Breakfast at the hotel.
The race expo starts at 1100Hr. We were still early so we explored around the area to see what interesting things they have. We headed out to the Central Market by the seaside.
So which side was he actually on?
At the handicraft market. What the hell ..
Its a long time since I last saw this type of sewing machine.
The handicraft market.
We wondered around for a short while more until we stepped into a small shopping center. The air con was very welcoming. The building was actually a hotel but there were shops at few stories at the bottom. We Edmund saw a coffee joint in the center and we decided to sit down there to rest.
Trying to decide what to have.
Donuts preparation in the kitchen.
Our mini spread.
We sat down there and enjoyed our coffee while chatting about .. running .. what else. Hahaha .. we are all runners .. :)
The expo opens at 1100Hr. We sat there until about 1130Hr. The expo was at the community center which was just behind the hotel and we were now just a short walk away from the hotel.
At the expo.
Queuing up.
Part of the runners from Singapore.
All of us cant wait to see the rest of the runners at the race tomorrow!.
It started raining when we were about the leave the expo. Originally we planned to to go to see the start point at the stadium but called it off. All of us stood there and waited for the rain to stop. The rain only lasted for a short while. We slowly walked to explore the rest of the town.
We made our way to Jesselton Point. It was a place often mentioned by tourist in online tourist sites so we thought of checking out the place.
It was the place where u board the boat to take you to nearby islands to enjoy and relax. There were also pubs and small restaurants for people to chill out. I guessed this was more of a night spot as there were not many people around in the day time. Maybe its because of the heat too.
Had lunch at the food court at Jesselton Point.
The lobby where people book the ferry services.
Joanne and Soon Teck finding out about the ferries to the nearby islands.
We walked across to the shopping center opposite Jesselton Point, it is called Suria Sabah.
They have a shop inside called Reject Shop ..
.. where everything was on sale.
There were angry birds!
Although the shopping center was rather big, a lot of the shops were not yet occupied. So we quickly left it and walked back towards the Central Market area.
We found a place to sit down and have a drink.
We sat there for quite a while. We chatted about topics like how to improve our timing, how each other have improved since starting to run. While our topic always seem to revolve around running, we never seem to be sick of it. Hahaha .. :)
The time was around 1700Hr+ when we returned to the hotel. We would rest for a short while before going down for dinner. So I made use of the time to prepare the gear for tomorrow.
The gear for the race.
This had become a standard shot which I would take for each race. I laid out the items on the bed and took photographs of them while standing at the edge of the bed frame. There was a narrow area just nice for me to step on.
When Edmund came out of the toilet and saw what I was doing, I told him:
Me: "This is one of my pre race requisite."
Edmund: "Its ok. I understand."
Me: "Yah. Non runners dont get it."
Edmund: "Yah."
hahaha .. :)
Bak kut teh for dinner. This was just across the road from our hotel.
This was not what everybody ate but just eaten by me.
We took a short walk to Jesselton Point after dinner. We wanted to see how was the ambience like. If it was nice, we would visit it tomorrow night to celebrate completion of the run. It was quite nice. There were people but no really crowded. Weather was cooling too as it was just beside the sea so there was breeze blowing around constantly.
Yup, we decided we would come here tomorrow night.
We returned to our rooms at around 2000Hr. Quickly washed up and tuck ourselves into bed. The transport to the stadium would be at 0300Hr. We would be meeting Mohan at the lobby at 0245Hr. The pick up point was at the Esso station just beside the hotel.
As usual, I had difficulty falling asleep. I was lying on the bed but I was widely awake. The time ticked by. I knew the longer I was awake the more sleeping time I would be losing. However, at least I was lying on the bed and not still out there on the streets. Whatever form of rest I could get now was good.
Slowly, I started to drift into dreamland.
Right at that moment, the room phone rang!
"What the fuck! I had not rested enough!"
I woke up and reached for the phone. "Strange," I thought, "we did not ask for morning call."
When I picked up the phone, a familiar voice came out from the other end. "Hello! Ah Chua here. I've reached!"
"Huh .. eerrhh .. oh .. ok. Tomorrow meet at lobby at 0245Hr."
"Ok ok."
I looked at my watch. 2200Hr .. hai ..
Goodnight.
