Cruisin' on Virgo

My mentor once said, "No rest for the wicked!"

After what seemed like endless months of very hard work, I was beginning to wonder if I was really wicked at the core since I didn't seem to get the rest that I needed.

Thankfully, the answer to that random thought came quickly. Soon, I was having my share of holidays ... and my first-ever cruise adventure!

This past weekend, I went on a 3 day, 2 night getaway with mom on Star Cruise's Virgo that sailed out of Singapore to Pulau Redang - Star Cruise's inaugural journey to the island.

Where we spent most of our time, except for the outing to Pulau Redang.

I had planned to eat, sleep and read while I was on this free cruise with Mom. There was absolutely no pressure to get the best of the cruise since Mom had won these tickets from a lucky draw in her last trip on another ship - Star Gemini.

Our cabin was on the 5th level, above sea level. So I would wake up and see blue skies and the ocean each morning.

Beds were cozy with colorful bed covers. Bathrooms squeaky clean and room temperature perfect for falling asleep whenever you get to the cabin!

While many go on such cruises to gamble, mom and I had a different agenda. We went for the international foods at the fine dining area called Bella Vista, what seemed like a huge ballroom with large windows overlooking the sea.

Apart from the evening entertainment such as the magician from Prague, latin dancing by a group of South Americans, and kung fu shows by Shaolin masters from China, we particularly enjoyed the line dancing program by crew member, Joseph from India. He was a lot of fun. Mom thoroughly enjoyed dancing, while I laughed my way through while taking photos and videos!

Check out this video of mom doing the "shimmy" (shaking of the shoulders) to the song "Achy Breaky Heart" ... I'm proud to say that my mom was one of the best dancers on the floor!!!

Despite wanting to sleep most of the time, the many distractions onboard Virgo did keep Mom and me occupied most of our waking hours. I have come to the conclusion that the cruise is a must-do-once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I would go again in a heartbeat!

Of Sunsets & Surfing ...

Among the amazing sights in Bali is the sunset at Tanah Lot, a location that many go to to see the temple that is built on rocks.

The temple is accessible during the day (low tide) and is surrounded by water during the evenings (high tide).

While I was there, I witnessed a beautiful sunset and had a revelation about the extraordinary sport of gliding on water.

As I took in the fresh ocean breeze and ocassionally glanced towards the setting sun, my gaze would frequently return to a group of young men bobbing in the ocean waters, lying horizontal on long, flat boards waiting to ride the next big wave.

Suddenly (as all revelations come to us), I realized that surfing may very well be the closest thing to walking on water, as Jesus did during his days.

Life can be like surfing ... waiting to catch the next wave ... the bigger the wave ... the higher you ride and the further you glide!

I think I will try surfing after I have done my fair share of scuba diving :-)

The Truth is Never Convenient

I finally viewed the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," based on the climate crisis campaign. It's about Global Warming and how the continued emissions of carbon dioxide waste into the atmosphere will effect a series of reactions that will damage the environment to the point of no return. In 50 years, we may no longer dwell on Earth, a place we have fondly called home.

He, who used to be the next president of the United States, presented compelling data that raised the urgent need for each one of us to do our part and live ethically as citizens of this earth.

It's amazing how matters of life and death can cause an about turn in our lives and cause us to live with great passion towards a goal, a dream or a vision.

For Al Gore, it's been an uphill task of voicing the truth about the rising temperatures since the 1970s. It's now come to a crisis point and the urgent appeal is for each of us to do our bit.

This message reminds me of how the prophets voiced the truth of Jesus as the Christ over the years. As the days, months and years pass, the urgency becomes more and more apparent. The truth eventually confronts us in the face.

We are drawn to the awareness of our need to be reconciled to God. At that point, we recognize our hopelessness without God in our lives. We seek God's mercy upon us and cry out for him to save us.

When the light is turned on in our lives, we are transformed and begin to lead purpose-driven godly lives.

As for the climate crisis we now face, it's time to also put feet to our prayers ... here's what we can do to contribute ... find out how at http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/

I guess taking the LRT to work everyday was a good choice after all ...

The next practical step for me is to reduce my hot showers and take cold or warm showers. Brrrrrr ...!

I have also been working on eating less meat ... but this continues to be an uphill task.

The truth is never convenient! I have a long way to go ... sigh!

BALI-ing on Bebek, Mt Batur & Babi Guling

Sunrise view from Gunung Batur of Gunung Abang

Carpe Diem. Part of life's adventures is the ability to seize the moment! This opportunity came when a friend of mine sms-ed me and informed me of an opening to Bali for a 5 day 4 night holiday.

"Heaven & earth" were moved (considering the busy schedule I hold at my current workplace). I was on a plane to Bali within 24 hours of notification! How cool is that!

It was my first trip to Bali. I didn't know what to expect except for the few things on our list of "to dos" - climb a volcanic mountain, go white water rafting, eat, shop, shop, and shop! We did all but one ... I would have to come back another time for white water rafting, if it's really any good.

Bali-Denpasar, 12 April 2007 - My friends picked me up from the airport. The hired taxi took us to Kuta (the famous tourist town that became infamous for the bombings in recent years). We had Balinese dinner. The Bali bebek (duck in Bahasa Indonesia)! Delicious and tiny, like the people.

People's photo: Balinese Roast Duck

Ubud, 13 April 2007 - After dinner, it took us about an hour's drive to the quaint, tourist town called Ubud, where we stayed at Sahadewa Resort & Spa, a boutique hotel.

Our Balinese-styled accommodations provided moderately large rooms with very comfortable beds, a curtain-drawn bathroom with a huge bathtub that allowed one to bathe and splash water all over without flooding the rest of the bathroom! Yes, the bathtub was that huge!!!!

Nestled within Monkey Forest is a temple, where seemingly "halo-ed" monkeys guard the temple!

Apart from the tourist sight seeing at Monkey Forest Sanctuary and shopping for knick knacks at the Ubud market, we continued to eat Balinese food, well, except for the Soy Burger I had for lunch.

Dinner was another round of Bali's famous crispy roast duck at Bebek Bengil restaurant, which was a hop, skip and a jump from our boutique hotel.

Gunung Batur, 14 April 2007 - Saturday came quickly. We rose at 2am and began the hour-long journey to the base of Gunung Batur, the volvanic mountain that remains active. The last eruption was in early 2000 and the smoke rising from the ashened grounds of a once-existent village remain apparent.

Our guide Nyoman told us at the start of our journey that the slowest group he has ever taken up to the point of sunrise viewing took 1 hour 20 minutes. We promptly informed Nyoman that we were record breakers in this aspect.

We were the first to begin the journey up the mountain. Along the way, there must have been 4 to 5 groups that passed us. We arrived 2 hours later!

We caught the sunrise - an awesome sight that makes all pain worthwhile! From one mountain, we saw Gunung Abang, the mountain we said we would climb next ... by then we hope to be as fit as a fiddle!

It took us 3 hours to get back to base. We opted for the scenic route that brought us to different parts of the mountain - it reminded me of the Sound of Music, where Julie Andrews sang "the hills are alive with the sound of music ...."

Richard (pictured right) in a "National Geographic" moment with walking stick, hat, backpack, et al.

For me, the hills were very much "alive" as people cooked their hard boiled eggs, witnessed the steam coming out of ashened grounds and the rolling hills formed by volcanic eruptions of the recent past.

The moment we got back to Ubud, showered and napped a little, we made a beeline for Bu Oka restaurant, where tourists and locals alike sit on straw mats similar to Japanese dining, except this one had no air conditioning. Bu Oka is well known for it's Babi Guling (roast pork in Bahasa Indonesia).

Babi Guling - delicious and uniquely Bali

Ubud, 15 April 2007 - The next day, we opted out of white water rafting, citing painful muscles but really it was the thought of a lazy afternoon of eating and shopping that won in the battlefield of the mind! We went for another round of Babi Guling before heading to Kuta to do the tourist thing ... that's possibly another blog entry in time to come.

Behind the scenes of F1 Malaysian Grand Prix

William's Alexander Wurz making a pit stop on race day

Through the years, I have grown to enjoy F1 races during the course of my work. This past weekend seems to be the most enjoyable to date. Our clients were enthusiastic about F1 and it made hosting them at the Paddock Club all the more exciting :-) Also, the new line up of drivers for the various teams has made watching the race very interesting.

There were many memorable moments at this year's race ...

Saturday, 7 April 2007

We were at the Williams suite, where international chefs were flown in to prepare the buffet spread of local and western foods ... where free flow champagne, wines and my favorite orange juice were served ... where AT&T Williams F1 team Nico Rosberg (left) and Alexander Wurz gave interviews, signed autographs, and greeted the guests.

F1 racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart also made a pit stop special appearance to greet the guests. A PR man indeed!

While everyone was tired at the end of the day and could not wait to return home, an enthusiastic client decided to stay back to visit the F1 Paddocks. We went down and waited for "sightings" of F1 drivers.

Initially, the whole exercise seemed futile as it was sweltering hot (39 degrees) and everyone, but the drivers, was chilling out at the driver's and crew rest areas. But after about 5 to 10 minutes of walking up and down the Paddocks and deep perspiration, we spotted Adrian Sutil of Spyker and got his autograph. That was the beginning of the most productive F1 experience for fans like us!

We bumped into Ralf Schumacher of Panasonic Toyota, Nick Heidfeld (right) and Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber, David Coulthard and Mark Webber of Red Bull, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa of Scuderia Ferrari, and ...

This year's Malaysian Grand Prix champion Fernando Alonso and runner up Lewis Hamilton of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

It was absolute "coolness" meeting these guys up close. Such moments made all the preparation leading up to this year's F1 worthwhile.

Sunday, 8 April 2007
For the first time, my gaze switched from TV screens to pit lanes to the track, watching in anticipation as a string of cars blazed past. Eyes were glued to the screens as the McLaren and Ferrari teams battled it out for the top positions.

Apart from the video clips of Williams driver pit stops, I marveled at the talented F1 rookie Lewis Hamilton (left) as he became the most exciting F1 driver of the season! His maneuvers to overtake the Ferrari drivers from his starting position at 4th place landed him a well-deserved 2nd place at the podium after his team mate and champion Alonso. (You can read more about it here!)

Nico Rosberg's pit stop

If I could describe my life in seasons, I would say it's spring going on summer - where flowers are blooming, the skies are true blue, and the bees are buzzing!