[Hokkaido 2016] Day 3 - Self Walk Tour in Sapporo

Admittedly, this self walk tour was impromptu. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day on our third day in Sapporo and decided to hit all the outdoor activities and attractions in the city. It just so happened that everything was more or less within walking distance of each other that we decided to save money and not take the train.

Carmen was our automatically anointed navigator for the tour and with her trusty phone and portal wifi in hand, she led the way. From our accommodation at Khaosan Sapporo International Hostel, we took a nice leisurely stroll to the Sapporo TV Tower. Breakfast was purchased from a passing convenient mart and consumed on a bench in Odori park located at the foot of the tower allowing us to enjoy the blooming flowers on a lovely sunny morning.

Great Holiday Deals with Sri Lankan Airlines at MATTA FAIR Sept 2016

Here's an image to marvel over.

I have yet to experience the beauty that is Sri Lanka but its natural attractions of beaches, blue waters, jungles and national parks and sanctuaries continue to draw me in. Throw in their promise of delicious spicy food and the temptation to hop on the first flight out to Colombo is just too great!

Taylor's Jog For Hope 2016

To be honest, Taylor's Jog For Hope 2016 was the first run I've done since the Milo Breakfast Day in May. Now that was a long break from running and one I did not enjoy. However, I was happy with my pacing for the whole 10km despite the hilly Hartamas route.

The Taylor's Jog For Hope 2016 was the eight edition of the annual run organised by the students of the Taylor's College Sri Hartamas. And in case you didn't know, I am a proud alumni of Taylor's College and Taylor's University and was compelled to contribute towards a charitable cause championed through this run.

Viper Challenge Genting - Great Eastern King of the Mountain race review

After hearing raving reviews about last year's Genting event, I finally conquered the Viper Genting: King of the Mountain!

The event was, in one word, A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

The fun started pre-race when we arrived at Awana Horse Ranch in the wee hours of the morning, parked the car the multi-storey parking lot of the sky cable and collected our wristbands. To my joy, several foodtrucks had already opened at the race village and I could not resist a cup of hot latte and a glazed donut before my 7:40am wave. While waiting around, we were joined by members of the other OBC platoons, since majority of us were in the same wave.

Come flag off time, we started off right on schedule! Imagine my surprise as Viper Challenge rarely ever starts on time! Hats off to the organisers!

We turned a corner right after the start line and it was an immediate uphill. This was Genting Highlands! Of course, it wasn't going to be easy. But nevertheless, jacked up on caffeine and sugar, I jogged up the whole 2km uphill route. On the way up, we saw the returning lead pack of the elite wave on their way back and called out to several of our OBC buds who were charging downhill.

The obstacles came hard and fast and why not when there was only so much space and distance one can work with in 10km. Some were easy, some were wet, some required teamwork and some needed just plain luck and guts. Throw in the uphill and a route that cuts through Awana and you have a course that effectively staggered the participants nicely to avoid crowding at the obstacles.

I must recommend the Tyre Trouble obstacle because I don't think I've seen an obstacle like that before. While I initially had my doubts about succeeding, a boost from a teammate set me off and before I knew it, I was on the other side. And then the marshal told me this awesome news.

"You are the third woman to pass."

Woohoo! Granted we were only one of the early waves and the elite already had a go at it but still...Woohoo! No sirup bandung bath for me! The same cannot be said for my youngest sister who made an epic splash (literally) at her first obstacle race.

We encountered the much anticipated Rotating Cube in the last two km. An obstacle that was impossible to conquer alone, it required eight of us to get in and simultaneously roll over the giant cube while one teammate clung onto to get over it on the other side. We kept doing this until everyone was over. We enjoyed it so much that we didn't mind staying back to help other participants where needed. 

To finish off Viper Genting, we encountered the signature wall climb variety which amassed a crowd and a queue towards the later part of the afternoon. Despite the waiting time, participants were surprisingly patient and helpful this time. There was no pushing and shoving from what I saw. 

The course pretty much burnt off my donut and coffee from earlier. I was ravenous by the time we got back to the festival area after the race and it was off for more coffee for me from Senses Truck.

As I mentioned earlier, the festival area was awesome because there was just so many food options available from the trucks. There was even chicken roasted on the spot and gelato ice cream!

I was a happy girl and even a minor gutter accident that happened on the way to lunch did little to spoil my mood. The only thing that managed to do so was a Snorlax running away from me despite using a razz berry and two ultra balls. 

Now for an overall view of the event:

Pros

1) Registration was fast. The Viper boss was present to personally attend to us but he lingered there a bit too long though. 

2) Festival area was well set up with ample food, drinks and seating. 

3) Obstacles were fun! Especially Tyre Trouble and Rotating Cube. 

Cons

1)  The route before and after the Rotating Cube basically merged the approaching and outgoing traffic of participants from the obstacle. I saw many people nearly colliding into each other because they weren't paying attention or was running too fast downhill. There were even people turning back at this point because they didn't want to have to walk up the slope again.

All I can say is....if Viper Challenge were to organise Viper Genting 24 hours, sign up me ASAP!

ps: photo credits to my mother who not only did Viper Genting but also did it with her phone, hence the photos and also did 21km the next day. 

A Little Perspective About Me

Okay, so admittedly, I've been off the radar. Due to work, rekindling my fanfiction days as an author and mainly.....POKEMON GO. I am not gonna lie. I am hooked on the game!

You can read more about that in my previous post. 

Anyway, since I've been silent, I figured I should share a little something about me to make up for it. According to Myers and Briggs' personality test, I am a 1%, one of the rarest personality types in the world.

Pokemon Go Has Arrived in Malaysia

Oh what a glorious time to be alive in this world. The original 151 Pokemon is back and in the form of a reality interactive app, Pokemon Go. For the children of the 90s, this is a dream come true. From staring and button smashing for hours at our Gameboys to walking everywhere on foot in search for the rarest Pokemon to complete our Pokedex, it is just amazing!

So much thought has gone into Pokemon Go as evident by the types of Pokemon that appears at different places. Water pokemons near lakes, ponds and river, grass, poison, ground types in parks....it really did seem like we were walking all over the Kanto region.

A Cat named Toufu

The one and only time I took my sister's new fold-able bicycle out to buy eggs (of all things) was the day I came across a cat that would be named Toufu.

Legs tucked under its dirty body, those mesmerising eyes were hard to look away from and I wondered why wasn't it moving from its spot. When I knelt down to pat it, it scrambled towards me, using its front legs to drag its back legs and one thought crossed my mind.

[Hokkaido 2016] Day 2 - Otaru Day Trip

Otaru was known to be quite a picturesque seaside town, just an hour's train ride from Sapporo. It was also known for its reasonable generous portions of delicious fresh seafood.

And it was with this in mind that I scheduled in majority of the day for us to spend in Otaru, starting with brunch at the Sankaku seafood market located next to the Otaru JR station. It was unbelievable close to the station. Just exit the station, turn left and head up a flight of stairs and voila, we were at Sankaku market.

[Hokkaido 2016] Day 1 - Suage+ Soup Curry and Sapporo Beer Museum

As soon as AirAsia X announced their flights to Sapporo, Hokkaido mid last year, I immediately locked down the cheapest tickets I have ever seen for myself and the family for a vacay in June 2016. Come 19 June 2016, I was comfortably seated in the Quiet Zone, looking forward to the flight for once. Mainly because I had the whole row to myself and I wasn't the only one. By some miracle, my entire family had a row to themselves in an otherwise full flight.

We landed in New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, feeling refreshed after a relatively decent sleep on-board. The weather forecast warned us of a rainy day but we had no idea how rainy as we took our sweet time exploring the Domestic Airport that was linked to the international terminal.

There was so much more things to see and eat in the domestic side and I only regretted not spending more time there.

Mid-Autumn Festival Mooncakes by Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur‏

With the mid-autumn festival just around the corner, it's time to load up on delicious mooncakes!

The Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur is presenting a showcase of exquisite and delectable mooncakes to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on 15 September.

Twelve varieties of hand-crafted mooncakes, both traditional and five new flavours, are now available at the Mooncake Counter in the Main Lobby. There is time to savour, choose and purchase mooncakes at this counter till 15 September.

The five new varieties of mooncakes include Black Sesame Seed Paste Single Yolk, Mini Ping Pei Spirulina Paste, Mini Ping Pei Avocado Paste, Mini Ping Pei White Lotus Seed Paste with Walnut and Mini Ping Pei White Chocolate with Orange Flavour.