The Run With A View

Sydney Harbor - after the bridge run

On 20th September 2009, I was fortunate enough to have participated in possibly one of the best running events in the world in terms of scenery of the course. I participated in the Sydney Bridge Run, which started from the suburb of Milsons Point, and then crossed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and finishing at the Sydney Opera House. The run covers two of Sydney’s most popular landmarks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. It’s an amazing experience, to be able to run across the middle of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (possibly the only time people are allowed in the middle of the bridge itself).

I did this run for 2 reasons: one was to raise money for charity, and two, to help a friend achieve a weight loss objective by training for an event like this.

Running For A Cause

The charity I supported was the Diabetes Australia. I decided to raise money for this charity because my dad had suffered from Type 2 diabetes which caused a number of his internal organs to fail over the course of 11 years. He passed away 6 years ago, and I felt that I wanted to help raise awareness of how terrible this disease is, and how it can really kill you if you’re not careful with your health and your diet. Diabetes Australia is involved in doing research and education about diabetes, how to prevent it and how to best control it. Diabetes is one of those illnesses that once contracted, will never be healed, but can only be controlled before it starts destroying the other organs of your body. If you want to donate for this cause, it would be very much appreciated. The website is on this link.

I decided to do this run only 3 weeks before the actual event itself. I was not entirely well prepared to do this, but I have a friend at work who has been wanting to lose weight, and I wanted to help him achieve his goal. Having an event to do is something he can look forward to with his workout training/exercise, and that can help him push himself with his exercise. The run was only 9km, but at the start of the training, I was only fit to run 2km. It wasn’t an easy task to push myself to get up to the fitness level to run 9km in a matter of 3 weeks! I had no expectations of how long it will take me, but I just did as much training as I can in the limited amount of time.

Admittedly though, I’ve been into running for the past 7 years, but over the last 8 months, I have been very inconsistent about my training, and I’ve not done any running events since a year ago. It can be hard work trying to get back into the swing of things, and you really notice the difference in your fitness level. I love running, and if I can afford it, I would love to take part in the numerous running events all over the world! It seems that there is a growing trend that a lot of cities around the world are hosting their own city marathon event. London has one, New York and Boston have one, and even Queenstown in New Zealand has one!

State Of Mind

I’ve been a believer that the mind is a very powerful tool that can enable you to do anything you want from it. I really believe that as long as I focus on the task at hand, visualise my outcome that I’ve achieved it, that it will happen for me. Thus, when I started training, I had in my mind the time that I wanted to finish at. I kept on thinking about, and well, true enough, I crossed the finishline at the time that I had wanted (to the exact second!). I literally had goosebumps on the back of my neck when I saw the time on my stopwatch, as it was really what I wanted to finish at!

Photos from my run are below:

If you’re ever in Sydney for the Sydney Running Festival, it’s a fantastic way to see the 2 most iconic landmarks of Sydney and getting fit! Great offers are always available with Zuji.

Have a Fabulous Journey ahead!

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Finding The Lost City of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu has long been one of the places I’ve always wanted to go in this lifetime. Ever since I was a kid, I read it through history books and learned about the ancient Inca empire that once ruled majority of South America. Machu Picchu was a sacred place for the Incas, and it was built in a very isolated area where it was hidden from the rest of the world until it was re-discovered in 1911. I got fascinated by the Inca culture and how they were able to build such great cities in very remote locations that no one from the outside world managed to find it until recently. The ingenuity of the Incas had me wanting to see this mystical place.

I finally fulfilled my dream of seeing Machu Picchu in November last year, when I visited South America for the first time. Getting there was half the fun and excitement. Although Machu Picchu is reasonably accessible by train and coach, it’s not a straight-forward as flying into the city that is literally next door to the ruins.

Getting To Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is accessible from a small town called Aguas Calientes, which is situated about 4 hours away by train from the city of Cuzco. Majority of tourists who come to visit the magnificent ruins of Machu Picchu start their journey from Cuzco. Cuzco is an amazing city, a great place to learn about the Inca culture, and perhaps the most preserved Inca city in Peru. Cuzco on its own should be explored in more detail, and I’ll leave this city for another post to tell you more on what it has to offer. From Cuzco, there are 3 alternatives to get to Machu Picchu:

1.) Take the PeruRail train from Cuzco railway station all the way to Aguas Calientes, and then a bus from Aguas Calientes to the ruins of Machu Picchu. This is by far the easiest way to get to Machu Picchu, and offers some spectacular scenery along the way. The train ride from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes takes 4 hours, and the bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu takes 25 minutes.

2.) Take the bus from Cuzco to the town of Ollantaytambo, and then catch the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Then, from Aguas Calientes, take the bus to Machu Picchu. This is, according to some people, a bit of a time saver, as there are buses that go straight to Ollantaytambo through a shorter route than the train. However, you will be catch the same train on Ollantaytambo as the train that started from Cuzco anyway. Perhaps this is also cheaper as buses are generally cheaper in fares than trains.

3.) Trekking – The very popular Inca Trail starts from just outside Cuzco and finishes at Machu Picchu. This is ideal for the adventurous guys who want to see more of the countryside and local Inca life. It takes 4 days to do the trek, but you can hire a porter to carry your backpack gear for you and you can hire tents as part of the package. It’s an experience not to be missed.

The Views From Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is better described through photos than words. The spectacular scenery of the mountains surrounding the ancient ruins, plus, the way it is designed, is much better seen by the eye than read as verbose text on a blog. Below are some of the shots I took during the trip:

Machu Picchu - view from the top

Machu Picchu - at the edge / mountain view

Machu Picchu - original main entrance to the city

Machu Picchu - Llamas roaming and resting

Machu Picchu - Terraces

Machu Picchu Guardhouse

My sister Irene, who travelled with me on this trip, took some great videos of the view, and also of a part of Machu Picchu’s walls that were used as some sort of megaphone. The walls were cleverly designed to resonate sound at a higher pitch, and it only worked when women used it (men’s voice are too low and deep)! Check out the videos below:

View of Machu Picchu (video):

Megaphone Wall video:

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Please feel free to leave your comments below, and if you want to get the latest updates to your mailbox, please subscribe by leaving your name and email address on the sidebar.

Have a Fabulous Journey ahead!

Kelvin Lim

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