Holiday Time

I am going to the Northern states of Malaysia for 6 days until 1 Jan. 2008 for a 6 day holidays. It's going to be a long 6 hour drive to Alor Star, Kedah. There will be no blog updates until I return next year.

Keep on running and happy new year in advance to everyone.

Jakarta Running Report

I was in Jakarta for 8 days. Jakarta is not a city made for runners. Even walking around the city is not a pleasant experience as there are just too many vehicles and lots of people around. The latter is to be expected as there are 10 million people living in Jakarta. Another 5 million people travel daily to and from Jakarta for work. Although I stayed in a hotel near the Senayan stadium, I never ran there. I ran on a treadmill at the hotel's fitness centre. Out of the 8 days, I was glad to have been able to run 5 days.

Eating out is quite expensive in Jakarta. The prices at the shopping centres food court are surprisingly higher than Malaysia. A meal consisting of just 3 dishes and rice can cost RM 10. The cheapest places to eat are at the roadside warungs (stalls). There are two types of stalls; the semi permanent with tables and chairs and the mobile stalls. The simplest mobile stalls are just carts that have boxes with glass sides. To move these stalls, the operator simply pulls the cart along, so they should really be called "Pull carts".

At every traffic light junction, there will be lots of people knocking on the vehicles. The sellers mainly sell small stuff; a stick of cigarette and snacks. The saddest sights are children begging for money or sometimes food. There are many poor people in Jakarta but step into a 5 star hotel, the crowd will be totally different,. There you can see the minority of Indonesians who can afford to eat and stay at 5 star hotels.

By the way, if you are a guy, Jakarta and Indonesia in general is like paradise. There are many beautiful women around and it must a criteria for women employees at a 5 star hotel to be beautiful. Very few Muslim women in Indonesia are covered up like in Malaysia.

Travelling Here and There

I have been traveling here and there again. Last weekend I was in Kota Kinabalu for a company workshop. Other than the new buildings fronting the beach, the places where I used to walk around and had lunch/breakfast were still dilapidated. In fact, I would say most of KK has changed for the worse with more dirt on the road, more kids roaming on the streets amidst the decay of the an badly maintained city.

Today I am going to Jakarta for one week for work. Today is the Singapore Marathon. The marathon race started 2 hours 15 minutes ago at 5.30 am. Good luck to first time marathon runners.

Wednesday - KLCC park run

After several months absence from KLCC park, the cooler temperature and cloudy conditions compelled me to run at the park. I came across the American runners who asked me where the hell I've been to ? I told them I have retired. After I finished my stretching exercises, I started to run and eventually caught up with the three Americans. I ran with them for about 200m but the pace was too slow, so I ran ahead of them. I did a comfortable 3 laps (3.9 km) before I had to stop as the my right knee became too sore. I joined the three ladies; D, I and J for a one lap walk.

From the current condition of my right knee, I don't think I would be able to run any races/runs next year.

The Pacemakers, an informal group of runners have a unique vocabulary about running. Ronnie (PM1) describes these words and phrases.

Running Regularly

I have been able to run on a regular basis recently. I have to restrict most of my runs on a treadmill. It is very boring to run on a treadmill and to overcome the tedium I usually run with an iPod nano. In the early days (years 2000 to 2003) when I was more of a running purist, I only listened to my breaths when I ran. Occasionally I went into a semi meditative state when I managed to get into the "Zone". It that state, running and breathing became one and it seemed as though I could run forever. Nowadays I need an iPod to keep me going on a treadmill.

Music I am currently listening to : Inner Peace by Steven Halpern.
Book I am currently reading : Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism

5 km at last

Yesterday I finally managed to run 5 km. I felt very good afterwards.

I think it has been 2 months since I had run 5 km continuously. 5 km is far cry from the past years (2002-2004) when running 5 km meant I was getting warmed up for a 10km training run.

I ran the 5k on treadmill with the "5km" program. Speed at was set 10.0 km/hr. Almost all of the treadmills were occupied save one. Luckily next to me there was a female "runner" for me to watch to stave off boredom. Thank you whoever you are. BTW, you have a pretty face but you need to work on those flabby legs.

Great Stuff

After nearly 3 weeks of almost zero running, today I've had enough. I just had to run but to preserve my right knee, I ran on the treadmill. I only ran 3 km at 9.5 km/hr. From today''s short session, I conclude that my fitness have not deteriorated much.

On the way home in Klang town, I almost stepped on a small sized cat laid on a shop's footpath. The cat's black and white coloured fur was stained with black coloured mud. The cat was dead perhaps from an accident but there was no sign of blood. I think it could have fallen into the drain and drowned. Poor cat!

Last night, I accidentally caught a TV program on CNN Travel and Living. The program showed Ian Wright famous for his off beat travels for Lonely Planet and Karen Mok, a famous singer and actress from Hong Kong. In the program during an interview with a H.K. radio station, she brought along her pet cat (grey and white striped coat). In dog loving H.K., she actually has five cats.

Training Mileage Has Drastically Dropped

Thanks to all who had wished me "Selamat Hari Raya".

My training mileage has drastically dropped since 02 October 2007. I stopped running for about 2 weeks due to a worsening knee conditions. I started running on Tuesday and Wednesday on the 400m at the Klang stadium. The result? I can confirm that I am fit to run even 3 km. I also sprained my left ankle two weeks ago. That inury combined with my bum right knee (gettting worse!), means I have to stop running for at least 4 to 5 days.

The only consolation is I was able to watch three DVD movies I bought from Amazon.com over the Hari Raya break. The three movies I watched were samurai classics directed by the late and great Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa; Seven Samurai. Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

Tuesday : A Tiring Run

After 3 days of rest (Weekend and Monday), I was eager to run today but I am not sure what went wrong today. I left the office at 4.40 pm and immediately headed for the gym. I changed to a T-shirt and shorts and was on the treadmill at 4.55 pm. I selected the 5km program with Number one gradient (Number one gradient is automatically set between 3.5 and 1.5 km).

• I started to rum slowly at 7.5 km/hr for 300 m,
• Increased speed to 8.5 km starting from 4600 m and maintain to 4100m,
• At 4100m, treadmill speed increased to 9.5 km/hr. Maintained pace for another 200m.
• At 3900m, increased pace to the target pace of 10.0 km/hr,
• Between 3900 to 3500m, felt comfortable at 10.0 km/hr,
• At 3500 m, gradient increases to number one. Taking of a lot effort to maintain 10.0 km/hr,
• At 2000m, I manually decreased gradient to horizontal position. My breathing was becoming uneven,
• At 1500m, "Stitches" start to appear, reduced speed to 9.0 km/hr. Tried very hard to control breathing.
• At 1000m, "Stitches" disappeared. Increased speed to 9.5 km/hr.
• At 600m, increased speed to 10.0 km/hr.
  
• At 200m, reduced speed to 8.5 km/hr.
  
• Stopped at 0.0 m.
  

Total distance = 5.0 km. Total time = 34 minutes including 2 stops (1 minute total) to switch the iPod tracks. Calories used = 305 kcal.

My aim to run 10.0 km/hr for 5.0 km didn't turn out that well today. I have not yet reached a level of fitness to sustain this pace for 5.0 km.

I plan to try again this week.

Fasting Month Training

Despite the fasting month, I haven't stopped running. The reduced working hours from 5.00pm to 4.00pm has allowed me to run and still be able to make it home before 7.00 pm on most days.

All my runs are done on a treadmill as it is just too hot to run outside between 4.00 to 5.00pm. For the first fasting week, I limited my runs to 3.5 km. During the second week, I increased it to 4.0 km. Now, by the start of third week, I am able to comfortably run for 5.0 km at 9.5 km/hr. Last Friday, I push up the pace to 10.0 km/hr to see how it felt. It was harder but I would say still within my current fitness limit.

My plan is to continue running at least 3 times once a week for the last 12 days of Ramadhan. I intend to limit the distance to 5.0 km and pacing at 10.0 km/hr. I am not planning to run any races for the rest of the year.

My right knee injury has eased up a bit but I will see how it goes before deciding whether to run 20 or 30km in the Great Eastern Run on 27 January 2008.

My weight? As of this evening when I stepped on the scale before breaking fast, it read 57.8 kg. Add 1.0 kg for the dehydration effects and lack of food, my weight has dropped by just 1.0 kg from 60 to 59 kg. There is still another 4 kg to go.

Trip to India : Last Posting

As a record of my 2 weeks plus trip to India 2 weeks ago, a summary of my trip:-

1. 24 Aug. (Friday)- Departed Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi.
   
2. 25 Aug. - 26 Aug. (Sat. - Sunday) - New Delhi. Visited some places in New Delhi.
   
3. 27 Aug (Mon.) - took a bus from New Delhi to Dharamsala. The bus trip took 15 hrs from 5.30 pm to 8.30 am. I took a non A/C (450 Rupee-RM 50) so it was hot and humid throughout the trip. The distance was 500km.
   
4. 28 Aug. (Mc LeodGanj) - took a taxi from Dharamsala to Mc LeodGanj ,10 km and 600 higher than Dharamsala. Very sleepy. Slept until 5.00pm.
   
5. 29 Aug. - 1 Sept (Sat.) - Rain everyday for 12 to 16 hrs. Visited some Tibetan temples and Norbulingka Institute. Hang-out around Mc Leod Ganj.
   
6. 1 Sept. (Sat.) - I took yet another bus trip from hell - back to New Delhi. The bus left Mc LeodGanj at 6.30pm. It was raining heavily and the trip down the mountainous winding roads took 5 hours. It was a nauseating experience that I do not want to repeat.
   
7. 2 Sept. (Sun.) - Reached New Delhi at 8.30 am.
   
8. 3 Sept.(Mon.) - Took a 2 hour flight from New Delhi to Bhubasneswar in Orrisa state in eastern India.
   
9. 4 Sept. (Tue.) - Went to see some places in Bhub.
   
10. 5 Sept. (Wed.) - went on a tour run by the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation with five Indian tourists to Puri and Konark. At Konark, visited the Sun temple, a designated UNESCO heritage historical site. Noted the representations of sexual positions on the carvings around the temple. Among the notable sexual acts depicted were lesbianism, male homosexuality, bestiality and a female prostitute.
    
11. 6 Sept. to 7 Sept. (Frid.) - Chill out in Puri.
    
12. 7 Sept. (Frid.) - returned to Bhub. by local bus (60km). Bus fare RS 25 (RM 3.00).
    
13. 8 Sept. (Sat.) - took a flight back to New Delhi.
    
14. 9 Sept. (Sun.) - did some shopping in New Delhi. Took a flight back to Kuala Lumpur at 11.50pm.
    
15. 10 Sept. (Monday) - arrived at KLIA, 6.30am.

AND here is the photo of the sleeper bus I took from McLeodGanj to New Delhi. There are 12 sleeper beds with a hard mattress and an equally hard 2 inch thick pillow. A curtain can be drawn across the compartment for privacy. However the "bed" is quite short, just enough to fit someone who is 5 feet 4 inches tall. Taking a sleeper seat on a bus is not something I would recommend as it not really possible to get a sound sleep on a typical Indian roads. Every time the bus hits a pot hole, you will be jolted awake and there are many pot holes on Indian roads including on "highways".

Trip to India - Photos Part 1: Dharamsala - Norbulingka Institute

Entrance to the main temple

Prayer Flags

More Prayer Flags

Prayer Wheels

In the Norbulingka, there is a doll museum showing dolls of the various ethnic groups in Tibet. The details of the dolls costumes are quite amazing but unfortunately no photography is allowed in the museum. In the main temple, there are beautiful wall mural paintings but again I do not have any photos but you can see them at the official website of the Norbulingka Institute here.

Trip To India :: Part 6 At Orisa State

I survived another 15 hr bus trip in India. This time it was from Mc Leod Ganj to New Delhi. I was considering going North to Manali or even further up to Leh but both trips would entail a 5 to 10 hrs bus ride. Not forgetting I had to return to Delhi perhaps taking 18 to 24 hours by bus. I tried to book a flight from Dharamsala to New Delhi but failed as the flights were fully booked until 3 Sept and were often cancelled due to bad weather.

In the end I ended up booking a sleeper on a bus for Rs 650. The sleeper seat is actually a bed installed above the regular seats. I took a photo of this unusual set-up and will post it later. However the sleeper "seat" did not turn out to be a good idea as for 5 hours the bus went down a winding mountain road. I almost threw up several times. I couldn't sleep either due to the heat and humidity (no air-cond.) in the bus.

The bus arrived at the Tibetan Refugee settlement at 8.30 am. While waiting for my friend to pick me up with a car. I fended off a dozen offer of transport from taxi, auto-rickshaw and rickhaw drives at inflated prices. Sometime at 9.15 am, a European guy (Thomas from Austria) stepped of a bus and was also offered various means of transportation. He declined the offers and was wandering around the area looking for a reasonably price offer. I called out to him and offered to take him along in my friend's car. He told me the taxi drivers were asking for RS 600 (RM 55) to his destination at Jawarharlal Nehru University (JNU), double the going rate of RS 250. It seems taxi drivers everywhere in the developing world has much in common with each other.

We could not drive him to JNU as it was in the opposite direction of our heading. My friend managed to get a city bus for him. The bus fare was a mere RS 10 (RM 1.10).

On Monday, I took a an Indian Airlines (IA) flight to Bubhasnewar, the capital of Orrisa state. My last flight with Indian Airlines was way back in 1989. In those days, IA was universally known for its bad service, sour temperament of its stewardess and flying mostly 20 years old airplanes. How things have changed for the better. The airplane is a brand new Airbus 319. Even the food was OK.

I have spent about 4 days in Orissa state. On Tuesday I went to see some temples around Bubhasnewar using a hired car. After the tour, I went to the Orissa Tourist Development Corporation (OTDC). Almost every state in India has a government run company for tourism.

My last experience with such an agency was 1989 with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC). Back then, visiting the TTDC was like stepping back to a government office in British Malaysia circa 1950's.

18 years later, I found the same situation at OTDC office which was mind you, the MAIN office for the corporation. The whole enterprise was located in a bungalow painted white. Inside I met several people working amidst decaying tables and chairs. The officers were knowledgeable but somewhat unenthusiastic.

I bought an OTDC tour from the "Transport Department" to Puri and Konark for RS 150. My details were duly recorded in a A4 sized hardcover booked and I was given the appropriate receipt. A woman whom I asked earlier was the Tourist information Officer suitably housed in a dusty office named "Tourist Information Department". Here too, I was duly asked to record my details in an A4 hardcover book (name, passport no. visa no, nationality etc.). I noted there were about only 8 persons who had been to this particular office over the past eight months. I have no doubt there were identical books to be filled by tourist lying around various departments (accomodation, finance etc.). There was not single computer or notebook in sight.

Nowadays India has become a "dream market" for financial analysts for its recent high economic growth (9.3 percent in 2007) but as the above story illustrates, the government agencies remains mired in inefficiency and inertia.

Tomorrow I will be going back to Bhubasnewar from Puri. As I am trying to save money, I will be going by local bus for the 60km trip. I was told the bus ticket costs only RS 27 (RM 3) for the 1.5 hrs trip. Hiring a taxi or car with driver would have cost at least RS 600 (RM 55). Hopefully I won't have too much difficulty at the bus station.

Trip to India : Part 5 Dalai Lama is coming to town

I have been in Mc Leod Ganj for 5 days since Tuesday. On Thuursday, I visited the various popular sights ; Norbulingka, Tibet Museum and Kalachakra temple. Other than these 3 places, hiking is a popular activity but I haven't done any due to daily monsoon rains here. So having run out things to do yesterday evening I boughy a bus ticket to New Delhi. I will be leaving this eveninng at 6.30pm.

Over the past 2 nights, there were two large groups (about 12 persons per group) eating dinner at the guest house. One group is from Singapore and the seccond from Taiwan. I was wondering what they were doing here. I thought it was unusual to see such large groups from overseas coming during the monsoon season. This morning, when I was having breakfast, someone was briefing the Taiwan group about their meeting with the Dalai Lama tomorrow. It was then I realised the D.L would be in Dharamsala for teaching sessions/lectures from 3 to 5 September a the invitation of the Singapore Tibetan Buddhist Society. If I had known earlier I would have stayed here until 4 Sept. It is too late now as all the hotels here have been fully booked and I have also booked my flights to Orissa, my next destination.

Trip to India : Part 4 Report #1 from India (Dharamsala)

I am sitting in a cybercafe in McLeod Ganj, some 500km north of New Delhi. This is my 3rd day here having arrived on Monday morning at 8.30 am at Dharamsala. It was long journey by bus from New Delhi on Monday as the bus trip took 15 hrs. It was quite uncomfortable trip due to the humidity and heat in the bus. Thus bus ticket cost RP450 (RM 50) about RP200 (RM 22) cheaper than the air-cond. bus. I should have take the A/C bus as I didn't get much sleep. After I checked in the hotel, I was so sleepy that I slept until 5.00pm.

A common sight here is the Tibetan monks wearing maroon and orange colour robes. There are many Tibetans living at Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj. If a visitor is expecting to experience a "holy" atmosphere, one will solely disappointed. The town consists of three narrow roads surrounded haphazardly by concrete shops. Occasionally I see western backpackers both men and women walking around. These are however your normally dressed backpacker wearing "Taj Mahal" T-shirts, khaki shorts and sandals. Many sport long braided hair hair, embroided jackets and mala beads strung around their necks. The hippy look ow updated to the 21st century. I hear there are good hashish (ganja) available but so far no one has offered me a joint.

For today, I plan to visit some temples and check the shops selling Tibetan handicrafts.

Trip to India : Part 3 DEPARTURE

I will be flying to India today on Malaysia Airlines departing from KLIA at 6.00pm. My preparations include several emergency medical supplies listed below:-

1. Alcohol wipes for minor cuts.
2. Antiseptic cream for minor cuts.
   
3. Plaster for minor cuts.
   
4. 12 Panadol (aspirin) tablets.
5. 16 sachets of oral rehydration salt (ORS) for potential diarrhea effects.
6. 8 sachets of vitamin C powder.

Hopefully I do not have to use the ORS any time during the next two weeks. I did not bring any running T-shirt or shorts. So no plan to run anywhere and anytime in India.

Good luck to the Pacemakers and other runners running the SJ10 km this Sunday and other races in early Sept.

I wish all Malaysians Selamat Hari Merdeka. I won't be in the country when 31 August comes around. I hope the occasion won't just be "Everything is fine"but would be a time to reflect what has gone wrong in the past, what is wrong now and how to remedy the problems the country and Malaysians are facing in the future.

Bad Bus Experience "Puker No. 2"

I didn't run during the weekend due to the continuing problem with my right knee. The weather was perfect but I just could not do it.

Today I did a modest 3 km on the treadmill at the gym. Pace: 9.5 km/hr. I stopped after 3 km as my right knee became too sore.

Having taken the bus from Klang to Kuala Lumpur twice daily since 1988, it is a mathematical certainty (approximately 7,000 trips to date that I will encounter a few bad experiences. Today was one of those experiences.

As I was reading the STAR newspaper, I heard gurgling noises coming from someone who was seated on a seat two rows behind me on the opposite side of the aisle. When I turned around to look, the guy started to puke onto the floor. An awful stench started to permeate the bus. Mr. "Puker" rested his head on the seat in front of him and a few seconds later he puked again. After relieving himself in this manner, he started spitting on the floor several times. No doubt to clear the system at the expense of the other passengers.

One passenger, an Indian women seated in front of the "Puker got up, left her seat and decided to stand. The rest of the passengers including me scrunched or covered our noses in an attempt to block out the stench.

After spilling of most of his stomach contents onto the floor, the "Puker" seemed to feel a bit better. Fortunately we were spared further puking episodes when he got off the bus near the PJ Hilton hotel.

BTW this was the second time someone had puked in a bus I was traveling in. The first puker I encountered was in 2005. He was dead drunk and seated behind me. He puked a couple of times and the stench was worse than today. His puke smelt a mix of food, curry and alcohol.

Trip to India : Part 2

Today I bought my air tickets to India. I will be flying on Malaysian Airlines, economy class of course. The ticket price for a return flight from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi is RM 2,003. I also saw a travel insurance plan at the travel agency and filled up an application form for 31 days "VIP" plan. I was a bit surprised to see it was quite cheap at RM 70 for 31 days. I remember way back in 1998 when I traveled to Indochina (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) and Thailand for 5 weeks, I paid RM 200 for a travel insurance(different company).

I managed to run a bit this week; Monday (5 km) on a treadmill and Wednesday (3 km) at KLCC park. Wednesday's run was quite unforgettable due to the severe soreness of my right knee. I had to stop running after 3 km although I still had the endurance to keep going. My knee was very sore on Thursday and as of today, it is still quite sore. After that unpleasant experience I wondered why I was still doing it (running) at all.

Today I managed to run 3 km on the treadmill instead of KLCC park. My right knee is not as sore as during Wednesday's run. It looks like I have to limit running to a treadmill. I am planning to stop running during the fasting month (Ramadhan) in September. Together with next week, 2 weeks plus in India, 4 weeks of fasting and 1-2 weeks after that, I won't be running for about 2 months.

Trip to India : Part 1

I haven't reached India despite the title above. One of the places I will be going is Dharamsala located at about 1200m above sea level. The conditions are not exactly conducive to travelling. It is now the monsoon season and it rains just about every day. The season's minimum temperature to my surprise is suprisingly low (12 deg. C). I plan to stay actually at another town, McLeod Ganj at 1800m is 600 m higher than Dharamsala. The minmum temperature is probaly nearer to 8 to 9 deg C. The low temperatures means I will have to pack a few lightweight winter clothing plus an umbrella as well.

In the meantime, I have been reading some blogs written by others who have gone to Dharamsala. Some of the blogs are ; Hope's Travel Blog, Travelling Tigress and Tashi Delak!.

When am I going to Die?

Death comes to all those who are born. According to this website, http://www.deathclock.com/, I will die on 22 October 2037 when I am 73 years old. If I was a smoker, I would die seven years earlier at 70 yeas old. If I was a non-smoker and overweght (BMI = 30), I would live one year less, dying at the age of 72 years old.

However, I am optimist and according to the Death calculator, this adds a whopping 15 years to my longetivity before finally calling a day in year 2052 (age 86 years old). Hmm, this could be correct as Mr C*** , a famous Malaysian fortune teller foretold that I would die when 86 years old. But in the meantime, I will do all I can to live a healthy life.

P.S. Notwitstanding my bum right knee, I will be running today in an effort to maintain by BMI below 25.

Activities in August

I don't have much to write about running since my forced layoff from running. During the weekend, I did run a bit; 1.6 km (slow pace) on Saturday and only 1.0 km (fast pace) on Sunday. Right now I have a slight cold and a sore throat. So I won't be exercising today.

My current pre-occupation is planning for my vacation in August. I plan to take at least 12 days off and spend about 16 days outside Malaysia. I haven't yet decided where to go. I have pretty much exhausted all the destinations that tourist/travellers visit in the countries in South East Asia (SEA). Still there are lots of places I have not visited in SEA and I am researching them at Lonely Planet's Forum site.

At the moment, at the top of my list is India. My last trip to India was 9 years ago in 1998. Back then I went to North India - New Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Jaipur and Pushkar. Even further back ten years before (1989), I went to several places in South India.

Other than India, I am also considering Sri Lanka which I was thinking of visiting in 2003 but instead I ended going to Bali. Other alternatives are Thailand and a distant possibility; Myanmar (last visited in 1999).

No Racing in August

There are lots of road races in August 2007. Adidas King of the Road (5 Aug), PJ half marathon (12 Aug) and Subang Jaya 10km (19 Aug). It's too bad I won't be joining any of them. I am not even sure how fit or unfit I am as my last "training run" was two weeks ago.

In addition to my bum right knee, I had a second injury last Thursday I sprained my left ankle during a team-building session. My left ankle was quite sore until Saturday and as of today (Monday), it is still a bit sore. So I had to skip todays' plan to work out on the elliptical trainer.

I am going to bring my T-shirt and shorts to work tomorrow. I want to exercise badly. Will I try to run or just do the elliptical trainer tomorrow?

As compensation to my drastic and forced lay off from running, I have not been eating lunch on weekdays over the past two months. I don't feel hungry at all. Hopefully when I can resume running again, I will only face one problem instead of two. Problem one : to become fit again and avoid a second problem ; to lose weight.

MY First Run Since PBR

I haven't written anything for nearly one month after my Penang Bridge Half Marathon race. My excuse? I stopped running as my right knee is in bad shape.

Today I decided to run at KLCC park to see how bad it was and how unfit I had become. On the fitness aspect, I am not as unfit as I thought I would become. I was able to run 2 laps (2.6km) without too much trouble. I walked another 2 laps with Gan and told him about the PBR. As I am writing this now at 10.30 pm, my left knee is very sore.

I have to stop running for a while and look for other ways to exercise and maintain a minimum level of fitness. I thinks it's time for me to step on the elliptical machine at the gym. If only my knee is better , maybe I can start next Monday.

God, I am going to miss running so much.

Penang Bridge Run;PBR (24 June 2007) Race Report

I had been planning to run the 2007 PBR since March 2007. My goal was modest -it was just to start running half marathon (HM) races again. My last HM race was the Seremban HM in July 2005, almost two years ago. My fitness level was not up the mark. Since the NB-Pacesetters 15km race in end May, I could only run 2-3 km at a time once or twice a week. Hardly enough to run a half marathon distance just one month away.

Friday
I left KL at 1.00 pm hoping to reach the Penang Bridge before 4.30pm. However I only reached the bridge at 5.15 pm as there were several stretches on the highway with only two lanes open instead of three. It took me a good 15 minutes to get through the rush hour traffic at the bridge entrance.

Saturday
In the morning, I collected the race bib, T-shirt and reporting card at Queensbay mall. I did some shopping to buy some food and water for the pre-race meal. I had a quiet evening at the hotel watching a DVD.

Sunday (Race Day)
I woke up at 2.30 am and immediately switched on the electric kettle to boil water. After showering and "toileting", I ate a bowl of oatmeal mixed with Milo, a banana and bread roll. Outside the hotel, I could hear wailing sounds from a police car siren. I looked out and saw dozens of motorcyclists racing on the roads around the hotel. These Mat Rempits have made the roads around Bandar Bayan Baru as their illegal race circuit.

It took me 10 minutes to the starting line near Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) all the while, keeping a lookout for the Mat Rempits. Near USM, the nearest parking spaces were already occupied so I had to drive 1 km away to find a place to park. After the preliminaries were settled, I was near the starting line. I was surprised to see Ah Long and Kenny Tan lining up for the race.

Race Report
My race plan was simple - to run as long as I can but with a minimum distance of 10 km. If I had to to walk after 10km I may have a chance to finish in less than 3 hrs by walking and running alternately for the next 12 km.

The starter gun was fired on time at 3.30 am. I heard it but how come the runners in front of me were not moving? I asked Draco if the run had started and he replied "Yes". After about 30 seconds, I started walking. Three and half minute later I started to run.

The initial 1.5 km was a combination of walking and running. I walked when the crowd ahead of me slowed down and ran when there the crowd moved faster. Some students decided to sprint in brief burst only to stop moments out of exhaustion. I had to abruptly slow down or stop when these students cut in front of me. It was very annoying.

I was running well for the first 30 minutes even during the long uphill section to the highest point on the bridge. At the same time I was fighting an urgent need to pee but where would do the deed? I got my chance at the top when I ducked behind some steel sheets and let myself go. There were some electric cables strung along the railings and I nervously visually inspected them to check for damaged insulation. There were none and I was able to pee without electrocution and becoming 100g lighter.

The next 3 km was easier as it was downhill. While coasting downhill, I met A*** running his second HM and first PBR. We chatted for a while and both us wondered when is this going to finish?

At the 8km where the downhill section became level, I was too tired to continue running. My watched showed it I had reached 8 km in one hour 10 minutes. It was time to walk just short of my plan to run at least 10km. I continued walking until I got back onto the bridge. I met Julian here and we chatted.

I tried to start running again but could only sustain my pace for a few hundred metres. I could see the row of lights from the lamp posts leading to the top of the bridge. Beyond that it was another 3.5 km to the end of the bridge. It was all so far away. At this point, I was not walking alone and I was amazed to see so many people walking. My lips were quite dry and I realised I was suffering the effects of dehydration. I remembered I had drank only once from a small container (100 cm3?) at the 5km water station.

I continue walking until reached the highest point of the bridge. From then on, it was mostly downhill so I started to run again. The last water station was located here and I managed to grab hold of a 0.5 Litre bottle of water in an ice filled red coloured bucket. I drank most of the water and poured the rest over my head and body.

The bridge was now full of the 10km runners who had joined this final 3 km stretch. I had to run around some of the students. I could hear the music from the bands playing at the USM field. I checked my watch and it showed 2 hrs 45 minutes. I was only 15 minutes short of the qualifying time. It was becoming critical so I mustered my remaining reserves to run faster over the last 1 km.

At 2hrs 53 minutes, I finally ran underneath the finishing banner and received my medal and certificate. My legs were stiff, sore and for a while I walked around in a daze. I had just finished my 19th and hardest half marathon race. My finishing time was 30 minutes slower than my first half marathon ran in year 2000 also at PBR. But I figured I gave it all and have nothing to complain about my performance.

Penang Bridge Run - just 10 days away

I haven't blogged for 17 days. My blog is mainly about running and to tell the truth, I haven't run much over the past over the past one month. My plan was to run 8 km a day and 45 km a week but it has not materialised. In fact for the past one month, I am have been running about only 15 km a week. My weekday runs are now mostly on a treadmill and that too is limited to 5 km each time, 2 or 3 times a week. During the weekend, my runs are even shorter, sometimes just 2 km. It is all due to my right knee which has become considerably worse since the NB-Pacesetters race.

My right knee is now sore most of time unlike previously when the soreness would last for 2 or 3 hours after I had finished running. It seems that my right knee has further deteriorated to a state where it is adversely affecting my day to day activities. What I do know is I have to stop running after the PBR for some time. Hopefully I will get better and would be able to run on most days without experiencing serious problems.

As far as PBR, it is a 50:50 chance now. There is a 50% chance I would go ahead to run and a 50% chance of not running.

How to Become a Millionaire - Nigerian Style

I receieve the e-mail below at my office e-mail.

ATM CONTRACT RESOLUTION UNIT
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN PAYMENT
(RESOLUTIONPANEL ON CONTRACT PAYMENT)
IKOYI-LAGOS NIGERIA

Our Ref: FGN /SNT/STB
ATTN: BENEFICIARY,
THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE VERIFIED YOUR CONTRACT/INHERITANCE FILE AND FOUND OUT THAT WHY YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT FULFILLED THE OBLIGATIONS GIVEN TO YOU IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT/INHERITANCE PAYMENT.
SECONDLY WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU ARE STILL DEALING WITH THE NONE OFFICIALS IN THE BANK YOUR ENTIRE ATTEMPT TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF THE FUND TO YOU. WE WISH TO ADVISE YOU THAT SUCH AN ILLEGAL ACT LIKE THESE HAVE TO STOP IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT SINCE WE HAVE DECIDED TO BRING A SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ARRANGED YOUR PAYMENT THROUGH OUR SWIFT CARD PAYMENT CENTER ASIA PACIFIC THAT IS THE LATEST INSTRUCTION FROM MR. PRESIDENT, CHIEF OLUSEGUN OBASANJO (GCFR) FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA. AND THE UNITED STATES FBI.THIS CARD CENTER WILL SEND YOU AN ATM CARD WHICH YOU WILL USE TO WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY IN ANY ATM MACHINE IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, BUT THE MAXIMUM IS TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS PER DAY, SO IF YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND THIS WAY PLEASE LET US KNOW BY CONTACTING THE FOREIGN OPERATIONAL UNIT OF AFRI BANK NIGERIA PLC, CARD PAYMENT CENTER MRS. CARO OGO ON HER EMAIL ADDRESS:caro_ogo004@yahoo.se Direct Openfax: +234-803-592-5403, AND ALSO !
SEND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. PHONE AND FAX NUMBER
3. ADDRESS WERE YOU WANT THEM TO SEND THE ATM CARD 4. YOUR AGE AND CURRENT OCCUPATION
THE ATM CARD PAYMENT CENTER HAS BEEN MANDATED TO ISSUE OUT USD5.3MILLION AS FULL PAYMENT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR 2006/2007. ALSO FOR YOUR INFORMATION, YOU HAVE TO STOP ANY FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH ANY OTHER PERSON(S) OR OFFICE(S) TO AVOID ANY HITCHES IN RECEIVING YOUR PAYMENT. FOR ORAL DISCUSSION, CALL AND EMAIL ME BACK AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR FURTHER DIRECTION AND ALSO UPDATE ME ON ANY DEVELOPMENT FROM THE ABOVE-MENTIONED OFFICE.
NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF IMPOSTORS, WE HEREBY ISSUED YOU OUR CODE OF CONDUCT, WHICH IS (ATM-822) SO YOU HAVE TO INDICATE THIS CODE WHEN CONTACTING THE CARD CENTER BY USING IT AS YOUR SUBJECT.
REGARDS,
Dr ken Nnamani
ATM CONTRACT RESOLUTION UNIT
(Federal Republic of Nigeria)

Amazingly there are Malaysians who have fallen for this e-mail scam, black money etc. Sheer greediness makes a a normally intelligent person stupid!.

I have been having a sore right knee since last Sunday's NB-Pacesetters 15km. The hilly route has certainly not done any favours to my right knee. I didn't run for four days until Friday when I ran 6.5 km. My right knee was very sore after that.

During the weekend I had to reduce my mileage and I only ran 3 km on Saturday and Sunday.

NB-PACESETTERS 15 km 2007 Race Report

I had never planned to run the NB-Pacesetters 15km race. My first and only parcitipation in this event was back in 2004. I knew the route was hilly and I feared that I would make my injured knee worse. Secondly I was not very sure if I could even finish the race in a reasonable time. My longest run since Feb 2006 was the SMART Tunnel (14 km?) in Feb 2007. I had never run more than 7 km in my daily training runs. How was I suppose to be able to run 15km?

As luck had it, on Sunday evening on 29th April, a friend of a friend had registered for the race but could not make it. The friend passed the bib and reporting card to me (Bib no A405). That meant I had to go to the race.

Yesterday At 5.30 am I waited at the Klang stadium for the friend. There was supposed to be three people travelling with me to KL. We waited until 6.00 am for one guy to show up but he never did. Calls and SMS messages to his mobile phone were not answered as the mobile phone was switched off. We decided to leave at 6.00 am without him.

We reached KL at about 6.25 am and started to look for a parking spot. We found an empty parkind spot behind the "PAM" building. We rushed to the starting line where there was already many runners gathered near the starting line. I was doing some stretches when a "bang" went off. I looked towards the start line banner and notice smoke coming out from the starter gun. Everyone started walking towards the starting line in a cheerful mood.

The route started with a 500m long run downhill before the familiar uphill run towards Bukit Tunku. I had run on section route many times before and reminded myself to pace properly as there was still a lot of hills to encountered. When I reached 5 km, I checked my watch; it read 32 minutes. The next 5 km went along the steeper sections along Langgak Tunku - the infamous Double Hill. I met Martin@aka Lonerunner here. We briefl said hello to each other before he ran ahead. I was struggling a bit here but mentally I reminded myself to run as long I could.

At 10km, I had run 65 or 70 minutes. At this point where I face another hill (2nd loop) I ran out of gas . I walked and run from 11km to 14 km. Hordes of runners overtook me when I was walking intermittently for about 2 km total (20 minutes). In a race like this where there are many "professional" runners, there were very few who walked. My spirit lifted when I saw the 13 km signboard and the downhill slope. At this point, I had been on the road for 1 hr and 30 minutes. My knee was hurting, my left ankle sore, I wanted to pee badly although I was very thirsty but the end was near. I mustered a final effort to run the last one km to the finish line.

Approaching the finishing line, I saw CM Teoh and boy I was really happy to have completed ny longest run in 15 months. My time was not that good - 1hr 42 minutes compared to my run in 2004 (1 hr 28 minutes). But the important result was I knew I had a chance to complete the Penang Bridge Half Marathon Race in June.

After the race, I met Cheong, Josie and Yong and took some photos. At the tents, I didn't come across other Pacemaker runners except DK. I did meet a whole bunch of the Pacemakers later at the main road.

Surprisingly I didn't feel very tired after the race. I guessed I didn't really run that hard. Officially I am now the slowest Pacemaker runner but hopefully that will change next year.

As usual the race organiser and volunteers did an excellent job. The NB-Pacesetters 15kn race remains a race made for runners. I also liked this new route better than the old route through Taman TasikPerdana for its more challenging route.

Training Update and Saucony ProGrid Triump4

Amazingly I have run 45 km over the past one week with 20 km over the past 3 days to Sunday. This is the highest mileage I have reached since February 2007 when I had to almost stop running due to injury.

On Saturday morning, I got my Saucony Progrid Triump 4 from Choi. I ran 6 km on Saturday and 3 km on Sunday using this shoe. The shoe is designed for a neutral runner but I found was it is also acceptable for a slight pronator like me. I got the black/gold colour version which is a bit too flashly looking for me.

The cushioning is quite soft and certainly feels softer than my ASICS GT-2110. The forefoot transition is a bit stiffer, probably due to the stiffer upper structure. A noticeable crease formed on the upper corresponding to the part where the sole bends or transitions during the lift cycle of the forefoot. Comfort wise , the shoe fits well but perhaps need a little bit of breaking in to soften and fit to the foot. I also have to get used to much lower heel section is much lower compared to all the ASICS GT-XXX models I have worn in the past.

Overall the shoe is quite light with a very soft ride. There is one area where the shoe needs improvement; the area where the tongue is sewed to the the upper can be felt and is potential to form a blister.

Training Update

I have been running more than usual over the past one week. A brief summary :-
Friday (27 April) : 6.5 km at KLCC park
Saturday : Rest
Sunday : 7.0 km in Klang. Ran with some Klang pacer guys
Monday : 5.5 km on treadmill
Tuesday : 6.0 km in Klang. Ran again with Klang pacer guy.

Over the past five days, I've run 25 km. My strained left calf is 100% OK now. I should start running some longer runs but nowadays my definition of a long run is any distance more than 8 km but less than 12 km.

Strained Right Calf Muscle

I strained my right calf muscle yesterday. My training run at KLCC park was pretty lousy although my right calf was still OK when I was running. I had to run and walk for 5 km and it was one of the most unsatisfying run I've ever done.

For the next 2 days, I will be away in Port Dickson to attend a seminar. I won't be running today as I am walking with a slight limp. The calf injury is not serious I think but it will take a few days to heal.

Monday:A Very Late Run

Yesterday it rained heavily from 4.00 to 6.00 pm. I was stuck in another office in Tun Razak road and could not return to KLCC. When I finally to board a taxi, I only reached KLCC at 6.30pm. It was too late for me to run at KLCC park as it would have taken me another five minutes to walk from the gym to the park. I decided to run on the treadmill and even then I started running at 6.50 pm. I ran 5 km at 10 km/hr and stopped at 7.20 pm. The gym had more people than usual with 70% of the treadmill occuppied.

I only reached home at 9.00 pm. That is the life in the Klang valley, there is so much time wasted on the road.

Europe Trip - A Short Report

I returned to Malaysia on Saturday morning arriving at the KL International airport at 6.00 am.
I and three other colleagues spent about two weeks in Europe. The first week was spent in Norway. I had to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Stockholm airport, Sweden. At Stockholm, the connecting flight on SAS was delayed by 2 hrs. This delay caused us to miss the connecting flight from Olso to our final destination, Trondheim. When we arrive in Oslo, the flight to Trondheim on SAS again was delayed for two hours. The upshot was we boarded the flight to Oslo at 11.0
pm instead, three hours later than our originally schedule of 8.00 pm. It was very cold in Trondeim with the ground was covered with snow and ice. I think the temperature was probably -5 deg C.

In Norway, we went to three places; Trondheim, Oslo and Bergen. I liked Bergen the most as the city is filled with old buildings. Norway is a good place to run really with plenty of lakes and parks. I didn't do any running as I didn't bring any gear for winter conditions.

From Norway (Bergen) we flew to Amsterdam airport to catch a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland. This flight was on Saturday and so I had the weekend in Edinburgh. On Sunday morning, I went to Edinburgh castle. The castle overlooks Edinburgh city and there were fine views from various spots around the castle. In the castle, there were various exhibits on Scottish history with emphais on the military history of Scotland. It was quite surprising how warlike the Scots were in the past. In the past, many Scotsman have in fact served as mercenaries in European armies.

I managed to run twice on a the hotel treadmill (6 km). The gym was in the basement and it was quite cold in the room.

After Edinburgh, I left for Aberdeen about 2 hrs by train. The view of the country side was spectacular as the train track ran fairly close to the sea. Abedeen is not an attractive city as it is an industrial area mainly serving the oil and gas industry.

After spending just one night in Aberdeen, I flew to Paris on Tuesday. The weather was quite good in Paris with temperatures around 18 to 20 deg. C. There was a large park (near Jardin Vendrome) about 200 m from the hotel. But in the end I could not run due to lack of time.

I am hoping to minimise travelling in the next two months and do enough traning for the Penang bridge half marathon on 24th June 2007.

Going Overseas again

My 2nd trip overseas is next week for two weeks. I will be going to Norway, Scotland and France. I am not looking forward to facing the winter temperature in Norway. Is April spring or winter in Norway? It must still be winter as the cities I am going is still receiving snow. The temperature in Trondheim ranges from -5 deg C to 2 deg C. Olso is warmer if you can call temperatures ranging from -2 to 5 deg C "warmer". I certainly won't be running outdoor because there is snow and ice on the road.

After Norway, I move to Scotland where it is "warmer". The temperature ranges from 5 to 10 deg C. Again it's too cold for me to run outdoor and it is such a hassle to bring along my winter running gear.

My last stop is France. I will be going to Paris and Lyon (Southern France). Wow, the temperature is quite good ranging from 3 to 20 deg C. But I am not sure I would be able to run when the temperature is higher as I have to attend meetings in the daytime.

Overall, my prospects to continue training over the next two weeks are not very good. I am hoping the hotels where I will be staying at will have a gym with a treadmill. In Europe, most of the smaller 5 star local hotels do not have a gym or fitness centre. Often you have to pay to use the gym facilities even if you staying there. Tomorrow I will spend some time surfing the hotels website to check if they have a gym.

Update : From the hotel websites, most of them have a gym or fitness centre. I am not to sure if they have a treadmill.

Larian Mesra Polis (Did Not Start = DNS) : Although I collected the bibs on Saturday and pinned them to the running vest, I didn't go to the race. When I woke up at 5.30 am, I discovered I still had a cold and sore throat.

Short Report on a Trip to Singapore

I was in Singapore for a 2 day business trip (Monday night to Wednesday afternoon). Other than a meeting on Tuesday, I had some free time on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. Initially I was planning to go to Queenstown shopping complex to buy the Saucony Progrid Triump 4 shoe but I had decided to buy it from Choi. After lunch on Tuesday, it was too hot to walk around so I stayed in the hotel until 4.00 pm. After 4.00pm, I took the MRT trains to City Hall station which was near the Funan IT mall. My destination was the "Running Lab" shop.

In Kuala Lumpur there are no specialist shops for runners and triathletes. I spent about one hour in the shop and bought a few things:-

1. One Sorbothane Elite insole
2. Two race bib belts
3. One Wright Coolmax sock
4. One wallet that can be clipped to a short (Nathan brand)
   

After leaving Funan IT mall, I went to HMV in Orchard Road to look for CD and DVDs. I bought the Malaysian banned DVD "Lelaki Komnunis Terakhir". It was almost 7.00 pm when I left HMV and I walked about 500m back to the Royal Plaza Hotel in Scotts Road.

After a shower and rest, I felt a bit restless and so went out to the Borders bookshop about 100m away from the hotel. I spent one hour there and bought 2 books and a LED reading light.I was a bit hungry as I had not eaten dinner and by the time I left Borders it was almost 10.00 pm. I made a quick stop at McDonalds to get a Fillet-O-Fish which I took with me to the hotel.
Lights out at 11.00 pm.

The next morning I had a late breakfast at almost 9.30 am. Loitered in my hotel room and decided to check out at 11.00 am. After checking out, I went to Bugis and Arab street using the MRT. Walked around in the hot mid-day sun to have a look around the area. The area is a backpacker hangout but it is unlike many such places around Asia. For one, it was spotless clean. I guess the Singapore authorities have "sanitised" the area. I did not sight a single grubby back-packer nor were there any whiff of an easy availability of illegal substances a.k.a ganja, pills etc.

I had lunch at Raffles hospital food court. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped by a shop to buy some CDs. I collected my bag from the hotel and took a taxi to Changi airport. I managed to get on an earlier shuttle flight at 3.25 pm. I reached home at 6.00 pm.

As usual, Singapore has always impressed me with its efficiency in doing most things. Buses and MRT trains arrive on time. The streets are free of litter. There are none of the chaos and disorder found in cities like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. The efficiency and order are good for business and makes life predictable for most people living in Singapore. I have say that the more trips (this was my 3rd trip in 3 years) I made to Singapore, I could be live there for a while.

However what I discovered is Singapore is not a forgiving society/country. In Singapore I have always come across various people who lived on the margins. The elderly woman at the Orchard Road MRT selling various cheap goods for a few Singapore and a blind man selling tissue at Funan IT mall. For a country listed as the 21st wealthiest in the world, should such people be left behind and be forced to live at the margin ? This article has something to say about "Survival of the Fittest"mentality amongst Singapore leaders.

Malaysia = Fat Nation

Last month, the Malaysian government proposed to ban fast food advertisements. Ever wonder why?

Malaysia now has the fattest population in South East Asia. In 2006, Malaysia passed a milestone - the overweight population (54%) now outnumber the "not" overweight (46%). In just ten years, the proportion of population who are overweight in Malaysia has more than the doubled from 24 to 54 %. See this report.

As for me, I am doing my bit to ensure the minority (46%) of Malaysian do not fall into the majority category. On Friday I ran 6 km in 36 minutes and yesterday 4 km (time unknown).

I want to Shop!

PM19 is going to Bali tomorrow for the 4th time. I went to Bali in 2004 and liked the place a lot too. The things I enjoyed the most were the cultural stuff like watching the dances, shadow puppet shows (Wayang Kulit) and the wide variety of cuisine.

I ran yesterday with Gan. As customary when I am running with Gan, the pace will not be slow. We hit sub 7 min 30 seconds pace for three laps (1.3 km each) until both of us were tired. After that we power walked for another two laps at maybe 10-11 minutes per lap (7 to 8 km/hr). Total distance = 6.5 km.

Today I had a more leisurely run at KLCC park but first I ran two fast two alone. I met Newton and we continue to run together. A lap later we came across Jamie and I did 2 more laps. All three laps were run at 8 min. 45 seconds. Total distance = 6.5 km. My right is a bit sore tonight.

After reading up on some shoe reviews, I have decided to buy Saucony Progrid Triump 4. This shoe received an excellent review in Runners World U.K. Jamie mentioned this shoe when we were running today. I have actually worn a Saucony shoe way back in 2001. I loved that shoe but I left it on the bus when I returned to Kuala Lumpur from the Penang Bridge Run. Very soon afterwards, Saucony shoes were no longer available in Malaysia.

I have added a few more items to my shopping list in Singapore:-

• DVDs : In addition to the "Lelaki Komunis Terakhir" ,I will be looking for "The Big Durian"and a box set of "M.A.S.H, the TV series".
  
  
• Books at Borders or Kinokouniya.

Tired 3 Days

The last 3 days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) have not been great training days. On Friday I was around at KLCC park but I couldn't run because my right knee was sore. So I had to walk, walk and walk for one hour. Walking is so boring. Nothing beats running.

I also didn't run much over the the weekend. I tried to run on Saturday evening but my left foot hurt after just running 400m. So it was another one hour walking session. On Sunday, I only walked for 30 minutes. Two days walkijg was enough for me but today (Monday) my left foot is better. Right knee is still sore. Hopefully I can run today.

Two weeks ago I ordered some vitamins, phytochemicals and glucosamine-MSM tablets from the USA. I appointed Pos Malaysia as my agent to clear them past customs at the KL International airports. Last week I received a letter from the Pharmaceutical and Drugs Dept. of Malaysia. The stuff I have ordered has been marked as "Unregistered drugs and substances" and illegal importation is subject to a fine of Ringgit 50,000 and a jail sentence.
Well the tablets worth USD 150 is now stuck at the customs. Maybe they will be destroyed off or become "misplaced". The tablets I bought contained substances that have been generically approved in Malaysia. True, the brands have not been approved and registered in Malaysia but someone at the Pharmacy department can at least read the labels, could'nt they ? In fact, last year I ordered the similar products without going through the same problem. Why now?

Singapore Shopping List

I will be going to Singapore for a meeting on 2nd April. I have already prepared a shopping list for things I want to buy in Singapore.

1. ASICS GT-2110 (not the 2120) to replace my 2 year old ASICS GT-2100.
   
   
2. 2 pairs of impact absorbing orthortics.
   
   
3. 1 new split notch type running shorts. My old shorts which I used to wear in 2003 doesn't fit anymore :-(
   
   
4. DVDs in particular "Lelaki Komunis Terakhir" by Malaysian film maker, Amir Muhammad. His latest documentary "Apa Khabar Orang Kampung" has just been banned by the authorities in Boleh Land.

Indoor Running

I had to run on a treadmill for 3 days since Monday (rested on Tuesday). My left foot pain has eased a bit. I was able to run on Wednesday (5 km) and Thursday (5km).

Yesterday's workout was more interesting and quite strenous than the previous two. I ran for 500m at 8.0 km/hr followed by another 500 m at 9.0 kmh/hr, a total of 1.0 km. For the next 2 km, I ran at a constant pace 10.3 km/hr. For the last 2 km, I increased the treadmill speed to 10.8 km/hr. It was quite hard going to keep running. One guy who was also running for 20 minutes looked over checked me out a few times. I don't know what that was about though

My training plans for March and April is to gradually increase my training distance to 8 to 10 km. I also plan to improve my speed as measured on the treadmill to 11.0 km/hr and be able to maintain it for at least 10 km. I don't plan to do any long runs yet.

I hope it doesn't run this evening again and I will be able to run outdoors.

Wednesday : Foot Pain

I ran 6km on the treadmill yesterday. Average speed ; first 5 km : 10.3 km/hr and last 1 km 10.5 km/hr.

When I woke up this morning and stood up, my left foot hurt. More precisely, the bottom of my left foot was tight and sore. It felt as though there was a rubber band stretched a bit too tight across the arch. After I walked around for a few minutes, the tight and sore sensations disappeared and didn't appear for the whole day. But now as I am typing this in my room, I could feel a sore sensation when I rub my fingers across the arch. It's probably the beginnings of plantar fasciitis. I am glad I didn't run today.

I think I've experience this before a long time ago and made a full recovery. I certainly don't want it to become worse, so I may not run tomorrow if the area is still a bit tender.

Monday : Easy Run

Today was an easy run day for me. I didn't run at KLCC park but hit the treadmill at the fitness centre. I kept boredom at bay by listening to Hiroshima on my iPod and watching other exercisers running on the treadmill. In particular I "observed" one well endowed Chinese girl running furiously on a treadmill two treadmills away from me. It was too bad she was wearing a loose fitting white T-shirt:-)

She is quite a good runner, possibly running at 8 or 9 km/hr and she was already running when I started and she kept going for a few minutes more after I stopped my run.

Distance run : 6.0 km
Time : about 35 minutes
Pace : 10.3 km/hr

KL International Marathon (KLIM) 2007 Photos

My plan was to be present at Dataran Merdeka before 6.00 am in time for the flag off for the half marathon run. But I woke up late this morning and only reached Dataran Merdeka at 6.30pm.I didn't participate in any event during this years KLIM. Here are some of the photos I took during the event:-

The rest of the photos are in this album.

Note I've made the album Public. You can see the photos now. (Thanks, Jamie)

Malaysia Boleh ! (Malaysian Can !)

I managed to get air tickets in Sudan that enabled me to leave Khartoum on Thursday night instead of Saturday night. It was a long journey home as I had to fly from Khartoum to Dubai (3.5 hrs) and transit in Dubai airport for 4 hrs from midnight t0 11.30 pm to 3.30 am. If you transiting in Dubai airport, be prepared for the crowds and lack of space and seats. You may end up sitting on the floors because all the chairs are occupied.

I boarded an Emirates flight from Dubai to Singapore at 3.20am. There were many Indonesian women (20 or so) boarding the flight as well. They were probbaly working as maids in the middle east. Unknown to me, after 3.5 hrs of flying the airplane stopped in Colombo, Sri Lanka for 1.5 hrs to pick up some passengers. After another 3.5 hrs, I finally arrive in Singapore at 4.00 pm. At 6.20pm. I caught another flight (1 hour) to Kuala Lumpur.

Altogether, the return trip took 18 hours through 3 countries (United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Singapore). A long and tiring trip but it was better than spending the weekend in Khartoum.

Malaysian Airlines has been named as the 3rd best Cabin staff in 2006. 1st place was Thai Airways, 2nd ranked was Qatar Airways and at 5th place, Singapore Airlines. Malaysian Airlines (MAS) also won "The Best Economy Class". Well the economy class in MAS is not cheap compared to other airlines but at least you know it is the "best".

My blog site has a new look. After 3 years, I was getting bored at how it looked.

KLIM Runners !

SMART Tunnel Run Photo taken by Runwitme (Thanks, dude!) when I was on way to the finishing line. I GIVE UP!.
My best wishes to all of the KLIM runners especially the Pacemaker guys/girls. Give it all your best and if you are not satisfied with your result, there is always next year's race. It's too bad I could not be there to run or even cheer you on. By the time you have started the race, I will be in an airplane flying in the skiers over the Middle East. I hope you won't give-up like I did during the SMART tunnel run.

I will be staying again at the Grand Hotel Villa hotel in Khartoum. It is a hotel owned by a Malaysian company. The good thing about the hotel is there is Malaysian food available in the restaurant. The not so good things are the hotel standards is not up to the mark, dealing with the unhelpful/haughty staff at the reception desk and the almost useless/ ancient treadmill in the so called "fitness centre".

SMART Tunnel Run Race 11 March 2007 - Report

Two weeks ago I quietly and secretly registered for the SMART Tunnel Run. I didn't tell anyone expect one person (he is not a Pacemaker runner) as I really wasn't too sure if I would go ahead to run on the day of the race (today). The distance was quite daunting (16 km) and in my current state of fitness, I doubted my ability to be able to run the entire distance. I was quite sure I would be able to run at least 5 km but beyond that either my stamina or my knee would fail.

After collecting my race bibs on Friday when I had to walk 4 km to and from the Central Market to the Wisma OCM, I thought I would decide on Saturday night if I would go or not to the run. The decision was made for the moment I held the bibs in my hands, I knew I would be there on Sunday morning. I have not run any race in a year and I missed running races a lot. I decided not to wear the Pacemaker vest as I didn't think it would look good for the Pacemaker group if I end up walking most of the course. So I wore last year's Great Eastern 30k vest.

I arrived a bit too early at the car park (6.15am) and walked to the white coloured tents. There was not much to do so I made myself comfortable in one of the plastic chairs. I met Ronnie and Rachel near the start line a few minutes before 7.30 am. It was announced that the race distance is 13.3 km instead of 16km. A bonus for me.

The men's open category was "shot" off a bit later than 7.30 am. It was announced the race start would be broadcasted live on TV. I guess only when there are VIPs present, in this case, the Prime Minister can we expect some TV coverage. Running is a low profile sports in the media here although the local town/city councils are the organiser for many races in Malaysia. I am not one to gripe about these matters but the only politician that has ever run a marathon is the honourable Datuk Shahrir Samad and he is not exactly a typical Malaysian politician. I guess the rest of the herd, plays golf.

But back to the start for my category. The start was delayed again for about 10 minutes. I am not sure what time it started but I sure ran quite slowly when it did. From the start, it was about 400m to the main road. I was trying very hard to keep a slow pace until I reached the tunnel section (6 km long). This is where the men will be separated from the boys ha-ha!.

I was running quite well in the tunnel until 26 min. 30 seconds when the stifling heat and humidity caught up with me. BTW, the tunnel is surprisingly small although there are two vehicle lanes in it. I guess you don't notice the small size unless you are foolish enough to run in one. My first walk break came just after 26 min. 30 seconds.

I restarted my run after walking for about 100m with an Indian man who had stopped running for one year due to an accident. Later he told me he had been hospitalised for 3 weeks from dengue fever He had just checked out 2 weeks ago and now he is running in a fairly challenging conditions.

After running through the tunnel for about 35 minutes, I came to the open road. I saw Tai, a regular Pacesetter runners and fellow enthusiast running towards an ambulance. What was he up to ? He managed to get a bottle of water from the ambulance guys. He drank some and kindly passed the bottle to me. I took some water and passed the half full bottle to the Indian guy. He drank some and poured some over his head. Then he passed the quarter full bottle to the other side of the road barrier to another runner. If you are wondering why this is happening, the first drink station ran out of water. They never learn do they ?

It was pretty much downhill for me from there on - I mostly walked my way through the tunnel on the way back. I tried to run at short bursts a few times but just I just did not have the endurance to keep going at a sustained pace.

Near the tunnel exit, I met Run wit Me. After I went out of the tunnel, there was only about one km to the finish line. This is where I made a last ditch effort to grab the 100 medals on offer. I sped through the tired runners/walkers and overtook a few of the Category C participants. But alas, the 100 medals were gone by the time I crossed the finishing line in 1 hour 33 min. 15 seconds. Out of this, I probably spent about 15 to 20 minutes of walking.

After the race, I did not come across the rest of the Pacemaker Group except for PM3 and Adam.

Now know the current state of my fitness to run distances longer than 5 km. There is a lot of training ahead of me to run farther and I have to do it within the constraints of my injury.

See you guys in a future race!.

Bad News

I just got my flight tickets for my trip to Sudan next week.

I was dismayed to discover that I had to stay in Khartoum on their weekend (Friday and Saturday). I will fly from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai on Malaysian Airlines on Tuesday. From Dubai on the same day I will fly to Khartoum and arrive at 6.25 pm.

I have to attend meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. I had hoped to catch a flight on Friday and be back in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, just in time for me to see the KL International Marathon on Sunday. But instead due to unavailability of air tickets on Friday, I have to stay in Khartoum on a weekend there : Friday and Saturday. I will only be leaving Khartoum at 8.00 pm and have to transits at two airports; Dubai and Singapore. My return flights duration including transit time will take about 18 hours.

Two days in Khartoum - what shall or can I do to occupy my time? Honestly, there is mot much to do or see in Khartoum. The US embassy website lists the places to visit in Khartoum here. I think I will visit two museums to pass the time away. There are really no places to go for entertainment as cinemas, karaokes, bars, discos are banned by the government. I have no plans to run while I am in Khartoum.

On Thursday, I ran at KLCC park with Newton and Cheong. I haven't meet the two guys for at least six months so we spend the time catching up on our respective running and exercise activities. I ran two laps with them and after they stopped, I continued another two laps with a fast pace last lap. Total = 5.2 km.

Trip to Sudan

After two trips to Sudan last year of 3 weeks duration in total, I thought I wouldn't have to go to Sudan for at least a few years. Guess I was wrong as next week I am going to Sudan again!. Mercifully and thanks to the Almighty God, this trip will be very short. I will spend about only 3 nights or possibly 4 nights in Khartoum.

Now my international passport will have visas stamped by countries (Sudan and Pakistan) that for a lack of better words has and still have links to "Islamic Terrorists". I am sure if I apply visa for entry into the U.S.A., I will have go through a rigorous interview. Many Malaysians are not aware that the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur interviews most people who apply for visa. The US authorities has a profiling software to screen high risk individuals. My profile I think would easily fit in the high risk group, I am :-

• Single
• Male
  
• Middle age
• Muslim
• No immediate dependents e.g. wife and children
  
• Has spent time in high risk countries where Al-Qaeda use to or still operates. (Note: Osama bin Laden have lived in both Pakistan and Sudan)

For all I know the CIA, FBI or the National Security Agency (NSA) computers will detect this story with keywords like "Muslim", "Osama" and "bin Laden" appearing here and there.

I had a good run today at KLCC park. For the first 2 laps (1.3km x 2) I ran with Gan who was race walking. His race walking pace is about 9 min per lap (1.3 km). Yong made a rare appearance at KLCC park and I ran with him for 2 more laps. I was not sure of the pace we ran - maybe 8 min per lap. PM1 and Lai F.S was there too. Jamie turned up at 6.50 pm but I had finished my run by then. I think I had satisfying run today and I might run again tomorrow if my knee is OK.

Running Update

Since last week I have been cutting back on my mileage. My plans to increase my runs from 5 to 6.5 km has not materialised.

My worst days were last Friday and Saturday when I wasn't in the mood to run at all. On Friday, I ran 3 km on the treadmill before getting bored. I walked one km and ran the last one km. Total = 5km (287 kcal). On Saturday, I managed to run 1.6 km at the Klang stadium and walked about 2.4 km.

The Sunday run was a lot better for me. I ran with Albert, Jimmy and another Klang Pacer guy. We did the usual 6km route. I managed to keep up with the guys until 5km when I became tired with a sore left quadriceps muscle. I stopped running and walked 100m where I had to run on a badly pot-holed road. I resumed running and finished 6km in 38 minutes.

On Monday, I had a sore left hamstring - a forced rest day.

Today : It is sunny and it looks quite hot but I will be running today.

Hero

I had a good training run yesterday constrained as it is by my injured knee.

Yesterday, I ran 2 laps at KLCC park and it felt good to be able to run at a faster pace (7 min 30 seconds per 1.3 km lap). My fitness is fairly good now, allowing me to run 5 km continuosly but only if my knee is OK on but yesterday I had to stop at 2.6km. I was pretty disappointed that I could not run further. I was just getting into the "Zone", feeling calm and wonderful but alas it wasn't to be. I limped(walked) for another 2 laps before calling it a day.

My friend, Hairul Awzar, PM3 completed his first Ironman Triathlon. Congratulations, man! Read about his heroic effort and experience here.

Here is a running website from Robert Key, based in the U.SA. who posted a comment in my previous report.

Music currently listening to : Ahir by Prem Joshua and Chintan
Book currently reading: God's Messengers What Animals Teach Us about the Divine.

Reduced Training

I have been on a reduced training mileage for since 14 February 2007. Up to that date, I have been able to run 5 km 4 to 5 times a week notwithstanding my right knee meniscus and cartilage problem. Ocsasionally I even managed to do some tempo runs of 20 minutes. My eagerness to get back into shape fast and nmy ever ready desire to run everday brought my downfall. As it is now, I have a sore right knee most of time. I am still trying to run as often as I can.

I've had some success in my quest to lost 6 kilogram weight. I think I have lost about 1 or 2 kg over the past one month. I can't lose a lot of weight by running due to the limited mileage I run nowadays. So I am compensating by eating less food. I often don't eat lunch in particular on the days where I don't run. For dinner, I only eat one small bowl of rice. It is not a Malay custom to eat in a bowl instead of a plate but that is what's I have to do for portion control.

I have also implemented another rule "Eat until I am 60% full". Way back in year 2000 I also followed the same rule when I lost 6 kg but I also ran 50 km a week then. Honestly I cannot figure out why anyone would eat until they are completely stuffed.

"Eat to Live" I say instead of "Live to eat".

Gong XI Fa Chai

I would like to wish Gong Xi Fa Chai and to all my friends. Drive carefully to your hometowns and I hope you will enjoy the long holiday.

I also wish Happy Tet for my Vietnamese friends. If you are reading this blog, please send me an e-mail to my jaring e-mail as I have lost your e-mail addresses due to a configuration problem.

As for me I have no plans to go anywhere very far. Hopefully I will be able to do longer runs during the four day holiday.

Knee Problem Again

I have pushing things a bit too far over the past 2 weeks. My right knee is a bit sore today even though I didn't run today. Over the past 3 weeks, I have been trying to increase my daily training mileage with the occasional tempo runs thrown in. Although my endurance have noticeably improved (I am now able to run 4 km continuously without becoming tired), I am reminded by the sore knee that I am certainly far from OK.

Reminder to my self "Be patient and take things one step at a time (literally)".

Book currently reading : Records and Recollection -1889 to 1934 by J.H.M. Robinson. Published by the Malaysian Branch of Royal Asiatic Society. This book contains a series of articles covering the period from 1889 to 1934 written by an Englishman, J. Robinson who started the Malay Mail newspaper in 1896.

Fraser Hill Rest

Going to Fraser Hill is a bit easier now. The new road (8 km long) to F.H. is operational although it was built way back in March 2001. Rumours say the new road was closed for five years due to land slides and slope improvement. Frankly the new road is worse than the old "Gap" road. Firstly it was cut along hill slopes where unlike the old road where you drive with the slope on the left side and trees on the right, for the new road the right side is "Air". Beyond "Air" is a steep drop down the hill. Driving along the road was a rather disconcerting experience. Secondly, the road has too many turns and corners, some at extreme angles. Just five km on this road, I got a mild headache probably caused by the frequent movement of the car to take the corners. It was not a really pleasant driving experience.

Despite the new access road which now allows continuous access, there were still few visitors to F.H. on Friday night. During dinner at the restaurant near the clock tower, there were four foreigners. Counting six locals including myself brought the total to ten. During the weekend, the crowd was larger but I think at most, there were still only 20 to 30 visitors to F.H. I am not complaining as I enjoyed the peace and quiet that F.H. offers compared to Genting or Cameron Highlands.

I didn't run at F.H. as the hilly routes would cause further damage to my knee.

I returned home on Sunday and after 2 days of rest was eager to run again. On Sunday, I had to run at Shah Alam because the stadium in Klang was closed. The surface was too hard for me to run long distances so I just ran 4 km. On Monday the stadium was still closed and I had to run somewhere else again (4 km).

Cuti Cuti Malaysia

I am taking 2 days leave starting from today. I was planning to go to Cameron Highlands bur changed my mind for 2 reasons. No. 1 - it's quite a long drive from Klang; at least 3 and half hours . 2nd reason: I woke up late this morning - 9.00am. So I am going to Fraser Hills instead.

Yesterday I had lunch at Madam Kwan restaurant at KLCC with the department staff. The food was pretty good and arrived quite fast. I had rice, stir fried bean sprouts (taugeh) with salted fish and cold tofu.

In the evening despite my vow to rest and a sore knee I decided to run again. To reduce the impact on my knee, I ran on the treadmill. I was glad to see I could continue running until 4 km at 10 km/hr without too much exertion or becoming tired. My stamina has definitely improved since Dec 2006.

Later in the gym I introduced myself to Mr. Z****&& who also runs at KLCC park. He is a new face at KLCC and I've run with him once before and boy he is really fast, probably faster than me at the moment. His running style resembles a horse running at full speed.

Is Running Marathons Bad for your Heart and is Running Bad for your Skin?

I came across 2 recent articles about the "negative" (health-wise) aspects of running. I am not sure what to make of these 2 reports about my chosen and beloved sport.

The 1st article is from Harvard University researchers mentions the effect of marathon training on the heart. The 2nd article is on skin cancer.

My Confession

It's a bit late to write this but had a good weekend. The DVD I was looking forward to see arrived last week from Amazon.com. I spent a good 10 hrs over Saturday and Sunday and finished watching the last episode on Monday morning, 12.30 am. The DVD that I just had to watch was "Justice League Unlimited - Season 1". It is actually a cartoon series featuring DC comics superheroes such as Batman, Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern etc. That was my confession - I watch cartoons!. It's not something I am ashamed to write (that I watch cartoons) about. Really there are great and entertaining cartoons with interesting stories.
My favourite cartoons are:

• Samurai Jack
• The Simpsons
• Spongeboard and Squarepants
• Justice League Unlimited
• The Batman
• Tom and Jerry
  

I did some running too over the past four days : Sunday = 5 km, Monday = 4 km, Tuesday = rest and today, I ran about 5 km at KLCC park. My right knee is getting sore again so I had to rest on Tuesday. I think I have to stop running faster pace runs which nowadays mean 7 min 45 seconds over the 1.3 km lap at KLCC park. Any faster than this pace increases the impact on my right knee and causing it to become sore and swollen. My knee is sore as I am typing this now.

I might not run tomorrow.

Back on Line

I'm back on line after getting my PC fixed at a computer shop. I haven't been able to access my home Internet connection for 6 weeks. The fix was to reinstall Windows XP Pro. On the same night I went on-line, the PC Windows XP Pro crashed again and again. I couldn't even login into my PC. My DIY fix was to install a 2nd copy of Windows but now I cannot access most of my program installed on the original Windows. So much for Windows stability and robustness. Even after 14 years since the 1st Windows came out, Microsoft is still unable to produce a robust and reliable operating system. Enough said.

I have been running more often over the last 2 months. My usual daily run 4 to 5 km each time and about four times a week. I wish I could run farther but I still have to be careful as my right knee injury although it is now better, is certainly far from cured.

I was in Langkawi island last week for an industry workshop (4 days). My last trip to Langkawi was 8 years ago. Eight years later, I could not even recognise the place. The roads are wider. The airport and jetty complex are brand new. There was no time to visit places except for a outing to the Mahsuri tomb. Before there was only the tomb and water well. Now the authorities have added traditional village houses, a building for the drama-pantomine show, restaurant and a place where traditonal "kueh" (snacks) are made. Each kueh cost an astonishing RM 2.00 per piece which is even more expensive than the prices in a 5 star hotel in Malaysia.

I watched the drama-pantomime show. I must say I enjoyed watching the one hour long show. The pace was just right with the dramatic elements at the right time to spice things up. I think the organiser have selected the most beautiful malay girls they could find for the show. It was too bad I was sitting a bit too far from the stage.

Not all of the development was good though. I saw some monkeys sitting by the road side from the airport to town. I guess their home in the forest have been "developed". I wonder where they are going to get food and where they are going to live. A very sad thought for me.

The famous Langkawi eagle statue was built at the new jetty and marina area. The jetty also had an adjacent shopping complex named "Jetty Point". Around the area, there were a number of shops selling mostly malay food. Both the jetty and shopping complex were painted white. I thought the entire place was just too monstrously huge and out of place for a relatively small island.

Uhh - I also managed to run only once in Langkawi. On Tuesday, I hit the hotel treadmill for an easy 3 km run. Langkawi island is actually a fine place to run during the off peak holiday season. During the holiday season, I would imagine, you would be at risk being run over by various vehicles (narrow roads).

Two Frustrations

I am back in Malaysia. Now straight to this post's title.

Frustration #1 :
I ran yesterday in Klang stadium. I did 400m x 7 and 5 laps of of walking - no knee problems but I am certainly far from cured. I walked with two "retired" runners. Runner No 1 : Mr *** whom I haven't seen for one year. It turns out he has an Achilles tendon injury. In his words "It is now wrecked" (hancur in Malay language). He can no longer run and now has to walk. Runner #2 : Has stopped running since 2005 due to foot injury (bottom).

Runner #3 : Has stopped running races since Feb. 2006. Ocassionally able to run short distances up to 5km. Missed yesterday's Great Eastern 30km. That runner is me.

Frustation #2 :
My home Internet connection has been down for five weeks. The DSL line is working fine but the PC is not detecting the IP address. I have even installed a new Ethernet card. The Telekoms Malaysia tech. guy has tried three times but without success. What's up ?

3 Day Weekend in Asghabat

Thanks for the SMS from various people wishing me a happy birthday. I turned 43 on 8 Jan 2006. I am well past middle age! But I do aim to stay healthy and fit regardless of my age.

Tomorrow is a public holiday in Turkmenistan for Remembrance Day. I don't know what it is about though. What I am thinking of what the *%%# I am going to do for the next 3 days (Friday and weekend).

What I have in mind to do is to watch some DVDs, finish a 2nd novel "Memories of a Pure Spring" by the same Vietnamese author and in case I finish it tomorow, a back-up book" Process Control for Technicians and Engineers". I hope the last book will not put me to sleep.

An election will be held on 11 February 2007 to choose a new President of Turkmenistan. There are six candidates and I've seen two of them on the local TV station channels. The front runner seems to be the current acting president, the former health minister (don't remember his name) . He has been the longest serving minister in the cabinet (5 years) compared to the other five.

Weekend in Asghabat

Weekend in Asghabat. It was very cold - sub zero degrees C.

On Sunday I went to the market to buy some groceries.

There isn't much to do here during the weekend. It's too cold to play any kind of sports.

The TV had a satellite decoder box with 1300 programs to watch. Most were in a foreign language. CSI Vegas was shown with with the actors and actresses speaking in Italian. There were dozens of channels offering pornography. None were free ; you had to call in the the tel. number shown on the TVand pay using a credit card to see any action. The only programs in English were BBC News, CNN, CCTV( (China), MRTV (Myanmmar) and sometimes Arirang (South Korea).

I finished reading "Paradise of the Blind" a novel written by D.T. Thuong from Vietnam. That was the highlight of my weekend. Other than that, it was a normal boring weekend in Asghabat.

Winter in Turkmenistan

I am now in Asghabat, the capital city in Turkmenistan. It is the midst of winter here and when the airplane landed at 12.00 am last night, the stewardess announced the outside temperature was -3 deg C. When I got out I could tsee he roads and trees partially covered by snow.

After I got my visa at immigration, at the customs check desk I had to line up behind an older man and woman (both were foreigners). One customs guy was going through their belongings in the two bags and he discovered a newspaper. To my amazement, the custom guy went through every page of the newspaper. A second customs guy went through the rest of the items. The experience brought home that in Turkmenistan, access to information citizen is strictly controlled by the government.

On running; on Monday I managed to run 7km with the Klang Pacer guys; Albert. Jimmy and Kong. But I had to stop and walk 3 times about 100m each time. The guys were kind and patient enough to walk with me. I still don't have the fitness to run more than 4 km. Staying here in Asghabat for the next two weeks will not make it better. It's just too cold to run here.