Compelling London 2012

I've been trying to catch as much of the Olympics action as I can. Was happy to see Ryan Lochte victorious in the 400m Individual Medley, the first London 2012 race I watched. There are so many stories to witness - success after much hard work, failure despite being tagged as favourite, hiccups that cost a podium finish, sheer determination just to complete a race, how the home crowd supports their countrymen and women. That's what makes the Olympics so compelling. If only the time difference wasn't that vast, it would be much easier to catch all the action.

I was watching the Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Diving last night and was looking forward  to see Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield of the Great Britain team medal. Sadly, a disappointing fourth dive wrecked their chances of getting onto the podium. Still they recovered with two good final dives to finish fourth, just a few points shy of a bronze. Which brings me to my point. Sometimes we make a bad mistake in life and take a tumble. Yes, we can wallow in self pity, but only for awhile. Then it's time to get up and move one. Little steps lead to bigger strides and before you know it, we're back on track.

Fortune favours the brave.

Peter Waterfield and Tom Daley.

London 2012

The London Olympics are here. With the time difference, I am antici-pating some crazy sleep patterns in the next few weeks. I typically only follow a few sports during the Olympics - swimming, diving, gymnastics, track and field.

Swimming of course is the sport I am best at, so naturally I am an avid fan. I hope Ryan Lochte (USA) will win at least either the 200m or 400m individual medley and enroute to the gold beat Michael Phelps (USA). I wish Leisel Jones (AUS) well and hope that she proves her critics wrong when she races in the 100m breastroke. I look forward to seeing James Magnussen (AUS) smash the 100m freestyle world record. Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) will perhaps create history by taking the 100m and 200m breastroke double for the third Olympics in a row. I'd also like to see the English swimmers do well in their home Olympics. As for diving, I hope the Malaysian divers will at least make the finals of their events. Who knows, they may spring a surprise or two. It would be great if divers representing different countries can prevent a Chinese clean sweep. Matthew Mitcham (AUS) defending his 10m platform title would be awesome or perhaps Tom Daley may win the event for the home team.

So much to follow, so little time to do so. I ought to come up with a game plan on how to catch as much of the sporting action as I can. Each Olympic Games has its own inspiring stories to tell. Here's to a great London Games.

Ryan Lochte in the pool.

Life's Lessons

Today is a day of coincidences. I received a Facebook message from an acquaintance telling me how well she could relate to some of my blog posts and how comforting some of my musings could be at times. And then a bit later, a chat with another acquaintance touched on how life throws us curve balls every now and then, and the fact that the only way to respond is to face these challenges head on and move forward. He is quite right indeed.

I call it a coincidence as all three of us seemed to be rather philosophical today. Sometimes, these little chats come in handy. Another friend of mine would likely conclude that it is the universe sending us a little 'pick-me-up'. I tend to think so too. Perhaps we send out subliminal signals and in turn come these encounters that help us keep the faith.

We all need some reminding that come what may, life goes on. Be appreciative and grateful when good comes our way. Do good too in return. Pass it forward as they say. But when the not so great hit us, we ought to be prepared to stand our ground and work towards overcoming the challenges that we find ourselves face to face with. Doing so only makes us stronger. It helps us build self belief and augments our self esteem. And then we'll be ready to live life to the fullest, without any regrets.

Photo of desserts at Evason Hua Hin in Thailand.

70th Birthday

My godfather celebrated his 70th birthday in Adelaide earlier this month. Being such a milestone, I hosted a birthday dinner for him when he was here on holiday in May, a little celebration in advance.

Both my godparents are now globetrotters, having finally retired from work a couple of years ago. They drop by KL every now and then whenever they pass through enroute to Europe or the US. Their short visits are always packed with 'makan' sessions as they try to sample as much of their favourite foods as possible.

Wonder when the next email will come, announcing their impending arrival.

Photo shot at The Han Room, The Gardens, Kuala Lumpur.

Collaborations

It's always fun to do collaborative photoshoots. Other than combining our artistic aesthetics to create images that bring our talents to the fore, we also have a great time catching up over a day's work. Of course, the ultimate aim is a cache of photos from which the team can select, to publicise our respective businesses and promote our services to the wider public.

When deciding who to collaborate with, the criteria will mainly revolve around a common vision, work ethic and trust. We draw inspiration from one another and tap on the synergy created. We contribute our expertise and work towards our shared goal of attaining pictures suitable for all to use in our marketing plans.

This most recent shoot saw us at That Special Occasion working with My Bridal Florist, ZC Accessories, Eyeshot and Sanyu Beauty. We were also fortunate to be given the opportunity to shoot at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, thanks to longstanding established relationships with Starwood Hotels & Resorts' cluster marketing team here in Malaysia. When all the compoments fall into place, the result is an enjoyable experience coupled with beautifully captured photos. A worthwhile endeavour indeed.

Photo of our model Priscilla, shot at Villa Danieli, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur.

Port Dickson International Triathlon 2012

It's good to have an aspiration to work towards. Case in point, the Port Dickson International Triathlon 2012 last Sunday. First and foremost, I am no triathlete. I can't cycle nor run to save my life. I can however swim and I have been part of tri-relays on three occasions now. The first, in Bali June last year and the second, in Singapore in May. We took part in the sprint relay, the former with Richard and Lee Kuen, the latter with Bunny and Lee Kuen as my team mates.

This time round however, my friend Ray, a previous Iron Man participant on the comeback trail, registered me as his team swimmer in the Olympic distance relay. That would mean moving up from 750m to 1.5km between the Singapore and Port Dickson races. Apprehensive I was but I always relish a challenge. So train harder and more often I did in the month leading up to race day in PD. With much encouragement from my friends, I set myself a reasonably achievable target of finishing the swim leg in under 40 minutes. My friends, in particular my team mates Ray and Wei Min, thought 30 minutes might be possible.

Suffice to say, I completed the swim portion of the race in 31 minutes 21 seconds and our team finished a respectable 30th in the men's relay, and 64th in the overally relay event out of a 109 teams. Happy I was to have managed the Olympic distance tri swim leg, in a pretty good time too by my standards. More importantly, my team mates were happy with the swim. Being the first leg of the race, I always feel that it is necessary to get them off to a good start, so there is pressure somewhat. Ray and Wei Min did very well too, and we were more than satisfied with our performance, our first as a team. An enjoyable race it was and I am sure there will be more to come in the future. For now, I have to continue training. The best swimmer in the race was 10 minutes ahead of me. There is still some catching up to do. Another challenge to conquer indeed.

Photo courtesy of Ooi Wei Min.

Journeys For Two 2012

Destination weddings are indeed a growing segment of the wedding market in the Asia Pacific region. The relative ease and affordability of regional air travel coupled with brides and grooms-to-be with an adventurous spirit are catalysts to this boom. Wedding professionals who are better adept at planning and organising such events are also contributing to the increasing interest in destination weddings.

We hope this issue of our publication will provide you with the necessary inspiration as you embark on your wedding plans, perhaps igniting your own interest in a wedding offshore.

Explore, enjoy and be inspired …….. Kris Wong

Cover of Journeys For Two 2012.

Gratitude

I was having tea with a friend today, my financial planner to be exact. We always have lots to talk about. Funds for the future. Enjoying life in the present. And reminding ourselves to be grateful for what we have in hand.

Being grateful for all the good things in our lives, appreciating what life has to offer, putting into practice the law of attraction indeed. Good attracts more good. Better experiences. More exciting travels. Greater fortune. Much more joy, happiness and love. Better health. Fulfillment of aspirations. Putting ourselves in a positive frame of mind, ready to attract and accept more good in our lives.

Having said that, we are human after all, and sometimes we go off tangent. Impatience. Having a short temper. Anger. Dwelling on bad experiences of the past. I am certainly guilty of all these. The important thing is to recognise these shortcomings and then keeping them at bay. So here I am once again, telling myself to be a better version of the old me, an enhanced, improved version. Aye to that!

Alfresco dining at Evason Hua Hin in Thailand.