A New Door Opens....

Ok, I failed. I got sucked into the routine of work, housework and the usual errands, and totally neglected this blog. Since T1, bless her heart, actually asked for more blog postings, I am actually flattered enough to get off my butt and post something. Besides work, I actually did have a couple of interesting things happen in the past 3 months. The most interesting being that....I am actually a certified PADI open water diver now! Bwah ha ha ha....another notch on my bedpost and more bragging rights....Actually, it still seems a little surreal that I actually passed the training....

It was always with a mix of envy and admiration when I see or hear people talk about diving. It had always seemed one of those things that seem so difficult to learn or need a lot of guts to do. After all, you are entering one of the last unexplored frontiers on earth. A frontier without ready supply and availability of oxygen - the critical ingredient you need to live. The home of extremely scary predators like Great White Sharks. And unknown monsters of the deep like giant octopuses or ugly prehistoric fishes. A pretty daunting world indeed to the uninitiated.

Well, the boss came up with a grand plan of a company/diving trip. And we all went along for the ride. We had to do our pool sessions over the weekend - I was in the last group before the actual trip to Tioman. Going into my pool sessions, my head was already spinning with stories of how my colleagues in other groups had fared. Exhaustion, nearly drowning, puking, cramping... not a very rosy picture. I also had to put in some last minute cramming of the materials and hoped fervently I remembered enough for the multiple choices to trigger some correct answers during the exam. It was with some relief that the pool sessions didn't turn out so bad - I actually had a good time and there were lots of funny moments for the group. My previous stints at swimming and being relatively comfortable in the water helped. The most embarrasing thing for me just turned out to be the struggle I had to put up getting into the wet suit. Those things are pretty darn unforgiving you know.

But the week leading up to the actual dive trip to Tioman, I was a little anxious. It was all fine and dandy in a relatively shallow pool where you could always kick yourself up to the surface if you panic or cling to the sides if you're tired. But open sea? Unfathomable depths? Salt water? Currents and waves? Not to mention those scary predators and unknown monsters? Should I make my will before I go?? After an overnight journey in a freezing bus, we arrived bleary-eyed for the ferry at Mersing. Finally reaching the resort, we thought we'd have rooms to check into but no such luck. The resort was full and we had to wait another couple of hours before we could get to our beds. And we had to start our first 2 open water dives that very afternoon - I pondered on whether it is possible to drown by falling asleep underwater.....

The beach at the resort

After getting a scant hour's nap, we had our lunch and soon enough, it was time for our first dive. I pushed all doubts and anxiety to the back of my mind and focused on the activities at hand....And you know what, except for the fact that my body fats made descending to the bottom an excruciatingly slow process, it all turned out pretty smoothly. Weather was good, water was pretty calm and the salt water didn't sting much when I had to practise filling up and clearing my mask underwater. The first dive was pretty boring in terms of things to see but it was just cool to be actually under the sea and learning to be comfortable with our skills. Time just passed so quickly that all too soon, we were back at the surface and making our way to our second dive spot. Which turned out more interesting as there were lots more beautiful corals and variety of fishes to admire. I am however confessing to the fact that I probably killed some thousand-year coral when I was learning how to control my buoyancy - a fact that I deeply regret and will try to make up for. After the second dive, we had to do some exercises on the surface, which was actually a lot more tiring than being underwater....That night, I was in a zombie-like state due to the lack of sleep from the bus ride the night before and all the physical exertion for the day. But I was happy how things turned out. We enjoyed a nice sunset, chit-chat, and retired early to catch up on our sleep.

By Day 2, I felt like a pro. Gearing up, back-rolling into the water, doing my skills - eat your heart out Jacques Cousteau! My body fats were still a problem for my descent, and I couldn't control my buoyancy resulting in my floating up all the way to the surface on Dive 4, but hey, why sweat the small stuff? We did one extra dive after the final mandatory Dive 4. Now, Dive 5 turned out more challenging as the waves were choppy and the current was strong. We were OK going down and underwater, but surfacing and getting back to the boat was tiring. The boat couldn't pick us up as we were in a shallow area near the corals and rocks, so we had to swim our way for quite a bit through pretty big waves to get near the boat. Man, that was tiring. No matter how much I kicked, the boat just didn't seem to get any nearer! Being swung back and forth as I was clinging on to the ladder to get up the boat was not too fun either.

My dive buddies

At the end of Day 2, I could finally sit back and have a beer, revelling in the knowledge that I had actually completed the course. So, that's basically the gist of my Open water course experience. If anyone is considering it and had doubts, I'd say go for it. It really is not too hard if you are already comfortable with water and have a reasonable fitness level. I'm not sure how much diving I'd actually end up doing as I've always had more affinity with mountains that I did with the sea. But I certainly am going to give it a few more go-s as I think the enjoyment increases as you get better at it. A new door to underwater adventures and experiences have now been opened to me. Now if only I had more time and money.....

Travel Memoirs - Sentierone Trail, Valle Verzasca, Switzerland Part 2

...CONTINUATION FROM PART 1....

When we reached the village of Brione Verzasca, T2 unfortunately had to abandon the trail as she was stressing out her knee a wee bit too much. So, both my trail buddies took the bus home from there. Since I was determined to make it to Lavertezzo to view my double arch bridge, I soldiered on. The sign to Lavertezzo showed the distance at another 2 hours and 15 minutes. Now, I cannot explain why the trail signages in Switzerland never displays the distance but the duration instead. One of these days, I will write to the Board of Walkers or whatever association they have governing this to ask them why. Previous experience doing walks in Switzerland taught me to always factor at least twice as much time than what the sign says. These times were adapted for super fit, tall, long-legged, mountain men and ladies, descendants of yodelling herdsmen who could leap over boulders in a single bound. Believe me, twice is the minimum factor – 3 times as much would be better suited for us unfit, relatively short, bandy-legged, city folks from Asia.

Now, the second last bus from Lavertezzo to Berzona was scheduled to depart at about 5pm. After that, the last bus for the day would leave at around 6pm. Since it was about 2.15 pm when I started off from Brione, that meant I had about 2 hours and 45 minutes to make it to Lavertezzo. I wanted to catch the 5pm bus so that I could make it back while there was still daylight. The thought of having to make my way back to the apartment from the bus stop in Berzona in the dark was not at all appealing - there were no street lights in these little villages and it was a good 15-20 minutes walk from the bus stop. So, I had to morph from short Asian city dweller to Swiss mountain lady in record time. Personally, I really wanted to test whether it was humanly possible to reach Lavertezzo in the signage-stipulated time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. So I set off from Brione at a really brisk pace.

All went well initially as the path kept relatively level. But after about 15 minutes, it started climbing. There was not much climbing thus far on the trail but it just HAD to start going uphill when I was in a rush. So, with super human strength, I kept up my pace and bounded up gnarled roots and muddy steps. Now, let me put things into perspective by saying that I had already done 3-4 days of walks and treks in Zermatt before this, so I was not really in my prime unfit condition. Everything passed by in a daze and a blur. How the heck do these Swiss people enjoy their walks when everything just whizzes past??? I am strangely proud to say I even embarked on overtaking some of the mountain people who were on the trail in my haste to make it on time for the bus.

Then, I entered the part of the trail that was called Sentiero Per L’Árte. The Board of Walkers decided that it would be nice to spice things up a little on the trail by letting various artists set up their art installations. I kept checking my watch and checking the times on the signages. So far, I was able to keep up decently – so I thought I would slack off my pace just a tad to enjoy the art pieces....

Did I mention there were waterfalls along the trail too? About an hour away from Lavertezzo, the trail became a couple of boardwalks placed across boulders to cross a crashing waterfall and stream which joined up to the river.

It seemed easy enough until the boardwalks ended at the water with no way across. The yellow marks on the boulder pointed the way forward but there were no board walks – just rushing water over rocks. Here, I spent a harassed couple of minutes back-tracking and trying to figure out if I took a wrong turn. Finally, I came to the inevitable conclusion that I had to walk across on the slippery boulders, in the water, forging through rushing, thunderously loud rapids to get across. Visions of my dead lifeless body floating down the Verzasca river came to mind. Slipping was NOT an option. I didn’t even think of taking off my shoes as I treaded my way on the boulders, praying fervently I would keep my footing.

Since I am here writing this, guess you figured out that I made it relatively injury free. But precious minutes had vanished and I was down to my last half hour to make it back in time to Lavertezzo. Squishing and squelching noisily in my shoes, I raced across the last part of the trail. Which was not fun as it was really muddy due to the rain.  While preparing myself for the worst case scenario – basically having to wait another hour for the last bus and find my way back to the apartment in the dark – the adrenalin kept me going at breakneck pace. At last, I turned the corner and spotted the Ponte del Salti – the lovely double arch stone bridge of Lavertezzo. Yippeee! I was down to my last 5 minutes to get to the bus stop but I still couldn’t stop myself taking time for photos. I still had to enjoy the views right? Amazingly, I made it to the bus stop where groups of walkers were already waiting for the bus. And it was another 5 minutes before the bus arrived. The Swiss were notoriously precise but I was glad they were a little off this time, allowing me to take a breather and to enjoy the scene at the bridge.

I started deflating on the bus. Exhaustion started kicking in as I realized I had walked really fast, practically non-stop for the past 2.5 hours. And that doesn’t even include the first half of the trail from Sonogno. I still had to make it up nearly 300 steps to get to the apartment. But it was a sweet feeling when I finally rested my butt on the little stone bench in my apartment's garden and breathed in the sweet evening air of Berzona.

Sunset view from the apartment
Conclusion – Valle Verzasca ROCKS and ALWAYS factor in twice the amount of time stated on the signages, if not thrice the amount. You will get to actually enjoy the scenery and your short, Asian bandy legs will thank you for it!

Travel Memoirs - Sentierone Trail, Valle Verzasca, Switzerland Part 1

FOREWORD : It surprises me a little that I have not blogged about anything related to travel so far. Must be because of the fact that I have been marooned in Malaysia for the past 7 months since starting work again. But I am getting a little excited now because in just two weeks, I am finally taking my first trip for 2010! Yay! To get my travel juices flowing again, I thought I'd start reliving some of my previous travel experiences...Since I love going for walks when I travel, I'd start by sharing some lovely treks I have taken...

Sentierone Trail, Switzerland
Apparently, the scene where James Bond bungy-jumped off the dam in the movie Goldeneye was filmed at the dam in Valle Verzasca, in the Italian speaking region of Ticino, Switzerland. So, when I found myself staying in Valle Verzasca a couple of days, I did consider trying it out. But thoughts of me splattered against the dam wall like a swatted fly and not being able to enjoy the rest of my vacation put a full stop to that possibility. Instead, I proposed to my travel companions, T1 and T2, a nice, leisurely, walk along the River Verzasca following the Sentierone Trail. The trail actually stretches about 25km from the Tenero, situated at the river mouth, all the way to Sonogno, the last village at the end of the valley.

Since there was no way we could do 25km over unfamiliar territory in one day, we decided to take the local postbus from Berzona where we stayed, all the way to Sonogno, and start the walk back from there. Then, when we’ve walked till we can’t walk anymore, we could always crawl our way back to the nearest bus stop and ride back to Berzona. Brilliant plan! Our target though, if our legs could carry us that far, was to end at Lavertezzo, about 14 km from Sonogno, where we would bus back to Berzona. There was supposed to be a beautiful double arch stone bridge at Lavertezzo to admire and I was looking forward to that.

Map of Sentierone Trail

Though it had been raining intermittently since our arrival in the valley, we were greeted by some sunshine on the day of our walk.

View of Valle Verzasca from Berzona

Timing was everything as the postbuses were not that frequent in view of the tourist season winding down at the end of September. We managed to catch the bus from Berzona without a hitch and soon found ourselves at Sonogno. It was a pretty little village with well maintained stone cottages typical of the Ticino region.

Sonogno

Several photos and a bakery stop later, we were on our way out from Sonogno. The yellow signs pointed the way to the next village along the trail as we traipsed along the fairly level path in the forest next to the river. The air was fresh and the sound of the river crashing noisily onto the rocks next to us was invigorating. The Verzasca river was definitely not the peaceful, slow, meandering type. The clear waters which reflected the sun in tinges of blue and emerald rushed by furiously over large boulders and rocks. These powerful natural forces probably made the valley the perfect spot for that James Bond dam.  We took out time on the trail and enjoyed the views, stopping for photos at every little strange plant we came across...

While the sky looked a little cloudy, the sun blazed strongly. We hoped the weather would hold out for us to continue the walk as long as possible. We crossed the river once or twice as our path took us zig-zagging through the little stone villages along the way. We couldn’t resist taking loads of the photos of the quaint stone cottages and the lovely gardens...and stealing bites from the apple trees....

The valley, once deemed a harsh and wild land, was home to hardworking farmers and their sheep. But that was a long time ago. Though there were still sheep to be found, the valley was now more of a summer getaway and tourist destination. There were a lot of abandoned cottages scattered across the valley, sadly begging for attention...

But we found the perfect spot for our picnic lunch, which we gobbled down hungrily.

And we found the perfect spot for a pee stop too...

Though I have to admit, it was pretty stressful trying to let it all out while whirling your head around like a frantic owl, keeping a lookout for passers-by....

...TO BE CONTINUED...

World Cup 2010 Final - Delayed Update!!

Delayed updates from the World Cup 2010 finals....
1. Fernando Torres - still looks good but again, only put in the last 15 mins of extra time.  And pulled a hamstring, all on his own. Not a good tournament for you, mi amigo Fernando....
2. Wesley Sneijder - Dutch gangster who can shoot a mean long ball from miles away
3. Spanish defender with the beard – Found out his name - Pique.  Still cute and great job!
4. Dutch guy who kicked Spanish guy in the chest - shame on you!
5. Heitinga - Dutch gangster whose second foul, which in my opinion, didn't really warrant a second yellow card.  Should have been that Dutch guy who kicked Spanish guy in the chest.  Bad luck for you Mr. H!
6. Spaniard with the headband - Identified as Ramos.  Still looked like he had another whole can of coconut oil massaged onto his hair...but he played really well.
7. Arjen Robben - Dutch gangster who missed his two chances of beating Spanish goalie one-on-one and was really, really upset about it.
8. And finally, Puyol - again, what can I say... Thank heavens he pulled Robben down....

World Cup 2010 - Latest Update!!!

Exclusively from me to you....the latest from the World Cup 2010 semi-final last night...
1. German goalkeeper - quite cute. Such a sad expression on his face when the ball hit the net
2. Fernando Torres - boleh tahan but only got in the game in the final minutes. So could use a little more viewing time for second assessment. Perhaps there will be more of him in the final.
3. Lucas Podolski - not bad, a tad serious looking though - smile a bit la, cameras are on you!
4. Kroos – cute but suffers the same fate as Fernando, too little viewing time. Alas, unlike Fernando, that’s the last we will see of this sweetie in this World Cup
5. Spanish defender with the beard – one of the rare hirsute footballers I have seen – cute in a hirsute kind of way. Pretty darn good defender.
6. David Villa – too short
7. Xavi – looks like he could be in IT line
8. Ozil – goldfish eyes....can pass off as Stallone's cousin
9. Spaniard with the headband - looked like he had a whole can of coconut oil massaged onto his hair...not good.
10.  And finally, Puyol - what can I say...  Thank heavens he scored....

Ipoh Starwalk 2010

Earlier this month, I made the journey to Ipoh for the Starwalk 2010 event.  Since a failed attempt to join the Malay Mail Big Walk many years ago, I've always wanted to get a chance to redeem myself at another walking event.  Since accomodation in Ipoh was not an issue with my sister living there, and the registration fee was very affordable, it was not a difficult decision to sign up.  Also joining in the fray was my sister, my niece and Ultraman.  So, I was in good company.  Besides, the various articles in the Star on the many generous sponsors already had me salivating at the thought of my goodie bag.  There was a moment of hesitation on whether to go for the competitive category which cost RM12 to sign up, or the non-competitive category which cost RM8 to sign up.  In the end, since we were not even that confident we could complete the 10km in the qualifying time of 1 hour 40 mins, we thought we may as well save the RM4 for a good meal in Ipoh instead.

The problem with joining walks and runs is the ungodly hour which you have to drag yourself out of bed.  After a late night of watching Ip Man 2 on telly, it was no fun to be up at 5.30am to get ready.  Somehow, we managed to go through the motions of brushing our teeth and soon found ourselves at Stadium Indra Putra.  After being herded like cows by some fellas in uniform into the stadium itself, we got our blue starting bands on our wrists and waited for the show to start. 

Making our way into the stadium

There were kids, kids and more kids.  Apparently, the kids get points from school for extra-curriculum activities for participating in the walk. It would have been embarassing if all the adults had signed up for the competitive category and we were the only ones with the kids, but luckily I spotted an old man limbering up on the field. 

To pass the time, we took some pics and practised our World Cup moves at the goalpost...

World Cup worthy saves

We managed to witness the flag-off for the competitive category from the bleachers of the stadium.  The competitive group was much much smaller in number since this comprised of the serious walkers.  At this point, I was glad we stuck to the non-competitive category else I would have been eating dust! The guys at the frontline looked like they were running instead of just walking!  Soon after, the non-competitive race was to begin and crowd in the stadium starting filing out of the sole exit to head towards the Start line.  By the time we inched our way out, we realized our race had already started.  My kiasu spirit kicked in and I shot forth as fast as my legs could carry me, hoping to make it within the qualifying time for my cert....

Alas, the crowd of giggling girls and babbling boys was huge!  I was practically boxed in on all sides with kids who were definitely not in it to win it....My impatience grew and I practically turned into an F1 driver of sorts.  There were sudden swerves, spurts of acceleration, and even back tracking and slow downs with changes of directions. My eagle eyes spotted for openings in the body mass where I could make my overtaking moves.  If someone had been watching me from a helicopter, they would have probably seen something like this....

I lost my sister and niece in the crowd but Ultraman kept pace behind me, making his own set of evasive moves.  After making spectacular manoeuvres for an exhausting 45-60 minutes, the crowd thinned out to a more manageable level and I started to enjoy myself more.  It was tough maintaining the speed at a walking pace - apparently, you could get disqualified for running.  Though I doubt this was really enforced looking at all the kids who kept running around to look for their friends and family.  Finally, the stadium re-appeared and I picked up my cert on the way across the finish line.  I had managed to finish the 10km around 1 hour 30 minutes.  Yay!

Despite the queues, I managed to partake in some free 100 Plus and mineral water but lost out to the crowd at the Milo van.  After meeting back up with my group, we decided not to stick around for the lucky draw which would only take place an hour later.  We were all having hunger pangs and itching for a good shower by the time we were picked up by my brother-in-law in his Kancil. 

Overall, we had a fun time.  The freebies were a little disappointing - with only 100 Plus, Spritzers and Milo as the main draw.   And the goodie bag was not as goodie as I had hoped.  My sister says they had a better goodie bag last year.  Perhaps if we had stuck around for the lucky draw, the prizes would have been more attractive.  But then again, what were the chances of your number being picked when there was an estimated 12,000 participants??  The main lesson learnt though is that next time, I will fork out the additional RM4 to sign up for the competitive category.  Just so that I can have more free space to move about.  It was a real test of my miniscule store of patience what with being kiasu and yet being hemmed in by bodies all around me.  Till the next Starwalk everyone!

My Treetop Adventure

Had a treetop adventure recently. A bunch of ex-colleagues got together for an outing at Skytrex in Taman Botani, Shah Alam. Skytrex basically operates this outdoor, rope-based obstacles thingy. People in temporary bouts of madness, (like me) actually pay to suspend themselves 3 storeys above the ground while trying to scuttle from one tree to another over all sorts of rope bridges, lines and swings. There were basically three courses you could sign up for. Little Adventure is targeted towards kids and adults who value their lives enough to only suspend themselves 3 meters off the ground. Big Thrill is for the wannabe’s – people who don’t want to be associated with Little Adventure and yet are too scared to take up the Extreme Challenge, which as you may have guessed, are for the daredevils and the super athletes.

Since all of us were wannabes, naturally, we signed up for Big Thrill. We were supposed to start our activity at 10.30am but due to some confusion on which bus we were supposed to take to get to the SkyTrex site, and the long lead time waiting for the bus, we only managed to get going around noon. This Taman Botani could use a lot better signages and provide more detailed visitor information. Once I got my safety harness, my fingerless gloves (don’t know what’s the right term but you get the idea) and my bandana on, I was feeling pretty much like a super athlete and wondering what the heck was I doing with a bunch of wusses attempting Big Thrill. Just kidding. I was wondering how I was even going to have enough energy to make it up the20 meter ladder to get to the first obstacle. To cut the long story short, my knees wobbled throughout, I yelled really loud once, nearly broke my back and barely avoided slamming into a couple of trees. By George, it is good to be alive. Anyway, since I didn't bring my camera with me, I did up a few illustrations to share with you the highlights of the course.

What you need before starting :

A. No, that is not red underwear but the safety harness and carabiner. Very important item to have to not get killed if you fell.

B. Fingerless gloves. The instructors may tell you that you don’t need it but believe me, it will help prevent rope and cable burns on your hands when you are hanging on for dear life whilst scuttling across that tightrope.

C. Sports shoes. “N” is for New Balance.

D. Attitude. Smile, laugh loudly, crack jokes. No one will know that you are worrying about whether you can go through the whole course (estimated at 2 hours on average) without having to go to the loo. There are no toilets up in the trees.

This was the first obstacle on the course which provided some challenge for my big feet.

Second obstacle – again, my big feet was my Achilles heel.

This was where I yelled out loud when I started swinging back and forth. It was an ordeal trying to make it from one swinging pipe to another – I was holding on so tightly, the veins were bulging out from my arms !

This was where I nearly broke my back. I had to swing on the rope from one plank to another. After landing my feet on the next plank, I was bent backwards, staring up at the sky, wondering how I was going to haul myself upright. After several attempts at this, I took the easier way out and scuttled across by placing my feet on the two ropes holding up the planks. Tarzan can do all the swinging.

The flying fox. This may appear to be the easiest obstacle – and it is quite a ride when you are whizzing by, supported comfortably in your safety harness. Just don’t slam into the tree when you land.

By the last obstacle, which was a flying fox, I was whooping out loud and beating my chest with my fists. Actually, with the safety harness on, I shouldn’t have even worried when I nearly lost my balance on the swinging pipes and the tarzan rope obstacles. If I had slipped, the harness would have caught me and I would have been basically been back in a flying fox position. Guess, it was a psychological block there.

All in all, it was fun. Yelling and screaming in a group always is. Extreme Challenge, anyone?
http://www.skytrex-adventure.com/index.php

Pics courtesy of my friend.