Maiden Roadtrip Down South...

Haven't write for a long long time...just want to record this trip, a very good and memorable one, great ending to 2012...

It was a trip to attend a senior's wedding in Muar...I just know its in Johor but have no idea where it is...agreed to attend almost immediately...gotta admit a small part of it is because I see a great opportunity to travel down south...to a large state where a lot of my friends are from, but I have not really set foot on, except to the toilet in Yong Peng while on bus trip to Singapore...

I started with a train to KL to meet up with my host and driver...Kevin...and the gang...because I was late, so had a really lousy dinner at the station...Dear asked if the dinner was enough...I said don't worry, good stuff are waiting for me...

After they picked me up...we head straight for supper...fried mee in the heart of Pudu...we ordered "tai look mi" (fried thick noodle) and "yin yeong" (fried bihun and koayteow in gravy)...well, its not really the best "tai look mi" I've had, and I'm not really a fan of "yin yeong"...but the sambal chilli was awesome!

"yin yeong"...bihun and koay teow mix

hokkien fry "tai look mee"...those crunchy stuff are to die for

Back to Kevin's home, he even made me his signature drink...his very own version of Italian Soda...with blackcurrant sunkist and Bacardi...that one drink put me to good sleep

homemade Italian Soda

The next day we start to head south...the plan is to stop at Malacca, meet up with some friends for lunch...When we talk about lunch in Malacca, naturally two things come to mind...Nyonya Cuisine and Chicken Rice Ball...apparently all the good nyonya restaurants are in town, and we tried to avoid town as much as possible due to the holiday traffic jam...so we went to a Chicken Rice shop in Malim Jaya, a little sub-urb from downtown...according to our local host, this is the second best only to the famous one in town...

50 pieces of rice ball and 1 whole chic for 5 persons

then its time for dessert...and in Malacca, when talk about dessert, surely 1 thing comes to mind...some may say its the durian cendol...but recently, the signature dessert for Malacca has to be the Nadeje mille crepe...somehow I'm seriously hooked onto this one, no joke...the sensation of the many layers of cream melting in the mouth is magical...

a piece of everything...fav is still banana choc

After loading ourselves with more than enough calories, we begin the long journey and enter the state of Johor...first stop...Segamat...I've only been to Segamat once, when I was really young kid, which I can't really remember what happened. That was the time of my uncle's wedding. So I only know Segamat for 3 reasons...

1) my uncle's in-law's hometown

2) flood

3) durian

This time, I'm no coming with my uncle, so there is no reason to go to his in-law's house...and there is no flood...so there is only one reason left...durian!

We stopped at our dear WI's house, where yummy durians are waiting for us (need I say her family has durian orchard?). As soon as we get in, her younger brother started opening those king of fruits...wow!...I don't know how many we had, but I can only remember 3, 2 were so-called "red prawn" and the other one D2...with its strong alcohol-like taste, smoother and creamier texture, personally I prefer "red prawn" more than Musang King...but its aroma is also stronger and more pungent, some people may not like it...

very rich aroma with smooth and creamy texture

D2...the more difficult to open...the better is the taste

After the awesome durian feast (thanks very much WI and family!), we head further south to Batu Pahat, where we are staying the night. By the time we reach, it is time for supper. We went to a food court, and start ordering food like we were just released from prison...satay, fried sotong, fried oyster, cockle, grilled stingray, homemade noodle with fishball, otak-otak...we had some beer, talk rubbish, until everyone was tired and we go home to rest.

The next day we had breakfast at a famous wantan mi shop in town. I come from a place where almost all wantan mi come with nice char siew, so those red coloured meat doesn't impresses me much...but the homemade noodle was seriously good!...I'm a noodle guy, and in one short trip to Batu Pahat I had two awesome homemade noodles for supper and breakfast...what more can I ask.

noodle in gravy...different from Ipoh

open from morning to late evening

Then we went home to get ready for the wedding lunch. It was in Muar, about 50km from Batu Pahat. There we some really good time meeting up with old friends, had a few drinks, catching up and take photographs.

congratulation Mr and Mrs T!

The farewell process took quite a while. We finally left Muar about 4 pm...we must have thought that we still swim 10 km a week, because coming out of a wedding lunch, the plan was to stop at Seremban for dinner. Interestingly, despite not working out as hard, our appetite is still as large. And of course, Seremban grilled crab is just too good to resist. It is fun to have crab with a bunch of friends, looking at each other working tentatively to extract the last piece of meat from those shells. We also witness for the first time the hidden talent of our dear Miss Lulu who elegantly ate crab with fork and spoon...*clap clap clap

to quote SC...never see so many crab before

After that we are back to KL. We manage to have a little bit of rest, and then its time for supper. Its more for chatting and catching up with Mr and Mrs Ong then eating. But somehow I was the one busy eating while the others were busy catching up, and Mr E was busy battling the hangover from the wedding lunch (did I mention our table had 4 bottles of red wine for the lunch?). The stir-fried pork intestine was supposed to be good but it wasn't...But then the deep fried toad and fried koay teow with venison was good...

chinese food for supper can never be light

The next day is the day I return home. Before dropping me off at the station, we had a very late brunch, at 2.30pm...It was one of those fancy restaurant in Bangsar, which I think is getting very popular these days. The place was good for lepak, the coffee was good, a great place to end the trip.

scrambled egg with salmon...i probably can make this at home, perhaps not as good

It was a really good trip, spending time with old buddies, eat and eat and eat.

It was a great end to the year,  although I was quite sad that my Dear cannot join us.

Thanks very much being great hosts and great drivers (570km in 36 hours).

Hope we can (and must!) do this again soon.

Have a happy new year!

Let's talk more about running...

Recently I read a book about a novelist who runs...as mentioned earlier, I enjoyed it a lot...
Then I asked myself, so what? Does it changes anything?...I think so

Ever since I started running, I've always wanted to complete a marathon...42.195km...at least once before I stop running. And this year I registered for my first ever full marathon...this coming June...the Stan-Chart KL marathon. I suppose like most first timer, I was a little hesitant, a little doubtful...

 took 5 minutes just to scroll through the map...quite scary indeed

(from mapmyrun.com)

I should be able to run at least 21km. After that I can just jog slowly. I don't have to run the whole length and when I can't run anymore, I can always stop running and start walking. I'm sure I can finish the race. That's how I convinced myself to sign up

And then I read this book. It reminded me of my first running event...a 10km race...back then it was considered a very long distance to me, a much heavier and lazier me. And it was not my hobby yet back then. I just participated to have some fun with friends, and I liked the idea of running around the city. And to get that running singlet (which I'm wearing now...and to go to bed later). I didn't even prepare. My target was just to finish the whole race running. I kept reminding myself that I can jog very slowly but I must not stop running. Although I wasn't proud with the time, I was happy that I managed to run the whole length... (I participated again the following year and improved significantly)

The book also reminded me of my first half marathon. It was the time when I started to get a bit more serious with running (after the first half marathon to be exact).
When I participated in my first half marathon...21km...again I had no expectation with my timing, again I told myself I must at least run the whole distance...
But then half marathon is not as forgiving as 10km race. Entering the last 5km I felt a terrible cramp at my thigh all the way to the calf. It hurts when I run, but it hurts even more when I stop running. I jogged very slowly and in pain all the way to the finish line. Again I wasn't proud of the time and I can't even run the whole distance, but I learned a valuable lesson in running...(I participated again the following year...better prepared...the timing improved...and better than that, I was able to enjoy running the last 5km)

This book reminded me of the targets I'd set for my first ever 10km race and first ever 21km race. I had not much expectation with my timing in both, but I was at least determined to finish both races running.

So why is it that suddenly in my first ever full marathon, that I allowed myself to not finish the whole race running? Isn't it another milestone in my running journey? Shouldn't I at least try harder before giving up and making excuses?

Perhaps its luck that I read this book before the race. I still have about 7 weeks to go. Its not enough, but I must try to make the most out of it. Who knows, one day I may be able to write my own memoir on running. When that happens, I want to end the chapter on my first ever marathon with "At least I managed to finish the whole 42.195km running."

(in the meantime, I'm trying to increase my mileage to 30km in the next 5 weeks, and start tapering down for the race...wish me luck)