2017: An Over-Ambitious Year

Year 2017 is about to come to an end, and we are just a couple of days away from a brand new year. A new year means another 365 days to catch up to my dreams, another 365 days to achieve new goals for the year, and to re-achieve old ones I’ve yet to fulfil. But before we started sketching new goals, here’s a throwback to what I’ve achieved (and what not) throughout Year 2017. 

It’s a great reminder of what I’ve did this year, how far I’ve come, and whether I’m still on track or have derailed from my goals. This then helps me to steer my way back to the path I’ve chosen, or in some cases, choose a different one which works better.  I used to do this on Facebook and Instagram every year end, but since I’m maintaining a blog now, I figure, it’d be lovely to have this documented in catchingtravels.

A fully packed 2017 – Wonderful 7s

Interestingly, when I started drafting my accomplishments for the year, all the categories ended with the lucky number 7. Or did I purposely made it so? 

7 Hikes

Once a hiker, forever a hiker

1. Yong Belar (February 2017)

Organised by: Peaks Outdoor Malaysia

The first mountain I step foot on this year was Yong Belar. It was on the weekend before my birthday, and I decided to celebrate my birthday up at the mountain. A fancy dinner at a restaurant and a vacation to a faraway land are perfect celebration choices, but so is a hike up to one of the Malaysia G7. It was raining cats and dogs throughout the entire hike, and the trail was a mess. Needless said, it’s the messiest birthday I ever had.

Blog post: here

2. Benum (March 2017)

Organised by: none (tagged along self-exploration)

I thought I wouldn’t do another hike so soon after my hike to Yong Belar, especially something so hardcore. Truthfully, I wasn’t an experienced hiker nor a hardcore one. But the thought of hiking this G10 interested me so much that I couldn’t say no to the invitation. It’s my toughest hike to-date and one that made me tough as iron today.

Blog post: here

3. Trans Nuang Reverse (April 2017)

Organised by: Hardcore Extreme Adventure (unofficial event - training for Chamah)

Once you started mingling around with hikers, completing G7 and then G10, becomes a goal. So when I heard of a 3d2n hike to Chamah, I immediately said yes to the hike. It’s said to be the toughest after Tahan, and to prepare the members for the hike, we decided to do a Trans Nuang Reverse, which serves as both the training ground and also a benchmark for the organiser to evaluate whether you could probably be not fit enough for Chamah. However, I was down with a bad flu and failed the mission. Nonetheless, the organiser was still confident about my ability since I completed Benum dayhike, which is said to be tougher than this.

Blog post: none, since I failed to complete it, there isn’t much information to share, and I’ve got more things to blog about. I shall one day revisit this hike.

4. CBL (Chemerong – Berembun – Langsir) (April/May 2017)

Organised by: Peaks Outdoor Malaysia

As of today, the most popular post on catchingtravels is about this hike, generating the most hits. Not only that readers like it, I myself is also most satisfied about this piece. It could be the photos, the writing, the experience, or possibly the mood I was on while writing this. Regardless the reason, it continues to garner hits every single day and remained my favourite post. If you haven’t read about this camping trip, you should, because it’s easily my favourite camping trip.

Blog post: here

5. Chamah (May 2017)

Organised by: Hardcore Extreme Adventure

One of my greatest achievement in hiking this year is none other than Chamah. Thanks to my previous Benum hike, I conquered Chamah with ease, despite its reputation for being one of the toughest G7. In fact, I enjoyed the hike so much even though I was on period. Getting more hardcore, eh?

Blog post: here

6. Datuk (July 2017)

Organised by: none (self-exploration)

This was a night hike which I managed to slot in as I was doing a the Gua Batu Maloi trip back in July. As the two places are situated so near to each other, I did a back-to-back and it was an awesome experience, hiking Datuk in the evening, watch sunset at the peak and then sleep under a million stars. Of course, I caught a cold the following day, but it was worth it.

Blog post: here

7. BAS (Baha – Ayam – Stong) (August 2017)

Organised by: Hardcore Extreme Adventure

I decided to take a break from hiking after Chamah hike, but found myself feeling stressful at work in the month of August. So there I go, joining another hike in Kelantan. This time around, I brought along a friend and for the first time in history, I became a sweeper. It wasn’t all that fun to slow down and wait, but it’s an experience of a lifetime.

Blog post: here

Bonus: Gua Batu Maloi (July 2017)

Organised by: Peaks Outdoor Malaysia

This isn’t a hike, but a caving adventure, which is why it’s a bonus entry. 

Blog post: here

7 Runs

I’m not a runner, but I run nevertheless

1. Men’s Health Women’s Health AIA Vitality Run (Johor, Malaysia – January 2017) - Half Marathon

Ran with: Chin, Hui Li and MJ (DNS due to injury)

This is my second half marathon, and I achieved my personal best, albeit turning up late for the race. Finished 2:40 Nett time.

2. 42race Aquarius Be The Fighter 21 Days Challenge (Virtual – February 2017) – 200km

Ran with: Eunice (virtual)

Being an aquarius baby, I couldn’t have given this race a miss. The design of the medal wasn’t so appealing, but the horoscope was.

3. Osim Sundown Marathon (Singapore, March 2017) - Half Marathon

Ran with: Stella

This is one of the race I regretted not training for. Having done two half marathons before this race, I didn’t bother to train hard and eventually started slacking. I completed my 1000km virtual challenge in February and was since then taking a break from running. Turned out, I performed badly. And did I mention how much I hated midnight run? No next time for me!

4. 42race Double Dragon Race (Virtual – April 2017) – Half of 42.195km

Ran with: Eunice (virtual)

Interesting couple race, where two partners combined their running distance to meet the distance they registered for. We got a full marathon medal, but each of us only ran a half marathon. Does this count as cheating? Well, it’s how the race is designed, so it’s definitely not cheating. And it feels good. Fine, I’ll do a real full marathon in 2018.

5. National Geographic Earth Day Run (Singapore, April 2017) – 10km

Ran with: Colleagues

Turned out my boss is a crazy runner, and he got the company to sponsor the staffs for this run in Singapore when he came down for business trip (he’s stationed in Shanghai). I didn’t miss the chance to sign up since it’s free and I was interested with the running belt with hydration bottle. But running at 4pm? That’s uber crazy in Singapore’s hot climate. Hopefully in 2018, the company will sponsor morning run instead.

6. VR Off To Neverland Challenge (Virtual, July 2017) – 50km

Ran with: Eunice (virtual)

Another virtual challenge with minimal difficulty as I only needed to run 50km in 27 days. Passed the challenge easily and got a beautiful medal and t-shirt. But the price is crazily expensive for a virtual challenge so I’m thinking twice now for all future virtual run under VR. 

7. Newton Challenge (Singapore, October 2017) – 32.195km

Ran with: none (solo)

I signed up for a full marathon in October (Malaysia Marathon) but unfortunately it was cancelled and my goal to run a full marathon went down the drain the minute I saw the announcement. As a compensation I ran a 32km in order to break my longest distance of a half marathon (21.1km). Turned out, I was slowly losing my form in running and I ended up walking the last several km. Definitely my worst performance to-date.

Bonus: South Beach Tower National Vertical Marathon (Singapore, May 2017) – 34 storeys

Ran with: none (solo)

When road run got boring, there’s always vertical marathon or more commonly known as towerthon. The Swissotel Vertical Marathon may be the most well-known race in Singapore, but the National Vertical Marathon is a good virgin race for beginner. It’s more affordable, easier on the knees, and comes with many goodies. I had fun despite joining this solo. I should get someone with tag along for 2018’s!

7 Travels

Collect moments not things

1. Ipoh Wedding-Cum-Food Trip(Malaysia) – June 2017

Travel mates: Construct Camp

It’s my second time to Ipoh. The first was more than two decades ago and the only food I remembered was the beansprout chicken. A visit to this food heaven wasn’t something I was willing to miss, even though it was for a wedding dinner. Ipoh, I was in a rush, but I’ll be back to eat all the delicious stuffs you have to offer.

Blog post: none

2. Melaka Food Trip (Malaysia) – June 2017

Travel mates: YOLO

Besides Ipoh and Penang, Melaka is another food heaven in Malaysia. It’s my n-th time in Melaka since I studied there for 5 years and worked there for another 2 years. But the trip was a little different as we avoided the touristy places and explored some unknown places. Maybe I should come out with a list of must-eat in Melaka. Shall I?

Blog post: none

  

3. Phatthalung (Thailand) – August 2017

Travel mates: YOLO

First oversea trip for our YOLO gang and we upgraded from cars to trains. Took ETS from KL Sentral to Padang Besar, crossed over to Hatyai, before taking a local train to Phatthalung. It’s no surprise if you’d not heard of this place before. It’s a hidden gem and pretty much off-the-radar.

Blog post: here

4. KL Staycation (Malaysia) – September 2017

Travel mates: Monkey Girls

We try to have a yearly trip every year, but this year’s turn out to be a staycation, to celebrate one of the girl’s hens night. We booked a room at Regalia, ordered take outs and drank till the wee hours of the morning. Maybe a real trip in 2018, babes?

Blog post: none

5. Chiang Mai and Pai (Thailand) – October 2017

Travel mates: Fantastic Four (MJ, Fei, Terry)

One of my most anticipated trip of the year had got to be Chiang Mai. It’s the furthest I travelled for the year, and the longest too. It’s still in South East Asia, but then again, who thinks only Europe trips are fun? South East Asia has so much to offer and I never get tired of exploring this region. I’ll definitely travel further. Stay tune for my future adventures!

Blog post: here

6. Arts & Lights: Lit By Mah Sing (Malaysia) – December 2017

Travel mate: SLSP

If Singapore has iLight, KL has Arts & Lights. During my short stay in KL during Christmas long weekend, I made a visit to this place. It's crowded but definitely a lot of fun taking photos with the light installations. Everyone seemed to think visiting at night is more ideal for photographing but it should be the other way round since those which requires queuing are indoor. The v2.0 is ongoing now with two new venues, so take note peeps!

Blog post: here

7. Genting Highlands Christmas Staycation (Malaysia) – December 2017

Travel mate: SLSP

Who else is dreaming of a White Christmas but is living in a country where the only season you get is summer all year long? If I don’t get snow for Christmas, the best I can do is probably a chilled Christmas in Genting Highlands.

Blog post: none

Bonus: KL MRT Food Tour (Malaysia) – August 2017

Tour mate: Pearlyn and Stanley

Unlike Singapore, MRT is a new thing in Malaysia in 2017. And whenever there’s a grand opening, there’s promotion, and therefore, there’s a 50% all rides on the Sungai Buloh – Kajang MRT line in August 2017. I was in KL for one of the weekend to help my cousin, Pearlyn with her wedding preparation. We ended up taking a half day MRT food tour just for fun.

Blog post: none

7 Places I Explored in Singapore

Not born and raised in Singapore, this country remains a stranger to me, and I’m still currently making time to explore every nook and cranny of what this little island has to offer. I still continue to be bewildered by the new places I stumbled upon each time (though most of the time I ended up venturing out of Singapore)

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page

1. Gillman Barracks

Partner-in-crime: Linn

This place is such a hidden gem, and I only came to know about it after seeing my friend’s photo on Instagram. It was a joy to visit and a perfect half day outing if you like arts. Even if you don’t, it’s great for photo shooting, so it’s a great place for ootd. The best thing of all is that it’s free.

Blog post: coming soon

2 and 3. Gardens by the Bay – Flower Dome (Blossom Bliss) and Cloud Forest

Partner-in-crime: Ken and Yee Lu

It was my first time in both observatories and I purposely chosen Blossom Bliss theme for the sakura. I’m not visiting Japan or Korea anytime soon, so it’s an alternative to feel like I’m visiting these places. 

Blog post: here

Partner-in-crime: Ken and Yee Lu (first round), Linn (second round), Stella (third round)

What started as a once every 2 years event, iLight has become an annual event since 2016, but this was the only year I visited. Again, entrance is free but it was crowded. I think I’m going again for the 2019 one, for the sake of polishing my photography skill.

Blog post: here

5. Mega Adventure, Sentosa

Partner-in-crime: Sally, Wendy, and Hui Wen

1-for-1 deal with entertainer app for obstacle challenge, zip-lining and trampoline? Hell, yes! Let’s get that adrenaline pumping. 

Blog post: here

6. Yayoi Kusama:  Life is The Heart of a Rainbow Exhibition

Partner-in-crime: Ken and Justin

One of the best art exhibition I’d ever visited (well, it’s not like I’ve visited many). I’m not an artist, and I don’t know much about art, but the art installation was eye-opening to say the least. A must go!

Blog post: here

2018 – Slowing down, or picking up?

Slow down, there’s no need to rush

Lesser hikes

Those who follow my social media and my blog knows how much I love hiking. It’s one of my biggest passion and the word “hiking” has sorta become one with me. Think of me? Think hiking. In fact, 50% of my blog posts are about my hikes, sharing the love I have for travelling. *wink*

However, I felt that I’ve spent too much time and money hiking in a year, and I actually wanted to take a break. It’s not easy on my wallet, and the travelling between Singapore and KL is exhausting. All the sleep deprivation for taking midnight buses and early morning flight, as well as the hardcore hike during the weekend has taken a toll on my body. I’m 29 and no longer in my younger days where I can wonder around without adequate rest. 

There’s more to life than just hiking

In 2018, it’s time to slow down and hike less. I mean, I’ll definitely still be hiking, but not be as crazy as 2017. I need to get myself focus on other things in life. 

Run for health, not for medals

I began running in 2016 as a means to burn my fats away as I started gaining weight over the years. From a girl who doesn’t get fat from gluttonous eating pattern, my body started to change after my acne medication (I learnt somehow that hormonal medication may cause weight gain).


But what started as healthy regime slowly became an obsession. The joy of being praised for each achievement unlocked slowly became what I crave for, especially after the completion of my 1000km virtual challenge in 6 months. I felt that I could do more, and started actively looking for races to join. But with more runs, means more time spent on the track, and lesser time for other things in life. Soon, I started to feel as if I’ve lost my life to running.

If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, why are you even doing it?

To make things worse, I ridiculously signed up for an ultramarathon in 2018, which I am not ready for. It gave me tremendous stress for the past several months since I became pre-occupied with my work and hadn’t gotten enough time to start my training regime. As time passes, I became even lazier to kick start. Fortunately, I came around and realise I’m better off letting go of my bib (I sold it off) and stop seeing this whole running thing as an achievement to unlock, but rather a healthy regime in life to stay fit. After all, I started this hobby as a means to keep fit, and I’d rather do short runs regularly just for the fun of it, instead of forcing myself to run long distance for training purpose.

More me-time

2017 is such a busy year, I had very little me-time. I filled my schedule with hikes, runs, travels, family bonding, friends gathering, food hunting, cooking experiments, blog writing, photo posting and much more till the extent that I felt out of breathe at times.

It’s good to be busy and productive, but as I age, I start to appreciate lazy Sunday where I could laze at home and do nothing. Unfortunately this realisation came a little late in the year, somewhere around Quarter 3, when I’d pretty much filled up my schedule till end of the year. Luckily, it’s not too late for 2018.

Pick up what I’ve started

Backlog

I’m always behind schedule in my writing. It’s not easy to get in the mood to write about my travelling stories, hiking adventures, as well as penning down my thoughts. It’s even harder to keep the mood going as I sometimes work overtime and have weekends filled with activities (my bad). The backlogs been piling up and I really, really need to finish writing them all before I embark on another adventure. Sigh…

A food blog, perhaps?

Writing is my passion, so are traveling, hiking, and eating. I had incorporated the first two (traveling and hiking) in this blog, where I write about my backpacking and hiking adventure. I even write about my local exploration of Singapore. But what about food?


Long time friends of mine, and those who follow me on Instagram would know that I’m a foodie and a self-proclaimed glutton. Whenever I try new food, or revisit a favourite restaurant, hawker or café, I snap photos from multiple angles until I get the perfect shot, then upload it to social media – Instagram especially and Facebook (I have a dedicated album), complete with long lengthy caption of what I think about the food, like a food-blogger-wannabe. 

Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul. Therefore, don’t just eat to live, but also live to eat

I have been in Singapore for 4 years now and going around looking for good food had become something I enjoy doing when I don’t get to travel around (who on earth with a full time job gets to travel around frequently, right?). And when I’m back to Malaysia, I like to hunt down good food too, and the habit doesn’t die there either. 

An idea of a food blog has always been on mind. But with so much things occupying my time in 2017, I didn’t even have enough time to finish writing my adventures, not to mention to start on another blog. Hope this would change in 2018. If not a new blog, then possibly a separate category in catchingtravels?

Photography blog

I’m a person with ideas, so unsurprisingly the idea of creating a photography blog is there too. In fact, this idea was conceived way before catchingtravels were even created, but unfortunately it’s like a miscarriage. I did set up the blog, but nothing was posted, simply because…

Procrastination is the thief of time

Ideally, this is something I hope would turn around come 2018. Wish me luck!

A movie-review blog 

I don’t know why I love documenting things, and expressing opinion online, but it’s so much fun to pretend I’m a movie critics. Let’s see if I have time for this in 2018.

A makeover

When I first started this blog in 2016, I had many ideas to aesthetically beautify the layout of my blog – the cover photo, logo, header, etc. The ideas were always there (they still are) but I was always too busy, either with work, personal commitment or busy writing blog posts to even find time for that. After all, content is always more important that the appearance, right?

I guess the answer is yes, and also no at the same time. It’s important to have useful and important contents (the blog posts), but an attractive page (a beautiful, interactive blog) is equally important for me to engage with the readers. Who knows, it could even attract sponsors and business partners, and that means some extra income for me.

In 2018, that’s something I should be working on, and with lesser hikes and runs, hopefully, I’ll be able to make it work.

An upgrade

Writing and publishing a book is still a far-fetched dream, but I may get there someday. But first, I need to further polish my writing skill. I’m still an amateurish blogger, and there’s still a lot to learn. I’m not a native English speaker and English isn’t my primary spoken language. Growing up in a Teochew family and Cantonese-speaking neighbourhood, and getting my primary and secondary education for 11 years in a Malay-speaking schools, my English certainly isn’t as good as I wish it’d be. My lack of vocabulary, sometimes is a hindrance to tell the story in a way I wanted it to be told.

No one is born to know how to do things. We all learn from scratch

If you know of any courses that would be of any help to me, do let me know. I’ll be glad to hear from you. You can comment in this post so that the info may benefit other readers, or if you are shy, you can always just email me.

Reading, Swimming, Cooking

Reading is a hobby. Sadly, it’s been put aside in 2017 to make way for writing. Here’s to hoping I stop looking at my phone in the MRT and start reading the books I always carry along in my handbag.

Swimming is something I previously vow to learn. I did went to the pool twice in 2017, but soon after stopped when life gets too busy and too happening. Maybe more disciplined in 2018?

Cooking is an on-going passion I’d wish to improve on. I cook occasionally, but I’m thinking to pack lunch to work. Time to materialise it.

Epilogue

Listing down my achievements of the year have been such a joy. It’s comforting to know how well I’ve lived, that I did not let myself down. I’m proud of who I’ve become and there’s no regrets. I may have been rather over-ambitious at times, where I over-packed my schedule, making myself way too busy and exhausted. But it is still better than sitting down doing nothing and wasting my youth away. It might have to do with 2017 being my last year in the 20s, so subconsciously I was trying to live the year to the fullest before hitting 30. But age is always just a number, and I’ve come to learn to stop rushing, slow down and take a break before my body couldn’t take the stress.

Life isn’t about ticking those bucket lists, it’s about living in the moments and making them count

Thank you 2017! You re such a fruitful year. You deserve a pat at the back.

… and of course, hello 2018! Please treat me well!