Singapore River Regatta 2011

A couple of months ago, I'd blogged that Kat and I had decided to pick up dragonboating as a new form of exercise. After less than 4 months of training, with the encouragement of team mates and a spirit of adventure (might have turned out to be "mis-adventure"), we signed up to be in the team for the annual Singapore River Regatta.

I remember how excited yet worried Kat was when I suggested take up dragonboating, because she was worried about whether she could keep up physically. But I know that it was the perfect reason for us to get fitter, because we're both such competitive perfectionists, we would spend extra time getting fitter and stronger (and yes, leaner too). Although I'd done SOME form of dragonboating in the past, it was definitely not as competitive as what we're getting into, and so we felt like ducks out of water. It was definitely difficult at first (even now), but all we could do was to give our best. What made it even tougher for us is that we're newbies joining a team of physically strong and experienced rower, so many a times, we felt quite disheartened when we felt that we had let the team down. Fortunately, we both enjoyed the sport very much and so we kept encouraging each other, exchanging points of views, and that kept the passion for the sport burning. And of course, we were very lucky to have great team mates and a coach who's always encouraging us. Oh, and the age thing played on my minds a little at first, but seeing rowers who were older than us yet WAY fitter, spurred us on.

Despite being so new to the sport, Kat and I were given the chance to row in the Regatta. I guess it was a combination of luck (several key rowers were unable to participate) and that coach had wanted to give as many of us a chance to participate. It'd been ages since I was involved in team sports, and so the nervous energy was building up in the days before the race. It was also somewhat pensive time for me too, remembering how my first exposure to dragonboating was through my participation in the Inter Statutory Board games and the River Regatta's Public Service category about 10 years ago, representing my then employer, NTU. We got the captain of the of the university team, Stephen Loh, to coach us because he was such an obliging chap. The poor fella was probably feeling quite uncomfortable putting staff and lecturers to the whip, but he did manage to get the bunch of misfits competitive enough. He was always encouraging and yet maintaining the respect for the staff. Such as the wonderful person that Stephen was. I was delighted when he decided to be a teacher, as I know that his students would benefit from his personality. Coincidentally, Stephen's younger brother played on the same rugby team as I did. Sadly, in 2007, while on international duty in Cambodia, Stephen and 4 of his team mates perished under freakish conditions. I'm pretty sure that Stephen would be pleased if he knew that I'd decided to row again, so my race was in his memory.

My race was over in a bit more than a minute, while Kat's team was luckier, which managed to qualify for the semis, but failed to qualify for the finals on Sunday. So there it was, in a bit more than the blink of an eye, the race was over. I was disappointed that we didn't go any further in the competition because despite training hard for the last couple of months, the outcome was dictated largely by lane conditions. But the overall atmosphere was completely addictive: we wanted to experience it again! Bloodied and wiser, we're looking forward to next year's program. Dragonboating has played such a big part of our lives, with training on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings, the December break is going to feel weird without the usual routine. It's going to be a chance for Kat and myself to work on the off-season training so that we'd be fitter and stronger. We're also going to miss the hard work, camaraderie, post training humour and food sessions (they can REALLY eat! I wonder how they eat so much and yet be so lean). We'll be looking forward to seeing you all again in January, Team Naga!

Our family at the Regatta (picture taken by David Chan)

 

Mount Kinabalu 2011: Getting there

It'd been a massively busy time for me during the school vacation of September to October, being involved in numerous leadership camps which called for me being present at the camps or just following up with the administration of the camps. The end of the 6 week period was marked with the trip to Kota Kinabalu, where we attempted to summit Mount Kinabalu (Malaysia's highest mountain, standing at 4,095m).

It was hardly a good time to be travelling for me because the renovations for our new home had to be confirmed before I left, and fortunately, Kat was a massive pillar of strength for me by handling the details of the renovation, leaving me to focus on my job. 

From this weather...

As there were no direct flights which departed from Singapore on the morning of our departure, we had to take a bus from Singapore to Senai Airport in Johor (Malaysia) to catch our flight to Sabah. The flight didn't get off to a good start as a thunderstorm descended just before our departure. As mentioned previously, I love to travel but I hate the journey, and the two cute little girls sitting behind me morphed into little she-devils and decided that the back of my seat was a football. So much for catching some sleep as I'd only a couple hours of sleep the previous night. And flying for the first time with Air Asia, I doubt if I'll fly with them ever again for flights that are any longer than an hour. I'll save the disparaging remarks about their flight attendants, but what I'm about to relate, I find completely unacceptable. 

I'm always pretty uncomfortable about flying through clouds, and for the flight from Senai, we were surrounded by clouds because of the storm. I've flown through some pretty "interesting" turbulence whenever I flew over Australia, which usually happens during breakfast and coffee will be flying through mid-air. However, the captains would always make announcements assuring the passengers, and keeping them updated about the situation. Nothing of that sort from the Air Asia pilots. Throughout the whole rocky experience, there wasn't a pip from them, not even when the plane dropped for more than a metre and people were screaming. Excellent job. Perhaps making broadcasts costs money too, and being a budget airline, every cent counts. And yeah, Air Asia's motto of "Now everyone can fly"? Well, that applies to the calibre of pilots they hire too. Think about it.

..To this

Suffice to say, I was immensely pleased to land at the KK Low Cost Carrier Terminal. When we alighted onto the tarmac, we were greeted by a brilliant blue sky and fine weather. My first impression of Kota Kinabalu was that it really was quite different from the major cities of Peninsula Malaysia. Development wise, it felt like it was 10 years behind the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, but everything was so neat and well kept. The pace of life is definitely much slower too. We were driven past the beach front and the neat lines of trees by the road prompted one student to comment that it reminded him of Perth. As we made our way up to the Rose Cabin, located near Kinabalu Park, the pressure in our ears told us that we were making our way up the mountains. We arrived at Rose Cabin after about 2.5hours, we immediately felt the coolness of the altitude, as well as the wind chill. The group took a picture at the little garden with the mountain as the backdrop, but it was covered by heavy clouds, which was a sign of what was to come. 

Storm clouds looming

Just like the rest of Kota Kinabalu, Rose Cabin is rather old but it was clean and well-kept. What was fascinating for me was the gas heater that they used for the shower. I haven't used a gas shower heater for a good 20 odd years now, and I gotta say, a gas heater gives much better heat than electric ones can! During the night, my colleague and I got out on the balcony which has a breathtaking view of the mountain, and I managed to get a couple of shots of the night view. We left the window ajar so that we could enjoy the natural air-conditioning, and it was a rare night of restful sleep considering that I usually don't rest well in a new environment. This would be the last time we would get a good night's sleep for the next couple of days. 


Stay tuned for more stories of my little adventure!

 

 

 

 

KK's water front

Gas shower heater! Old school, but much appreciated

Looking out at the night view of Mt Kinabalu from our balcony