that your ferry will come and at the same time not be shy to ask everybody and anybody about your ferry's arrival. Also holding on tightly to the receipt.



And bring a camera to camwhore while waiting. The weather took a turn for the nasty as the sky became really dark, in stark contrast to the seemingly infinite amount of sunshine blasting its way to the island just a couple of hours ago.



We spotted crabs and schools of fish and also these BLISTERING BARNACLES.

After that it rained but we ventured bravely out of our lodge and into the streets for shopping and food.



Melvin was drenched and we were cold.



And so we went to Starbucks for the first of three Starbucks visits that we would eventually make. The hot chocolate was awesome. Also I borrowed Melvin's cap.



The not-high-rise buildings showed plenty of sky wherever we went. Sexy.



We made our way to the markets that were facing the sea (along Jln Tun Fuad Stephens). If only it wasn't still drizzling like crazy we would've explored more and I wish I had a better camera too. The place was filled with sights and smells. It was fantastic. It reminded me of this narrow street hawker place that I visited in Phuket. I wasn't really game to try the food as my arms and legs started breaking out in rashes (thankfully they never reached my face) but I was dying to try some of the colourful beverages.



This is the handicraft market that was beside all the other markets. It was rather stuffy and most of them were selling similar things. I must admit that I'm lousy at appreciating handicrafts and the fact that there were so many stalls were rather overwhelming! The place smelt strange too... like mysterious and exotic. And also stuffy.



The pier stretched out for... erm, many metres (miles around would've been an exaggeration) and the view was picturesque. We weren't really hungry yet and it was too early to be drinking by the sea as it was not yet nightfall.



We then went to this place at Asia City Complex for dinner. It was really crowded and the food was not half bad! There was nasi lemak but according to Ness the place was famous for its toast. The tea there was great too! We had a very satisfying meal after a lot of walking and made our way back early as we had to catch the 8AM bus for whitewater rafting.

For which I have no photos because my camera is not waterproof and so I didn't bring it along. It was tremendous fun going down the Padas River with the Riverbug. I hope I don't get lazy and get down to writing about it because it was quite an experience. Also, I should possibly start writing blog entries earlier and not have to go the bed at 3AM. Bah.

Good night.