Yes, WE crossed the finish line

My best friends and I are now recovering from a "grueling" Sunday at the Singapore Marathon.



Recap:

• I clocked 70 minutes for my 10km, just 3 minutes over my personal best set in 2006 (yes, it does get very dramatic!)
• The Adidas Adizero shoes were amazing. I ran the entire race without killing my legs. I don't think they will last very long though - when they mean lightweight shoes, they mean shoes without much fabric or rubber!
• My buddies, Pravin & Danny set their personal bests in the 10k, around the 1 h 30m mark - bravo, guys!
• Yap was running his first race beyond 5k, and he whacked 21k in under 3 hours - super duper!
• Vicky as usual made the 21k look super easy - and he's got photos to go with it for a third year in a row - you lucky dude!
• Our chief "inspirator", Mel, got to stand right in front of the Finish line. Getting her to run is still a long shot for 2009
• We pigged out at Cafe Cartel right after our run, and went for a buffet steamboat later that night - the thousands of calories lost in the morning were gained within 6 hours
• We ran a total of 72km between the 5 of us. Some runners do 84km in one day, on their own. I don't think we'll compete in those leagues any time soon
• This year's race attracted close to 50k runners, largest ever in Singapore
• The 42k was won by Luke Kibet, the reigning world champion from Kenya. He ran the race in 2h 13m, 1 minute better than the course record. He was paid 15k USD just to appear for the race and pocketed a cool 35k USD for winning!

Check out our stats - amazing birds eye view of the entire race!
Me: 10k 1h:9m:50s
Danny: 10k 1h:33m:9s
Pravin: 10k 1h:33m:9s
Vicky: 21k 2h:57m:19s
Yap: 21k (under 3 hours) (Sadly, no stats yet - he's not too happy!)

More photos (& great Christmas gift ideas for the guys!):


For the third year running, this is the only photo of me running (the one in yellow!):



It was a fabulous weekend. The Singapore Marathon is a year-end high(light) for me, and it was made even better this year with the company of my best friends. Thanks guys!

Because Impossible is Nothing

I will be decked in Adidas adizero gear for tomorrow's run =)



It was just a little streak of fortune - I won the prize of a pair of shoes, a singlet and shorts in a recent Adidas Inspirator contest. My tagline is printed on the back of the singlet.



*p/s: Thank you Adidas! (Now, I've got to actually run!)

Singapore Marathon here I come!

My Singapore buddies and I will be running at tomorrow's Singapore Marathon. This will be my third run. Doing the 10k this year.

Collecting our race kits now. Drinking loads of water, and carbo loading. Go team!

Good news for KL-Singapore travelers

More First Coach buses between Singapore and Bangsar. The 8.30pm would make more sense for those traveling after work on Fridays.

Street magic on Bugis Street

This man can make a coin spin in a bowl, continuously. Spooky! Nice day to be out in Singapore :)

Diabetes kills!

Nice use of ad space on the MRT. (Yeah, I'm back in Singapore)

Would you bite the carrot?

There's intense competition in Singapore as they approach full number portability which kicks off June 13th. (Malaysia will enjoy this in August) Everyone's throwing 'carrots' here. Lots of roadshows to build awareness.

Given a choice, what would make you switch to another telco if you could keep your number?

All not yours

This is what happens when boys go shopping. 5 boys, 10 pairs of shoes.

You can never go wrong with Timberland's warehouse sale in Singapore. What a blast!

*p/s: Ranga, the boys say hi!

How Singaporean kids spend the weekend

Spotted in the IMM mall in Jurong. The kids are stomping the floor in excitement. It's a "reactive media system" that responds to actions you make against visuals projected from the ceiling. Stomp and see more bubbles float on the floor. Very cool!

At The Expo

I hope it's not just linen. Yawn.

Hi Ranga!

It's 10am. We're skipping the Singapore Zoo for french toasts!

Why do I have to wait so long?

Waiting to catch an earlier flight out of Singapore. Mine's booked for 9:15pm. I arrived at 6:15 and there are 75 people on standby for the 7pm and 8pm flights on both MAS and Singapore Airlines. The ground crew is giving me the runaround with inaccurate information - some say line up here, some say take a ticket, yadda yadda.

Should I start screaming?

Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT - Update (2)

My letter to SMRT has been published verbatim in the Singapore Straits Times ST Forum.



Read: SMRT taxi driver made customer's day with kind act

For context:

• Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT
• Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT - Update (1)

Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT - Update (1)

I just received a response from SMRT, acknowledging receipt of my email.



Hope it makes Mr. Teo's day =)

For context: Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT

Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT

I just got back from a weekend with my best friends in Singapore. Here's my letter to SMRT (a Singaporean taxi operator) regarding a taxi journey on Sunday.

Dear SMRT,

The following email highlights my recent journey with an SMRT taxi, of which the experience exceeded my expectations despite the initial dissatisfaction.

My partner and I boarded the taxi with registration number SHB5507S near Neptune Court, on Sunday, December 16, around 2:15pm. The intended alighting point was Simei Street 1, which I mentioned to the driver upon boarding. Being weekend travelers from Kuala Lumpur, we were not familiar with the routes, but were happy that the driver asked us if it was okay to use the CTE, of which we duly acknowledged while stating that we preferred the fastest route.

As the journey progressed the meter fare and travel time exceeded our initial estimates. We then realised that the driver had taken us towards the Sin Meng area. At this point the fare was already about $12+, as compared to $8 when we traveled earlier in the afternoon (Simei - Neptune Court).

Upon clarification that we intended to go to Simei and not Sin Meng, the driver was unable to provide us with a travel time estimate, but assured us that he would get us there in the fastest time. At this point our itinerary was in disarray as we had spent over 20 minutes in the taxi, and were due to board a bus out of Singapore at 4:30pm from Novena Square.

Upon finally arriving at our destination in Simei, the meter fare was around $23. The driver apologised for the inconvenience, and offered to accept a fare similar to what we had paid for the past journey. We offered $10, but he refused and only took $8.

We were comforted by this act of genuine kindness, and acknowledge that even though it was an inconvenience, it could have very well been an honest error.

We would like to thank the driver for making the journey a memorable experience, and for getting us to our destination safely. Many a times we hear stories of unfriendly and dishonest taxi drivers, but not on this encounter. I believe this SMRT experience under the circumstances is a worthy benchmark to emulate.

It is definitely a "uniquely Singapore experience", and we look forward to riding with SMRT again on our next visit.

Thank you,

Praveen Rajan

Do you live in Singapura?

You have to watch this video to learn the Singapore culture. Love the improvised theme song!



Related links:

• The Digital Movement: I live in Singapura

Why I wouldn't take seat 38K on a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-400

SeatGuru provides good information on the best seats for most of the major airlines. Check out the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-400 -- it explains why seat 38K is not a good seat. Here's a screenshot of the Malaysia Airlines seating capacity:



Here's an excerpt of SeatGuru's features:

• Detailed seat map graphics
• In-depth seat specific comments denoting seats with limited recline, reduced legroom, mis-aligned windows
• Color-coding to help identify superior and substandard seats
• In-seat power port locations
• Galley, lavatory, Exit Row and closet locations

Related links:

• SeatGuru: Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-400
• SeatGuru: Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400

When is Wesak Day?

Why is Wesak/Vesak Day on the 1st of May in Malaysia, and 31st of May in Singapore?

This is according to the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department and Singapore's Ministry of Manpower, respectively.





Is this correct?

Related links:

• Wikipedia: About Wesak/Vesak Day
• Malaysian Prime Minister's Department: Malaysia Public Holidays 2007
• Singapore Ministry of Manpower: Singapore Public Holidays 2007