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Happy New Year from Singapore

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:05:18 +0000

Heyo,

back in the tropics of KL and Singapore, it was tremendous to catch up with friends and family. Headed down to Singapore to check out the sights, count down to the new year and get my flight back to Australia. Also the last time I was there I didn’t check out the Gardens by the Bay, Marina Sands and Universal Studios. As far as weekend trips go – this was a blast. Singapore sure knows how to build ‘em, everything was just super-sized. And another fantastic roller coaster at Universal Studios. A lovely local brought me to live music bar in Holland Village, with European beers, chicken wings and pizza. And the New Year countdown and the view was something to remember for sure.

Here’s wishing you a great 2013!

Big love,

Shi.

Solo in Seoul (Part 2)

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:01:56 +0000

Second part of my trip,I armed myself with a metro card, a metro map and a rough plan – it was time to experience Seoul. In Seoul I put my skills of pointing and smiling into great use. It was pretty much, walk past, oh that looks nice and go in. Google maps was in Korean so finding places was a little hit and miss. I must say that at this point of the trip I was badly needing a stomach transplant. I love spice, sour and meat but I must have been made a wuss by my stay in Australia (haha) and my stomach was crying uncle. Despite this, at the Noryangjin Fish Market I had to try Sannkji – live octopus sliced up and eaten raw with sesame oil. The tentacles are still moving and it’s the first time I’ve thought “Darnit, tasty morsel, stop clinging to my plate and get into my mouth”. It had a great suction grip on my plate and sometimes stuck to my teeth and wriggled going down. It was tasty but I couldn’t bring myself to eat the octopus head and eye, the skin still writhing and shrinking. There are also the markets and shopping streets, I was in Myeongdong and Nangdaemun market and got lost wandering and gazing at the neon lights and christmas decorations. I had lots of street food which was delicious and mostly meaty and spicy. At the Gangnam station, there was a Gangnam Style platform there! Couldn’t bring myself to dance on it, my natural modesty (heh). But with presidential elections in the next few days there was flash mob dancing for candidates. Finally the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. South Korean men have a compulsory 2 year military service and there are US forces posted in Seoul and Seoul itself is within striking distance from North Korea, so tensions run high. Add to that, 3 tunnels have been discovered from the North Korean side to South Korea – the 3rd tunnel is 1 hour distance from Seoul and can take 30 000 soldiers an hour with light weapons. There are 20 tunnels expected to be existing but undiscovered. The 3rd tunnel itself is 73m below ground and the whole experience (no photographs allowed) was a little daunting. I enjoyed discovering Seoul. Ski and hiking trip next time, I reckon. Next stop, a brief stop in KL and then Singapore. Shi ps: The descending life line from my room – I’ve seen similar ones in Tokyo, but it’s always interesting because there are so many health and safety issues in some countries. That, and I get a mental image of old Asian people (socks in bedroom slippers) abseiling out of their hotel windows, commando style with explosions and flames behind them.

Got Seoul? (Part 1)

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:59:19 +0000

Whee! Happy new year! Hope that you had a good time during the end of year festivities.

So before Christmas I was in Seoul, Korea – good time to go before it got really cold, it was only 0 celsius and only once went to -13 celsius and I..had..a FANTASTIC time. Arriving in Seoul, I didn’t know what to expect. Let me first say that Koreans are a tough bunch. Historically, Korea has had long periods of war, political instability and freezing winters. There is a distinct Korean identity with Chinese and Japanese influences, and a grittiness and willingness to persevere under tough conditions.

Ok, now with the tourist talk. There was a formal tour itinerary for the first half of my trip and one of the highlights was Mount Sorak outside of Seoul. There is hiking even during winter (kit up with spikes), Buddhist temples, meditation and a giant buddha. Also the ski resort! Powder snow on the slopes, awesome time and sadly, too little time. Good reason to come back to Seoul. Next day Everland Theme Park - steepest and longest roller coaster in Korea and an overall christmassy feeling with churros and hot chocolate.

And a teddy bear farm, kimchi making and a lot of shopping to places selling Korean cosmetics, ginseng and semi-precious stones. Back in Seoul, Gyeongbok Palace and the Korean Blue House (residence of South Korean head of state).

Next part. wandering solo in Seoul.

Shi.

We have a fainter

admin — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 22:21:30 +0000

Hello,

Spring is here and a group went 5 hours north of Melbourne to frolic in the Australian bush. We battled Friday evening peak hour traffic, arriving past midnight and walked under a magnificent canopy of stars, to set up our tents for the night.

Next morning, up Mount Fainter and set up camp under the summit. I wish I could say something silly went on, besides the massage train, tent party and lying about on assortments of towels, bags, inflatable beds and my own lilo – yes, a lime green inflatable water toy 1800m above sea level.

Next morning, the most amazing view for morning coffee. Fresh spring water, wildflowers, wild brumbies (horses) and a shower of snow. Happy right now. I think the delayed muscle soreness will set in later….

Also, some epic news, I am now – pretty much – a graduate! So glad it’s done (clutches head in hands) It’s been a big year. Capping it off with a trip to Asia at year end, so hope to see some of you soon

Big love,

Shi.

bush do see do and ho ho ho

admin — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 11:32:24 +0000

Hey there,

Went tree planting 2 hours up north from Melbourne last weekend. I had always been a bit keen on greening the planet and I thought that mucking around in the dirt and a bit of physical labor during the weekend sounded like fun.The tree planting is to help reconstruct green corridors and habitats for native species like the birds, sugar gliders and squirrel gliders (flying squirrels) and to replenish native australian plant species. You could either be a planter, a shoveler or a hoer; someone who uses the hoe – my own term – not an individual of dubious morals. It was all organized very well, they had regular tea breaks for us with a campfire, hot drinks, catered dinner and barbeque lunch the next day.

After a full day of digging, popping baby plants in holes, we also got to try bush dancing! Here’s a video of one of the Australian bush dances we did: The Heel Toe . This one left my hands a bit sore when the guys really went full throttle on the slap slap slap. But lots of fun with all the dances, a lot of collisions and a heck of a lot of twirling. There were also a bit of gender benders when we didn’t have enough women, so some of the bearded men became bearded women. Completely collapsed into a deep sleep straight after.

We also go to visit mature replanted areas and see some of the sugar glider boxes. The country is just gorgeous.

Enjoy the pics!

Shi

ong and ong we go

admin — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:07:09 +0000

I’m still pretty new to Melbourne myself and so it’s always fun to be a tourist. Although it’s clear that my idea of fun is pretty twisted, but last week I was shown a taste of what’s good in Melbourne - And so commenced one of the best times I’ve had in Melbourne. South American food in Fitzroy, local ales, ciders, meat pies, Mornington wines, Sorrento vanilla slice, amazing Tasmanian produce and cooking, chocolates, french pastries and coffees, coffees, coffees. We went north to the Yarra Ranges, south to the Mornington Peninsula and wandered in the city. So awesome to explore, try new things.

Come visit some time.

Shi

underground and escape weekend

admin — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:24:06 +0000

The combination of this week’s pictures seem a bit weird.. like being forced into a basement-like internment camp with armed guards and subsequently the escape to wilderness – all in a typical Melbourne weekend! No, I haven’t signed myself up for some extreme boot camp where armed guards force you to lose weight – fast. Just Underground Cinema where they put you in a movie by recreating scenes and characters from a movie before screening the movie and a trip to the Yarra Ranges which was decimated by bush fires 2 years ago. I’m pretty stoked that there are such beautiful forests so close to the city! Seems that my dream to do the “run/trail bike on the weekends in giant forests” lifestyle isn’t too far away. Can’t say the same about my dream about riding a unicorn through giant forests.. hmm. Ok you didn’t hear that. Olympics in full swing right now, really missing out, I don’t even have tv! Miss you London lot! Hope all’s well. Love, Shi. ps: Movie was Children of Men.

Sleeping snow

admin — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 05:24:47 +0000

Brrr… winter down here in the Southern Hemisphere. Been needing to get out for some adventuring, so I hooked up with the mountaineering club for snow camping.

Getting close to nature, snow and all – sounded like a good idea. Also sounded like something interesting and fun to do, you know, cross country skiing, camping in the snow. As someone who grew up in a tropical country, sleeping outdoors in -7 degree weather was something I never thought I’d do. But I was kitted out properly, so after the first night of pitching a tent in the snow and in the dark, awoke to some truly spectacular snow covered country with not a soul in sight, except for our tents. Definitely worth it. Snow was gorgeous and sparkly but felt like fire on the body. Cold is still cold. I was really glad to get home, where clothing doesn’t freeze solid if left outdoors and hot showers feel like the most friendly water ever. Deeper appreciation for everything after spending a weekend when your sole concern is to feed yourself and not freeze.

Enjoy the pics! Snow! Snow forts! Fireplaces! Ski lifts (didn’t use them)! Sunset!

Big love,

Shi.

Being muddy is tough

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:34:27 +0000

Heyo,

wow it’s been a while between adventures. Since my wings are clipped (for now) I signed up for something local involving lots of mud, barb wire, 10m high walls, fire and electric shocks – which was the easy part. The tough part was the 20km run. Hello Tough Mudder! http://toughmudder.com.au/ Headed down to Phillip Island Grand Prix, signed the death waiver, got my number written on my forehead – in theory so that your head can be identified in death or dismemberment? Not really.

I was worried before the event about my lack of stamina, also about getting cold so I definitely had to keep moving. I had mapped out the aerial photo of the course and figured out that the distance between each obstacle was at most 1.5km, shortening to 400m at the end, and I had a strategy – keep moving. Turns out I needn’t even have worried about the course length as the girls I was running with had to start walking after 1km of jogging. Yes, they really wanted to walk 20km. 4kmh pace = 5 hours. The suggested time to finish is 3 1/2 hours. Another girl and I jogged between obstacles and waited for them to catch up, but also because we had started later in the day there was a lot of waiting, especially at some obstacles like muddy hills, muddy trenches, where there was a lot of lining up.

The obstacles and running weren’t as tough as I expected them to be, the cold water and wind wasn’t too cold if you’ve been surfing before (heat sapping cold and bone chilling winds), the ice bath halfway turned out to be refreshing, the electric shock wasn’t as bad as getting static zapped everytime I get out of a car (static generates 12 000 volts apparently) and the mud wasn’t too bad if you’ve had to shit off a rock (Rinjani, Indonesia) or surf in sewerage (East Coast Malaysia). There wasn’t really a fear of being seriously hurt as a 4wd can just pick you up if you get injured – unlike if you go trekking in the Malaysian rainforest and realise that being helicoptered out isn’t an option with heavy rainforest canopy. So, queuing up and waiting aside, was it worth it?

Definitely yes. Although I would have like to push myself a bit harder, the silliness of being covered with mud, going through obstacles, helping each other out and just going through the whole experience together, was super memorable. Best bit was at the end downing a cold beer. I think I washed my stuff 4 times before most of the mud came off. I had mud under my nails and in my ears for days. That being said, I want to do TM again next year and this time do a proper flat out run. Let me know if you’re keen – pre-signing up for the Melbourne 2013 event has started!

http://toughmudder.com.au/events/australia-event-preregistration/

Big love,

Shi.

ps: A pic of me in the trenches – it was a 1km walk through muddy water, I was thinking of the Malaysian floods at this point. “What, you mean that I don’t have to worry about being slashed by submerged rusty corrugated iron, stung by stingrays or stepping into a submerged pothole? Wheee”

The christmas gone by

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:49:20 +0000

Hello!

It’s been a long time since I last wrote, it was a crazy year in 2011 and I’m glad to say that I was putting in the hard yards for a (hopefully) great 2012.

The biggest thing about 2012 is that I’m a university student again! Yes! I am so excited. I am looking forward to flashing my uni card and getting student discounts. That will certainly offset the thousands of dollars in uni fees I will be paying, upfront, at the beginning of every semester. I shouldn’t really complain because I got a government subsidy for my uni degree and I wouldn’t be able to do it without. So thank you Australian government.

I think that one of the benefits of going back to uni after several years of work, is that one appreciates a lot more the opportunities in university. If you’re wondering, yes, I am one of those people who have a huge cheesy grin, when buying textbooks. Ooh! Excitement! Of course you can imagine that I will be super busy this year. Yes unfortunately I will be hanging up my overseas-travelling shoes in 2012. However I’ll still be up for some adventure-ing in Melbourne and the surrounds.

And certainly 2012 was off to a good start as I had the best ever (first one too) Christmas dinner with an Australian family, and then I had a blast showing around my beloved family friends around Melbourne, then a big splash on the beach (40 degrees Celsius) on the 2nd of January.

So since my wings are temporarily clipped, do come down to Melbourne to say hello if you can. I’ll be right here.

Happy new year.. and happy chinese new year.

Shi