MY FIRST OFFICIAL MY RUN

Living in Malaysia has made me realize that wherever you are, it is still possible to be happy even though you are hundreds of miles away from your family and friends for the reason that you can build fresh connections and make new friends where you are.  Leaving my comfort zone put me into a slight panic at first; I had a lot of questions on my mind like do I still get to enjoy the things that I do back home like hiking, swimming, running, cycling, Zumba and, most especially, traveling? And would there be new people whom I’m going to connect with and share the same interests? Can I survive Malaysia without my homesickness killing me? All of the questions were immediately answered the first day I stepped into ICTI and felt the warm welcome of everybody.  Rapport was quickly established and I didn’t feel different at all; I easily blended in.

Our first run as a group, training day

One thing that really brought us close together was when Nurul, one of my colleagues, invited us to join the PJ Half Marathon Run.  I was so excited that I signed up with no hesitation knowing that others from the officewere also interested to participate.  At first we trained separately on our own, Harry and I updating on each other’s run, motivating each other every day to go further and train harder.  Then the Orange Frog workshop happened and we decided to train together. Florence, Harry, Chan How, Hamida, Fitri,Nurul and I decided to set up a schedule for training after work and during the weekends.  Empire Damansara, Mutiara Homes, DamansaraPerdana, and TTDI park became our training grounds.  We also continued our after run bonding like going out for dinner or refreshments making the calories burn as our excuse where the hashtag #runtoeat was born.  We actually ran to the nearest NasiLemak or Nasi Kukus to supply our body with carbs and protein! And, of course, the after-training selfies would never be missed out and posted on my Fitness Diary Album on Facebook; it’s not only a way for me to document our activities, but also a way for me to inspire others, to show themthat despite our busy schedules, if we are determined we can still squeeze in time to run or exercise.

After work night runs 

The rain won't stop us from training

Nasi Kukus Run #runtoeat

TGIF walk before the run on Sunday, carbo loading fever!!!

A day before the run, we collected our race kits, went for a relaxing swim and met up with Shahrina in Kampong Bahru for a nice carbo loading the night before the run: Nasi Lemak!!!

After almost 2 months of training, event day came!  I am very proud to say that all of us finished the 10km run, (and the 3km run for Fitri)clocking impressively credible times for beginner runners.  All under 2 hours!!! Harry clocked in at 1:07:25, very good time for a first timer; Chan How – he was injured during the run – still managed a time of 1:22:35; Florence clocked in at 1:29:18 – she bested her last 10k run time, Hamida at 1:40:03 – she had problems with her breathing during our training but was never discouraged to quit (!), Nurul at 1:45:01 despite  rarely training with us but still very hard core, our beloved Fitri who never realized he could actually make it BTD (before the dot), and, finally, yours truly at 1:01:21 – my best run ever because I had never clocked that fast in my 10km runs back home, really a lucky day for me for my first MY run!!! The best part is, we all received medals and certificates which we could take home to show our beloved supporters, our ICTI, JE, and ELS family! Thank you so much for the cheers and encouragement. We hope next time we get to see you in the running tracks with us! Kudos and Merry Christmas to all!

Some photos taken during the event: 

According to the events result from myraceonline total offical runners:
997 for 10km runners men and women; men:620 and women:377

In 3-2-1 Ready! Set! Go!

Go go Fitri!!! Time to level up for the next run!!!

10km finishers showing off their medals and certificates

Go Flo!!! Bested her time from her previous 10km run!!!

Selfie time!!!

Run and win a friend, we met Syahirah and Izad

Genting Highlands & Bukit Tinggi on a Merdeka Day 2014

Sharing some spots to visit in Pahang... 

1. Ride the Skyway to Genting Highlands Resort

2 way ride: 12 myr

Genting Skyway

 Cool view from the top, cold! 

The outdoor theme park is still under construction so there's not so much to see in the resort.  I heard it will be finished by 2016, let's wait and see.  For the meantime, you can enjoy the cafes, casino and indoor theme park. 

2. Drop by Strawberry farm where you can experience strawberry picking or just enjoy the lavender, daisies, and other colorful flowers.

Strawberries

Surrounded by the beautiful flowers

Lavenders 

Rubber boots are made into pots

3. Make a quick stop at the Chocolate Factory for some free treats and take advantage of their promos.  I recommend the green tea and tiramisu with almond flavored chocolates. 

4. From Gotong Jaya (where the Chocolate Factory is), catch a taxi going to Chin Swee Caves (be careful of rip off taxi drivers, they shouldn't charge you more than 15 myr).  

Tip: if you are in Genting Highlands Resort, get the free shuttle from Resorts World it will take you directly to the temple. Try their vegetarian restaurant at the 11th floor. 

The ten chambers or hell

5. You can travel another 40km to Bukit Tinngi where you can visit a very beautiful French Village, the Colmar Tropicale. Before going inside the village, take the shuttle bus going to the Japanese Garden where you can enjoy the cold breezy weather while taking a walk along the botanical garden. 

Entrance ticket to Colmar Tropicale including Japanese Garden @ 12 myr. 

Japanese Village & Botanical Garden

Japanese Tea Garden ~ Bukit Tinngi 

Don't miss the 12:00 show of the beautiful Russian ladies at the center of the French Village. 

After the show you can go around the village to take a close look at the French inspired structures. 

Visit my video blog at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqHyVMnEZjwitrpAJL9cRdQ

 

Read my travel reviews at: http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/members/blehblehbleh82#CITY_TILES

TOASTED in KUAH

The Famous Emblem of Langkawi

Kuah!!! The shopping haven of Langkawi because of its Duty Free Shops scattered all over the place.  After a 2 day holiday spent in Cenang, our final day in Langkawi was originally planned for window shopping and some "actual" purchasing but we visited in a time where most Muslim businessmen and women are on a holiday because it's the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri- the day that marks the end of the Ramadan, the end of their fasting, which means it's like the New Year for them where they get to celebrate it with their loved ones.  So, as much as we want to explore the different shops and restaurants, we just contented ourselves dining in Mc Donald's, coffee at Starbucks, window shopping in the limited Duty Free Shops opened, visited the Lagenda Park and the Eagle Square. 

If ever you visit Malaysia on a holiday and you can't dine anywhere because it's closed, run to the nearest Mc Donalds, I assure you they are open. 

The Langkawi Fair 

One of the many shops inside the biggest Duty Free shops in Langkawi where I bought a ring to be added to my collection. 

The Lagenda Park

The Lagenda Park is a nice quiet park if only not for the scorching heat.  I heard they charge 5 MYR for the entrance but when we got there, the ticket counter was closed but the gate was opened. So we just entered and had a look of what's inside. 

This is the entrance of Lagenda Park where you can see a big map of the many islands of MY.

The park has four man-made lakes where Kois freely swim.  Further up a hill is a big statue of a hand as if it just break its way out of the ground.  

The Clasped Giant Hands 

This has an interesting legend which I read somewhere, let me share it with you... 

"This one represents the story of the two giants Mat Cincang and Mat Raya who were once best of friends. But during the wedding of one's son with the daughter of the other, they got involved into a fierce fight with each other when a lighting suddenly struck from the sky turning them into stones. The sculpture of clasped hands signifies that Mat Raya is trying to fend off Mat Cincang."

Just around 500 meters away from the Lagenda Park is the Eagle Square where the emblem of Langkawi stands at 12m high, a huge reddish brown eagle (Brahminy Kite Eagle) where they got the name of Langkawi.  From 2 Malay words: "helang" ~ eagle and kawi: brown. 

 The Eagle Square

If ever you plan on having a shopping galore in Kuah, don't go on a holiday like this, or else you'd be disappointed. 

And, if you wanna walk under the scorching heat, get ready to be toasted especially if you do it in the middle of the day. 

An hour Jetty ride away is the town of Kuala Perlis where you can catch the bus going back to KL. If you still have time, while waiting for your bus, you can visit the Muslim Mosque just near the Jetty port. It's a unique one since it is built on water.

Masjid Al-Hussain- Kuala Perlis (Masjid Terapung)

Fishing in Kuala Perlis