Old Coca Cola Ads

I drove all the way to Bright (300km+) from Melbourne on Sunday to see the famous autumn leaves. Unfortunately, I was two weeks too late and most of the leaves have fallen and there wasn't much to be seen. I should have been there on Gala Day on the 2 May but I had to go overseas for a week and a half... Oh well, I'll make sure I'll return to the beautiful town earlier in autumn next year.

On the return journey back to Melbourne, I stopped at an antique store just outside Bright and spent nearly an hour there looking through several rooms of treasures. There was just so many interesting things to look at in this store. I ended up finding two old Coca Cola ads from the 50s and 60s. Not too disappointed after all!

Back in Melbourne - First Run!

After spending 10 days in Hong Kong not doing any exercise and dining out for nearly all lunches and dinners, I finally came back to Melbourne on Sunday.

Surprisingly, I still weigh the same. I was expecting to put on 2-3kg because everyday over there I was binge eating delicious but fattening food. I decided to go for a 5.2km run in the afternoon to see how terribly unfit I was.

Again surprisingly, I actually matched and arguably exceeded my pretty modest standards. I wasn't feeling too out of breath, muscles are perfectly fine and I actually sprinted the last section to get home.

Hopefully it's a sign that the "new blood" (donated blood recently) is recharged, the muscles are ready, the mind is focused to take on the upcoming winter hiking trips.

Keeping Fit in Hong Kong

It's been four days since I've been in Hong Kong to attend my sister's wedding. I have tried my best to exercise as much as I can given that the big winter trips are coming up once I get back to Melbourne. The packs are going to be heavy and the walking will be steep and difficult. I will try my best to go running, cycling and walking with a heavy pack as much as possible once I get back. This winter, there's the challenging Overland Track in Tasmania (Aug) and most likely the very difficult trip scaling Ruapehu in NZ (Sep).

Which is why I have been trying my best exercising here in HK. I've discovered that HK is really really small and it's very quick and easy to simply walk to your next destination. The other day after lunch, I walked from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay (five MRT stations) in just over half an hour. It is all flat and paved, with plenty of shops that blast Antarctic air out to the footpath to keep me cool. Two days ago, I walked home to Upper Central from Sai Wan. None of these are more than 5km long and very easy. In fact, to walk from the western end (Sai Wan) to the eastern end (Chai Wan) is only 15km, which can't possibly take more than 3-4 hours to finish. I think if I mention that to the locals, they will think I'm insane... One thing I don't understand is why there's a mega shopping centre on Victoria Peak instead of just a quiet scenic lookout. It was an eye opener the other day walking there from home where I was met with thousands of people, cars, shops, tourists, dogs and restaurants. Oh, how I miss hiking back home in Australia!

Hiking Gear Shopping in Hong Kong

Hiking Gear

Several people promised me that I could get good quality hiking and climbing gear in Hong Kong for a fraction of the price in Australia. I held off purchasing the all important mountaineering crampons and brand new overpants in Australia just to see whether I could in deed get some good gear here.

After visiting no less than eight so-called professional hiking gear shops all around Hong Kong, I felt extremely disappointed that most of them simply stock want-to-be brands that make clothing for college students for them to look cool in campus and not in the harsh, unforgiving environments in Nepal, New Zealand or Australia. Up in the mountains, I would rather dress like an idiot and live than to be found dead dressed in designer clothing. So I gave up looking for hiking clothing and concentrated on getting a pair of crampons. In the end, the only thing remotely resembling what I wanted was a pair of dodgy looking Korean made crampons that is heavy, has the points at the wrong angles and has no anti-balling plates. I convinced myself in the end that if I use those in New Zealand this year or Nepal the next, I am most likely going to be killed. Oh well, back to the my trusted stores - REI and Backcountry - here comes my credit card! :)