Cool Blue Running

After a delightful experience in Bali, we flew to Sorong regional airport and meetup with other six divers.  From the airport, a relation guest from Sorido Bay Diving Resort sorted our luggages into a taxi that took us to a dock where we boarded an eight passenger boat for about an hour ride to Kri Island. What followed were seven days of world class scuba diving, two in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Logistics From Bali it is not possible to get to Sorong in one day on Sunday, an overnight stay on Saturday in Makassar is required. There are two flights from Denpasar to Makassar Saturday, Denpasar to Ujung Pandang (Makassar), Lion Air, ETD 18.50pm: ETA 20.05pm @ € 75.00 p/p Saturday, Denpasar to Ujung Pandang (Makassar), Garuda Air, ETD 08.55am: ETA 10.10am @ € 85.00 p/p There are three flights from Makasar to Sorong Sunday, Ujung Pandang to Sorong, Batavia Air Air, ETD 04.00am: ETA 07.00am @ € 125.00 p/p Sunday, Ujung Pandang to Sor...

This was the first year which I got to spend Christmas away from my big family.  After  a long flight from San Francisco(via Taipei), flight EVA Air landed in Bali International Airport. Upon clearing immigration, Michelle and I boarded a taxi airport to Novotel Hotel in Benoa, a place known for its long strip of sandy beach, affordable fresh seafood and water activities for all ages and comfort levels including parasailing and scuba diving. At the hotel, staff hurriedly came to our aid, helping us with our luggage and scuba gears and greeting us with fresh tropical drinks and fruits- quenching our thirst from the rising barometer as we checked in to our humble abode for the next four days. Later that day, after getting some needed rest and with our internal clock out of sync, we took a stroll around the neighboring streets and alleys where we found lines of endless food vendors perfuming the air with the delicious aroma of tantalizing delicacies, snack carts and fruit ...

Schedule Day 1, Sat Nov 18 Join Pattaya Tour Day 2, Sun Nov 19 Join Pattaya Tour Day 3, Mon Nov 20 Join Bangkok Tour Day 5, Tue Nov 21 Join Bangkok Tour Day 6, Wed Nov 22   Stay in Chiang Mai Amora Tapae, through resorthotel.net for   $45 (1700 Baht) Day 7, Thu Nov 23 Stay in Chiang Mai Day 8, Fri Nov 24 Stay in Chiang Mai Day 9, Sat Nov 25 Bangkok Avana Hotel, through resorthotel.net $30 ( 1090 Baht) Day 10, Sun Nov 26 Railay Sand and Sea, through asiarooms.com for  $49  a night Day 11, Mon Nov 27 Railay Sand and Sea   Day 12, Tue Nov 28 Railay Sand and Sea Day 13, Wed Nov 29 Railay Sand and Sea Day 14, Thu Nov 30 Railay Sand and Sea Day 15, Fri Dec 01 Bangkok Ambasador through resorthotel.net for $41 Day 16, Sat Dec 02 Bangkok Ambasador through resorthotel.net for $41 Flights 11/22/2006 10:00 a.m. Bangkok (BKK) to Chiang Mai,  through...

Beside the night market, cooking class, street food, and Thai massage, trekking in the deep jungle of Chiang Mai is by far my most memorable experience. Right after we checked-in to our hotel for the next 5 days stay in Chiang Mai, we wandered in the city center looking for things to do, right there we found a two nights and three days trekking activity, that involved hiking in the deep jungle and through villages, staying overnight with local host family and rafting. The following day, we joined nine other people who were visiting from other parts of the world, a group from England and a couple from Canada and a local guide at the back of a 4x4 pick up truck, holding tightly on the hand rail as we traverse the rugged dirt road on the way to the trail head where we started a long descending hike.

Some came to compete and some came to leave their mark, the others came to honor and remember the survivors of Bataan Death March where thousands of Filipinos and Americans soldiers were forced to march many miles by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. I came to run. The runners were off at 6:30 AM, the earliest start time for marathon I had ran. I started slow to warm up, letting others passed by thus creating more space around me.  After a mile, I picked up the pace, passing other runners along the way then at around eight miles marker as I was about to switch into cruising mode, I faced a high mountain terrain, every step was a constant battle until I hit the 24 mile marker where at that point I heard a faint cheers from the crowd, getting louder and louder as I dashed to the finish line. It was a grueling course- rugged terrain, high elevation, a mile of sand pit, constant twist and turns and sudden outburst of winds from every direction. It was test ...

This was my first trip in China where I got to visit interesting places such as Guangzhou, Guilin, Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna, and Sanya. Here is a quick  recap of our trip to Southern China. Yangshuo, Beautiful scenery Kunming, Stone Forest Lijiang, Bai woman returning from picking herb from the mountain Dali, Kids playing Xishuangbanna, Dai temple Schedule 11/02/2002 Arrive in Guangzhuo, Stay at White Swan Hotel. 11/03/2002 Guangzhuo. 11/04/2002 Take ferry to Wuzhou for a day trip. Catch the 6 PM, 7:35 PM or 8 PM  overnite bus ride to Yangshuo. 11/05/2002 Arrive in Yangshuo, Stay at Zhuyang Hotel or Sehai Hotel 11/06/2002 Yangshuo 11/07/2002 Guilin