Race Review: Viper Challenge Cyberjaya 2017

I was on the fence about writing this review/recap about the last Viper Challenge in Cyberjaya on 2 Dec. I did a video on it, following my experience all 21km of it throughout Cyberjaya and realised that the only thing that inspired me to churn out the video so quickly were my friends and teammates. Which you can watch here...



Because to be frank, the course had nothing to inspire. Majority of the obstacles were built over water which added to the safety aspect and gave it an element of fun. And also helped keep participants cool throughout the blazing hot day.

Kagelow Mt Fuji Kawaguchiko Hostel review

I really didn't want to blog about this place. Mainly because I want to keep it all to myself. But that would be irresponsible of me as a writer and also unfair to the hostel because I did love my stay at Kagelow Mt Fuji Kawaguchiko hostel.

To my understanding, Kagelow was once an old Japanese inn turned into a modern day hostel for backpackers. It was a 10 minutes walk from Kawaguchiku station, depending on which way your Google maps takes you. Kagelow was located smack between Mount Fuji and Kawaguchiko Lake and on two of the three mornings I was there, I could glimpse the mountain from my dormitory bed.

Race Recap: Spartan Race Beast Johor 2017

The Spartan Race Beast was supposed to be in October but due to unforeseen circumstances, was moved to December and to Johor Bahru. This of course raised a lot of protest amongst the participants and with this hanging over their heads, Spartan Race Malaysia had better not screwed up the last OCR event of the year.

The Many Views of Mount Fuji part 3 - Haneda Airport

PART 3 - The first time I saw Mount Fuji at ground level but from a distance was from the arrival floor of Haneda Airport.

Taken on 2 July 2017 - Oh hai Mount Fuji. Nice to see you again.

My family and I had just landed into Tokyo the night before and we stayed overnight at First Cabin hotel. The following morning, we headed to the bus stop for the bus to Kamakura at around 10am and from the first floor windows of the airport before heading down to the bus terminal, we could see Mount Fuji. At first, we weren't sure if it was Mount Fuji because it seemed impossible. But it was and she looked majestic that morning. There were streaks of white snow on her cap and we pondered how cold it might be up there because at the end of our trip, we were going to climb Mount Fuji. Nevertheless I took it as a good sign

AirAsia BIG Loyalty launches eStore

To many Malaysians, AirAsia is no stranger. But did you know that by setting up an AirAisia account, you can also collect AirAsia BIG points via their loyalty point programme as you purchase flights?

But unless you're a frequent flyer with the airline, point collection can take a while before you can actually redeem something. Enter AirAsia BIG eStore, the latest lifestyle offering from AirAsia’s loyalty programme, where BIG Members can shop online to earn BIG Points faster than they fly.

4 Reasons to get a Samsung S8

"Why?" was the question my mother asked me when I suggested for her to change her current super laggy phone to the Samsung Galaxy S8. To that I had no response because truth be told, I was an iPhone user having combed my way through the iPhone 3G, 4S and now the SE.
But my mom on the other hand was an android user and has flipped between Samsung and Sony. Right now, her phone is a three-year-old Sony Experia 3 with a dented body, cracked screen and a 10 second delay on the touch screen response time.

Okay, she really needs a new phone and I suggested the Samsung Galaxy S8 for these four reasons alone:

The Many Views of Mount Fuji part 2 - From a Chuo Highway Bus

PART TWO - This was the first time I actually saw Mount Fuji in all her naked glory from a highway bus passing by Fuji Q Highland and it had been at the most frustrating of times.

Taken on 2 September 2015 - I ascended Japan's highest mountain in the worst possible weather ever; heavy rain, directionless winds, sub-zero temps and no sunrise. I'll be back, Fujisan. Please be kind to me then. 

I had actually just descended from Mount Fuji that morning after a cold and miserable hike up the previous day in torrent rain. A typhoon was just passing off the coast of Japan and we got to experience its rain and winds throughout our hike right into the morning when we summited. We never saw the famed Fuji sunrise. Oh well, at least we climbed Japan's tallest mountain.

Read about it here and here:

My travel companions were dozing off when our bus back to Tokyo hit the highway and I happened to glance out the window and saw this seemingly taunting view of clear blue skies and a bare top Fuji looking down at me. I learnt (via Instagram-stalking) that the sunrise the following morning was stunning. It was there and then I promised to come back and conquer Mount Fuji again.

And I did - two years later. Read about it here.

Starbucks Malaysia Christmas Offerings 2017

Share the joy this holiday season and make this holiday even merrier with Starbucks’ two brand new handcrafted beverages namely the Starbucks® Peppermint Dark Mocha and Starbucks® Teavana™ Apple Black Tea which will warm your hearts during your holiday celebrations and gatherings. Not forgetting the return of all-time favourite, Starbucks® Toffee Nut Crunch Latte.

● Starbucks® Toffee Nut Crunch Latte: A returning favourite with less sweet toffee nut syrup combined with velvety steamed milk and espresso shots and topped with whipped cream and crunchy toffee nut crunch toppings. The perfect blend of subtle caramelly sweetness and nutty treats – one of Starbucks’ all-time favourites!

The Many Views of Mount Fuji part 1 - From the Airplane

Hello, people and welcome to PART ONE of the Many Views of Mount Fuji. This kicks off my series of picshorts (picture-shorts) dedicated to the beautiful, the mysterious, the ever volatile active volcano - Mount Fuji!

Taken on 28 Feb 2017 - Mount Fuji peeked out at me from under the blanket of clouds on my flight home. Very lucky considering how shy she is. This is like a teaser to my next crazy thing to do for 2017.

This shot was my most memorable shot of Mount Fuji from afar. I was on board a 5pm flight on ANA back to Kuala Lumpur from Narita Airport after the Tokyo Marathon and had lucked out with a full row to myself. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off, I scooted over to the window seat and whipped out my laptop, headphones, phone charger, laptop charger and phone. I made myself quite comfortable across all three seats and about 30 minutes into the flight, peered out the window to watch the sunset across the carpet of clouds. And as there she was, peeking out shyly from the clouds was Mount Fuji.

It seemed kinda meaningful because back then I had attempted to climb Mount Fuji once and did so in a typhoon, thus missing the sunrise. I vowed to climb it again and did so on my 30th birthday with my family and and it was worth it.

Spartan Race Super Japan, Sagamiko Pleasure Forest [21 Oct 2017]

On a whim, I flew to Japan to participate in the Super leg of the Spartan Race, intending to complete part of my 2017 Trifecta in a country I absolute adore. Also because I missed the local Spartan Super because I was in the country I absolute adore. Go figure.

Anyway, this trip was...different from my other OCR travels because 1) it was in Japan, 2) I was running solo and finally 3) I can't converse fully with other racers. I was excited and nervous and admittedly, a little scared because it would my first Spartan Race abroad without my teammates whom I found myself missing midway through.

Race morning was rainy rainy rainy.  It was so rainy that the race village became a mud pit with people tiptoeing across the field to get to the bag drop tent. If it wasn't for my trusty Inov8 Ultra shoes, I was sure I would have face planted multiple times. It seemed that Spartan Race Japan needed to work on the bag drop system because it took racers over an hour to bag drop! I think the fact that we had to pay 500yen for the big plastic bag to store our bag made it worst because we were slowing down to dig into our bags and had to step aside to repack and etc. MOVING ON.

I missed my 10am flag off time but managed to wiggle my way to the startline for the 1030am flag off. After the usual Aroo Aroo Aroo and Who are You, I am Spartan ceremony (I really missed Australia's Spartan Races at this point because the spirit wasn't the same), were unleashed into the course.

To sum it up, the route was hard. Sagamiko Forest was an amusement themed park on a hill and boasted a beautiful forest with leaves turning red and yellow to greet autumn. The first half of the course led us up up up and away into the hill right up to its ferris wheel at its peak. The route alternated between road and trail keeping it fast and slow all at once. Scenery-wise, had it been sunny, it would have been stunning. As it were, it poured the whole way, a teaser to the torrent rains of Typhoon Lan that hit the following day. The rain made the trails twice as slippery and muddy, the obstacles twice as hard and the river crossings twice as fast.

The difficulty in obstacles varies. Obstacles I used to struggle with like the atlas carry, I found easy here and obstacles I would usually ace were surprisingly challenging such as the rope climb and the herculean hoist. Due to my stunned growth, wall obstacles can be a challenge. It was here I had to open my mouth and say, "Onegai tasukete..." aka, "help me please."

In all fairness, I only had to use it once out of the three times I needed help. The other two times I lucked out and had two english speaking westerners help me out. Somewhere along the 10km, I was chitchatting with an American dude who had come to Japan on a holiday and was conned into doing the race by his friends.

I know how you feel, dude. I am still wondering how I conned myself into spending RM666 (17,500yen) to participate in this race. ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I am just glad that my race wasn't cancelled due to the typhoon because the Sprint race on Sunday was called off due to Typhoon Lan hitting mainland Japan hard.



All in all, I think this video of the race that I compiled on my iPhone while waiting for the train in the shivering cold, gave a good walkthrough of the race. I really need to get myself a GoPro if I am going to be doing more of these races solo. (ehem coughsponsorGoProcough)

I am giving this Super a 4 out of 5 Buck Furpees because the weather brought on a whole new set of challenges to the course.

Some tips for racing in a foreign country abroad (where English is NOT the first language)
1) Learn the local language of 'help me' and 'thank you'
2) Contact the organiser on transport plans. I found out too late that the organisers had buses through back and forth to the race site from Shinjuku. Having said that....
3) Try to stay as close as possible to the race site or somewhere accessible to the race site.
4)  Bring extra money because sometimes the organiser might neglect to mention additional costs such as the connecting buses from the station to the race site costing 250yen one way. It wasn't mentioned in the race guide.
5) Plan ahead. Seriously, don't leave everything to chance and luck in a foreign country.
6) If you don't want to bring your passport to the race site or in my case, forgot to bring it, snap a pic of it beforehand and keep it on your phone/camera.

Thanks for reading/watching!

Spartan Race Trifecta 2017 
Sprint in Semenyih 
Super in Japan 
Beast in Johor Bahru (coming soon!)