According to an article at a Dutch newssite the longest man in the world, 2.36M long Bao Xishun saved 2 dolfins. There is an English version as well.
The dolfins swalled plastic that had to be removed from their stomachs. However, when doctors were entering the stomachs, they cramped up.
Bao used his 1.06M long arms to get into the stomach and remove the plastic.
So, lets see if it sparks some interest for animal saving....or a slow down on shark fins soup.....
Thursday, 14 December 2006
Chinese drink most beer in the world!
According to an article in a Dutch newspaper (CLICK HERE)are the Chinese the bigges beerdrinkers in the world.... now who thinks again about beerbellies :)
The China consumption last year was around 30BILLION Liters of beer, 1/5 of the total world consumption.
The US take 2nd place followed by Germany, Brazil and Russia.
The China consumption last year was around 30BILLION Liters of beer, 1/5 of the total world consumption.
The US take 2nd place followed by Germany, Brazil and Russia.
Saturday, 9 December 2006
bangkok....new airport and taxi drivers
I am now sitting at Bangkok airport...after spending 2 days in the city delivering a project management exam preparation course.
Am sitting at black canyon coffee enjoying a decent black coffee while updating the blog :)
Good to see that with the new airport, they AOT decided to provide free WiFi for its travelers. The new airport looks clean, organized. There is a good number of shops for people that want to spend their last money.. However, I feel they are a little bit the same. What I miss a little is the variation of little shops there was at the previous airport.
The rest is a serious improvement. Today it took me around 10 minutes to check in, pay the 500TBT airport tax, and go through immigration. The last 2 steps took easily 20-30 minutes in the previous airport.
My from and to trips could not have been more different. Upon arrival I walked to the taxi ramp, which is a little hard to find. Apparently the authorities had the plan to ban the use of normal taxi's and enforce the use of limousines. That would be a little silly. In my case the taxi fare is around 300baht + another 60baht for toll fares. In case of a "limousine" (don't think about a big chevy, or extended humvee, its more like a litle bit above standard car) this would set me back between 700-1000 Baht. So a serious difference without added value.
Anyway, when I found the taxi place again on Wednesday evening I had to queue up. Immediately witnessing an interesting story. Normally for trips outside the Bangkok area the meter is not used but fixed fares are used. So going on a meter would be silly in this case. Anyway, leaving from the airport adds an extra 50baht to the bill for what? Am not sure yet :) My first surprise was that the car was like an MPV type and it looked very well maintained. Then the next surprise was that the driver was fluent in English. THai people in general are friendly and polite..yes even the cab drivers! So that didnt come as a surprise..
---> to be continued as i have to board my plane now....
Ok, back again!
Those days I stayed at www.laresidencebangkok.com again. I had a different room then before till my good surprise. THe aircon here was adjustable in more variation then either hurricane or off. ANd even more important it was not blowing on the bed.
Was in Bangkok for 2 days project management exam preparation training for a major news company. Good crew, very professional approach.
My trip back was more interesting. When leaving the hotel, there it so happened that there was a taxi waiting outside. So, me drops the stuff in. So, i sit in the back...and think VAMOS! Of to the airport. Then the driver was starting to negotiate. 600THB and I had to pay for toll as well. Now, in reality the total fee from the new airport to hotel is around 370THB. Anyway, after going a bit back and forward we settled on my terms. I don;t mind negotiation, however a price is a price and if there is no added value then why added price?
So after 10 minutes delay we get on the road! Through the city towards motorway. When turning onto the motorway, he kind of turns around and mumbles..... do you know the way? Hmm interesting,that explains his way out price during negotiations. He had not been at the airport before.
Now, I dont know my way around Bangkok in detail, however the international symbol for and airport is......a pictogram of a plane! At pretty much every corner, turn etc the driver asked me which way. So my thoughts were, hmmm maybe try to explain the meaning of the sign. After a while I gave up.....as it didnt seem to click in.
The interesting bit was that he didn't know how to get back either. I do hope he has been able to get a return ride!
Am sitting at black canyon coffee enjoying a decent black coffee while updating the blog :)
Good to see that with the new airport, they AOT decided to provide free WiFi for its travelers. The new airport looks clean, organized. There is a good number of shops for people that want to spend their last money.. However, I feel they are a little bit the same. What I miss a little is the variation of little shops there was at the previous airport.
The rest is a serious improvement. Today it took me around 10 minutes to check in, pay the 500TBT airport tax, and go through immigration. The last 2 steps took easily 20-30 minutes in the previous airport.
My from and to trips could not have been more different. Upon arrival I walked to the taxi ramp, which is a little hard to find. Apparently the authorities had the plan to ban the use of normal taxi's and enforce the use of limousines. That would be a little silly. In my case the taxi fare is around 300baht + another 60baht for toll fares. In case of a "limousine" (don't think about a big chevy, or extended humvee, its more like a litle bit above standard car) this would set me back between 700-1000 Baht. So a serious difference without added value.
Anyway, when I found the taxi place again on Wednesday evening I had to queue up. Immediately witnessing an interesting story. Normally for trips outside the Bangkok area the meter is not used but fixed fares are used. So going on a meter would be silly in this case. Anyway, leaving from the airport adds an extra 50baht to the bill for what? Am not sure yet :) My first surprise was that the car was like an MPV type and it looked very well maintained. Then the next surprise was that the driver was fluent in English. THai people in general are friendly and polite..yes even the cab drivers! So that didnt come as a surprise..
---> to be continued as i have to board my plane now....
Ok, back again!
Those days I stayed at www.laresidencebangkok.com again. I had a different room then before till my good surprise. THe aircon here was adjustable in more variation then either hurricane or off. ANd even more important it was not blowing on the bed.
Was in Bangkok for 2 days project management exam preparation training for a major news company. Good crew, very professional approach.
My trip back was more interesting. When leaving the hotel, there it so happened that there was a taxi waiting outside. So, me drops the stuff in. So, i sit in the back...and think VAMOS! Of to the airport. Then the driver was starting to negotiate. 600THB and I had to pay for toll as well. Now, in reality the total fee from the new airport to hotel is around 370THB. Anyway, after going a bit back and forward we settled on my terms. I don;t mind negotiation, however a price is a price and if there is no added value then why added price?
So after 10 minutes delay we get on the road! Through the city towards motorway. When turning onto the motorway, he kind of turns around and mumbles..... do you know the way? Hmm interesting,that explains his way out price during negotiations. He had not been at the airport before.
Now, I dont know my way around Bangkok in detail, however the international symbol for and airport is......a pictogram of a plane! At pretty much every corner, turn etc the driver asked me which way. So my thoughts were, hmmm maybe try to explain the meaning of the sign. After a while I gave up.....as it didnt seem to click in.
The interesting bit was that he didn't know how to get back either. I do hope he has been able to get a return ride!
Wednesday, 6 December 2006
free wireless @ Hong Kong Airport
I am now waiting at the airport for another flight to Bangkok.
Had a flawless drop off of my lugage at Hong Kong station, before boarding the Airport Express. It is not that cheap to use compared to an airport bus that leaves close to my home, however the bus goes right through the city...which can be a bit of a pain during the day.
Anyway, I was already wondering when it was going to happen, but since Friday December 1 Hong Kong Airport has FREE WiFi airport wide! The service is delivered by PCCW's netvigator.
Excellent news this is, as I can now have a pre flight coffee and get the last news in and out :)
Good job guys!
Had a flawless drop off of my lugage at Hong Kong station, before boarding the Airport Express. It is not that cheap to use compared to an airport bus that leaves close to my home, however the bus goes right through the city...which can be a bit of a pain during the day.
Anyway, I was already wondering when it was going to happen, but since Friday December 1 Hong Kong Airport has FREE WiFi airport wide! The service is delivered by PCCW's netvigator.
Excellent news this is, as I can now have a pre flight coffee and get the last news in and out :)
Good job guys!
Tuesday, 5 December 2006
an interesting week in Thailand, the start
Last week was a very interesting week.
I knew I had to fly to Bangkok on Sunday afternoon. Purpose of the trip was to run a PMP project management training. However, I booked 2 flights. One for Sunday and one for Wednesday a week later, in that sequence. When checking my departure time I looked the email for the Wednesday flight. Finding it a little strange to see 16:00hrs I kind of said, hmm then maybe I did book it at 16:00.
Now, Cathay Pacific does have this flight reminder service which means 2 hours in advance you receive an sms whether the flights is on time or not. I always found this a little strange, as by that time people are normally at the airport anyway. And I was about to cancel the service anyway.
Whilst packing my suitcase I noticed an SMS on my phone..... so I checked it. And indeed... 2 hrs to go. Hmm crap that means I had to be at least at HK station to check in. In short, I was running seriously late. Rushing to get to the airport in time......... the last bit by cab as well. And of course the cab driver keeps on driving till nearly end of the departure hall. THe CX counters are pretty much in the beginning.
I checked in online already, which normally means I can drop op my suitcase. However, murphy was waiting and even for drop off was a queue. So i decided to go to business class counter which I can do with Marco Polo Frequent flyer card. The guy looked a little weird at me....which generally means bad news. He calls his supervisor, start calling like crazy. THe result was, sorry sir the flight is closed. I just missed it. I do sincerely appreciate the effort he put in there without me even asking. One of my main drivers to fly CX as their service is just good. Anyway, step 2 lets look at alternatives. The next flight was pretty fully booked, however the strategy was to change ticket to 2 flights later and then go on standby. Thank Goodness, people that think with you! How nice is that.
As we do.........so showing up at the counter after a nice coffee.....didn't get me anywhere. The flight was overbooked, even on business class. Never mind I still could check in for the updated flight. Of course it costed my 500HKD to get my ticket changed, but that was my own fault.
Finally on the plane I have a decent flight to Bangkok. Quite excited as I was flying into the new airport. And yes, pleasantly surprised it looks quite good!
Less pleasant surprises came soon. After cruising around for a taxi stand....i found one. Hmmm that didn't look very good. A queue, people but no cabs. When coming closer......the was a sign put up: CABS ON STRIKE!
Yea, whatever..... hmm it looks serious. Luckily when I arrived at the queue, the cabs just drove up.........pffffffff at least not hours of waiting or getting an expensive limousine service.The ride was ok, always funny with non English speaking cab drivers. I had not printed out the hotel name and adress in Thai...so it took me a little to explain the street of my hotel. Once there I could point out the location as I had been there before.
A good habit is that you need to pay tollfees directly, so at least no fights over it at a later stage.
After nearly an hour we arrived at my hotel. A small place, but convieniently located opposite the work location. It is a little place called La Residence A very fancy name.
The entrance is quite nice, but as soon as you leave it, you end up in a pretty basic place. A good thing is free wifi for guests :)
Since I had been offline for a while....i needed my dosis of bits. Ouch, that didnt work well. After a bit forward backward with the stadd i found out that one connection didn't work (altough according to them it does) and the next one needed a security code.
WOW THat did they job, however the connection strength was so poor that it didn;t work anyway. After 2 hours messing around I gave up, went for a shower and crashed.
Now the next one... the aircon had 2 positions: hurricane or off. After some scientific studies on airflow, temperature etc I decided to swithc it off to prevent being blown away.
Hmmm it got a little hot as Bangkok is still in the end 20;s temp. range....
After a while i fell into a good sleep!
I knew I had to fly to Bangkok on Sunday afternoon. Purpose of the trip was to run a PMP project management training. However, I booked 2 flights. One for Sunday and one for Wednesday a week later, in that sequence. When checking my departure time I looked the email for the Wednesday flight. Finding it a little strange to see 16:00hrs I kind of said, hmm then maybe I did book it at 16:00.
Now, Cathay Pacific does have this flight reminder service which means 2 hours in advance you receive an sms whether the flights is on time or not. I always found this a little strange, as by that time people are normally at the airport anyway. And I was about to cancel the service anyway.
Whilst packing my suitcase I noticed an SMS on my phone..... so I checked it. And indeed... 2 hrs to go. Hmm crap that means I had to be at least at HK station to check in. In short, I was running seriously late. Rushing to get to the airport in time......... the last bit by cab as well. And of course the cab driver keeps on driving till nearly end of the departure hall. THe CX counters are pretty much in the beginning.
I checked in online already, which normally means I can drop op my suitcase. However, murphy was waiting and even for drop off was a queue. So i decided to go to business class counter which I can do with Marco Polo Frequent flyer card. The guy looked a little weird at me....which generally means bad news. He calls his supervisor, start calling like crazy. THe result was, sorry sir the flight is closed. I just missed it. I do sincerely appreciate the effort he put in there without me even asking. One of my main drivers to fly CX as their service is just good. Anyway, step 2 lets look at alternatives. The next flight was pretty fully booked, however the strategy was to change ticket to 2 flights later and then go on standby. Thank Goodness, people that think with you! How nice is that.
As we do.........so showing up at the counter after a nice coffee.....didn't get me anywhere. The flight was overbooked, even on business class. Never mind I still could check in for the updated flight. Of course it costed my 500HKD to get my ticket changed, but that was my own fault.
Finally on the plane I have a decent flight to Bangkok. Quite excited as I was flying into the new airport. And yes, pleasantly surprised it looks quite good!
Less pleasant surprises came soon. After cruising around for a taxi stand....i found one. Hmmm that didn't look very good. A queue, people but no cabs. When coming closer......the was a sign put up: CABS ON STRIKE!
Yea, whatever..... hmm it looks serious. Luckily when I arrived at the queue, the cabs just drove up.........pffffffff at least not hours of waiting or getting an expensive limousine service.The ride was ok, always funny with non English speaking cab drivers. I had not printed out the hotel name and adress in Thai...so it took me a little to explain the street of my hotel. Once there I could point out the location as I had been there before.
A good habit is that you need to pay tollfees directly, so at least no fights over it at a later stage.
After nearly an hour we arrived at my hotel. A small place, but convieniently located opposite the work location. It is a little place called La Residence A very fancy name.
The entrance is quite nice, but as soon as you leave it, you end up in a pretty basic place. A good thing is free wifi for guests :)
Since I had been offline for a while....i needed my dosis of bits. Ouch, that didnt work well. After a bit forward backward with the stadd i found out that one connection didn't work (altough according to them it does) and the next one needed a security code.
WOW THat did they job, however the connection strength was so poor that it didn;t work anyway. After 2 hours messing around I gave up, went for a shower and crashed.
Now the next one... the aircon had 2 positions: hurricane or off. After some scientific studies on airflow, temperature etc I decided to swithc it off to prevent being blown away.
Hmmm it got a little hot as Bangkok is still in the end 20;s temp. range....
After a while i fell into a good sleep!
ITU 2006 has kicked off!
The worlds biggest telecom conference (ITU) has landed in Hong Kong. Daily reports can be found at TelecomAsia's website
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to visit the show. The majority is held at the new asia expo exhibition center which is close to the airport of Hong Kong.
The official opening took place over the weekend and state leaders from China and Hong Kong did use the opportunity to promote Hong Kong as a good location to settle down your company. With Western understanding and on the doorstep to the mainland, it should be worth the consideration. In case you are considering, please talk to the people of InvestHong Kong....need contacts? Let me know!
LAst saturday I returned from a trip to Bangkok I noticed it was seriously busy on the airport. Many conference participants were arriving, so the organizers put up welcoming booths, and provided support staff for assistance. Then on my belt there was a sports team returning to Hong Kong, and I believe some organization of handicapped people was returning as well.
All together a crazy hustle and bustle! ON Tuesday there is a vc conference for new media going on followed by a reception\networking session with ITU....so lets see what comes out of it.
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to visit the show. The majority is held at the new asia expo exhibition center which is close to the airport of Hong Kong.
The official opening took place over the weekend and state leaders from China and Hong Kong did use the opportunity to promote Hong Kong as a good location to settle down your company. With Western understanding and on the doorstep to the mainland, it should be worth the consideration. In case you are considering, please talk to the people of InvestHong Kong....need contacts? Let me know!
LAst saturday I returned from a trip to Bangkok I noticed it was seriously busy on the airport. Many conference participants were arriving, so the organizers put up welcoming booths, and provided support staff for assistance. Then on my belt there was a sports team returning to Hong Kong, and I believe some organization of handicapped people was returning as well.
All together a crazy hustle and bustle! ON Tuesday there is a vc conference for new media going on followed by a reception\networking session with ITU....so lets see what comes out of it.
Monday, 4 December 2006
a delayed trailwalker report......
Dear All,
THURSDAY
As I bothered you before..let me do a last update on the performance of team 140 during this years anniversary Oxfam Trailwalker held begin November.
First of all, a big thanks for those who committed on their sponsorship! For those who feel they want to do an after match donation, contact me via email of phone and make sure the donation is handed over or transferred before the 113th of December.
The evening before the event the whole team gathered at the peak (as the support car was there) to indulge ourselves in a big pasta (read carbo hydrate!!) feast. At the same time we discussed the latest details with the support team and handed over our support bags. Bags with all the stuff we would need at each support contact point. This courld vary from some bars till complete new set of clothes and even shoes. Of course we set out a schedule where to meet whom, and we numbered all our bags in line with the support point. In the afternoon I had been shopping for red bull, some snackbars, cooking pasta and some other preparation for the event.
Before getting over there I quickly met up with Ryan Blair from Asia Pacific Adventure (http://www.asiapacificadventure.com/index.php) to get some last minute tips and kit for the race. So, I brought walking sticks to support knees, and we created 2 sets of towing lines. Those can be used between 2 partners to keep the one behind going……
Anyway, whilst enjoying our dinner the support team started packing the car in order to have everythin ready at the right moment. Being in a support team is by no means an easy and lazy job. Anyway, you will see that later on.
After all the gear was distributed, the bellies filled everyone went home to do the last preparation. For me it was easy as I had done most of my preparation already. After 23:30 I took my shower and dropped in bed to get a good night of zzzzzzzzzzzzzleeeeepppppp.
FRIDAY
An on time wake up as we (the runner’s team) decided to meet at Admiralty MTR Mc Café at 0700 and I wanted to have breakfast before. As breakfast I made my porridge with soy milk and banana to put some energy in the system. After filling the bladder and doing a last minute equipment check, I walked down the hill from where I live to get a cab to Admiralty MTR. Pete was already there but didn’t have a good morning as McCafe didn’t have any working coffee machines and McDonalds didn’t have any coffee…… Anyway, upon arrival we all got in a taxi and drove to Pak Tam Chung ( a ride that must have made the driver happy). Quite interesting to see many cabs filled with participants. Easy to recognize, 4 people in a car in full hiking gear. Luckily we were quite early this year, as we arrive 07:50hrs or so. First we did the check in, got our bracelets attached and checked, pick up team pack etc. All went smooth, so we had enough time to get some drinks in, do some stretching and just enjoy the morning sunshine. As it was a really nice morrning.
It had been nice all week, but the day was going to be a hot one again. After sitting and stretching we started to make our way to the start around 08:25. As we arrived on time, it gave us a last opportunity from proper relief at normal toilets J and indeed we used the facilities well. Over there it was nice to see some familiair faces and wish them good luck.
The start is as always preceded by some speeches of sponsors and organizers. 09:03…finally! There is the start signal….and off we went. From our experience 2 weeks before we decided to start a bit easy today. We kept a good speed but no real running on the first 2 sections. The first timepoint was touched within an 18 hour schedule. Keeping the pace good is always a challenge, as many start way to fast. The temperature started picking up already, so we could see many faces turning red and heard lots of huffin’ and puffin’. As team we did a good job on pacing ourselves.
Check Point 2 was the first contact point with the supporters. It was just change of socks after a sandy patch, then get some food and drinks and…..go on for the next stretch. As it was around lunchtime, we were supplied with a moutfull of pasta or whatever we liked. In line with the tradition I picked up some Asian Pears just before going op the hill. This is where I was going to take it easy for a little as 2 weeks before I started cramping up at the beginning of section 3. Despite the heat we were able to keep a nice pace and I felt quite good. Drinking lots and maintaining a steady intake of hammer tablets (salt, minerals etc) helped me here for sure. Getting up the hill I felt a sense of relief that I survived without cramping up as I did 2 weeks before and last year as well. So now it was time to speed up a little bit.
After the hill there are some flat and more shaded parts which allowed me to close the gap with Pete and Duncan a little. This is where I ran into Sandro, which surpised me a little as he is normally quite fast. He was taking it a little easy this year and was in the team with PowerBar Leighton.The next stretch was flat and downhill with some minor uphills to conquer. The body was coping well with the heat as it was now peak time and many parts are unshaded and have light undergrounds that do reflect sun and heat big time. Getting close to 1500 it was time to face my personal enemy with an interesting name… the infamous “Chicken Hill”. The plan was to meet a supporter here with extra drinks in case. They missed it..anyway I started going up the hill, forcing myself into a steady pace and make sure not to stop to loose momentum. Looks like a good idea, as I moved up steadily. On this hill I ran into Leighton who was not having a good day at all. Getting up the hill I felt still quite good..have been pushing it but still no cramps! Once up the hill a big downhill stretch needs to be conquered. When in good shape, this is one of my favorite downhill parts.
The downhill definitely started to get an impact on my quads. Cramps started coming up a little so had to be carefull here. I caught up with Pete who’s knees started to get a little dodgy already. Understandably he wasn’t too happy with that as more hills were still to come. YEAH! Made it to checkpoint 3. At saisha road we were going to have a 10 minute break, to eat, resupply, change clothes etc. Siushan was here as well, and of course always nice to see her. The rest of the support team was very helpful and has been able to get us a good spot. As my quads cramped when sitting down, Siushan rushed around to get some massage oil. Our teams was kind of forgotten to be packed in the preparation rush… Anyway, she got some really nasty stuff. Not sure what it was, but after a good rub my quads were on fire. (was there any airplane fuel in it???). Time to, we were now a few minutes behind the 20HR schedule. Nothing to worry yet as the heat was over, and we should be able to speed up a little now.
As the sun set, my energy levels raised and I was up for a good recovery. Making sure to keep a good pace but not blowing it we did a lot together here. Melissa was going with us, and after more then 8 hours together its always nice to have an extra person around. Section 4 was going nicely and I felt the heat going out of the body and the energy and strength getting up the right levels. It was time to get the torches out as the sun had set. Duncan and Pete started to feel their knees on the downhills, which was a little bit worrying. Therefore we took it easy. Due to the carefullness we reached checkpoint 4 20 minutes behind schedule. Again no worries yet, as our time to catch up would come.
One more good uphill to conquer and then dinner time! I was getting a little hungry and would love to eat some warm food as the standard bars were getting a little bored. After check point 4 I was trying to get hold of the support team to make sure they were going to be in position on time. Missing your dinner stop is not a good thing, as the next opportunity would be quite a few hours away. Unfortunately phone connections are not super there and when we finally got hold of them the message was not promissing. They were not there, and even worse they were lost on the way. As the connection was bad it was hard to find out what was going on. Anyway, my initial response was being seriously annoyed. They had around 3 hours to get from the previous checkpoint to get set at the dinner location at Sha Tin passroad. Hearing that they spend some time at Siushan her grandma didn’t help in getting more wound up. Anyway, I decided that getting angry was not going to resolve the issue. So now it was sake to work out the situation and work on alternatives. A number of options were available:
- wait for them to show up:not the best one, as they didn’t know how long it was going to take.
- Let them go to the next option (Tai Po road) where we will meet them. Not favorable as we needed to eat, change kit etc. We could eat at the noodle place, but this would take a long time. Melissa could run ahead and order the food. But noodle soup is hot and you can’t chuck it down. Other then that we should have to make another stop at Tai Po road to change and resupply bars, drinks etc. Altough an option… not the best one either.
- Get food and drinks and use the bars and keep going untill we meet the team and hold a stop at Tai Po rd. This would have been my option as we still eat a little, and don’t loose lots of time nor should we be doing double stops causing us to loose extra time.
For option 2 and 3 we needed to make a decision soon, as the support team needed time to travel to Tai Po road and get set up there as well. Whils we were trying to stay in communications we found out they were close. Originally we were going to meet at the pagoda on top of Shatin passrd., however if we could change that to meet at the noodle shop then the support team would have enough time to get sorted. Wow, that was a big relief for us. The sunny side of it was that due to all talks, the time blew away. The downhill was a killer for the knee boys, as it is quite steep and at a painfull angle. When we arrived at the support location, it was really nice to see they got the whole place set up. All the packs organized food and drinks ready. After a short stop of 18 minutes or so, we carried on again. Having some warm food in the system was definitely nice! Further I discovered there that the schedules I created…were not as clear and water tight as I tought they would be. So there is space for improvement there.
Time for the remainder of section 5! Of we went, starting with a bit of a climb up to get around to Lion Rock. As we were full of energy now we decided to step up the pace a little and compensate for lost time. The steep bit up gave us a good warming up. On the flats we increased the pace to a slight jog which felt good on the legs. On this stretch we were overtaking many teams, spirit was good, speed was nice. At checkpoint 5 we arrived on time of the 20HR schedule, which was definitely good news. Taco decided to scare us and slipped around the corner off the path. He fell of the path, dropped his bottle of water. Fortunately he held his light, no injuries and we were able to rescue the drinks as well. A scary moment, as things like that can lead to injuries and cramps.
As the temperature was nice, we were able to keep a decent pace. Check point 6 was reached a few minutes before the schedule time which was a good thing. As there was more downhill and some rocky paths, we were not able to speed up that much more. Important was that we were still together as team and that the spirits were up. I wasn’t doing that great, maybe a bit toooo much sports drink, or too high concentration sportdrink. Felt really bloated and felt if I was going to eat anything it was coming out faster then it went in. So being carefull now was key….Loosing your energy is a no go on events like this.
We arranged a meeting point at the bbq pit close to Ching Mun reservoir to meet the team for some refreshments if needed. Quite a hilarious story for the support team took place before they managed to get there. As no one had ever driven there before, they kind of got lost. After getting worried they would not be there in time the team stopped to ask a police officer for help. More interesting was that they had been able to convince the officer to drive ahead and guide them to the spot. In no time they arrived at the bbq pit, no walking involved as originally was planned. SiuShan and Monica decided to walk towards us. Close to the end of section 6 we saw 2 people sitting on a fench. I was thinking, hmm what are those people doing there at this time of the day (evening actually). Then I realized it were Monica and SiuShan. We did the last downhill bit to the BBQ pit altogether. There was a moment to top up food and drinks. I felt quite nausea there and all the bbq fumes didn’t help either. So, decided to drink only water from there on.
No it was time for the next interesting bit, the start of the last set of uphill. Section 7 begins with a steep uphill leading towards the by many feared Needlehill. Getting up the hill was decent work as normal. The quads were protesting a little when going uphill, but I wouldn’t slow down too much there. Even though I was still taking over some people, I was taken over as well. Anyway, I tried not to loose so much between me and the rest of the guys. They went ahead a little as they are fast uphill but slower downhill. Slow but steady I reached the top of needle hill where Taco was waiting to make sure I was allright. Then the big steep downhill, anyone who has ever done Needle hill knows the steep bit behind it can be interesting in the dark. Anyway, going down steady I tried to catch up with the boys. My goodness I was hitting the man with the hammer on that stretch. The first part on grassy hill was giving me a bit of a mental challenge. After that was conquered it was not to bad. I always visualize a silly picture that I saw last year. A woman all in pink walking around there. It was such a funny face. Anyway, now we got to the steep downhill leading to CP7 at lead mine pass. On the downhill I recovered a little and caught up with the boys again. We arrived at the checkpoint more then 20minutes behind our 20hr schedule. It was now important to minimize anymore delays to make sure we could meet our target. That was easier said then done, as everyone felt quit buggered up at this stage. We decided to refill water where needed, have soup or coffee or whatever before moving on. SO after a 3 minute stop it was time to go for our last serious challenge. TAI MO SHAN! HERE WE COME….. As I could feel the quads a little here, I was looking to push as much as possible on the uphill without getting into the cramp up zone.
Whils going up I started to recover which allowed me to speed up a little. That made me happy and confident that I was going to meet the rest of the team again shortly and then blast down the hill. Whilst I was speeding up, I ran into Pete. He was getting worse and worse, his knees hurted and basically he was getting a total state of being messed up. Section 8 goes either up or down, there is not much flat to be found there. At the time we reached the paved road at section 8, just before the last steep part of Tai Mo Shan, Pete was pretty much done. When we finally arrived at the top, there was Taco waiting for us again. Duncan had gone down already as he expected to need some time with his knees. Waiting on top of the mountain is quite a challenge as it can be chilly there due to the wind blowing around. Pete sat down for a few moments to get some energy back before we decided to go down. Going down went slower and slower as his knees started to play up as well. The more we went down, the less promising it started to look. WE tried to communicate with the support team how we were getting along. This is a challenge as mobile phone reception is not very good there either. The last bit going down Pete was focussing on the white lines on the road to make sure he was not going too much off track.
When we reached CP8, we had a teammember in a bad state which was way more worrying then the time. After we checked in, we walked towards the support point. We all tried to eat, drink and change clothes for the last stretch. I tried to watch Pete as well and encourage him to eat and drink. However, after a few minutes it became clear that he was not doing very well. We started the discussion on what to do. As one of the main goals of trailwalker is to finish as a team, my main priority was to do that. If there was anyway that we could finish as team after Pete had a break to recover then we would go for that. However, it looked like he was going to need more time then just half an hour or 1 hour. It was still a little bit more then 20KM to go and communications were not that super on the part to come. Carrying someone of his size for that distance is not really an option either. As it became clear that we were going to continue as 3 people, the suggestion was raised to drop out as whole team. I refused this as it wasn’t going to help Pete to get better faster and I believed that the rest of the team was able and capable of continuing and at least put a crown on the training we had done.
Since we were no longer a full team, and way behind our schedule….I expressed that for me finishing was my main goal. Timewise it would be nice finish a little faster then last year. So we did. Section 9 we did in a decent pace. No serious running or so. As we were not able to meet our original objectives, I wanted to try to finish without being completely buggered. All my last big events put me on injuries that took months recovery. Reaching checkpoint 9 in not bad shape we sat down for a minute to have some soup and a byte and go for the last stretch. Melissa was walking with us again from CP8 onwards. Whils we went underway for the last section, the competitiveness came up again and triggered us to run. My left knee started to play up a little here as well and the last thing I wanted was to get completely buggered in the last stretch. Anyway, it didn’t feel right that teams are started to take us over so we decided to run a bit more. Duncan had gone ahead a little here as well. Section 10 is alongside a lake and not really that interesting as it is a long winding road which looks the same around every corner.
After the lake bit, there is a stretch of 4-5 km on catchment… absolutely boring as well. Taco, Melissa and me ran and walked that bit. Even though it was close to the end, I was carefull not to bugger up my knee more the needed to finish. Getting close to the finish, Duncan was waiting for us and as you can see at attached photo’s the remainder of the team crossed the finish line after around 21:21hrs. Altough finished, it didn’t feel that great since we didn’t finish as full team, altough satisfied that I was able to tick one more 100km off on the list.
Next year again? Not sure about that yet… the event itself is not bad, but it takes a lot of training. And that was exactly what I was lacking a little bit. The rest of the team had done a few 50KM the weeks before the event. Due to my travel schedule, I wasn’t able to fit that in.
Anyway, a big thanks to Amy, Melissa, Philip, SiuShan, Wendy to sacrifice their (free) time to support us! A support team is crucial in events like this, and it is by no means an easy job. Thanks to Taco and Melissa to make their car available for the team.
Thanks to Duncan, Pete and Taco for the commitment….
Thanks to all sponsors who have donated…. Or will put in their donation before the 13th of December…..
If you made it to hear, thanks a lot and congratulations….it was a long read.
Best regards,
Marcel
THURSDAY
As I bothered you before..let me do a last update on the performance of team 140 during this years anniversary Oxfam Trailwalker held begin November.
First of all, a big thanks for those who committed on their sponsorship! For those who feel they want to do an after match donation, contact me via email of phone and make sure the donation is handed over or transferred before the 113th of December.
The evening before the event the whole team gathered at the peak (as the support car was there) to indulge ourselves in a big pasta (read carbo hydrate!!) feast. At the same time we discussed the latest details with the support team and handed over our support bags. Bags with all the stuff we would need at each support contact point. This courld vary from some bars till complete new set of clothes and even shoes. Of course we set out a schedule where to meet whom, and we numbered all our bags in line with the support point. In the afternoon I had been shopping for red bull, some snackbars, cooking pasta and some other preparation for the event.
Before getting over there I quickly met up with Ryan Blair from Asia Pacific Adventure (http://www.asiapacificadventure.com/index.php) to get some last minute tips and kit for the race. So, I brought walking sticks to support knees, and we created 2 sets of towing lines. Those can be used between 2 partners to keep the one behind going……
Anyway, whilst enjoying our dinner the support team started packing the car in order to have everythin ready at the right moment. Being in a support team is by no means an easy and lazy job. Anyway, you will see that later on.
After all the gear was distributed, the bellies filled everyone went home to do the last preparation. For me it was easy as I had done most of my preparation already. After 23:30 I took my shower and dropped in bed to get a good night of zzzzzzzzzzzzzleeeeepppppp.
FRIDAY
An on time wake up as we (the runner’s team) decided to meet at Admiralty MTR Mc Café at 0700 and I wanted to have breakfast before. As breakfast I made my porridge with soy milk and banana to put some energy in the system. After filling the bladder and doing a last minute equipment check, I walked down the hill from where I live to get a cab to Admiralty MTR. Pete was already there but didn’t have a good morning as McCafe didn’t have any working coffee machines and McDonalds didn’t have any coffee…… Anyway, upon arrival we all got in a taxi and drove to Pak Tam Chung ( a ride that must have made the driver happy). Quite interesting to see many cabs filled with participants. Easy to recognize, 4 people in a car in full hiking gear. Luckily we were quite early this year, as we arrive 07:50hrs or so. First we did the check in, got our bracelets attached and checked, pick up team pack etc. All went smooth, so we had enough time to get some drinks in, do some stretching and just enjoy the morning sunshine. As it was a really nice morrning.
It had been nice all week, but the day was going to be a hot one again. After sitting and stretching we started to make our way to the start around 08:25. As we arrived on time, it gave us a last opportunity from proper relief at normal toilets J and indeed we used the facilities well. Over there it was nice to see some familiair faces and wish them good luck.
The start is as always preceded by some speeches of sponsors and organizers. 09:03…finally! There is the start signal….and off we went. From our experience 2 weeks before we decided to start a bit easy today. We kept a good speed but no real running on the first 2 sections. The first timepoint was touched within an 18 hour schedule. Keeping the pace good is always a challenge, as many start way to fast. The temperature started picking up already, so we could see many faces turning red and heard lots of huffin’ and puffin’. As team we did a good job on pacing ourselves.
Check Point 2 was the first contact point with the supporters. It was just change of socks after a sandy patch, then get some food and drinks and…..go on for the next stretch. As it was around lunchtime, we were supplied with a moutfull of pasta or whatever we liked. In line with the tradition I picked up some Asian Pears just before going op the hill. This is where I was going to take it easy for a little as 2 weeks before I started cramping up at the beginning of section 3. Despite the heat we were able to keep a nice pace and I felt quite good. Drinking lots and maintaining a steady intake of hammer tablets (salt, minerals etc) helped me here for sure. Getting up the hill I felt a sense of relief that I survived without cramping up as I did 2 weeks before and last year as well. So now it was time to speed up a little bit.
After the hill there are some flat and more shaded parts which allowed me to close the gap with Pete and Duncan a little. This is where I ran into Sandro, which surpised me a little as he is normally quite fast. He was taking it a little easy this year and was in the team with PowerBar Leighton.The next stretch was flat and downhill with some minor uphills to conquer. The body was coping well with the heat as it was now peak time and many parts are unshaded and have light undergrounds that do reflect sun and heat big time. Getting close to 1500 it was time to face my personal enemy with an interesting name… the infamous “Chicken Hill”. The plan was to meet a supporter here with extra drinks in case. They missed it..anyway I started going up the hill, forcing myself into a steady pace and make sure not to stop to loose momentum. Looks like a good idea, as I moved up steadily. On this hill I ran into Leighton who was not having a good day at all. Getting up the hill I felt still quite good..have been pushing it but still no cramps! Once up the hill a big downhill stretch needs to be conquered. When in good shape, this is one of my favorite downhill parts.
The downhill definitely started to get an impact on my quads. Cramps started coming up a little so had to be carefull here. I caught up with Pete who’s knees started to get a little dodgy already. Understandably he wasn’t too happy with that as more hills were still to come. YEAH! Made it to checkpoint 3. At saisha road we were going to have a 10 minute break, to eat, resupply, change clothes etc. Siushan was here as well, and of course always nice to see her. The rest of the support team was very helpful and has been able to get us a good spot. As my quads cramped when sitting down, Siushan rushed around to get some massage oil. Our teams was kind of forgotten to be packed in the preparation rush… Anyway, she got some really nasty stuff. Not sure what it was, but after a good rub my quads were on fire. (was there any airplane fuel in it???). Time to, we were now a few minutes behind the 20HR schedule. Nothing to worry yet as the heat was over, and we should be able to speed up a little now.
As the sun set, my energy levels raised and I was up for a good recovery. Making sure to keep a good pace but not blowing it we did a lot together here. Melissa was going with us, and after more then 8 hours together its always nice to have an extra person around. Section 4 was going nicely and I felt the heat going out of the body and the energy and strength getting up the right levels. It was time to get the torches out as the sun had set. Duncan and Pete started to feel their knees on the downhills, which was a little bit worrying. Therefore we took it easy. Due to the carefullness we reached checkpoint 4 20 minutes behind schedule. Again no worries yet, as our time to catch up would come.
One more good uphill to conquer and then dinner time! I was getting a little hungry and would love to eat some warm food as the standard bars were getting a little bored. After check point 4 I was trying to get hold of the support team to make sure they were going to be in position on time. Missing your dinner stop is not a good thing, as the next opportunity would be quite a few hours away. Unfortunately phone connections are not super there and when we finally got hold of them the message was not promissing. They were not there, and even worse they were lost on the way. As the connection was bad it was hard to find out what was going on. Anyway, my initial response was being seriously annoyed. They had around 3 hours to get from the previous checkpoint to get set at the dinner location at Sha Tin passroad. Hearing that they spend some time at Siushan her grandma didn’t help in getting more wound up. Anyway, I decided that getting angry was not going to resolve the issue. So now it was sake to work out the situation and work on alternatives. A number of options were available:
- wait for them to show up:not the best one, as they didn’t know how long it was going to take.
- Let them go to the next option (Tai Po road) where we will meet them. Not favorable as we needed to eat, change kit etc. We could eat at the noodle place, but this would take a long time. Melissa could run ahead and order the food. But noodle soup is hot and you can’t chuck it down. Other then that we should have to make another stop at Tai Po road to change and resupply bars, drinks etc. Altough an option… not the best one either.
- Get food and drinks and use the bars and keep going untill we meet the team and hold a stop at Tai Po rd. This would have been my option as we still eat a little, and don’t loose lots of time nor should we be doing double stops causing us to loose extra time.
For option 2 and 3 we needed to make a decision soon, as the support team needed time to travel to Tai Po road and get set up there as well. Whils we were trying to stay in communications we found out they were close. Originally we were going to meet at the pagoda on top of Shatin passrd., however if we could change that to meet at the noodle shop then the support team would have enough time to get sorted. Wow, that was a big relief for us. The sunny side of it was that due to all talks, the time blew away. The downhill was a killer for the knee boys, as it is quite steep and at a painfull angle. When we arrived at the support location, it was really nice to see they got the whole place set up. All the packs organized food and drinks ready. After a short stop of 18 minutes or so, we carried on again. Having some warm food in the system was definitely nice! Further I discovered there that the schedules I created…were not as clear and water tight as I tought they would be. So there is space for improvement there.
Time for the remainder of section 5! Of we went, starting with a bit of a climb up to get around to Lion Rock. As we were full of energy now we decided to step up the pace a little and compensate for lost time. The steep bit up gave us a good warming up. On the flats we increased the pace to a slight jog which felt good on the legs. On this stretch we were overtaking many teams, spirit was good, speed was nice. At checkpoint 5 we arrived on time of the 20HR schedule, which was definitely good news. Taco decided to scare us and slipped around the corner off the path. He fell of the path, dropped his bottle of water. Fortunately he held his light, no injuries and we were able to rescue the drinks as well. A scary moment, as things like that can lead to injuries and cramps.
As the temperature was nice, we were able to keep a decent pace. Check point 6 was reached a few minutes before the schedule time which was a good thing. As there was more downhill and some rocky paths, we were not able to speed up that much more. Important was that we were still together as team and that the spirits were up. I wasn’t doing that great, maybe a bit toooo much sports drink, or too high concentration sportdrink. Felt really bloated and felt if I was going to eat anything it was coming out faster then it went in. So being carefull now was key….Loosing your energy is a no go on events like this.
We arranged a meeting point at the bbq pit close to Ching Mun reservoir to meet the team for some refreshments if needed. Quite a hilarious story for the support team took place before they managed to get there. As no one had ever driven there before, they kind of got lost. After getting worried they would not be there in time the team stopped to ask a police officer for help. More interesting was that they had been able to convince the officer to drive ahead and guide them to the spot. In no time they arrived at the bbq pit, no walking involved as originally was planned. SiuShan and Monica decided to walk towards us. Close to the end of section 6 we saw 2 people sitting on a fench. I was thinking, hmm what are those people doing there at this time of the day (evening actually). Then I realized it were Monica and SiuShan. We did the last downhill bit to the BBQ pit altogether. There was a moment to top up food and drinks. I felt quite nausea there and all the bbq fumes didn’t help either. So, decided to drink only water from there on.
No it was time for the next interesting bit, the start of the last set of uphill. Section 7 begins with a steep uphill leading towards the by many feared Needlehill. Getting up the hill was decent work as normal. The quads were protesting a little when going uphill, but I wouldn’t slow down too much there. Even though I was still taking over some people, I was taken over as well. Anyway, I tried not to loose so much between me and the rest of the guys. They went ahead a little as they are fast uphill but slower downhill. Slow but steady I reached the top of needle hill where Taco was waiting to make sure I was allright. Then the big steep downhill, anyone who has ever done Needle hill knows the steep bit behind it can be interesting in the dark. Anyway, going down steady I tried to catch up with the boys. My goodness I was hitting the man with the hammer on that stretch. The first part on grassy hill was giving me a bit of a mental challenge. After that was conquered it was not to bad. I always visualize a silly picture that I saw last year. A woman all in pink walking around there. It was such a funny face. Anyway, now we got to the steep downhill leading to CP7 at lead mine pass. On the downhill I recovered a little and caught up with the boys again. We arrived at the checkpoint more then 20minutes behind our 20hr schedule. It was now important to minimize anymore delays to make sure we could meet our target. That was easier said then done, as everyone felt quit buggered up at this stage. We decided to refill water where needed, have soup or coffee or whatever before moving on. SO after a 3 minute stop it was time to go for our last serious challenge. TAI MO SHAN! HERE WE COME….. As I could feel the quads a little here, I was looking to push as much as possible on the uphill without getting into the cramp up zone.
Whils going up I started to recover which allowed me to speed up a little. That made me happy and confident that I was going to meet the rest of the team again shortly and then blast down the hill. Whilst I was speeding up, I ran into Pete. He was getting worse and worse, his knees hurted and basically he was getting a total state of being messed up. Section 8 goes either up or down, there is not much flat to be found there. At the time we reached the paved road at section 8, just before the last steep part of Tai Mo Shan, Pete was pretty much done. When we finally arrived at the top, there was Taco waiting for us again. Duncan had gone down already as he expected to need some time with his knees. Waiting on top of the mountain is quite a challenge as it can be chilly there due to the wind blowing around. Pete sat down for a few moments to get some energy back before we decided to go down. Going down went slower and slower as his knees started to play up as well. The more we went down, the less promising it started to look. WE tried to communicate with the support team how we were getting along. This is a challenge as mobile phone reception is not very good there either. The last bit going down Pete was focussing on the white lines on the road to make sure he was not going too much off track.
When we reached CP8, we had a teammember in a bad state which was way more worrying then the time. After we checked in, we walked towards the support point. We all tried to eat, drink and change clothes for the last stretch. I tried to watch Pete as well and encourage him to eat and drink. However, after a few minutes it became clear that he was not doing very well. We started the discussion on what to do. As one of the main goals of trailwalker is to finish as a team, my main priority was to do that. If there was anyway that we could finish as team after Pete had a break to recover then we would go for that. However, it looked like he was going to need more time then just half an hour or 1 hour. It was still a little bit more then 20KM to go and communications were not that super on the part to come. Carrying someone of his size for that distance is not really an option either. As it became clear that we were going to continue as 3 people, the suggestion was raised to drop out as whole team. I refused this as it wasn’t going to help Pete to get better faster and I believed that the rest of the team was able and capable of continuing and at least put a crown on the training we had done.
Since we were no longer a full team, and way behind our schedule….I expressed that for me finishing was my main goal. Timewise it would be nice finish a little faster then last year. So we did. Section 9 we did in a decent pace. No serious running or so. As we were not able to meet our original objectives, I wanted to try to finish without being completely buggered. All my last big events put me on injuries that took months recovery. Reaching checkpoint 9 in not bad shape we sat down for a minute to have some soup and a byte and go for the last stretch. Melissa was walking with us again from CP8 onwards. Whils we went underway for the last section, the competitiveness came up again and triggered us to run. My left knee started to play up a little here as well and the last thing I wanted was to get completely buggered in the last stretch. Anyway, it didn’t feel right that teams are started to take us over so we decided to run a bit more. Duncan had gone ahead a little here as well. Section 10 is alongside a lake and not really that interesting as it is a long winding road which looks the same around every corner.
After the lake bit, there is a stretch of 4-5 km on catchment… absolutely boring as well. Taco, Melissa and me ran and walked that bit. Even though it was close to the end, I was carefull not to bugger up my knee more the needed to finish. Getting close to the finish, Duncan was waiting for us and as you can see at attached photo’s the remainder of the team crossed the finish line after around 21:21hrs. Altough finished, it didn’t feel that great since we didn’t finish as full team, altough satisfied that I was able to tick one more 100km off on the list.
Next year again? Not sure about that yet… the event itself is not bad, but it takes a lot of training. And that was exactly what I was lacking a little bit. The rest of the team had done a few 50KM the weeks before the event. Due to my travel schedule, I wasn’t able to fit that in.
Anyway, a big thanks to Amy, Melissa, Philip, SiuShan, Wendy to sacrifice their (free) time to support us! A support team is crucial in events like this, and it is by no means an easy job. Thanks to Taco and Melissa to make their car available for the team.
Thanks to Duncan, Pete and Taco for the commitment….
Thanks to all sponsors who have donated…. Or will put in their donation before the 13th of December…..
If you made it to hear, thanks a lot and congratulations….it was a long read.
Best regards,
Marcel
Saturday, 25 November 2006
Chinese learn to smile in preparation for Beijing 2008
I just read an article in a Dutch newspaper (http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/54233631/Chinezen_leren_glimlachen_voor_zomerspelen.html?p=6,2) which commented that the Chinese volunteers are getting lessons in smiling.
During my last visit to Beijing I could recall quite a lot of smiling faces. However, the bosses have decided an people are going on smile training. Interesting to know is that the majority of volunteers are university students, which are brushing up their english big time.
Walking around as foreigner will definitely get you some attention of people that want to practice their english. Lets see the results in 2 years :)
During my last visit to Beijing I could recall quite a lot of smiling faces. However, the bosses have decided an people are going on smile training. Interesting to know is that the majority of volunteers are university students, which are brushing up their english big time.
Walking around as foreigner will definitely get you some attention of people that want to practice their english. Lets see the results in 2 years :)
Monday, 20 November 2006
Bye YogaLimbs Vincent, via 3hr class!!
Sunday was an interesting day. My yoga activities have been a bit lower recently, way below the twice a week I try to stick to. Depending on the class you can get a good workout (power yoga) or a good stretch which is nice if you are sitting all day. It does benefit my other sporty activities as well by having a bit more flexibility.
Anyway, this sunday a 3hr class was organized to "celebrate" Vincent Hewitt his departure to Shanghai. Vincent is one of the main teachers at Yogalimbs in Hong Kong. Yogalimbs is opening up a studio in Shanghai in cooperation with a new welness spa center called " The Living Room". Vincent will go there and get the operations started and will be spending some time as lead teacher I believe. An exciting new step for YogaLimbs and VIncent of course.
The 3hr class was jampacked and was a good workout for the quads this time :) A good extension of regular 90 minute classes without draining you out completely.
After the yogaclass there was a little farewell party, with some good...indeed indian food. Always interesting to talk a little more with people outside the yogaclass. Surprising to hear new stories behind the faces you always see. In this case i rediscovered certain people do have a complete family, you see people in jobs that I did not expect them to be in etc. The session lasted 1.5hrs and of course included a cake cutting ceremony. As Vincent was the leaving men...... he was supposed to speak a few words, since he is normally present...this was not expected to be an issue. However, he starred in silence this time :)
In the evening an extra "good bye" was organized. Vincent was tricked into coming out for the evening to do "some things". Some of the long time yoga girls organized a karaoke night in Red Box in Causeway bay. Now am not a big karaoke fan, but hey its for a good cause. So around 19:30 Vincent and entourage show up at the place.....
In short, it was not a bad evening where a mix of cantonese and english songs passed the screen, drinks and food passed the table and it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves more or less.
GOOD LUCK AND LOTS OF FUN IN SHANGHAI!
Anyway, this sunday a 3hr class was organized to "celebrate" Vincent Hewitt his departure to Shanghai. Vincent is one of the main teachers at Yogalimbs in Hong Kong. Yogalimbs is opening up a studio in Shanghai in cooperation with a new welness spa center called " The Living Room". Vincent will go there and get the operations started and will be spending some time as lead teacher I believe. An exciting new step for YogaLimbs and VIncent of course.
The 3hr class was jampacked and was a good workout for the quads this time :) A good extension of regular 90 minute classes without draining you out completely.
After the yogaclass there was a little farewell party, with some good...indeed indian food. Always interesting to talk a little more with people outside the yogaclass. Surprising to hear new stories behind the faces you always see. In this case i rediscovered certain people do have a complete family, you see people in jobs that I did not expect them to be in etc. The session lasted 1.5hrs and of course included a cake cutting ceremony. As Vincent was the leaving men...... he was supposed to speak a few words, since he is normally present...this was not expected to be an issue. However, he starred in silence this time :)
In the evening an extra "good bye" was organized. Vincent was tricked into coming out for the evening to do "some things". Some of the long time yoga girls organized a karaoke night in Red Box in Causeway bay. Now am not a big karaoke fan, but hey its for a good cause. So around 19:30 Vincent and entourage show up at the place.....
In short, it was not a bad evening where a mix of cantonese and english songs passed the screen, drinks and food passed the table and it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves more or less.
GOOD LUCK AND LOTS OF FUN IN SHANGHAI!
Sunday, 19 November 2006
whats wrong with those people!
On Saturday 18 November my girlfriend was on a ferry from Hong Kong island to Mui Wo, which is on Lantau Island. She was going to participate in an Action Asia organized adventure race.
It was a so called slow ferry as she was taking her mountainbike with her on the ferry. The regular (fast) ferry doesn't allow you to do that. With her there were many other racers on board preparing themselves for a nice event.
Suddenly some of the ferry staff started running around and within moments an announcement was made on the tannoy that someone jumped off the ship to commit suicide. A few interesting observations here....the announcement was done in cantonese only, so the majority of foreigners had no clue what was going on. Second, why do you need to announce that it looked like a suicide rather then just "man overboard". The extra bit creates a lot of sensation etc. on the boat as in people getting camera's out and often blocking assistance.
Anyway, the boat starts making a turn to go and get the "jumper" out of the water. When they get really close, the staff is trying to reach for him with floats and the like, however the person was face down in the water and probably unconscious at that time. Apparently it took a while before the staff of the boat jumped in the water to get the person close to the boat and get him out of the water. In the meantime it got a bit tricky around the victim, as it was hard to see him and the water and there was lots of high speed boat traffic. After a little while, they have the person close enough to the boat to fetch him out of the water. As the majority of boats staff are older people, a little help from passenges would have been nice to lift the jumper back on board. NO ONE person offered ANY assistance what so ever! With all those fit people on board.....from the average local I wouldn't expect any help. People here often think about getting a good pic on mobile or camera before thinking on offering any first aid whatsoever.
Anyway, it looks like the person is still breathing...just unconscious. Next step for the staff is to put the person on his back, legs up...and seriously start pressing\pushing on his belly. On the tannoy an announcement if any one knows first aid can step forward to assist. And of course...... no one responds. Then there is this Chinese woman stepping forward trying to help a little, a westerner checks the pulse of the victim which seems present. This all happening with a big crowd around the victim....taking pictures rather then sticking out a helping hand. The staff tries to sit down the victim (still unconscious) on a deck chair?????? Which of course doesnt work out.
In the meantime, the boat had not moved. Emergency services were allerted, so after a little while there was an ambulance\rescue boat, 2 police boats, fire services all boarded against the ferry. In the end the victim was breathing and gained consciousness just before being loaded on a rescue boat to, I guess, be taken into hospital.
In total the ferry wasdelayed for more then 1/2 hour.....worse was the virtually no one on the boat offered any assistance.
THanks adventure racers.....will think about that when you make a crash of have a sprained ankle during your next race...
Any one who wanted to assist...but doesnt have any first aid skills...respond and i will organize a first aid course for you.
It was a so called slow ferry as she was taking her mountainbike with her on the ferry. The regular (fast) ferry doesn't allow you to do that. With her there were many other racers on board preparing themselves for a nice event.
Suddenly some of the ferry staff started running around and within moments an announcement was made on the tannoy that someone jumped off the ship to commit suicide. A few interesting observations here....the announcement was done in cantonese only, so the majority of foreigners had no clue what was going on. Second, why do you need to announce that it looked like a suicide rather then just "man overboard". The extra bit creates a lot of sensation etc. on the boat as in people getting camera's out and often blocking assistance.
Anyway, the boat starts making a turn to go and get the "jumper" out of the water. When they get really close, the staff is trying to reach for him with floats and the like, however the person was face down in the water and probably unconscious at that time. Apparently it took a while before the staff of the boat jumped in the water to get the person close to the boat and get him out of the water. In the meantime it got a bit tricky around the victim, as it was hard to see him and the water and there was lots of high speed boat traffic. After a little while, they have the person close enough to the boat to fetch him out of the water. As the majority of boats staff are older people, a little help from passenges would have been nice to lift the jumper back on board. NO ONE person offered ANY assistance what so ever! With all those fit people on board.....from the average local I wouldn't expect any help. People here often think about getting a good pic on mobile or camera before thinking on offering any first aid whatsoever.
Anyway, it looks like the person is still breathing...just unconscious. Next step for the staff is to put the person on his back, legs up...and seriously start pressing\pushing on his belly. On the tannoy an announcement if any one knows first aid can step forward to assist. And of course...... no one responds. Then there is this Chinese woman stepping forward trying to help a little, a westerner checks the pulse of the victim which seems present. This all happening with a big crowd around the victim....taking pictures rather then sticking out a helping hand. The staff tries to sit down the victim (still unconscious) on a deck chair?????? Which of course doesnt work out.
In the meantime, the boat had not moved. Emergency services were allerted, so after a little while there was an ambulance\rescue boat, 2 police boats, fire services all boarded against the ferry. In the end the victim was breathing and gained consciousness just before being loaded on a rescue boat to, I guess, be taken into hospital.
In total the ferry wasdelayed for more then 1/2 hour.....worse was the virtually no one on the boat offered any assistance.
THanks adventure racers.....will think about that when you make a crash of have a sprained ankle during your next race...
Any one who wanted to assist...but doesnt have any first aid skills...respond and i will organize a first aid course for you.
Tuesday, 14 November 2006
quick summary
In the next days i will try to write about:
- trailwalker 06
- Europe Trip
- Lijiang tri
- upcoming activities.......
And whatever comes along
Marcel
- trailwalker 06
- Europe Trip
- Lijiang tri
- upcoming activities.......
And whatever comes along
Marcel
back in action
It has been a while ago since I blogged....
My plan was to install wordpress and then continue.......................... basically the plan didn't get executed and i missed out many excellent blogging opportunities.
When trying to put another posting in, blogger came up to me and said: why dont you change to the new beta version........ and always in for something new.. I did! Lets see if I can get it where I want, and else setting up wordpress is still an option i would say :)
Guess what.......of course lost all my settings............as well as my content. IT is still visible on my server.......but.....but...can't get it back in. Anyway, i got something up and running and will edit my blog in the next days, as well as all the RSS feeds, fine tune the lay out.........and back in business!
THe main reason for my change was the blogger didnt support categories like travel, business etc which makes easier reference.
My plan was to install wordpress and then continue.......................... basically the plan didn't get executed and i missed out many excellent blogging opportunities.
When trying to put another posting in, blogger came up to me and said: why dont you change to the new beta version........ and always in for something new.. I did! Lets see if I can get it where I want, and else setting up wordpress is still an option i would say :)
Guess what.......of course lost all my settings............as well as my content. IT is still visible on my server.......but.....but...can't get it back in. Anyway, i got something up and running and will edit my blog in the next days, as well as all the RSS feeds, fine tune the lay out.........and back in business!
THe main reason for my change was the blogger didnt support categories like travel, business etc which makes easier reference.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)