Saturday, December 22, 2007

Iorek Byrnison sighted at Kellie's Castle

Kellie’s Castle, a well-known mysterious place in Batu Gajah, Perak has become more mysterious with the appearance of a bear like growth on a tree near its compound. Some say it is the face of Iorek Byrnison, the armoured ice bear from The Golden Compass.

Can you see the resemblance?

Questions:

1) Did Iorek Byrnison cross the parallel universe and came to Malaysia (well…it is The Visit Malaysia Year 2007)?

2) Why did he imprint his face from inside tree?

3) Will I win a stuffed polar bear by blogging about this? Heheh!

Please go to Kellie's Castle and see for yourself if you do not believe me. The tree is located on the left side of the castle. It is quite easy to spot as there are signs leading you there. Good luck!

For more info about The Golden Compass, please click here and here.

And to win the contest, click here.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007

Seems like everyone already had his or her Singapore run blog up except me. Sorry that I have to keep you waiting a bit longer.

Been busy with stuff and this weekend I will be travelling to Kota Kinabalu for company trip. Still have not sorted out tonnes of pictures and videos (yes..there will be videos) from Singapore. Until I manage to do a proper race report (hopefully within 2007), take a look at the above video...

Sunday, November 25, 2007

KRI 12km Road Race 2007 aka The Birthday Run

What? KRI 12km Road Race 2007

Where? Ipoh, Perak

When? 7:00am; 18 November 2007

How Long? 12km

Who? Organised by Ipoh Road Runners Club

Official Website: Ipoh Road Runners

I took the Transnasional bus to Ipoh. I was quite surprised with the interior of the bus. The bus was brand new. The seats at the back rows were all singles, unlike the usual two seats located along the aisle, providing comfort and more personal space. In many occasions, I hate it when the stranger sitting next to me fall asleep and start to drool on me.

I didn't do much sight-seeing this time around. It rained after I checked into Seri Malaysia Hotel. So, I just stayed in the hotel room doing some photo editing on my laptop.

I took a short walk to Ipoh Parade Mall for dinner. Had pasta at a cafe called "bon apetite". Then later it was rest and relax time back at the hotel.

One of Ipoh landmark roundabout. I was at the right time to capture the sun "resting" on top of the fountain. Could have been nicer if not for the lamp post.

Race day. 18 November. Yes. I was born 30-something years ago on this date. Not many people know about this. I kept it low key as I don't really like to celebrate it. To me it's just another day. Another day towards senile decay and one step closer to six feet under. LOL! I think I am having an onset of mid-life crisis here!

Anyway, back to the run....

The run started at the Polo Ground. It was a beautiful morning. As like any other out of town runs, I met many runners from KL and Kuantan who just like me travelled all the way to Ipoh, the Bougainvillea City just to run 12km.

Running vests for male and female are blue and red respectively this year.

The roads in Ipoh are in very good conditions.

Sawasdee krub! We ran passed a Thai wat.

Look at the beautifully trimmed trees on the left side of the road. Work of art, if you ask me. Heheh!

The distance markers are present at every 2 km.

Heheh! This guy is walking/ running without shoes. Poor thing! Never never run in a pair of new shoes.

The route took us to some residential area for the rich in Ipoh. Big house. Big lawn. Big cars. Big wives as well....Heheh!

The sceneries along the route are pleasant. We were shielded from the sun by all these tall and shady trees.

Arul Tevar lives here???

Gorgeous tree. Tall. See the yellow blooms on it?

Proud SABIAN.

Two more km to go....(Insert huffing and puffing here)

The last 1 km of the run was in the recreation park. If u notice the sign, it says - GO SLOW! Race in Progress. Hmmmm....It was a race, right? Why on earth did the organiser ask us to slow down? Heheh!

Like father, like son.

Swaggering towards the finish line.....

Unique shaped medal. Looks like a flattened cup.

Medal collection for the past 9 years. Cool eh?

My good friend Tey showing the pictures he took during the run.

They say Ipoh girls are pretty and fair. I couldn't agree less. Heheh!

Breakfast pack. I must praise the maker of the buns. They were delicious!

My Ipoh friend, YK took me to the Ipoh famous, Sun Yuan Loong coffee shop for brunch. I ordered curry "Loh Shu Fun", which literally translated to Rat Tail Noodle. The noodles do look like the end of rat tails. The taste? Rata-toi-cious! LOL!

After brunch and cup of Ipoh famous white coffee later, YK sent me to Gopeng Bus Terminal. Bumped into The Running Freeman at the terminal. He was waiting for the bus to KL too. Coincidently, we would be taking the same bus.

What's in the Goodies Bag?

1 x Mamee noodle snack

1 x JIGs prawn crackers snack

1 x Tinge lemon flavoured drink

1 x Ipoh famous Charbroil Hiong Piah biscuit

1 x Ipoh famous Menglembu Groundnuts

1 x Chocolate wafer

1 x cookies

2 x sachets of health product for OLD joints. (For old man like me.....!!!)

1 x Pantene Shampoo - for hair fall...(Yeah! I need it for the receeding hairline. What a birthday gift! LOL!)

Sorely missed is the fabulous RUNNING CALENDAR that we got in the goodies bag last year! I was looking forward for it actually. No sponsor this year?

Overall, KRI 12km Road Race was well organised. They are runners, so they easily anticipate runners needs. The route was good and scenic. Traffic contol excellent. Water station adequate.

There are still rooms for improvements especially on the dreadfully long prize presentation ceremony and lucky draw. They did not have to bring all the TOP 20 to the stage. Top 3 would do. The winners were also all over the places. I pity the MC who had to waste his saliva calling the winners to go up the stage! Heheh!

I heard next year's event will be a bigger bash! It will be KRI's 10th Anniversary. I will definitely go for it! See ya!

Friday, November 09, 2007

Kuala Lumpur Terry Fox Run 2007

What? Terry Fox Run 2007

Where? Taman Tasik Perdana (Lake Garden), Kuala Lumpur.

When? 9:00am; 4 November 2007

How Long? About 3km

Why? Every year, money raised from the Terry Fox Run in Malaysia is donated to a cancer research organization in Malaysia. This year, money raised in the Terry Fox Run 2007 will be donated to Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF), a non-profit cancer research organization.

Who? Click Here for KL Terry Fox Official Website

I am a loyal supporter of The Terry Fox Run. Been participating in the run since year 2001. So, this year, I also made it a point to go for it even though I had to forego Brooks Fun Run in FRIM.

There were two warm up sessions. First one was the aerobic by Fitness First.

And then, followed by a belly-dancing warm up session. I wonder which part of the body they want us to warm up for the run. That was my first time seeing belly dancing as a pre-run warm up exercise. LOL!

Hips don't lies. Click play button to see some hips actions.

Flag off at 9:00am. I saw more expats here in one day than the number I see in the whole year. Heheh!

I am surprised of the numbers of runners who turned up with last's year T-shirt. I am sure last's years T-shirt is nice but why didn't they wear the 2007 T-shirt? Were they bandits? (Someone who run without registering to the run). Bandits are scumbags who leeched on the amenity provided to registered runners. Come on guys..This is a charity event. Buy the T-shirt as donation and wear it proudly during the run.

Apart from being cheap, I also saw some brainless runners who cheated (see picture above). They risked their lives (as well as their children's) by taking a shortcut on the slope. Can't they follow the designated route? (Insert head-shaking here!)

Anyway, enough of grumbling, let's move on.

Daddy's little boy gets the best ride in town.

New running accessories? Rainbow coloured feather boa and afro wig? LOL.

We ran passed a deer farm in Lake Garden.

T-shirt is too big? Just tie a rubber band at the back of the collar! Problem solved. LOL!

The World's Largest Covered Bird Park.

Yes! Get get to see some storks and a peacock from the route.

Water! Water! A volunteer with a smile!

This guy must be very filial. He had "Father and Mother" tattooed on his calf!

Shake, rattle and rollerblade.

Road marshall cum cheerleader!

On daddy's shoulders.

I'm sure a lot of daddies would have sore shoulders that Sunday! Heheh!

The Parliament Building.

KL Tower as seen from the beautiful Lake Garden.

KL Hilton (right) & Le Meridien Hotel (left).

The girls from 3R TV Show.

Guess who will be the future marathon runner? LOL.

Water station. Apart from water, runners were treated to milo drink, bananas, cream rolls and muffins.

I love the yummy-licious muffin. Thanks to KL Hilton for sponsoring them.

Bye Bye! See you next year!

It was a fun and enjoyable run (even though I walked all the way) on a beautiful Sunday morning. Great fun for a great cause. :)

Acknowledgment. Thank you to Hamdi for contributing some of his beautiful pictures for this blog.