The Biggest Loser

After watching 5 seasons of The Biggest Loser, it's hard not to be influenced/inspired. Last year's backpacking trip kinda broke our gym-going momentum and the inertia to get started again was really high. Last Sunday, Kh and I finally made that step. I don't know what got over me, I just kept going on and on and on... I might even imagine Jillian yelling at me not to stop.

Did 3.2km on treadmill, completed fitness test on spin bike, followed by 60 ab crunches, cardio on stairmaster, 200 side jumps, 60 weight lifts on hamstrings, 100 on quads, 10 on biceps (and I'm ashamed of this), more cardio workout again on the new machine, and finally 12 laps at the swimming pool (the week before I did 50). All in all a 4-hour workout.

Even when I'm eating I'll mentally calculate how many calories I'm taking in. I'm choosing healthier alternatives. Low fat tuna mayo, low fat milk, wholemeal bread. I even followed Bob's advice to make your own breakfast and pack them in ziplock bags in the fridge, so you're good to go every morning- no excuses for eating rubbish.

A new discovery I made at the supermarket yesterday: I was choosing between low fat milk and the results of my analysis;
kCal per 100ml,
GreenFields- 44
DutchLady- 48
HL- 50
Marigold- 51

It was unexpected but I'm glad Greenfields is the winner because I love it!

Other tips by Bob and Jillian:
1) Keeping yourself hydrated at all times can help you to lose weight faster.
2) Never skip breakfasts as breakfasts set your metabolism rate for the day.
3) Starving yourself slows your metabolism rate.
4) Every pound of muscle you put on helps you to burn an extra 50kcal a day.
5) Avoid ingredients with high sodium as sodium retains water in your body. e.g. soy sauce
6) Choose nuts and berries over sweet fruits like mangoes for low calorie alternative.

I'm probably crazy to say this, but I looking forward to gym this week!

Suntec Penthouse Office

For those who don't know yet, I've started work at my new job a couple of weeks ago. Currently doing biz development for a small IT firm. Finally some real marketing work, and no it's not sales. It's literally biz development, i.e, developing a business. Boss hired me to specifically help him with the expansion of the company. Lol.

So anyways, I went to Suntec office towers last last week to help him check out the penthouse level office, and wow, check out the views! Amazing.

People pay big bucks to go on the Singapore Flyer for such views. Imagine getting this for free everyday. Wow.

The King Louis

Kh had a very stressful week so I treated him to The King Louis. We were at Vivocity and didn't know what to eat, so we thought we would give this a try.

This Knight's Platter cost me $58 (after ++). First impression, upon looking at it, WOW. Second impression, upon having my first bite, hmm not bad. Then it goes downhill from there.

The meat platter was the cheapest and it comes with (They can give it fancy names, but I'm just gonna put it in my words.) chicken cutlet, grilled pork steak, grilled beef steak, chicken skewers, salad, potato wedges, and fruit skewers dusted with cinnamon powder. The best stuff? Unfortunately, also the easiest to cook, chicken cutlet. The rest were simply mediocre. Now, why would I go to a restaurant and pay $58 for something I can easily cook myself?

Sure it's nice to have a castle theme restaurant with a view overlooking Sentosa, beautiful furniture (we suspect that they retained pretty much of Hog's Breathe Cafe's furniture), some Orlando Bloom knight movie on TV... I just hated the loud noisy music that takes away all the cosiness the restaurant has to offer.

It amazes me how we can easily splurge $60 on a restaurant meal and yet bargain so hard for a $2 t-shirt in Cambodia. "It's all about relativity," Kh explains.

Verdict:
Food- 5/10
Service- 6.5/10
Ambience- 6.5/10
Price- 7/10

Total: 6/10

Home Sweet Home

It's been awhile...

I'm certainly not homesick, in fact I think I can do this forever, but I felt it was a good time to come home. For one, I missed eating singapore food. Been having crappy meals for weeks. And you wonder why Singapore is labelled a food haven.

25 days is not a long time. But it was enough to change habits, leave a thick layer of dust on my stuff, experience changes to my surroundings.

I fell asleep at about 10plus yesterday. Came home at 8pm, unpacked backpack (usually it will take me a fortnight to do this), washed clothes, hang clothes, bathed. Then I read a few pages of my pirated copy of "The Audacity of Hope" on my bed (see I don't usually read books, bought it in HCMC for $3) , fell asleep while reading, with my bolster still behind my pillow (have not had a bolster for weeks), and woke up at 8am today, still without my bolster. Now I'm sleeping early and waking up early like how it's been for the past few weeks!

Oh yes, I started using my com a couple of hours ago and I had this feeling that something isn't quite right. Thinking, thinking, oh yes, cuz my laptop screen is so LARGE. -_-" Been using netbook for too long. Kinda forgotten how using a laptop feels like. Lol.

Oh well, X'mas dinner coming up soon. Looking forward to it. =)

Highlights II

This post will be about highlights in Cambodia.

Of the 7 places we went, only 3 places are worth mentioning:
1. Siem Reap, Angkor temples (a must-see for anyone who calls themselves a traveller)
2. Battambang (the friendliest town I know)
3. Sihanoukville (for its Bamboo Island, rather than its town)

Bayon in Angkor Thom, one of my favourite sites

Angkor Archeological Park, Siem Reap

Riding on the hot air balloon for an aerial view of Angkor Wat

Siem Reap

Nice sunset on Phnom Bakheng

Angkor Archeological Park, Siem Reap

Ta Phrom, a temple half-devoured by a jungle, also where Tomb Raider was filmed

Angkor Archeological Park, Siem Reap

Dramatic sunset at Chong Eneas floating village

Siem Reap

Riding on the soon-to-be-extinct bamboo train

Battambang

Beautiful, tranquil sunset on the bamboo train

Battambang

Swimming in the crystal clear waters of Bamboo Island

Sihanoukville