Rio

Cuba. The adventure that keeps giving. Turns out that having visited Cuba any time after 2021 invalidates ones' ability to obtain an ESTA. What does that mean? Well it means I need to apply for an American Tourist Visa, the old fashioned way. In-person at the U.S Consulate, or U.S Embassy. I was completely unaware of this until my ESTA was denied. Which, could be problematic in the future. Regardless, the reason for applying for an ESTA was to get to South America. The furthest place in the world from Asia. Flying time takes approximately 22 hours depending where in South America you want to end up. Typical routes from Asia are through the Americas, the Middle East or round through the Pacific. Given that options one and two were effectively off the table I opted for the route via Santiago and Sydney.

I depart Hong Kong on the CX flight at 9:20 pm on Thursday 26th of March, arrive into Kingsford Smith Airport on Friday, a quick KFC two piece feed and I board the (delayed) flight to Santiago around midday on the 27th. 15 or so hours later I arrive into Santiago having missed my interconnecting flight to Rio due to previous delays. However the staff at LATAM are extremely helpful and put me on the next, albeit indirect flight (via Sao Paolo) to Rio. I eventually arrive into Rio at around 9 pm on the Friday, 27th of March. Some 30 odd hours since I left Hong Kong.

So you might ask, what are you doing in South America? How did Jen allow this? All valid questions. In conjunction with the below photos. This was a final trip before little mate. Some of my friends from LA, NY were doing a wine trip down in Mendoza, first stop Rio De Janiero. Nice long run, some sushi, a bit of sight seeing and an old fashion gay warehouse party. Not sure how I'm going to shake this jetlag.

Friends and Family perks

I ended up leaving the hotel in Roppongi on Sunday at 11:00 am. A short 25 minute car ride (Uber) to Tokyo Station, the Tekko Building for the bus to the Airport. Thankfully we had performed the exact routine not 2 months ago. Arrived at Tokyo station just in time to grab a Lawson's Egg Sandwich and to hop on the 11:35 Narita Limousine Bus. The Bus arrived at Narita around 12:50 pm, I disembarked at Terminal 1, grabbed some ramen and made my way to Terminal 2. Check-in was surprisingly simple, I picked up some additional snacks (read, peanut butter sandwich) and settled into my book and podcast (Acquired: Nintendo) outside the gate at around 2:10 pm. The  Hong Kong Express flight boarded on time,  with all passengers and crew seated and ready for take off at the scheduled time of 3:25 pm. There was some congestion on the runway and we were eventually airborne by 4:00 pm. 

It's interesting how impactful the jet stream is on the return leg. The flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo is approximately three and half hours, whereas the return leg adds an additional hour for the same trip. We touched down at around 7:25 pm Hong Kong time, losing an hour due to the timezone difference. This is where things get interesting. The second part of my weekend was predicated on no delays and precision arrival. I had been tracking our flight times keenly and was relieved to have arrived without delay.

The reason was I was on stand-by for the 9:20 pm flight from Hong Kong to Sydney, and part of the stand-by criteria is that I needed to be at the check-in counter to claim my seat at least 90 minutes before departure. The reality was that I didn't have any luggage to claim and just needed to exit the airport and get to the check in counter at the arrivals side. The plane was taking a slow taxi to the gate. I turned on my phone and my messages lit up. My sister had messaged informing me that the CX101 9:20 pm flight to Sydney had 8 available seats. My chances of getting on the flight were good. I only needed to get to check-in by 7:50. I sat on the flight tapping my foot. The plane was still taxing to the gate. I wondered if there would be a proper gate or just a staircase to a bus. 

So how did we get to this situation? Well, one, flights back to Sydney for my dates, either from Tokyo direct, or Hong Kong were insanely expensive. This was well, my fault, because I had left it so late to book. I had always known I would be in Tokyo that weekend, I just wasn't sure if I would head back to Sydney. When I had last checked, a single-leg flight from Tokyo to Sydney on the 25th was 14,000 HKD (1,800 USD), and flights via Hong Kong were around 2,000 USD. So I was sitting on the fence.

However, my sister had just started work at a major Oneworld Airline and since passing probation now had access to other Oneworld flights. Read, Cathay Pacific.  Remember when my family flew over to Hong Kong, that was still during probation and access was limited to one airline. So, with my name on the stand by list I had to get to the gate for check-in. The plane came to a stop and I could see that there was a staircase and a bus waiting for us below, it was 7:45. At that moment in time I received a confirmation of a Boarding pass. I was checked in! The adrenaline dissipated from my body. This reminded me of Cuba, but with smaller, much smaller stakes. The rest of the journey was smooth. Managed to transit through Hong Kong Airport with the boarding pass and even managed to jag an isle seat with extra leg room.

Arrived into Sydney the next morning on schedule. It was Australia Day, the airport was busy but got through with no major delays. Picked up at the Airport by Sister and family. So nice to see them, I do enjoy the whole being picked up, and dropped off process. Australia Day was relaxed, I had taken a day off work. Banh Mi for lunch, park in the afternoon. Tuesday I worked from home, but it was my sister's birthday. Forty. Can you believe it? Little sister is forty! Relaxed day at home, although work was surprisingly busy, and the 3 hour time difference really extends the day much longer than it feels. I enjoy working from the dining table, while the house moves around me. Dad drawing up plans for the renovation, auntie in the kitchen, mom in and out of the house running errands. It's like time hasn't passed at all.

Short trip ended with another stand-by flight on the way out. Load looked a lot more promising, by the time I had checked in I had secured a Premium Economy flight. Got to the airport after an 8pm call. The airport was empty. By the time I had made it to the gate I was notified that there was still space in Business class. Another win! What an amazing short trip back to Sydney. Super grateful how everything fell into place, from getting on the flight, the upgrade and most importantly being back for the birthday. To think, I considered not showing up, thankful that it all worked out. Happy Birthday sis!

Currently reading "Contented Little Baby"

Sydney

Back for niece's forth birthday. It's funny, kids at that age just want to show, or tell you something. "Can I show you something?". "Can I tell you something?". I wonder where they get this from? I can't believe it's already been four years. Four years since Covid, too.

Flight was delayed by 90 minutes, which in the grand scheme of things isn't the end of the world. However, when you're scheduled to be back for less than 48 hours every minute counts. I think I have a new rule, no more weekend trips to Sydney that are less than 48 hours. I think it's more that the flight is starting to take its toll, there's a fair amount of discomfort from sitting so long. So new rule, minimum 2 nights. Let's see.

I arrived into Sydney at 10:40. It was a cool, gray morning. I picked up a huge helium balloon from the arrivals hall. The balloon was a giant unicorn head. She called her Aurora, the unicorn. Aurora comically took up all the space in the car. 

Fun weekend. Yumcha in Kogarah. Birthday cake from Coles. 80th surprise birthday in Leichhardt for Auntie. Charlie is a bundle of energy, and Mac is as her mother puts it "a dragon baby". Sunday long run with the boys around the Bay Run. Into lunch in Earlwood and then back out to Hong Kong with a bag full of kiwis and oranges.

Sydney Marathon

I still get goosebumps thinking about the race. What an amazing experience and day! So grateful and appreciative of the family coming out for the support, as well as the support from all those random spectators. With any race, I had a series of targets. 1) Finish the race. 2) Do it  under 4 hours 3). Do it under 3h30mins. I ended up landing somewhere between 2 and 3.

What surprised me was that I didn't blow up and the amazing atmosphere of the crowds and the support. My carb load was on point, supplemented by some delicious rice crispies (thanks kids!). If I could change one thing it would be to fly in a day earlier, my sleep is so sensitive to any disturbance that I couldn't for the life of me string together a decent night's sleep. The day before I was trying to conserve energy, and the plan was to pop by the expo, grab my bib and even a running belt and then retire to my parents sofa. 

I woke up at 5 am on Sunday and headed down to consume the standard bagel and Maurten's drink mix, and one LMNT electrolytes packet, and I was off to Sydenham to catch the metro over to Crow's Nest/Victoria Cross station. The metro is packed, runners everywhere. The excitement builds. Of course I'm running late, the lines to the toilets are long and I make it to my chute only to miss all the pacers. In any case the conditions are perfect, the temperature at the start line is somewhere between 8-10 degrees. 

I started off a bit slower than expected, there were a few niggles and it took me a few ks to get into rhythm. By then I was a fair bit off my pace so decided that I would just enjoy the race. At the 25 km mark I was feeling good, pace was on point and was starting to settle into the race, high-fiving the spectators, and just soaking in the absolutely amazing atmosphere. At the 35 km mark I was expecting the dreaded bonk, but it never came. 10 gels, 2 crampfixes. Cruised over the line in 3hours and 38 minutes. All that painful training through the Hong Kong summer paid off. Super happy! 

Highlights include running over the Sydney Harbour Bridge just after sunset, running through King's Cross, seeing the girlfriend multiple times along the route. Seeing support from Ket and Heng out near Anzac parade, and then see the family at the finish line! The definition of a runner's high. I'm hooked! When's the next one?

The long run

Finally clicked over the 30 km mark. Prior to signing up for this event the furthest I'd ever run was 21 km. It's all relative where 20 km feels like a non-event. Roughly 2 hours (for me), but with this week's run of 34 kms, it took me just under 4 hours. That's a long time to be out running. Aside from actually running that long, the other challenge is finding long enough routes.

Have found some decent routes in excess of 30 kms in Sydney, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The challenge with Singapore and Hong Kong is that during this time of the year, it gets hot, quick. So even starting at 6 am, but the time you've wrapped up it's almost 10 am and it's warm. 

Sydney

MBL. Mandatory Block Leave. 10 days where an employee is forced to be out of the office and removed from operations. The idea being that the employee is forced to take a break, and from a risk management and compliance perspective, removes any single point of failure from operations. It's been a while since I've been "forced" to take 10 days of annual leave from work. Sydney would be the destination. Christmas and end of year would be the occasion. 

Jam, jam, jam. Quite a busy time of the year. Catching up with people, health check ups, errands. Blessed with an amazing summer, although there were some stinkers (read 40 degrees).

Sydney

It's her 40th. I'm dating a middle aged woman.

Long weekend in Sydney

 

Sydney Half

Coming off a solid Hong Kong Half Marathon, I figured I might as well continue with the training and roll into the Sydney Half while the weather remains compliant in Hong Kong. I have been really getting into running lately, it's a love-hate relationship, I appreciate the slow steady, methodical approach to improvement, but also find it frustrating at the same time. Have been enjoying the miles and the distance is a great way to clear the mind, also a great way to see and explore parts of a city. Have been enjoying the Cooks river runs and have built up a tiny obsession with trainers.

Was looking to this event, as the first half I ran was in Sydney and I remember it being a gorgeous route. Also, had some friends who were also training and participating in this event.

We kept an eye on the weather the whole week, and resigned to the fact that it would be a wet day. Day of wasn't too bad, we had ponchos and started with them on at the start line. Oddly I cramped before the race even started, but was off to a good pace. The shoes, I'm not convinced. Might switch it up next run. Loved the atmosphere. Another fun and memorable run! Great atmosphere too!

Super happy with my result of 1:44

Neice #2

 Trip back to visit Big Mac!