Walking To A Better 2023 - A Trip To Bangkok

To improve my fitness, I had previously set a goal to clock an average of 8,000 steps on a daily basis for 2023. To put the numbers in perspective, my average step count for 2022 was about 4,656 steps.

It has now been four months into the year and I thought I would share my progress and reflect on my journey thus far.

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The Numbers

April (on first glance) was a good month and I managed to clock a high of 7,369 steps daily. That pulled up the overall average slightly to 6,606 steps. That said, it is still way short of the 8,000 steps target.

The craziest part of it all was I didn't really exercise at all. I know in the last month, I have given "excuses" or reasons for my step count, such as bad weather and increased workload, and that I also went for physiotherapy, and it seemed that April was looking all good and optimistic. Until it started going topsy turvy.

Anyway, so how did my step count went up despite not exercising?

• Covid
  Unfortunately, several family members caught Covid this month for the first time and I had to play the role of being the caretaker, be it accompanying them to see the doctor, buying daily necessities and even taking care of their basic needs such as daily meals so that they could get more rest. Also, I had to rush from work in the middle of the day when I was notified that one member's condition deteriorated and had to visit the Accident & Emergency (A&E) at the local hospital. All in all, I think it also put a lot of stress on me, having to juggle between life, work and family. With all that was happening, exercise just wasn't at the top of my mind as I was just trying to get through each day one day at a time. Thankfully, as I am writing this, everyone has recovered and things are fine now. And you probably would have deduced that amidst all the rushing from place to place, my step count just accumulated naturally.

• Trip to Bangkok
  I made my first overseas trip since 2019 (yes, since the pandemic started), a short one to Bangkok. With what was happening in my earlier paragraph, I actually wasn't sure if I would actually be able to go on the trip. And once again, thankfully, everything has settled and I successfully made it. As with travelling, there was inevitably a lot of walking and the step count benefited as well.

With that, I managed to improve my step count overall for the month. Even though it fell short of the 8,000 mark still, I think it's good progress nonetheless.

Month	Average Steps
January 2023	6,178
February 2023	6,865
March 2023	6,061
April 2023	7,369
May 2023	?
June 2023	?
July 2023	?
August 2023	?
September 2023	?
October 2023	?
November 2023	?
December 2023	?
Overall	6,606

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My First Overseas Trip Since 2019

I would share bits about my life along this journey of Walking To A Better 2023, and this month is no different.

In this month, I would just share some of the stuff I did over in Bangkok over a span of 4 days. It was a good relaxing trip - with good food, went for massages and sightseeing as well.

So here's a sneak preview of what I have eaten! The local Thai food was awesome!

Of course, who could forget about the desserts?

Finally, I also did some sightseeing up at the Mahanakhon Sky Walk! The views at the top were amazing!

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Summing Up

It totally wasn't a month that went according to plan but I guess like what people always say, change is the only constant. Well, I am still not sure whether I can hit my 8,000 steps target but I will just keep doing my best and enjoy the process! Like what some say, it's not always the outcome but the journey that counts! :)

Thanks for reading and have a pleasant week ahead!