Sabah Tea Garden! A place where you go back to basic!

I was just at Sabah Tea Garden last Wednesday and this is just a video I found on youtube.com but I have person inventory of pictures and I must tell you that this is a fun place to be. 6000 plus acres of land to play with, this is where the Rainforest meets the tea bushes the organic way. See, Sabah Tea does not use pesticides or any artificial chemical to grow the tea bushes. It is all run by mother nature. Relying on nature predators in the insect food chain, the tea florish.




The taste of the tea is well balance and no artificial coloring. The site, its beautiful, great place to train for mountain biking, ultramarathon trail running, hiking and of course bird watching.



Well, here is a series of photos.

Sabah to Date! (Pictures)

As promised, this is the photos!

Some Tradition Local Food

Sunset Pictures at Karabunai Beach @ Nexus Resort

In Sabah to Date!

Yes! You hear me. I am in Sabah again. Decided on the very last minute to come to Sabah to rejuvenate myself and kick in some good bike training. Weather is still very much predictable with 2 days of sunshine and 1 day of rain kind of interval.

Manage a couple of rides on the first week which I was really happy, though I almost got into an accident by some typical Sabah "Jaywalker" who simply cross the road and obliviously came right in my path and I really have to brake hard. Thanks to the new KCNC brakes which have a better braking power or else I will definitely do some crazy flying stuns.

Anyway, since it is a training and relaxation trip, I decided to give myself a treat by heading to Pulau Manukan and Pulau Sapi to chill and do some swim and snorkeling. Lovely place! Yup, Stay Tune for more action as I update you guys with more pictures and my exploration at Sabah Tea plantation tomorrow.

Ride On!

July Escapade Part 3

Enroute to Aviemore, Cairngorms in View (Shang, Our Chief)

Cattle right outside the house in Aviemore - Time was 9.30pm

So much for the credit card saga even though it never resolve until I came back to Singapore. Got on the ever fun and interesting Ryan Air from Frankfurt Hahn to Edinburgh. I was sleeping through the flight due to the whole night of sleeplessness from Salzburg to Frankfurt.

Little Isaac was Camera Shy! Enroute to Aviemore

Our Team Machine (Trustworthy Vauxhall Astra)

After touch down, I was greeted with a Immigration officer who is friendly and nice to welcome me to Edinburgh. Waited for my friend, Shang and his family. we got on the rented car with the outside temperature of 14degree. By this time, I am totally used to the cold and the summer chill. Well, 2nd week in Europe and 2nd trip to Europe, what do you expect right? I was appointed the road navigator from Edinburgh to the highland. AVIEMORE is the place we are heading.

Correy House (our home for the next 5 days) - Picture taken at 9.30pm
The Neighborhood

After fumbling with the map, I finally got the direction right. Scotland is beautiful. The lush greenery, the historical structures with rich stories of the Lords and Kings in ancient times. And of course, Scotch Whiskey Distilleries, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Dewars, and many more. By this time, we have hit midway and decided to find a place to stop, have a typical scottish breakfast, and find a washroom to ease ourselves. 2hrs to 3hrs later, we finally reach Aviemore. Visited the administration office and visited some outdoor shops. I love this place, I love outdoor gears and products and I am totally fascinated by the fact that there are at least 5 stores along the span of 1 kilometer.

Kitchen of Correy House
The backyard garden - Taken at 9.30pm

I was introduced to the local grocery place. Singapore has NTUC, Giant, and Cold Storage, USA got Costco and Wal-Mart, Scotland??? TESCO of course. They have virtually everything. From Marinated meat to all kinds of teas, Beers, Ales, Ciders and more. Bought the grocery and hit the house. So much for day 1. For the rest of the trip, stay tuned!

The Interior

July Escapade Part 2

From Left: Myself, Panke from Beijing, Ken from Manila, Sabrina from Shanghai, Dip from Nepal (Lunch at Festung Hohen Salzburg)

Well,

This is the part 2 Installment of the July Trip to Europe. Saalfelden in Austria is typically a slow, sleepy town and yes, the very first morning was an early day for me as I woke up at 5am for a very early morning run. Temperature was about 12 degrees or so. Midway through the 5km, my ears felt as if its going to fall off. So much for the run. Silly me! Should have brought myself a beanie or something.

Ken, Myself and Panke before Ken Catch a flight back home

Climbing up to Festung Hohen

The rest of the weeks was typically work and work, meeting and meetings. But over it was fun and of course, I was able to make new friends from Taiwan and meet up with old friends from, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

Sabrina and Ken on Top of Festung Hohen Salzburg

Of course, we managed to help down to Salzburg, for some interesting trip to the Mozart Museum, the Festung Hohen Salzburg. Its a wonderful experience I must say as this is one of the most extensive European Holiday I have subjected myself to.

Salzburg Airport

Street of Salzburg

Of course, after an One Day Tour of Salzburg, I have to take an overnight train to Frankfurt Hahn Airport where I will take a Flight to Edinburgh for my second half of my European Holiday.

View of Festung Hohen Salzburg

Horse Carriage On Salzburger Street

A Day Before Euro 2008 at Salzburg

as I arrive at Frankfurt International Airport, I was not aware that there is a different in Frankfurt International Airport and Frankfurt Hahn Airport. I was totally freaked out. Good thing my flight is at 9am and I was at Frankfurt International Airport at 5am. After 30 minutes of futile attempt to check in at Frankfurt International Airport with loads of luggage, I decided that its time to ask.

Mozart Geburtshaus (Old residence of Mozart)

I was greeted with a guy whom I believed weighs more than a 100kg at the information counter who does not look very awake and very happy to see a "Yellow Skin Dude" asking him where to check in. Why do I say that? He makes me go around in circles to find a bus stop that I am totally clueless its whereabout.

My Best Buddy Dip from Nepal

Okay, after a another 20 minutes of merry-go-round and a shocker reply from a Lufthansa staff who told me the bus does not goes to Frankfurt Hahn Airport, I finally got on the bus and on my way to the airport. Finally, things are working out. Wrong!

Public Garden in Salzburg

When I finally reach the airport, I decided to check my credit card just to make sure it works as you know I only manage to change a 100 sterling pounds, so I need backups here. To my utter shock, they have terminate my current card and have replace a need matriculated Credit Card where they claim to have sent me 6 months back. I was in utter shock and of course call for a backup plan which eventually didn't work out. So for more stories, stay tune to the next installment.

Top View of Salzburg

July Escapade Part 1

Austrian Alpine



In The Train

June and July this year was a good break. Trip to Europe has been really a great experience and a great time. With just "300euros", "100 Sterling Pound", I took a gamble to roam around Austria, Germany and Scotland. Of course, air tickets are covered by the company but well, the rest of the travel within Europe came from my own pocket.


Grassland Everywhere


Typical German Packed Lunch


Mountains

This has been the greatest experience so far.

The Famous Zell Am See


We landed in Munich on the first day, catch a train to Munich Central Station. Take a train to Saalfelden, Austria for the meeting. Along the way, you see great scenery, Austria has to offer. One of the Picturesque area is Zell Am See, a beautiful lake 45mins from Saalfelden. This lake is a great summer hang out place in Austria and you can see, families having quality time together involving in watersports and picnic. Its a great sight!



Triathlon World Cup Coming to Austria

Sabah Adventure

Its been a while since I really bother about Adventure Racing. I was actually terminating my involvement in Adventure Racing.

Perhaps, I should give it another chance. So I will be heading to Sabah (If all things is confirmed) for another try on adventure racing.

So this march, I will pick up all the gears that I had and set it out to give Adventure Racing another try.

Wish me luck!

Old Steed with an Attitude (Sabah)

Never had a second impression of my good old faithful Giant TCR. And now, my only training partner for Sabah. The Specialized Transistion was out of the consideration for the Training Camp due to the amount of work needed to to set up. I decided that The Giant TCR, now call Hermit will be my best buddy for the one month of endless riding.

Everything starting with Zero and it will be my responsibility to put Hermit on mileage for her to earn her bragging rights. You know what I mean.

Going Sabah...

2 more days and I will be off to the land where I will be hitting altitude and mountains that will break my legs and test my lungs on my trustworthy steed. And guess what, with all this last minute things that comes in place, I am still able to look for an armour for transporting my beloved steed. Presenting the Polaris Bike Pod.

Thanks to the guys (Viki and Louis) at Cycle Craft. We managed to get the Bike Pod in in the nick of time for the 1 month crazy training at Sabah just for the Ironman 70.3 Singapore.

And of course, I have gathered some specification and information which I definitely trust that Polaris, now my accomplice will keep the project on with its protective specification.


# A rigid EVA molded cycle suit case

# EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) has high impact strength and good tear/abrasion resistance making it an ideal construction method for the Bike Pod

# The Bike Pod is moulded to fit most road, touring and mountain bikes in a secure “locked” in position to reduce damage whilst in transit

# The “Clam Shell” design also enables it to be fully opened for ease of stowing the bike

# The bike wheels lock in position using quick release skewers

# Closed with industrial strength zips and backed up by quick release buckles

# Strong, integrated wheels for ease of carrying

# Conforms to all major airline baggage handling restrictions

# DIMENSIONS: Length 1200mm, Height (tallest)907mm, Depth 280mm

# WEIGHT: Approx 6.7kg

# COLOUR: Black