Running Slowly

This week I had the chance and pleasure to run more often than I've ever had over the past 9 months. The weather was very good in KL during the 3 days I ran at KLCC park.

Tuesday : 4 km at KLCC park. Ran 2 laps with Mr. Gan

Wednesday : Ran a fast 2 laps (2.6km). Had to walk 1 lap. Paid the price for running fast as my right knee was sore the whole night. Foolish!

Thursday : I ran 3 km but had to stop due to a sore knee. I had the company of Jamie and Azwar for another 2 km. An enthusiastic newbie runner A*** turned up to meet us and we chatted with her. PM5 gave her some valuable tips about training and running races.

Party Boy Arrives to Party One Day Late

I missed DK's Christmas open house. Yesterday (Monday) night I arrive at DK's house only to see some Chinese guys people loading chairs on to a lorry. It was only then I realised the open house was on SUNDAY night. I cae one day late ! Anyway I saw DK's vacuuming the floor and I went in to wish him "Merry Christmas". I was too embarrassed to say that I went on the wrong night.The photos are at PM1 and Tey's site.

I have been slowly building up my endurance although I am still hampered by the injured knee. My plan is just to keep fit and maintain weight. I will probably not run any races next year.

Weekend Runs

I had a reasonably running weekend. It's not that I have recovered but at least I managed to run a bit.

Saturday : I did a slow run with A*** and Axxx around the 400m track in the Klang stadium. My time was about 25 minutes (maybe 4 km). The slow pace didn't matter and I am not sure how long I ran. I just wanted to run.

Sunday : I managed to run for the 2nd consecutive day with Albert. Maybe did 3 km but this time at a faster pace. Knee was a bit sore.

At this stage, I am not keeping track of distance or time whenever I am running. I am just glad to be able to run a bit.

Monday (Today) : Rest day but the weather is absolutely great to run but my right knee is sore. Hopefully I will be able run tomorrow.

The Adidas_Pacemaker relay team finished the 72.5km Round Penang Island Relay race on Sunday. The results are posted here.

Thursday's Run at KLCC

I have a horror story to tell. Yesterday I stepped on the weighing scale at The Sweat Club. It read "61 kg". S*%t!

61 kilogram is just one kilo short of my weight way back in year 2000. Back then, I had only been running for about 6 months and I weighed about 62 kg. After a lot of effort and by increasing my daily run from 4 to 6 km, I managed to get my weight down to 56 kg. Now, six years later I am back to where I was.

To make it worst, due my permanent knee injury there is no way I would be able to run very far. Yesterday I managed to run about 2.6 km (2 laps) at KLCC. I could feel my right thigh and leg bones crunching against each other. I had to stop after 2 laps with a very sore knee.

How am I going to lose 5 kg ? Dieting is my only hope now.

Back in Malaysia

I returned to Malaysia on Saturday last week. My assignment in Pakistan is done.

This year running has been a non event for me. I only ran 2 races ;Great Eastern 30km and a Medeka day community race in Klang 5 km. I haven't run much at all over the past 3 months.
Still having problem with knee.

This week I will probably run a few kms at KLCC park. I don't even know how far I can run since my endurance is probably at a state it was during my couch potato years.

See you at KLCC park!

Last Pakistan Report

I will be going back to Malaysia for good on 8 Dec. 2006.

Last week I was actually in Malaysia for one week. I even managed to run again at KLCC park on Wednesday and Friday evening. I only ran 3 km each time but I was suprised I could still run after 2 months of rest. But my right knee is still not OK and is likely not to be cured anytime soon. I have to rule out running in races and doing long runs.

For the runners running in Singapore Marathon this Sunday "Good luck and hope you can meet your target finishing time".

Pakistan Report #6 - Visit to Taxila (Part 1 of 2)

Taxila is a town , 30 km from Islamabad. From 2500 to 1800 years ago, it was major Vedic and Buddhist learning centre. Me and several others went to Taxila on Saturday. We went to four places ; Museum, Bhir Mound (oldest site), Jhaulian (stupa and monastery) and Dharmajika (largest stupa and monastery). The photos taken during the visit are shown in two parts. The first part shows various types of vehicles travelling on the roads in Pakistan.

Visit to Taxila Photos and Report Coming Up

On Saturday, I went to Taxila a 3000 year old historical site which used to be a major buddhist centre. Photos and brief report to follow tomorrow.

Pakistan Repot #5 : The Good and the Bad

The good news : My right knee is no longer sore after not running for 2 weeks. I plan not to lay off running until January 2007.

The bad news: Yesterday I put on my Docker pants (black colour) which I bought in Paris way back in September 2003. I had brought along it to Pakistan to wear during the winter season. I found out with some suprise and horror that I could hardly fit into it. After I buttoned and zipped it up, it wasway too tight around my waist. Now I know I am definitely fatter than I was three years ago. Even after fasting one month, I could not reduce my waist size to what it was 3 years ago. Oh it is truly shocking on how far I have been redcued to what I was three years (In 2003 - I ran my personal best times in 10km in 47 minutes and 21 km in 1 hour 43 minutes).

I was planning to go to Taxila, a historical buddhist site located30km from Islamabad. But I have to cancel it today. I plan to go there next week on Thursday when it is a public holiday here. I will post some photos if I make it there.

I found out here are very few professional working women in Pakistan. To ny surprise, many of the female employees in the office hold degrees or even post graduates qualification but work as secretaries, clerks etc. Most of them or if not all stop working after they get married.

Newt week : security in Islamabad will very tight because due to an
economics forum organised by the Organisation of Islamic countries. Virtually all of the hotels in Islamabad are full and I have to stay in a guest house.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Photos - Part 2

The new airport was opened on 28 September 2006 but a few things were not ready a month later as can be seen from these photos.

Cables, paints and other stuff is stored at various corners.

Signboard at the entrance of the shopping area. The tiles used for the floor are quite slippery.
These men were on the roof and doing some construction work.

I was sitting in semi-darkness in the departure lounge. During the one hour I was there, two bulbs blew out causing the lounge to become even darker. Ten percent of the bulbs was not working. There is a design problem here as the lights were directed upwards to reduce glare. Fine if the roof was white in colour as the light rays would be reflected back. But when the roof is made from grey coloured concrete , it doesn't work very well.
Some more men working on the roofs above the shops.
Other problems include:-

• Insufficient toilets as only 100 has been built. An additional 300 toilets will be built.
• Insufficient signage. Curently many signs are "home made" from paper.
• Cracked aircraft taxiways and car parks.
• Only one bussiness lounge (Thai International) is available. Other airlines buss. lounger are not completed.
• Dirty windows and floors.

The Thai authorities will be carrying investigation to see if there are any corrupt practices involved for the new airport. The airport could have been much better without these problems. This is not to say it is not a world class airport but I am sure these problems will eventually be fixed at some cost .

Suvarnabhumi Airport Photos - Part 1

The airport is huge (can handle 45 million passengers per year) and spaciuos. The photo shows the departure lounge area.
The airport is shaped like ocean waves. Painted white instead of blue though.
The interior has a minimal and bare look with cable trays, pipe and unpainted concrete. Popular nowadays with new airports and saves money.
The arport structure is made of trusses. Looks quite nice.
Gardens at the ground level , similar (copied?) to KLIA.

Running: Is it FINALLY Over for me ?

Tomorrow I am flying back to Islamabad , Pakistan. I will be there for another two months.

This afternoon I had lunch at KLCC's Burger King with Ronnie, Jamie, Newton and DK. The main topic conversation was the usual ; running. Ronnie handed to me a beautiful corporate sponsor trophy. The upcoming two races were talked about - Bidor and Subang Jaya 10km, both to be held next Sunday. The other topics were the "competitors" - other runners; who is improving and who is getting there. I felt a bit left out of the scene after not running any races since Feb 2005 (Great Eastern 30km).

I only ran once during the fasting month. I ran 5 km on the hotel treadmill. Butr after that throughout the whole month, my right knee was sore. . After I returned to Malaysia on Saturday f0r Hari Raya, I did not run but my knee seemed to be getting better. But I found out otherwise yesterday (Thursday) when I decided to try to run at the Klang stadium. The first 800m was OK but my knee become sorer as I countinued. I decided to stop after 1.6km. Worse was yet to come. My knee was sore and a bit swollen at night time.

After five years (since March 2001) of battling the injury,continuing running (18 half marathons) through a persistent right knee injury - initially a torn meniscus, w the injury has gradually worsen and is now at its worst I think. I suspect my injury has now progressed to a point where the knee articular cartilage has become damaged. Hence my right knee is sore even when I am walking or just standing up.

So I have decided to stop running during my next two months in Pakistan. After that I will have to see what happens. It is a medical fact that knee meniscus tears are normally incurable. The reason for this permanency is the meniscus receives blood suppy to only 30 percent of it's area. (Red area). The remaining 70 percent does not contain blood vessels (White area). Without a blood supply, the repair mechanisms by cell action is not possible.

Even after 2 months rest. I don't think I will be able to do do long runs and much less running races. Maybe I have to stop running altogether. Perhaps it is the only option I have left now.

P.S : To those who have been reading my blogs since 2003, I think I have mentioned at least three times I was going to quit running. But I am serious now !

Pakistan Report # 4 : Another Shopping Trip

I went shopping again on Saturday. This time is I went to Sardar bazaar in a city called Rawalpindi, 18 km from Islamabad. Like I wrote before, Islamabad does not resemble a typical city in Pakistan. In Rawalpindi the main road was jam packed with all sorts of vehicles. There were colourful buses, vans, "tuk-tuks, cars, trucks and motorcycles. Other than the vehicles running on internal combustion engines, there were others vehicles running on animal or human power. There was a cart pulled by a horse with sacks of flour, bicycles and even a a man pulling on a cart filled with fruits. It was very chaotic and a scene you would never see in Malaysia.

I bought two leather jackets for RM 160 and RM 200 for men's and ladies respectively. They were not for me but a colleaugue asked me to buy them in Pakistan.

The Pacemaker Run was held at the Lake Gardens onn Sunday morning with a cake cutting ceremony for the birthdayboy. Ronnie (PM1).

I won't be running this fasting month. I still have a knee problem.

This morning in the local newspaper in one of the headlines " Hunger Haunts over 1.8 million children in Pakistan". An estimated 1.85 million children in Pakistan are at risk of malnutrition and 74 out of 120 districts of the country have been found to be food deficient in terms of availability at the grassroots.

Shopping Tip : If you want to buy Giorgio Armani suit, consider buying it in Pakistan. On Sunday I visited a shop which actually makes Armani suit and pants for just RM220 (USD 60) . They were not a fake or imitation product but it is the real thing. The shop make these suits in Pakistan and later they are sold under the Armani brand for USD 200 or more.

Pakistan Report #3 : Shopping

On Saturday I went shopping for souveniers in Islamabad. Islamabad, the capital city does not represent the conditions in the rest of the cities in Pakistan. For one, the roads are free of traffiic jams. Secondly, it has a well-ordered and planned areas. In a way it is like Putrajaya and Putrajaya certainly does not look remotely have the chaos and dirt of Kuala Lumpur.

I went to three places in Islamabad; Melody market Aapbara market and the Supermarket. Aapbara is the oldest market in Islamabad and the roads certainly reflected its old age with pot holes everywhere. The Supermarket is actually not a supermarket but rather a city block filled with shops. There is no shopping complex in Islamabad so you get forget mall crawling in air conditioned comfort.

Last week, two roket launchers (107 mm Russian made) were discovered hidden in bushes near President Musharaff's offices. They were wired up with a device to be trigerred from a mobile phone. It was something of a shock to residents here as these things are not supposed to occur in Islamabad. Everywhere else in Pakistan every week there are bombs exploding , people killed in sectarian violence (Sunni vs. Shia) and dacoits (highway robbers) robbing.

I haven't run since 2 weeks ago as I am still having a knee problem.

Pakistan Report #2 : Fasting, Training and Women

Monday is the first day of fasting in most of Pakistan. I wrote 'most' because in one part of this country, the Northwest Free Frontier Area, Ramadan started on Sunday. This area is something of a wild and lawless area governed by various tribes like the the Pashtun instead of the Pakistan goverment.

I did my first fasting month run on Tuesday. I ran 5 km on a treadmill. I had more than enough energy to run 5 km and could certainly run another 3 km if thirst and dehydration were not limiting factors.

I didn't run on Wednsday and Thursday. Right knee problem again.

Although Pakistan is officially an Islamic county and regarded as staunch Muslim society, most of the women here do not wear a hijab or "tudung" or even cover their hair. Most women wear a loose fitting blouse and tunic called Salwar Kameez. Last night I even saw some Causasian women in a shop wearing Salwar Kameez. However I have not seen any women in Islamabad wearing western clothes much less a skirt.

Pakistan : Report # 1 The first 3 days

I hope I won't into trouble by blogging this from Pakistan. Pakistan has imposed a blanket bsan on several blog sites including blogspot. Read this article for more information.

I arrived in Islamabad on Saturday morning on Pakistan Airlines from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). I was in the UAE for 3 days. One thing I can say about the U.A.E is it's not for the budget traveller (read : backpacker). You won't see young people carrying back-packs roaming anywhere in the UAE. The reason ? Cost - UAE is one of the most expensive places to travel. A five star hotel here starts at USD 250 or more. Luckily my hotel (USD 160 per night under corporate rate) is paid by the company.

In the UAE, the majority of the population are foreigners. Indians and Pakistanis as labourers, technicians and engineers in the construction sector and filipinas in the service industry as waitresses, cashiers , receptionist , secretaries. Last year,the UAE passed a law to get the companies to employ UAE nationals to be employed in the public relations and secretarial services. The finance sector already has the same law for a number of years. The trouble with this law is the expectations. A national UAE secretary is asking USD 3000 per month while the foreigner (almost always from the Philippines or perhaps Egypt) , USD 1000. Sounds a bit like the situation in Malaysia. doesn't it?

Back to my first 3 days in Pakistan. I am staying in Islamabad , the capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The office is just next door to where I am staying: the Marriott hotel.
The Mariott hotel chain is of course owned by a US based company in a nation led by the El-Diablo "The Devil" himself as Mr Hugo Chavez (Venezuelan President) called George Bush junior (USA president) last week.

Let me describe the security set-up st the Marriott hotel here.

• Outside the 3 foot high concrete gate, there are 3 security guards holding rifles. I took s peek yesterday on what kind of rifles they were holding. The rifles seemed to be the old bolt action firing pins ala the famous Enfield rifle used in World War I. I am not an expert on this matter but that is the impression.
  
• There is a steel barrier (3 inch diameter steel pole) slung across the main entrance. Upon stopping here, the guards will check the car; opening the engine compartment and car boot. There is also some sort of device to check for bombs underneath a vehicle. At this point, there are about 4 security guards with few more inside a guardhouse.
  
• After passing through the above gate, there are 2 more security guards at the hotel entrance doors. Just beyond these doors, there is
  
• An X-ray machine to scan baggage and there is also a metal detector to pass through. The set-up is identical to an airport.
  
• Lastly, there is also a steel pole before getting into a separate car parking area.
  
• I also checked the glsss windows at the hotel. The windows have been laminated with tough plastic film to prevent shrapnels from say flying everywhere from umh ... an exploding device (bomb).

Don't get me wrong when I am writing sbout the security measures (I am not complaining but just describing them). The measures are quite unobstrusive and necessary in the ever present risk of a terrorist attack. The Marriott is indeed an amazing hotel. My room (USD 150 per night) has a 42 inch LCD TV mounted on a wall and 60 channels. Plus a fruit basket and free refill of the minibar everyday. The hotel services are very good perhaps near perfect.

I ran yesterday on the treadmill at the Mariott fitness centre. Did 5.0 km.

As for the price of petrol here - it is RM 3.40 per litre. Compared to RM 1.90 in Malaysia we have it good back home.

Airports

I say that you can judge a country such as how well or how badly it's run by the International airports. After having been through the chaos at Khartoum airport (Sudan) this year, I am to
Pakistan this Saturday via Abu Dhabi. I will be flying on Pakistan Air lines landing at Islamabad airport.

Read about what other people wrote about Islamabad airport here and here.

If you read the report, they are not exactly the sort of experience I want to go through but I have to go through it to get into the country.

I ran yesterday evening at 6.00 pm in the old park again. It was quite cold as I was just wearing a T-shirt and shorts. I did 3 km before deciding to go back before it gets any colder.

Sunday Morning Run in Asghabat

I managed to drag myself out of bed yesterday for an early morning run. It was quite chilly but it was not cold enough to stop me from wearing shorts.

The park where I was going running was 5 minutes away. It is old park untouched by the beautifification craze by the authorities. I did some strecthing near a tree. In the park, there was a guy with a huge dog , maybe a bull mastiff or some equally giant dog breed. I decided to run a route away from the dog just in case.

I was suprised to see someone else running in the park besides me. A short woman with flaming red colour hair and wearing black T-shirt and tights was running at a brisk pace (9 km/hr estimated). Too bad she looked a bit haggard and drawn out.

After finishing my stretching, I started to run. I love running in the cooler temperature (low 20's degrees C) . It 's just too bad that after 2 km, I was hit by the urge to go to the toilet. I ran another 1 km before doing my cool down stretching. I ran just 3 km.

I wil be going to Dubai this Wednesday morning . I will be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 3days for a meeting on Thursday. I will be leaving Abu Dhabi at 2.15 am to Islamabad, Pakistan for a 3 months assignment.

I though of taking a break from running during the fasting month but I have changed my mind. I plan to run on a treadmill which hopefully is available in the hotel.

I love this photo taken during the Mizuno Wave run yesterday.

Sore

Played 4 sets of badminton yesterday. Sore body today.

Turkmenistan Update

I have been here for 5 days now. When I reached Asghabat airport on Sunday, everyone had to had to have their baggage scanned at an X-ray machine before going through customs.

I had 3 things with me; 2 bags and 1 box filled with food , spices, ikan bilis (anchovies) etc. When I was about to collect the box, the airport guy manning asked me to open the box. Then he said something else "Ten dollar, go". He said it twice. He was asking me to bribe him. There is no way I was going to give him any money so I said I will open the box. I did and showed him what was inside He didn't seemed particularly interested in the contents. The point of the "inspection" was an opportunity for him to extract money.

It is now a noticeably cooler in Ashghabat. The temperature in the morning is the mid 20's deg. C. I plan to run a few km in morning in the park this weekend.

Going Overseas Again

I haven't got much to write on running. On Monday I ran 5 km on a treadmill. It was very boring.

On Tuesday the Rat Race was held in KL. Some of my friends were running but I wasn;t able to see it. On Wednesday, I wanted to run outddoor but it rained again.

I am going overseas again. Two weeks in Turkmenistan and then three months in Pakistan (until end Dec.).

This year if including the forthcoming Pakistan trip, I would ve spent about half of the year overseas.

To those running the Putrajaya race this Sunday and the Mizuno Wave Run next Sunday, good luck and enjoy the races.

Klang Merdeka Run (31 August) Report -

The event was a Merdeka Run on 31 August at Sekolah Rendah Cina Pandamaran B in Pandamaran, Klang. The race start time was 7.00 am.

Before I started driving, I checked out a map on how to get to the school. It was still dark when I left the house at 6.00 am intending to reach there at 6.30 am. I should have known better as I got lost. Although I reached the area at 6.30am, I promptly became hopelessly lost. I spent the next 30 minutes driving around, stopping 3 times to look at the map and pissed one time into a drain. It was only at 7.00 am that I was able figure out where the school was but it was too late as the race would started already.

As it turns out, when I reached the school there were still many people milling in front of the school hall. Ahh thanks goodness, it is a "political" race. You can always count on such races to start late. I met up with many Klang Pacers runners whom I didn't meet often due to absence from running scene and weekend training. I was especially glad to have met Kong who I have not seen for 3 months.

An announcement was made before the start that the race distance had been shortened from 5.5 km to 4.5km. The race finally flagged off with a Malaysian flag (Merdeka!) at 7.34 am. In no time everyone else was ahead with me "leading" the back-end of runners. 5 minutes later the Klang Pacers have all dissappeared far ahead. For a while I was running with Mrs Kong. I think this was the first time I've run with Mrs Kong. I think if she was younger she would be more than able to give the current female runners a run for the their medal.

After a while , my right knee was still OK so I decided to run faster in the hope of making up for lost time and perhaps a chance to get the 100 medals. Alas, my desire and attempt to run faster was not matched by my stamina. I had to take short walks (100 to 200m) about three times. I had never run at the back-end of a race before and it was quite discouraging to be at the bottpm 10 percent of the pack. But still I reminded myselt to let it go as I was in not in the best of shape. I still felt the tinges of excitement to be in a "race" and ruefull recalled the races I had missed this year; Ipoh, Seremban , Penang and so many others.

27 minutes later I passed through the school gates and ran in between a row of chairs to finish the race emptyhanded - the 100 medals were all gone.

I hung around for a while to watch the prize giving ceremony and witnessed two Pacemaker members (PM 37 and PM39) getting their hampers. I left the scene after all the prizes had been given out.

My First "Race" this year

I registered yesterday for my first "Race" for this year. It is a low key last minute event to be held near Klang town to celebrate the National day. No prizes given out and a free registration. The distance is only 5.5km.

I joined the above event to support the Klang Pacer Athletic Club who is organising the race. The race will starts at a Chinese Primary School. Strangely enough the run starts quite early at 7.00 am. I think it will be a social run for most of the serious runners.

Customs Again!

I received a notice from Pos Malaysia on Tuesday asking me to pick-up something from the Post Office. On Wednesday , I got the item but it was what I was expected but instead it was another form. The form said the item I had bought from the USA is now at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The precise location ? Customs dept. - it has been held back pending clearance and possibly payment of sales and import tax.

The item I bought are two iPod accessories ; a silicone case with a belt clip and an FM tranmitter. The total value is USD 100 (RM 360). The silicone with belt clip is for me to use the iPod while I am running on a treadmill. What amazes me is the customs authorities taking the trouble to inspect and possibly charge taxes on something that is worth very little.

Malaysian customs motto now is "Every Dollar Counts"

Update

It' s been more than one week since my last blog update. To tell you truth, I wanted to write a some entries but the broadband speed at my place is so slow that I could not open my blog to write them.

I attended a course this week at JW Marriot hotel in KL. I only managed to run 2.6 km at KLCC park on Monday. I ran too fast, made my right knee injury worse and had to stop after the 2nd lap.

I couldn't run for the next 3 days.I wanted to run but I had to rest my knee.

Friday : The course finished at 12.00 pm. My right knee was still sore but decided to try running in the evening. Only managed to run 2.6km before stopping. Walked 3 more laps with a trio of women walkers who are regulars at KLCC park.

I bought a PDA last weeek; a Palm TX. If only I had the time to use it.

Today (Saturday) : I had to pay RM 275 to the Fedex delivery guy for the flashlights I bought from the US. I was hoping customs would not charge sales and import tax (30% total) but no such luck. I'll bet that during the upcoming 2007 budget speech, taxes and duties collected over the past one year will be the highest ever. I have certainly made my contributions in import and sales tax for the things I bought from the Internet.

Last week I bought PALM TX. If only I had the time to learn how to use it.

3 Days of Running

I have been able to run 3 conseutive days with two of them outdoor in fine weather and haze free.

Monday : 5 km on the treadmill . Thick haze. Got bored after 3 km (15 minutes).

Tuesday : Clear skies and clean air at last. I ran at KLCC park. Did 2.6 km(2 laps) with Gan at a pace which was too fast at my current level of fitness. I had to stop after 2 laps. I saw Jamie running too and I ran another 2 laps with him. Later Justin showed up to run as well. Total = 5.2 km.

Wednesday : 3rd day of running. It is quite unbelievable that I was able to run for a 3rd consecutive day. Less problem with my right knee. I did 6.5 km, 2 laps with Yong, stopped, continued another 2 laps with Jamie and Justin, stopped and ran the 5th lap with Newton. Total = 6.5 km.

Thursday : I am not running today to rest my right knee. I

Being able to run for 3 days is something wonderful I have NOT experienced since February 2006. My right knee seems to be getting better but I will limit my runs to about 5 km for now.

Here We Go Again

I was going to run to KLCC park today but the haze is just so bad now. I wuz going to do 5 km. With the KLCC runners gasng like Jamie. But I might as smoke a cigarette if I was going to run in this haze.

Didn't the SBY (Indonesian President) apologised last year and said his country will not carry out open burning which is the source of haze . And the same thing is said every year since 1998. F*** It!

I have to run on a treadmill today. I will be bored after 20 minutes. I hope there will be something nice to see in the gym today.

Turkemistan Post #5 : Running on Sunday

I finally managed to run yesterday (Sunday). My alarm clock buzzer came on at 6.00 am. Boy, it was tough to wake up and for a while I stood by the bed and wondered if should go back to sleep. But then I said to myself " Don't be a lazy bum" and put on my T-shirt and shorts.

I was planning to run in an old park nearby but I only knew the general direction to get there. After 20 minutes of walking (2 km) I spotted a thick row of trees. Other than some early morning garbage haulers , there was no one else in the park. Unsure of my level of fitness, I decided I would run as long as I could. As I finished one loop (1 km) and on my way to the 2nd loop, I saw a guy wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, baggy shorts and a baseball cap running about 20m ahead of me. He was holding two rusty steel barbells and pumping his arms up and down whie running.

As I was about to overtake him on the right, he veered to the left. I continued running until until about 400m from the house.

Total distance ran : about 4 km.
Walked : 2 km.
Time : Did not measure.

I conclude that I am still fit anough to run about 4 to 5 km.

Turkmenistan Post #4 : What's cheap

What's cheap:
Petrol is Ringgit 30 cents per litre here.
Grapes are cheap too; 1 big plate is RM 1.00
Electricity and water is free.

What is expensive is - fish. There is no fresh fish available here in the markets. Frozen fish is RM 60 per piece and the large fish (0.5 m) can cost RM 200.

Canned sardine and tuna is the way to go if you want to eat fish here.

Turkmenistan Post #3 - I want to run

It's only 4 days to the Penang Bridge Run (PBR). If I was in Malaysia and running the PBR I would have already felt the a tinge of excitement and anxiousness this week. As it is I am in Ashgabat and have not run a single step.

The area where I am staying at has one nearby park across a major road. I checked it out last week but the park circumference was only 200m. It's not really a good park to run as there are very few trees. The park surface is made of concrete tiles and not very friendly to someone who has an injured knee.

I have found another park about 500 to 800 m away. It is not a fancy and beautified landscaped park with fountains built to impress by the authorities. It doesn't have these things but what is has are plenty of trees and a surfaced roads between the trees. In short, a good place to run. I plan to run this weekend in this park sometime early in the morning.

Over here, during summer the sun rises as early as 5.30 am and sets late at 8.30 pm. The evenings are just too hot to run (38 deg. C). Early morning is the only suitable time to run here.

Over the past 3 days, Ashghabat have been experiencing sometime rare - traffic jams. The Iranian president is here for a visit and entire roads have been closed for the whole day. Sometime you normally cannot do in other countries but who dares to complain here?

Turkmenistam : Post #2 Weekend in Asghabat

Monday again.

On Saturday I went to the Turkmenistan History Museum. As it is with every goverment building, this edifice is a gigantic square building with huge columns and the enitre wall made of marble. As a foreigner, I had to pay a huge sum for the ticket ; USD 10.00. The locals pay only Manat 2,000 (USD 0.10). Yep you read that right, foreigners pay one hundred times more to get into the museum.

The museum had three floors. One of the worker showed me the way to the 1st hall. The first hall is basically about the modern history of Turkmenistan post 1991 when the current president declared inpendence from the Soviet Union. There were photos and boards showing the various achievements over the past 15 years. One hilarious photo that should not be missed is the Man himself wearing an airforce uniform. The only problem was it showed his face but it quite apparent that it the photo was a fake. Someone had done a very bad job pasting the Man's face on top of the uniform. I wish I could have taken a photo.

2nd floor contained the archeological exhhibits which I think is the most interesting area of the museum. I learnt that the areas in Turkeministan have been occupied in ancient times since 3000 B.C. (5000 years ago). There were several beautiful and elaborate ivory carvings. Again I could not take photos even furtively as the attendant followed me everywhere. Other than watching me, the pretty attendant was not much help as she could not speak English.

The rest of the 2nd floor consisted of ethnographic exhibits. The exhibits were however not quite ethnically diverse as they showed overwhelmingly Turkmen artifacts leaving out the 15 percent of the population of Uzbeks and Russian.

The 3rd floor is an exhibit of the Turkem contribution in the Patrotic war. The exhibits were entirely in Turkmen and Russian language. I had no idea what it was all about.

What was obvious to me is a large part of the Turkmenistan history has been left out, namely the 110 years subjugation by the Russian empire. I guess this is not something that the goverment want to showcase.

I can't upload photos to blogspot - not sure what is the reason.

Turkmenistan Post #1

It is now very hot in Asghabat (capital city). At 5.00 pm, it is about 39 degree C but I was told it will be hotter in August.

On Sunday I got through customs without any problems even with the 1 Litre rice cooker and a 12kg box full of food stuff. The customs guy pointed to the box and asked "Food?" I said "Yes, food". He nodded and waved me through and I was through!.

I am now staying at the Staff House which is a two storey bungalow with four rooms. The house is fully equipped with facilities for cooking and entertainment. There is even an outdoor sauna though I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend time inside it when the outside temperature is 42 degree C.

I am hoping to take some photos. It is now easier to post photos to blogspot without using separate software. I have to be a bit careful as the police here are quite touchy about anyone taking photos.

This week's training

I have been running a bit more than normal this week.
Monday : 5.2 km (stop and go, some walking)
Tuesday :4.0 km (some walking)
Wednesday : Rest (sore knee)
Thursday: 4.0 km (stop and go again, walked!)
Friday : 5.0 km on treadmill (9.4 km/hr down from my normal pace of 10.5 km)

Total distance = 18 km.

My right knee is still sore. I shouldn't overdo things; no more intervals run for me.

Yesterday's Run

Oww, Oww, my right knee is still sore today.

Yesterday I ran 5.2 km(6.5 laps) and walked 1.5 laps (2.0km). The first 800m I ran alone with Ronnie joining me at the 800m. We ran together for the 2nd lap doing 7 min 30 seconds per lap.
After the 2nd lap, my knee was getting very sore so I slowed down and ran with PM21. For the rest of the time, we ran and walked together.

Later we sat down to chat at the Bench with Al Loong and Ronnie. Tey and Phyllis was running together. A grinning PM19 showed up at 7.10 pm and rushed off to join Tey and Phylis.

My knee which was quite OK last week is hurting again. It was my fault really as last Thursday I did some interval runs at KLCC park. I shouldn't have done it but sometimes I just want to run faster and get a thumping hard workout.

I am going to Turkmenistan soon. I plan to run more often over there but it will be very hot. It's now summer and temperature ranges from 36 to 43 degree Celcius.

Turkmenistan Trip #3 : Packing

I am going to Turkmenistan again and this time it will be a longest trip; 3 weeks. Two weekends in Turkmenistan-what will I do?

You may read my previous posts on the crappy Italian food served at Nissa hotel. I now have a solution to my food "problems". First and after an extensive at three different shops; Parkson (KLCC), Isetan and Parkson (Sungai Wang), I found the solution : A rice cooker with a built in steamer (brand : Philips) and with this device. I will whip up the traditional Malaysian dishes such as sambal ikan bilis, satay sauce etc. In addition, I will be able to eat steamed vegetables a far superior and healthier alternative to the oil saturated veggies found in a typical Malaysian food stall.

Well the the last part about the steamed veggies is accurate (the rice cooker comes with a steamer , remember?). For the Malaysian dishes, refer to the photo below which shows some of the things I will bring:-
Last night, I weighed the foodstuff I will be bringing into Turkmenistan. Total weight = 11.5 kg. I hope I will get through customs OK.

Thursday Morning : Man in White

Today On my way to KLCC at the corner of Jln Sultan Ismail and Yap Kwan Seng ;7.10 am,I saw a male runner wearing a GE 30 km run vest, cap and shorts running along the road. Muscular guy - must be training for the Penang Bridge marathon.

Monday : I ran 3.9 km at KLCC park. Regulars absent. Right knee was stable and not sore.
Tuesday : 3.9 km at KLCC park. Regulars (Ronnie, Ah Long , DK , Yong, Saleh) were there as well.
Wednesday : Only ran 1.3 km before the rain hit the park.

The 2 weeks rest from running allowed a recovery of sorts on my knee. The downside is my endurance which has been improving is not very good now.

Sudan Post #6 The End

Tomorrow is my last day in Sudan. Back to Malaysia and running at KLCC park. I am not quite sure the level of my fitness after not running for more than 2 weeks. I guess I will find out this weekend.

I won't be running in the Ipoh half marathon this year. I have run in Ipoh HM for 4 consecutive years between 2002 to 2005. The race route itself is not that great as it mostly goes through Ipoh town. However the medals are easy to get if you run within the qualifying time of 2.5 hrs.

Good luck to the runners running in the Ipoh half marathon.

I would have liked to write more about Sudan but I don't think the company will be pleased on some of the things I would say.

Sudan Post #4 - Taxi Ride

Friday is the start of the weekend in Sudan.

In the afternoon, myself and a colleague went to the first shopping complex built in Khartoum. The place was called 'Afra' actually located near the airport.

The complex consists of three floors. The 1st floor had a supermarket and shops. The 2nd floor had retails shops and the third floor, a food court and offices. The size of the complex would be about the same as the Giant supermarket complex in Kelana Jaya, P.J. The retail shops were all closed.

We went to the supermarket. It was set up with like a hypermarket selling a range of goods like food, toys, TVs etc ala Carrefour and Giant. There is not quite the variety and quality found in similar hypermarkets in Malaysia but the basic stuff were there.

After we had completed our shopping (biscuits and some local food), we went out to find a taxi. The taxis here are yellow coloured and universally of ancient lineage and in semi working condition (no air-cond.).

As we made our way in decrepit taxi , 2 km on , the engines suddenly sputterred to a stop. We ended up on the side of a busy road. A policeman sauntered and asked the taxi to be moved to a side road. How was this task to be accomplished? By the two of us pushing the taxi and the driver handling the steering wheel. All done in 40 deg Celcius heat.

We assumed that the car had broken down and looked for a passing taxi to flag. The taxi driver opened the car boot and took out a small plastic container (about 2 Litre ). He gestured towards the container and looked at me, he said "Bensen". With his fingers, made the universal sign for "money". The answer the taxi had stopped - it had ran out of gas!. It seems this was a regular occurrence for this particular taxi driver , hence the plastic container.

Anyway we found another taxi and boarded it. I gave SND 500 (USD 2.00) to our previous taxi driver. As we moved off, I saw him walking no doubt to find petrol and later perhaps the next victims to push his ancient taxi when it stops again.

Sudan Post#3

Yesterday I had lunch at a well known Sudanese restaurant. I couldn't eat most of the stuff on the menu. The local food has a lot meat based dishes ; chicken, mutton and beef. Mutton is especially popular. The Malaysians here say the mutton here tastes better and "healthier" than the ones in Malaysia.

I ordered fried fish, rice and salad. The fish came with a huge amounf or rice. It was not bad although there is very little cooked vegetables here. The local food is similar to Middle Easternt or Turkish food, mainly based around meat which I don't eat.

I haven't run in Khartoum and I am not planning to do so. In the morning, the temperature is reasonably low to run but there are no large parks to run in. Sand and dust is everywhere on the roads. The hotel fitness club is a wreck.

Last night, I found out there are 2,000 Malaysians living in Sudan mainly working in the oil industry.

Sudan Post #2 : The Yellow Stuff

Everything outside is tinged with yellow colour now. The air is filled with fine yellow colour sand from a dust storm which has been going since 11.00 am. Visibility is down to 50m.

Yet there are local people siting and playing in the park. The sand makes me blink repeatedly and my throat itchy and dry.

Sudan Post #1

I am now in Sudan, 9.20 am local time, 2.20 p Malaysian. Sunday is a working day here. Only Friday is a day off for the company here.

It was along journey from Kuala Lumpur to Khartoum on Friday. It was impossible to get shorter flight routes for example KK to Cairo to Khartoum. So I had to fly to Frankfurt (12 hrs), transit at Frankfurt airport (6 hrs) and fly from Frankfurt to Khartoum (6 hrs). Altogether 24 hrs of travel - enough time to fly around the entire planet.

Fortunately I managed to get about 3 hrs sleep on the KL to Frankfurt flight on Malaysian airlines flight MH 06C. I think I dozed off at about 3.00 am. Suddenly I woke up at about 6.30am. Immediately I thought about the PJ half marathon is starting precisely in that instant.
I could not go back to sleep after that. For the next two hrs, I lay on the bed looking at my watch and imagining I was running in the race.

When I checked my watch at 7.19 am, 49 minutes atfer the start , I would have been running on the flyover at Subang airport road. At 8.20 am, I think I would just about turned left from the airport road running towards P.J. Alas, I was only doing these things in my imagination and was instead sitting on a Boeing 777-200 aircraft , 11,000 m high flying over the Mediterranean sea. Today I realised I had imagined the race one day earlier than the day it took place which is this morning.

For the reports and results on the PJ half marathonn, please visit PM1's site.

PC Problem

I enjoyed yesterday's run at KLCC park. I ran with Newton and I was surprised to discover I could run 4 laps (8 min per lap, total 5.2 km). Just 2 weeks ago, I could only run less than 2 km. I guess my endurance has improved a fair bit. I have hit on a plan to maintain a reasonable level of fitness until I can run without too much problems.

• Once a week I will run a 5.2 km subject to the condition of my right knee.
• Two or three times a week, run 3 km.

For a report on Jason's five lap PR , visit PM'1 site.

With the exception of Phyllis who ran 11 laps and Ah Long (8 laps), the other runners (Tony making a surprise appearance) were taking it easy just 4 days before the PJ half marathon.

My PC LCD monitor is not working and I am still here on Saturday, I will have to buy a replacement.I will be on my way to Sudan tonight via a horribly long route (12 hrs to Frankfurt) and xx hrs to Khartoum. Probably I will have to endure 20 hrs of travel time.

Good luck to eveyone running the PJ half marathon.

Sudan again!

12.00 pm today : I am on my way to a shop to repair my PC.

Suddenly I get a tel. call informing that I have to go to Sudan tomorrow morning. W.T.F.?
For 2 weeks.

From then on, rush, rush.........
........ to the bank to get $$$
....... to get the money changer to get US$ (credit cards cannot be used in Sudan)
........... to Kinokuniya to buy books to read
.............. to the office to arrange for the flights and check my e-mails.

As of 5.15 pm , the flights are still not available.

W.T.F.!

View of Singapore near sunset 

The Last Batch 

Landscape Views from Tanjung Piai 

Tanjung Piai Wetlands in Pontian, Johor 

Off To Johor

I am to Johor today for 4 days, to be specific to Tanjung Piai.

Have a good week, runners.

Wednesday's Run

I had an enjoyable run yesterday at KLCC park. The weather was cloudy and colder than normal due to the afternoon's rain. I ran the first lap alone. About 400 m into the 2nd lap, I saw Newton running in the opposite direction. I joined him and we ran together while talking to ech other. We ran a relaxed pace of 8 min per lap 1.3km. It's has been two months since I ran more than 2 km.

After the 3rd lap my right was getting sore but I didn't want to stop immediately as I was enjoying the run too much. I kept going another lap until I could not tolerate the soreness and had to stop near the Bench.

Later, we (PM1, PM21), Ah Long and Newton hung around to talk .

Today the weather is good as yesterday. I regret that I cannot run today because a sore knee.

A Letter from Thailand

I received a letter from Thailand last week (click letter to enlarge but it is too small to be seen on IE; if you save the file, it is legible on any graphic software). The story behind this letter is I filled in a survey form about Thai International Airline. The survey form was available in a stationaries "file" with some postcards. Not only did they took the trouble to sent an e-mail but receiving the letter from Thai International was a surprise.

Another nice surprise was the rice congee I had for breakfast in the same flight had spring onions. On my previous flight in March from Bangkok, I suggested they put some spring onions to give some colour to the congee. They have done just that.; that's what I call listening to your customers.

20km Long Run Route - Bird's Eye View

The 20km long run route from the Bukit Aman carpark to the Petronas petrol station at Sri Hartamas is a favourite among many runners every weeekend. The route map is available at Pacesetter Malaysia website here as Hockey Stadium/Hartamas.For a different perpective, I have partially plotted the route from Jalan Duta/hockey stadium to Sri Hartamas using Google Earth.

This alternate map is shown below (please click map to enlarge) :

Pacemaker Annual Run 2006

The Pacemaker Annual Run (PAR) 2006 was held at KLCC this morning. Unlike the previous two PARs (2005 and 2006) , there was no press coverage of this self organised "Runners Event".

The event was organised as a relay race consisting of 4 runners in 9 teams. Each runner had to run two laps (2.6km) with a total of 10.4km for each team. The starting time was 7.30am.

I had the honour of flagging of the runners and time recorder; I wrote down the runners times shouted out by PM21.

What struck me about this event was not the finishing times but the other things:-

• Everyone had the spirit and determination to give their best run. I think every runner gave 100% effort.
• Every runner got tremendous support from other runners regardless of their team .
• Everyone had a good time.

Today's PAR is is something different from the usual training and races. This is an exiciting and enjoyable running event that deserves to held again.

For results, visit PM1's site here.

Meeting at the Bench

It was great to meet the runners again at the Bench yesterday.

I started running alone at KLCC park. After one lap, I saw Yong and we ran together. Unfortunately my fitness level is not up to the mark and I had to stop near the Bench (600m). Met Jamie there and we had a chat. He told me the runners are planning to run a one lap trial. In a short while, the "competitors" arrive near the Bench after their warm-up run.

You can read the report and timings at Ronnie's website here. I was a bit surprised to see Jamie and Dk able to run so fast (5 min 12 sec for 1300m or 1 min 36 sec for every 400m).

I couldn't run the time trial but I was glad to meet the guys again after a long time.

This Saturday the PAR relay run will be held at KLCC. I will have the honour of flagging off the runners .

Back in Malaysia

To answer Carboman's questions, my trip to the backwater countries mentioned recently are all business trips.

I came back to Malaysia on Saturday and am glad to be able to eat the delicious food in Malaysia again. Here you can walk into any restaurant or food stall and pretty much everything is good to eat. Even when you order foreign cuisine like Italian or Arabic, you can expect something good Not so over there in Tu*****tan.

Before I continue let me write a bit more about what I had over there since my last post.

Ordered margarita pizza (tomato and cheese) from the Italian restaurant at Nissa hotel. What arrived on my table was a thin bread with an equally thin layer of melted cheese. At the outer rim of the pizza, the "chef" had splashed a thin layer of tomato sauce. There were no slices of tomatoes, onion or green pepper. Does this thing deserve to be called a pizza?

The next day, I went to Yimpas shopping centre. My aim was to sample the local Turkmen food at the food court. I ordered rice, 2 pieces of fried fish in batter and some green beans. What I ended eating was the fish. The rice was a big soggy and the green beans cold and lifeless. So much for the local cuisine.

On running, last Saturday I ran in Asghabat. The area I ran had a lot of government buildings. As usual there were the assorted police and soldiers standing around every 200 to 300m. The park where I ran was beautiful although there were not many trees. But I don't mind running around the flowers.

In the park, there were many fountains so I ran a loop around several of them. There was a man selling ice-cream from a cart. The park was quite deserted with only half a dozen people sitting on benches. A large number of workers were doing some maintenance on the plant , watering them etc.

At the my current pathetic state of fitness, I only managed to run about 3 km. On the way back the hotel, as I was crossing the road I stepped on the divider which was planted with grass. I overheard someone shouting in a intelligible language. I turned and saw some soldiers shouting and waving. I did not what they said but I guessed it something to do with me stepping on the grass. I ignored their shouts and continued walking. Want to chase me ? Go ahead.

I still have trouble with my right knee. I don't think I will be able to run any races this year.

Turkmenistan Post #2 Food Adventures

Another report abut my food (mis)adventures here in Ashgabat.

Tuesday evening saw me and a colleague walking towards the only Chinese restaurant in Ashgabat. I ordered egg and vegetable fried rice and stir fried cabbage, carrots and green beans. We asked for takeaway and got a blank look from the waitress. After making a few hand gestures, we made our request understood; Take away equivalent here is packet.

I was hoping to have a good tasty dinner. Alas my hopes were dashed when I had the first take of the fried rice back in hotel room. The fried rice was very bland and utterly tasteless. For reinforcement, I added the stir fried vegetable fried in soya sauce. The flavour improved a bit and I was able to eat about six spoonfuls. But after a while I gave up and discarded both dishes into the trash can. I think this was the first time I have come across a Chinese restaurat anywhere that serves awful food. The price was USD 4.

Next day (Wednesday), I had dinner at a fancier restaurant at Yimpas. Yimpas is the only shopping centre cum supermarket. On the 3rd floor, there is some restaurant and a bowling alley. I ordered fish cooked in soup and rice. Besides a huge chunk of fish, there were two slices of tomato covered in cheese and sliced potatoes. The fish was quite hard and tasteless. I forked bits of the fish and ate them with the small amount of rice. I finished off the smal slices potatoes and tomato. I left 90% of the fish untouched as it quite inedible.

On Thursday it was a public holiday - Day of Constitution. I skipped lunch and was quite hungry by 6.00pm. I went to hotel Italian restaurant and ordered tomato soup and seafood pasta. The tomato soup was OK . The seafood pasta tasted slightly bitter and the spaghetti was a bit hard because they have not been fully cooked. Neverthess due to hunger I managed to eat half of it.
The price = USD 12 including 2 glasses of orange juice.

Todaay is Friday. Tonight's dinner will be Magii mee curry;a welcomed respite from the awful food I've eaten over the past 4 days.

Turkmenistn - Post #1

I have been here for 4 days.

Sunrise here is at 5.00 am and sunset at 8.00pm but so far I haven't run a single step. Besides the cold that I've had since 8 days ago, my right knee is sore again.

The food here does not suit me at all. At the hotel restaurant, they serve only Italian food. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy eating Italian food but their version is the worse IMITATION Italian food I've ever tasted. Last night I had instant noddles - Magii Curry.

It's hard to find good places to eat in Ashgabat and mind you this is the capital city and largest city in Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan Links

I am hoping to post some stories during my stay in Turkmenistan. In the meantime, here are some links to stories about this relatively unknown country:

from the BBC,

and from someone who had visited the country in 1998.

Going Overseas again

I am going overseas again - this time to Turkmenistan. I will taking the Thai airways flight tonight at 8.15 pm to Bangkok. Then I take another flight at 4.00 am to Ashagbat, Turkmenistan.

I will staying in Turkmenistan for about 2 weeks until 27 May (Saturday) . Normally, May would the month where I would start training for the Ipoh and Seremban half marathons in July. If I was travelling anywhere, I would be worried that I would not be able to train properly. This year, I am not worried as I am unable to run very far now. To date (3 months now), my right knee is still injured and I have only been able to run 3 to 4 km about 2 to 3 times a week.

Yesterday I ran at KLCC park but only managed to run 1.3km before giving up.

No doubt that my running friends are training hard for the PAR relay race in June

Bye-Bye Sudan

I am writing this post from the international airport in Doha, Qatar.

Before I continue , let me write "Bye-bye Sudan". I was glad to have left Sudan.

When I was at Khartoum airport this afternoon, the check-in process was utterly chaotic. People were jostling about and porters waiting like hungry vultures. There was no system or signboards to guide anyone where to check-in.

Around the check-in area, I took a photo. Immediately two guys (porters) pounced on me and one grabbed my camera. One guy said "No photo" while another said "Fullus, Fullus". In Arabic , fullus is money. They were asking for money!. I replied "No fullus!" and refused to give any money to them. Seeing that they won't be gettting any money from me, the guy who held my camera returned it to me.

As far as the check-in process, luckily I had an "agent" who helped us through the airport basically from the beginning. He waited until we were safely go through the last X-ray machine to the departure lounge. Thank you,sir!

Inside the departure lounge, there were no announcements nor were there any signboards giving the flight number information.

One can tell how well a country is run and managed by conditions in their international airports. Well run airports with smooth arrival and departure process indicate the country is likely to be well run with proper procedures and regulations. Think of Singapore, New York or even KLIA (Malaysia). Contrast these airports with airports in Khartoum, Cairo and New Delhi, you get the picture.

Doha airport is a brand new airport. They are trying hard to compete with Dubai as a duty free shopping airport. I made my own contribution towards this aspiration by buying a 4GB iPod Nano. I paid USD 290 (RM 1100). I think I got it at a good price - it costs about RM 1300 or more in Malaysia.

The guy who sold it to me is a filipino. It is the same in every international airport in the Middle East. Most of the workers in the sales line are filipinos or filipinas. The general workers like cleaners are either Indians or Bangladeshi. The bussiness lounge where I am using this PC has Filipina or other non-Arab personnel.

Post from Sudan

This is my first and probably last post from Sudan. The Internet access speed here is extremely slow. I have been here for 5 days now and so far:

On arrival at Khartoum airport, I saw some U.N. (United Nations) aircraft parked on the airport tarmac. I didn't even realise that the U.N. has their own airplanes. They were small airplanes maybe able to seat about 20 persons. The airplanes were white in colour with "U.N." in black letters. Over the next 4 days, I saw more U.N. vehicles in Khartoum; white coloured four wheel drive SUVs.

I've seen two people run here. On Friday, a white guy was jogging along a river. There is a river in front of the hotel. This river is about 100 m wide and by Malaysian standard, it was a large river. I thought it was the Nile river but later I found out it was just one of Nile river's many branches running through Khartoum.

Last night at 10.30 pm, I saw a black guy running. He looked like a serious runner as he was running at a decent pace. Over here, many social activities start after sunset. During day time, it is just too hot to move around much. The temperature is 45 degree C and I was told it's will be hotter later in July. Summer temperatures can soar past 50 degrees C.

For those who are regular alcohol drinkers, Sudan will leave you high and dry. Sudan is a dry country not just in terms of rainfall but the sale of alcohol is proohibited here. The hotel menu has a vast selection of cocktails with not a drop of alcohol in them. As you may have gathered Sudan is a strict Islamic country with many restrictions and a conservative society. There is even a law that prohibits Sudanese women from swimming outdoor; they must swim in indoor swimming pools. The hotel in fact has one for this purpose.

Nightlife? There are no cinemas, bars and karaokes in Khartoum.

Women? Good luck.

Running In Sudan

Despite the title "Running in Sudan", I still haven't done any running in Sundan as I am still in Malaysia. I had to delay my journey and instead of Monday, I will be flying today.

I am staying at this hotel, Grand Holiday Villa in Khartoum. This hotel is part of a network of Malaysia hotels worldwide. If you noticed in the photos, there is an executive fitness centre. There are three treadmills in the corner. They dont remotely look like the big and sophisticated treadmills in my fitness club. I do hope they are motorised treadmills instead the cheap ones which have no motors. For the cheapest treadmills, you actually have to get track moving by the your own power (feet).

I hope I can post some blogs from Sudan. Stay tuned....

Leaving for Sudan

I am going to Sudan in Africa for about 8 days. I don't think it is possible to run outdoor as the temperature in Khartoum (capital city) is about 11o to 116 deg F (43 to 46 deg C). I haven't been to a country where it is as hot as these temperatures.

I got three vaccination shots this morning for Yellow Fever, Meningitis and Typhoid. Hmm - I'll make sure I don't drink tap water, eat local food and I will kill every mosquito that gets near me.

When?

I ran yesterday at KLCC park despite having a sore right knee for the past one week.

I started tentatively walking with Gan but after 400m, we started to run slowly for 1 lap(1.3km). At the 2nd lap, we ran faster, charging up the hills with our chests heaving from the efforts to take in more air. . Gan stopped running at the 800m mark. I discovered I had gotten into the "groove"and had to keep running. My knee was hurting but I couldn't stop; I was having a great time. Finally I decided to stop at the 3.5 km mark for fear of causing more damage to my knee. I saw Yong and I jogged with him back to the 3.9 km distance. We chatted for a while. I saw Newton who was on his way to run a 3 lap PR. Visit this website to see how he fared.

I really wanted to run more than 3 laps yesterday. My mind and heart was willing but alas my knee condition did not allow me to run further.

When will I be able to run more ?

Mr Rabbit is making a comeback run. He has started training outdoor again. Watch out wolves, in 2 months time, you won't be able to catch Mr Rabbit for dinner.

Books I am reading now: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond

Running Activity Update

I have been running more often over the past 2 weeks. This week on Tuesday ; about 2 km (Klang) and Wednesday about 4.3 km (KLCC). That is the good news - I am able to at least run some distance. The bad news : my injured knee have improved but not to a point where I can run more than 4 or 5 km and not everyday. Every time I run, the physical sensations (soreness and ustable knee) reminds me that I have a persistent an injuy even after 2 months of "rest".

I am keen to run in the Penang Bridge Run that is three and half months away. The PBR was the the first half marathon I've run, way back in year 2000. My time: 2 hrs 20 minutes. I endured leg cramps at the 15 km mark and it was an awfully hard race. Since then I've run about 15 half marathons but PBR remains my all time favourite race.

Hopefully I will continue to recover to a point where I can consistently run 8 km and be able to do some long runs.

I have already decided to skip the NB-Pacesetters 15 km run and the PJ half marathon.

Weekend Run

Yesterday I managed to run about 4 to 5 km. The Klang stadium was full of Punjabis holding a sports event. It was Vasakhi day (Sikh new year) yesterday. When I walked into the stadium, I saw the stand was full of Punjabis and the annoucer said "The Men's 41 to 50 years walk event is next, blah-blah". I took a quick look at the crowd; there was no Punjabi girl in sight. Nothing to see for me:-( . I don't what is it with Punjabi girls; I have never seen one involved in sports. I don't know if it a cultural or religous issue that deters them from partipating in sports.

Anyway I had to run somewhere else yesterday.

There was an exciting news on PM1's site; this year the International Penang Bridge Run (IPBR) may be held again after a 2 year absence. Hopefully I will be able to resume serious training by early May and be ready for the IPBR. It is really something special to run on a bridge while enjoying the sea breeze and watching the sun rise.

My Other Stuff : Thailand Part #1

This blog is getting a bit boring nowadays. I am always writing about my knee injury, recovering, my attempts to recover and run, blah-blah...

On CNN and the BBC tonight "Thaksin Shinwatra has resigned as PM". That suprised a lot of people including me at first but later I found out he had visited the Thai king, Bhumipol Adulyadej I am quite sure the King had advised or perhaps hinted for him to resign from the PM post despite his party (TRT) "winning" the election.

The Thai king has no constitutional power but he has something else more powerful; Respect and Trust from everyone in Thailand. In the past (twice I think- in 1972 and 1992) he has exercised these intangible powers to stabilise the political situation in Thailand.

I have to confess to be something of a Thailand affairs watcher. I keep up to date on what is happening in Thailand through various websites. Ever since my first visit to Thailand in 1989 (17 years ago), I found the happenings in Thailand fascinating.

In Thai society, there are two institutions that is well respected; the Buddhist monkhood and the monarchy. Over the past 10 years, the image of the Buddhist monkhood has taken a beating. There have been numerous scandals (sex and money) involving monks and abbots. In one of my trips in Thailand, I was surprised to observe some monks hanging out and smoking cigarettes.

In Thailand, many young men become monks for a short period of time (months). According to Buddhist belief they will bring merit or good karma to themselves and their parents. The problem is nowadays it has become more of a social obligation instead of a religious one. So some of them become "monks" without the proper motivations and intentions. In some cases, it is an economic necessity for some men to become monks. For example, education is freely provided and meals (in theory - only twice a day) by the monastery. So that is why you can see monks smoking cigarettes or involved in the occasional scandals.

Getting Back to Running

After six weeks of "rest", I have tentatively start to run again since two weeks ago. Last week, was my 2nd run. (My 1st was in Asghabat;5 km) . I did a 4km run with "Mat" at KLCC. It's not much compared to my usual 6.5 to 8.0 km. We must have run at about 8 min per 1.3 km pace. I am certain that I have lost 20 to 30 per cent of my endurance.

Yesterday I managed to run 8 x 400 m (3.2 km). Right knee was a bit sore.

Right now I am taking it slow and easy. I will run short distances between 4 and 5 km each time at slow speed. A long run is out the question for now.

Be patient.

Cars parked next to a park neat the hotel. On the lower right hand side is one of the commonly used cars in Ashagbat; a Russian copy of a square shaped Fiat. 

One of the many parks in Ashgabat (capital city of Turkmenistan). Buildings with dome roofs are quite common in Ashgabat, 

That pile of Manat notes about 5 inches thick (Turkmenistan currency) is worth USD 100 

Back in Malaysia

I am glad to be back in old Malaysia. I didn't blog during the weeekend as most of the time I was wathing the Commonwealth Games on TV.

I had a terrible time on Saturday. I left Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Friday , 6.15 pm. The Ashgabat airport is really quite bad. When I walked into the departure lounge, I was hit by heavy fumes from cigarettes. To my unpleasant surprise and contrary to the norm in other airports, smoking is not banned in airport departures lounges in Turkmenistan. There was about half a dozen people happily puffing away near the toilets. I scurried away to sit near the bar where strangely enough no one was smoking there.

My flight was on Turkmenistan Airline to Bangkok. The aircraft was a Boeing 757 perhaps in its most basic(minimal) configuration. There was no TV screen to watch nor was there any audio facilities. The service was OK but the food ordinary. The English language spoken during various announcements was utterly incomprehensible. See this website for what others had to say about Turkmen. airlines.

The flight was 6 hrs arriving in Bangkok at 2.40 pm, 30 minutes late due to late departure. Bangkok International airport is really in bad shape. There are not enough seats in a the airport and even that hour, most the seats were fully occupied. Most of the people in the airport lounges at that hour were Indian and Vietnamese. Suffice for me to say, the 6 hours I waited for the connecting flight to KL felt like 16 hrs. Next time, I will bring some bedding materials like foam sheets and potable pillows.

On running in Asghabat, I did manage to run 5 km on Wednesday evening. There are plenty of parks in Asghabat and very few people are using the parks in Winter. There is no problem with safety as there is at least one policeman/army at the park. I did get strange looks from the policeman and the locals while I was running in the park. I don't think ANYONE runs for exercise in Turkmenistan.

I will post some photos later.

My right knee is getting much better now. I did not get any symptoms when I ran 5 km last Wednesday. I plan to do some minimum running this week.

Turkmenistan - Post #1

This is my 2nd day in Turkmenistan (Ashagat).

I can't really post a long report because of a slow Internet connection. What I have discovered so far:

• Food : I am having a bit of trouble with the local food. Most of the food here contain a lot of meat (chicken, beef, lamb etc) . The vegetables are mainly salad. Since I don't eat meat except fish , it looks like I have to become a salad eating runner here. Fish here? If they come from the Caspian sea; its better not to eat it because of the pollution problem.
  
• Language : Hardly anyone on the streets can speak English.
  
• Traffic : There is no traffic jam. The cars here are mostly old Russian cars, squarish shape and very battered looking.

The weather has been dry and cold but OK (5 deg. C nightime and 15 deg C daytime). I can survive in these temperatures.

Going To Turkmenistan Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning I am going to Turkmenistan. Where is this place ? Check out this link.

I will flying from KL to Instanbul (Turke), transit for 8 hrs and then fly to Ashgabat (Turkm.) at 11.30 pm. Total journey time = about 26 hrs. I will return to KL next weekend.

I heard from a colleague , the temperature in Asghabat is now higher; low 20's deg. C in the daytime. Much better than during winter when it can be as low as -2 and to -10 deg. C.

I will bringing my running gear to run over there. I heard NO ONE runs for exercise over there. One of the local female staff went jogging and everyone looked at her as if she was crazy.

I plan to post some entries and photos on this site next week.

Born(1991), Died (2006), Age 15 Years Old

I don't remember the month he was born except it was some time in 1991. He was born to my favourite cat, a three colour (white,orange and black) female named Tompok (Spot). He was completely black in colour with a pair of emerald green eyes. The last time I had a black coloured cat was when I was seven years old.

When he was a kitten, he was playful as as cats are at that age . The games I played with him was to get him chasing after string which I dangled just beyond his reach. The other game he played was to chase after a ping pong ball.

When he was older, he was the neighbourhood Boss cat. The other male cats were terrified of him. He was fierce to other male cats especially to those who trespassed around his "Area". He often got into fights and although he was not that big, he managed to intimidate every male cat in the area. He was the undisputed Boss and the Top Cat.

When it came to female cats, unlike his owner (me) he was something of a playboy. He would often dissapear for days or weeks to pursue his "love interests". I guessed he must have sired many of the cats around the area by now. When he was around the house, he would wait outside the door in the morning when I got out to go to work. I stroked him, petted him and fed him breakast - Friskies cat food.

About 3 to 4 years ago, he became much less active. Sometimes he was coughing and wheezing when it gets a bit cold especially in the morning or at night. He did not roam so much and stayed close to the house. I saw him more often as he was always waited outside the door early in the morning. Sometimes I had to look closely as he was black in colour and diffcult to see in dark. But I knew where to look as he usually sits on the slippers or flip flops.

About 2 weeks ago he was really sick for a few days. He fur became red in colour except the area on his head and he had trouble breathing. I was planning to bring him to the vet but somehow he recovered. I was glad he recovered and survived.

Last Saturday he didn't eat the dinner I had placed for him and later he dissapeared. On Sunday, my father saw him hiding in some bushes near a lamp post about 10m near the house. My parents could not find him over the next 4 days. I thought he had been roaming again around the neighbourhood.

Yesterday night I found out he had died. My father noticed a black tail sticking out out of the bushes. It was him and he was dead. His fur had turned red except for ones on his head which was still black. My father buried him near the house.

I do miss him but I think he had lived an unusually long life for a cat. At 15 years old he was equivalent in human age to someone 77 years old. An old cat whom I hope over the past 15 years had enjoyed his life to the fullest and knew he was much loved.

On a side note, I ran 2.6 km yesterday at KLCC park without any pain or soreness in my right knee. There is still hope for me to continue running but I have to be patient.

Hungry

Its almost 1.00 pm and I am quite hungry now. But I cannot eat because I am on a "diet".

After doing less running over the past 2 months or so due to the knee injury, my body weight has crept up from 56kg to ........... 58 kg! Horror.

So I am going on a diet to reduce my daily calorie intake.My plan is:-

Weekday
Breakfast : Cereal and fruit. Occasional Malaysian food not more than twice in 5 days.
Lunch : Fruit or sandwich (homemade)
Dinner : Rice with vegetable. Occasional fish.

Weekend
Same as above but I will a normal lunch.

I will maintain this regime until my weight goes down to 55kg.

Tomorrow I will start running again. I hope there will not be too much problems with my right knee.

KLIM 2006 - Back to Basics

My aspiration and path to run my first marathon has been beset by uncertanities.

I have been training well enough, faithfully doing my weekend long runs until injury struck on Monday, 13 February. It was my fault really when I decided to do some speed training for a change. As a result, my already damaged right knee became much worse. I could only run maybe five times during the 3 weeks leading to the KL International Marathon. Sometimes even walking brought pain. Two weeks before KLIM, the pain and soreness had dissappeared -perhaps if I could recover in one week?

However all was not well yet. When I ran, my right knee became sore after just 3 km. Sometimes it would swell up for several hours and remain swollen for the whole day.

Just one week before KLIM, my knee injury improved with the swelling duration reduced to about 2 hrs on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, the soreness had dissipated too. On Friday, Ronnie passed me the T-shirt, bib, reporting card and timing chip.

The fate of my marathon debut was dependent my condition on Saturday , the day before KLIM. I needed to know if I could run for at least 30km. In the evening, at the Klang stadium, I walked for 1200m before running for 100m. There was no pain when I ran but when I stopped I knew something was wrong. For the next 2 hrs, my knee was swollen. There will be no KLIM for me.

Still at 10.00 pm, I pin the running bib to my running vest, made other preparations and set my alarm clock to wake me up at 3.10am. I tried to sleep but couldn't sleep until 2.00 am. Pre-race jitters I suppose By this time I was elated to discover my right knee was OK - no more soreness and swolleness. I was going to run my first marathon!

At 3.10 am, the alarm went off and I woke up. I did the usual preparations, had a bowl of oatmeal and toilet business. I tested my right knee by walking around the house. The soreness was indeed gone but the knee felt unstable. How far would I be able to run? 42 km is very long distance to walk even if I could do it on an unstable knee.

To go or don't go ? I agonised over it. Should I be more courageous and risk it? I wanted to run this very badly after undergoing 3 months of training. I have been a runner for six years and have yet to run a marathon Do it or not ?

Finally I decided not to run. I would have wait longer and allow my injury to recover. My first marathon would have to wait.

Later, I did go to KLIM in the morning but as a spectator and supporter. I stationed myself at the 40.7km and shouted encouragements to the runners. I took photos of my friends who ran the marathon. The photos which many were not focused properly due to my excitement t0 see them.

Many of the marathoners have completed the race beyond their expectations (see Jamie's report) and there are some who felt they could have done better. Still whether good and bad, running a marathon itself is no small feat. It takes determination and as much mental/ emotional strength as the physical effort to finish one. Perhaps one day I will experience it too.

Putrajaya marathon (10 Sept. 2006) anyone ?

Today : Getting High

I had planned to run this evening at KLCC park but it rained heavily. The purpose of my planned run was to test the condition of my right knee. This evening I had to run on the treadmill at the gym. Over the past 3 weeks I had only managed to run about five times (total less than 30 km). I found these runs difficult and not very enjoyable due to my injury.

On the treadmill, I found myself enjoying the experience of running again. I rediscoved the pleasure and euphoria when I become immersed in the running experience - living in the present and not in the past or future.

Unfortunately I can now say for certain I will not be running the marathon this Sunday. My right became sore after 2 km and I had to stop running at 4 km. Perhaps one day I will be able to run longer distances. For now, I have to be patient.........

To my friends who are running this Sunday:

Good luck ! Run not just for time and medals but to experience life at its fullest.

Sick People on the bus

On the bus to work this morning, I had a terrible time. A guy seated behind me was sniffing, sneezing and coughing all the way to KL He sounded really sick. Every time, he coughed, I could smell the cigarette vapours coming out of his mouth.

One of the problems travelling by bus or any public transport vehicles is I cannot choose who sits beside or near me. One time, there was a drunk guy sitting behind me. I coould smell the alcohol from his breath. That was tolerable until he started to make groaning noises, followed by perioidic spitting on the floor. Worse to come was when he threw up a few minutes later. The smell of his vomit (curry + sour + alcohol) was too much. Luckily there was an empty seat so I was able to move away.

This morning I am more concerned than normal as my right knee had suddenly recovered overnight. Maybe there is a still a slim chance I would be able to run in the KL International Marathon this Sunday. I certainly don't want to fall sick from a cold and coughs 4 days before the race.

Sunday : 26 Feb 2006 - KLIM Update

Despite my knee injury, I have not been idle or stopped exercising. There were some days that I wished I could run normally but I tried to run shorter distances. Since Sunday, 19 February 2005 I have run 3 times:-

Wednesday : 5 km at KLCC park. Right knee was sore after 3 km. Afterwards was slightly sore.

Friday : 5 km at KLCC park. Ran with Newton. R. knee was sore from the beginning but I kept running until I finished 5 km.

Sunday : At the Klang stadium. Only managed to walk for 3 km. R. knee was sore and stiff even while walking. Tried to run for 600m.

KL Internatonal Marathon on 5th March 2006? There is no way I will be able to run 42km or even 7 km (Fun run).

What is my Knee Injury?

These two websites ; Website One and website 2 give a good description of a knee meniscus injury. I tore my right knee meniscus on 21 April 2002. The MRI scan in 2002 showed the tears were in three areas :-

1. At the posterior (back) horn of the lateral meniscus (outer leg). Grade 3 tear i.e. goes through the top and bottom surface of the meniscus.
   
2. At the posterior (back again!) medial (inside leg) meniscus. Grade 2 tear i.e. inside the structure but does not go through the surface.
   
3. At the horn (tip) of the lateral meniscus ;degenerative type tear i.e. fraying or tear in all directions.

The symptoms actually appeared on 21 April 2002 whenI was running on a treadmill at the 8 km mark. I experienced an unstable knee and could not bear normal body weight on the right knee.

The actual injury may have occurred one a half years before (Nov 2000) when I twisted my right knee while descending Mount Kinabalu. In fact to this day, I could still recall the sharp pain and my inability to move for several minutes.

One week later, I was OK but I did not realised there was aready damage to my right knee meniscus. The only symptom I experienced was recorded in my training log book in April 2001 where I wrote "sore right knee". That is until 21 April 2002.

I should explain that most meniscus tears are almost impossible to heal by itself. The reason is 80% of the meniscus (inner area) has no blood vesssels. The outer periphery area (20%) has some blood vessels. Only infants have blood vessels in 100% of the meniscus area and by 10 years old, 30% of the meniscus has no blood vessels.

This website gives the repair options for the meniscus.

This website has a forum about knee meniscus problems -it also has a real photo of a knee meniscus. For runners, please check out the Runners World forum.

Injury Update

My right knee suddenly became better on Saturday morning. Both the stiffness and soreness I experienced were gone. I guess the inflamation and acsumulated fluid are gone.

I did try to run on Sunday evening but my right knee became sore a few minutes after I started running. I think i only managed to run for 2 km before giving up. It was sore about 1 hours afterwards.

This morning, my knee was OK but as of 12.oo pm, it became unstable. It looks I won't be able to run again this week. I've only run 30 km over the past 2 weeks.

The KL International marathon is only 2 weeks away. I am still hoping I will recover to run it. If not, I have to sit it out from the sidelines.

KLIM - Last Race and End of Running for me?

Now my right knee is sore when I am walking or standing up. Even after limiting my runs to two times in the past 10 days, it is still sore. This has never happened over the past four years. Normally I don't get a sore knee doing normal day to day activity like walking.

As of today, the chances of me running in the KL International Marathon is quite slim. It is only two weeks to KLIM and I am hoping within that period, I will be at least be OK to start the race. Whether I am going t0 have knee problems at which distance during the race is uncertain. (But I think it is inevitable).

I have given a lot of thought on whether to continue running after KLIM. Balancing my enjoyment of running and doing races versus being able to do normal day-to-day activities without a painful knee is leaning me towards ending my running activities.

KLIM could be the last race I ever run. I will take a break from running after KLIM . It may be several weeks of rest (minimum two weeks) or it may be longer, perhaps several months. Or in the worse case scenario, I have to stop running altogether.

I won't be updating this blog until shortly before KLIM; I won't be running in the next 2 weeks.

What I did on 15 May 2001

I will be posting some entries from my running logbook. This post is for 15 May 2001 (almost 5 years ago). Note: I (re)started running in July 1999.

Tuesday
Easy run - 48 minutes 49 seconds.
Ran with the Chinese guy wearing (name ?) who wears a singlet + shorts.
Relaxed running at 7 min per lap pace.
Weather : Sunny, Distance : 9.1 km, Weekly Total = 29.1 km

This entry certainly brings back a lot of memories to me.

The chinese guy whom I did not know his name at that time is Yong, now my long run partner.

Those days, a 7 min per lap run around KLCC park (1.3 km per lap) was a relaxed pace for me.

Five years later, how things have changed for the worse running wise. Nowadays a relaxed run around KLCC park is 8 minutes per lap. Of course in 2001, I did not have the knee injury that I've had since 2002. I was five years younger too :-)

I miss those early days when I could stil enjoy running and free of injury.

I will post more entries from my running log this week.

Sunday's Long Run

Things are getting serious at Bukit Aman with the KL International Marathon only 3 weeks away. There were fewer jokes flying around and everyone running today meant business.

My planned experiment on where to pin the Powergels did not happen. Last night I pinned the gels but this morning I discovered the gel was leaking from the pin holes. Scratched experiment#1.

Experiment #2 also did not pan out. Yong thought we running quite fast. We were; we reached the Petronas petrol station at Sri Hartamas in 59 minutes. We did not stop immediately but continued further down, running uphill behind a playground and back to the petrol station to run another 1 km.

A few minutes rest, a drink of Gatorade and we started to run back to Bukit Aman. This time, Jamie was running with us. The return trip was just as fast as first 10km. Just 2 km away from Bukit Aman 1(1 hr 46 minutes) ; I got into problems; #1 = wanted to shit badly, #2 = left groin was hurting and #3=left knee was also painful. I had to stop running and walked the rest of the way to Bukit Aman.

Reached Bukit Aman in 2 hrs 06 minutes. I certainly hope that not all of the 3 problems will occur simultaneously during the marathon.

Next Sunday will be my final long run (30 km) before tapering.

This Sunday's Long Run

I ran yesterday for just 5.2 km. Afterwards my right knee was sore but today it is much better. I may be able to do a long run this Sunday. Among the things I want to try this Sunday :-

• How to carry the Powergels during the marathon? I plan to pin them on the running vest and shorts. Will try it this Sunday.
  
• My pacing plan for the race is 1 hr 05 min per 10 km. Will try it too this Sunday.
  
• Test the conditions of my legs; right knee (injured) and left hip (maybe still injured).

I haven't decided yet whether to run 20 or 30 km for this Sunday.

Taxed : Part 3, the Conclusion

Yesterday I send to FEDEX , my version of the HS code classification. Today I found out that Customs has rejected my classifications. As it now stands (final decision, no appeal), I owe Malaysian custom RM 784 in import duties and sales tax. FYI the value of good ex USA is RM 2600 and the shipping costs was RM 320. The duty and tax amounts to 30% of the value of goods.

I instructed FEDEX to clear the goods through customs. I really have no choice really. What pisses me off is in 1999, I bought some running gear back in 1999 but was not tax then and for the stuff I bought now, I have to pay taxes.

As for the my future purchases from the Internet/overseas which are potentially taxeable, I have to use alternative methods to avoid the import duty and sales tax. For those who are planning to buy things overseas and bring them in by ship or air and the duties & taxes exceed RM 500, this is how it should be done:

Method One

1. Ship it to Singapore which has ZERO import duties. Most companies allow the purchaser a different billing (credit card) and shipping address. Use your friends address in Singapore.
   
   
2. Goods delivered to friend. Friend informs you.
   
   
3. Take a bus to Singapore (cheapest bus ticket is RM 30) - 5 hrs journey. Bring an almost empty suitcase(s) or bag(s) preferably only one (1) large suitcase/bag.
   
   
4. Pick up goods from friend. Belanja him or her for saving you lots of $$$$.
   
   
5. Remove all price labels, packaging and throw away the price list, invoice etc.
   
   
6. Take a bus back to Malaysia. Do this during peak hours (6 to 8 pm) to cross the Causeway to minimise chances of customs checking the bag.

Method Two
Malaysian customs regulations allow RM 500 to be brought in free of import duty by an air courier company like FEDEX, US Post etc via recognised international airports including KLIA. But there is a catch here (there is always one!) to watch out, the RM 500 is assessed on C.I.F. (Cargo Insurance Freight). This means the shipping cost and insurance fee are included in the RM 500. The CIF basis practically limits how much you can buy from overseas without being exposed to the import duties.