Khaosan Tokyo Origami Hostel review

When looking for a place to stay in Tokyo, I came across the Khaosan hostel branch. With Asakusa as their center point of their hostels, I was intrigued by the thought of staying in the older downtown area of Tokyo and furthermore a friend highly recommended it. I opted for Khaosan Origami hostel, located in the quieter section of Asakusa, right behind the iconic and beautiful Senso-ji temple.

Khaosan Origami was about a 10 minutes walk from the train and subway stations of Asakusa. While lugging suitcases might be a bit troublesome, the walk to and from the hostel was rather nice as I got to really soak in the bustling crowd and colours of Asakusa's food and attractions during the day and the quietness stillness of that same area at the night.

Australia: Tough Mudder Melbourne 2015

Tough Mudder oh Tough Mudder. You hold a special place in my heart. You were the first obstacle race I ever signed my life over to, the first obstacle race I tackled abroad. The first of many to come. The start of the depletion of my retirement and investment funds....

So anyway, a week after Spartan Stadium in Sydney, I flew to Melbourne to take part in Tough Mudder which took place in Broadford State Motorcycle Complex. An hour's drive to the race site consisted of driving within the speed limit, slowing down at speed traps and praying for a sunny day out. The last time I did an obstacle course in Melbourne, I nearly froze to death.

Whiskas National Cat of the Year Winner

Kitty lovers, hear ye hear ye!

Whiskas Malaysia has crowned the winner of its recent National Cat of the Year 2015 grand finale held at AEON AU2 Setiawangsa. In a heated and intense show-and-tell performance, 15 cat owners showed off their beloved furkids to a panel of judges consisting of celebrity Syakila Nisha Jangir, better known as Kilafairy, Khalid Rashid, President of the Malaysia Cat Club and Dr Susan Wan, veterinarian from Whiskas Malaysia.

Four titles were up for grabs that day; the grand NCOTY champion as well as three categories winner; Bright Eyes, Shiny Fur Coat and Lively and Energetic - which are the three signs that epitomizes a health cat. At the end of the event, . Cha Cha, a five month old cat owned by Nurul Hanin binti Ismail, was judged to be the cat that best epitomised the 3 key signs of a healthy cat. The parent and furkid took home a cash prize of RM10,000 and a year’s supply of Whiskas cat food.

Spartan Race Kuala Lumpur Kicks Off

One of my favourite obstacle course races, the Reebok Spartan Race has officially landed on home turf and I AM NOT AROUND TO JOIN IT!

In all due fairness, I had already waaaay beforehand, booked and paid the super expensive registration fee for Spartan Race Sydney Super and Sprint in pursuit of completing the Trifecta this year. So on the very same day, I was in Australia killing myself in their crazy new innovative 300 obstacle (which you can read about in the links at the bottom of the post), Malaysia got its first taste of a Spartan Race.

Journey to Trifecta: Spartan Stadium ANZ Sydney - Super- Sprint Combo 2015

5 weeks prior to this event, I was in Melbourne for just one weekend to race in the chilly temps, all for the Spartan Beast medal, the first piece to the end game: the elusive Spartan Trifecta. You can read about it here. It was an end game that finally bore fruit in Sydney at the iconic ANZ Stadium where not one but two Spartan races were held; the Super and the Sprint.

Getting the Trifecta was the objective of this race but Spartan Sydney this time also had lured me in with the world premier of the stadium combo – the Super and Sprint in one as well as the exclusive Spartan 300 - a series of ninja-warrior like obstacles that flows into one another without giving participants rest as the main finisher. And I got to try it twice.

First Cabin Capsule Hotel, Haneda Airport

Due to an unfortunate route cancellation by AirAsia X to Narita Airport, my plans for Tokyo were in jeopardy. I was to lose a day in the city because my flight was pushed to the afternoon flight to Haneda airport. Furthermore, I was climbing Mount Fuji the day after, making getting sufficient rest crucial.

With my flight landing close to midnight, I considered just roughing it out and sleeping at the airport as it made no sense to waste a night’s stay on accommodation in the city. But a quick Google search showed me that I had other alternatives. In the form of First Cabin Capsule Hotel at Haneda Domestic Airport Terminal No 1. So I booked a room or rather a bed through their website and got confirmation instantly.

First Cabin was anything but the typical capsule hotel. The lobby gave off the impression of a classy luxury hotel with low lighting. The reception was 24 hours so when I got there after 12pm, check-in was done fast and I was ready to jump into the bed by 1am.

Journey to Trifecta: Spartan Beast Melbourne 2015

Eight months of training finally came down to this. The first pit-stop to getting my Spartan Trifecta was the Spartan Beast Melbourne. Located at the scenic Lake Dewar, we anticipated lovely trails, challenging obstacles, refreshing lakes to swim in and a cooling weather to race in. We got and loved the first two, the last two not so much.

After Spartan South Korea's unfortunate postponement due to MERS, my team and I had little choice but to sign up for the Spartan Beast in Melbourne in order to get the green piece of the elusive Trifecta medal. Already short on leave days from work and quickly depleting finances (say bye bye retirement fund), Melbourne was a short trip. So short we literally only spent a night at Lake Dewar YMCA hostel, a stone's thrown from the start line. We flew in the day before the race and was out on the night after the race.

Call us crazy but only crazies would dedicate a year of training and shuffling around travel plans to chasing three pieces of metal.

24 Hours on Mount Fuji in a Typhoon Part 2

[Read Part 1 here]

As soon we arrived at Goraikoukan, we were given two big plastic bags for our wet backpacks and shoes. We were shown to our allocated sleeping space in a tight room filled with four rows of bunk beds that fitted about 25 people per row per bunk. You do the maths. Needless to say it was quite a tight squeeze.

If the term mountain hut wasn't clear earlier, it was now and it occurred to me why some would choose to bullet climb through the night. The mountain hut wasn't exactly the ideal place for a night's rest before a summit attempt.

Our backpacks and shoes were hung above the foot of our sleeping space and I opted to quickly change out of my drenched clothes into my dry spares which thankfully escaped the rain. There weren't any showers though and the toilets were outside, about a 25 meter dash from the main entrance in the freezing cold.

24 Hours on Mount Fuji in a Typhoon Part 1

I shall not start off my account of climbing Mount Fuji with that famous Mount Fuji-related quote that seems to be in every website and blogs I encountered when researching the climb. But I'll start off by saying DO NOT CLIMB MOUNT FUJI IN A TYPHOON.

In all fairness, when I booked my flight to Tokyo, Mount Fuji wasn't even on my mind. It only grew on me later and when climbing season was announced, it coincided with my trip. Usually official climbing season for Mount Fuji is from July to August but for the official dates, you would need to check the Mount Fuji site here as it changes each year.

It also so happened that my hike which took place on 1 September, coincided with an approaching typhoon. That meant rain and rain and oh, god, so much rain. In the weeks prior to my trip, I monitored the weather and boy, it did not look good. Oddly enough, cancelling the entire hike never occurred to me and even when my hike mate suggested it the day before the hike, I shot it down. Fuck you, dumbass. I invested too much in this! (I really didn't, just loads of time on research and booking arrangements)

Get true blue Japanese at Zipangu, Shangri-La KL

The Zipangu restaurant of Shangri-La Hotel has a new face and that is the award-winning Chef Hiroaki Karasawa. Previously the Chief Chef of Nadaman Japanese restaurant at Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Chef Karasawa strives in traditional Japanese cuisine.

Guests and diners of Zipangu can get a whiff, see and taste Chef Karasawa's delectable culinary skills and creations that has won him the Japanese Cuisine Category Award 2014, The Second China Michelin; The Best Japanese Restaurant 2014, Modern Weekly Magazine; and The Best Japanese and Korean Restaurant Time Out Beijing in 2011 and 2014.

Just to name a few. #whathaveidonewithmylife