Backpacker's Guide to the Universe

It is the eve of the festive season of jingly bells and decorated trees. I could think of a thousand and one better ways to wake up on such a promising day, than with a sore body! No thanks to our buddy Ian here, who suggested that we take yesterday off to pump some iron, and burn some calories.

So we paid a visit to bar-bells, dumb-bells, jingle-bells and what not. I ended up focusing a lot on my shoulder and back. Actually, I cannot remember the last time I had such a hardcore and intense workout. Usually I just bummed around in the gym, enjoying the cool air-conditioned air, bummed around in the gym, doing whatever exercise I fancied at the moment, bummed around in the gym, never ever pushing myself to the maximum, and did I mention I bummed around in the gym?

Needless to say, when you are alternating sets with your partner, there is pressure to complete the stipulated (and not to mention outrageous) set of repetitions. We emphasized more on short intense workouts and intervals rather than prolonged but less demanding exercises.

Thank goodness for the stretching after that! My body was sore, but not paralyzingly so. I could still move this morning, albeit feeling a little stiff. Am looking forward to the next session, and doing much more than yesterday. Yesterday felt to me more like testing the water... I think my whole body is going to be destroyed the next time around.

We start slow, but we will pick up the pace! And what an intense pace it would be!
So till next time, cause this time we were missing Belmond!

Hello all! Last night here in HK, HK has been a blast really! Heh, that's why I wasn't available as Jon said.

Anyway! Few tips to be gleaned from here in Hong Kong, and from booking the hostels!

Tip #1
Loosely schedule your holiday! Have a rough idea about what you want to do and when! But NEVER plan by timetabling, it's a recipe for disaster especially if it's the first time in the country.

By allowing flexibility, you're allowing plans to spontaneously form. Who knows what bargain might be offered to you (imagine authentic Hong Kong cuisine and no tourist traps, my friends and I walked into one of those Hong Kong Roast Restaurants where there were no English menus, but there was Char Siew (barbecued pork), Siew Yoke (roast pork), snake meat, pigeon meat, and Gai (braised chicken)), THE FOOD WAS AWESOME. the normal ones at least:P) and what you might find out from the locals, or some activity you planned being screwed up because the company closed down! Spontaneity offers a lot more exciting possibilities! By planning, you are trying to encapsulate the experience of a country you are not familiar with - FATAL MISTAKE! Unless of course you know the country very well!

Tip #2
Plan your holiday around number of nights spent in each hotel, and flight timings! Personally, I like to have flights either in the early morning, or at night. I'm sure Jon and Belmond prefer this too!

Flying in the day - If your flight isn't too long, this leaves a lot more time for the rest of the day. Use the time to check in, explore your locales, and who knows maybe start immersing yourself in the local culture immediately! I know my first day in Hong Kong, my mom showed me around the local streets and food. Having no rigid plan (like mentioned earlier) meant that we could walk into whatever place piqued our interest, or whatever restaurant had a long queue (must be good if the locals love it!)

Flying at night - This leaves you the whole day to explore and make use of whatever remaining time you have in the city you're departing from! For example, I'm leaving tomorrow night at 8pm. It still leaves me a full day to have a classic Hong Kong breakfast, see more sights, eat more things (seriously getting mega fat here), and Yum Cha! with my mom and her friends! Also, having a flight at night means you're well placed to just crash once you've checked in (this is easier if the hostel is booked beforehand), because after an entire day out and a plane trip; you're bound to be tired unless you're some energiser bunny. NO worries about not being able to sleep because it's too hot or stuffy! YOU'LL SLEEP!

Tip #3
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Of course, we have all heard of Murphy's Law before.

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

What was supposed to be a simple exercise in booking plane tickets turned out to be a complicated symphony to coordinate. Either one of us would not be available, or we were not sure who was going to pay first. Somehow, I get this feeling that the above reasons are no more than superficial. Hazarding a guess, I would say that we are simply procrastinating and attempting to delay this momentous and important landmark in our lives, because we subconsciously feel unprepared for such an immense undertaking of this sort. As a result, our plans to travel all but remain hypothetical, without confirmation from the other parties of airlines and hotels (CHAI EDIT 17th Dec: ALL BOOKED! :D) and companies. We shall seriously attempt to remedy this tonight.

Then again, I am sure that we have all heard that bad things could be blessing in disguise.

Chew on this, because now the price of each ticket leaving Singapore has fallen to only SG$1.11! Undeniably, that is excluding taxes or surcharges. Still, I never imagined that a ticket onto a plane could be so cheap! (It is even cheaper than the basic taxi fare, insane!) Analyzing this trend of cheaper tickets as the date of departure approaches, I shall make an extrapolation and unreliably predict that if we book the tickets just before the plane flies off, then we are going to get the ticket free!

Speaking about hope, I cannot resist adding that hope is the first step to disappointment. Surprise to all the Warhammer fans out there, from where this jewel of a quote originates. I got many other reasons why we should not hope. For starters, you will not be disappointed if you have no expectations. Who could argue this? Many people are blinded to the present because they look AND live in the future. They keep dreaming that their lot would improve, and fail to appreciate what they already have in the present.

What this means for me, then, is that I am going to go about my business as per normal, not hoping for anything, not wishing for anything, not holding any expectations. For now, I will immerse myself fully in the activities of today, every second of it. And when the day for departure arrives, I will do the same. I would enjoy every moment of it.

Should I hope that Murphy's Law does not hold while overseas?
Whatever will be, will be.
I will take things as they come.

Seating at CCK(Choa Chu Kang MRT station) working v v v HARD so as to earn enough money to fulfil this wonderful plan of ours.

Okay so I'm up and awake on the 36th floor in smog-ridden Hong Kong. It's a beautiful urban landscape, don't get me wrong. It's just that smog and a really sensitive sinus problem don't go, especially since any of my sniffing or nose-blowing might be viewed suspiciously as H1N1.

*sneezes*

'Lei mo gao chor ah?! Diu lei lo mo!'*


'Excuse me.'


*Cantonese swearing, for the uninitiated.

So anyway, since Jon and Belmond refused to do the honour of the first post, and the lazy bums are sleeping now, I shall do it!

So why start a blog! Firstly, we'd thought it be interesting to chronicle our adventure, and out preparation for it.

The very dashing Belmond is gonna get fit for all the rock climbing, kayaking, and if Belmond has his way, paragliding while being towed along by a boat.

Original Photo credit: www.midnightsunparagliding.com

I'm gonna be training to lose my tummy (I don't mind washboard abs at the end of it!). And to climb all the hard stuff in Krabi, I get quite fanatical about climbing.


I'm not malay btw.

And Jon... Jon doesn't need to do anything.
Jon's on the extreme left.

He's got an 8 pack just in case it's not clear here. But he's got his crazy moments so we'll be sure to chronicle those as well.