media and mental representations

I was reading yet another book on media studies ("Asian Media Studies") and I realised the extent to which political ideology is ingrained in the media and in the education system. Tho it is widely acknowledged tt the Singapore media is restricted and despite having always been rather skeptical about the government, it is only now that i realise what this means and its implications.

Melb Uni's media and communications program has a strong focus on cultural studies while NTU's mass comm program is focussed on IT. While i recognise the importance of techical knowhow and lament my lack of IT skills (this blog is limit of my technical expertise), the media cannot be studied in isolation. Especially in Singapore where the media and education are the most powerful tool exploited by the government to disseminate its views and socialise people into their political ideology, and rationalise their governing practices. Our ability to see things from different points of views depends on oppositional views that we have been exposed to. For something as ingrained as ideology, unless we are presented with a different way of making sense of the world, what we have been taught would be the only way we view the world. Hence a narrowminded conception of society.

Enough about the media and more about psychology.

Today we learnt that there are 2 schools of thought--dualism and monism. Dualists believe that there are material and mental aspects of humans. In otherwords, there is a physical brain and an abstract mind. There is a person, "me" inside my head controlling my body. That's a funny concept if u actually think about it. My concept of me, my personality is a result of my behavious, which is in turn determined bybrain synapses and neural signals! Is there even a 'me'? or am i just a collection of physical processes which obey laws of physics and chemistry? This is the concept of Monism, where there is only material existence. No such thing as soul, spirit (not talking about ghosts). It is a frightening concept that we humans are in fact machines! It is definately more assuring to think we have control over ourselves.

The lecturer said that often the most happy people are also the most deluded!! hahaha. People who think too much about issues regarding self, especially Monism tend to be more depressed. Monism robs life of its richness and diversity, reducing us to machenical processes.

It's so weird to think i am using my brain to think about myself, and myself being the self-concept constructed by my brain. So is my brain thinking about itself?

Must be the lack of sleep.

Thoughts on the PAP-SPH r/s

I have been analysing the Singapore media for a particular assignment. And i can't help but comment at how monotonous the Singapore media is, especially the Straits Times. Anyway, I was just reading the book "Singapore Politics Under the PAP" and it got me thinking about Singapore and the way it's run.

Though uncharacteristic of me, I must say, perhaps there is little need for a strong Opposition or large opposition participation in a political system, if we have a competent governing party. Perhaps Singapore has a government that works, negating the need for an Opposition. Well, this just proves the political elite is successful in socialising me, a Singaporean into their political ideology.

But what has worked in the past does not necessarily mean it will still be appropriate in today's contexts. Given too much power and if left unchecked (by the media, citizens, Opposition or international bodies), this can have dire consequences on the future of Singapore. ok I am being very careful with my choice of words lest i get sued or made bankrupt. The latter with less consequences since i have no assets, not even well-endowed physical assets.

I've come to really respect Singaporean writer Catherine Lim, for her sharp critiques of the Government. Very bold and very intelligent.

Perhaps there is a growing need for greater Opposition and a more democratic government. Yes, we have a functioning political system but could things be better? Economically, we are doing well but what about say, the interests of certain groups within society? Singaporeans are known to be politically apathetic and generally accept the views or intiatives of the government. Could this be a lack of courage to take-risks? To risk political stability, economic growth or social peace for the sake of democracy and possibly a better country? Or perhaps because singaporeans are too materialistic to bother about anything other than personal wealth.

Most political messages are mediated. And where the media is so heavily controlled, it has merely become the loudspeaker of the government. I've regarded Singapore's journalistic practices to be lap-dog journalism, where the news media is pro-government and media and government fall into a comfortable mutually-benefical relationship. While in many other countries such as Aust, the media works as an adversarial watch-dog, checking on and criticising the government. I just realised that Singapore bans watch-dog journalism. How is that a characteristic of democracy?

This is one of the key reasons why I chose to study media and comms in Melb even though NTU has a great media course. Besides the zillion things that can be learnt from studying overseas and immersing oneself in a different culture, it provides me with an alternative (and very critical) view of the media in Singapore, and for that matter, the entire SEA. In certain ways, I can appreciate the Singapore media for the sense of assurance it gives a Singaporean. When i open The Age (Melb newspaper) for instance, I read about "Dire consequences" regarding the drought in Aust, heavy criticisms of John Howard and campaigns to end the reign of the Howard government. Decreases my faith in the Aust government and perception of their competence.

Yes, controlling the media in Singapore has been critical for our rapid development and social stability. Yet as a country develops, it almost inevitably progresses towards greater liberty. While I admit this is very much a Western liberal/capitalist ideology, we live in a world where Western powers still rule and pave the way for developing countries. Until this phenomenon changes, people will probably demand greater freedom of speech and freedom in the media. I believe Singaporeans are slowly growing up into a stage where we can make rational decisions and democracy is not a threat to national stability or may not compromise economic growth.

A paternalistic government may have been the key to our development but its place in present society has to be questioned. People are literate, education levels are higher, basic survival is almost a non-issue for most Singaporeans. Yes, we may be vulnerable in many ways but it is not an excuse for authoritarianism.

I say, free up the media, inject greater diversity in the Singapore politics. The Singapore gov not only controls Singapore media, but also foreign media allowed in Singapore, and barrs foreign media from "interferring" with Singapore politics. Not very open, are we?

Only when Singaporeans have confidence that they can affect political change, and only when fear is not used to keep people out of the political arena, then will Singaporeans be more active and interested politics. Till then, we'll just sit and watch the PAP-SPH/MediaCorp performance.

I was walking around a newspaper/magazine/stationary/gift shop on Thurs when i saw some outragerously funny greeting cards!

It should be "YOUR farts..." I should send it to a certain someone, whose farts can hospitalise me as well.
[1] I will be more scared. Coz i'll be in deep shit.

To my dear Clem:


This afternoon i ran the 6km Jells Park cross country relays. Maddy drove some of us down, it was a 45mins drive away! Anyway the weather was nonsensical. It was so warm n i was wearing long tights coz the weather forecast predicted rains in the arvo. Later just after the race, it started raining n i was so cold. Then as we drove back it was sunny again.

Before the race i felt so relaxed n sleepy...large green pastures with mountains in the background, warm sun...ahh, perfect for a picnic and basking in the sun. But alas, there was a race on.

The race was HARD! it was 2 loops of 3km on soft grass/dirt. It was friggin hilly too. I'm not too pleased with my run but it killed my legs nonetheless.

Sorry, this is a horrible shot. There are many many many ppl running from 12 year old kids to 60year old folks. It's a great atmosphere, ppl lining the changeover/start/finish area, various runing clubs with their large tents and banners around. Just lots of people throughout the course.

Anyway, i am sleepy.

I dunno if it's the Virginia Tech shootings or what but i've been having terrible nightmares recently. I was quite scared and disturbed when i first read abt it online one evening.

Anyway, today i was just reading The Age newspaper about the Virginia Tech Shootings. The showed many photos and exerpts from the video he sent to the ABC. It just made me so damn pissed off. He blamed everyone in the world for his pathethic-ness. What a loser. He sounds bitter and jealous about not having the things other people have, like money. SO?? if he thinks about it, he's alr much better off than a zillion other people in the world. He speaks as though we asked for it and he is doing the world a service by teaching us a lesson.

Anyway the media should stop showing photos of him--that's giving him the platform he wanted. he looks proud in those photos of him wielding guns and knives. Cho, you just look plain stupid, really. This may lead to copycat acts by ppl trying to gain historical notority (since they are unable to be famous during their lifetime).

Also, i read that his sister graduated from Princeton University. Maybe he feels inadequate coz he cant match up to her.

Or maybe, let's be sympathetic. He is afterall a psychiatric patient who was involuntarily hospitalised 15 months ago for being a potential threat to society. So why didn't the school do anything about that?! Shouldn't they monitor or expel students with dangerous mental health issues?? He was writing gory and perverse plays during the lead up to the incident--> the teachers and students should pay more attention. Also, what are his parents doing? Do they even know his state of mind? If their kid has some serious mental prob, shouldn't they keep him at home so they can monitor him? Make sure he takes his medication or send him to a mental institute or better still, tie him up and lock him up in a basement?!

Of coz it is easy to pick out all these problems from hindsight. But this is not the first case. The Columbine High Sch shooting shd have made it clear that GUNS SHOULD BE BANNED!!! Are Americans willing to sacrifice their citizens and children just so they can uphold their liberal ideal?! Safety first man! Good thing guns are banned in Aust and I don't stay on campus. Phew!

Anyway another article which made me quite irritated was about Sledging in Australian Football. Sledging is the practice of insulting other plays, especially with sexually explicit profanities directed at their manhood, wives, sisters and mothers. I am disgusted. The worse thing is, Australians feel this is part of the footy culture. Bullshit. This is poor sportsmanship.

This debate over sledging is raging here because of the recent incident where Player A was alledged to have insulted Player B's 6 year old daughter by calling her a slut or someother sexual insult. Player B punched him for that. According to some footy players and journalists, insults to daughters, insults regarding a player's illness or addiction, and insults pertaining to race and religion are out of bounds. All other insults are just part of the game and to "test mental toughness".

Sledging is still ridiculous. footy is seen as a very MASCULINE sport, so does this make profanity acceptable? Isn't it glorifying such low crude behaviour? Does violence and the use of crude language constitute masculinity? Imagine if Roger Federer shouted profanities at his opponent in a tennis match. Boy, he would be stoned by spectators and empires alike. It reminds me of Rugby in JC. Remember the ACS boy who stamped on another player's face in a match? Guys think violence and a lack of self-constraint is so cool and makes them seem like a tough n testosterone-driven man. Fine, it is a rough sport and requires high tolerance of pain. But it is also associated with many vices like violence, insults, booze and party which contaminates the sport and make these boys look like mere beasts. Discipline and diligence is forgotten as players get caught up with the superficial image they want to portray of themselves--as cool, wild and animalistic.

I think sledging is just a reflection of poor sportsmanship. It is not "testing your opponent's mental toughness". It is jsut being ridiculous. Sport and competition alone test an individual's tenacity and courage. Profanity and insults just reflect poor and weak characters who need such dirty and underhanded means to try to gain an advantage.

Right, that's all the ranting. Now for some lamenting. Aust's facing a serious drought problem now and agriculture is suffering, especially the cultivation of GRAPES! Darn, they're expecting prices of food products to soar. Darn.

perception of perception

What is the world like if we don't percieve it? Is a tomato red if we don't see it? Does a roar of thunder make any sound if we don't hear it?

Of coz it does, right? Wrong. A red tomato simply reflects light of a certain wavelength off its surface. If it doesn't enter our eyes and interpreted by our brains, it is nothing more than electromagnetic radiation.

It is because that wavelength of light is absorbed by the red-sensitive cone receptors in our retina. Complicated specifics simplified, these receptors send neural signals to the brain which interpret it as red.

How would we know the red that people percieve is the same, even if its from light of the same wavelength? Maybe someone can distinguish between colours but sees what we see as red as what we see as blue but is taught that that colour he is seeing is red? So he sees green but calls it blue because he is taught to label is as blue, and see blue but calls it yellow or sth like tt?

If all our senses make sense because of how our brain interprets it, is a tomato actually just a bunch of certain signals sitting on a table, which is another bunch of signals?

What is the world, really? Or rather, what is the world like to something else? What if someone's brain doesn't interpret these signals the normal way? Or what if someone else receives different signals from the same object?

I think this adds a whole new meaning to the term "subjective". Do you think dogs see the world like we do? Nope, some animals see the world in black and white, maybe they see a tomato as blue? or some other colour that we have never even seen so we cannot even describe it? maybe they see things in 2D or they cannot detect form so they see things as a blur? some animals see in much greater detail coz they have more cone receptors in the eye to process fine detail. maybe they see things so detailed it's pixelated? or images are fragmented?

I finally made sense of the Matrix. If our brain does not interpret the signals sent to our eyes, all we will see are mathematical equations or numbers because all neural signals can be coded into mathematical equations. Or maybe that's the way some things see the world coz their brains convert things to numbers and they make sense of those numbers.

So if people do not see us, do we exist? Or do we simply exist in our heads. Maybe we are invisible to trees because they can't sense us? Maybe trees talk but we just can't hear it?

Maybe there are other things living in this same Earth but our paths do not cross because we sense the world completely differently. Maybe they are a bunch of signals we cannot detect so we think they are not there? maybe there are more than 5 senses?

This raises the question of whether there's such a thing as extra-sensory perception?

Confused? Maybe i are limited by my language (the Sapir Whorf theory of relativity), hence i am unable to express myself clearly due to the constraints of language. or maybe we never really understand another person because our thoughts are invisible to others.

Maybe i'll never know for sure since i function with what I have and what i have been taught (the constraints of ideology). It's quite crazy thoughts beyond our present knowledge of science and our present beliefs.

Don't worry, i'm not crazy and i'm not talking about ghosts and spirits and all that stuff.

Yes crazy, because i have gone crazy writing my Psychology assignment. I bitch abt it everyday to anyone who'll listen. haha. it's so out of this world maybe i'll hand in a blank paper and say that's my interpretation/perception of the answer or something out of this world which is why i cant describe in words.

Oh. one reason why the things we see may not actually be the thing. sometimes we see a face from a simple arrangements of blocks or fruits. Or the Necker Cube? or visual illusions. Tsk tsk, our visual system or brain can sometimes be unreliable. But enough for us to function within this society we have created.

Acknowledgement: Psycholgy by David G. Myers

loneliness.

For once in 4 weeks, I came home to a very empty apartment.

It looks so bare--your bike's supposed to be against the wall and where are your bags? Your clothes were strewn on the floor and your things cluttering my table. It sounds so quiet--i miss hearing your voice and your loud energetic singing. It feels cold--you always hug me when i'm cold. How come I don't get a hug and a kiss when I step in? At least your scent lingers faintly.

I was walking home and I realised we've walked up Bouverie street thrice today. once to go to town, and back home, then to carry your bags to the main road. This time, why am i walking up the street alone? Weren't we just holding hands walking down a few hours ago?

I came home and searched the place, looking for you. Looking for anything you might've left behind that i could hold on to. Your singing of "Funkytown" was playing over and over in my head, and I could picture you disco dancing across the room.

I miss you.

I'm trying to keep my eyes on my work and not look around the room. It feels empty and makes me feel lonely. Somethings's missing. you're missing.

I'm so used to having you ard. Someone to take out the trash, pick up my mail, carry the groceries. Someone to eat with, watch movies with, talk to. Someone to remind me to drink water, wake me up, wash the dishes. Someone to cook for, go home to and laze ard with.

I love you.

The Tour de Great Ocean Road

Clem and I have done triathlons, run a half marathon, gone for a month-long China training camp, climbed the highest peak in Indochine (Mt Fansipan). so I decided, it's time for more adventure--Cycling 300km across the Great Ocean Road.

With the help of a detailed online cycling map and much research and accomodation booking, I drew out the Tour de Great Ocean Road! This gruelling 300km, 4 stage Tour started on Monday 9th April 2007.

Start of Tour de Great Ocean Road - Melb to Geelong by train
Stage 1 - Geelong to Anglesea, 40km
We packed our bagpacks with MINIMAL ESSENTIALS only:1 cycling jersey, 1 cycling tights, 2 sets of underwear, 1 running singlet, 1 running short, 1 pair of running shoes, 1 t-shirt, 1 sweatpants, 1 hoodie, 1 windbreaker, 1 pair of slippers. A camera, bike repair kit, mini sized toiletries, map and money. It weighed about 6kg. Clem brought the same, some Gatorade powder, energy gels and bars

Next to the train, all geared up!

We reached Geelong at 11.42am, ate a snadwich and a pie and headed off.
Map of stage 1. Thanks to my superior navigation skills, we found our way to Surf Coast Highway which led us to Torquay, gateway to the GOR. Torquay is the surfing capital of Aust, where Rip Curl, Quiksilver, Roxy origniated. We saw the Surfworld Museam and the whole street lined with surfing shops and posters. Coooool. Anyways there was not much to see coz the road travels inland.

Profile of stage 1. The left margin shows the vertical height above sea level, in 20m intervals from 0m to 120m. The bottom margin is the distance in km.

Stage 1 wasn't very scenic since it wasn't along the coast. But boy was it TOUGH!!! We rode pretty fast and the weather was HOT. I'm guessing it's coz 1, the roads are VERY ROUGH. we were going over gravel, rocks, sand. 2, it was pretty hilly. 3, it was so hot. 4, the backpacks were heavy and straining our backs.

We reached Anglesea at about 2.15pm and checked into the backpackers.

Our room in the Anglesea Backpackers. It was a really neat and small backpackers. Very cosy and extremely clean.
Living room

Then we went to walk ard the village and shared a seafood basket for lunch.
Picnic lunch of seafood basket.
Waited for the bus to Bells Beach to watch the Rip Curl Pro Surfing Champs but the bus driver told us it didn't stop near the beach, much to Clem's delight (he was exhausted). We walked along the lake and the beach.

Anglesea lake. 2 men standing on surfboards rowing with an oar.

Anglesea beach. Noob surfers trying to stand up on their boards.
Kangeroos in the Anglesea golf course

We headed back to our room and for some unknown reason, we were knocked out from 6.30pm to 9am!! That's 14 and a half hours of sleep! We didn't even have dinner. Insane.

Start of day2

Stage 2 - Anglesea to Apollo Bay, 75km

Map of stage 2. We will be cycling along the coast the whole journey so there'll be great scenery and some wind.
Profile of the stage. Very hilly.

Start of stage 2, looking refreshed and cute.
We stopped at a scenic lookout for me to take my inhaler, which i forgot and was feeling breathless and weird.
The sea is sooooo clean and nice. It's all untouched. We could see the clear green waters giving way to deep blue further out into sea.
Taken at Mount Defiance, 100m above sea level.
A winding mountain road.

It was again a warm sunny day. We stopped at Lorne (30km from Anglesea) for lunch. It's a small seaside town of population 1000. We had a sausage burger (me) and a big messy steak burger (clem).

We were kinda silly coz we didn't fill up our bottles when we stopped for a drink at Kennett River. So from then on, I was dehydrated and struggling coz i was SO THIRSTY! I was just looking for shops but there were none! I'm cycling right next to the sea and I have no water!?!

Oh yes, I was lagging quite far behind Clem while in my delirious state. Suddenly, I saw an ambulance whizz by with its siren blaring. Gave me a shock! I immediately started praying that Clem was ok, and I hurried pedal hard hoping I'd catch up with him soon. At the same time, Clem had stopped by the side of the road ahead and was waiting for me. According to him, he was wondering where I was and when he saw the ambulance, he thought "PIGGY!" (which is my other name). Then he saw this fierce looking cyclist in the distance but when I got closer, he thought "Oh, it's just piggy"?!?!?!

Finally, we reached Apollo Bay and got a drink at the petrol kiosk!!

Apollo Bay Bed & Breakfast
WOWWWWWWW. Check this out! Our room for the night, looks just like a hotel room.
Dining area. There was a living room with sofas, TV and video tapes! It was a really nice and clean place! Just what we need after 75km of riding and many hills!
tea and biscuits! I felt so Englishy. haha.

Then we wore our cycling tights and headed off to the beach for a cold dip to freshen up. Damn the water was cold. 16deg! We were shivering and chattering and screaming when a wave hit us. But we looked ard, every one else was in swim wear playing like there's no problem.

Ha! i love the waterproof camera!

A dip in Apollo Bay beach - 16deg water!
Clem showing off his hot tone bod. Sorry, he looks like he's screaming coz the water's too cold.
Clem swimming on the crest of a wave. It's fun!
After 30min of frezzing our muscles dead, we headed back to shower and out for dinner.
The pink and blue sky just after sunset.

Start of day 3

Stage 3 - Apollo Bay to Port Campbell, 100km

Stage 3 map. We move away from the coast and into the hilly foresty mountains Otway and Lavers Hill.
Stage 3 profile. Do not be deceived! The left margin is not the same as the previous 2 days, where it's 20m intervals from 0m to 120m above sea level. The margin for this stage is 100m intervals from 0m to 600m above sea level, 5 times the vertical height of the other stages' left margins. higher than Mt Dandenong. Check out those 15-20km climbs up to 600m above sea level.

A scrumptious breakfast! Cereal, muslie, fruit, milk, tea, orange juice, toast with jam and butter. Just what we need for a gruelling 100km ride!
Our ritual shot before the start of each stage. Still looking alright there.

Man it was insane. Just at the start we were hit was a BIG HILL. No, not Mt Faber type. MUCH LONGER AND STEEPER! It was never ending. Damn. in fact, it was uphill all the way. But we felt much better than the last 2 days, maybe our bodies were adapting to the heavy backpack and rough roads.

In between the 2 major hills, Cape Otway and Laver's Hill, there was a little flat farmland.

Farmlands. Smelly horses and cows.
View from the peak of Laver's Hill, 600m above sea level. We had lunch at a small cafeteria. It was damn cold.

We thought after 50km of climbing, it's time for some awesome downhill. The map said 18km of downhill. But DAMN, NO! It was down a lil, then a steep climb, down a lil then a steep climb. Man, i was tired and so frustrated! I felt cheated! In fact i went mad and started shouting and roaring! (when Clem was out of sight).

19km from Port Campbell! A lake with black swans.
OOooh, we're approaching Port Campbell, very scenic and fairly straight undulating roads along the cliff tops.
AHHHHH we finally finished 100km at Daysy Hill Cottage, where I booked the Rose Cottage for us. A lovely self contained cottage with a bed room, toilet bowl room, spa bath tub, dining table, kitchen, living room with TV, DVD and video player and a fireplace! There was a balcony too. Lovely!
The living toom and kitchen
Cosy living room. There's a basket of chopped up firewood next to the fireplace. we watched many video tapes we borrowed from reception. American Pie 1, 2, 3, Euro Trip and Deuce Bigalow. All brainless comedies.
The balcony.

We had to go to town to grab some dinner and munchies. But this cottage is in the country, 2km frm town! So we walked out and HITCHHIKED! Cool man, clem flagged down a pickup. Middleaged dude who recommended a value-for-money dinner place. We bought some snacks and headed back. It was PITCH BLACK, except for the ZILLION STARS in the sky and our torchlight. haha. We tried hitchhiking but no one would stop for us. damn.

Yep, we got home and watched 2 videos.

Day 4 - Non-cycling day!

Woke up and hitchhiked to town again! We realised something. 1, similar profiles of those who stop and offer us a lift-middle to old aged farmer like men who drive pick ups. 2, vehicles stop when clem flags but not me! WHY?!?! I smile sweetly, stretch out my arm and point with my thumb but nope, I must look too scary.
A little bay at Port Campbell where we had a picnic lunch.
After lunch, we went tot he Visitor Info Centre to check for tours to the 12 apostles. But nope, we missed the only tour for the day. So we booked a cab for 5pm. They had a little display of the shipwrecks around Port Campbell. Including the famous LochArd shipwreck. Very interesting.
Display of shipwrecks.

We got groceries, walked home, watched a video then went for a jog, and down to the 12 Apostles. We got there abt 6pm, just in time for sunset. It was perfect. The landscape was really grand. Amazing. There were many ppl there with big cameras trying to capture the romantic sunset. Btw, I counted only 7 apostles left!

A romantic sunset at the 12 Apostles.


Some other rocks. Dun think they are apostles. haha.
I climbed over a barrier onto the "unstable cliff edges". It was nice but i was scared i'd trip and fall off or get blown away by the strong wind.

We went home and Clem made me dinner while i took a hot bath =). I'm so sorry I forgot to take a photo dear. He made and set up my bowl of Campbells Minestrone soup, his bowl of Cream of Chicken and a plate of nicely arranged biscuits on the dining table =)

We watched American Pie 2 and 3, some E! channel Dr. 90210 (gross plastic surgery) and went to bed.

Start of day 5

Stage 4 - Port Campbell to Warrnambool, 70km.

We had yummy brekky of a Milo energy bar, low-fat berry yoghurt and hot tea, watched The Simpsons on tv and started on the last stage of the Tour.
Stage 4 map. Peterborough, Nirranda, Nullawarre and Naringal are all ghost towns! haha no, animal towns coz they're farmlands.
Profile of Stage 4. Steep climb out of Port Campbell then after that rolling hills. Compared to the other stages, this stage is relatively flat. Note: Left margin is 0, 20m, 40m to 120m.

Outside the Rose Cottage, ready for the final stage!
Overlooking Port Campbell.
The first 16km was awesome. Along the cliffs overlooking majestic rock formations. But after that, it was CHEESE FARMS! boring! Weather was very warm too. almost 30deg i think. The Arch
The London Bridge. The bridge is broken (Clem's body is blocking). Apparantly that part fell on 15Jan 1990. No one was hurt but 2 guys were stranded on that piece of rock and had to be rescued by helicopters. A shot of Clem cycling. It's a pity we din haf a photographer! I wanted like shots of us cycling together, with the sea or the GOR as the backgrd. So just imagine: a long road, Clem riding in front, me behind him and the sea and cliffs in the backgrd. And we also din manage to get shots which actually do justice to the beauty and the harshness of the terrain! Friggin steep uphills which are never-ending!
Me looking cool on my bike

Bay of Martyrs.
Clem and I at the Bay of Martyrs.
Someone trying to look comtemplative. Is that your best shot?!?!

Along the farm roads we were getting smacked by insects like bees, beatles and flies. There were so many, and as we charged ahead they blindly smacked in to us. One gross beetle flew into the middle vent in my helment and i could feel its gross wings/legs clawing on my head. gross. i immediately pulled over and flung that fella as far as i could.

We took a 5min pitstop under this shadow of a big tree. The shade is hard to come by!
My Clemmie eating Jelly Belly Sport Beans. They're good source of fuel and taste like Gatorade powder.

After riding hard the last 50km, we FINALLY COMPLETED THE TOUR! We arrived in Warrnambool at 2.30pm and Clem started singing very loudly.
The view from Merrie St
Beautiful eh?

We picked up our reserved tickets from the train station and went to look for food!

Smiling happily. 300km!

Lunch was a MASSIVE MESSY BURGER and coleslaw for Clem, a grilled chicken breast with salad for me. And we shared a plate of scrambled eggs and fries and strawberry milkshake. YUM! We walked ard Warrnambool and back to the train stn.

End of the Tour de GOR. We made it!
On the train back to Melb.

I can't believe we completed the Tour. And I can't believe we've completed the Tour! It was TOUGH! 1) We had big 6-7kg backpacks. 2) The roads were super rough and bumpy, many gravel, stones, sand, glass and portholes. 3) It was super hilly. Big steep long climbs. 4) The weather was warm.

Lugging an extra 6-7kg uphill is no joke. The rough bumpy roads don't help coz it's really hard to ride coz of the added friction. Roads in Melb are damn smooth and roads in Singapore aren't roads at all. Are they marble roads? On a smooth road you can easily drop 2-3 gears heavier. When we were riding my bike was rattling and my body was feeling the vibrations, which induced fatigue. The hills were worse than Mt Dandenong and many stretches there were no rideable road shoulders. So while struggling uphill at 8-9kmh, you have to try to cycle straight as close to the side as possible. Well, thank God for the perfect weather. We were expecting cold, windy and rainy weather but we got none of those. We had bright sunny warm weather which made it safer to ride.

WE CONQUERED THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD ON 2 WHEELS AND 2 LEGS.