Jom Heboh Ipoh 2012

It's been ages since my last visit to Ipoh, so it was pretty cool when I was told I'd be "on duty" at Jom Heboh this past weekend. We left KL on Friday evening and the drive took around 2 hours plus. We went into the city centre looking for a makan place, but driving "blind" with no map or guide whatsoever, we actually got lost, going round and round, without finding anything significant. So we decided just to check in to our hotel, the Impiana, and had some hotel grub.

The next day, it was time for me to suit up and face the Jom Heboh heat and crowd. Getting to the location, Stadium Indera Mulia, was pretty easy though. I just looked out for some stadium floodlights and drove towards it.

First up for me was co-hosting "Sembang-Sembang Jom Heboh" with "WHI"'s Azzura and "Mag 7"'s Irin.  And we had a special guest on set as well, Filipino award-winning actor, Dingdong Dantes! Yup, the dude's been raking in the ratings on TV3 through a few telenovelas, the latest one being "Endless Love". The buzz on Dingdong had been pretty good with him causing extreme excitement amongst Media Prima staff the day before Jom Heboh itself.

The interview itself went pretty well. And I must say Dingdong turned out to be a down-to-earth dude who loved to eat! He was game enough to brave the heat at the Women's booth and entertained all picture-taking requests from his fans. But then again, I was informed by his entourage that the weather's much more punishing in Manila, so I guess it wasn't too tough for him after all. Hehe.

And talking about the weather, it turned out to be pretty erratic throughout the entire two days there. It was nice and breezy in the morning, scorching hot in the afternoon, and it rained suddenly on both days after 4pm!

Apart from "Sembang-Sembang", I also recorded two other crossover segments that were aired around 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. But one of the highlights I need to mention here of course was my first taste of the famous "nasi ganja". Yup, that's the name, and you're allowed to say it out loud, like this... "SAYA NAK NASI GANJA!!!" Haha. Anyway, the kind peeps of TV3 got someone to buy a few packs of this local delicacy and together with Dindong and his entourage, we gobbled down the good stuff in no time at all.

My verdict? It's somewhat like nasi kandar but with a slightly different sambal concoction. The fried chicken was also absolutely delicious. So yes, as they say on social media-land... WIN!

We also had some time to do some ronda-ronda around Ipoh town. Weren't looking for anything in particular but I was told on fb to try out some of the food at  Dataran Ipoh.

The place wasn't too hard to find, but we had to follow our instincts as to which stall to choose. We saw one with a good crowd and ordered the char kuey teow. Which turned out to be pretty good, really.

I also organised the 15th round of Larian 40 Taman at Ipoh's famous Padang Polo, but that's for a different post altogether.

And oh, we also stopped by Ipoh Parade, but you know-lah, a mall's a mall, no matter where in Malaysia :) But I must say the crowd at Jom Heboh was really happening and the people came out in droves. Hate to use the cliche, but "Ipoh mali talak sombong!" Hehe.

Larian 40 Taman: FRIM & Central Park Bandar Utama

Whoa, I'm far behind in updating the Larian 40 Taman exploits, so I might as well skip a few and talk about the last two runs we did. Hehe.

On the 14th of April, Larian 40 Taman went to FRIM in Kepong to run together with participants of the World Forestry Day Run 2012. Finding the place itself proved to be a challenge for myself, seeing how my last visit there was probably about 15 years ago. Basically, I missed the turning from the highway and ended up further ahead in the middle of Kepong town.

But google maps saved the day for me, and once I found the right turning, it was a breeze finding FRIM. Once I got in, I then had to look out for Rumah Terengganu, the run's starting point. I was pretty fascinated by the fact that there was already a steady stream of people entering FRIM; some in running gear, while others came with the whole family, looking like they're going for a picnic.

I found Rumah Terengganu and immediately hooked up with a few other Larian 40 Taman runners. We then had to wait for a while for the organisers to sort out stuff like T-shirts, but eventually we got the tees with no hitches. The number of participants that morning was were around 160, a bit short of the 200 that they were expecting.

The run was then flagged off at around 8.20am, and this was when things got REALLY interesting. You see, when I was referred to this run, somehow I did not pay attention to the route. Only that very morning did I discover that it was going to be a half/half thing; trail and road running. Which was interesting for me, really. I've always wanted to try trail running and the opportunity came rolling into my path.

We started out OK, but then it was time to go into trail run mode, and immediately we had no negotiate a bukit. A bukit that went on, and on, and on... Seriously, it was literally up the hill for a good few hundred metres.

With no experience whatsoever with the route, it was tough for me to figure out the pacing and what to expect next. So when the climbing didn't stop I just decided to walk it until we got to a flatter part of the route. Plus there was the added challenge of avoiding mountain bikers. So runners, blasting music on your headphones is not recommended at all here. No syok sendiri runners, please!

Of course when you go up, you must come down, and the downhill part was pretty interesting as you had to apply the "brakes" on yourself so as not to skid down the hill. And oh yeah, good and appropriate shoes are definitely needed. I wore my Brooks Glycerin 9, not exactly trail running shoes, but they worked pretty well and gave me good grip throughout.

I finished the 5km route in 40 minutes and was placed 39th out of 160 runners; the first time I'm in the Top 40 of any event. Haha! They also had a lucky draw but I went back empty handed lah. But overall, a very good experience for all of us newbies. Click HERE for the full report.

Next up is the run at Central Park, Bandar Utama, the 14th run in the Larian 40 Taman series. It's a nice little park (with a big name) right next to One Utama and just a few hundred metres away from my office.

A pretty decent crowd turned up this past Saturday morning for an easy 2.6km run (600m per loop). But one thing about this park though, dog owners are allowed to bring their pets here, so Central Park is also known as a "dog park".

For this run too, I got Grand Brilliance and TV9 to sponsor some T-shirts to be given away. So after the run, I had the pleasure of giving away some cool tees to the runners!

For the full report, click HERE .

Call Of The Kettle Bell

I'm sure you've seen these innocent looking things by the window of fitness shops and thought, "OK, like THAT'S gonna help me with burning fat and stuff". Well, all I can say is, you will be surprised!

The thing about the kettle bell is that it's perfect for you "so-busy-that-I-can't-find-time-to-exercise" lot out there. It's not expensive and you can easily keep them at home or at the office and use them whenever you want.

Seriously though, having known only dumbbells and barbells all this while, using the kettle bell was a nice (and intense) surprise. I regularly use it for squats now, and I can feel the results. For more ideas on how to use the kettle bell, check out this video:

Sami Yusuf On MHI, Will Stage A Concert In Malaysia

Time magazine hails him as "Islam's biggest rockstar", and this morning, Iran-born British "Spiritique" artist Sami Yusuf was a guest on Malaysia Hari Ini. Sitting together with us was also Indonesia's own nasyid star Opick.

Indeed it was a great thrill and honour to have Sami with us especially since we've been playing hisAsma Al Husna music video countless times on the show. Honestly, I never thought that one day he would be joining us on the show!

Sami was here to promote his upcoming fourth album, Salaam. And even better news for his fans, Sami will be staging his first concert in Malaysia on the 14th of July! So mark that date on your calendars people! He also revealed that tomorrow, he would be recording a duet with our very own Dato' Siti Nurhaliza. How cool is that?

Here are excerpts of the interview:

Q: Nasyid is popular in Malaysia and the region in general. But you call your brand of nasyid as "spiritique". Are you surprised, or not surprised by the success of spiritique which has travelled far and wide across the world?
A: I have a different opinion on the whole concept of Islamic music and Islamic art. I believe we have Islamic sacred music. I don't think it's the correct word to use just because we have some Islamic words in it, that's my opinion. I believe there's good art, and there's bad art. There's good music, and there's bad music. I personally didn't know what nasyid was. I come from a classical background and my father's a composer. The only nasyid I knew was when someone gave me the music of Raihan. That was when I got to know what nasyid was. For me, it's been an absolute pleasure since 2003. I've been blessed by God. I get to travel around the world, greeted by heads of state, performing at arenas and stadium. It's been daunting and surprising at the same time. And I'm very honoured to be here in Malaysia. The concert in Malaysia in July is going to be an absolute pleasure.

Q: You were born in Iran and grew up in England. What was that experience like?
It's beautiful. It's amazing to know the traditions of the east and west. England's a beautiful country with a lovely history. Our national dish is the curry! It's a great thing to know different cultures and backgrounds. The more you learn, the more you realise that we're quite identical on the macro level. One thing I try to do through spiritique is to remind us of that. That we are, ultimately, one human family. And this upcoming tour of mine is about that, about salaam and unity, and bringing people together.

Q: How have you yourself grown as an artist and how have your success and travels impacted your own life.
A: That's a good and complicated question. Well, the more I've travelled, the more I've understood that we are very similar. And as I get older, I have a deeper sense of appreciation for everything traditional. Traditional music, culture, everything. I find myself being at odds with the modern world. But I think that fundamentally, the power of music is a great way of bringing people together. I have been fortunate and blessed to be part of that experience.

Malaysia Hari Ini 2012 Promo