the “all in” weekend
one week late in posting the short escapade up to the north from last week. it’s better late than never eh.
the hotel
we opted for the budget sun inns hotel sunway mentari, since we’d stayed once in the sunway pyramid hotel. the sun inn chain of hotel seems to dominate the bandar sunway area with close proximity to sunway lagoon and pyramid. that would be my first and last stay there. i will seriously consider the new budget hotel, new town. the reason for choosing the hotel, besides the close proximity to the race collection center and village, is the free wireless.
wireless is free though, only in the lobby. we were given SSID that ceased to exist and even though we picked up random SSIDs and managed to connect, no ip addresses leased for our devices. our necks were strained from viewing the tv, mounted high up towards the ceiling. we have to hold our breath, every time we entered the elevator, or to be overpowered by the musky smell.
the food
there is no shortage of food places near the hotel. one can find old town, d’ rich restaurant, ria ayam penyet, a restaurant that serves authenticate indonesia food, boston restaurant, lai kong restaurant, and about 2 steamboat restaurants. you will be spoilt for more choices across the road at sunway pyramid mall.
lunch @ sunway pyramid bubba gump (top left: rusty decor, top right: our cocktails, bottom left: run chicken run pasta, bottom right: bourbon street catch of the day)
breakfast in the 2 mornings were settled at d’ rich. the breakfast set comprises of normal toast or sourdough bread with eggs to nasi lemak and noodles, with prices ranging between RM5.80 to RM9.90, and served with hot coffee or tea (add RM1 for ice).
feeling lazy, dinner for the 2 nights were at lai kong restaurant, which is located at the other end of the hotel. i managed to satisfy my craving for the hokkien mee from ah wah, a must have in my trips to KL. i like the curry chee cheong fan yong tau foo, even though i find it expensive in local context. the chee cheong fan is so soft and smooth that it slides down my throat automatically, with every bite.
breakfast and dinner @ d’ rich and lai kong (top left: nasi lemak, top right: curry noodles, bottom left & right: curry yong tau foo)
the race
the reason for the trip – adidas kotr malaysia!
we signed up for the 10km route, and glad that we made the right choice. the flag off for the 16.8k was at 6.45 am and we were flagged off on time, at 7 am. the morning was cool and it was nice to have all lanes closed on npe for the run. the expressway was decorated with colours of pink, purple, green, blue and orangey-red that morning.
the hydration stations were located comfortably at every 3km, with all stations equipped with both isotonic and water. by the time the sun was up in full force, we were already in the midway point, with the sun facing our backs.
maybe due to an overload of endorphins, i seem to be possessed, as that was the first time i was unstoppable, and managed to regain my pace after every break at the hydration stations.
the runners were treated to banana, milo and breakfast cereal at the race village, which i suspect is the norm, after attending 3 previous running events in KL.
i will be back again next month, and will be in the city area. an evening run with the “party-goers”, as described by my colleague in Malaysia, as the starting point is packed with traffic (both cars and human) on a Saturday evening.
