Miri Triathlon - last race for the year?

This is the furthest I have traveled to do a tri.
And the first time I ever had to put my bike in a box and fly with it.
It wasn't easy. Because it was huge. Transportation was a problem.
But we got to the airport alright. Thanks Dad. And thank goodness he had the foresight to own an Avanza. It was a tight squeeze (2 bikes!!) but we managed. Saw some other triathletes on the flight (night flight - ETA Miri @ 9.30pm) Hate AirAsia staff in handling our check-in of sports equipments (BOTH WAYS) so if AirAsia top guns just so happen to be reading my blog (I don't think so),.... please be aware that your ground staff are horrible, horrible and RUDE.

It was my first time in Miri. Arrived rather late but was pleasantly surprised that they had a bus from Sarawak Tourism to shuttle triathletes and their huge bike boxes to the hotel (Go Sarawak Tourism!). Promptly checked into the Park Everly Hotel upon arrival at the hotel. That's the official hotel for the Sarawak International Triathlon. It's not a bad place. Except that, the land area was infested with sandflies and as I am typing this, I am scratching the aftermath of the sandflies attack.

My other half and I walked about 1km away (what's 1km when you've done a 42km marathon? The figure seems very trivial these days!) for dinner. Dear Uncle Chan's recommendation and it was not bad. But oily as hell. Greasy food seems rather disgusting lately.... then we walked the distance back to the hotel.

I'm so lucky MOH is around. He assembled the bikes :) While I sat back and watched TV. Ain't that something? When I'm supposedly the one more nervous about the race, you'd think I would've been hands-on making sure everything was right. But when it comes to nuts, bolts and Allen keys.... I'm an idiot. He, on the other hand, is MacGuyver. He did a damn good job.

Next morning, woke up....... late. Ahh, the bliss of sleeping in...... lazed around the room. Called Randy (cos I was hoping he'd brought his bike pump which I forgot).... see if anyone was interested for breakfast.... only to find out that our room actually came with breakfast and we missed it! Ohhh, I was so irritated. No prizes for guessing at who :P In any case, we met up with Randy at the registration. Huh... everyone's doing the Sprint AND Olympic distance. I had only planned to do the Olympic distance actually. But decided to join the crowd so signed up for both.

After registration, we had to sit through the briefing session. I don't know why I bother. Because half the time, you make me look at a map, I get lost. Tell me to turn left and right, when we get to the junction, I'd have forgotten. So, in all my races, road or tri, I am especially thankful to the marshalls for directing me the correct way.

After the briefing, a few of us (Randy, Ivie, Sam, Carmen, myself and MOH) went for lunch. Walked over to some shops and had wanton noodle. Then stocked up on my junk food and 100Plus. 100Plus not so popular for East Malaysia races. I see Red Bull made more prominence. Must be that "Malboro Man" image of East Malaysian males. Hmmm....

Promptly got ready for the Sprint, taking place at 3pm. The bloody transition area was a good 2km away from the hotel. Had to cycle there ("warm-up, warm-up" says Uncle Chan). I wasn't feeling really good, considering my idiotic rib injury. Keep telling myself, it's only a Sprint. I'll take it slow and easy. Just a warm-up for the race tomorrow. As always, at the start of the race, I always get jittery and nervous and feeling a kind of dread... like "oh my God, why did I put myself through this?"...

What I had always liked about East Malaysia VIPS (taking my experience with the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest 2004) was their respect for time. They were always early to flag-off. Not us waiting for them, but them waiting for us. I see that had not changed. Given Peninsula VIPs, I could slap them for all the times they had been early. (Never).

And so......... "bang" goes the gun. And away we swam. I was one of the last! Well, I was accompanying MOH :) And I realised, with every stroke I took, my left rib was crying out in agony. I couldn't risk injuring it further by pushing, so I resorted to keeping at pace with MOH. Still, I came out of the water faster than he did. Then, went on the bike. God, it was difficult even to breathe, cos every breath was a sharp pain to my left rib cage. Disastrous. I went slow. In fact, by the time I got to the running leg, I was going to die soon. It was not that hot, thank God. But for the first time ever, I walked during a race. MOH and I walked and chatted and tried to get it over and done with. We even did interval training! (sprint for 5 lamp posts, then walk). And for the first time ever, we crossed the finishing line hand-in-hand. It was fun in that sense. But I knew..... for the Olympic distance - I will pop the painkillers before I race. Eventhough my drug supplier Jodie said not to. But I didn't come all the way here to do a dismal performance! I want to do it well! So, there you go. Decision made.

From the finish line, had to freaking walk all the way back to the transition area to collect the bike. I was really in pain. I felt like my whole body had gone to war. I'm not sure mentally, it does me any good, doing the Sprint. I was almost last. I was in pain. I just didn't feel like I could do the long distance. Oh dear...

The same group of us went out for dinner together. Guess where? Same place. Oh, I think the place is called the New Tanjung Seafood Restaurant. Carmen did the ordering (actually, I'm not sure that's how you spell her name. Forgive me if I got it wrong) and food was good. Generally, all the triathletes are really nice people. Everyone's stripped off their status (rich, Datuk, son of so-and-so, etc). We are here for one love - endurance sports that really make you go insane. The only competition is not who has more money in the bank, but who's faster. They're just nice. They share knowledge, info, bike pumps, and always ready to help. (For crying out loud, Jodie loaned me her bike thinking I'd do faster with it - whom I was told "you better not crash in it.") Well, in so far, that had been my experience. Of cos, there are some who has their noses up in the air and keep to themselves or their elite clicks, but most of them are there to have fun and to go crazy driving your body to the maximum output levels. It's like when you meet one of them at the airport, with the bike box, and you know they do a tri, there's a nod of understanding. No need to shake hands, no need to smile. Just a nod of acknowledgement to say "hey, we're doing it too." Like a secret between a select group of strangers.

After dinner, Randy, Ivie, myself and MOH went to look for ...... ICE CREAM! Yes, nothing like that sugar to pump you all up. (no, I'm kidding. Sugar does you no good before a race.). We found this place called Pete's Deli.... and I got a Trifle instead. It's ran by,.. Pete, I guess... who's this middle-aged guy speaking in the Queen's English. Quaint little place, I tell ya.

Back to room...... and slept early.

Next morning, woke up early for breakfast. I had scrambled eggs and toast and a spoonful of muesli (because I saw Kimberly Yap taking a whole bowl of Swiss Oatmeal and Muesli!!). Then, went back to my room for my Milo (i just had to have my Milo. I'm so used to it before my workouts that I think it mentally prepares me somehow!) I already had butterflies in my tummy. Loads of it. I popped my painkillers and then, away we left for the transition area. My mind at this point was already at war : "Just take it easy.... you're injured. It's ok."... "No! I must do well! I was dismally disappointing yesterday. Today, I must do Top 10!!" Over and over it went.

Today, I told MOH that he's on his own. I'm going for Top 10. Ain't gonna be accompanying him.
And once again, the VIP flagging us off was early. Bang! Went the pistol! I swam,...... and was so determined in avoiding being kicked cos anyone kicking my ribs would ensure I raced in pain thereafter. I got pulled, but didn't get kicked (nor groped).... I didn't quite like swimming in the sea water.... it wasn't exactly clear-blue (why do they always make us race in murky, dirty water where you can't see shit??!) and there's that salty, fishy taste in your mouth that makes you feel really thirsty! I felt quite good during the swim, actually. 1.5km and although there was a slight pain in my left rib, I could breathe more normally without the sharp pains. And I was making slightly good time. I knew I was the 41st person to get out of the water. That was in the top half!

I ran out and got dressed for my bike. I hate pulling up my bike shorts when I'm still dripping wet cos the shorts always get stuck. Damn. But if I'm never going to make Top 3, I'm not going to invest in a tri-suit. :P And away I pushed off on the bike. It's always a relief to be on your bike after the swim. Well, at least for the first 2-3km for me. After that, it's a mental and physical torture (I realized, I really dislike the biking leg of the race....especially the idiot hills). On the way out, I actually bumped into Uncle Chan and chatted with him (yes, I even had time to chat) when MOH caught up with me and said "Two more girls just got out of the water! You better go! Still got time to chat?! Tsk... tsk...tsk...!" So, I left Uncle Chan behind on his mountain bike and went off. I must say, MOH was pretty strong on the bike. He was ahead of me. Whereas I was trying to just get through the bike leg. 3 girls subsequently overtook me. Damn. But I have to say, this time around, I was feeling quite good for the race. As in, physically, despite my rib aching.... and mentally. Eventhough I was weak on the bike, I told myself, I would overtake them for the run. I was so sure I could. It wasn't like at my last tri, where with every kliks that I completed, my confidence level dropped. And guess what? I even forgot to time myself! The hill was a major pain in the ass for me. It was long and steep - well, the first hill that was. Like it was never ending and my legs were about to give way. But rolling down hill was awesome. It is only during races that I let go and ride with the wind. During my normal rides, I'm so afraid of being roadkilled. Whereas during a race, the traffic policemen are around to halt traffic. Speaking of which, there was one traffic police on a bike, who was so nice, because I was biking alone, so he halted traffic and all for me (like a personal convoy) and at one stage, during one of the hills, he actually took pity on me and told me to draft behind him. Thank God for drafting to be allowed. Hahahaha. But I think drafting only really works if you're really fast. For someone like me, at the most it does is ..... slightly less wind-resistance :P Thank You Mr Policeman!

Finally, I finished my bike. Then, went out on the final leg - the 10km run. I was still feeling good both physically and mentally. I thank God for the painkillers. But I am also wondering now if my eggs and toast breakfast had something to do with it. I didn't get cramps and I was running all the way. Overtaking all the girls who overtook me on the bike :) It was great. I was even singing along with my iPod wannabe. Yes, there was still that annoying pain in the ribs, but it wasn't at all like yesterday where every step was utterly painful. I'm trying to think - besides the painkillers, what worked for me today? Can't pinpoint a straight answer.

And after a hot, hot 3 hours, I crossed the finish line. It was awesome. I felt like I could do another 10km run. So, admittedly, I didn't push myself that hard. I should've. But ... it was either do it comfortably or push and risk putting me out of training for a month. So, nevermind. I did alright and I was happy. After 30 minutes or so, I saw MOH make a turn........ approaching the finish line. I accompanied him for the last 300metres of the run, right to the finish line. He was really funny. "After this, I'm going to drop dead and sleep. Please, please, please do not disturb me ok?!".... "yea, yea... whatever you want. Just finish. It's not far." (So proud of you for finishing!!)

And so........ just like that, the race was done. The damn body marking number is sun-tanned into my skin now. I tried to even out my tan, but no avail!

We were late for the Closing Ceremony & Lunch. Forgot that on this side of the world, everything's very on-time. But I took ages trying to scrub out the marker pen number :P Lunch was alright. After the Red Bull and water and 100Plus along the race route, I couldn't eat much!
I heard bits and pieces of the speech - that next year, the race date for Sarawak Tri would be 22nd November... and the budget's been increased to RM80,000 (I always knew Sarawak & Sabah Tourism had loads of money). Then came the prize presentation.

I came in 6th place for the Sprint - which was a laugh considering I walked half my 5km run. But it was out of 7 persons competing. Haha. For my effort, I got RM100 cash prize. But my real deal was the Olympic Distance which I emerged 7th. I'm happy. Out of 12 persons, I think. And got RM200 for that. Hah, so I got our room cost covered :) Randy, who did faster than me (of cos) managed 8th position in his category... and got less money than me. Where's the fairness? Oh, I tell you, it's fair. He could always put on a skirt! I guess, in a way, the A Famosa 10th placing was a prouder win... it was 10th place out of 23 others in my category. Whereas this is only 7th out of 12 persons..... hmmmm

And so..... that was that. My last race for the year... I think. Before that big move to Khmer land.

In the evening, MOH and I went cycling out to town (yes, didn't get enough of the bike during the race :P) in search of a dinner place. Miri is kinda like Palembang. Nothing touristy about it. Nothing unique to buy or eat. Like Malacca for its cendol, or Ipoh for it's Chicken Hor Fun. But Miri..... nobody knows what is special - except Kolok Mee (which is really Dry Noodle).... in the end, we went back to the New Tanjung Seafood... and had seafood.... Crabs, Squid, ... it was dirt cheap! We chowed down on 1 kilo of crabs and that was only RM28!!

Tired out, we went back..... as usual, my Macguyver disassembled the bikes and packed them back into the box (I have no clue which Allen key to use where)... while I watched TV... and then fell asleep and snored. By then, my painkiller had worn out and I was feeling the brunt of the assault on my ribs.

The next day, we lazed around by the pool after breakfast. My main objective was to even out my tan (I hate funny tan lines).... again, was swarmed by sandflies - me. Swam a bit.... then got ready to check-out. We had a good 5 hours to kill from check-out till time to leave for airport. So we took a taxi into town for lunch. I had some funny hot & sour noodle (i don't even know what it's called now)..... and then we walked some shopping mall.... and went to the supermarkets.... I'm surprised that most of the goods sold at the supermarkets were China goods. Even their Mentos and Wrigley's. But really, there was nothing to purhase that was unique to Miri. Good in a way I guess. Save money. Plus most shops including eateries were closed on the weekends.!

Then, we went back to hotel and had a drink at Pete's Deli again. Our shuttle arrived promptly at 7pm to get us to the airport. It was nice, considering we were the last 2 left at the hotel and they still sent someone over to ferry us (and our cumbersome bikes)... Met another triathlete and his girlfriend at the airport. Spoke awhile and exchanged contact details..... like I said, everyone's nice in the tri-circle.

And so..... goodbye Miri........... I hope to be back next year for the race. Hope I can.
For now, I have 2 more weeks to Cambodia and still waiting for my official time from Triathlon Malaysia.

Palembang - The Road Untraveled

Sometimes, the cheap airline ticket one is able to get does open up the doors for adventures. And so, it happens that I was on the flight to Palembang. I was conjuring images of lost empires of the Sriwijaya days, Parameswara’s ancestry, ruins and charming architecture. Considering, it was also declared Visit Musi Year 2008, I looked forward to the adventure. And adventure indeed.

Arrival at the international airport, we were greeted by surprised immigrations officer. “Di Palembang lawat kawan?”
“No. Holiday.”
“Ada kawan di Palembang?”
“No.”
“Show return ticket.”
Ok, now, that’s a first. It’s a good thing we printed out the Air Asia itinerary. I mean, with the paperless ticketing systems these days….. one could get into a lot of trouble :P I can’t help but wonder though – where are the tourists?? Visit Musi Year? No tourists.
We left the airport without anymore fuss. We got onto the hotel airport transfer and was on the way to our adventure.
Looking at the town….. it doesn’t seem very….. “cultural” nor “historical”. As in, I don’t see any culturally distinguishing marks nor heritage buildings. But I have 5 more days. I can discover a lot.

The Horison Hotel turned out to be a luxury indeed. A 4-Star business hotel and I felt like a 5-Star guest! We extended our stay here for the full duration of our time in Palembang.

We freshened up and scoured the maps we printed off the Net and also the map provided by the hotel to look for the best destination to lunch. The maps – confusing. Nothing like taking it in our stride. So, we walked out. We had an aim – we wanted to get to this place called called Penginapan Jln Demang Lebar Daun. We stopped halfway at a Sate place and had my favourite Indonesian-style Sate Kambing. I love their satays. I wonder why it isn’t available in KL!
After the bite, we headed out towards Jln Demang Lebar Daun….. but decided to stop a beca instead. To our dismay, we were walking away from the direction of Jln Demang Lebar Daun. Thank God for wanting to take a beca ride then. It was at this point, we knew that the map was a useless device we had in our hands!

We got to Jln Demang Lebar Daun alright. But have no idea where was the Penginapan place we were looking for! We asked people and even the restaurant owners and they were stumped. Baffled. Nevermind then. And it started to pour. Cats and dogs. We ran out, caught an angkut kota, took us back to a spot we were a little more familiar with – Palembang Square which we passed on the beca earlier. That was near to the hotel – or so I was told by my other half.

PS as it is generally called, is a bit of a middle-class mall. Much like your Summit in Subang Jaya. And there’s even a Carefourre! So, the people were not that poor then. Yes, one thing that struck me was that, although I was expecting to see a culturally and heritage-rich place, I was also expecting to see poverty. I am not sure why. Maybe it is just the Indonesian thing. Or I only have Jakarta as a benchmark. But you don’t see much poverty on the streets. I wouldn’t say people walked around flaunting their richess. I guess, Palembang is full of middle-class. Yes, there is still street kids and beggars, but not as rampant as say… in Cambodia. Or Jakarta.

We walked back to the hotel when the rain subsided and lazed about there till dinner time. Which we then went to this night stalls (much like the Malay open-air mamak stalls we have in KL). We passed by them setting up on the way back from PS. That’s how we stumbled upon this eating place. Well, we went into one which had lots of people eating. We thought – surely we can’t go wrong. Food was not that bad. Speaking Malay gets you by some. Typical Indonesian food – Mie Goreng, Nasi Goreng, Cap Cay Ca, etc….. Yes, at times like these, I’m happy to know that I still have some spoken Malay in me to function in a country like Indonesia. In fact, I can’t believe I still remember some of my Bahasa Indonesia from when I worked in Jakarta years back!

After the first day of traveling and trying to grasp our bearings of the new place we were in, we hit the sack early.

Next morning, we woke up to pretty much a super scrumptious breakfast spread at the hotel. Again – I never expected the food to be so good at the hotel. But there it was – fantastic food. And such a wide variety for breakfast! Continental to local – lontong, nasi uduk, nasi langgi, tekwan, bubur ayam, etc.. etc! It was superb! I mean, for the price we paid, it was a steal.! And the hotel even provided free city shuttles on the weekends! I think Malaysian hospitality industry ought to learn something from their neighbours. Really. Malaysia is an embarrassment.

After breakfast, we took a taxi to the Plaza 16 Illir. It was supposed to be a floating market, but is now a multi-storey bazaar. Selling nothing but clothes, clothes and more clothes! Oh my God! No souvenirs, no little trinkets or curios. I saw some songket, which Palembang is supposedly famous for, but nothing very eye-catching. It was just…. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Plus, the both of us really stood out like sore thumbs. Firstly, it was the way we looked – looking Asian, but not Indonesian Chinese. Asking us if we were from Korea or Japan, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing cause they then think you are rich. Then, it was the way we were dressed. I was in my absolute holiday wear – T-shirt and shorts and slippers. And no women wore shorts there! Oh dear. Too bad. That’s all I’ve got. Of course, when I started speaking broken Indonesian, they probably just assumed that I was some pissy local who lived abroad and forgot my roots :P

We walked about and around the Plaza 16 area, which turned out to be next to the Ampera Bridge. That famous, famous bridge in Palembang. Ever been to Palembang? Know anyone from Palembang? They will talk about their Ampera Bridge. It is like the San Francisco Bridge of Palembang. It looked quite grand, maybe with the red colours. I heard it is spectacularly lighted up at night. Unfortunately, I never made it to Ampera at nights. Beneath the bridge was the Musi river. That famous Musi river, but like all rivers in this part of the world (Malaysia included), it was filthy. Yet - we saw some kids swimming naked in that river. I was imagining the types of diseases they could contract. Ewe... one kid even posed naked, swinging his little birdie all about when he saw me with a camera!

We continued walking and walked through lots of shops selling the famous Pempek – fish keropok, Palembang style. I ate a piece, sold by an old lady on the streets. I really couldn’t acquire the taste for that fishy stuff! So, I was a little apprehensive even to buy any back as souvenirs!! But the shops, other than the Pempek shops, were mostly sundry shops, electronic shops, bike equipment shops….. really nothing touristy about them! Some bakeries were amongst them. Their cakes were those typical 1960s cream cakes which we found in KL then. Very pretty in a tacky way. We stumbled upon Matahari mall. I thought – hey – they have a Matahari mall here. Not so bad then. I thought it was going to be the same as that Matahari mall in Bali. How wrong I was! It was inside another shopping complex. But I think this one was for the lower-income group. It was shabby, dirty, and really does look a little sleazy. Matahari was nothing like what they have in Bali. Sigh.

We decided to have lunch somewhere. But didn’t know where. We didn’t know how far were we in relation to the hotel. The map just didn’t give an accurate enough picture. It was terrible! We decided our best option was to take a taxi. And so after much negotiation (they don’t have meters there and everyone is using the “harga petrol naik” excuse to charge us cut-throat fares), we boarded. We decided to go to Rumah Makan Sri Melayu for some Palembang food. We found the rumah makan the day before when we were at Jln Demang Lebar Daun.

Not disappointing at all, I tell you. I love, love, love Palembang food. The sambal was all just so good. The Pindang Udang that we had was really yummy too. It is really similar to Padang food. Makanannya siap disaji, embak!

After lunch, we walked all the way back to the hotel. Since we already knew that road. It was a good 3km walk, took us half an hour in the hot sun. We lazed at the hotel again, making use of the pool (and the freezing waters) to work off those calories!

For dinner, we wanted to go to this place called Murtabak HAR – another recommended place on the Net. You see, on the hotel map, it looked like it was quite near, but it doesn’t say where we were supposed to turn, etc… all in all, that map was just useless. We disturbed the reception again (at this point, considering it was only the 2nd day, we probably had asked them so many questions that they must’ve regretted that we were extending our stay)….. to tell us where we can find Murtabak HAR. The young boy at the reception, bless him, drew us a map. We walked there.

And it was not too bad. We had the egg murtabak. And the owner was the one and only Indian we saw in the entire Palembang. He’s probably mamak, we don’t know. Maybe a descendant of Parameswara! After Murtabak, we walked around the area for a bit, and went back.

This is turning out to be a pretty damn relaxing holiday with not much to do or see. Maybe this is what a holiday is supposed to be. Not filled with activities at a non-stop rate!

The next morning, yet another delicious breakfast at the hotel. What’s more, they even change their breakfast menu daily! It was so great! We don’t have to eat the same food everyday!

Today was the pilihanraya wargokota Palembang untuk memilih walikota Sumsel (Sumatera Selatan). Today, we had also planned to go to Kemaro Island – where there is actually a Buddhist temple and pagoda. We took the free city shuttle from the hotel to the jetty. Our driver was a very friendly and helpful guy. I forgot his name though. And we found out a little more about Palembang. There are so many, so many hotels in Palembang, but none are targeted at tourists. They are mainly for ahli niaga. Majority of Palembang citizens are Chinese. And they have always celebrated Chinese New Year with fireworks and go to the temple to pray, eventhough it wasn’t allowed in Jakarta. Most of them are ahli niaga. They are no demonstrations in Palembang for the fuel hike or for the elections simply because people of Palembang prefer to work and earn money. Tiada masa untuk demo! Huh, must be the Chinese mentality infected the entire place. Which was a good thing then.

We arrived at the jetty, only to be charged Rp300,000 to take a kretek across to Kemaro Island. No way, Jose! I ain’t paying that! We asked for cheaper boats, and the guy just pointed us to the Perahu Naga that was already waiting. Ikut rombongan, we were told. That’s fine too. They said it meant that we have to wait till the boat was full before it would move. That’s fine with us too. We went into the Perahu Naga and sat. Only to find out that it was a chartered boat! No other boats were going out to the island unless we take the private kretek. But the old man managing the perahu, probably took pity on us after we told him we were from Malaysia (haha, admitting we were from Malaysia had some use then!) and said he will check with the tour organizer to see if we can sit in the boat. Bless that woman, she said yes. She turned out to be an Indonesian Chinese, spoke to me in Mandarin and told me that she had a son studying at Sunway College in Malaysia. They were very friendly, she and her group, offering us snacks and drinks. The whole group were Indonesian Chinese from Jakarta, coming to Palembang for a wedding and decided to go see that temple in Kemaro Island. What luck! We got to go to the island on a free ride! But we decided to give that old boatman a token sum anyway.

Kemaro Island – was nothing to shout about. The temple and the surroundings were not properly maintained. However, we were told that the place is bustling come the Chinese festival season – Chinese New Year, Chap Goh Mei, etc. We can see that they are prepared to take in thousands of worshippers during the festive period. But on an uneventful day like today – it just looks lifeless, but for 3 or 4 caretakers. They have like thirty WCs lined up on one side of the island! But other than seeing a familiar deity and taking some photos of the 8-storey pagoda which was under renovation, there really was nothing much at the Island.

Well, we followed the group back to mainland. The main lady even offered to drive us back to the hotel. She spoke in Mandarin, asking if we were sure we would be ok? We must be careful, etc.. etc. She suddenly sounded like my Mother! After much thanks, we left the group at the jetty and took a walk as we wanted to go see the Benteng Kuto Besar – the old Dutch fort. Again, some Chinese lady from the tour called out to us – and told us to carry our backpacks in the front and not at the back, asked us if we are ok getting back to the hotel, told us to be careful and keep safe, etc….. all the fuss that they gave to us about safety, felt a little odd to us. We’ve had 3 days of no troubles – in fact, I would say the people of Palembang are genuinely friendly and helpful. Just probably the language barrier creates a bit of a problem for them truly helping. But the way the Chinese group was telling us over and over again to watch our backs made us feel like, perhaps there’s another not-so-good part of Palembang that we were fortunately not exposed to. I wondered though – if the not-so-good part was a racial thing or was it in general?
Anyway, we were not allowed into the Dutch fort. I just found out (now that I am writing this) that the Indonesian army still uses it! No wonder they looked quite panicky when we walked into the fort!

We walked around the same area we did yesterday, to find that all the shops except for a few eateries were closed. Ok, so they close on weekends. That’s very odd. Even the bakeries! We had lunch at this Bakso Lapangan Tembak Senayan place. I recognize the outlet from my days in Jakarta. It was good and oh, the Jus Pokat was superbly rich and thick and had chocolate sauce! Yummo. We wanted to look for this night market which was recommended on the Net. Let me tell you that no one in Palembang knows about this very mysterious night market on Jl Sayangan. How odd. One hotel guy said he didn’t know there was one. Our hotel driver said it opens at 9am. We took a beca to Jl Sayangan and there were no markets to be had. The beca guy was stumped and he was feeling so bad that he couldn’t help us. He told us to go to the Tour Info Office to get help! We decided to just give up on that damn night market.

After lunch, we called the hotel to pick us up and waited for the pick up at the jetty. The telephone call was quite a pain. They didn’t understand much English, and they couldn’t decipher my broken Bahasa Indonesia either. But the guy came after 45 minutes, but as soon as we arrived at the hotel, 3 hotel staff came up to us to apologize! Again – this is service our Malaysian hotel needs to learn. And they are only 4 Star, mind you!

That night, we walked to PS Mall again….. and decided to find something to eat there. Our first stop was an Indonesian fast food joint. Had their Indonesian style fast-food of Mie Ayam Pangsit and Teh Botol. Then we walked into Carefourre and I was enraged to find that they produced Tim Tams and Gatorade in Indonesia so the products were significantly cheaper to get in Indonesia. We bought some junk food and just laughed at the thought that we were on a holiday and grocery-shopping at Carefourre! The queue was endless – again, confirmed the fact that there is a huge number of middle-class residents in Palembang. After groceries, we went to eat again at this place called Topaz, another middle-class joint where we had Mie Goreng Kangkung Belacan and my Jus Pokat again! Oh their Es Jeruk is great too! Then, we walked back to the hotel.

There was a wedding at the hotel and we went to have a peep. It was so typically Chinese-style, that wedding. With the corny display of pre-wedding photos at the reception desk. However, it was very cute to see these flower wreaths to congratulate the couple lined up along the outside of the hotel, leading up to the hotel’s entrance. Of course, I supposed, the more you want to apple polish, the bigger your wreath!

Next morning at breakfast, we saw the wedding group. And guess what? Some of them were conversing in Hokkien! My other half, being Hokkien perked up. I told him, it was his chance to speak to them in Hokkien and find out where that stupid night market was!

It was just a little odd for me, to hear a Chinese speaking Bahasa to another Chinese. The only time we do this back in Malaysia is when we want to speak secrets (because when you are overseas, it is almost guaranteed that people don’t understand BM) or if we’re just having fun or saying a few phrases here and there. Not a full-blown conversation with another Chinese in BM. But here, they do. Of course, it is after all their national language. They were so well assimilated. Only the older generation speaks the mother tongue now. Not so much the younger generation, I guess.

After breakfast, I went to get a cake. It was after all the reason why we were in Palembang – to celebrate my other half’s birthday (again, don’t ask me why Palembang. I don’t know. I didn't make the booking! Cheap flight?). I bought a Black Forest slice and asked if they could get me one candle. The hotel staff asked me for the age and I said, it’s ok, just give me one candle. She then said all their candles are in numbers. I had to laugh. Now, the whole hotel will know his age. So, I said 32. The hotel asked me if it was a kejutan and I said yes. So they then offered to take it to the room for me. They got it delivered within 5 minutes. Again – Malaysia is an embarrassment in terms of hospitality service. And I’m talking about hotel staff who can’t even speak to me properly in English yet delivering excellent service!

We lazed around by the pool and then we took a long walk to another mall. This one was called the Ramayana Mall – which had nothing but some stalls selling songket. Across that is Palembang’s latest mall – which shops include J Co Donuts, Breadtalk, Adidas, Sports Station, etc….. so, yes…. Welcome to Palembang’s high-class mall a-la One Utama. We bought 2 donuts from J Co (yes, never ate one in KL, have one all the way in Palembang) and walked around for a bit, looking for lunch. Nothing much inside the mall as we didn’t particularly want to grab anything we can get from Malaysia. In the end, we ventured out, found some shops and we had that Bakso Lapangang Tembak Senayan again. So they had another outlet at the Palembang Trade Centre. We had different items on the menu. One thing I noticed though – the chicken in Palembang is really, really small. I wonder why. Even at the fast food outlet, when you order fried chicken, it looks like they had given you a quail’s drumstick instead! Odd.

After that, we walked back to the hotel… yes, we were getting quite familiar with the roads within a 3km radius from the hotel already by this point. It was threatening to rain again. Weather in Palembang was pretty cooling, although they had hot hours where the sun was out with a vengeance! But it generally was always mendung.

That night, we decided to have one more go at authentic Palembang dishes. We got another recommendation off the Net – Rumah Makan Mahkota Permai at Jl Mesjid Lama. This was a Lonely Planet website. Can’t go wrong! We took the hotel shuttle again and our favourite driver drove us. Guess what? He managed to get us to Jl Mesjid Lama, but there was no Rumah Makan Mahkota Permai! He asked a beca guy and was told that it has shifted and is now known as Mahkota Indah. Whatever it was, the kind man took the trouble to ask how to get us there and get us there he did – to Rumah Makan Mahkota Indah! It was just really great of him! The food here – was much nicer and cheaper than at the RMSM. Although, both were nice. The owner was a really old bapak, around 80 plus, I guess. Who spoke to us. He said he heard us speaking Malay and knew we were not Indonesians. Asked if we were from Malaysia (yes) and he just came back from Malaysia after an eye operation in Singapore and he went up that “bangunan yang tinggi tu” and we told him that must be the Petronas Twin Tower in which I think he nodded his head. He told his staff to bring as many dishes as possible in which I politely told them to take back as we can’t possibly finish everything! But that’s how you eat Palembang dishes – semuanya siap disaji! What you don’t eat, you don’t pay, that’s all. But I love the food. The rosip tumis was the best of all. Of course, it was spicy. I love it! The sambal tempoyak was good too, although I thought in particular, the sambal tempoyak at RMSM was much better.

After dinner, the hotel shuttle took us back to the hotel. It was a different driver this time, how disappointing. But just as friendly this guy.

We got ready for our spa appointment! We had both reserved the K-I-S-S treatment – the “Keep It Simple & Sensual” treatment. Hahaha. How corny is that! It was a relaxation massage, followed by a body scrub and ending with a milk bath. The massage – wasn’t relaxing at all. It was quite painful, but she was just doing a good job. They were so shy, these girls. Well, the two girls assigned to us. The chocolate body scrub – I knew my skin was going to be brand new after the scrub cos she literally scrubbed me raw! Including my nipples!!! The milk bath was simply rich and that was relaxing for me. For sure. After that, I slept like a baby right through the night. And my skin - still smooth and silky soft till today!

Next day, I savoured the last of my super-yummy breakfast at the hotel before we had to check out and call it the end of our holiday. The hotel staff must be like “thank God these 2 idiots are leaving! It was the hardest 5 days of our lives!!” hahahahhaa…..

Will I return to Palembang? No, not on my own and not unless there was something important for me to get to there. It was disappointing in a way because I had expected some majestic culture and heritage form to snap photos. But still, in a way, it was a great trip. I can now say I’ve been to Palembang and traveled the road less traveled. I just didn’t know it was untraveled!

Midnight Marathon

It was my first full marathon. Coinciding also with the first ever night marathon held in Singapore, in this region.
So, after one week of carbo-loading, gulping down isotonic and staying off junk food, fried food and sugar-coated food, it is D-Day.

As usual, doing such a physically demanding sport really does test one's mental endurance. With each race that I take, I believe more and more - the mind makes you or breaks you.

"Let's start here, at the <4:30 point. Haha. Why not be a little more 'kiasu' and start at the <3:30 point?"
"Oh, the emcee is counting down!"

Bang! Race starts...

"Oh man... this sucks! The path is too narrow for so many people!"
"Ok, we gotta aim to do 1:07 for each 10k."
"That way, we would complete 42k in let's see, 1 x 4 = 4 hours."
"7 x 4 = 28 minutes."
"That's 4 hours 28 minutes. Plus another 10 minutes for the 2km"
"That would bring us to 4:38."
"That's ok, no?"
"A little too ambitious for first marathon, no?"
"Uncle Tai said to take it easy. I better listen less I regret it."
"So, slow pace. Yes, slow pace. Take it easy."
"I'm glad he's here next to me."
"I hope he can last the 42k by my side."
"It's a good thing it stopped pouring."
"Nice breeze."
"Oh! Water station already! Let's drink!"
"Some bloody a**hole spilt water on my shoes! Aaargh!"
"Now my shoe is wet even before we're at 10k!"
"I feel like kicking that idiot's balls."
"Ok, it wasn't his fault. It was an accident."
"It's actually pretty cold out here, the breeze."
"Haha! That guy has "Touch My Body" on his iPod."
"Stop making me laugh!" (verbally telling my other half who is doing an imitation of Mariah Carey)
"I'm just glad my stupid iPod wannabe is working."
"I wonder how far before it dies out."
"Considering the battery no longer charges."
"Water station again! No, don't need water this time."
"Ouch.... fuck, fuck.... fuck."
"Why am I having stitches on my sides?"
"Dammit!"
"Ok, breathe. Slow down."
"It's not even 10k!"
"Just slow down. Take it easy, remember?"
"Heart rate is ok."
"Everything is ok. Why am i having the cramps?"
"Very irritating."
"Oh, it is 10k!! Shit! very slow time. 1:10."
"Let's do a faster pace."
"Oww.. no... can't. Shit Shit Shit."
"Breathe."
"I'm very pleased with my boots purchased today!"
"it's a steal, at $20!"
"Can't wait to do more shopping."
"It's the GSS. Can't miss out."
"I have 30 more minutes to go before I spot Ruben."
"I wonder if he would have a banner."
"I wonder if his wife is tagging along."
"I hope she is so he won't be bored."
"It's so nice of him to come."
"He's crazy."
"Tomorrow, I am going to eat that Peanut Pancake i saw."
"Mmm..Yummy."
"Ok, i'm gonna eat my first PowerGel."
"Don't like this flavour. Banana and strawberry? Ewe."
"I'm saving my chocolate flavours for later."
"Did they say they would have a PowerGel station for us?"
"Oh man... just only 16k...!"
"I can smell the sea."
"I don't know what those idiots were writing about when they reviewed the race route."
"Nice scenery it seems. You can't see shit in the dark!"
"Yes, you seriously can't see shit in the dark. Can't see the water, can't see the beautiful greens or whatever they said was visible."
"What morons."
"We're almost reaching.. "
"Ruben said he'll be at the isotonic station."
"Are we there yet?"
"It's 18k only!"
"Shit! No more music!"
"Stupid iPod wannabe!!!"
"How am i supposed to last the next 36k without music??"
"Just keep running. Steady pace."
"Ruben! Ruben! There is Ruben!"
(waving madly, forgetting to preserve energy.)
"Pose for photograph."
"I can't believe he really came!"
"Oh, oh... people are already U-turning!"
"I will not be deceived this time. The U-turn must be very far away cos I'm very far behind!"
"Why are there always U-turns at races??"
"Oh, my damn stitches aren't going away and my legs are starting to cramp!"
"How am I supposed to last 42k?"
"Why is he going so fast??"
"Keep up, Eileen. Keep up."
"Oh man..... "
"He won't be able to last if he does this pace."
"Slow down. Your cramps are getting worse."
"24km."
"Where's Ruben?"
"Oh there he is!"
"He's helping out the water station people!"
"That's so cool of him!"
"Yes, these kids need some organizing!"
"I have to say, this isn't as well-organized as the Singapore marathon."
"Why are we running through people's back lanes?"
"I don't like this route. It is not on the roads. It is on some pavement."
"It is narrow."
"It is just irritating."
"He's not keeping up with me."
"He just blew me kisses for me to go forth."
"He's so sweet."
"I'll see him at the finish line."
"My legs are in so much pain right now."
"Let's hurry the pace. I don't want to prolong the pain."
"Overtaking! Overtaking!" (verbally shouting)
"I don't get these Singaporeans. They want to walk, and they walk on the right side."
"Morons."
"Don't they know not to hog the road?"
"Aargh! My legs are killing me!"
"PowerGel. Chocolate. This works. This works."
"It's great to be able to litter in Singapore right now."
"Just throw your empty PowerGel pack wherever."
"I should've gotten the jelly beans from Hivelocity the other day."
"I can't wait to shop at Vivo. I hope I get some pretty good deals on Mizuno shorts."
"We have 4 hours to shop before the bus."
"That should be more than enough time."
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me. The overhead pedestrian bridge?!!"
"I can't believe i have to climb stairs??!"
"My legs! Move!!"
"2 steps at a time... arrgh.. can't."
"Ok. Ok. 1 step at a time."
"C'mon legs. Keep going."
"I really hate this route."
"I don't understand. I just don't understand."
"My heart rate is so fine, I know I can push further."
"But my legs hurt like hell."
"What could be the damn problem??"
"Not enough strength training?"
"Damn, damn, damn."
"What happened to the damn distant markers?? Did i miss them?"
"Excuse me, do you know how far we've done?" (verbally asking someone)
"30 clicks."
"Fuck. Only 30 clicks??!" (verbally responding)
"Keep going, Eileen."
"Knees. Lift the knees."
"Remember? Use core muscles."
"Let the abs share some burden."
"I never knew that such a part can hurt so much."
"My hips are hurting!"
"Why?"
"I'm going crazy with this pain."
"32k."
"I have another 10ks to go."
"I have 1 hour to do this."
"I don't think I can do it in 1 hour."
"This is so much pain."
"I'm NOT going to walk. I promise."
"Only at the drink stations, we'll walk while drinking."
"Ok, we'll do this one water station at a time."
"Why is everyone walking??"
"Should I walk?"
"NO! No walking!"
"Keep going!"
"It is true when they say the mind is willing but the body is not."
"My heart rate is so absolutely fine, I know I am not pushing it."
"My legs are like dying out on me."
"There is so much pain."
"And the blisters are annoyingly painful too!"
"My legs feels like they want to disconnect from my entire body!"
"I want him with me."
"I shouldn't have left him behind!"
"If I am in so much pain, it must be worse for him."
"I hope he's ok."
"Please let him be ok."
"Dammit. I shouldn't have left him behind."
"Oh, I miss him."
"Fuck, this pain is fucking painful."
"You gotta keep going."
"Don't stop."
"Just focus, Eileen. Stay focused."
"Breathe, and keep eyes on the road."
"I don't want to do the fucking hill they reviewed."
"I dread that hill. I don't think my legs can make it."
"That is supposed to be the dreaded hill."
"Fuck, Eileen. I can't."
"I just wish my legs would just be numb."
"Like he said - the body should just take note of the pain and forget about it."
"Be numb."
"Am I going delirious?"
"I feel like crying."
"The pain is overwhelming."
"How do they fucking do 84ks?"
"Is that madness?"
"How am I supposed to do the Ironman?"
"I don't think I'll ever do the Ironman."
"OH MY FUCKING GOD. IT is only 38k."
"I won't make sub 5."
"I just need to finish."
"I cannot stop. I must finish."
"I cannot walk. C'mon legs."
"Keep going, Eileen."
"Only 4 more klicks."
"I feel like I've ran 2 fucking clicks and still I don't see the distant marker!"
"I don't see how we would be shopping for 4 hours after this."
"Not to mention lugging the baggage around."
"Gotta figure that one out."
"I can't think of that right now."
"This fucking pain is the only thing on my mind."
"Dammit."
"Ya right. I don't see YOU running." (mentally telling off one of those roadies that cheer you on)
"I'm in such a foul mood now."
"Do everyone in pain have a foul mood?"
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."
"Last 2ks. Let's sprint."
"I think the hill is at the last 2ks then. Didn't go through it before."
"C'mon legs! The slower you are, the longer you will prolong the pain!!"
"Fuck, sprint, c'mon!"
"Run. Just run."
"Don't give up."
"It's the fucking last 400m."
"Please keep going."
"Keep running."
"I hate this route! It is so annoying!"
"God damn this pain!"
"Fuck. Oh my God."
"There we go! Finish line!"
"Thank God! Thank FUCKING God!"
"Aaaahhhhhh.................."
"Oh Fuck."
"I finished."

5:19. And there was no hills.