Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan - 630am, 4C - On the coldest day in 44 years...一群神經病去報馬拉松。 還沒開始跑襪子已經濕了。 and in customary tradition, i didn't train for it and i'm probably fatter than i've ever been. i packed shorts and a t shirt, sun screen, swimmers and sun glasses and hopped in the car before being sent back inside to get more stuff. so i packed some tights and under armor and i was off. i may have forgotten how cold taiwan could be in the winter or i over estimated the micro climate of taipei....or i'm just an idiot under preparing and under packing for everything because by the time i realized how cold 台中 was...it got even colder....and when the downpour joined us in the morning...i layered on everything i had...plus kens windbreaker and a pancho from 711...and steves extra winter beanie...and headed for the start line.
my socks were wet before the race even started. the pancho was annoying to run with. i felt blisters early on...i had to pee...i had to poop...everything was going wrong...yet i wasn't as nervous as previous races tho i had to walk after the third mile. it's pretty embarrassing to have to walk so early in an endurance race. (tho not as embarrassing as not being able to ride the loaner bike for a triathlon). but my body is built like a truck. and gets stronger as the race went on. sun moon lake is double the elevation of taipei at 748m and the course was extremely hilly. i walked all uphills and sprinted downhill....(whereas taiwanese people all slowly run uphill and slowly run downhill....terrible conservation of energy)...
when you're running around a lake...u kind of run out of excuses to quit. because you somehow have to make it back to the start. and before i knew it...i hit 26km. so i called steve. "in this rain...not worth it...just turn back"
my socks were wet before the race even started. the pancho was annoying to run with. i felt blisters early on...i had to pee...i had to poop...everything was going wrong...yet i wasn't as nervous as previous races tho i had to walk after the third mile. it's pretty embarrassing to have to walk so early in an endurance race. (tho not as embarrassing as not being able to ride the loaner bike for a triathlon). but my body is built like a truck. and gets stronger as the race went on. sun moon lake is double the elevation of taipei at 748m and the course was extremely hilly. i walked all uphills and sprinted downhill....(whereas taiwanese people all slowly run uphill and slowly run downhill....terrible conservation of energy)...
when you're running around a lake...u kind of run out of excuses to quit. because you somehow have to make it back to the start. and before i knew it...i hit 26km. so i called steve. "in this rain...not worth it...just turn back"
i've always been known to care about skin care. i'll get facials and use a wide array of products regularly. i have a trial and error approach to products and preach consistency of treatment rather than quality/price of the product. without fear of allergies or redness, i've always just taken my recovery for granted. eat right. sleep right. keep your face clean and moisturize pretty much gets the job done. a couple of blemishes here and there never really last that long. but that's not the case for everyone....4 facials in one month...
there's been a complaint that the sushi in taiwan are too big. that each nigiri is more than a biteful and hence bad proportions and should be smaller. most people would probably prefer the value of having a bigger piece of high quality seafood protein, but purists with delicate non-soy palates complain about too much of a good thing. "the sushi in taiwan is pretty good. after all the fish is caught from the same place. maybe some skill is lacking, but the sushi in taiwan is just as good as japan and much cheaper" - munekazu masuda
it really doesn't matter what weight i'm at....thru the years...no matter who i've dated, they've always described me as something round white and mushy. fluffy......mantou, bun, potato, and now gudetama....
it's been 7 years since i lived in singapore....at the time, with oil at $150/bbl, the commodities boom was making singapore an even bigger oil hub and in effect an even bigger financial hub stealing thunder away from what the brits built hong kong on, a western banking hub in the east. singapore was growing fiercely but with a population wavering at 4M it was not able to sustain its GDP without foreign tourists, expats workers, students etc. and so came the casino's...and the push for permanent residents. and so came the influx of casino crime...and rich mainland chinese.
that immigrant trickle down effect...finally trickled INTO MY FOOD! my "go to" food spots have never failed me but this trip....nothing i ate hit the spot! everything seemed callously cooked, under flavored, not rich enough, not aromatic enough...spicy with no flavor, oily with no purpose, just overall sub par. are the immigrants to blame? has immigrant workforce diluted the classic singaporean dishes? GAH!
UNCLE LEONGS CHILI CRAB - ehhh...
tippling club. australian gastronomical tasting menu fare...duxton road has changed so much from the filipino bar days...
that immigrant trickle down effect...finally trickled INTO MY FOOD! my "go to" food spots have never failed me but this trip....nothing i ate hit the spot! everything seemed callously cooked, under flavored, not rich enough, not aromatic enough...spicy with no flavor, oily with no purpose, just overall sub par. are the immigrants to blame? has immigrant workforce diluted the classic singaporean dishes? GAH!
leedon heights....there's something to be said about to asian commune style construction. housing projects went from military style to hdb's to luxury 99 year 7 building residential zones. its like a suped up town house into a super condo development. feels socialist with a tron backdrop.
tippling club. australian gastronomical tasting menu fare...duxton road has changed so much from the filipino bar days...
training for a marathon just became a walk in the park...and texting...
COMBAT DURIAN! WE CALL IT COMBAT BECAUSE WE WANT YOU TO COME BACK! - oh singlish! this place on ballestier road...has some legit durians from malaysia. this one is the mountain cat durian. 貓山王。 creamy and thick and dense. small pits. not too sweet and a pleasant bitter aroma....like a coffee savory bitter....delicious.
The preferred post-#duriandrink is "cooling" water, often poured into the empty durian husk and sometimes mixed with salt.
i chased mine down with mangosteens too...
maxwell food court 天天海南雞飯。 long queue. it was good. not amazing.
gardens by the bay. - singapore hasn't changed but a lot of new shit like this has gone up. these faux trees look cool at night from an aerial view. but we went at 5pm and it looks like barren abadoned amusement park. gross. the world expo tree of life looked way nicer.
amandas first time at the MBS infinity pool
what would a trip to singapore be without lester. and an educational trip to a thai disco. hahahaa....
killeney kopitiam.
imperial treasure steam boat ION orchard
NEWTON
