Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2013

It was the 4th time my wife participated in Stan-Chart's big run yesterday. She had to run and fulfill her support from all the well wishers who donated generously to The Hospice Malaysia so that they could continue to provide palliative care for the terminally ill patients. Thanks to the earlier downpours that sent the haze away!

1. It was a bonus that we took a train to the city at 5.30am instead of jamming the streets looking for parking space like previous years! It has been many years since I took a ride and enjoyed it. Thanks to Mak Glam Lina for alerting others on the road closure that morning.

2. It was such a lovely morning where some 33,000 runners from all over the country and overseas came together for this running event.

3.  The NGO team got together to pose for a group photo before the 10km run.

 4. My wife wore Mak Glam's red cap to match her cycling outfit which she felt was suitable to keep warm and dry off the sweat fast.

 5. All the runners were restless and ready to be flagged off!

 

 6. BOOM! They sprang off and ran fast like a pack of lions!

 7. There were cheer leaders doing happy dances to cheer them on.

 8. HIV supporters with so many reminders to Beware of Aids and go for check ups!!

9. LOVE SHOULDN'T KILL !!!

 10. The DJ was busy belting out non stop music to keep the running spirits alive! I forgot his famous name. Adoi me!

 11. The strong marathon runners had almost reached the end.

12. More water stations this year to keep their lips wet and running.

 13.  I rarely heard anyone saying thanks for the drinks! The 1700 volunteers did a very good job everywhere.

 14. I heard their drums beating from half KM away! Look at them! They were so damn funny and very cheerful.

 15. Take the clocks away and give me the car!!!! I have been admiring this white Hybrid model for over a year now.

 16. The runners had to run along the right tracks to the finishing line. The left were full and half marathon runners with really fit & solid bodies! Kudos!

 17. The TV camera man who beamed at all the runners for all to watch onstage at the nearby Dataran Merdeka. Pat his back!

 18. All the tired but happy runners rested their aching legs and soles everywhere!

 19. Here it was so hot and sweaty with over 33,000 people jostling about. Anyway I preferred this very hot scorching weather than haze or rain.

20. I searched hi & lo for our famous celebrity bunny runner Mak Glam Lina but bumped into someone else instead - Blogger TZ. He is regular runner who runs locally and overseas.

 

 21. My wife says MANY THANKS for all the generous sponsors and donations for HOSPIS MALAYSIA. 

God Will Bless You All.

Visited New York City - 1992

I have been digging up my old albums recently to post up my very old photographs before they fade off completely! Do you agree that Black & White photos are very lasting and don't fade at all?

I remember that I made my very first visit to New York City was during the gloomy Spring day of 1992 with a bunch of Korean & Japanese student friends. They traveled like wealthy Arab Sheikhs and slept at the fabulous Marriot Marquis Hotel which was a 5 Star at the downtown Times Square. Poor me, I had to tag along and my wallets went dry after that memorable trip. My following trips were often thrifty and short which included sleeping inside the car of a Japanese school mate.

Photo 1: This was the World Trade Center's building in New York City that made millions cry in front of the television sets. My heart still surprisingly aches as I type this post. I have fond and vivid memories walking on the roof top after passing through many levels of security tiers below. It was very well protected inside by policemen and security patrols that no terrorist could ever bring explosives inside.

 Photo 2: My apologies for many blurred photos as our shared camera using films were so limited and costly that we had no way to check on its quality. I remember that it cost me US$26.00 to develop just 1 roll of 36 shots. The above photo was taken from New Jersey which is just across the rivers of Manhattan Island. The blur photo was taken atop the World Trade Center which overlooked the biggest city in the world.

 Photo 3: This was taken by the banks of Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan Island.

Photo 4: It was taken outside the famous Madison Square Gardens which is located at Pennsylvania Plaza. I remembered that Muhammad Ali's boxing match was held inside.

 Photo 5: I was standing at the pier of the Ellis Island which is located in Upper New York Bay. It was once the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954.

 Photo 6: On my left was taken outside the Statue of Liberty and the right shows the famous Empire State Building which the King Kong scaled up the 102 floors skyscraper to save beautiful actress in 1933! This building was actually declared open on May 1, 1931.

Photo 7: The best place to relax is inside the 840 acres of greens in Central Park which is conveniently located in the middle of the busy Manhattan streets. I always went there to take my naps or eat my take away food.

Photo 8: The above photo shows the great contrasts of the buildings surrounding the whole greens of the Central Park which is being sandwiched by the 79th and 85th Streets.

Photo 9: This was taken outside The Plaza Hotel which is owned by Donald Trump. They have horse carriage rides to bring you around.

 

 Photo 10: A big sculpture of statues in Gold finishing beside the Plaza Hotel. 

I have forgotten the name.

I plan to bring my wife there in the year 2015 when she enrolls for her Phd in Harvard. 

Pray for my trip to happen!

Looking For Tour Guide In Kelantan & Terengganu

I visited Kelantan in October 2017 and booked a GRAB driver to bring me to visit a famous Thai temple. This friendly guy ended up showing me more interesting temples and famous local food. Next day, I requested him to drive me all the way to see the Hot Spring, Waterfalls and Beaches in Terengganu. I strongly recommend anyone to engage him as his price is very reasonable. He is patient and very reliable besides being friendly. You can call or Whatsapp him! He can speak English and Bahasa Malaysia too.

Call Him Today: +6-019-4756308

(Mr. Rosaifuddin)

Men's Health Run 2013

When our celebrity Running Queen Lina alerted me to sign up the Men's Health Run, I was too late to dream of participating in the 12km Run. It was all snapped up so fast! Never mind, my honey & I still joined the 5km Fun Run. Actually, I was very greedy for their fabulous Goodie-Bags and this event was my 3rd time joining the fun at Putrajaya, never mind the light rain!

(Pix 1) I thought I could fool everyone about appearing on the magazine cover! Lina teased me that I was too big sized and probably fell out of the front page! Malu lah! Muahahahahahaha!....

(Pix 2) There were many usual stalls selling booster stuffs related to the running lifestyles like cleansers, corn flakes, drinks, gymnasium, slimming stuffs, minyak urut and even kasut! GO LIKE NEVER BEFORE! It was the first time I saw this kasut's products and they were so light & colourful. I could be seen 1 mile away wearing them.

(Pix 3) Fitness First had a booth which was very popular. It looked as if most runners are already members! So the FF easily rounded them up to lie down for a very tough competition of endurance!

(Pix 4) So many fellas freaked out and went flat kaput on the floor in 2 minutes. This friend still showed his thumbs up!

(Pix 5) This competition attracted the most crowd including the 2 clowns to cheer on after 4 minutes has passed! It was so tough to hold their tummies so long!

(Pix 6) I came to cheer the oldest competitor who is over 50 years old. In the end, he WON!!!! All the other younger men with 6 abs and huge arm muscles fell flat after shaking vigorously in trance.  It was not easy okay.

(Pix 7) This Kasut-Man walked everywhere and attracted many ladies to pose in front!

(Pix 8) My honey preferred to kick the Kasut-Man from behind. Ouch!

(Pix 9) Suddenly, the skies went dark and it started to drizzle lightly making the 7000+ runners worried. The 12km participants were flagged off at 8pm and followed by the 5km runners at 8.20pm.

(Pix 10) Putrajaya is only beautiful at night. I always disliked driving around in the heavy traffic during office hours as I often got lost in big circles trying to locate the Ministry's buildings and offices. Bluek!

(Pix 11) It is very romantic to walk across this lover's bridge which Tun M wanted to create our very own "Pont Alexandre III" bridge in Paris...

(Pix 12) I was proudly declared the Champion Runner by the Ayam mascot. Here I was doing SK's Ah boy signature pose!

(Pix 13) Look at the nice Goodie Bags for ladies that comes in very thick canvas material with handles & draw strings!

(Pix 14) The men's Goodie Bag is also made of thick canvas with a rugged look! All the freebies came along with a free magazine, milk, oitment, shampoo, calendar, water bottle and etc.

 

(Pix 15) We were given free Milo drinks, foodies, bananas and this very yummy delicious cookie from TOUS les JOURS! Oh boy, I have to head over to their  bakery soon as I really love this big sized heavenly cookie. Have you been to their newly opened bakery in Bangsar??

City God's Temple - Shanghai

This is a late post of my recent trip to Shanghai in April 2013 which I had decided not to post for some reasons. When I heard that bloggers SK and Bananaz missed visiting this temple, I thought I should share some photos of this auspicious temple and dedicate to bloggers SK/0617 and Bananaz.

Photo 1: The City God's Temple was built over 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. It is located right in the middle of the older sections of Shanghai city, right next to the Yu Yuan Gardens and the Tea House. This temple was built and dedicated to  God Cheng Huang Qin Yubo (Year 1295 - 1373) who was being elated by the Ming's Emperor to become the City God after he passed away. He has contributed greatly during his reign as Mongol's Yuan Dynasty Jinshi and Ming Dynasty's Imperial Academy Scholar.

If you wish to read up more details, you can log in HERE

Photo 2:  I always love to see the colourful drawings of the Door Deities who guard the temples.

 Photo 3: The Lion Statue smiled!

The wooden plaque says the opening hours is 8.30am to 4.30pm and the entrance fee is 10 Yuan (RM5.00) per visitor.

Photo 4: It was early Spring that day and was very cold! The huge crowds thronged inside the walled temple as it was a public holiday for "Tomb Clearing" week. Look at this cute boy sitting on his father's shoulder. He was restless and tossed the bundle of Joss Sticks anxiously.

Photo 5: It was so packed with China's folks and I had to wait for the right moments to snap "visible" photos!

 Photo 6: Look at the boy's father!!! He was still texting messages on his phone!

 Photo 7: This walled temple consists of the main building with 3 other separate complexes which are smaller.

 Photo 8: Everyone had to wait for their turns to kneel down and offer their respects & wishes.

 Photo 9: The City God's statue.

 Photo 10: There were so many different statues adorned the walls of the entire lengths of this Main Temple's building.

 Photo 11: The statues located on the opposite side of the walls.

Photo 12: Honestly, that was the first time I had seen any temple that housed the most statues. It was a pity that I could not read Chinese words, so I missed out the explanations.

Photo 13: As a regular traveler overseas, we would always try to pay our respects to the deities in the local temples so that our holidays would be a safe, pleasant and happy one. This is important for me.

Photo 14: I was attracted to this antique staircase inside the main temple. I guessed that it must be over 600 years old.

 

 Photo 15: This is the inner courtyard of the Main Temple which connected to another building there.

 Photo 16: The complex building at the left wing inside the courtyard area.

 Photo 17: This is the chamber of another deity in the other building at the courtyard.

Photo 18: OMG! The boy's father was still texting! Now his father has lighted up the joss sticks which have burnt till VERY SHORT, thinking that the Gods Can Wait.