Looking back at Thorung La Pass at Muktinath, Nepal
… to complement my budding prosumer hobby with my D90. Click here or the image to go there, but the link’s easy to find at the top menu bar anyway.
Introducing a revolutionary new weight loss program… lose 8kgs in 3 weeks! Get a healthy tan that can change a pale Chinese skin to a deep Brazilian brown… (ok, maybe a Pacific Islander brown instead) but the point is… it works! On an average of 5-6 hours of walking up and down hills, a strict diet regimen of Dal bhaat and Egg+Vege Chow Mein, the Annapurna Circuit Trek works! And it could work for YOU!
Need no motivation to walk to see this view of the Marsyangdi Valley near Ghyaru
Ok, jokes aside, I’m finally back in Malaysia from Nepal and I feel pretty chuffed that I can fit in my old jeans again. This trekking thing really does help shave off the pounds, but the hard part now is keeping this weight off… since the view at Bukit Kiara ain’t as motivating as the Marsyangdi Valley and Malaysian food is much more appetizing & fattening than the simpler and more natural Nepali food. :T
Overall, this trip is memorable, and one of the best things I’ve ever done to recharge my spiritual and emotional batteries. I’ve had time to evaluate on what’s meaningful to me and what’s not. What deserves my time and attention, and what doesn’t. There are things it seems before the trek that are just noise… clutter… that fills up my head… which I don’t even need to care about. Namely, is Lindsay Lohan gonna survive the next day? Oh, so and so sports celebrity scandal, oh there’s a sale at so and so shopping mall, got to take advantage of the deal before the promotion expires… Clutter… mindless clutter…
Welcome to Narnia (aka Manang)
And more and more, I’d like to think I’m more Buddhist… No no, I’m not gonna start doing all this mantra thing, and start being all mystical and all that… but more along the lines of being non-confrontational, at peace… that kind of philosophy… I had some long quiet moments in some monasteries which made me somewhat felt like there’s a place where I can find my centre… no noise… no chatter, no clutter.
And the friends and people I’ve met so far during the trek, thanks you guys for making the trip memorable… you know who you are, fellas, I’ll be emailing you guys soon with photos too after I sift through them… but especially to my guide and porters, Nava, Babu Ram and Prakash.
Anyway, I’ll probably still post more Nepal related stuff, but right now… I’m just pooped. Lots of things to catch up, clean up, etc.
So, here we go. I’m getting close to that date now, and most of the essentials are done.Some stuff left are:
1. Get a haircut
2. Get a 35mm Nikkor 1.8D lens. I could probably get one for under RM800 here.
3. Another pair of quick-dry nylon undies.
4. Some electrolyte boosting tablets
5. Moneychanger
6. Get a knee brace. My knees aren’t as strong as before.
7. Redeem my RM35 voucher at World of Outdoors Mid Valley. Wonder what I can get there.
8. A silicon case for my iphone. Funny, the ringtone and game sounds suddenly died on me. Maybe I should get it checked, but it’s mighty close to the flight date. I hope it’s not a precursor of things to come (*knock wood)
9. Lip balm, sun block, excedrin, stuff from the pharmacy. Maybe some Glucosamine for my weakening knees perhaps?
10. Get my bills sorted out!
Wow, that nicely rounds up a top 10.
OK, I must admit, I’m a review-hound. Meaning, I tend to follow the general consensus of people’s opinions, such as not bothering to watch The Wolfman which got sucky reviews… playing only games rated at least 8.5 or higher on Gamespot/IGN or XPlay. And such is the case with me purchasing my very first DSLR camera, Nikon’s D90 (it’s all Ken Rockwell’s fault!) Got it for RM2600 from a dude named George Lee (like me, BLing, has a pretty nice abbreviated name of GLee) Bought the lens separately, a cheapo RM300 18-55 Nikkor without VR (which I may regret later, we’ll see)… Thought I might start slow, but now that I’ve started getting into this photography beezkneez I’m really starting to get a little tempted to splurge… Stuff I’m looking at:
Gitzo Hiking Stick/Monopod... too rich for my blood
Kata 3 in 1, this bag is so ergonomically awesome, I gotta get this one...
1. 12-24 or 11-16 Tokina Landscape Lens – RM2250-2350
2. Kata D-3N1-30 3 in 1 Large Sling Backpack – RM505
3. Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Autofocus Lens – RM420
4. 55-200 Nikkor VR Zoom Lens – RM950
5. A Polarizer (not sure how much and for which lens)…
6. Lens Hood
7. A Gitzo GM1130MT Monopod/Hiking Stick – RM545
8. An SD Card (4 or 8 gig)
and all that shingamajig… adding all that together… more than RM4770 and not to mention the RM2900 I’ve already spent on the camera. Maybe I won’t splurge on the Tokina as the 15-55 should work well enough.
And to continue my list with non-photography-related items:
Buff from Corezone: If I do ever get this, I'd better make sure not to look this gay
9. Buffs from Corezone (RM79-115)
10. Teva from World of Outdoor @ Mid Valley (RM299 -20% if I get it before the 21st Feb, dang I’m tempted)
11. Compression Sack from Corezone (RM140 for large, RM129 for med)
MiLi Powerskin for my Iphone... It's an Iphone cover, it's a battery!
12. MiLi Power Skin to give extra battery life for my Iphone, from Machines (RM299, trying to get some sort of 5-10% discount if I can nego)
13. Princeton Halogen Headlamp from Corezone (RM100)
Those I had listed for now, will cost me another extra RM879!
You know, it’s easy to get carried away with all these shopping even though some of these stuff seem pretty essential, but once you see the grand total, it makes you think twice. And I’m thinking I’d better cut some serious $$$ from my want list at the moment. Well, after tennis tomorrow, maybe a trip to Pudu and check out the camera shops there. LowYat too, perhaps for SD cards? Not to mention, a trip to Corezone & Mid Valley for the final day of CNY sales. See if I can get better deals there. In the meantime, I’ll be scouring the FTZ for some good deals if I can find any. Wismilak!
Holy Mother of God view from Poon Hill
The time has almost come for my 3-week break from civilisation, away from traffic, work, bills, facebooking, pollution, politics, fast food, ladida… and embrace the splendour of nature, Avatar style. It’s my long awaited Annapurna Circuit trek where it’s just me and the mountains! Can’t wait… On the flipside, boy, I’m gonna miss my Arsenal FC, tennis on the weekends, mom’s birthday, episodes from the final season of Lost, and Clash of the Titans premiere (well, I’m just missing it by 3 days, so it’s not that bad after all) Crap. I’m already dreading the backlog of work, bills and tax matters upon my return. Well, gotta get my matters sorted out this week best I can so I don’t have to worry too much when I’m away.
In a nutshell, I’ll be leaving on the 6th of March and arriving on the 30th, almost a full month. No Keith and Adam this time. Keith taking care of his new family, and Adam who I suspect regards Himalayan trekking as once is enough. This time, it’s just me, Nava Raj (same guide from my first trek) + porter, and another fellow kindred spirit traveller, João from Portugal who replied to my Lonely Planet Thorntree Forum post.
So, some stuff I’ve already lined up, a few of these being carried over from the last trip:
Hiking Backpack, Columbia Coremic Ridge Hiking boots, Iodine Water Purification Tablets (thanks, Keith), Raincoat (thanks again, Keith), Deuter cargo bag, Gore-tex jacket, Polarized sunglasses, Wooly cap, Gloves (I think Maya has these, gotta check), Camera tripod, Iphone (essential!), Swiss Army pocket knife, playing cards (hmmm… should I bring a couple of playable Magic: The Gathering decks, I wonder and have fellow trekkers marvel at my geekdom?), earphone splitter (for that shared music experience), quick-dry towel, quick-dry undies, toiletries…
And some which I still need to get here:
Nike+Ipod patch, Halogen head lamp, compression sack, excedrin, Tevas outdoor sandals, Mili Power Skin for my Iphone, super glue, mini sewing kit, a Digital SLR (looking at something cheaper like a 2nd hand Nikon D60 or sonething), lip balm, sun-block, SoundMagic PL30 earphones, immunization, travel insurance, spare batteries, some of those Isonotic pills Mun Kitt plops into his bottled water for tennis (gotta ask him where he gets those), Ziploc bags, binoculars, trip to the dentist just in case, cash in USD, travel pouch, souveniry items & snacks…
And some which I’ll get at Kathmandu itself:
Adjustable trekking poles, sleeping bag, some extra winter clothing, thick sock…
Am I forgetting anything else? Some other notes:
1. Wished I could’ve gotten myself an astronomy telescope for my trip but shipping it to Malaysia costs a bomb! Gotta make a trip back to the US next time for this.
2. Have thought about bringing my laptop with me. But, perhaps more likely, I won’t. Would’ve been nice to have an IPad for this trip, though.
3. Should I download GTA: Chinatown Wars to my Iphone for this trip? Tempting.
4. I’ve a running bet with João whose team, Porto FC, plays Arsenal in the Champs League. Come on, Gunners! Win me dinner.
5. Last time I went for a hike, my Ipod went for a drink on day 1. Tragic. At least I had a few moments of bliss when Keith loaned me his. There’s not much better moments when listening to Hans Zimmer’s “Now We Are Free” from Gladiator when up on a majestic view of Poon Hill. Gotta be extra careful this time.
Now, back to work.
Well, I’ve been away… okay… discouraged… for a while to post my stuff on the site here. It just seemed that Facebook gave me more exposure it seems for friends to hear my rants. But you know what? Sometimes I don’t only need to hear from my friends. Sometimes, I need to hear from Tony Farley from the Beautiful Places in HD… or Larry Brown (are you the coach of the Charlotte Bobcats???) to post a comment or two to make me realize that wow, my stuff do actually go out there to people halfway around the world. You know what? I’m starting again. I don’t know what I’m gonna write about, usual randomness again, and to heck with it if nobody reads it… feck it! Eventually, perhaps…, it gets out there somehow with Google search’s help… (just keep plugging down those tags), and being active in message boards perhaps, and maybe… just maybe… I could reach the pantheon of internet niche celebrity stardom! Or maybe not.
For starters, I’ve posted my comic strip, the Stupid Zone (aka the Loony Bin, but I find the Stupid Zone sounds more adorable dontchathink?), which I started for a while with the Malay Mail. Well, you get a sense of my humor there… a little bit of Far Side, a little bit of Bizarro. Dang. It seems like the days of Comic Strips have come to an end with the apparent “death” of newspapers. I guess I could start an online comic strip. Hmmmm…
Pirate vision
Along with that, I’ve finally upped my portfolio section, starting with a few of my older stuff. I’ve got to upload the more recent works I did for Nestle and Magnolia. Probably will take me a day or two. Well, hope to get my name out there, perhaps give me a little bit more drive to pursue more of my illustrative career which I’ve put somewhat on the backburner with my full time job at Linear Creative. Well, that’s it for now. Back soon for more awesome randomness.
PS: Let me end the day with a few thoughts:
1. Loved Conan’s final show speech. Almost choked up myself when he started choking up. You know what? The mention about cynicism was brilliant, and I think that got me thinking about being active on my site again.
2. 500 Days of Summer. I hate being one of the many who say, “Whoa, I so relate to the movie”… but I do. I do a lot. I’m giving it some time to simmer for a while before I call it one of my emotionally favourite movies of all time along with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and A.I. … but not yet. Affection needs to simmer and grow slowly, just like in relationships.
3. What can you tell about a person by the Halloween costumes he/she wears in the the past? Mine? WWII French La Resistance Commando, Clark Kent, Dick in the Box, Samuel Jackson, Soviet Officer are those I remember. Not much, I guess, except that Clark Kent seemed to stick out for being the most normal.
4. The Annapurna Circuit. I haven’t been thinking about it the past few weeks, but slowly, it’s sinking in that I’m going back there again. I’m almost worried that I might not be in good physical shape enough for the trek since my stamina is shite at the mo. I’m hoping the fact that trekking means walking and not jogging and crazy climbing, that my body can take it. Yet, I need to start sleeping right, eating right, and do my jogs at Kiara Hill more often.
5. Sometimes, I wish I could be a NATURAL indie band hipster. They’re real cool emo and get the cool Tina Fey and Zoey Deschanel types whom I find so attractive and feel so unworthy of them. The Jason Schwartzman types, Death Cab for Cutie members, those dudes from Infomania on Current TV. But I find I’m more D&D geek or shallow sports jock than that. I think I gotta be me and just embrace my “me”. Is there such a thing as Movie Soundtrack Hipster?
6. Hilarious quote I found at Bash.org: http://bash.org/?908184