Bismillah…

So I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Hong Kong, really looking forward to it. It marks a big point in my life too. I have been moving on with my life many times. “Move on” seems overly used nowadays.

Departure is also about life. Its also about living life. And about loving your life.

Liking a person is not enough for a marriage. A relationship where a person simply likes one another will one day run into many problems. Its like an equation with many variable. “Like” or “Attraction” is just 1 variable. Other kind of variables include “Sharing common interest” or “Sharing common lifestyle”, is just as important or even more then being attracted to the other person. “Financial Stability” is also one of them. “Emotional Stability” is also one of them. One can’t move on to another relationship if he or she is still scarred by the previous one. Or have unfinished business in the previous one. Or else that person may carry emotional baggage on to the next relationship.

Departure is to accept a person for who he or she is.

Sometimes a person is that way, because it is better for him or her. And only Allah know what is best. Not us. It is kind of sad when some people are so critical about others and they have no clue.

Alhamdulillah.. thank Allah for my family.. They accept me for who I am.

So I bought my first sleeping bag after months and months of researching.

And I end up getting the Mountain Hardwear Lamina – 30F/-34C Synthetic sleeping bag for US$235 from REI.com

So when getting a sleeping bag you need to know what is your priority. The priorities can be broken into the following:

- Frequency of use
- Temperature Rating
- Weight
- Price

After knowing your priority, you need to know the kind of sleeping bags out there. There are basically 2 type of sleeping bag characterised by their insulation type. There’s the Goose Down insulation and the Synthetic insulation.

Goose Down
In layman’s terms, these are basically consisting of goose feathers. And are hands down the best insulation there is in the market. It give the most insulation per weight, meaning the sleeping bag is lighter overall as compared with Synthetic sleeping bags. But its also very expensive and will take a long time to dry when wet. And when a down sleeping bag is wet, it’s insulation will be greatly effected as well. Goose down are also highly compressible and can last very long. Goose down sleeping usually cost between S$600 – S$1200.

The rating are usually: 650 power fill to 850 power fill. These basically mean the quality and how efficient it is at trapping heat.

Synthetic
Synthetic, as the name suggest tries to mimic down insulation by putting strands of crimped polyester fiber together. Unlike down, these polyester fiber are hydrophobic and do not absorb moisture and wont get wet. It is also cheaper then down insulation. But it doesn’t perform as well as down insulation. Therefore some manufacturers tries to remedy this by increasing the fill weight, meaning they stuff alot more of those stuff into the sleeping bag. Resulting in a sleeping bag that is heavier then a down sleeping bag. And this also result in a bag that is bigger and less compressible. And the price range from S$300 – S$500

So how to choose?

Temperature Rating
The easiest would be… if temperature rating is your priority, then Goose down is the obvious choice.

Price
But if you need something that is more economically friendly then a Synthetic sleeping will be the choice.

Frequency of Use
If you are using the sleeping bag alot and will one something that will last for many many years, then a goose down will be a good investment.

Weight
If you don’t mind the weight, a synthetic will be just fine. But if you are particular about the weight and want to travel light, then goose will be the choice.

I feel glad to be born in the 80s, where there wasn’t Facebook and there wasn’t internet. But yet we kept in close contact with our friends.

Nowadays we have all of this online social media, but we are still so distant apart.

Its really sad when people take online interaction to be an extension of their real social interaction. And takes it really seriously. The number of likes on your status, the number of comments, the number of shares, the number of visits to a website. Its really sad that we have devalued ourselves to simple bytes and a line of code and an act of clicking a button to make the number of likes higher… to make ourselves feel good… That the number of likes is valued more then how people really thinks of or value you in “real life”. Its really really sad…

We actually forgot how its really liked to be liked…

Get off that chair… Get off facebook… Get off twitter… Go outside…
And get liked, for real.

That was the date that me and her decided last year for our solemnisation (nikah).
Strange how things have turned out. And time have really passed by very fast.

If there is one thing that I learnt from all this is to never think that something (or someone) is confirmed. Nothing is confirmed. Unless if it had happened.

And to remain firm with my decision and remain grounded with what matters most. Some people may accuse you of having a wrong Islamic principle. Some may say that what you are doing is not in line with Islam. Some may accuse you of doing a sin. But the accuser is a hypocrite. And by Allah… justice lies in His hands… and by Allah… only He knows the truth… If I am wrongly accused, may Allah protect me from such fitnahs, and keep me firm and grounded and unshaken from this matter. And keep my steadfast in my path. InshaAllah.. Amin…

Ive been using this pack from Vaude coming to 3yrs now. Got it from Novena the outdoorshop on the 2nd floor. Really awesome pack. 24 litres expandable to 28 litres.

Vaude Wizard Air 24+4

The thing that I love about it is just the amount of brutality this pack can take! Ive brought it marathon running, trail running, hiking around bukit timah, short back packing trips up KL, taking school kids out camping, i go to work with it, i go everywhere with it… ive even brought this pack adventure racing in Sabah Adventure Race 2010!

This pack can really take a lot of punch! Its really a simple pack. But can do nearly everything. The material is a 420 denier small Diamond Ripstop Polyamid PU coated, 600 denier Polyester PU coated

My only complain about it is that the back frame which consist of Vaude’s own Aeroflex suspension will be the first to give way. As its not really built to carry heavy weight. So mine broke quite a while back but it still holds strong and still comfortable to carry.

Ive used it with the Raidlight bottle holder when I run my adventure races and my long distance runs, and its completely compatible.

Might just wait for my Wizard Air to break before getting REI’s Pinnacle 35 as a replacement. But I foresee that my Wizard Air can last for maybe another year or two.

Saw this pack on REI… i think its really super cool and feature packed!

http://www.rei.com/product/816105/rei-pinnacle-35-pack

Interesting roll top closure..
Gear loops..
Big stash pockets..
Side zip access..

Really really nice features

But I already have my REI Mars 80lt, Vaude 40lt and Vaude 24lt bags.

Will be bringing just the 80lt and the 40lt for the Nepal expedition.
120lt of mountaineering gears + abit of clothes.. should be enough lar for a month expedition..

Just bring 4 pairs of clothes…

Bismillah..

It’s the month of March.. How many months have it passed?.. I’m not sure.. Cant quite remember.. I remember when we set the date 18 of March to get married.. lol.. so funny how things have turned out.. Hope where ever you are, you are happy with your choice..

7 more weeks to Nepal, 4 more weeks to Hong Kong.. MasyaAllah.. I am loving it!.. Alhamdulillah.. Only if I have someone special to share this adventure with..

Once more into the fray..
Into the last good fight I’ll ever know..
Live and die on this day..
Live and die on this day..

I heard the above poem from the movie The Grey.. A poetic (although quite vulgar) movie.. Makes me think about life and death.. And the line that I thread is very thin.. Dancing with death, they say..

*shrugs*

Only Allah knows best…

Because in the end.. we are all dead man.. God is great and we can choose how we want to meet that end..

Live your life well, you only have one life.. Start living it and see the world beyond the four walls you are introduced to.. And don’t settle. Stay foolish. Stay hungry. As quoted from Steve Jobs. Humble yourself because no matter how highly educated you are, there is still the sky, high above you. Be kind to your parents.. “In the good pleasure of your parents lies the good pleasure of the Creator and in their displeasure, lies the displeasure of the Creator”.. Imam al-Bukhari from another narration from Abdullah ibn ‘Umar who heard the prophet Muhammad (please and blessings be upon him).. Do not pass judgement onto others as true judgement only lies with God, and fate have a funny way of turning around onto you.. What you do onto others in the past may end up happening onto you.. Work hard and don’t be lazy as time and tide wait for no man.. And Allah will not change the fate of man unless he makes effort to change his own fate..

Live and die on this day…
Live and die on this day…

And so the website was launched with much blood, sweat and tears (sleep and weekends) sacrificed. It was really a very tough website to build. Given the complexity of the website, the ability to slide many layers and DIVs around, alot of movements involved and which result in alot of Maths calculation.

I’ve never ever blogged about my professional work on my personal blog, mainly because I want to keep my personal life and professional life separated from one another. But this time… Its really different. This is a website that I will be very proud of putting in my portfolio for many years to come.

Built entirely off simple html, basic javascript and jquery, coded in a OOP (Obj Oriented Prog) in mind, kinda like Flash AS3 style programming using custom reusable classes (.js files). Keeping in mind it should work in any screen size (ofcourse there are exception for small screens and iPhone screens). And need to make it scale as beautiful as I can between screensize without much recoding. The result is a website that have alot of Math calculation. The idea is to have reusable grid templates, a total of 6 grids which the designers can use to fill it up with content. Each grid have unique behaviors. All the grids are contained inside a DIV and animation / event / trigger controlled by a main grid.js file. So that there isn’t any conflict in instruction.

SO yeap! That’s all!

So now im rest at home… catching up on sleep. Before the fun begins again.

www.siajourneys.com

We can never be sure of anything…

That is true… only Allah knows what is best… but that is NOT a reason for you to not be able to make a decision… or make a decision and then decide to make a u-turn and back out in the last minute…

Let me repeat that again. THAT IS NOT A REASON FOR YOU TO NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE A DECISION!

If you want something work towards it… make doa… solat… and then leave the rest to Him…

If you are afraid of making any decision then you’ll live your entire life afraid all the time… you’ll find every good person and find every wrong in him/her… no one is perfect… not even you.

Not have faith in what is fated or always afraid of making the next move in life is as good as being a hypocrite. On one hand “Have faith in Allah” on the other hand “I can never be sure, so I am afraid of deciding”. It is not you who decide. It is HIM. You never decide. You plan. HE decide.

This post is for everyone… and firstly, it is for me… to remind myself… just incase if I forget.. To have faith in HIM. And HIM alone….

So the journey ends, with the ending of 2011.

And a new journey begins, with the beginning of 2012.

The purpose of this past few post was to share with you the experience and learning points that I come across throughout my 9 days when I was in Taiwan for my Trad Climbing Course. I really do hope that it did manage to serve that very purpose. If you realised, I rarely shared anything about the actual course itself. Not because its unimportant, but I believe that I am doing this “rockclimbing-adventure-traveling” stuff to achieve a greater purpose.

“For the fun of it” could be just the first step to understanding that greater purpose.

There were many people, fellow strangers, lone traveler, budding climbers, new found friends that I met along the way. And meeting and having a short chat with these people….. is like opening a treasure trove of different experiences.

I met a Taiwanese by the name Frank at Taoyuan International Airport over a bowl of instant noodles, and he said he envied Singaporeans ever since he was young because we received English education at a young age.

I met a Muslim Taiwanese from Burma name Yaakob Mah at Kunming Islamic Restaurant when I had dinner at his place on my last day, and it reminded me that I should be grateful to be living in Singapore where there is alot of Muslims and finding food is easier then in Taiwan.

I met a wise Chinese man, who I didn’t get his name, at LCCT KL airport whose words rang through my ear: “Keep on doing what you love to do. When you do what you love, eventually love will find its way to you”

The other purpose of this past few post was also to figure out “why I do what I do”. To be really really honest…. Even now, I don’t have a reason for it. And I come to realised that, I don’t have a reason for it at all. And may never ever will. Other then the fact that I love doing it. I love heights as much as I am afraid of it. I love the places that it had brought me to. I love the views that I get to see and it helped to put into perspective this crazy world we all live in. It simplifies life. It elevates life. It excites life. It cures boredom. It removes monotony. It humbles me… That much, I definitely know.

[glatitude-map width="480" height="360"/]

As I sit in the bus on the way to Keelung, I stared out of the window looking at the scene infront of me.

The amazing beautiful scene of the huge waves crashing into the rocks and boulders. Anglers precariously standing on the edge of those very rocks, balancing and casting out their line, very much aware of the waves crashing around them. The little houses in the distant on the side of the mountain cliff of a near vertical face. An amazing scene. No amount of words or pictures can describe… Glory be to Him. The creator of All things. SubhanaAllah…

For the past 8 days that I have been in Taiwan, I have tried as much as I can to post videos and photos of my experience. With just my iPhone, I shoot vids and snap photos. Write my blog post and share my location with Google map. All of this, in hope that I get to share my experience, as it happens.

Battered by rain and cold wind of the Taiwan winter weather, me and 4 other brave souls went on a Trad Climbing Course conducted by Qx. And in the midst of climbing, anchoring, rain and wind… I’ll quickly take out my iPhone to shoot a short clip or snap a quick photo.

It have been a good experience for me. A memorable one. And also it have been a good year definitely. A year to remember. As we walk the ramaining few hours of this year, I recap on all the things that have taken place… There are just too much to list actually. But il just state afew notable ones.

Mount Kinabalu – March
Sabah Adventure Race – April
Adidas Sundown Marathon – May
Techinal Mt Course – June
Adidas Sundown Ultra – June
She came – July
She left – Oct
Went sea kayaking on my birthday with mum – Nov
Trad climbing course – Dec

Phew… Alot of things have happened most definitely. But most importantly, the one thing that I can learn from all of this is to be true to myself and pursue what I believe in and not be influenced by others.

Do not let others influence or change you. Only you know yourself who you are. Dont allow what others say about you to influence your life. Live life as yourself. Allah created you to BE you. He created you to be uniquely you. To be yourself. Yes He created you with flaws. That is because everyone have flaws! The only one who doesnt have flows is Him.

[glatitude-map width="480" height="360"/]

Explore, dream, discover, be humble.

There are afew things Iv learned from travelling. One of it is to be humble. And I am still struggling and trying to always be humble. And one of the ways that I find humbling, is to push oneself of the edge to pursue something totally out of your comfort level.

And to seek knowledge not for the purpose of showing off to others. Or to tell others that you are right and others are wrong. Or to tell others that they are following the wrong path while your principal is the correct one. The purpose of knowledge is to open up ur horizon and broaden ur perspective of this crazy world we live in. And not to generalise and ostracise others and cut urself from the world.

Islam is inclucive and not exclusive. Travel and you will see all kinds of Muslims all around the world, living their life in all kind of societies in all corners of the globe. From the indonesian maids in Taiwan, to the yak herders in northern India.

Knowledge is inclusive and not exclusive. Travel and you will see all kinds of people. We are just sooooo small. Soooo freaking small. So be humble.

[glatitude-map width="480" height="360"/]

There is something very inspiring about the place here.

The home stay we are in is owned by an old lady who we basically call “Amma”. She lives with her aging husband in this 3 storey house. Along with her indonesian maid, she maintains this house and accepts guest from anywhere and charge a very reasonable rate for a basic room with toilet. According to Qx, he says, Amma needs company, which I have to agree…

And along with our party of 6 climbers, there were 2 other parties who stays in the house. And they were no stranger in the climbing scene.

Dr Siang and wife, who is well known in the Singapore trad climbing community as the oldest trad climber at 65 years old. He left this morning to tour the other parts of Taiwan.

Adrian, Gean, and Uncle He were here since a week ago. They have been trad climbing here and braving the cold front trying to send some routes. All 3 are no stranger in the sport climbing scene, even training and conducting Sports Climbing lvl 1 and lvl 2 courses. And they are also avid trad climbers in Long Dong and Takun. They will continue to stay on till the end of the year and fly back to SG on the 2nd Jan.

And our party consist of Qx who is the instructor, Andy who runs Onsight climbing gym, Vincent from SG, Tita from Msia, Joal from Portugal and myself.

All of us pretty much, for a lack of better words, relak jack to the max! Lol..

Its very inspiring because you see all of this people so relax, so “normal” when they are at home. Watching tv, talk crap, eat instant noodles, wear normal clothes. But, when they are at the cracks, placing pieces, making each moves seems so weightless. They suddenly turn into superhuman spiderman, ultraman or whatever you wanna call them. And yet here they are just laughing and joking talking crap and eating instant noodle like every other normal people. Like you and me. The only thing that makes them different is the amount of passion and drive they have for climbing, doesnt matter sports climb, or rock climb, or trad climb. As long as its about climbing a rock face, its their cup of tea.

And that is 1 of the many things i like about climbing. Many may say that rockclimbing is an ego sports. Yes at first that is how it is. People racing to be the first to climb a route, or people challenging trying to climb the next toughest route, or climb the fastest. But these people… they have gone past that… They don’t look at such things to keep them going… They don’t do such things for bragging rights… They dont learn a new skill to tell others that you are wrong they are right… They don’t climb here at Long Dong so that a crowd of audience will clap and applaud them… They climb, because they just love to climb. To them, that is what being alive is about.

And it is the same for me. The love for adventure is… Just for the love for adventure. To humble myself. I am just an ordinary person

I starred for awhile at this blank screen before deciding what to type. It’s not really about not knowing what to say. But it’s about deciding thr correct words to describe this exact moment in time. Here i am sitting among other travellers in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. There are some family travellers, and 2-3 lone travellers.

There’s something about being a lone traveller that appeals to me. The sudden heightened sense of awareness as consciously you realised that you can only rely on yourself and God. Just you and Him.

[glatitude-map width="480" height="360"]

Well, originally i did planned to upload videos, but WordPress iPhone app was a fail -_- so i seem to only be able to upload to my fb account. Well… All is not lost!

Looking forward to tomorrow! Will look for Taiwan Grand Mosque!

Anyway…. This is the backpacker’s 5 star accomodation for the night lol

*This post and the next following post from the 24 Dec – 1 Jan will be made entirely from the iPhone. All vids, photos are shot and editted and uploaded from the iPhone4

Bismillah.. As it begins Doing this adventure to trad climb in Taiwan, I decided to bring you along on my journey.

The past few days I did my own soul searching on what I want to set out doing from now on. Ever since my fiancee left me all of a sudden, I did a double take on what I should do, and what I should not.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that I choose to live my life seeking adventures. As how I am. As how I love being. To discover and explore places and countries and set eye on the beautiful marvels of God’s creation. And help in my own deeper spiritual meaning in life. I admit, I am at one of the many crossroads in life. In one hand I do wish for a companion to share a part of me with. But not many actually call mountaineering romantic.

On a different note, I have been receiving afew questions on why I do what I do? Climbing mountains and facing sub zero temperature and willingly paying thousands just to experience it. To be honest I dont know why… Lol… Maybe you can help me figure it out.

That is where the idea of bringing you along for my adventure came from

So now, equipted with Singtel Bridge DataRoam which allows me unlimited mobile internet access in Taiwan, I will want to “hopefully” bring you along on this short 9 days trip by posting daily videos of that days.

Thats where the title “As it happens” come from

Just fyi, the actual climb will only be 4 days. 26th – 29th Dec if there’s chance, I might climb 1 more day on the 30th Dec. But…. That shall depend on the time so 25th will be RnR at Taipei, where I hope to visit Taipei’s Grand Mosque.

With that.. pack your bags, and lets go! Taiwan! Here we come! ^_^

Bismillah…

Life is complicated because we are complicating it…
I don’t want to sound all “Guru” like as if I have all the answers. But life is complicated that is a fact. But life began itself as something simple and pure, but we human’s complicate things. Because we humans who are the bunch of complicated and complex beings.

I realised that I have not wrote down anything about my trips thus far. Not one good write-up about my experience and to share stories about the places that I have been too. What does this got to do with simplifying a complicated life? Everything.

Here I want to share with you somethings that I realised after coming back from my few travels.

The world is bigger then your problems, so grow up.
When you travel you will see that the world is so much bigger then you thought it is, you will come to realise that the problems and issues you faced are next to nothing. And if you die, less then 0.00000005% of the world will notice. Oich… Sad truth but that is the truth. Face it… Everyone in this world have problems. But will the world stop spinning and wait for you? No it won’t. And that is a fact.

And plus, there will be so many more people in the world who are far less fortunate then you are. The fact that you can read this means you have a computer. Not only that…. But a computer with internet access. Not only that… it means you can read and had a good education. Not only that… It means your parents sent you to schools. And not only that… It means you can see and have good eyesights… And the list goes on.

“And He gave you of all that you asked for, and if you count the blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them…” Al Quran [14 :34] – Surah Ibrahim

Life and Death…
Not to sound morbid, but when life is just a choice between life and death. Life becomes simple.

You don’t have to think about what other people think, or what other people are doing. Just choose between life and death. The choice is obvious. It is simple.

It’s one of the reason why I like to put myself in an environment where temperatures are below freezing and it’s so cold that my glove froze, or its so high that if I fall its instant death. Because at that very moment in time, this complicated life we created for ourselves became simple. And the choice is very obvious.

Nothing else matters at that single moment. Only the choice of Life or Death. Never thinking about work or money or stupid clients. Never thinking about what other’s would think or what how many people is going to like this. You already know what the correct choice was, but because there were so many distractions and noise in this world, that your own voice gets drowned and replaced by other people’s voice. So remember to make the choice between Life and Death.

Like what Steve Job’s said, “Death is likely the single best invention of Life”.

With that I would end today’s entry…

I shot this photo when I was in Delhi. I think they are having more fun then I had when playing Bejeweled

The Goal
To climb Mount Everest as part of the Team Singapura Everest 2015 in celebration of Singapore’s 50th independence. This journey will take us up alot more other peaks of technical terrain in preparation for the “Big One”.

Along the way I hope to document this journey and share through the team’s website via photos that will portray the experiences of the team during their climb.

Here also I will showcase some of the best photos I took during each climb and are available for print. Proceed will help to lift the heavy financial burden of this project and keep me climbing and getting the gears required for future climbs.

To begin purchase, please click on a particular print you are interested in and choose the available sizes and pricing.

NOTE: All prints comes with delivery and are not framed.

Team Singapura Everest 2015, first maiden mountain expedition began in early 2011.
The view at the top of Mt Kinabalu, Malaysia. 4095m
21st March 2011 6.27am
Also available with no copy.

Hanuman Tibba juts out in the horizon as the sun begins to creep up behind the Himalayan Mountain Range.
View from the top of Mount Shiti Dhar, India, Himachal Pradesh. 5251m
17th June 2011 7.55am
Also available with no copy.

Hanuman Tibba’s cliff face looks very intimidating when viewed from the base. Its mysterious peak hidden in the clouds
6th June 2011 3.13pm
Also available with no copy.

I started climbing when I was in Secondary 3 in Riverside Secondary School. How I began was a case of pure mischief.

It was during the recess break, and I ventured to the rockwall, it was just a flat wall with added holds from the 1st floor to the 4th. And there is a clear sign stated there that reads, “No students are allow to climb without supervision”. But maybe it was not clear enough for me… And I approached the wall and climbed.

I climbed without rope all the way till the 2nd floor and then I heard a loud voice, “Oi!!!!” And I let go and I fell 2 floors down. And landed safely on my feet and I looked up and saw the discipline master glaring at me, and I smiled back at him. I was scolded definitely, but that didn’t matter to me. What mattered was, that experience… was awesome. And I want to experience it again! Which I did (illegally again and legally later in Sec 4).

In Sec 3 there was also a trip to OBS (Outward Bound Singapore) where there was a HUGE wall with incline, and climbing it was so awesome! And in Sec 4, a teacher realised my keenness in rockclimbing decided to allow me to help him conduct a rockclimbing introduction for the Sec 1 and Sec 2 students.

In poly I totally stopped. Because I was totally engrossed with studies. But I never forgot the love for climbing and still continue climbing once in a while. And soon after completing my National Service in 2008, I began climbing more often.

And it was only back in April 2010 I took my sports climbing level 1 cert and July 2010 my sports climbing level 2 and June 2011 my Technical Mountaineering Course in India, Mount Shiti Dhar. And InshaAllah in Dec 2011 I will proceed on to my Trad Climbing Course in Taiwan, Long Dong.

I don’t think I can ever stop climbing. Even after I get married with kids, I don’t think I can stop. It is just too much fun. You see things in different perspective when you are stuck against a wall held by only the strength of your fingers. There is a sort of intensity and also calmness at the same time.

Well hopefully I’ll be able to catch some awesome photos and post it here and my facebook Stay tuned.. Meanwhile, got to train for it! So gona hit the rock gyms more often

I am disappointed… yet again… I dont know if I can feel anymore… Disappointment…
O Allah, please calm my heart, or what’s left of it…

… Have happened in my life lately, that I feel so obliged to pen (or rather type) it down.

MasyaAllah… I don’t really know where to start. There have just been too many things going on that I can hardly keep up.

I dont intend to pen everything down, because it will take more then just a single post.
To sum it all up, I feel contented with my life.

That basically sums it all up. There is nothing more that I can ask for masyaAllah…

I came to this realization as soon as I came back from my 25 days in India. The experience there was just too overwhelming and life changing that I viewed life and the idea of being contented with life, in a whole new different angle. I dont really know how to explain. But to try to illustrate my point in a simple way, I just don’t feel like spending money. I am just contented with what I have and what I have experienced within that 25 days that nothing else could be better then that. That is including the urge to run marathon or adventure races. I just dont feel like it.

I was on the way home yesterday and had broken my fast at Masjid Al-Abrar. And I told myself that I had worked hard and I deserve some good ice cream. But when I went to look for ice cream….. I didn’t feel like eating ice cream. I just looked at it. Looked at the price. Pick it up. Put it down…. n left…

Its like… my nafs feels like buying a new shirt… but it is not strong enough to make me spend the money to buy it…

I tried it again when I went to look for the Apple Mac Book Pro, and felt like buying one since I have saved enough and I feel the need of a laptop to replace my aging desktop. But….. the feeling of spending…. was not present….

This coupled with some major changes in my life….. I felt… complete. MasyaAllah… Alhamdulillah

Yes… complete. That is the word.

I dont feel the need to spend on good food, simple food is perfectly fine with me.
I dont feel the need to spend on new clothes, since I have all the clothes I need despite the fact that the last time i shop for clothes was back in october (10 mths back).
I dont feel the need to spend on gadgets, although i feel like buying an iPad or Mac Book Pro or Air to replace my desktop, but I just dont feel like it.
I dont feel the need to travel on short trips to malaysia, kl or sabah, because the experience in India was just too ________ (cant find the word), that I cant find anything to surpass that.
I dont feel like running marathons or ultra marathons or adventure races, because again… the experience will not be able to surpass the experience in India.

So yeap I am staying put in SG. And prepare for next year’s adventure….. going Nepal…. and getting married inshaAllah

on a side note:
To all my muslim brothers n sisters n family members (not sure if they are reading this, but what the heck), selamat menyambut bulan ramadhan

Alittle tazkirah…
Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Lima perkara yang menghapuskan pahala puasa, iaitu; dusta, mengumpat, mengadu domba, sumpah palsu dan melihat dengan nafsu syahwat.” – Riwayat Anas

Bismillah…

As part of the Team Singapura Everest, we are required to undergo our 22-25 days Technical Mountaineering Course (TMC) in the Indian Himalaya and it cost roughly $2,870 inclusive of flights and transports. The dates are 5 May – 29 May.

Unfortunately I was unable to raise that amount of money on time and therefore missed the course dates. But alhamdulillah, manage to gather the amount required and was able to lock down a date for the next course date: 1 June – 22 June.

A total of 10 left for the 1st TMC. 4 including myself decide to go for the June date. However, one by one they had to withdraw due to finance or work commitment and now its only left me. But I have to push on. This is what I want.

On the 5th May, nearly all came down to send off the 1st batch at Changi Airport Teminal 3. As the 10 went through the departure gate waving goodbye, I felt a heavy lump in my chest. The feeling of being left behind. “I had to go”, I told myself. Even if it means going alone.

The next few days I spent most of the time reading and searching for information online. Went to borrow some books from the library and poured through all the maps and information that I can find. Where is New Delhi? Where is the nearest bus terminal? How do I get there? How much the Delhi porter cost? Any dangers of cheats or robbery? Where to buy the indian sim card? How much does it cost? What is the exchange rate? Where is the money changer in Delhi and Menali? Where is the Singapore’s embassy? What is the number to the embassy? Read over and over again… Love being detailed…. Those who worked with me before, knows this particular side of me

To go for an expedition, 75% is planning and preparation. While 25% is physical preparation.

As I was packing I was trying to imagine how it would be like there. Just me alone with a single guide on an alpine mountain in a snow storm in sub zero temperatures. The thought is daunting. Its not like another expedition, this is different. I can only depend on the guide. If I had gone with the team, I would have my teammates for support. The dangers are real. The possibility of injuries, or worst, is higher this time.

I guess its this “fear” that is making me more alert and aware of the details. Which explains why Ive kept on packing and repacking and checking my logistics and gears again and again.

Pushing all this thoughts aside, I just would like to shout out to all those who have been really supportive of me. Especially my parents, mak and ayah. My teammates from the everest team, friends from muslim youth and colleagues from TBWA\ and also my boss for being really supportive of me pursuing my dream.

Some people ask, “are you not afraid?”

Ofcourse I am. Even if someone I am 99.9% confident, I willl still have 0.1% fear in me. That fear will keep me from walking too close to the edge of the cliff.
What separates the the brave from the fearful? It is the will to try.
What separates the fool from the brave? It is the missing 0.1% of fear.

Then again, you can’t be too cautious. You will end up not living life.

The brave may not live forever. But the cautious do not live at all.

Bismillah…

You know how you wish you could just go and chase your dreams? But you can’t because of all the other responsibilities that you have and obstacles that crops up once in a while.

Recently back in Jan, I had the intention to settle down with a good friend of many years who have shared some “ups” and many “down” together. And at the same time, I was still pursuing my dreams of summiting Everest. I decided that I cant have both and decided to sacrifice one of them… Everest.

Between climbing a small hill with her and…. climbing Everest without her…. the choice is obvious I told her.

However things didnt work out as I thought it would. And I went down hill for awhile… And tried as hard as I could to pick myself back up and continue what I left… pursuing Everest…

Financially, i will try to scrap as much as i can and just keep on going one step at a time. The commitment to climb Everest will definitely put a huge strain on my finance. InshaAllah I will work as hard as I can to overcome this financial obstacle. First expedition was to Mount Kinabalu back in March. That costed around $1000 to cover for the trip and my expenses. Next would be the Technical Mountaineering Course in India, Menali between June 1 – June 22. That would cost around $3000. And I am trying my best to raise that amount.

Working fulltime + parttime freelancing building website + managing websites + selling photos + selling cheesecakes + teaching Web Design + anything else that I can do… To raise as much as I can for this coming trip to India and also future trips next year…

If you have any idea in what so ever ways that I can do to gather funds, do drop me a message via email or leave a comment below inshaAllah ill be keen to listen.

Bismillah…

I can’t figure out a better way to begin this post other then saying…

the Sabah Adventure Challange Ultra Trail 60KM have so far been one of the toughest foot race I have ever taken part in.

And there are many reason why

Reason 1: Distance

Obviously the distance of 60KM was tough enough. Its not really 60KM. It was more. At the end of the race, the race director announced that the total distance was in fact, 71.3KM. And wait…. Its over a course of 2 days. The first day was around 37+KM and the second day was around 34+KM. And if you got urself lost, it would mean running more (lost? in a foot race? Ok i will get back to that soon)

Reason 2: Location

Being a Singaporean, I am not exposed to high altitude where the highest natural land mass here in sunny sg is only 164 meters above sea level. But in Sabah the venue was the Crocker Mountain Range where the town itself was up 500+ meters above sea level. And the highest peak we have to run up was 1100+ meters above sea level (thats about the same height as Gunung Ledang). And the average height we were at was 700-800 meters above sea level. So you end up running up up up.. and down down down… and up up.. and down down… and up up up up up up up and down… and up up up some more… and down down down down… I have to admit its not good for the knees.
And it is wet and very muddy in some sections… And bashing through thick forest in other section… mud sliding down hill in another section… and clawing up a mud hill (affectionately known as Hamburger Hill). This is not a race for the faint hearted.

Reason 3: Accommodations
This is superbly unique to SAC. Im not too sure if other adventure races does the same but in SAC, they will house you in various accommodations. Its random and there are afew options.
Homestay
This is interesting. You get to stay in a house of a local Tambunan villager in their Dusun style kampong. And experience living the simple life
TVRC Chalet
Backpacker style housing/dormitories.
TVRC kampong
This is the one that I got. Its superbly basic kampong style house. Basic beds. Basic kitchen. Basic toilets. And its awesome I love kampong life.



Again.. not for the faint hearted and those who are used to air-con and king coil mattresses.

Reason 4: Weather

On the first day it was it was sunny and hot in the morning and early afternoon. Then it was raining in the late afternoon. And this causes a few problems. The trails became so muddy that climbing up the slopes was next to impossible. But we still had to climb it…. Its the route… There is no other route up… And also it was raining heavily the past few days before the race began. So the trails were really very muddy by the time we got started. And when it was hot, it was seriously very very hot. One of the race participant got heat exhaustion on the second day when she crossed the finish line and collapsed. And the race doctors quickly tended to her. But she is ok. She is just exhausted.

Reason 5: Map Reading

This is unlike any other foot race where the route is clearly marked out for you to follow from A-Z. In SAC UT they will give u a map and a set of checkpoints to follow. Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 4 in order. And it is up to you to find your way with the map to the next checkpoint. You can use any trail that is on the map. So the distance covered depends on the decision you make on the trail, either if you used the shorter trail… or the longer trail… or if you get lost. Getting lost means huge amount of time (and energy) running trying to find the correct route.. or just trying to find where you are on the map.

A shorter trail doesn’t necessarily mean a better trail. It could be a short but huge hill climb. A longer trail doesn’t necessarily mean a bad trail. It could be a flat road. So participants are expected to be able to read their maps and compass and remember the race course notes. And participants are expected to be always on their toes and refer to their map always. Unlike a typical marathon, you can switch on auto pilot and basically go into “zen” mode and basically run without thinking of anything at all. But in SAC UT, you have be on alert all the time and always be on the lookout for the next landmark on the map.

This could be the biggest huddle for most who are new to adventure racing. Alhamdulillah.. I manage to navigate my way without getting lost.

Overall: An awesome race! 6 out of 5 stars

And definitely I will try to come again next year!

This place is getting very rusty… I have got to jot down my thoughts before they start to fade with time… I am getting old.. that is a fact. 25 years old, is still considered young in today’s age. But I can feel that my body is slowly starting to slow down.

Many things have happened since the last time I’ve updated. The most biggest in scale of physical measurement… is ofcourse the journey up Mount Kinabalu of Malaysia Sabah.

I wrote in the team’s journal…

Each time I manage to summit a mountain, I will claim each summit as memorable. Indeed each summit is memorable. There was never a summit that was like the previous. Climbing Mount Kinabalu was no different. At 4095.2m it is the highest mountain that I have summited.

Reminiscing the expedition up Kinabalu, I could only ponder, “Did I really do all that?”. Looking at the above picture, the answer is already obvious, though to some it seemed like we were in a dream. Pondering about the expedition, the venue did made it memorable. But above all it is the people that made it possible.

Shariff the SG Blade Runner, Sufian the Team Captain, Smail with his hot chocolate mug, Paul the Umbrella Man, Zul the Expedition IC, Sam the Sleeping Beauty, Yus the orange hyper bunny, Shi Ming the singing tuition teacher, Kuna the Soulkeeper, Zaki the front man, Jon my room mate buddy, Suemus the Coke FTW dude, Krabby who have a taste for Sabah tea with half cup full of sugar and myself the photographer with AMS lol…

A company of 14 strangers who in the words of Henry Ford:
“Coming together is the beginning… Keeping together is progress… Working together is success…”

Something else happened recently… something equally as big, if not bigger then the climb up Mount Kinabalu. I had a very long chat with my parents with regards to marriage.

To be honest at this moment, I am taking a laid back approach to it. I have faith that one day it will happen. But I do not know when. I used to be proactive and being the one to actually keep a look out for someone who I may be interested in and make effort to take the first step. But of late… I’ve decided to put this matter in His hands. Let Him decide. InshaAllah I will usaha and make effort. But no… no more beating around the bush.

In short:

“If you are interested come and tell me. Im not good at guessing hints. If Im interested in you I will come forth and tell you. I gave up sending hints. If you are not here for the long run, don’t waste your time. Period”

Till then… Ill travel… and there is a reason why I travel and sort of “drown” myself in marathon, rockclimbings, trips, etc… Is because I don’t want to think of the above matter too much. Its a headache.

Soooooooooo… where too next?

InshaAllah will be headed off to Sabah this Thursday for the Sabah Adventure Challange 60K ultra trail run

Hope the weather will be kind to us. Heard the weather reports in Sabah as heavy rain with thunder nearly whole day. Hmm.. if the rain keeps up like that, Ill think twice before bring my camera into the race. Might just carry my iPhone to take some shots.

Anyway I heard that some competitors comprises of husband and wife team duo ^_^ so cool right! I think the most extreme couple that I have heard was a husband and wife team duo who took part in the 250KM 7 days Sahara Race ultra marathon…. as part of their honeymoon!!!! MasyaAllah! Imagine running through the dessert? For 7 hot grueling days! As a honeymoon??? LOL! Awesome!

Well… InshaAllah… one day… Ill compete in the Sahara Race

just joking abt the End of story part.

Bismillah…

Back in 5 December 2010… I had, by a weird coincidence happen to meet a runner who had successfully completed his 42KM Standard Chartered which took place that same morning. We happen to eat on the same table at Zam Zam restaurant and upon seeing him wearing the 42K Finisher tee, I decided to strike a conversation with him. We started talking about running and instantly we clicked! His name was simply “Zaky” and he gave me his blog address. He is much older then I am, a married man with kids. A Malaysian. Most importantly despite being a career & family man, he was a runner. And deep down inside I told myself, “wow… I want to be like him.”

And just recently, I read from his blog that he will be quitting racing due to personal reason… but will still keep on running. His most recent entry touched me the most.

And his thought about running / racing pretty much echoed within myself. He mentioned 2 main points. Love & believe.

What would make a person run 55km from 730pm to the next morning with a loaded pack? Trudging through a deserted East Coast Park alone at 2am in the morning, when on other nights you would surely be sound asleep in your warm comfortable bed. I do not know what is wrong with me, but I just love it. Other then being crazy, what other things could it be other then just for the love (or fun) of it.

Love… I don’t know why I love it? But I just do! I don’t need a reason to love. And I believe that is what love really really is. If “running” was a girl, I’ll marry her with no question asked, even though she gave me cramps, knee pains and muscle aches. LOL.. And the best part is.. she only need 1 pair of shoe. ROFL… lame… -__-

The other thing he talked about was Believe. To believe that you can do it. That you have the will and the capacity to complete it. To put more trust in your very own capabilities. This is something that is lacking in not only myself, but many other people who I have met.

We put so little effort in believing in ourselves mainly because of the environment that we grew up in. The typical Asian family upbringing is usually filled with words like “you are stupid”, “you cant do it”, “good for nothing”, “you are just worthless”, “you are hopeless”, “blur like sotong”, “nyonya”, “mak nenek”, “you are so goondu”. And this have been programmed very early into the child so much so that the child grew up believing in it. Even if the family upbringing is correct, proper and sheltered from such words, the child still goes to school with teachers who say these very same words. The product: A child who is pessimist and afraid and have so little believe in himself.

Rewind a year ago, I would never have thought that I would run from Woodlands to Tampines twice a month. People believe that it is impossible. I nearly did. Bbut I believe I should try.

Nowadays when I ran accompanied by other runners, after completing the run, I will usually ask him this question, “will you in your wildest dream ever thought it is possible to run from ____ to ____?” And the usual reply will be head shaking followed by gasping to catch his breath.

And running have taught me a great deal about it. The sense of accomplishment of breaking your own boundaries and setting new ones.. the feeling of being humbled and small in this vast world.. And also the feeling of being empowered, to reach places with only the strength of your legs and the power of your lungs.. Ofcourse you can take a car and it will take you 15 mins to reach the same distance, but then the sense of satisfaction is near non existent.

Believe you can. And you will.
Believe you can’t. And you wont.

Bismilliah…

So many projects going on, I can hardly keep up. But it is good to keep myself busy. I don’t like to keep my mind idle. As the saying goes, an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. The other reason why I don’t like my mind to be idle is because my mind will tend to wonder and think about things that I wish I had let go off.

Back to the topic… my on-going projects. It is intense! Which is a good thing alhamdulillah. Keep myself occupied.

Raising Fund
This is my own self initiative InshaAllah.. when I run il try to create awareness of the cause im supporting and raise fund for it.
It may succeed. It may flop. But il give it a shot nonetheless.
Since running will only benefit the runners most of the time, so Il try to see how I can run and help others too.

Preparing for Gunung Kinabalu expedtion
InshaAllah will be going this coming 19 March – 22 March. I have yet to pack all my stuff. Hais.. Need to find 1 weekend to sit down and pack my bag

Preparing for Sabah Adventure Race
Alhamdulillah I got sponsorship for 2/3 of the registration fee and other fees. So I didnt have to fork out alot. The sponsorship came mostly from the organiser at Sabah.
I will be taking part in the 60KM ultra trail category and it will be a 2 days race. So each day I will cover an average of 25km-30km

Helped out at This-Ability Sports Carnival
This is really awesome! The kids are so cute especially Marcus! ^_^ Lol.. Went there with Shariff, Mussadiq, Farhan and my TBWA colleague Camille expecting there to be 18+ students! But in the end there was only about 10 students lol.. But it is ok. We all had fun in the end.

Helping to organise Level 1 Sports Climbing Certification at Climbers Lab
At the moment helping the everest team settle some admin matter bouncing to and fro between CL and the everest team trying to lock down the dates and the confirm participants details. This will be on the 2 April inshaAllah.

Training with the Everest Team
Still going strong alhamdulillah! I do try to make up for those training sessions I’ve missed but seriously getting tougher because off all the clash with alot of other things. Now we are at 10KG 3 reps 30 storey. Fuh.. InshaAllah..

Marathon training
Also still going strong alhamdulillah. But at the moment I have to slow down as this coming weekends I’ll be heading to Alor Gajah for my aunt’s (who is about my age) wedding. And next weekends I’ll be heading to Kinabalu. And next next weekends, I have the Sabah Adventure Challenge orientation and briefing on the Saturday 26 April and then Sunday there will be another round of mosque chasing.

Mosque chasing with Hannah, Haswani and Nadiah
At the moment we have covered about 13 mosques (+/-). Its a good steady pace given the fact that all of us have day jobs and other projects happening. And the whole gang is just awesome, fun and talented bunch of people alhamdulillah!

New website with Adilah, Andik Irwan and some other dudes
Content team churning out contents pretty well alhamdulillah. I think we can target a earlier launch date (originally targetted June). But then again I am being rather optimistic. InshaAllah will be coming for their meeting this Wed after work.

Tafsir class at Azizah Chisty
Alhamdulillah loving this class.. I need more classes.. So inshaAllah will slow down my running days and active days in year 2012 and concentrate more on going for classes.

Alhamdulillah.. But I feel sad at times.. Only at times… And sometime I wish I am Malaysian…

that things doesn’t have to be this way…
but inshaAllah…
there’s wisdom behind this… (:
and for that I am happy…

Bismillah..

I am known among the circle of friends as the guy who love adventure, travelling, running and rockclimbing. And once in a while when we meet, they will ask….

“so what is your next adventure?”

I have a few small ones coming soon inshaAllah, if Allah permits…
19-22 March I’ll be going to climb Mount Kinabalu with the SG Everest Team.
21-24 April I’ll be taking part in Sabah Adventure Challange 60K ultra trail run with the 1 legged SG Blade Runner
28 May will be running the Adidas Sundown 42K
25 June will be running the Adidas Sundown 100K
2-9 October Sahara Race 250K also with SG Blade Runner (To Be Confirmed)

At the moment these are the few small ones.. But the next BIG adventure.. inshaAllah.. coming soon..

On a different note…

for the past few months I had the privileged of knowing a good friend of mine at a whole different level. Although we have known each other for afew years, this time it was different. We had a common goal in mind. However, Allah had other plans for us, and things turn out unexpectedly. Although it had ended, alhamdulillah it ended beautifully.

Through the experience, it opened my eyes to certain things that I was unaware of. And for that I am grateful alhamdulillah..

Which brings me back to the main topic, my next big “adventure” in life.. inshaAllah… dun dun duuuunnn!

^_^

it will definitely take much more time planning then going to Swiss or climbing Gunung Ledang lol.. I place my faith in Him.. I shall not ponder or dwell much about it.

Que Sera Sera.. Whatever Will be.. Will be..

Other then running, there are many other things that I enjoy doing. One of it is photography.

Since last year October, I have always toyed with the idea of doing a little project of taking photos of all 68 Mosques in Singapore (excluding the one in Pulao Bukom). And finally alhamdulillah will be collaborating with afew of my old friends and some new ones: Hannah Hardy, Sarah Adam, Haswani, Salman Khair and Nadiah Mohamed Shah.

I’ve dropped Muis an email to ask them if they are keen of supporting or if there are any red tapes or guideline to follow because we are hoping to print this into a book. But unfortunately Muis only replied once and the response was not forth coming and since then, we have not heard anything from Muis.

And Me being Me. Il just say Go.

At the moment we have covered less then 10. But given the fact that most of us are working and have projects of our own, and we only got started beginning of this year, it is a good start for us alhamdulillah.

Visit the 68 Mosques project site to follow with our progress

In life, our desires will never be fulfilled.

When we have a job, we wish we have a better job. When we have a house, we wish we have a better house. When we are alone, we wish we are with someone. When we are with someone, we wish we are alone. When we have money we wish we have more. Astarghfirullah.. Ive been very ungrateful..

The more you chase the world, the furthur it seems to run away from you. But the more you move closer to God, the closer He moves towards you.

Takde rugi bagi orang yang mengejar dan belajar ilmu agama… Rugi nye kiter biler kiter tak mengejar dan belajar ilmu agama…

It means, there is no loss for those seeker of religious knowledge.. It is a loss for us who do not seek religious knowledge.. I remember a respected friend of mine told me this.. I suddenly feel so jahil reflecting upon his words..

I have to admit… this is one of those runs… that i had wished… i had not ran… 7AM – 4PM… 9hrs under the hot sun with a 5kg backpack for a total distance of 47.9KM… is seriously no joke… Many times I was contemplating of quitting. Many many many many times. I was thinking too myself, “this is just too much…”

By the time I reached City Hall, I was too tired to even take out my camera to take a photo. So you see my photo-log ended at City Hall

I ran alone for 9hrs. My iPod’s earphone is dead so I cant listen to any music to kill the boredom or numb the pain in my legs. So I ran mostly silent. The only sound that kept me company is the deafening clang of my spectacles with each step I took as it shook in its casing in my backpack. I cant be bothered to stop and arrange the things in my bag to prevent it from shaking and producing that irritating sound. It will shake no matter how I arrange it. At least it keeps me awake and not going into auto-pilot mode and fainting while running.

But strangely its the little things that kept me going. Like the thought of getting a cold shower at Tampines Sports Hall, that I was SOOOOOOOoooooooooooo looking forward to. The heat from the sun was unforgivable!

In long distance such as these, or extreme mental crunching activities…. there are no actors….. there are no fakes….. there are no posers. The elements around you… the very ground you step on… will tear you apart and reveal your true self.

Alhamdulillah there were “angels” along the way… Total strangers who cheered me on… 2 even ran along with me… One joined me somewhere along Kembangan and he asked me what am I training for and where am I headed to. When I told him I’m training for a 250KM run at the Sahara Desert, he told me to do the country proud. He stopped at the next traffic light and wished me all the best.. n punched my knuckles.

Another stranger joined me to run along Tampines… he told me he also love to run and would keep fit so that he will b able to take care of his father. We parted at the traffic light, he gave me a high five and shook both my hands and he continued running to the temple to pray for his mother who passed away.

There was a Bangladeshi worker who was watering the plants along roads at Tanah Merah. He gave me a good hose down because at that time it was already 3pm and the weather was so hot.

There was a lorry of Bangladeshi who cheered me on along Woodlands Road, as they drove past me… There was a cyclist who cheered me on along Kembangan when I was already on the floor… too tired to even stand…

Alhamdulillah now time to let my photos do the talking… I usually try to take a photo every 30mins or so…

inshaAllah i will try to run this again soon…

alhamdulillah… <3 my life
<3 my family and friends

lol.. isit just me or do i this feeling like im treating this space like a tweeter account

There are many reasons why I love to run.

Ofcourse I enjoy it mainly because of the experience of “traveling” on foot from 1 location to another.. Its slower

The other reason why I love running long distance is because of the similarities between that and life. Sounds rather deep philosophical mambo jumbo huh? LOL… But let me explain in a rather simple idea. Take for example my run from Marsling MRT to Tampines Sports Hall.

Marsling MRT is the starting point and the end point (the goal is to reach) Tampines Sports Hall 6 hrs later. Its is hard for me to start at Marsling MRT station at 7am in the morning and straight away tell myself, “Orite Wan, keep a lookout for Tampines Sport Hall, that is your end point.”

Dude… its 7am in the morning and Im on the northern tip of Singapore while Tampines is practically on the other side of the island. I can’t even see Woodlands MRT, what makes you think I keep a look out for Tampines Sport Hall?

So I’ve got to break down my long term goals to shorter and more manageable goals. During runs Ill always tell myself: Aim for the traffic lights. Aim for the bus stop. Aim for the MRT station. Aim for the next tree. Aim for the tree after that. Aim for McDonalds (but dont stop for a Happy Meal).

Eventually the end goal will get nearer and nearer. Eventually the stretch of road that seems so daunting and long… will get shorter…

Sometimes you’ve got to take a break and rest for a moment, but then soon you’ll have to continue down the road.

Sometimes you find something totally funny and it helps to kill the boredom and cheer everyone up.

Sometimes you get injured and its always awesome to have friends around to help you get back on your feet.

And that moment when you felt like giving up and then in the distance you caught sight of the end point. It is still far ahead, maybe around 400 meters ahead… but you can see it! You can SEE IT! And each step causes your knee to scream… Its the longest 400 meters of your life.

And eventually you cross it. And at this point… no more words can describe the feeling.

Life is like a marathon. Its not a sprint.

I remember when I was 18 in Poly year 2, I was very much short of money and went around Singapore tried to find work. I had needed the money to buy myself a laptop (an Apple iBook) and also some art equiptment and supplies for my diploma course.

I tried applying a job as a packer in a factory,  I didn’t get selected. I tried applying a job at another factory, I still didn’t get selected. I tried at afew other factories, as a casher in NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage, Burger King, MacDonald, Bookworm Club, Popular Bookstore. I didn’t get selected by any of them.

Then strangely, I got selected by a very strange job placement introduced to me by a friend. As a waiter at Raffles Convention hall. The offer was rather attractive. $6 per hour for weekdays, $12 per hour on Saturday or overtime and $15 per hour on public holidays. I jumped at the opportunity.

But then when I came to the training session, to my horror, I had to serve pork, wine and beer. And I do not have the option of serving halal tables. I was frustrated…. Frustrated that despite all my efforts of finding a job to support my education, I was denied of one. And the only job that I could find required me to serve pork, beer and wine. I was frustrated. I wanted to just take the job! Serve pork, beer and wine! And get it over and done with and get my money!

My parents then scolded me. My mum she reminded me that those who serve beer and wine will get the same punishment as those who consume them. My dad then told me, go and find another job within 1 week. If I fail to do so, go tabligh to KL for 10 days. ‘Tabligh’ is the work done by Muslims to call others to Allah.

I was floored. I was frustrated at what was fated for me. I was angry because despite all my efforts, I didn’t get what I had worked for. Then I made a choice,”bah! Whatever! Lets go KL with the tabligh!”

And to my surprise, during those 10 days as a tabligh at KL, I learned some of the most valuable lessons in life. Of being redha, accepting with an open heart with what have been given to me by Allah s.w.t. Of being humble and patience in face of challenges and advorsories from the community. Of being grateful and syukur to all the big and little things that we take for granted everyday. Of being in love with the verses of the Al-Quran and Hadith Nabi Muhammad (pbuh), reciting it in the morning after Subuh and after Zohor and after Ishak. Reciting it and constantly hearing it flow from the Sheiks beautiful beautiful voice to the point that you can actually taste the sweetness of it like honey and letting it be recited over and over and over again with so much love and piety and humbleness. MasyaAllah…

I have never felt so spiritually awaken in my entire life. I am glad I didn’t found a job. I am glad I made the right choice. I am glad I am poor. Astarghfirullah… Pardon me o Allah…. how can I be so blind? That I nearly chose to accept the job as a waiter serving beer and wine.

While I was there, I met some amazing people. Very old and frail man who have traveled to as far as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the fabled Silk Road, to travel with the Tabligh in search of knowledge right from some of the oldest Madrasahs in India.I met very young boys barely the age of 15 who have memorised the whole 114 Chapters of the Al-Quran by heart and who have memorised afew chapters of Riyadus Saliheen, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. They are poor in their wallets. But they are rich in their hearts. MasyaAllah…

When I returned on the 10th day, I changed. When I reflected about it, the choice was pretty simple. Haram is forbidden. Yet it was difficult to make because I was blinded by my own worldly desires to feed my own personal ambitions and needs. The choice was simple and basic. Yet difficult to make and I needed 10 days in KL with a group of Tabligh to figure out why. Its like an obvious test. A test of faith.

This year, I am 25. 7 years have passed since that day, and I find myself staring at a same situation.

In one hand… I have the oppurtunity of a lifetime

In another hand…. I have an oppurtunity of this lifetime and the next.

I want to start this New Year reflecting on what I want to achieve in the next 5 years to come.

To be honest, I am not a strong believer of New Year Resolutions. I believe that we humans are rather complex and very dynamic. And we should take life as it comes. Ofcourse we should have a goal but we shouldn’t only have goals at the start of a new year, although it is a good date to remind ourselves to check if we are on track working towards our goals.

For me, my goals were pretty straight forward since October last year. After coming back from Swiss, I was determined to travel more in the next few years. Then came the biggest break in my life: I met the Singapore Blade Runner while I was running at Penang for the Penang Bridge International Marathon.

He gave me 2 opportunities.
1. Join him in the run across the Sahara Desert in the Sahara Race 2011 October
2. Climb with him to the top of Mount Everest in 2015.
Me, being a single guy age 24, I took it up with little hesitation. That is my dream.

I wont let people tell me that it is impossible. Let me find out myself if it is impossible. And my advice to you reading this, is the same…

Don’t let other people tell you what is impossible. What is impossible for you is only defined by you.

I was told, and Ive read in some articles, that after running a marathon (42K), the runner would need 26 weeks of rest before he could attempt another marathon. Alhamdulillah… I did a marathon 42K from Woodlands to Tampines on the 19th Dec and 2 weeks later on the 1st Jan New Year I did the same distance. That is 2 marathons within 2 weeks.

A friend of mine named Muhaymin, a flat-footer, was told that flat-footers can’t run long distance. Alhamdulillah… he followed me to run from Woodlands to Kallang (close to 30K).

The Singapore Blade Runner, is an amputee… if he can complete an ultramarathon with 1 leg. I am sure any of you can run a 10K with 2 legs.

It is okay to believe, there is no can’t… won’t… or impossible… they remind us, its okay to believe… impossible is nothing

I have been eying some new gears from www.rei.com. And just nice, REI and Altrec is having their year end clearance sale up to 30%! And just nice also some of my freelance clients have paid up their invoices! Yay! Alhamdulillah!

I hurried to calculate my total income for the month and then started window shopping all over REI and Altrec to see whats on sale.

My eyes soon set upon this awesome MSR Hubba Hubba 2 person ultralight tent… drools… Original price of US$329 now down to US$229! A discount of US$100! WAAA! I GOT TO BUY IT! I then started dreaming of how useful its going to be for my expeditions in the coming years, how I can look forward to camping in India’s mountain ranges in this awesome tent… drooools…

I hurriedly called the expedition lead to tell ask him with regards to the coming expeditions, are we going to get our own tents? Because I am planning to buy my own.

Theeeen.. he said,”tents will be provided by the expedition organiser”

*POOF*

T_T

So I realised that I dont need a tent! But I am so tempted to get it!!! Its a discount of US$100!!!

Conscious saying to me: “Orite wan… breath… breath… what isit that you really want”
Me saying: “a MSR tent!”
Conscious: “but what isit that you really REALLY need?”
Me: “lunch? hais… okok i get your point… But its a US$100 discount!”
Conscious: T_T *smack forehead*

Orite so after calming myself, I decided not to buy the MSR tent. Since im not gona be using it at Mount Kinabalu, India or Mount Tahan… hais… So what I am going to buy? Well lets see what I already have…

Orite sooooooooooooooooooooooooo…. climbing gears, pretty complete… running gears, pretty complete… camping stuff… need a bigger pack, replacement stove and a multi-tool…

Hais… orite lar… I wont buy the tent… But it would be cool though to have an MSR tent! lol… okokokok.. im not gona buy the tent!

I went to the Woodlands Waterfront on Sunday with my parents. Its a new family oriented place located at Woodlands (duh) somewhere near Siling Secondary School. Its a very good place to take impromptu snapshots of families having fun. My parents, sister and brother have gone there a couple of times and I have yet to go and they kept on telling me how beautiful it is! And how there are many opportunity for photography! And how beautiful the sunset it! The sunset is superbly beautiful! MasyaAllah… Lol.. yeap they are right ofcourse.

But most of the time I was either tied down somewhere working on projects or tied down at home working on projects. So! FINALLY I get to go to the Woodlands Waterfront, although I had wanted to stay at home to finish updating my blog on the run to Tampines hehehe, but I decide to put that aside and take out my camera and tag along with my parents to Woodlands Waterfront.

I took quite alot of photos, but I was very selective. So from the 40+ photos within that 2 hrs we were there, I chose only 10.

Anyway, will be heading of to my kampong at Melaka Tangkak this coming weekend for ikan bakar bbq with my kampong family! Yay! Excited! Gona take lots of photos!

The whole distance was 42.2km.

The distance of a marathon.

Awesome ^_^

I knew it that it was possible! I knew it! Whahaha! A whole marathon with 6kg of load! I knew it was possible!

My Gear List

• Shoe: Adizero
• Compression Pant: 2XU compression pants
• Nikon D3000
• Bag: Vaude Wizard Air 24+4
• Non Waterproof Jacket: Columbia Titanium
• Waterproof Jacket: Solomon Climapro
• Waterbag: 2lt Nalgene
• Other hydration: 2 bottles of Sportade (from Marsling MRT). 2 bottle of 100 Plus (from Novena MRT)

Total weight of bag: Approximate 6kg

Orite time to let my photos do the talking. And I am so going to run this same route again!

And here is the route map

Alhamdulillah, got a phone call offering me a spot in Sabah Adventure Challenge 2011 on the 22nd – 24th April 2011 InshaAllah will be taking part in the 60KM ultra trail run along side with SG Blade Runner

Shukur Alhmadulillah…

Click here to visit the website: sabahadventurechallenge.com

On a different note, today I finished a 3hr 45min 30KM run from Marsling to Tanjong Pagar! Alhamdulillah! it was totally awesome! Today is the 3rd time I ran to work. If i wanna compare the timing with my last week attempt, today I ran 30mins faster!

I realised that this could be due to 2 reasons
1- I didn’t stop to take photos heheh
2- I wasnt carrying my heavy Vaude and 7kg load, But was just carrying my The North Face hydration bag. The model that I have is called Dog Fish. Weight around 2.5kg with 1.5 liter Nalgene water bladder and other gears inside.

Reason why I was not carrying my Vaude is that I realised the Vaude is not meant for running, and I might need to buy a higher capacity (30 ltr >) hydration bag and also because I am saving my energy for Saturday’s run with Muhaymin! Would be attempting to run to Tampines inshaAllah. Total distance 44KM.

♥ is a funny thing. The more you control, the more you lose control. I remember back during my primary and secondary school years when the mats and minahs and the bengs and lians would “state” each other.

One week it would be with this minah. And the next week it would be with that minah. One week it would be with this lian. And the next week it would be with that lian. They would change “state” like changing clothes. Which I find defeat the entire purpose of a relationship in the first place. And to me what was the purpose of a relationship? I guess at that point at the age of 14, I knew the answer but was rather puzzled if that was the correct answer. Some of my seniors asked me before, “why don’t I have a girl friend?” My usual answer would be, “for what? Waste of my time.”

I guess now with age and experience, I know and am confident to say what is the purpose of a relationship is. And it is to get married. (huh?)

Yes. It is to get married. Eventually. (but why wanna get married?)

Guys could never live alone. However they can be alone. But they cant l i v e alone their whole life. They need a life companion. Sooner or later, the guy would sit alone in his big lonely house and think, “wow……………. this is boring.”

And we guys have to do the chasing of the girls, which is sometimes a pain in the foot. And the feedback that I get from some guys is that some girls will politely decline saying that they can only offer their friendship. Orite that is fine. But then there are some girls who are just plain outright horrible, who will tear the guys up! Then I also get some feedback from girls saying that some guys just don’t get it. Even after declining them politely, the guy still continue to make advances. Orite so you’re determined. Orite I get it. Point taken. Move on brader.

And the current relationship general trend is that mostly man are going for the younger woman. And woman are going for older man. Ofcourse there is an increasing trend of man going for older woman. But the general trend still remain the dominant figures. So as I was thinking about this, I realised, hey… girls can’t just sit around waiting for the guys to approach us! Since they are getting older! They got to do some work too!

Lol… yeah… wishful thinking.

It seems as though I am rather “bo-chap” about this topic lol. Maybe because I had some pretty epic experiences in the past that brought me to where I am today. I remembered on my 2nd attempt, I was dumped only after 3 months. One day after I was dumped, I went to the Sirah class that I would usually go with “her”. And there “she” was! Already with someone new. She had already moved on to this ustaz, who is apparently a cousin of my friend.

Im replaced…That was fast…

As they walked home, she walking beside him, I quietly walked behind them. My heart sank deeper and deeper with each step as I watched on as she laughed and smiled at him. It felt as though I was looking at my reflection. I was there in his shoes just a week ago. And then I just broke down. And sat by the road and just stared blankly into space.

Astarghfirullah….. Tears started rolling down….. I wiped them away….. Took a deep breath….. And stood back up….

It took me 1 year and 6 months later to move on and close that chapter of my life. Baaah… moving on! I wont sit around and mop about the matters of the heart. Ive placed that matter in Allah’s hands. And I shall just continue to live my life! Que sera sera! Whatever will be will be…

So how is it like to run 30KM from the northern end of Singapore to the city southern end of Singapore?

Here is a first person view of running 30km from home to TBWA\.

My Gear List

• Shoe: Adizero
• Compression Pant: 2XU compression pants
• Nikon D3000
• Bag: Vaude Wizard Air 24+4
• Non Waterproof Jacket: Columbia Titanium
• Waterproof Jacket: Solomon Climapro
• Waterbag: 2lt Nalgene
• Other hydration: 2 bottles of Sportade (from Marsling MRT). 2 bottle of 100 Plus (from Novena MRT)
• Misc: 2 of my brother’s school textbooks

Total weight of bag: Approximate 7kg

Looking forward to next week! ^_^ *stomach grumbling* now im starving..

My passion for the outdoors and adventure runs deep. My core purpose is to inspire, educate others people for a lifetime of outdoor adventure. I have always wanted to continue to push my own physical boundaries. To test the limit of my physical strength.

And running fascinates me the most. Running a 1km or 100km consist of basically the same motion. There is no mystery. The only difference between running 100KM and running 1KM takes about 14 or 15 hours longer. But it really is the same motion. That is the tongue in cheek answer ^_^

The more inspectful and insightful answer that something that you can relate too, I mean you spend hundreds upon hundreds of hours training… you dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to your goal, you commit, you sacrifice and you come up short time and time again, but you never gave up. And the biggest different between those who succeed and those who don’t is not differences in talent, but is that those who succeed are unwilling to give up no matter how dire the situation appears.

Last year I ran my first marathon in May for the Adidas Sundown 2009. And recalling the race in 2009, at 37 or 38km the situation was dire. I was very close to giving up. Next year I will attempt my first ultra marathon. The Adidas Sundown 2011 Ultramarathon 100KM. The time limit given is 16 hours. You can’t fake your way through 100KM. I can’t even begin to imagine if I will be able to complete that distance within 16 hours. But I’ll do it anyway. Ive registered for it already.

Anyway, I’ve got all my gears ready for tomorrow and will be start of earlier this time. And will be carrying my camera throughout the run. Will post them up here tomorrow

But here I am preparing to run to work on Thursdays 5am in the morning. Woopie! This will be my 2nd time running to work and hope to clock a better timing. Last Thursday my timing was 4hr 30min I think? Didn’t really catch it. Well whatever it is, I am just happy that I made it.

Some people ask me,”why do you run so much?” “Are you crazy?” “Can’t you afford the MRT fare?”
Lol… I don’t know what is wrong with me but I love this shit.

The whole story began when I came back from climbing Mount Berlumut in Johor, back in 07 and I realised I love hiking. And I decided to continue hiking back home. And in Singapore the only place to hike is Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Back then I filled my hiking bag with books and hiked around Bukit Timah’s nature trails. After afew months of weekly hiking around Bukit Timah, I found out that I want to push it up 1 level.

So one day while sitting in the bus on the way to Bukit Timah, I saw the pavement that paved the sidewalk throughout the journey, and I began to wonder, “is it possible for me to walk from Bukit Timah back home?”. And so that day, I tried.

I walked home from Bukit Timah with my big bag of heavy books.

I left Bukit Timah at around 10am and by the time I reached home it was 2.30pm, the sun was up beating down on me and I was exhausted. But happy ^_^

So I began to do that often.

And then one fine day I wondered, “is it possible for me to run from home to Bukit Timah and back home?” And so that day, I tried.

My first attempt I was exhausted by the time I reached Bukit Timah and decided to go home by bus. My next few attempt got me closer to reaching home. And finally after the 3rd attempt, I manage to run the whole distance.

So that was basically how I started running.

It always started with a question, “is it possible for me to…” and the only way for me to find out if it is possible, is to try. And the only way for me to fail is if I did not try. Since then I never really stopped questioning the possibilities. Never stop exploring ^_^

Alhamdulillah,

My cousin, Suhailah got married to Ghani last weekend The first of my cousins to tie the knot! Wohoo! Shukur alhamdulillah!

On the side, jokingly her mother ask me my age. “24 years old this year alhamdulillah”, I answered. And she asked the bonus question, “so when is your turn?” I have to admit, I nearly choked on my food.

Lol. Well jokes aside, I have pondered that question for a very long time. When is my turn? I am sure many other guys are asking that same question too. Although at times I did stuff that thought right at the back on my head, in hope that I do not think of it and just forget about it all together. However it still does surface once in a while. Like an irritating reminder. But alas… I decide not to mop around about it and just continue living my life.

There were “misses” in my past. 3 in total to tell you the truth. And after each experiences I grew wiser and know what I want and hopefully I don’t screw up the next time. And hopefully the next time will be my last time inshaAllah. And now after all these years, I am tired of playing this game of Boyfriend / Girlfriend / Kawan Istemewa. Haven’t you gotten tired of it? I have.

Shukur alhamdulillah, my work is doing well. And have cut down on my spending alot. In hope that I can save up as much as possible. And I am sure my mum knows that sooner or later I will have “the chat” with her regarding me settling down.

My primary challange I foresee in the future, if I do decide to talk to my mum about settling down is that, I would need my other half to win my mum’s heart. And once my mum give her *thumbs up* and everything will be smooth sailing inshaAllah!

Who that person will be? Wallahualam… I’ve started to do my solat istikharah daily. I am not sure what to expect. But inshaAllah I have faith…

Let me introduce, from left:
- Banana; containing three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fibre, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Extremely high in potassium yet low in salt.
- Apple; like the saying goes, “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away”
- Sandwich; made up of 2 slices of whole meal bread, 1 fried egg, a slice of beef, lettuce, chopped tomatoes and a dose of mayo and some dash of salt and pepper
- 4 Japanese sweet potato; according to the USDA Agricultural Research Service Nutrient Data Lab, an average-sized Jap sweet potato – around five inches long and weighing 130g – contains about 113 calories. Good news is, none of these calories are provided by fat. Sweet potatoes contain ZERO fat, saturated fat nor cholesterol.
- And not to forget my cup of Milo!

Its a simple concept.

Your input must equal with your output and you will not gain weight.

If you input a lot but you do not output as equal (in other words you do not exercise) you WILL gain weight.

If your output is more then your input, you will lose weight.

It is as simple as that.

Like an if…else statement hehehe

In 2011 I would like to attempt to run the Adidas Sundown Marathon 42K and also the Ultramarathon 100K! Ive got to start training. And to train, Ive planned to run to my office this Wednesday. The total distance is 30KM. Wish me all the best!

And not to forget also the Sahara Race 2011!

One of the perks where your mum loves to bake cheesecake is that you get to eat cheesecake for breakfast a couple of time a week! lol… But lucky for me I eat alot and I run alot too. So I don’t get fat eating all these. Hehehe

Here she is making her Capucino Chocolate Cheesecake

For more of my mum’s cheesecakes do visit our cheesecake website at cheesecakes-of.mdhilwan.com

Ive not really had the time to blog so much about my trip to Swiss back in October. InshaAllah I’ll find the time to post up photos here and write about my journey.

Alhamdulillah, I am back from Penang on Sunday night running the Penang Bridge International Marathon! Alhamdulillah I’ve gained much needed extra motivation to go for my dreams and at present I have my goal set on the Adidas Sundown Ultramarathon 100km in June 2011 and the Sahara Race 250km in October 2011.

With regards to Penang Bridge International Marathon, it was my first oversea run and alhamdulillah it was an awesome experience! And inshaAllah it won’t be the last of my international runs. I am looking forward to more runs in the future.

And this is also the first run that I ran with my camera and alhamdulillah the photos captured were priceless.

Alhamdulillah!

All my bags are packed I’m ready to go. I am so excited! I have all my documents printed. My flight receipt printed. My Penang Bridge Marathon receipt printed. My hotel room checked. InshaAllah will be running on Sunday’s Penang Bridge Marathon for the Half – Marathon category with a total distance of 21KM. Will be running it with my camera and a 10-24mm wide angle lens! yay!

Will be taking my Air Asia flight from Senai Airport at JB tonight at 10pm and will be reaching Penang by 1120pm.

InshaAllah will be back by Sunday to post up the photos. Till then, do make doa for me and my safety. Take care you all!

I never really told anyone about what I do at work.

What does an Interactive Media Developer does at work?

Lol.. weeeell… in layman terms, I am a programmer. And the language that I use is call Actionscript. Its a programming language for the Adobe Flash program and we use it to create rich media contents, applications, websites, banners ads, campaigns, animation and all sorts of stuff.

And also a part of the job is to take part in what ever initiative that the company have. At the moment we are celebrating Mos Makes a Difference. Movember in short.

Movember is a month where men all over the world grow their moustaches in support of men’s health issues. We’re bringing our own version of this movement to Singapore, and growing our moustaches in support of prostate cancer research. Help our cause by donating, and spread the word by growing a moustache of your own.

Visit the website here: mosmakeadifference.com

This is the reason why u see me with a moustache ^_^

So yeap. That is mostly my job at TBWA\ TEQUILA\

Alhamdulillah… I was looking forwards to this year Eid just like how I look forward to every year’s Eid.  But unlike the previous years, this year I did not volunteer at any mosque. I was looking forward to ofcourse the prayer itself, the takbir in concregation and also the 1 day break.

I have been really tired the past days. Been working day and night. So today was a nice break. Even though I have to do some freelance later at night (some animation for HPB) but at least I slept alot the whole day.

And when my dad brought the meat, I helped my mum in the kitchen. I helped to cut up the meat and remove the fats. And now she is boiling the meat to make it soft for tomorrows dinner.

I remember as a a child, I have always looked forward to Eid. Either Eidul Fitri or Eidul Adha. When I was a child, I was innocent and I can’t tell the difference between the too. Both are equally special to me. Meeting friends and relatives, enjoying the good food, and just getting closer with the whole community.

As I grew older and grew more informed, that is when I soon learn the beautiful meanings of these much celebrated days.

To all my Muslim friends and relatives, eid mubarak may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon you and your family.

Assalamualaikum…

Alhamdulillah…

I have a been away from this page for a rather long while. And after celebrating my 24th birthday, I’ve decided to make a comeback. I’ve decided to change my website into a photography website… And at the same time a blog for me to express my thoughts… And also showcase some works and photography.

This photo here was shot during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan.