On the island

Came to the Isle of Wight yesterday to visit a friend of mine. The island is just off the south coast and is about the size of Singapore. However, there are far fewer people living here and there is a lot more open countryside (with bigger hills as well). The chalk cliff which go along much of the coast often yield fossils ranging from small trilobites to big dinosaurs.

Went for a run this morning with my much better half along the river that cuts through half of the island. There is a path which goes by the river which probably used to be a small railway line. A female runner joined the path a little bit behind us and started catching up. Eventually the other runner overtook us. I thought of upping the pace a bit but my better half decided that it was no point running hard especially as this was supposed to be a easy morning run. This allowed the other runner to open a gap in front.

Before long, the competitive instinct surfaced in my other half (probably warmed-up as well) who started to hold the gap constant. After a few minutes, we began to haul back the runner in front and pretty soon we were right behind here. There comes a point when you have to decide whether to overtake. This is when a multitude of factors go through your head - can I go past decisively, is this going to slow me down a few miles down the road, what happens if the runner hangs on, am I strong enough...

No doubt these thoughts went through the mind of my far better half. She decided to increase the pace and overtake the runner in front. There was no looking back and we left the other runner behind (later turned off the path). Once she got going, there was no stopping the other half. The original plan was to turn back after about 20 minutes but she decided to keep going till the end of the path (the next town) which we reached in just over 30 minutes.

In the end we did about 7 miles in around 62 minutes with the 2nd half around 1.5 minutes slower than the 1st half (nothing to chase and a bit of fatigue). Certain sections feel like you are going through a tunnel made from trees and there are places where we ran along long wooden bridges (like the old bridge next to power station in Klang, now sadly gone). Nice easy run for me, good solid run for the other half. Pretty good for someone who hasn't been running regularly over the past few months (and I don't mean me).

No photos from the run. Instead, say hi to Norton and Cleo, the two "children" who live with my friend on the island. If not for her colour, Cleo resembles Garfield (i.e. needs to be on a diet!).

Cleo & Norton

Location 51°N 1°W

Nearly the North Pole

The flight back from Beijing took a very northerly route right into the Arctic circle. Had the rare opportunity to see the sun rise twice in a day. The first time was during my early morning 50 minute run in cold foggy Beijing (didn't get to run past Tiananmen Square in the centre as hotel was a bit too far out) and again when the plane turned south on its way to Amsterdam. In between, as the plane turned north, the sun disappeared into the southern horizon. In winter, the sun never really rises north of the Arctic circle.

Siberia is really bleak. Further south it is carpeted by trees with the occasional clearing where some logging had been carried out. As you go north the trees got thinner on the ground to be replaced by more and more snow. A cluster of a few lights indicates a settlement down there. No other lights for the rest of the visible horizon. A long long way to visit the nearest neighbours then. Was it a former gulag workcamp or a mining settlement? Hard to even imagine what life is down there in the ice and snow...


The route north

Frozen river in Siberia : Rainclouds over Holland

Location 52°N 2°W

Running in pitch darkness

A city of around 3 million people, Guiyang is at around 1000m altitude. There are several parks either side of the centre with peaks that reach 1300-1400m. Decided to go for a run in Qianling Park which is right next to the hotel this morning. After a quick session of trying to memorise the map, I set off for the park. It was still pitch black at 6:15am as I went through the gates. I could just about make out the big path.

It was a simple route. Just head uphill on the big path until it ends. Try to find a smaller path which goes further uphill to get to one of the peaks. I reckoned that it should be just about bright enough to see the views when I get to the top. There were some people already in the park, some of which were doing morning exercises. There were also few who were doing the local traditional "hill singing" in reply to other similarly talented individuals all over the hills.

Got to the end of the big path after about 10 minutes of climbing. The small path was actually some steps leading into the darkness. It was that sort of weather where the rain doesn't actually fall down but just floats in the air, making the steps rather slippery. Wet stone steps and darkness don't mix well with running especially as there is often a drop to one side. Slowed down to a walking pace but the continuous steps were good enough exercise.

Up up and up some more. I am starting to like this. On a big hill in a park in a city where I have never been to. Still hearing the "hill singing" but quite some distance below me now. Got to what should be the top and found a path leading down. Good view down from here, except that it was still a bit dark and I was paying more attention to my feet in case I missed a slimy step.

Back on another big path. The rain had stopped hanging around and started coming down with a bit of a vengence. As I often say, you can't get any wetter once you are wet. Soon I was splashing through puddles in a rush to get back to the hotel where I was supposed to meet colleagues for breakfast at 7:30am.

Flew through the hotel lobby, dripping water and into the lift. Got back to the room and stuck the hairdryer on full into the shoes while I showered. Stuffed them with newspaper to soak up any remaining water and headed down for breakfast. Got a long day ahead with some work to do.


Guiyang cityscape from hotel window


Conical hills all over the place

Location 27°N 107°E