I’ve heard so much about obstacle racing… those humungous muscle men who have found a fine balance between muscle and endurance fitness ripping through obstacles. I’ve grown up training for long-distance running, the sort of running that goes on for 10+ kilometres but I have never been much of a muscle guy…
So, I decided to give obstacle racing a try. How hard could it be? A few obstacles, probably would get a bit dirty, but nothing crazy right? IT WAS SOOO HARD. My muscles ended up aching for 5 straight days.
SPARTAN SPRINT
Similar to the famous Tough Mudder, a Spartan sprint race is a 5+ kilometre obstacle course race that is designed for athletes who love adventure. The race involves running, climbing, crawling and also in some bits swimming. It’s a true test of someone’s mental, physical and endurance ability.
“Blue is the colour, football is the game. We’re all together and winning is our aim. So cheer us on through the sun and rain. ’cause Chelsea, Chelsea is our name”
This year I finally managed to beat the queues and fork out the money to buy a Chelsea F.C membership. After some hard-fought online waiting room malarkey just to get a ticket I got my hands on a precious Chelsea match day ticket!
Ever since I was a kid growing up in Hong Kong, I’ve had an boyhood affection for Chelsea F.C, it’s one of the reasons why I decided to move to London to study! So here I was, singing the chorus of the club anthem as the players made their way onto the pitch. The atmosphere was electric, like nothing I had ever experienced… simply mesmerizing.
Chelsea v Everton, always a big match, and even more important given the poor run of results that Chelsea have endured this season so far. As the match kicked off you could sense the sense of unease and dissatisfaction of Chelsea fans in the atmosphere. Countless cries of “forward! play it forward!, where’s the movement?” followed by a series of groans and jeers by middle-aged men. The first-half was truly abysmal and perfectly understandable. These fans had paid, like me, an absolute killing to come and watch this game, a hefty £60+!
Then the bullet came… Everton scored early into the second half. Immediately I could hear the groans and conversations going on all around me: “oh here we go again, we can’t f*cking defend!, this is the end of it…”. And yet, the groans and negative chatter increased with yet another Everton goal, we were 2-0 down.
This is when I saw something change in the Chelsea players and the atmosphere. The players seemed to react to the negative energy from the crowd, they started showing fight and intent in their play. The ball was actually going forward overtime we had possession instead of the endless negative play that dominated the entirety first-half. Diego Costa started making diagonal and penetrating runs straight at Everton’s backline and… HE SCORED!
The stadium ERUPTED!!! I found myself hugging a fellow supporter next to me that I had only met an hour ago, I couldn’t hear much but yet could hear the happiness and relief of fellow Chelsea fans that the champions of 2014/15 were indeed capable of a might comeback!
BANG! Another goal followed in what seemed like a few seconds later and the stadium erupted again. Fans began signalling to the away end at the Everton supporters (some pretty foul language and signs I must say). 2-2 back from 2-0 down, Chelsea could win this!
Just there – something changed in the stadium and the pitch. I can’t quite put it into words, but it was almost as if the entire Chelsea squad and stadium began sitting back – inviting back pressure from Everton. Everton needed no invitation – they immediately dealt a heavy blow to any chance of a comeback, Funes Mori scored from a in-swinging cross COMPLETELY unmarked. This was it… here we were again, the Chelsea of 2015/16 season. Inviting pressure, conceding sloppy goals, defending hopelessly.
The last 8 or so minutes was TRULY AMAZING and must have felt like an extra half for all that were in the stadium. We began kicking long-balls straight at Everton’s front line, picking up the scraps. The stadium was remarkably quiet as if waiting to see if Chelsea’s first-team did indeed have the fight and ruthlessness that led them to the title the previous season.
THERE IT WAS – in the 8th minute of stoppage time, TERRY SCORED! This time the Chelsea stadium truly erupted, EVERYONE started screaming and cheering, not a single person was sitting down. It couldn’t be better scripted, Mr. Chelsea (John Terry) scoring in the last kick of the match after a mixed bag of performances by the players in what was a truly extraordinary game (the match ended 3-3).
This is football… This is the English Premier League and this is why so many people from all corners of the world fork out seemingly absurd amounts of money just to get a cramped plastic spectator seat in an electric stadium.
IT HAPPENED!! After hearing so many friends rave about how fun skiing and snowboarding was, this New Year I spent 7 days snowboarding in the Austrian region of Tirol.
The trip began on New Years day from Central London. Me and a few friends hopped on a bus and ventured for 20 hours across Europe. Through the slow winding roads of London, the bumpy channel crossing at Dover/Calais and the 15 or so hours spent jetting on highways cutting through France, Belgium, Germany and finally Austria. Let’s just say it was a long, long, long, long 22 hours on the cramped bus.
We travelled with Contiki so there were around 50 of us staying at the Gasthof Schoneck in Hopfgarten, Austria. The accommodation isn’t great but its all you need to make the most of your time having fun in Austria. Let’s just say I met a lot of Aussies and a few South Africans on tour.
The snow wasn’t great and apparently it hadn’t snowed in a three weeks prior to our arrival (we got a blanket of overnight slow on the night we arrived). Learning to snowboard on ice is very, very hard! We soon got the hang of it though and decided to venture up up and away from the beginner slopes and into the alpine mountains. By the end of the first day, I had a left bum cheek that was purple and immensely sore triceps from the seemingly endless falling.
Throughout the 7 days, a three course dinner and breakfast was provided at the Gasthof. The food isn’t absolutely the best, but it definitely beats the hassle of travelling out in the bitter cold to Hopfgarten for dinner!
As we progressed through the week, we grew in confidence in terms of snowboarding and learned a remarkably weird lesson: The faster you go, the more control you have. This was particularly true in icy conditions, the slower we went the more we seemed to be unable to control the board. All in all, by the end of the week we attempted a few black runs (and almost died) but escaped without any severe injuries (purple bums and sore muscles don’t count).
Snowboarding is fun, it definitely looks cooler than Skiing but its much harder to learn. It takes more confidence to try snowboarding, especially those turns! But once you learn how to snowboard, you really do get much more satisfaction out of it! Its so fun that we’re planning another trip in a few weeks time to get back on the slopes!
After spending time in the capital Stockholm, we hopped on a five hour train and headed south east for Gothenburg. Upon arrival, the city looks remarkably like a Caribbean country, say Cuba, considering it’s extensive unorganised tram network and rather dilapidated architecture. As we went about exploring the city, we quickly realised that there was much more to the city than came to the eye. If you like fine food, amazing scenery, urban design and generally chilled vibes, Gothenburg is the place for you.
Hand-down the highlight of the entire trip. The group of islands are easily accessible via Saltholmen Ferry Port from Tram 11 that runs straight from downtown Gothenburg. The islands look remarkably like Icelandic fishing villages, bright in colour but remarkably authentically traditional.
A house on the Island.
If you’re a nature lover, you could easily spend the entire day on a single island. Me and a few friends hopped on bikes and cycled round the island. One thing you should not miss is the small quaint Scandinavian cafes along the island route. The Swedish call it Fika, but it’s basically afternoon tea or brunch. With a wide assortment of cinnamon buns, bread and cakes with freshly blended coffee or beer, it’s definitely worth a taste.
OLIVEDALSGATAN STREET PARTY
It just so happened that our visit coincided with the annual Olivedalsgatan. Without really knowing what it was, we just happened to find ourselves surrounded by barely sober Swedish partying the streets of Gothenburg with a beer in hand.
Olivedalsgatan Carnival
The party starts at just before mid-day and continues all till almost midnight. The street is filled with bands, artists, students and the like. Beware though, there are quite a lot of pick pockets who’ll pounce at the opportunity to snatch your valuables! We saw a man have his phone snatched from his hands. Nevertheless, a great cultural spectacle that is definitely worth visiting!
DELSJON LAKE
Delsjon Lake
The final highlight of my time in Gothenburg had to be Delsjon Lake. Located approximately 40 minutes by public transport from the city centre, the reserve is a hidden gem in Gothenburg. If you’re looking for a peaceful environment for a nice picnic or relaxation spot, this is definitely the place.
There are a variety of hiking trails available , ranging from short (20 minutes) to long (1 day) that explore the meanders of the lake and surrounding rivers.
MY GOTHENBURG ITINERARY
Freskekorka (FIsh Market) for Lunch – Rosenlundsvagen, 41120, Gothenburg
Skansen Kronen (View Point) – Accessible by Tram 2
Beautiful Timber Houses
Boutique Shops
Alvsborg Fortress (Island)
Lilla Brommen, Pusterviksgata 13, 41301
Southern Archipelago (via Saltholmen Ferry Pier)
Islands: Styrso Island, Byn
The Garden Society (10AM – 4PM) – Address: Sodravagen 41110 GB
With the end of May, exams done and dusted and the summer sun finally arriving in London, it was time to visit Sweden. After Iceland in 2012, Norway in 2014 it was about time I visited the Nordic country most well-known for its interior design (IKEA!!!!).
However, after being trapped in the house slaving on exam papers, my itinerary covered more than roaming in museums and humongous jungle that are IKEA stores. With the help of a native Swedish friend, I set about foraging into the lesser-visited spots in Sweden:
DAY 10-14: MALMO (Oresund Bridge, Little Square, Lilla Torg, Malmohus Castle, Design/Form Museum)
This post will focus on my time at Stockholm, the first of three stops in Sweden. Having slept overnight at Gatwick Airport (in an effort to save the cost of an 70% increase in ticket cost for an early hours train), we arrived in Stockholm with barely awake.
My local Swedish friend got us each a Stockholm transport day pass and we immediately began to explore the amazing underground network of Stockholm.
Amazing Stockholm Underground
Apart from being insanely efficient and on time, each station was genuinely a piece of art. The bare rock of the station has all been meticulously designed by artists – it feels like you’ve entered into a whole new world!
SECRET STOCKHOLM VIEWPOINT + MEETING SUPERMODEL MS SWEDEN
Our Swedish local friend then took us to a secret overhanging restaurant in the centre of Stockholm. After sneaking into the building like Tom Cruise (shuffling into the lift with people with security passes and climbing through windows) we made it into the exclusive restaurant.
View from the secret location
Not only was the view spectacular – so were the people! I noticed a supermodel posing in front of a few photographers and some make-up artists and decided to ask her “are you famous?”
Turns out not only was she famous, she was actually the winner of Ms Universe Sweden 2013… I immediately asked for a photograph!
My photo with Alexandra Friberg (Ms Universe Sweden 2013)
STOCKHOLM ARCHIPELAGO
A must visit of Stockholm is the Stockholm Archipelago. A group of picturesque islands which are located only half an hours journey from the city centre. The general atmosphere was incredibly relaxed with amazing views of the various islands and rivers.
Stockholm Archipelago
SKANSEN
There’s no need to leave the city to experience Swedish nature, the urbanised island of Skansen. The island is a great vantage point looking across at downtown Stockholm. There’s also a fairly large amusement park if you’re running low on adrenaline.
Chilling in Skansen
GAMLA STAN
The annual Nobel Prize is awarded in the island of Gamla Stan. Also home to the Swedish king and royal family, the island has the perfect mix of history and authentic Swedish heritage.
Guard Change at Gamla Stan
A great place to start is the watching the guard change in front of the royal palace and Stockholm in the background. You should then walk downwards toward the old town in Stockholm, a great place to sit down for a coffee (or “Fika” as the Swedish call it) or go for some light shopping.
DROTTNINGHOLM PALACE
40 minutes from the city centre, Drottningholm palace is definitely worth a visit. Although you don’t really have to go in (hugely expensive and a massive rip-off) and just take in the sights from the outside. There’s also a beautiful insanely large back-garden worth walking for free. It’s a perfect place to go for an outdoor picnic on a beautiful summer afternoon.
Eight months ago while flicking through my Instagram, I stumbled upon a photo. An amazing portrait of a guy sitting on the tip of a huge rock, a staggering drop that was at least 100 metres below his feet. I’ve always wanted to go on one of those amazing adventures, backpacking, camping, sleeping in cars, meeting new people, hiking for days, that’s what a real adventure is!
The photo I saw from Instagram…
A lot of people who visit Europe never reach Norway because of how expensive it is. That’s entirely true, Norway is by no means a budget destination, the country has an income tax at a whopping 45%! However, after seeing pictures like these on the internet, Norway was just too beautiful to miss.
Amazingly, I planned this trip while I was studying for my exams, a flight booked here, hotel reserved there, all in between doing those pesky past papers. Within weeks, I had a (very) rough plan of what I was going to do and where to go. Here’s a outline of my trip:
DAY 1 – HK, fly to Oslo via Amsterdam. Overnight domestic flight to Lofoten (Arctic Circle)
DAY 2 – 7 – Exploring the Arctic circle (Svolvaer, Reine, Tromso)
DAY 8 – Return to Oslo, head north towards Gerainger
DAY 8 – 17 – Exploring the Nordfjords (Gerainger, Ulsteinvik, Runde, Kjornes, Odda, Bergan, Rauland, Roldal Skysstasjonen, Sandnes)
DAY 18 – Oslo, fly back to HK via Paris.
I found that flights were much cheaper if I transferred via Amsterdam and Paris. The trip was essentially split into two distinct parts. The first was exploring Lofoten (in the Arctic Circle) which was way up in the north, Glaciers, Mountains, Lakes, Fjords. The second was the mainland and Fjords, this was where all the main rock attractions were. I arrived in Norway mid-June so there weren’t too many other tourists, not that a country with a area of 385,178 square kilometres would worry about. For the next three weeks I backpacked around Norway. I’m not going to go into detail about where I went but essentially there are three personal highlights, remarkably, all three are rocks. Norway is a tale of three rocks.
THE TROLL’S TONGUE (TROLLTUNGA)
The mesmerising tram tracks
The first rock was the rock I saw on Instagram, otherwise known as TROLLTUNGA (Troll’s Tongue). This is one of Norway’s most spectacular hikes, located in Hardanger (even the name spells danger!). This was by far the hardest rock to get to, it included a mammoth 8 hour hike, rising 1800 metres into the Glaciers and across Fjords. Right from the start, a flight of tram tracks (abandoned) takes you up 850 vertical metres! It took an hour just to get up every one of those 3806 steps (yeh, I counted). At the top of the tracks I only finished 1.7 kilometres of a 22 kilometre hike! For the next 7 hours you walk through Ice, Canyons, Rocks, truly exhausting. It is possible to walk out onto the Troll’s Tongue, making for some truly amazing Instagrams.
MOUNT KJERAG
Although I set out to conquer Trolltunga before arriving in Norway, in hindsight this was actually my favourite rock. Mount Kjerag soars majestically over the Lysefjord in Ryflyke. With a perpendicular fall of 1,000 metres, the wild Kjerag plateau towers innermost in the Lysefjord. Most people are content to enjoy the view across the Lysefjord from the plateau, but the highlight of the entire trip for me was capturing the moment I stood on the Kjerag Bolt – a round block of stone wedged in a crack in the mountain. There are also many base-jumpers who literally jump straight off the rock! This hike is about ten kilometres and takes five to six hours.
The wedged rock…
PULPIT ROCK (PREIKESTOLEN)
The Pulpit Rock
The Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen), on the Lysefjord in Ryflyke not far from Stavanger, is one of Norway’s biggest tourist attractions. This hike was much easier and only lasted 4 hours. There are many people on this hike, essentially an endless stream of people strolling up the mountain. The scores of people made for quite a unique photography opportunity at the top, offering a refreshing difference from the classic one person shot.
EXPLORING NORWAY ON A BUDGET
Who says Budget can’t taste good?
GET IN THE KITCHEN! – Food is ridiculously expensive in Norway so the best way to save money is to cook your own meals. Visit the supermarket but skip the imported products (Heavily taxed) and go for the all-abundant SALMON! Each meal I made consisted of Mushrooms ($10HKD for 400 grams), Salmon fillet ($25HKD), Yoghurt ($6HKD) and a bowl of rice (which I brought from Hong Kong). This all cashed out under $50HKD per meal (cheaper than quite a lot of restaurants in HK) as opposed to the outrageously expensive restaurants charging $100 for just a regular Hamburger.
Comfort in Hostility?
CAMPING/HOSTELS – Accommodation is always one of the largest portions of your travel budget, so cutting down here will have a large effect. I split my accommodation between staying in hostels and camping, with the occasional night spent sleeping in the rental car. Of course you’re not living in comfort but this is where you meet new exciting people! I met a French guy who had been backpacking around the globe for 10 months, truly amazing person. Who knows, you’ll bump into many friendly Norwegians willing to let you use their portable tethering wifi! 😉
Great view, Great food!
EAT SIMPLE – You’re in Norway for the scenery, not the food, there’s plenty of time for that back home. Breakfast of toast and jam, Lunch consisting of two slices of salami sandwiched with wholewheat bread can save you a huge chunk from your wallet!
SOCIALISE – The Norwegians are a friendly bunch, they’re willing to share just about everything. From a free-ride to a pint of beer, be nice and tag along for some freebies!
There are few places in the world that have such varied scenery in one region. You can climb wonderful mountains by the coast, experience fantastic mountains that rise straight up from the narrow fjords or join a safe walk on the blue ice of one of the glacier arms. There are vast, untouched mountain areas all over Norway that are perfect for hikers. Norway is not just a scenic backdrop, but a community. A living landscape where humans and nature live in mutual dependence, making Norway truly the ultimate location for adventure travel seekers.
Below is a little selection of the photos from the trip. Mostly taken from Canon S120. Edited with VSCO film.
A couple months ago I was still planning my graduation trip to Thailand (Koh Samui). Our group of 7 had already booked a Villa, paid the minimum booking deposit, organised a brief itinerary. I was so carried away with the whole concept of graduating that little did I know what I would be doing for two straight weeks was consuming large amounts of alcohol and turning into a nocturnal animal.
As our group were about to book the flights (by far the biggest expense of any trip), my parents suddenly changed their mind and did not allow me to travel to Thailand due to the ongoing political unrest. I was gutted, the thought of missing out on the opportunity to spend time with my best friends one last time before we went our separate ways at University was a daunting one. I received a message from a friend inviting me to join his graduation trip to Singapore. Firstly, I was stoked to even be contacted as I was feeling quite down from the thought of not going on a grad trip. Secondly, although I only visited Singapore once when I was 6, I had no living memory of it so naturally I jumped at the opportunity!
The timing was good since I had already planned another trip to Norway with my family a week after the proposed return date for the graduation trip. The day I was officially added to the graduation group, we had immediately booked the flights, forcing me to commit to this trip completely.
So there it was, I was now going to visit a foreign country with a group of friends whom I did not know all that well, I have to admit initially I was quite sceptical as to how enjoyable the trip would be, but that worry quickly disappeared. I’m not going to go into great detail about the trip here. The goal of the trip was pretty much to have much fun as possible.
Here is a brief itinerary of what we did:
DAY 1 – Travel to Singapore, Shopping near Little India
Day 2 – Universal Studios
Day 3 – Pulau Ubin
Day 4 – Sentosa Beach, Breakout Games, Maxwell Food Centre
Day 5 – Night Safari, MacRitchie Nature Trail, Clarke Quay
Day 6 – Garden by the bay, Marina Bay, Orchard Street
My personal highlights were definitely the cycling adventure day in Pulau Ubin, Universal Studios and Clarke Quay. We split the 6 days, each person was in charge of one day. I was responsible for the day we visited Pulau Ubin.
Pulau Ubin is a pristine island located on the North Eastern tip of Singapore. When you say Singapore to someone, the thought of the Merlion and Singapore’s city centre naturally springs to mind, but Pulau Ubin takes you back to life in Singapore 100 years ago, an island filled with coconut plantations. Exploring the island by bicycle was a refreshing break from the urban, concrete dominated city centre in downtown Singapore. Visiting Universal Studios was only the 6th Theme Park visit in my life, I’m the kind that is terrified by roller coasters. Thankfully, the scariest ride (Battlestar Galactica) was closed. Then came the Mummy Ride, similar to Space Mountain from Disneyland, it was a roller coaster in pitch black and had sudden tilts and drops. Initially the group went on the ride without me, as I was too afraid. After some hard-fought convincing, I decided to try it. The ride was horrifying although thrilling to say the least, the sudden swerves and dips were expected, but the sudden downward reverse was definitely the killer, I yelled non-stop for the entire ride. That being said, this was a great experience and the visuals and effects of this ride truly makes it the best ride available currently in the park.
Nightlife in Clarke Quay… is so much better than that in Hong Kong. For starters, the bars and streets are much cleaner, without shattered beer bottles or drunkards rolling on the floor. Then the clubs are much classier, many with exclusive VIP access and stunning lighting. That being said, although our group did visit an open bar and experienced the live music experience, we spent most of our time out in Starbucks chatting. (Yes, we’re very cheap).
This was a budget trip, and therefore we stayed in accommodation known as “hostels”. I had experience with this kind of accommodation previously during my backpacking trips to Scandinavian countries, however it was obvious that it was the first time for some of my grad-mates. In the first hostel we stayed in, we were roomed with various strangers including a Pakistani trader and other tourists. The night was surprisingly peaceful and uneventful, the biggest problem being the fire alarm going off during my shower, which prompted a dash half naked into the reception. The second hostel provided some much needed privacy, but was honestly the smallest space I have lived in. 6 of us were packed into bunk beds with a space barely enough to fit two open luggages. The cramped nature of the room meant everyone was much closer together, nice and cosy.
Despite these small hiccups, I had an amazing time in Singapore and would highly recommend it for travel. In my opinion, travelling with a group of people is the best way to get to know someone. You spend so much time together, travelling, having fun, troubleshooting, eating. At the end of the trip, when you all go separate ways, you will realise how much you miss your fellow ‘grad-mates’. This is exactly what I experienced recently on my graduation trip to Singapore, and this feeling that has left me convinced I made the right decision to abort Thailand and embark on such a refreshing adventure with new people!
Below is a little selection of the photos from the trip. Mostly taken from Canon S120. Edited with VSCO film.
Clement Ma 