SubUrban Run

I always think that paying to run is a rather silly thing to do but I gave in this time. We managed to sign up just minutes before the deadline of the online registration and hence, at 8 am today, we were one of those runners at the starting point in Seng Kang.

The sky was clear blue - pretty enough for photography but deadly hot for running! No trees, or rather no canopy, along the long straight road, making the weather even more unbearable. I tried to concentrate on my run by listening to Mayday and counting down to the distance clocked. At the 7-8 km, I told myself this is the first and last time I am doing this.

Glad that I managed to complete the 10 km without any stoppage. The distance on my ipod nano read 9.72 km. Under-estimation is better than over-estimation, I guess. This means that I don't have to re-calibrate!

After some rest, I may consider doing another run again... Am I mentally unsound???

5D4N Touch & Go China

I spent the last 5 working days of February 09 in China.

It's certainly not a trip to be envied. We covered 4 cities in 5 days and 4 nights, excluding the fifth night spent onboard a SQ flight. We had 2 night domestic flights and by the time we checked into the hotels and ready to sleep, it was 2 am. In short, this was my itinerary: Singapore-Shanghai-Hangzhou-Dalian-Beijing-Singapore! Amazingly packed, right?

China is never on my list of dream destinations. If not for this business trip, I have no idea when I will ever set foot on this gigantic piece of land again. Strangely, I seem to have an affinity with Beijing. The first time I flew, that was my destination. It was also the place where I first saw snow. My first business trip and the first time I travelled alone was to Beijing.

By the way, all my 3 times there, it was winter. I have never seen the place in another season.

View from my room (Beijing)

鳥巢

Anyway, the place has changed tremendously! Although I could only sightsee in the car while travelling, I can't help but be amazed by the level of development brought about by the Beijing Olympics. As I left for the airport, I thought to myself, "Perhaps I should come back to Beijing for holidays..." Ha ha!

As expected, I still don't like Shanghai. The feeling was the same as what I had some 14 -15 years ago! At Hangzhou, we managed to drive past a small stretch of 西湖. It was a wet day so there was a thin mist. Not too bad but again not my cup of tea. The lunch we had at 紫元食府 was however our best meal. I'm glad to have picked that place as the name reminded me of Taipei's 紅豆食府.

View from my room (Shanghai)

I was pleasantly surprised by Dalian's development. I really like the place! It's clean and very differently from the rest of the cities. It has a touch to European/Japanese influence, making it a little more elegant. If I remain in my current job, I may get to visit Dalian again next year. Haha! We shall see.

Shopping area near our hotel

On a side note, I realized that I did not utilize the inflight entertainment system at all! What a waste! Nevertheless, I was glad I asked for toys and was given a bag of 4 items. =)