My Running Playlist : Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera

Do you want to know what is the perfect song to add on your current running playlist or jogging list of songs? At least right now for me, "Moves Like Jagger" is at the top of my list. Everybody loves this song and who wouldn't right? Seriously, I wouldn't mind spinning this tune on repeat for the gazillion times and I'll still be all pumped up throughout my run.

Listen up, download it and have an awesome run people!

Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRsxpoAc5w

Click below to purchase from Amazon.com :



 

 

Running Playlist - Barbra Streisand : Duck Sauce

This Barbra Streisand song by Duck Sauce is my current craze! It pumps you up real good and it can be an incredible music companion while you are running. This song can boost up your energy and motivation in a beat. If you have never heard of this song before, you really SHOULD right now.

To download from Amazon , click here : Barbra Streisand by Duck Sauce MP3 Download

FYI, the AJ Hackett crew at Nevis Bungy got this Barbra Streisand tune pumping on full blast at the bungy platform. This song really helped to boost up the adrenaline in my blood just a little bit before I had my moment of free-falling at the Nevis Bungy. Otherwise, you can still count on Duck Sauce with their Barbra Streisand song while you are running.

This is yet another must have tune in your running playlist - Barbra Streisand, so go listen and load it on your mp3 now!

Quad Biking : It Gets Even Better After You Crash!

When it comes down to quad biking and especially when it is your first time riding a quad bike, things only get even better when you experienced your first ever bike crash! Yes, bike riding gets crazily addictive even after you crash. You got to believe me on that one, although  I have to admit that I was a little bit traumatized for a good few minutes after the crash.

Cutting the long and boring story short ( I hope this excites you instead), I figured that I should at least capture the quad bike crashing moment and the best thing I could come up with was to illustrate the crash with my sketches. Below is the closest on what  I could vividly remember during my quad biking crash at Queenstown, New Zealand :

[caption id="attachment_2199" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="This is how I crashed on my quad bike and yes, I sketched this one up myself . :)"][/caption]

Let's close up on the sketch shall we.



1. I lost control of the quad during a turning (it wasn't even a sharp turning) and I hit straight on towards a 'huge ass' pole. Haha talking about being a big time klutz right!



2. Naturally, after a strong impact one will fall and in my case, I plunged forward over the handle bar and the sequence of events followed by a couple of front rolls all over the ground. This was an awesome stunt and I remembered falling over the yellow fender of my quad, tucking in my head and did a front roll like a gymnast!



3 & 4.  I continued on rolling while both my legs went scraping against the wire fence.



5. Finally, the rolling stopped with me falling flat on my stomach with my face down kissing the dirt on the ground.



6. I rolled myself to face up and at this point, I felt a sharp pain on my right side around the pelvic area. I tried to stand up but I can't and I laid there on the ground for a couple of seconds feeling utterly hopeless.

7. I tried again to stand up from my left side and pushed myself upward and...



8. Phew, it was a huge relief to be up again. The next thing I knew, the guide came running back to find me and he saw that I had crashed and the first thing he asked was, " Are you okay? Did you break any bones? ". He did looked genuinely worried there but all was good. I was fine and I continued the next hour quad biking on the off road adventure.

The quad biking adventure in Queenstown, New Zealand was awesome and it gets way awesome-r after I crashed! And this, shall be a great adventure story that I can always talk or brag about always in the future. Have you any great biking incident that you can always share or brag about with people? Do share it with me! :)

Photo Travel : Quad Biking in Queenstown, New Zealand

I've never rode on a four wheeler or quad bike or the ATV bike before, hence having a go at it while I was in Queenstown, New Zealand for our close to a month Great Kiwi Road Trip, couldn't have been any better than that. It was superb and a MUST DO thing for anyone looking for a real biking, dirt road adventure.

Another important thing to note is : Quad Biking can be ADDICTIVE! If speed and thrill is your kind of game, Quad Biking is an absolute MUST TRY!

[caption id="attachment_2188" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yours truly posing on a quad bike minutes after I had an awesome 'fall & flip' from the quad bike"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2189" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Splashing through the water on the quad bike"][/caption]

Juicy things you ought to know on my first time quad biking experience :

1. It was awesome shite and  I want to do it again and again!

2. It got a whole lot better because I met with an accident with my quad and no, nobody hit me. Instead, I hit a mega huge fencing pole for no reason at all and I literally 'flew' over the handle bar, flipped 360 degrees twice, scraped my legs over the wire of the fence and finally, falling flat on my stomach. All that happened in a split second while my quad bike and my friend were already ahead of me in front and yes, it took them sometime to realize that I had gone MIA. Lol!

Oh, other than that, I'm perfectly FINE! Thank God!

3. I love speed and drifting at cornering whenever I drive and I got to do just that on those many corners with the quad! Super great fun!

4. With my level of competency on the quad, I was riding on automatic transmission all the way (that's on the 3rd gear I think) and I was only riding on the Beginners Trail for about an hour 15minutes. It was exhausting, bumpy but with tonnes of fun!

5. I'm in love with quad and now I'm having some crazy ideas to get one in the future or at least if I can't get a quad, I should get a motorbike.

6. It was a great quad biking experience after going through an insanely exhilarating and heart wrenching free fall from my first ever bungy jump at Nevis Bungy the day before.

So yeah, if you happen to travel around to Queenstown, New Zealand and you are in need for an adrenaline fix, make sure you go crazy with some off road biking experience either on the quads or bikes. You will absolutely love it to bits :)

* There are a few off road quads and bikes tours that you can choose from in Queenstown. The one that I went with was with :

Off Road Adventures, Queenstown : www.offroad.co.nz (0800 633 7623)

My Jogging Playlist - High BPM Tracks From The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack

My jogging playlist is currently spinning some crazily high BPM (beats per minute) tracks from The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack. The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack Album consists of tunes by the following bands :

• Linkin Park


• Marilyn Manson


• Rob Zombie


• Rob Dougan


• Oakenfold


• Don Davis


• P.O.D


• Unloco


• Rage Against The Machine


• Juno Reactor

If you are into any of these genres above, you will love having added this whole Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack album in your jogging playlist. It is simply amazing on how energized you can get on every play of these awesomely high in energy music. Imagine yourself literally being transmitted with a sudden surge of energy at every vibrations of the BPM. You will tend to jog or run faster at every beat and yes, you will be amazed at how simply you can control your jogging or running momentum by having the correct type of jogging playlist pulsating as you jog.

To have a listen on the over the top, high grade BPM tracks from The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack : The Album, click HERE. You will love them if energy is what you crave for in achieving that momentum in your jogging or running.

Photo Essay :The Best Food In The World - BBQ!

The best food in the world for me has to be a BBQ! Of course, you should never indulge in too much of the good, yummy food everyday because as we know it, too much of the good things are bad for you.

Anyways, this particular BBQ is yet another best BBQ that we have from time to time. BBQs for us are usually reserved during days of cravings or festive seasons. :)

 

[caption id="attachment_1963" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The BBQ pit"][/caption]

The BBQ pit is actually a cut off, used oil drum. You can look for used oil drum from the junk shop near your place and request to have it cut into half. BBQ is way better with these drums because the pit is kind of deep, so your food won't be charred but instead it will be cooked almost like they are smoked.

 

[caption id="attachment_1964" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Let is smoke or rather BBQ-ed!"][/caption]

This meal is for 3 person.

 

[caption id="attachment_1965" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yum! This is a sirloin cut I think. Medium rare."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1966" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The fish looking good to eat by now."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1967" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="And other stuffs on the menu - Freshly caught Tilapias! They taste super sweet!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1968" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="We are Asians so we have to eat those stuffs with a sambal - bird chillies,soy sauce,shrimp paste mashed with mortar and pastel"][/caption]

There you go, The Best Food In The World which is a BBQ! Well, at least for me any type of BBQ with fresh ingredients got to be the best meal ever. Are you drooling just yet by looking at the pictures? If you are not, you are so not fit for a BBQ with me. Haha.

Photo Essay : The Dutch and their bikes!

[caption id="attachment_1759" align="alignnone" width="408" caption="The different range of Dutch bikes in The Netherlands"][/caption]

"Bicycle is popular in the Netherlands (everyone knows this) and they are expensive (everyone knows this too). But did know you that you need to have the correct Rule of the Road knowledge to ride one? I bet not many know this. Just like driving any motor-driven vehicle that is. The little scooter (<50cc) type is gaining popular here and they are using the bicycle lane.

Some may carry this motto "Have bicycle will travel".  There is a bicycle in the garage for anyone here. Go and help yourself." - Ride A Bike Traveler.

To find out more on Riding a bike for your travel or RTWs(Round The World trip), do check out Ride A Bike Traveler's blog link here.

My kind of Running Playlist : Dance & Electronic - Paul Oakenfold

I have written about my favorite running playlist before which is the Funktion Won from Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto Vegas album. By far, I would really think that Dance-Electronic or Club music is probably one of the best running music that you can have playing in your MP3/iPod playlist. Personally I just love any genre that has  Dance, Electronic and Club tunes. The effect of having great vibrating music pumping next to your ears is liberating, energetic and powerful. It gives away just about the right amount of energy boost to motivate you to stride and run.

Besides Funktion Won, here are a couple of songs that you may want to add on to your running playlist mix :

Left Alone - really good morning run music. The beat intensify gradually as the song goes.

Awaken (Torin Schmitt Remix) - it has fast beat starting from the start of the song and have lots of lyrics to 'wake you up'.

Ultimately, anything from the Perfecto Vegas Album by Paul Oakenfold is worth to have in your running playlist. I can guarantee  you a great running experience when you have a real spectacular running music playlist to accompany you with. If you have never checked out on any of Oakenfold's awesome, energetic music, you must have a go at it. Try out listening here and have a feel on their great tunes. Oakenfold simply kicks ass!

Can You Ever Travel Super Light? I Know I Can't!

Can you ever travel super light? I know I can't but I always try my very best to bring less because if you haven't already realized, how many times do you actually used up all your clean clothing in your pack during your travel? Most of the time you'll ended up recycling most of the clothes you are already wearing, am I right? Yeah I know, I'm spot on on this!

Regardless if you can ever travel super light, I know of one guy who can really accomplish that. I came across this No Baggage Challenge guy who goes around the world only with his clothes on his back. Definitely pushing the super light travel to the ultimate extreme.

Okay so let's picture the situation of the No Baggage Challenge guy. Firstly, he's a guy and  most guys just don't need to pack so much anyway, so going with zero baggage may seem easy enough and feasible for most guys. However if you are a girl, it got me wondering if any girl has ever tried on a no baggage challenge ever. Probably it is possible for a girl to travel with no luggage but I sure think it will get a little uncomfortable after a couple of days throughout the travel. I don't know, I'm just not so optimistic about this no baggage challenge idea after all.

Anyhow, if you MUST check out and want to figure out how on earth do you go travel around the world with ZERO Baggage on your back, you must check this video out : No Baggage Challenge : Going around the world with ZERO luggage!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYHfOodheTI

So can you ever travel super light or lighter or with no baggage at all? Can you?

Photo Essay : You don't get to see this sign that often

[caption id="attachment_1567" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Do you want to go 'Rabbit' or 'Tortoise'?"][/caption]

You see...how often do you see signs like this?

Let's choose if you want to go as fast as a Rabbit or as slow as a Tortoise that eventually goes to a Stop. I would prefer to be a Rabbit at most time please. :)

If only all automobiles transmission comes with a super easy to understand and obviously easy to operate transmission(gearbox) like the picture above. It is pretty straight forward and probably a little bit  'comical'  too, no? :)

By any chance at all, if you are given a choice to have a manual or automatic or Rabbit & Tortoise transmission for your gearbox, which one will be your pick?

How ridiculous is the Vibram Five Fingers KSO shoe? | Vibram Five Fingers KSO Review

The Vibram Five Fingers was first out like 2 years ago, so this review is nothing really new. It is more of a I.M.O (in my opinion) kind of review. So here goes:

Vibram Five Fingers or more like a five toes shoe is designed to replicate our very own feet. From one look of it, without a doubt it looks a bit ridiculous. However, despite the queer looking design it is one of the best footwear anyone can get their toes into if you are looking for a footwear that feels almost like you are on barefoot minus experiencing any type of calluses, corns, blisters and grazes if you are to literally be on barefoot.

From what I've gathered the Vibram Five Fingers KSO :
- like I've mentioned earlier, allow you to exercise with the feeling of barefoot. If you must know, barefoot running is the 'in thing' today.
- the KSO (Keep stuff out) has a thin upper surface for better breathability and of course to keep stuffs like dirt out from your feet. Just imgaine the Vibram Five Fingers simply as a hygienic version of a barefoot.
- it is made of Vibram's TCI Performance rubber for a better grip during your workout.
- it is entirely washable in the washing machine. So this is a big plus for yet another clean feel of 'barefoot workout '.
- it is durable, very light and suitable for most activities including trekking, hiking, climbing, bouldering, running, yoga/pilates and also traveling.

Field test of the Vibram Five Fingers:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3L02zR84M&feature=related

However, do note that the Vibram Five Fingers KSO may not be suitable for everyone because if you think you won't be comfortable working out or going around on barefoot, this shoe isn't going to be the right choice for you. Then again, it takes a little bit of time of getting used to wearing this shoe. I believe it is a brilliant idea to get most people working out on their feet because not all shoes are designed for all kind of feet and since it is claimed that barefoot running is really good for you, this Vibram shoe will hopefully get you started with barefoot running in the future.

To get your own Vibram Five Fingers KSO, click here to purchase it from Amazon.com

My kind of Running Music: Funktion Won - Kenneth Thomas & Shawn Michaels | Perfecto Vegas Album

Running is a one man, solo game. It is just you running and the next thing after yourself to keep the running momentum going is your running music playlist. My kind of music can be anything from trance, dance, electronica and pretty much anything similar to those kind of genre. All about pure beats and rhythm.

You have to give Funktion Won - Kenneth Thomas & Shawn Michaels a listen if you don't mind listening to cool, vibrating beats and it is yet another must have music in my running music playlist. So what do you have playing in your running playlist?

Funktion Won - Kenneth Thomas & Shawn Michaels (Paul Oakenfold : Perfecto Vegas Album)



You can also have a listen of Funktion Won (The Junkies Remix)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuX9TXZQWso

Lastly, Keep on Running, Yo!

What to have in your travel first-aid kit?

I don't know about you guys, but I'm the kind of person who really like to prepare ahead especially for my travel and one of a must thing to pack is my very own personalized travel first-aid kit. If you think you can save all the trouble of personalizing your own first-aid kit and grab one of those over-the-counter first-aid box instead, oh well, please think again. There are higher chances that you won't get to use much of the stuff in the first-aid kit that you buy in the drugstore. There are always a lot of things missing in the kit that eventually you just need to grab more medicines that you really need for your travel.

Let's have a peek on some of the stuffs I must have in my very own travel first-aid kit. Here's the list:

- Any type of antiseptic cream like Dettol. It's good for prevention of infection in cuts, wounds, grazes, bites, stings and also works great as a sanitizer.

- Paracetamol or Aisprin.

- Flu meds of your choice. I personally use Clarinese because it doesn't make you sleepy or you can have Panadol Soluble as well. A Vicks Inhaler also works well for all your non-stop sniffing.

- In case of diarrhea, I always have some charcoal tablets handy like the Ultracarbon charcoal. You can also get your hands on some antidiarrheal medication or antacid of your choice from the drugstore. Another common brand that is also handy is a couple of sachets of Eno.It is also a type of antacid and works best to ease bloated stomach.

- ORS sachets to be used an an oral rehydration therapy especially during diarrhea.

- If  you know you have some kind of allergy and are prone to have a pretty bad, itchy rashes all over your body, get some prescribed medicines from your pharmacist. You are usually given both tablets and topical antihistamine creams to relieve the symptoms.

- A good tube of sunscreen and aloe vera gel. Aloe vera gel works as an after sun lotion.

- A good stock of adhesive bandages like Band-Aid or Hansaplast.

- Gauze swabs and tape.

- Any kind of deep heating rub. You have a lot of choice really from Tiger Balm (absolutely has no parts of Tiger content involved, just a brand name really) to pretty much any brand from over-the-counter. Deep heating rub or spray is good for mild body ache, sore muscle (especially after long walks during your travel), backache, sprains and joins associated with arthritis.

- A small bottle of hand sanitizer.

I pretty much have all those things pack in a clear zipper/ziploc bag because it's easier to check on the things you have in your first-aid kit right from the outside. Haha. I hope these first-aid kit content will help you to pack for your very own personalized first-aid or meds-kit for your travel. Never ever take simple precautions like this for granted because the least thing you wanted to happen is to get stuck in the airport about to board the plane with a bad diarrhea with no medicine in your pack or even at store in the airport building. Been there, done that. It was awful okay!

How to tie a bandana on your wrist?

I don't know about you guys, but I really enjoy wearing a bandana every now and then especially during hiking because it is a light , cotton cloth and can be easily kept inside the pocket to wipe out your sweat. Well most of the time, you'll see people wearing the bandanas on their heads. However, you can vary and style the bandana on your wrist too.

The primary reason why I like to have a bandana handy on my wrist is because it works as good as the usual sport sweatband. If you don't know what is a sweatband, it is one of those cloth band that you see most tennis players have on their wrists during game. It is one quick way to wipe those perspiration out from your forehead and face during play.

So now, if you don't have a sweatband but you always have an extra bandana around, you could always make a handy sweatband out of your bandana. Personally, I learned to wrapped the bandana on my wrist by watching this awesome "How to tie a bandana on your wrist ?" video by Kandee Johnson.

Check the video out here and I'm quite sure that it is a pretty cool thing to have a super colorful bandana on your wrists during your hike, jog or in anything at all that you do. Try it out soon if you haven't had a bandana tied on your wrist yet.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blGVpJNnpaE

Shoe Review: Adidas Response Trail 16

A couple of months back I got myself a new running shoes as the one I had earlier was pretty much battered. The sole came out and there are little traction left on the sole. I was looking for a trail and outdoor running shoes and finally decided to get this – Adidas Women's Response Trail 16 Running Shoe


httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grRsHdzF9Ls

How I feel about the shoe while running on different terrains:

1.Jungle trekking – going uphill and downhill
Since the sole is new, I still slipped a couple of times while walking on slippery tree branches and rocks. The traction is pretty good although I was expecting for better grips on the sole while going uphill the slippery jungle path. Coming downhill, I feel rather confident with this shoes because it provides great toe support at the front of the shoes.

2.Running on grassy trail
Traction is great because the grass was dry. I have yet to test it out on wet morning dew grassy trail but I expect it to be an excellent run with this shoes. I feel comfortable running with this pair but do watch out for blisters on your ankle if you wish to wear a low cut/invisible socks. Since this is a really new pair of shoes, it is best to put on an ankle length socks to avoid blisters before the shoes starts to season as you frequent the shoe's usage.

3. Hiking on wet terrain
Of course the Response Trail 16 will get absolutely wet if you have to cross a little patch of water as deep to just below your knee which in my case that's what happened and I had to cross the water trail to move further into the trail. Despite getting all drenched, the nylon mesh upper on the shoes is quick to dry and it has a lightweight-breathability function which is great for any wet or damp trail running condition. With good exposure from the sun during your trail running, you can expect for the shoes to dry as you run along. Also since it is a mesh upper, it can get pretty breezy at the front of your toes especially if you tend to run towards the wind direction.

Conclusion:
This Adidas Response Trail 16 is great for outdoor trails with great traction from the ForMotion control . The price is pretty reasonable for a new arrival in Adidas Stores throughout Malaysia. I got a 20% off from the original price, hence it was a good buy for me. Go get one of your own Adidas Response Trail 16 for your outdoor runs right now by clicking the link  here.

Buff Headwear Review

If you are on a look out for a versatile, multifunctional headwear to use on your daily outdoor or sports activities, you have to get one of these buff headwear now!

The buff headwear is a  tubular, seamless, made of microfibre fabric that  comes in variant of designs that can function into a scarf, bandanna, cap, headband, wristband, beanie, face mask, balaclava, tube top and many more. Below is a snapshot on how to wear a buff and the various way to style it.

[caption id="attachment_766" align="aligncenter" width="290" caption="Various ways to wear and style with a buff"][/caption]

The original Buff headwear has been around since 1992 and is known worldwide when the buff is worn by all the contestants of the TV Series Survivor. Notice the colorful range of tube headgear on the contestants? That's a buff alright.

This buff headwear is made special and different due to the material or fabric used to design it. It is made from a wide range of material such as 100% polyester microfiber, 100% Merino wool from the Merino sheep,CoolMax,Polartec,Windstopper and Polygiene in order to design the many types of buff available from the Buff factory.

To get your own buff, simply order it online from their website at www.buyabuff.com . If you are in Malaysia and you don't want to go through the hassle of international shipments and duty tax etc, COREZONE Malaysia has stocked up its store with a series of buff headwear since a couple of years back. So there is no problem to get your hands on these really awesome buff. The price of a buff ranges between $USD 12 - $USD39 or MYR 79 - MYR108 ( from COREZONE) depending on the type of buff that you choose. It may seem a little pricey for a small little tube but I still think it is an affordable and must buy item if you are one of those cool and avid outdoor adventure guys. What's the wait? Go get one of your own buff now!