Fresh and a Little Retrospective
It was an incredible feat for Joseph Schooling to clinch Singapore's first ever Olympic Gold, and it must have been a surreal feeling to compete against your childhood idol and then triumph over him. While the entire nation cheers for Schooling, I do feel happy for some other athletes as well. Ma Long, a table tennis player from China, won Gold in Men's Singles, completing his table tennis Grand Slam. He is currently ranked world's number 1 by the International Table Tennis Federation, and is "arguably the best two-winged looper in table tennis history". Kohei Uchimura, a gymnast from Japan, won Gold in the Men's Individual All-around. He has been winning Gold in this event since 2009, either at the World Championships or at the Olympics (no World Championships held on Olympic years). Simone Biles, a gymnast from the USA, won Gold in the Women's All-around, adding on to 3 consecutive Golds in the World Championships. She is another talented gymnast with immense potential and surely has the ability to match up with Uchimura in the future. Those who know, will know, and those who care, will care, that they are also superb athletes worth our respect. Veteran athletes or young stars, I wish them all the best.
I'm glad to have caught some of my favourite events live. Still remember spending this particular day watching the last Olympics in the duty room at SMTI. It has been 4 years. And in less than 4 years, I would have graduated from school for good. Another tough journey has started - a new semester - and it's time to hone independence again. Looking forward to Hong Kong in December! That should keep me going.
I told myself many years back that I wouldn't want to visit another Southeast Asian country because I thought they would not offer a pleasurable experience. But I was wrong; they are charming in their ways. After Bangkok, the recent trip to Hanoi was satisfying. It lacks slick skyscrapers, people in general aren't that friendly, traffic is terrible...but beyond these, Hanoi is a gem waiting to be uncovered. It manifests French and Chinese influences, evident from the architectural designs, cuisine, or even language. It has informative museums and well preserved monuments to tell about its rich history. Water puppetry, the national art form, dates all the the way back to the 11th century. It didn't appeal to me, but I did enjoy the eclectic array of food that the city had to offer. I went to Halong Bay too, and it was magnificent. We were lucky to see blue sky and clear sights of the bay without fog. Sure there were many cruises dotting the bay, but you would get your chance to capture patches of limestone formations towering above the turquoise waters without anything else obstructing the picturesque view. Water was clean and free from foul smells. Service from the cruise staff was exemplary, and food was mouth-wateringly good! Had only expected three meals on the 2 day 1 night cruise: lunch, dinner, and breakfast, but they topped off an additional brunch. Room was comfy and the amount of time allocated for kayaking was just right. There were tons of people going for cave visit but still managed to move through the chambers pretty smoothly. The 7 hour van ride from Hanoi city to Halong and back was definitely well worth it. Vietnam, not on the bucket list, but checked.
I'm glad to have caught some of my favourite events live. Still remember spending this particular day watching the last Olympics in the duty room at SMTI. It has been 4 years. And in less than 4 years, I would have graduated from school for good. Another tough journey has started - a new semester - and it's time to hone independence again. Looking forward to Hong Kong in December! That should keep me going.
I told myself many years back that I wouldn't want to visit another Southeast Asian country because I thought they would not offer a pleasurable experience. But I was wrong; they are charming in their ways. After Bangkok, the recent trip to Hanoi was satisfying. It lacks slick skyscrapers, people in general aren't that friendly, traffic is terrible...but beyond these, Hanoi is a gem waiting to be uncovered. It manifests French and Chinese influences, evident from the architectural designs, cuisine, or even language. It has informative museums and well preserved monuments to tell about its rich history. Water puppetry, the national art form, dates all the the way back to the 11th century. It didn't appeal to me, but I did enjoy the eclectic array of food that the city had to offer. I went to Halong Bay too, and it was magnificent. We were lucky to see blue sky and clear sights of the bay without fog. Sure there were many cruises dotting the bay, but you would get your chance to capture patches of limestone formations towering above the turquoise waters without anything else obstructing the picturesque view. Water was clean and free from foul smells. Service from the cruise staff was exemplary, and food was mouth-wateringly good! Had only expected three meals on the 2 day 1 night cruise: lunch, dinner, and breakfast, but they topped off an additional brunch. Room was comfy and the amount of time allocated for kayaking was just right. There were tons of people going for cave visit but still managed to move through the chambers pretty smoothly. The 7 hour van ride from Hanoi city to Halong and back was definitely well worth it. Vietnam, not on the bucket list, but checked.
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