The Whanau are Running

Pencil 28th of June in people.

Lina and are will be running in the Standard & Chartered KL Marathon 2009. Fortunately we will be taking the less gruelling options of 10km and 1/2 marathon respectively. It was a pleasant surprise when Lina arrived home yesterday asking whether I thought it would be possible for her to run the 10km on 4 weeks training. Of course she can! She has been keeping fit at the gym and is well rested after the sleep deprivation during our Vietnam trip.

I have been running seriously for the past 4 months now and am running further then I ever thought these flat feet would take me. Not content with taking on KL, we are planning racing in Singapore and Cambodia later in the year, mixed with a few local races.

I will keep you posted on the progress of our training regimes as the big day beckons.

http://www.kl-marathon.com/

New Zealand Vs Australian Humour

Having experienced a lifetime of generally good natured and sometimes not so good natured banter between Aus and NZ, I thought I had heard it all until watching Flight of the Conchords Season 2 on DVD recently.

The 'Unnatural Love' episode was a landmark development in trans tasman wisecracks and had the best line since New Zealand Prime Minister Rob Muldoon in the 1980's, when asked about the immigration of New Zealanders's to Australia, replied that the IQ of both countries was raised as a result.

Best line - Jermaine and Bret in discussions to establish whether the woman Jermaine had slept with the previous night was in fact Australian - She had an accent like ours (NZ)...only more evil.

Classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoF_fa9TMDk

Man Mum Meeting

Yesterday was the second meeting of a man-mums group. I linked up with them via several degrees of separation and it has been great catching up with men who are doing the same thing and are very much like-minded.

We met at Damien’s condo close to KLCC, and braved the midday heat with a visit to the KLCC playground followed by lunch. Isaac gets on well with Damien’s 2 girls and Michael’s boy and I’m confident this will become a regular part of his busy social calendar!

Stay tuned for my expose on the mysterious world of Manmums to be published in the June issue of Bonda (mum's magazine in KL).

Damien's older girl, Brianna (hope the spelling is right)

Bubble Making

Bubble making is a hobby so I'm told and there are multiple websites on the matter. There is quite a science to the composition of the potion and our resident KL expert in this field is Greg, pictured here doing what he does best. The world record size of a bubble is approximately 12 metres, and although none of these came close, it was enough to spellbound the kids, including Isaac, who attempted to replicate this effort.

However, I'm not sure who was enjoying it more - Greg or the kids!

Star Trek

Star Trek’s first 5 year mission for me was during the late seventies growing up in suburban Meadowbank, Auckland, watching repeats on a Sunday morning. I know that it must have been Sunday because my father introduced the show to me, and this was his only day off of the week. This was a prequel to other noteworthy Sunday telly viewing which included ‘Our World’ with Gael Ludlow, followed by ‘A Dogs Show’ (for which I am still awaiting a return, after all, dancing competitions have made a comeback).

Whilst watching Shatner, Nimoy and the crew we would devour our ‘Sunday Lollies’ – yes Sunday for some was the big day of the week in the biblical sense, but for the Snell family, alternative quaint traditions were the norm.

If I was lucky, by half way through the episode, I would still have a few remaining ‘pebbles’ (later to become M & M’s) and the storyline would not have a love interest for Captain Kirk (boring), and instead had plenty of aliens and phaser battles.

Star Trek – The movie, has returned, and like other franchise rebirths, is placed chronologically prior to the original. This is an excellent opportunity to address burning issues such as the origin of James T Kirks’s middle name, Tiberius, and the nickname of Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy. I slept a whole lot better after this enlightenment. The casting is clever, with the young James T Kirk capturing the roguish, almost camp-like, physicality that made William Shatner’s portrayal so much fun. In fact, the sense of fun, as was the case with the TV series, is the strength of this movie. Never does it take itself too seriously, even when exploring that timeless, Trekkie navel gazing issue - logic Vs emotion.

An interesting 21st century adaptation is the story of Communications officer, Lieutenant Uhura. Her role 40 years ago was nothing more than a glorified intergalactic switchboard operator, but with an African-American in the Whitehouse, it seems more than coincidental that the complexities of her role are clarified in this film, and thus appeasing the PC gods. Not only does she comprehend the subtle differences between the Romulean and Kingon languages, her linguistic skills extend to all 3 dialects of Romulean. And bootyliscious to boot. Speaking of the baddies, the Romuleans (or were they Klingons – who cares) are the ultimate space bogans – like Hell’s Angels on (warp) speed.

Putting aside its relationship with the television series, and judging it purely as an action film, its first class entertainment that screams along at an awesome pace. I was hook, lined and sinkered well before Scotty had ‘given it all she’s got’ and Bones had inquired to Spock ‘are you out of your Vulcan mind.’

So take your favourite confectionary and enjoy.

Birthday Costume Party

We attended Tunku Eddy’s 30th Birthday celebrations at the Princes Hotel on Saturday night. Being a work colleague of Lina, many of the Grey/G2 crew were present and the vast majority followed the Heroes and Villains costume theme of evening. A good range of regalia was seen with X-men, Batman franchise characters, and Harry Potter some of the most popular.

Unfortunately I was unable to stay to late on account of my NB 15km running race the following morning. I was the first to arrive (9pm – they are late party animals these Malaysians) and probably the first to leave, however I was able to take some snaps of the best costumes. A good night, and one that provided fuel for Monday morning water cooler gossip I gather.

Vietnam

We have just returned from our 9 day sojourn in Vietnam. This is a country that has been top of our travel wish list for some time now, so we were really looking forward to it.

This was a ground breaking journey for us in many ways. For the first time I pre arranged most of the transport and activities. For someone whose trip prep usually consists of booking the air flight………and that’s it, I was slightly nervous that the structured and comfortable travel required with toddler in tow, would impact on its edgy appeal. We experienced our first overnight train journey and spent a night on a boat. In fact, like many good travel adventures, the modes of transport ran the full gambit of air, sea, and land – with varying degrees of enjoyment.

The capitol of Vietnam, Hanoi was our first step. Driving in the taxi from the airport (pre arranged of course), we knew that this was going to be a major departure from our Asian lifestyle in KL. Our hotel (3 star – again very different from my backpacking days) was in the Old Quarter. This place is old school Asia. A bombardment of the senses, where life goes on before your eyes as you walk the motor cycle-dominated streets. Unlike other old parts of town that have become tourist fun parks (e.g. Macao, even Venice), the Old Quarter remains the real deal for it’s inhabitants. We saw no ‘sights’ and visited no museums, art galleries or other such fill-ins. We walked the streets and soaked in the incredible atmosphere, stopping for a ferocious Vietnamese coffee (or hot chocolate) when a break was required.

Our next stop was Halong Bay, which was a nice change of pace. Halong Bay is a 3 hours drive from Hanoi, and with a portable DVD player available, it made the trip much more tolerable for Isaac. In fact this device was our saving grace on many occasions when boredom potentially progresses quickly to tantrums. Don’t leave home without it.

We spent the night on a junk in Halong Bay. This piece of water consists of hundreds of small islands and is a beautiful spot to enjoy what turned out to be a luxurious cruise. There were several other young children which we were thankful for, but I know a few of the childless couples were hoping for less background noise on their holiday. One of the older Australian gentleman would put his hands over his ears when the decibels rose. We learnt that you can’t be to thin skinned when traveling with kids, however most people were understanding when Isaac turned the monster switch on.

From there, a bus back to Hanoi followed by the overnight train to Lao Cai on the Chinese border. This form of transport was something I had been looking forward to as Isaac loves trains – and I have a soft spot for them also. Many of my favourite travel memories involve crazy train journeys in Europe and Africa. Things started off well with Isaac quickly lulled into slumber with the rythmic rocking of the carriage. Unfortunately his slumber (and the rest of the carriage no doubt) was over at 3 am. That boy sure does have a pair of lungs. The train journey lark had completely lost its romance by the return leg when I was woken at 2am by the thud of Isaac falling off the bed bunk. This was one of numerous knocks on the head suffered throughout the trip for the poor fella. Tables, chairs, floors, you name it – he hit it. This bodes well for a rugby career in the front row like his Pappi.

Onto the town of Sapa, accessed via Lao Cai, and is the gateway to trekking in northern Vietnam. I love trekking, and have done so in Northern Thailand, Nepal, and now Vietnam. But part of me wishes I could have done it before it became the industry that it is now. I don’t doubt that the local hill tribes are better off financially and would never begrudge them a living, but the experience is lessened for me when I know I am merely another number in a long line that day. They tell me 15 years ago, the place was unrecogniseable. You can’t halt progress.

Despite misty conditions, we were able to appreciate the spectacular landscape of rice paddies and corn fields within the valley, the hillsides sculptured by hand-made steps as far as the eye can see. Very beautiful. And Isaac was well behaved in the backpack throughout. The various hill tribes in the area live a very tough life. They work the land by hand in muddy conditions. Children the same age as Isaac watch their parents working, half clothed and filthy. So, despite laden with a heavy little boy and a western guilty conscience, we made it back to our 3 star hotel, devoured French pastries, and thanked our lucky stars………

We enjoyed one more day in Hanoi before flying to KL. I was surprised with how I felt with our departure looming. It was not related to Vietnam actually. It was the feeling of going back to KL. It was the feeling of going home. Proving that home is where you make it. And currently we have made that home in KL. Kia Kaha!!


Make sure that you scroll down to the video at the bottom of the page. It is a Hanoi street scene.

Isaac making friends



Dining out

Great street food. BBQ meat. 2 metres to the right is one of the busiest intersections in Hanoi

One of the junks on Halong Bay

Atop the hill of one of the islands in Halong Bay

We had to have a swim. Along with plenty of others.

Beautiful sunsets

A friend of Isaac's on the junk.

And the sister as well!

Laising with the Vietnamese officialdom

Hanoi cafe

A visit to Vietnam is not complete without eating spring rolls

Cheap beer. 80 US cents.

Charming the locals

The night train. During the good times.

Isaac with our guide - Dong

Entrance to a local market

Locals at the market

I don't know if Isaac is very welcome here!

The livestock section of the market

We are enjoying the best chocolate drink in Vietnam

Setting out from Sapa on a trek

A real pea souper

Thankfully, we are going down

Locals collecting firewood and taking it home

These hands have seen some work in their time

Waiting for the bus in Lao Cai

Isaac took over this girls bedroom

A torrential downpour in Hanoi

Hotpot is a common street food in Vietnam

Throw in some meat and leafy veg.....

and some maggi noodles.....

a few mushies as well

The strongest coffee I have ever had. Lina initially thought there was booze in it.

I love this video. It really captures the experience of walking down a Hanoi street.