Running on Vacation

Since I became an avid runner, I have always packed my running gears whenever I go for a vacation. Exploring new places on early morning runs have always been a highlight of my vacations these days. Made another short pilgrimage to KL over the past weekend for our almost-annual book shopping spree at the Big Bad Wolf (BBW) fair. This time round, we had the privilege of bunking in at our friend's place at Dutamas near Mont Kiara. 

This is area is a well known runner's haven - safe, pedestrian friendly, hilly terrain with a breath of fresh air and just a stone throw from downtown KL, but without the hustle and bustle. I jumped on the opportunity to lace up my running shoe for short morning run on a beautiful Sunday morning around the neighborhood. Managed to do a leisurely 8K with rolling hills, looping from Dutamas around Publika to Mon't Kiara and back before the sun came out on its full glory. Had to cut my run short as I was having a bit of a bowel issue.

Moved to downtown KL in Bukit Bintang area after Sunday, bought some new running gears and intended to christen them on my birthday run (13th), this AM. Loved doing early morning jaunts around downtown to catch a different slice of life in KL as the city slowy wakes up. My usual route is around the Bukit Bintang area, all the way up Bukit Ceylon and back, before going to KLCC park for a couple of loops and make my way back to the hotel, typically good for a 8 to 15K run. 

However, had to make a pass this time round, as my good night's sleep was interrupted at an ungodly hour (3am-ish) by a random couple quarreling and fighting just a few doors away from our room at the hotel we stayed at. Pretty dramatic and somewhat scary, as we heard and thought somebody is going to commit suicide by jumping out of the window next to our room. The hotel security took quite a while to attend to the distress call. I guess, that's the downside of staying at a budget boutique hotel where the manning level is minimal during night time. Took a long while to settle back into sleeping rhythm and by 6am my stomach was acting up again, so I decided to sleep through and get properly rested, as we were scheduled to fly back home in the afternoon. 

So there goes my birthday LSD run until the next time...

Phuket Trip ~ 12/04/08 Day06 (Last Day)

So it's about time people start wondering when or if is this bugger is ever going to finish off his Phuket Trip posts... *procrastinate is my middle name =p*

Well, this is it ~ last leg of Phuket Trip '08

Presenting -

the world's most not-accurate sharp shooter, me... =D

Gameniac faring much better... coz he's got longer arms~! & he's Gameniac the gun freak! =p

Elephant Kingdom...


one huge baby elephant...

she's anything but shy & very generous with kisses =p

before bidding our goodbyes to the Pearl of the Andaman...

like they say, all good things must come to an end ~ =)
Til the next trip ~ cheers!

Phuket Trip ~ 11/04/08 Day05 con’t

This is probably the most procrastinated post in the history of domain-13.blogspot.com. Sorry to disappoint, but no more neng-neng pics from now on & not much hot babes in bikini shots either… Getting on to the Phuket photo spam~

Shots of our pretty little 3-star hotel in Karon

Photo shoot session with our official Thai model ~ she charges by the hour = 1000baht/hour; I charge by the number of photos I take = 100baht/shot; so end up she still owes me 800baht… haha! =p

Gameniac taking a quick leek

Bless u!

Setting foot on the famous Patong beach… as you can see, it’s the most tourist infested strip of beach in the whole of Phuket ~ very vibrant & happening... in comparison, the much more peaceful Karon feels has more of a kampong feel

I'd like to get my hair braided like that someday, when they grow long enough…

Mr. sexy lips getting a tattoo job for 200baht ~ hardly cheap & this poor lad had to guai-guai sit there for a full hour for the paint to dry while we went on with our walk of fame exploration

Wow, hot babe in hot pant spotted!

& got bareback chick some more!

Whoa, I’m having nosebleed tsunami liao… need to evacuate, quick! =p

Preparing ammunitions for the upcoming Songkran water festival, just a mere 48 hours away *to bad we’d have left Phuket by then =(

Mr sexy lips & Thai gal down the walk of fame… ooi, dun hao lian your 6-pack lar!!

Mrtoilet, the self proclaimed Starbucks No#1 fan

The closest thing we got to watching muay thai…. =(

Chilling out at JungCeylon ~ one of the premier lifestyle mall on the island

*one of the very rare group photos we took*

big bike & leng lui...

Yet another case of overly excessive expression of brotherly love… =p

Still at it (camwhoring) in a mini tuk-tuk

Back at Karon beach for an evening of sun bathing,

having some wave-crashing wet fun,

& synchronized jumping on the beach,

err, probably more like crazy monkey-like random jumping

Picture that tells a thousand words… too nice to mar with watermark…

A nice seafood dinner to wrap up our trips 2^nd last day…

& then, there’s Day06…

Phuket Trip ~ 11/04/08 Day05

a quirky tee, *that's made for me.. hehe*

a very shy Thai mascotmodel,

a stroll down the Patong walk of fame...

~to be continued~

Phuket Trip ~ 10/04/08 Day04
Cheers!
~ coming soon... =D

Main agenda of the day: snorkeling at Coral Island (just coz most we missed it at Maya Bay... how tragic =( ) Good thing that this little island is just a stone throw away from main Phuket island, so we got there in no time.


Just like Sapi/Manukan island back in KK ~ minus the colorful corals & fishes (here all monotoneous colored one -_-)& less chick-factor (perhaps coz i dun have a magnificient invention known as the DSLR to zoom around... =p)



Commercial break! This advertisement is brought to you by Singha Beer... =D


nothing beats lim ang moh teh while taking a dip in the sea... okie so much for the hype, the beer's ain't exactly that great tasting... & try not to focus on my bloated tummy... coz that was taken just right after a hearty lunch...



heading back to the pier...

& to Wat Chalong, one of the biggest Buddhist temple in Phuket...





capturing the magnificient build in a series of snapshots...


weren't the only thing that took our breath away... so did this cute lil' doggie


back to our hotel in Karon beach...

believe it or not, it's the 4th day already & yet we've barely set foot outside our very own hotel to explore ~ coz it can get swelteringly hot especially during afternoons; the kind of hot that gets you drenched in sweat the moment you step out of the hotel... before you even reach the other side of the street.

the very tastebud tantalizing Tom yam goong for dinner... i crave for this every night now....

Strolling down the streets of Karon... strolling is much a breeze now, by nightfall



checking out the art of soap carving...

big bikes like these are a common sight. It'll be cool if i could rent one of these to pick up some chicks, but i quickly remembered my bike riding proficiency is near non-existent: the only bike i could ride for 30 seconds without falling off is a bmx with 2-small wheelies attached to the rear wheels.. how pathetic -_-

finally the night has turned mature enough... time to checkout the nightlife =D

what better way to find out than tagging along with a ladyboy.... hehe. =p
Just kidding lar ~ fatigued due the hecticness of activity filled past couple of days, we were nicely tucked in bed by midnight. How kuai indeed...