List Of Goals For Year 2023 - Review

A new year has arrived, time to review the goals set for the past year 2023. Over 7 goals I wrote down at the beginning of the year 2023, 4 completed, all of them are physical feats. 4/7 is more than 50% already, overall I feel quite satisfied. Completed Komtar Tower Run in January with a relatively good result, summited the Kinabalu in August, a sub-5 KL marathon, and the biggest goal of the year - completed UTOP 100km. What I didn't complete were Singapore round island on foot, read 4 books, and 365 blog entries.

To be honest, I was just lazy to plan for the Singapore round island plan. Meanwhile I managed to read one book this year which is 在颠沛流离的世界里，你还有我啊！- Book Review. The goal of 365 blog entries was proven to be super ambitious. I tried my best for the month of January 2023, but damn it, it was so damn draining mentally. It was so damn challenging to squeeze out substantial ideas to write about. The silver lining is I accidentally hit 1000 subscribers on my Youtube channel after I decided to convert some of my writing ideas into video format. This was really a happy accident. I never expected it to gain so much traction so suddenly. One of my videos was even once promoted by the Not Just Bikes Youtube channel. It was really a happy accident.

Anyway, it is time to think about the goals for the year 2024.

在颠沛流离的世界里，你还有我啊！- Book Review

I am definitely not the target audience. The good thing is it is a breeze to read through. One can even say it is fun to read as every chapter is paired beautiful travel photos. Story-wise though, I just don't find it very gripping. Most of them are stories from the author's experience from his travel, with some thoughts and feelings mixed in. Some might even think that the stories are very moving and motivating but I guess I am already jaded. Now that I'm older, my heart's colder, this kind of stories is just something that I no longer find riveting. To brag a little bit, upon finishing the book, I realized I could have written a book of this genre as my travel experience is quite substantial too (may be with way fewer beautiful photos 😅).

Although this book is not my taste, when I decided to read it, I was partly driven by the curiosity about the author as clearly there is a market for his books (the actual main reason is it was recommended by her 🤭). Peter Su, an author from Taiwan, apparently is relatively well-known in Malaysia as well. I could see that it could quench the wander lust of many people. I could also see people find his books comforting. But I am just not part of them. To me, his strong suit is no doubt his photography skill, just check out his Instagram @peter825. Writing skill is just ok lah. The silver lining is 

"No subject is terrible if the story is true, if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure."

to quote Hemingway from the movie "Midnight In Paris". 

Goodwill or Rubbish?

While more and more people are getting into hiking, especially after the pandemic, what I notice more and more is the "trail markers" in the form paper people leave all over the trail haphazardly. One could argue that intention is good so that people wouldn't get lost in the forest, but I have always been taught to leave nothing behind when visiting the outdoors. The sheer amount of these so called "trail markers" is getting ridiculous. During my hike this morning, I could already spot 4 "trail markers" with different types of prints along the trail. To be honest, the trail is so well defined and so easy to follow after being trampled by visitors everyday that there is no need to put marker anymore. At this point, are these trail markers still goodwill or rubbish? 

Kampung Agong is overrated

I didn't want to use the word 'overrated' because it is so over-used that the adjective itself is overrated. But it is the perfect description to Kampung Agong. It strikes for the traditional 'kampung feel' but it fails to match SukaSuka Lake Retreat. If you want the perfect view of paddy fields, the paddy fields behind the Butterworth RMAF could have offered the same thing (in fact this is my favorite spot for a jog).

The fact that it was really crowded when I visited the site, just further downgraded my impression of Kampung Agong. What we always see are the idyllic pictures. What we don't normally see are the chaos outside the park flooded with cars and buses. 

In the end, Kampung Agong is just like many so-called museums in Penang. They all claim to offer an unique experience. But it is just a place for people queue up to take that one picture from that one angle, post it on social media to get some dopamine rush from the likes gathered. To put simply, it is not a place I like to visit. 

Barbarian review - 真係估你唔到!

The amount of twists and turns, unpredictable yet a plot that makes total sense, emotions ranging from dread to wtf to lmfao, Barbarian is wild roller coaster ride. Not the ones in Genting Highlands but those in Fuji-Q highlands. Dan Murrell puts it the best. "Barbarian is really like a dark theme park ride. As you hurtle around blind corners, screaming until the ride comes to a screeching halt and you find yourself laughing simply because you survived the journey."

If you haven't watch Barbarian, go watch it, even though you are not a horror fan. Don't be stupid and find any spoiler, or any info in that regard, not even the trailer. The mystery is the main driving force of the entire movie. Just go in the movie blind and I assure you will be pleasantly surprised. To be honest, I am not a horror fan. I half covered my ears throughout the movie because the tension was just unbearable. But the plot is so intricately structured, it is rare to see a craft at such a caliber. Highly recommended!