London snows again

Another brief snow shower in two months after an Arctic snap. Does this mean winter is going to be even colder?

Images from Egypt

After almost a month, I finally managed to sort through my photos from the Egypt trip, splitting them into 2 sets due to the number of them - to make sure that viewers do not get too bored of it. The first set is centered around the sights in Cairo and nearby, including Giza and Saqqara, which coincided with my girlfriend's birthday which we gave her a nice surprise. The other set consists mainly of the day trips we took from our 4D/3N Nile cruise from Aswan up to Luxor.

It has been an incredible journey through the vast Egyptian history in a week - minus the touting. I hope to be back in Egypt soon, but next time, it will be to explore the Sinai peninsula, legendary Petra and get underwater to finally blow some bubbles!

Bike life cycle...take 2...no actually it's 3

The gumtree posting read like this:

Wheels Alex As-1 Rims 2008 700 C
Tyres Specialized All Condition Armadillo 28 C
Stem Specialized
Crank Sugino
Gears 27
Gear Shifters Deore Lx
Brake Levers Deore Lx
Brakes Tektro V Brakes
Front Derailer Deore Lx Back Derailer Shimano Deore M531
Saddle Specialized Patent V Groove
Seat Post Specialized Carbon
.....
PLZ NOTE; THIS BIKE IS VERY LIGHT N FAST!

Seems like I am not very good with bikes to be honest coz I couldn't really make out much of what is listed, but the 2 most important considerations on my mind have been answered...it is VERY LIGHT and it is within my budget. These are good enough, and after viewing it, and doing a test ride for few minutes, the deal was closed. Regardless, I was so excited to be riding again - farewell to the stupid tube and morning bus jams along Victoria/Trafalgar Sq.

I know have my 3rd bike in a year, 1st bike made me terribly sad for a week, 2nd one makes me laugh when I think back. Hopefully I do not have to look for the 4th one.

The innocence of attending kiddo birthdays

Was very kindly invited to a 3 year old's birthday party over the weekend. It was just amazing how time has flew past - Euan was still in Mommy's tummy when his daddy and I were slogging away in a tiny office, trying to test/market/find funding of a web application that we were building. 3 years later, he has grown to be such a cute little blonde boy, taking on all the wonderful features of his beautiful mommy and eloquence of his lawyer dad. Never have I expected to be still in this country after almost 4 years, but I am glad to have met some amazing people and their family during this time.

By the way, Daddy informed me that Euan has proudly voted my gift of a garbage truck that he used to collect all the sweets triumphed over all others, even the excellent push bike from his proud parents! I am so proud of myself :)

How to 'lose' a bike in 1 day

Yesterday I tweet about finally getting on the wheels again after 3 months heartache of losing my bike. Closed a quick sale for a deal from gumtree at 8pm only to find that it wasn't exactly very suitable for my size. Decided in the morning to list it back on gumtree and was quite lucky to get a few interested inquiries over the day. Eventually sold it to someone from Lewisham at 10.30pm although I did pity that he had to cycle back in a snowy night (Yes, it's SNOWING in Oct!!!), but glad that I can continue on my bike search again.

ps. the picture is probably terrible at showing the snow (I in the middle of central London, so snow doesn't accumulate). Chaitanya's picture on his FB is probably much better.

How to annoy yourself by been forgetful

Nothing is more annoying when I come back from a trip only to find the photos I took are far from ideal. And this was what happened to me for the batch of pictures I took in Memphis, Saqqara and Giza. I forgot to change the ISO from 400 that I had used the night before back to 100 and ended up with unusually grainy pictures taken in 37 degrees sunlight...arrggggggg!

From the lands of the pharaohs to the land of the sacred cows

Has been traveling a fair bit over the past 2 weeks, initially taking an holiday to Egypt with my loved ones, followed by a work trip to Gurgaon, off Delhi in India. Only managed to wash my laundry after leaving work slightly earlier to catch the laundromat before it closes, else might have to end up wearing stinky clothes to office soon.

Trip to Egypt has been really amazing in terms of getting close to the amazing history of the Egyptians and getting to comprehend the sheer scale and size of all the monuments built thousands of years back. My history of the country has never been better in my life although we did have the feeling of too much sand, tombs and temples after 1 week. The friendliness of the people in the cities of Luxor and Aswan really left a deep impression on me, and is genuinely touched by how they are living happily even though life is so tough for them (a white collar worker earns EGP250/mth, £1 is about EGP9.50!). Touting in the country probably takes the meaning of hassling to a new level, but it is just mainly because their lives rely so much on tourism. Never have I see so many donkeys, horses and cows still used as the primary transport in the little towns. It's just so surreal. Have started to upload some of the photos, but has been very slow so far...

India was pretty much a brand new experience altogether. Our office was situated slightly off the Delhi, in Gurgaon, but was close enough to visit after work. Someone told me that there are more cars in Delhi than the sum of all the cars in the rest of India! This basically translate to crazy journey times to the city even though it is barely about 70km away. As one would expect, the city is in a crazy mode of building, with roadworks, new apartments, buildings and shopping complexes sprouting up everywhere. This also meant that the pollution is probably as bad as what I experienced in Cairo. A few of us had the opportunity to visit the city of Agra during the weekend, and witness the magnificent Taj Mahal in its grandest glory. The 20hr trip really sap our energies completely and most of us were glad to be flying back the next day. Even though the city is in a rush to get itself ready for the 2010 Commonwealth games, it still amazed me to see cows in the middle of the road(I finally understood the reason and history behind the sacred cows from my guide), and hogs walking in front of our hotel!


For once, I really looked forward to having sandwiches for lunch again in a loooong time...

Starting up again

My new startup company is moving tomorrow to a new building along Charlotte St. I went to take a peek today at its comms room, where we will be locating our switch rack for the ethernet connections on our floor. Never did I expect to see this!

Did not know whether to laugh or be really worried I need to make sure the phones and internet connections are up when the CS team goes in on Wednesday morning. Definitely worth a post of the state.

Weather forecast is not good for tomorrow, wish us luck!

Be a traveler, not a tourist

3 days into my new job and I can't wait for the weekend to arrive. Don't get me wrong, I am really excited about my new role, new company, new colleagues, but I admit it took me few days to get used to the new environment. 512K office bandwidth shared by 10+ people, seats that are running out (I reckon I will be on the beanbag tomorrow), mini-toilets, no fancy robo-bin(a bin that opens the lid when you wave your hand over it) and no sophisticated coffee machine. But it is all fun, the people are so passionate about what they do, and they are a great bunch to be around even though I am still trying to get to know everybody. To celebrate my new found happiness, I am sharing with everyone a 10% discount voucher which you can use on all tours and activities found on the site, and there are thousands of them, literally! Lastly, if it is not too much to ask, it will be great if you can vote for us in the British Travel Awards under the "Best Holiday Experience" if you like us. (Unfortunately it is only available for UK residents)

You have to hurry, the offer ends 30 Sept! Happy traveling!!!

End to an eventful week

It started with a last minute booking of a return tickets to NYC last Friday. The next day was followed with lots of footie and a rush to Heathrow to catch my flight for a surprise visit to my girlfriend in the Big Apple. The crash of the Lehman and difficulties faced by AIG definitely did not help with the face time that we have for each other (she works in the financial sector). Undeterred, I continued my foodie tour of the city on my own, focused mainly on burgers and ramen specifically. In 5 days, I tried the Five Guys Burgers and Fries, swung by Shake Shack, tasted ramens from Minca and Ipudo. In between, I sneaked in enough time to visit my old favourites at Burger Joint and Ramen Setagaya. I felt I had gain a stone from the trip but the burger & fries from Five Guys were simply amazing and the broth at Ipudo was just heavenly. I even managed to play some tennis with friends after more than a year and enjoy a few recommended coffees.

Today also spells my last day with the company that I have spent my last 2 and half years. It has been an extraordinary journey and will miss the incredible team that I have been working with. Tomorrow I embark on a new chapter and wishes the very best to the folks of my old office.

Adiós and stay in touch!

Flickr goes MORE social...

My favorite photo sharing site Flickr just launched a new facelift to their homepage. If you are still seeing the old look and feel, scroll down the page and look for a link to try out their new site. Click on it and you will get the blue/pink flickr theme 'snow flakes' falling on your screen.

New features include a small graphical display of the stats above your photo stream, with the major addition of a 'explore' section near the bottom of the page that displays the most 'interesting' photos shared in the last 7 days. There are also more AJAX changes to sections for 'recent activities', resulting in a better user experience without the usual click-wait-refresh of before. There seems to be more emphasis on 'Groups' as well although it is one feature which I hardly use often previously.

Running with iphone

A GPS app called Trailguru recently caught my eye as I have been searching around for a useful tool to help me to map my runs. One of the nice features of the tool is its simplicity and ease of use. On first install on the iphone, you will be requested to register a new account on trailguru.com, which will serve as the repository to hold your GPS tracks. Registration takes less than a minute and I even did it on the phone directly. Initial FAQ readings all seem very positive and I set out to do a test run today by jogging back from office to home.


To start the track, you can just press "Start" which will then ask if you want to allow the phone to use your current location, or choose to manually turn on your "Location Services" under settings before starting the trace. This seems to work better for me as I was always able to get a GPS lock on immediately after. The application is clever enough to guess if you are continuously moving or have come to a stop based on the GPS location. Uploading the results to the website is a breeze as you are displayed with a screen to select the activity that you have just completed, choose if you want to share with other users, and post your track online immediately. You will then receive an email indicating your track upload with a link to view it online on a Gmap.

As expected, I was getting mixed results even though the screen was showing me the lat/lon coordinates, which might be down to the buildings around my office as I headed down to the river. It has clearly got the first stretch quite accurately (although it missed the stretch from my office down to the river bank), but completely missed the 2nd part of the route opposite Westminster to Pimlico. It was the best demo test but it did show enough potential for me to give it another go later this week. I think the fact that it even shows you the elevation and accumulated distance simply makes this app a potential killer, and not forgeting that you can actually view traces shared by other users around your route. As you can see, it is not only for runners like me, but you can even use it for hiking, trekking, cycling etc...and best of all, the app is FREE! Give it a go yourself and let me know how it went for you.

Swiss update

Have been experiencing a fair bit of swiss flavor for the month of August. First off was a trip to Bern and Lucerne with a couple of friends, one whom I have known for almost 18 years, and who is getting married in Oct. The highlight of the weekend trip has to be the golden circle day trip to Mount Pilatus from Lucerne, starting with a very lazy cruise on Lake Lucerne, followed by a journey up to the mountain on the world's steepest cogwheel rail. The views on the mountain was simply breathtaking, even though it was an overcast day. The cable car trip down was also exciting, especially for my friend who was very afraid of heights, and when I mean VERY AFRAID...You can view all the photos on my flickr.

I was out to Istanbul midweek to see my team members for the last time before starting on my new journey in life with another company later this month. As it was a last minute decision, I ended up booking an unusual flight to Istanbul via Geneva on Swiss Air as it was the appropriate in terms of the timings and overall price. Had an unexpected but pleasant surprise on my return trip from Istanbul as they upgraded me to Business and got to use the lounge between the legs. Was extremely helpful as we were out having dinner and drinks in Taksim and was directly off to the airport to catch my 5.30am flight. Couldn't have ask for more...swiss air has just gone to the top of my favorite airlines, and not just because they give out chocolates on all their flights.

Nike+ Human Race - complete shambles

Got a text on my phone when I reached back from the run - "You raced the world. You beat the clock - well run. Your official time: 00:42:38. Your pace: 04:16/KM. Check out nikeplus.com tomorrow for global race results."

It looks impressive with the use of technology but I really consider this to be my worst race that I have ever run in my life! Let's try to list them down and you judge for yourself:

1. Run route was only released 2 weeks before the event; prior to that, most of the runners have no clue of the route, let alone that it will be run in the evening; we were only notified upon collection of the running T.
2. The instructions stated that all runners are required to be inside Wembley stadium by 6pm, but there was no indication that the run would only start at 7.45pm. During the hour and half, there was no notice of that actual start time, and runners were all jogging around the limited area inside the stadium and trying to warm themselves up before the start.
3. Why was there a concert performance by Pendulum (who???), Moby and other DJs for and hour and half when most of the runners just want to start running? Personally, I am a fan of Moby, but completely did not see the point of the performances especially when it was raining and cold; we just wanted to RUN!!!
4. I spoke to a few runners and we were all completely clueless about the point of the elaborate stage and the artistes performance. This was meant to raise funds for 3 global charities, wouldn't it be more fruitful to give these additional money to them?
5. The route was a the worst I have encountered; sharp turns, no lighting, few road marshals. I know the weather was out of control, but surely a better route should have been chosen for an event of such scale? I was in the first wave that started at 7.45pm and I could hardly see many sections of the road as the lighting was extremely poor as it was through a industry area. I really sympathise with the runners starting in wave 4 and hope no accidents happen along the way.
6. Again on the route: why was such a remote area of London chosen which resulted in the supporters unable to give the support like any other big races. It was that bad that I will not walk there alone at night!

My rants were not helped by the fact that I performed badly in the run, not helped by 5 diarrhea trips to the toilet in the day. Only felt better after a dosage of medicine which left my legs slightly wobbly due to the loss of water and salt. The lack of information of the start time also resulted in the runners not sure if they should go to the washroom or not especially since they have got a good place near the starting line like myself. I ended up making a pit stop to the toilet at the 5km mark and struggled to maintain the pace through the route.

In the end, all of us were cold and wet from the rain slashing down on us along the route, and the organisation definitely left a very bitter after taste to the event. The entire setup just seem to be a publicity stunt for Nike, rather than doing what they are preaching. I will not be surprise if there are no aftermath from the public tomorrow...

Nike+ Human Race

Been very slack over the past month in terms of staying up-to-date with the blog due to some very active traveling (3 European cities in a month) and work related stuff. Hoping to complete my uploading of all pictures over the weekend but really looking forward to the race this weekend, which presents a chance to get inside Wembley Stadium(the race starts from the stadium), as well as an opportunity to improve my PB from my previous 10km run, although I am not looking forward to the weather forecast of rain/thunder/sleet, etc etc...

Lost in transition

A weekend in Berlin turned out to be another mini nightmare, continuing my tradition of an unusual event/incident in my recent trips. A S-bahn disruption from Berlin city to the Schönefeld airport ended up me missing my flight back to London, resulting in another night out on chairs that are obviously not meant to sleep over. Having to get another ticket home was encountered with 'not very friendly' ground staff from Globeground Berlin, who insisted that I have to 'check on the internet myself' if I want to book another flight other than Ryanair even though they handle both airlines desk bookings. She was even able to look me in the eye and said that she was unable to check on her system (I thought those airport terminals were the 'know all' machines that can check every single airline that exist in this world, other than the supercomputers quietly churning away data for the preparing for the next particle collision at CERN). So much so for German technology advancement, which I think it partly what you get for flying with a crap service like Ryanair, who has just charged me another EUR75 for missing my flight and putting me on the next flight back. Thanks Mr O'Leary!

Week in review

Another 10km in the bag from the BUPA Capital Run in Hyde Park this morning. Struggled a fair bit but was quite pleased that I came within a whisker of my target of under 40min - I put it down to the excuse of not able to get over my loss. Not really looking forward to the week ahead on the tube, I might try to walk to work instead.

Off on a complete tangent, read that Emirates airlines is going to ban all paper on their flights (including inflight magazines, safety instructions, etc) which is taking up 2kg per seat, and there are an average of 500 seats on a flight. 1 ton of weight saved for every flight - what a brilliant idea to combat the increasing fuel costs!

What is wrong with this city?

It was meant to be an enjoyable night out celebrating John's last night with the company but ended with a terrible bad taste for me when I walked out of the Thai restaurant in Covent Garden only to discover that the lock to my Specialized bike was literally cut in half, and my bike was nowhere in sight. I am really upset as I liked my bike alot and only had it for less than 4 months. Did not even bother to report the incident when I walked past a police station on my way home since I did not have any insurance and the police will not be doing anything. Will be making a trip to Bethnal Green this weekend (won't be surprised to find it there although I am sure there is nothing I can do) but I doubt I can convince myself to get another bike in this city.

Another row entry in my life

ITV4 broadcasted the 23rd Marathon des Sables earlier this evening showcasing a few of the runner pairs who were flying the British flag proud. I came to know about this event earlier this year when a colleague told me about some bloke that he knew who trained for 2 years prior to it, and 2 runners losing their lives in 2007. Frankly I am quite proud of my London marathon achievement this year, although it was easily eclipsed by another friend who is part of the elite 50 mile (80.4672km!!!) club, but Marathon des Sables is seriously crazy when you actually watch it in action - 156 miles across the Sahara desert, across flat plains, 1000m mountains and sand dunes, in 6 days. To make it even more challenging, all runners are to carry their personal belongings and food throughout the course. Some of the 800 runners from 32 countries are probably professionals, but the obviously highlighted very ordinary people like myself. Suddenly the BUPA 10km run next weekend and 10km NIKE run in Aug seems ordinary to the extreme. I feeling ashamed but I am really considering...if this is going to be my ultimate challenge to my limits and endurance...I am seriously contemplating...

On a similar note, there are still places for the 2 above, do join me if you can.

Exploring the ocean's hidden worlds

Finally got to view Robert Bollard's Exploring the ocean's hidden worlds on TED. Amazing clip and continues to ask the question why are humans not spending the kind of money spent to explore space, to explore somewhere that is just next to us.

Crossing to the land below the sea

Booked a last minute trip to Netherlands on the Thursday in time for the Easter weekend break. Ended up taking the Stena Line ferry option from Harwich to Hoek van Holland. Total cost including rail from Liverpool St and rail on the other side of the North Sea comes up to £135 - not too bad considering all the air tickets I found starts from £180. In additional, I only have to take care of the other night of accommodation during my stay.

At Liverpool St, the group ended up taking a National Express coach rather than rail although the ticket does not specifically state that it was rail after a second look. On arrival and checkin, was pleasantly surprised to find a double cabin all to myself, nice and comfy, together with a toilet in many ways better than some of the hotels that I have stayed in. If only there was a satellite TV or wifi onboard!

Arriving at Hoek van Holland the next morning, I took a train to Rotterdam Central and changed to another to Amsterdam Central. Journey was relatively fuss-free and smacked in the Amsterdam by 10.30am. Orienting myself, I moved on from Amsterdam to another nearby town/city called Haarlem (reminds me of Harlem in NY) to get on to another tiny town call Hillegom. I had read from the travel section of Sunday Times that from 20 Mar for 3 months every year, the tulip bulbs are in full bloom and is sight not to be missed. Although I was at the very start of the season, I was confident to see the bloom after another extremely mild winter - at least in UK. Unfortunately I missed my station and had to drop on the next before taking another one back. As this was a slow train, the turnaround meant I had lost 45min. A local was very kind to ask me to turn back as the weather started to sleet and black clouds started to move in. He suggested I had to either walk 6km minimum to see any tulip fields OR "take" a bike from the hundreds parked at the station to help with my journey. After considering my options, I decided to get back to Amsterdam instead to focus on my other task - find an accommodation for the night.

My advice to anyone going to Amsterdam is make sure you don't get knocked down by the bikes, as I noticed that the drivers are actually more afraid of the riders, and the city is seriously overrun by bikes, in true dutch form. Try to imagine a typical carpark, but filled with bikes to the extend of overflow!!! This is maniac...I had to move fast as there seems to be ever more tourists dropping off the trains every other minute. Knocking on the doors of the hostels proved fruitless, although I was slightly surprised to hear that the youth hostels are charging EUR60 a bed/night. After walking 6 hours and knocking on over 20 hotels, I came to the conclusion that all the hotels under EUR100 a night have been fully booked. It was the first time I've seen every hotel putting up a sign saying "FULL". I had to resort to the chain hotels after hour 8 and it was seriously getting dark - EUR170 for IBIS and EUR250 for Marriott - I have decided, I will spend the night at Schiphol Airport as I am definitely not going to spend this kind of money just to sleep for the night. After resting my leg and having a hot dumpling noodle soup at chinatown, it started to snow, and I mean real snow, it was such an amazing sight (sorry, but I have a real weakness when it comes to snowing). I strolled along the Red Light district and everything was already covered in a thin layer of snow, it was so incredible. I wasn't even interested in looking at the ladies in the windows as I happily started to snap pictures of the snowy sight (although I read later that it is strongly discouraged not to take pictures along this stretch to prevent your camera going into the canals,so beware).

One of the other great benefit of this trip was that the ticket issued for Netherlands literally covers all your trips you make during that day. So if you are adventurous and crazy enough, you can be in Eindhoven in the morning, Utrecht in the afternoon and Amsterdam at night by rail - all for free!!!

So I ended up at Schiphol airport at 10pm, washed up, found myself a seat beside the departure gate as it was empty, and made myself comfortable; or as less uncomfortable as possible. I did manage to finish watching the movie Closer before trying to catch a wink. After 1am, I was constantly woken up by passengers streaming in to catch the early morning flight - so another lesson for potential airport sleepers, make sure you stay away as far as possible from the departure and arrival gates. I ended up moving downstairs to the departure hall instead as the interruptions were really annoying me while trying to catch some sleep. Downstairs, even though it was slight better, it still was pretty much an ordeal - I just wanted to get through the night!

Up at 6am, washed up, had my leftover bread from yesterday to get some energy going, I took the next train back into Amsterdam. As expected, the place was quiet but it was a really good time to walk around, and everything was still covered in snow, PRETTY! One thing I noticed about the Dutch people, they are ever so friendly. Everyone who walked past me said hi and smiled or wave at me, very nice! If you like taking pictures, this is the best time as you hardly see any locals at this time, let alone tourists. The 3 main roads circling the main city would be my recommendation if you want to experience the local feel. I stopped by a cafe beside Ann Frank's house called bagel and coffee for breakfast, and the free wifi was very handy as I pulled more maps from Multimap (but what else?) to check for directions. I found Gary's muffin (although the shop had a different name) and decided to go try it out. The special for the day was choco and nut, not spectacular, but wasn't expecting anything extraordinary from the Dutch. The pancake shop was sadly not opened until 12pm. Made my way to the Stedelijk Museum, mainly modern contemporary and excellent in one of the displays showing the highlights of Magnum Photos. Then it started to snow heavily again, although this time it was not cold enough for the snow to accumulate on the ground. After lunch, I made my way back to Hillegom and this time round, decided to walk. After checking that I was on the right direction with a local, I proceeded hastily as it started to sleet again!!! After about 5km, I was finding myself walking along huge fields of tulips on both sides of the road. Unfortunately, they have yet to bloom!!! But one can only imagine the spectacle come April. I did manage to find a small patch with some bulbs that have started to bloom earlier. ;)

After walking for an hour, I ended up at the Keukenhof garden, which I wasn't keen to go in as I wanted to see the tulips in the fields, not nicely cultivated and probably forced to bloom for the hundreds of tourists arriving by the bus loads. Was ripped off by having to pay EUR10 to take a bus back to the airport where I transferred on to another train to Rotterdam Central. By the time I reached Rotterdam, my lack of sleep was seriously kicking in and I wasn't up to anymore walking, I camped out at a local MacDonalds for coffee with a deco that easily puts many restaurants to shame. By 8pm, I was back at Hoek van Holland and checked into my cabin again for a nice hot shower, especially for my aching shoulders and blistered toes that was bleeding through my socks.

All in all, it was a nice trip, other than the part of the journey in Schiphol. But I finally managed to get up and close personal with the city more famous for its grass and sleaze than its arts or waterways. The snow was definitely a bonus but the other highlight was again my "off the beaten track" journey to find tulips - in an unusual way.

The excitement, pain, euphoria and aftermath

I still walk like a crab after a day and half on completion of my 4th marathon; my 1st in London. I did not sleep well again the night before and was probably too excited leading up to the big day. Weather at the start couldn't be any better, with the sun warming up the morning chills. Greenwich park was packed with runners, families and friends alike, all eager to contribute and share a bit of the amazing atmosphere that this event has stirred up the entire city on a lazy Sunday morning. Not wanting to be too far behind the starting blocks, I only did 10min of warm-ups before I parted with Jiamin and 'fought' my way to the starting point (I still ended up crossing the start line 10 min after the first runner sprinted off). The course was excellent, mostly flat roads, with a few gentle slopes breaking the norm, that loops round Greenwich/Tower Bridge/Canary Wharf/Embankment/Buckingham Palace.

It was a comfortable initial 20km and I really started to warm into the rays of the piercing sun. The graph shows that my best 5km timings was when I turned from Tower Bridge to Wapping. That was also when the weather turned for the worse and it started to pour with significant headwinds as well. That really broke my momentum and by the time I reach the 20mile point, my hands were so numbed from the cold that I couldn't feel my fingers.

The last 6 miles was probably the longest that I have run, but the cheers and encouragement from the crowd was simply fantastic and that really helped to push me on all the way to the finishing point along Green Park/St James Park(My expression in the photo tells it all - Photo courtesy of Tyom). I also said to myself that I wasn't going to fall behind 'Mr Juggler' who was literally juggling 3 balls from start to finish - as we were perpetually running side by side for a good 3 miles! Crossing the finishing line was simply amazing although seeing 'Mr Borat' with his costume after put a very bad after-taste to the entire thing (he was wearing the infamous green suspender/thongs, and his modesty was barely covered!).


All in all, I was really happy that I was only 2 min off my target time of 3.30hr (PB), and achieving my 2nd objective of not stopping at all throughout the journey. As of today, I have raised £1471 for PlantLife and £195 for WaterAid, and hopefully, can see a few more quid to come in from anyone who has missed the my initial donation drive (Click on the right to donate online). I was extremely glad to see the guys from Multimap turning up to show their support at Embankment as well even though the weather wasn't at its best. And most important of all, to thank my girlfriend who surprised me by turning up from New York the day before my run to continue her endless support of what I do; and spending the weekend with me even though she is so busy with her work across the Atlantic.

As of now, my pain continues, but my thought ponders on my next run now that I have ticked London marathon off my list...

Race day ahead

Tomorrow is race day - one that I have been looking forward to since I confirmed my running place 3 months ago. Haven't been quite myself this week after a pretty tough launch of my project on Thursday in quite 'Murphy's Law' circumstances. Just glad that the team got over it and I face my 2nd "high" of the week. Stocked up on more bananas and energy gels whilst collecting my race day tag, as well as new pair of shorts and socks to make me feel falsely good about myself. Weather forecasts point to a chilly and rainy day tomorrow, which everyone in London probably had a preview this afternoon during a period of intense rain and hail.

The surprise of the day came when my girlfriend mysteriously turned up from New York at the lunch whom some friends have arranged. Apparently it was all 'planned' and she really surprised me but was definitely a very good surprise! I feel much better with her around, especially since she missed my last marathon in Singapore couple of years back.

Expecting a blistery 26 miles ahead, but will definitely enjoy every moment of the journey and looking forward to enjoying a good pint of Guinness in a nearby pub. Do look out for me if you are anywhere along the route and give me your encouragement to get me the end point at Buckingham Palace. See ya!

Adopting another charity

After managing to raise the target for PlantLife, I decide to try my luck to try soliciting for additional sponsorship from friends and colleagues who might still be interested to support me for my run. Naturally I chose WaterAid as the charity as it was my first choice charity when I decided to run the marathon back at the beginning of the year, but they ran out of golden bond places then. I have set myself a target to raise £300, not a lot as I do not want to over-promise and under deliver. I still hope to grab the senior management folks in my company to help with my cause, and convince a few others who have not be too convinced with my primary charity in the first round.

12 days and counting...

As the run beckons, I am suddenly feeling both nervous and excited, but very much looking forward to it at the same time. After 3 months of training, with the addition abstinence off alcohol, I think I am in relatively good shape barring any last minute injuries. Will be reducing the intensity of my runs as the big day gets nearer but probably go for my last 2 hour run this weekend.

The good news is that I have achieved my target (overachieved!) of raising £1300 for Plantlife, all thanks to my family, friends and colleagues who have been ever so supportive and encouraging throughout this period. Hopefully I can see a few of them along the route cheering me on, which to me, will be the absolute icing on the cake on top of my aim to do a PB.

Goodbye to an excellent servant

The brakes on my old trusty bike came off last week, exactly a week after someone nicked the handle grips outside my flat. This is after multiple "violations" of her when I was out of the country in the last year since I moved out of the secure entry flat. After the latest mishap, I figured it is no longer worthwhile to repair it anymore especially after spending more than 3 times fixing her up after my girlfriend bought her for only £15 and decided to pass it on to me after.

After 4 days on the tube and bus to and from work, I figured I had enough of the public transport and went ahead to buy a Specialized Sirrus off a bloke off gumtree. Seems like a good deal as the bike was relatively new and I really amazed how light and reactive it is compared to my previous. Last night, I gave my old bike away, to a old Dutch guy who seems to appreciate her much more than I do and came down all the way from Maida Vale to collect it after I posted her on freecycle. At least she is in good hands.

Almost there but missing the social life

Another very good day for my fund raising - £1150!!! Just £150 away from the target that I have set out at the beginning. I will be over the moon if Multimap decides to match what I have raised and promise I will push myself all the way to the 3.30hr mark that I have set myself that happens. (Although I will still be pushing myself real hard for my PB)

On a sidenote, I can't wait for the run to be over as I have been missing out some of the finer enjoyments in life. Last week, it was the blues session, and tonight, had to miss the curry and champagne session that my team are enjoying in Brick Lane. Suddenly I am very looking forward to the trip to Guinness factory in Dublin come end of May.

Bought a new pair of Mizuno from Run and Become on my walk back from office to home as my daily runs are wearing thin my current Asics. Highly recommended specialist shop if you want some expert advice and opportunity to try them on before you buy.

Another milestone to my goal

My sponsorship amount crept past the magical £1,000 mark today, less than £300 away from the target that I have set out to raise at the beginning of this journey. All thanks to some wonderful family, friends and colleagues at work for their kind support, although quietly I will still be hoping to "stalk" a few more bigwigs to pitch in. Also hoping that my request to my company to match the amount raised will be approved by the management team in their meeting tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

As for my training, there hasn't been much progress for this week as I have been staying back in office much later than I would like over the past few days. Gave myself an off day yesterday as well to watch Liverpool play Inter Milan, at least it was worth it in the end, although at one point, I did start to doze off. Goes to show how "exciting" pool can get at times, or maybe I was just too tired... 

Past 50% mark, major milestone

The sponsorship amount quietly crept past the 50% mark that I have set myself to raise for this run, all thanks to those that have been so supportive of my goal. With less than 5 weeks to go, it is time to step up on my fund raising efforts and push myself further in the training. Will be pushing for an extra early run tomorrow before heading out to Stratford upon Avon with friends. Especially looking forward to a night at the Blues Bar on Sunday with mates.

A day of rest

BBC said it was going to snow tonight, and as usual, there was not a single fleck of white in sight. Decided to take a break tonight from running to give my knees some rest before resuming again tomorrow. Six Sigma report came back with more edits to make, oh well...

Painful day

My old problem played up on me this morning as I went for my usual "4 London Parks" run, having to stop several times as the pain on my right knee became unbearable at times. Eventually I cut short my run by halving the route around Hyde Park and staggered back to Victoria Nero in about 75min. Bought 30 capsules of Glucosamine + Chondroitin from Boots, hopefully it can help to repair the cartilage faster.

First attempt at half marathon

Glorious weather today, with clear blue sky. Seems like a good day for my first training attempt at the halfway point of the full journey. Wind was slightly too strong for my liking as I moved comfortably into my first 2km point at Battersea Park, where there was a race going on at the same time (was offered liquid as I passed by the drinks station only for her to withdraw the offer at the last minute when she realised that I did not have a racing number). After a short unexpected visit to the loo in the park, I continued on across Vauxhall, by MI6 building, behind St Thomas hospital, London Eye, Oxo Tower, Tate Modern (the new outdoor exhibit is up!), Mr Livingston's office and across Tower Bridge. By this time, I was about 12km into my run and had to struggle slightly at various stages mainly due to the strong headwind + tourists who can't seem to work out where they are walking! 

From the U-turn at Tower Bridge, I continued on the other side of the river passing Tower of London, Old Billingsgate Market, along Black Friars, Somerset House, Embankment towards Parliament Sq. My last stretch along St James park mimics the last 800m of the actual race although I had to improvise on doing a slight detour to Lambeth Bridge along Millbank, Tate Britain before ending back in Pimlico. Took 1.46 to complete about 20.6km, quite disappointed with the timings, but I have to admit it was tougher than I expected and my steps were becoming smaller towards the last 5km. The strong winds did not help and again, had problems sweating but I hope to improve further in the next 2 weeks. I will try to do another 18km tomorrow if my legs allow.

Thank you to those who have generously sponsored me so far! You are incredible and your donations will keep me going to the finishing line.

What your donations can help Plantlife to achieve

Today I finally took the plunge to setup my donation page on Justgiving and kick off 6 weeks of various efforts to try to raise funds for the wonderful people at Plantlife. Nick helped to "morph" my promotional picture to go inline with the theme of my fund raising efforts and the rest was up to me to setup the page proper.

I realised Plantlife conservation charity is very different from a charity that many are used to (i.e. Charities that deals and help with humans in a very physical way), and therefore thought it might be worthwhile to give all prospective donors an idea of what each quid donated towards the organisation can help.

£10 would enable us to survey plants
The Common Plants Survey is the only national annual plant survey in the UK and provides information on the health of our countryside. Your donation could enable a volunteer to undertake the Common Plants Survey, by providing them with support and materials.

£20 could buy equipment for volunteers

Your donation could support the work of our Flora Guardians, our volunteer team who undertake plant protection all year round and enable us to provide them with the equipment they need. £20 would buy a mattock for breaking up hard ground.

£35 could help save peat bogs
94% of raised peat bogs have been lost from the UK and rare plants and animals that depend on them are being squeezed out. Your donation could support our campaigning for an end to peat-digging in the UK.

£50 could help create a nature reserve
Plantlife owns and protects over 4,900 acres in the UK through our nature reserves. It costs approximately £3,000 per acre to buy land. Your donation could help us to continue our programme of expanding the area we look after and therefore the plants and habitats we can protect.

£100 could fund a conservation work-day
In the 23 Plantlife nature reserves around the country, we rely on the help of volunteers to undertake a lot of the work to protect vulnerable wild plants. Your donation could provide tools and cover the expenses of a whole day of volunteering for a small group of people.

£500 could help restore plant habitats
Your donation could allow a site where a rare species is on the brink of extinction to be rescued, using a range of methods to recreate endangered habitat.

This may all sound very UK to any who do not live in this country, but you will be glad to find out that Plantlife has an extensive global footprint around the world and has close working relationships with many International networks to ensure this cause is very much not lost out of UK.

I sincerely hope you can help me towards this cause and I will dig deep by training over 3 months and aiming for a best personal timing on 13 April 2008 - 3 years after my last marathon journey. Remember, every little counts towards the cause!

Thank you.

All images © Plantlife

Having trouble...to sweat

Had my longest run for my training today, about 17km altogether on a scenic route across 4 central London parks - starting with Battersea Park, followed by Hyde Park, across Green Park and ending with St James Park. Considering it was slightly sunny, it really bugs me that I still did not have a single drop of sweat after 1.21 hrs of running! I am really annoyed...

Surprise trip to NYC, Central Park - Been there and done it

Made a surprise trip to New York City last weekend, surprising my girlfriend at her door for our 10 year anniversary together. I created a mosaic pictorial using shots taken over the past 10 years onto Moo cards. Centerpiece obviously was my "masterpiece drawing" and contained nicely in a mahogany frame. At least she likes it and did not trash it into the recycling bin outside the apartment :0)

Even though it was the middle of New York winter, I had to complete my plan to run round Central park. The morning of the run was bone chilling freezing temperature and I was so wrong to think that my new Adidas long sleeve Climacool top was to protect me from the elements. 10km into my run, I was still freezing like crazy, not a drip of sweat, and hands felt like they have been chilled in a freezer for the past 40min. It had started to feel quite awkward that I ended up altering my return route and head towards "Pick-A-Bagel" along 77-78th St by Lex. Nothing beats an "everything bagel" after a good morning run, especially after I just managed to do a loop round (almost) Central Park, something that I have almost wanted to do since I first visited NYC 3 years back.

Get ready for London Marathon

Very good news today for me, as I am finally allocated a golden bond place with Plantlife. I have to admit I was not familiar with this charity before, but after reading and finding out more, I think the organisation is really different from the normal charities that many will relate to. It may mean that donations will not be as forthcoming as it is not a 'normal' charity that deals with poeple, but I am even more determined to raise above the amount that I need. At the end of the day, I think the cause is as big as an organisation that is trying to eradicate the world of Malaria.

It has been 3 years since my last marathon in Singapore, and there will be plenty of tough training ahead, but somehow I am so determined to run this marathon assuming that my knees do not give up on me on the big day. 1 month and 27 days left to the big day, stayed tuned to this page for my training updates and I hope you can support me by donating generously in the coming weeks.

Japanese fleet still killing whales

The Japanese whaling fleet are still hunting the whales in the Southern Oceans. The picture shows an adult minke whale and her calf which is almost so sad to look. Guardian has a video of the entire hunting process which the Japanese apparently shot harpoons that explode on hitting the whales. How can the Japanese Govt continue to do this when their people are condemning this action literally?

Seafood Sea Life

News of the Greenpeace ship chasing after the Japanese whaling fleet has been very much in the news over the past month. It seemed like there was much success from the effort as it has been reported that thousands of whales have been saved by members of Greenpeace risking their lives by going on rubber inflatables  between Nisshin Maru and the whales. This is indeed a highly commendable effort and I dream of a day when I can do my part to protect these magnificent creatures of the great ocean.

This week, celebrity chefs also joined in the campaign to promote sustainable fishing in the world. Much of the world's fish stock has collapsed since the 1950s and even more so in the recent decade. Cod and blue fin tuna is becoming a luxury these days when many still remember how plentiful there was before in the North Sea. I have to admit that I do not take much notice into the fish that I buy at Sainsbury (although I do not buy them often, but M&S will be a good alternative), I will definitely be taking a more conscious attempt in the future to ensure that they come from sustainable fisheries. 

As a diver, nothing is worse than seeing the unimaginable of a seafloor devastated by fishing trawlers. Not sure what you can do? See the following list of FAQs.

Following up on my Ramen trail

It has been a excellent day out for me, making a journey to Brooklyn for the famous Di Fara pizza (Will follow up with a review of this and Grimaldi pizza, 2 of the best in NY) followed by coffee at the Red Horse Cafe near Prospect Park. After which was a first to a NBA match where the New York Knicks against Detroit Pistons. Unfortunately it started to go wrong from there. First came the rain instead of the predicted snow, and followed by my worst ramen experience in NYC.

Sapporo restaurant, been recommended by a friend, we decided to check it out as it was my last night in New York and really want to a good ramen to finish off this trip. Situated at midtown (Map), it was a short distance from Madison Square Garden where we attended the match. We ordered Gyoza, Miso Ramen and Shoyu Ramen and we were surprised that all 3 dishes came in less than 2 min after our orders.

Gyoza - Link to flickr orginal

Miso Ramen - Link to flickr original

Shoyu Ramen - Link to flickr original

Unfortunately everything kinda went from bad to worse from there. Gyoza was still acceptable, better than Wagamama in London, ramen was worse than the instant noodles that I cook, and the soup taste awfully of MSG! We hardly finish 1/3 of what was in our bowls and left in extreme disappointment. If you have read my previous reviews of the other Ramen places, I rate Sappora as completely off the list. Avoid at all costs unless you are lost in midtown and have nowhere else to go (Sorry Tommy, they probably had an off day or maybe you went to a different place!).

Current rankings:
1. Ramen Segataya
2. Rai Rai Ken
3. Momofuku

Unranked:
1. Sapporo Restaurant

On a Ramen Trail in Manhattan

I always like coming to New York for many reasons. The hustle and bustle, the shopping, the pretty Williamsburg/Brooklyn area, Central Park, and most of all, the 24hrs food that you can get regardless of where you are staying. One of my favorites in the city has to be the taste of ramen, something that I do not get in London.

From my last trips, I discovered a new place that opened in June last year called Ramen Segataya (Map) serving very authentic Shio Ramen. The broth is always delicious and the cha shiu (sliced pork) is tasty, both crunchy on the outside but soft and tender once you bite into it. Watching the chefs cooking behind the counter is always fascinating and prep you up before the waitress brings your bowl of ramen to you. The texture of the noodles is still the best that I have tasted and the runny egg is another personal favorite. Some might find the broth to be too salty, but I will argue that this is what Shio Ramen is all about, although I suspect they might change the taste slightly to accommodate to the local taste-buds over time. Costing slightly more than $10, it has remained the top of my list whenever I am back in the city.

Recently, I decided to check out the other recommended ramen stores in this city, with Rai Rai Ken and Momofuku highly recommended by friends. I stopped by Rai Rai Ken (Map) last night and peeped into the outlet. It was tiny, looked just like those Japanese ramen outlets that I see on TV back in Singapore. I was impressed and prompted found a seat by the counter and ordered a Shio ramen. Unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures this time round as it was quite crowded and I felt slightly embarrassed to be snapping my food whilst the rest are busy slurping down their ramen. First taste was a slight disappointment; the ramen was nowhere the same feel as what I had at Segataya. The broth was reasonable, but the pork was also disappointing as it does not have the same slightly "charred" taste which I like. Clearly it was just left in the broth and cut up to be served. Price wise, it was the cheapest of the 3 outlets. Not the best, but I still have Momofuku to taste to complete my test.

So off to Momofuku (Map) this afternoon, only to find out that they have moved to a bigger outlet few steps from their previous. It was the biggest store as compared to the other 2, so it might be a better option if you are planning to lunch out with a few mates. I heard their pork buns were the specialty, but this been a ramen test, I had to go with their Momofuku ramen instead. Looking across the kitchen where the food was cooked, I did not get a good feel of the food to come as I hardly see a Japanese looking person in it (I like to associate good Japanese food follows authentic Japanese chefs). When my ramen arrived, it looks like a "mix-mash" in my opinion! There was the ramen, a poached egg (what is a poached egg doing in a ramen???), some sour vegetables, few slices of pork belly, separate pork shreds and chopped spring onion. First taste of the noodles seems to give the same texture as the ones I had at Rai Rai Ken, but still nowhere close to Segataya. The taste did not have any shio or miso taste, but that might be due to the house specialty that they have, although it was not to my liking. Charging $14 a bowl was slightly on the high side for me as well, although one might argue the amount of ingredients in the bowl justify for that.

Overall, after 3 ramen for 3 days, this is my personal recommendations if you want to have a good ramen in Manhattan:

1. Ramen Segataya

2. Rai Rai Ken

3. Momofuku (You might want to try the pork buns appetizer instead)

Do you a Ramen place to recommend?

New Year, new flu

Most of you would probably be still nursing the hangover from the New Year celebrations, whilst I am still nursing my last flu of 2007 and and first flu of 2008 (The strike was timely enough to stop me from going anywhere on New Year's eve). I am not sure if it has anything to do with the recent cold snap but it sure cost me enough misery to not look forward to the new year, let alone any resolutions!

On a side-note, my pursuit of snow seemed to pay off this week when temperatures started to plummet on New Year's day. The thermometers slipped to minus 11 degrees centigrade the day before and was so cold that puddles of water on the roads were frozen up to a amazing sight for me. Since it was so cold, and not wanting to go outdoors, I decided to test how cold it was.

I filled a container of water and left it out by the window ledge.

1 hour later, the surface was already frozen up.

3 hours later, ice block for that Ice-Kacang in winter!

On the downside, there was only a minor snow shower during one of the mornings to show for. And worse, I heard it has started to snow in London instead! D'oh!!!

Happy New Year to All!