In a nutshell, I have taken three major steps forward this year.
First, I have become Head of Section which has brought me a whole new set of responsibilities. Despite the workload, I have been incredibly lucky to have such a great team! We have managed to get through each month with lots of laughter. I have also enjoyed our weekly catch-up lunches when only 5% of the conversations are work-related!
Second, after my first Full Marathon at Bangsaen42 last year, I signed up for my second at Nara following suggestion and encouragement of Nut. I’ve been using Runna as a running coach. To my pleasant surprise, it has yielded good results! My time has gradually improved. I finished Nara Marathon at 3:59:31 hrs., just below 4 hours which is precisely my target.
Third, Napat and I have taken a major step forward to say ‘yes’ to each other. We have signed up for a marathon called life
Regarding my resolutions last year, well… I have not become more muscular (maintaining the same weight is hard enough!). I have not finished my novel nor have I been able to reduce much of my fat intake. I have not really learned a new skill albeit trying some generative AI apps.
There are also certain things that I appreciate for being ‘the same’. This year, I have been able to consistently see my mum both in Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Lately, I have been sending her clips about elderly runners to inspire her to become one
Well then, here come the New Year’s Resolutions:
1. I have chosen to become a runner. I plan to run one marathon a year and participate in other races (in other distances) along the way. My targets for 2026 are: Full Marathon at 3 hrs. 45 mins/ Half Marathon at 1 hr. 40 mins/ and 10K at 45 mins.
2. I still want to read more.
3. And also want to finish my first novel.
4. As Napat’s and my big day is coming next year, I seriously need to get into shape.
5. Another reason to get into shape is that my cholesterol level has remained high and my doctor has given me until April to reduce it by changing habits. Otherwise, I will have to take medicine.
Thank you all for making my 2025 another meaningful year. Bring it on 2026! Happy New Year!
Running long distance has been around for decades if not centuries but it has become somewhat a mainstream endurance training for working-age people including myself quite recently. I started running long distance thanks to my friends at university in London who took me to run along the Regent Canal, a stretch of water that goes all the way from Kings Cross to Camden and Paddington.
I first joined running events around the same time as when I started working. After my first 5K event, it then escalated rather quickly. The pleasure could be found not only during the run, but also (or rather more importantly) after the run. In Thailand, this is very critical and a make-or-break factor for a running event. It is the food stalls to refuel runners after sweat-filled half-hour or more.
When I was posted in Jakarta in 2019, most of my colleagues at the office ran long distance. And I was ‘tricked’ into paying for a place for half marathon at the 2019 Jakarta Marathon. That also deserves a post of its own. All the joy had to be temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic. When running events were finally resumed, I did not hesitate to join the one of the popular running events in Southeast Asia, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM). It is known (to me at least) for its excellent organisation.
The event is usually held during the first week of December. You can do a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon or a Full Marathon. If single distance category is not enough for you, you can also opt for ‘double-up challenge’ where you can add on 5K or 10K to your full and half marathon categories.
In 2022, the SCSM was held during 3-4 December. I flew from Jakarta on 3 December, collected my race pack at Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
The weather was rather humid on 4 December which was my race day. I walked with the crowd. Everyone I found on the street was going in the same direction, the F1 Pit Building where we would start. Around half an hour before the gun time, rain poured. I took shelter. We were told to wait since the meteorological office of Singapore was concerned about the lightning risks which I was very grateful for. Sky was roaring. And after around an hour, we were told to get ready. Amidst the rain (without the roaring now), we began the run. It would have been nicer (for me) to run in the dry but I must say that the rain had made it much cooler which made a lot of difference especially for someone like me who did not have time to sufficiently practice for it.
The course went through certain landmarks including Singapore Flyer and the Marina Bay area. Running into the heart of this city state’s CBD was also quite an unforgettable experience. By the time I reached the National Stadium, which was the finish line, the rain had stopped. Everything was clearly marked. Water and ionised water were plenty. At the last KM and at the finish line, my girlfriend came all the way from the hotel to support and I must salute her for that. After the finish line, crowd control was second to none. Runners were made to form straight line without blocking any finishing runners. While that meant we had to walk almost another kilometre after a long run, I could not complain.
“Smile for the Camera”
All in all, it was a really good course. It may not be as adventurous as some other events but it has everything you would expect a good running event to have. I have registered myself for the SCSM 2023 and I am pretty confident it will be another good run!
It has been some time since I updated my website. The simple reason was that there was something wrong at the backend and it took me months to configure security issues that were so simple to sort out.
In mid-January, I was grateful to have a chance to go home after almost a year. While it was a brief full-of-errands kind of trip, it was a fresh break. With strict health protocols and quarantine measure in place, I knew from the start that this would be one of the experiences that would be hard to forget. So I guess it might be of relevance sharing it here too.
Pre-departure
My scheduled flight was in the second week of January. The flight ticket was twice the usual price in the pre-COVID era. That’s quite understandable though since the airlines were operating at around half (or even less) their normal capacities. Before departure, Garuda Indonesia required passengers to take a COVID-19 PCR test 72 hours before the flight. This could be done at one of the hospitals/clinics recommended by the Indonesian COVID-19 Task Force accessible through the airlines’ website.
To go to Thailand at the time, we would need a Fit-to-Fly Certificate. This was basically a result of a health check-up which was done on the same day I went for COVID-19 PCR test at one of the designated hospitals.
I would recommend everyone who needs to travel during COVID-19 pandemic to take extra care in checking all documents two or three times. Not only will you find regulations of each country different, but each airlines also have their own small prints.
With documents and negative COVID-19 result in order, I tried to minimise my contact especially going into crowded places.
Surreal Atmosphere at the Airport
While the International Terminal at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was not considered one of the busiest terminals, but during the time of COVID-19, empty would be an understatement. That said, please leave ample time for check-in. I guess the clerk at check-in counters had to check and re-check the documents and COVID-19 results to make sure of their validity. It took around 1 hour to check myself in and get a boarding pass.
After security, things looked normal enough. Seeing planes parked at gates was quite a reassuring sight. It was a signal that people could still travel from place to place. The number of people was probably fewer than 25 percent compared to a normal day before COVID-19 hit.
Bangkok bound
On the plane, only the window seats were occupied to allow distancing among passengers. I could hear a lot of disinfectant being sprayed (which was also reassuring for me). Food was served after about an hour. The only difference was that there were more packaging materials. And melamine cups were replaced with those made from paper instead. Otherwise, the food was as tasty as it could be in the air.
Three hours later, the plane landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. This was another surreal experience. Last year, when I was last home, people would flock out of the airplane quickly, to be blended in with passengers coming from other countries. This time round, people waited patiently to be guided out of the airplane in order. The gates were deserted. People in half and full PPEs greeted us.
At the time, Thailand imposed 14-day quarantine to all incoming travellers. There were two types of quarantine. State quarantine was a form of hotel quarantine free of charge for Thai nationals. This would be allocated to you upon arrival so you would not be able to choose which hotel you were going to. Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) was also a form of hotel quarantine but with greater perks. Foreigners had to book Alternative State Quarantine and pay for themselves. Thai nationals may also choose ASQ and they also had to pay for themselves too.
I preferred to know where I would stay in advance. The availability of food choice was also something that I took into consideration. So I booked the Hyatt Place Hotel on Sukhumvit Road as my ASQ.
Those who booked ASQ were separated from the queue and there were people who came to check our documents. This was efficiently done within 2-3 minutes. We then proceeded to the health screening counter where the officials would ask whether we had any COVID-19 symptoms. They would check our health documents and COVID-19 test results. Following that, we would proceed to the immigration then to luggage claim.
After getting my luggage, those who booked ASQ would leave the airport at a certain gate. The representatives from the hotel would pick us up. As for me, there was only me from my flight who would go to the hotel. So I got the van for myself. I was told that normally, there would be 2-3 people sharing the same van to the hotel.
Accommodation for the next 15 nights
In 20 minutes, I arrived at the hotel. The check-in counter was located outside the building in open air. The check-in lady was wearing plastic cap and half PPE suit. I was asked to wear shoe coverings which were made of blue plastic material at all times outside of my own room. The total stay would be 15 nights and I would only leave the hotel on the 16th day.
Following check-in, I was asked to download a few applications to track my temperature everyday. I had to add an official nurse account on LINE messaging app as a way to report my temperature. After meeting with the nurse, I was escorted by a hotel staff to my room on the 17th floor. No key card was given. I would have COVID-19 PCR test on day 5 and 12. If my first result came out negative on day 6, I would be allowed to leave the room for 40 minutes a day starting from day 7. Cleaning of the room could be done starting from day 7 too. Food would be delivered on the table in front of my room 3 times a day. I could choose and order food from a Google form. The fanciness of food depended on the hotel and the price you paid. I would consider mine a mid range.
My room at the Hyatt Place Bangkok during quarantine. The carpeted floor was covered for hygiene reason.A view overlooking the heart of Sukhumvit district in Bangkok.
The overall experience was very good. The room was spotlessly clean. Mineral water was constantly refilled. There were plenty of soap and toiletries. As an introvert, I felt perfectly fine in quarantine with books to read and work to do. I really appreciate all the staff who accommodated my requests efficiently and on time.
On day 5, a nurse would contact me beforehand to let me know roughly of the time they would escort me out for the COVID-19 PCR test. When the time comes, there would be a knock at the door. Then they would take me to a separate lift up to the floor with swimming pool. The nurse at the counter would then check my name and led me to the testing site next to the pool. A screen separated me from the nurse who took my sample. Each time slot would be for one person so there was almost no chance of getting into contact with another guest who would come up for the test. I would then be led back into my room, all escorted.
On day 6, a nurse phoned me to tell the good news of the negative result. I could now book a slot to go to the rooftop for 40 minutes a day from day 7. I could also ask the housekeeping to clean my room on day 7, 10 and 13 (if I’m not mistaken). Basically I asked the housekeeping to clean when I went out to the rooftop.
The rooftop which was normally a bar is now a designated relaxing area.
Each 40-minute slot can only accommodate 8 persons who would be asked to stay in the rectangular area marked on the floor. Mask was to be worn at all times in public area.
After 15 nights, I was released from quarantine. No doubt it was a long time but for good measure. Given the hotel’s good internet connection, I was not bored during quarantine. I also requested a yoga mat to keep up with my work out routine. Meals were provided three times a day with great punctuality. Staff were professional and they would run away when I opened the door quickly after they knocked. It gave me a lot of reassurance that they were under good management.
Before I left the hotel on the 16th day, I spoked to one of the hotel staff that I hope to see the hotel operating normally when I come back next time.
I guess for me, this year has been a stand(still). The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in all aspects of life since the beginning of the year, making the work-related trip to Da Nang this year one of the most memorable yet. That said, eventhough I have basically stayed in one place most of the time (Jakarta), this year has been quite a busy year for me.
Work – I feel that I have grown a notch this year due to a whole host of different factors including the need to adapt myself to videoconferencing which I have to say involves a different angle of communication skills.
Health – This has been one of the main focus areas for me due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have tried to maintain my workout routine by doing at least a bit of High Intensity Training every day with bits of long run during the weekends. It is unfortunate that I could not join any marathon this year (I would not have been able to train for that long in the current circumstances as well). I managed with my colleague to do a virtual half-marathon in September. But that was the only half-marathon I did. Since this was specifically a half-marathon event, by finishing it, I got a finisher t-shirt. And that was my main incentive.
I have also managed to sleep more than six hours on average this year. I got a huge inspiration (or paranoia) from reading the book “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker.
Learning – I eventually passed all remaining exams for an undergraduate law degree at a Thai open university. Another burden lifted though my transcript looks rather shabby.
On a slightly different aspect of learning, I have learned how to cut my own hair. Although I feel the need to go to a barber after a few months to ‘correct’ the style.
Writing – I have failed my writing goals this year. I was supposed to have finished my novel by the time I turned 30 but I didn’t. So this will be my priority next year. I also could not keep to my blog schedule of a weekly post.
Reading – I challenged myself to read 50 books this year because of an article on qz.com which basically says that if you cut down your social media or online engagement, it would be possible to read 200 books a year. I achieved this goal with a few days to spare and I did manage to cut down on my time spent browsing aimlessly on social media.
Cooking – Last year I set the goal of learning to cook at least 3 savoury and 2 desserts/bakery. Here are the dishes: (1) stewed pork ribs (2) pan-seared salmon (3) chicken stew (4) banana cake and (5) wholewheat bread. Not something very fancy I’m afraid
From my experience in 2020, I have found that the SMART approach to setting goals i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound has been incredibly useful.
And here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2021:
In general, my goal is to try making today better than yesterday.
Work – I want to improve my own capabilities and efficiency by utilising technology for instance (1) regularly update my calendar (2) use Todoist more to be on top of tasks big or small (3) tidy up digital files and folders and (4) be more systematic when making notes in the digital format.
Health – Maintain at least 6 – 6.5 hours of sleep everyday / maintain workout routine of at least 10 mins of HIT everyday / if the situation allows, I want to try my first marathon next year.
Learning – Next year, I want to enroll in at least one short course to further my knowledge/skills.
Writing – Top priority will be finishing my novel by writing at least 5 pages of A4 everyday / write regular blog post and I want to keep this year’s failed target of once a week. This time with proper monitoring and reminding mechanisms.
Cooking – In 2021, I want to make at least one new dish savoury or dessert a month. Reading – With the goal of 50 books this year, I had less time to read magazines or online articles. To make up for these, I am setting my reading challenge to 20 books next year, two of them are to be in Bahasa Indonesia.
Meditation – I want to maintain my meditation routine of at least once a day.
Next year, there may be more funny projects like Tiktok videos coming out from a certain someone and I. Please laugh with us (and occasionally at us )
Thats it for my 2020 review and the New Year’s Resolutions. Thank you all for the positive and supportive vibes. Stay safe and COVID-free! Happy New Year 2021 from Jakarta!
It’s much easier to make curries at home nowadays. With the help of ready-made curry paste, adding coconut milk, meat, some vegetables and a little more seasoning and you are set. I had also been taking the advantage of this until one day when I decided to make curry paste myself, from scratch. Being in Indonesia with its well-known ‘spice islands’, also encouraged me to undertake this quest.
The first sign of failure came with me choosing to buy a wooden mortar and pestle. I have seen those stone ones and I thought that a stone mortar would be too heavy for my apartment. I learned later that the stone pestle would be better at cracking and mashing up some hard herbs and spices. It also took me forever.
I had my mind fixed on cooking Massaman curry, a mild curry with roasted peanuts. I first had to match the names of spice with pictures for I had never known what they look like. That came with more work since I had to match their English, Thai and Indonesian names together. Having done that, I went to the supermarket to get the stuff I needed.
I began by roasting those spices which would take longer time to cook namely cardamom, nutmeg, coriander seeds followed by cloves and cumin. I then put everything into the mortar, my lovely wooden mortar and began smashing all the spices. The smell was very good. I was heartened to see that maybe I was on the right track. But after half an hour, the ingredients were still not mashed. I pressed on and added some shrimp paste. After another quarter of an hour, it became a mixture, sort of, but nowhere near the smooth texture seen in the recipe. I had an idea. Since the smell is good now, probably I could just put the mixture in a blender. Ah and one more thing to add, cinnamon.
And here came the next unfortunate incident. I put whole cinnamons into the blender in the hope that the blender would grind it to become fine powder. It did not. And I should have known better that it would not. A few minutes in, some white smoke and smell emerged from behind the blender. I stopped immediately. The cinnamon still kept to its shape. I only learned later that I was supposed to put it in the curry later on to add smell or else use the ground cinnamon in the mixture. I was not supposed to put whole cinnamon in there.
With blending failed. I made do with what I had. I heated the pan. Put some coconut milk in. The trick was to stir in low heat until coconut milk gave up some oil. But that also did not happen. Before coconut milk got stuck together, I had no choice but to add the ‘half-done curry paste’. The smell was okayish but the texture was not. I must have also not paid careful attention to the amount of each spice I needed. The curry became yellow/grey-ish in colour. I put some chicken in. It looked creamy. More like yogurt chicken instead of a curry.
Half-way through, I decided that my curry would not work. So I put the chicken and the curry sauce into the oven. The Massaman curry became roasted chicken in curry sauce, well sort of.
You may ask what it tasted like. It was just okay for one-shot eating. Not to be heated up and eaten again. The sauce was a bit too thick and creamy (with all the condensed coconut milk from making curry) and the spices’ smell was too pungent while the taste was quite bland.
After the ordeal, I bought a few ready-made curry pastes and I think I am satisfied with using them for the time being. Probably in the (not so near) future, I will try doing it from scratch again, with blender (and without the whole cinnamon in there).
