ArthurTjandra.Com

Welcome to ArthurTjandra.Com

Dr Arthur Tjandra’s Facebook account was terminated by Facebook in September 2016. This is actually a good thing, as these days, only those who are grandparents and great grandparents still use Facebook. You would be considered a dinosaur, if you still used Facebook today. The tech savvy, cool, hip and young-at-heart either use Friendster, MySpace, ICQ, WeChat or TikTok. As Dr Arthur Tjandra of Elixir de Vie can no longer share his favorite race photos with friends and relatives on Facebook anymore, he has now re-posted old race photos on ArthurTjandra.Com. He will continue to post all his upcoming race photos on ArthurTjandra.Com.

When Dr Arthur Tjandra of Elixir de Vie took part in his first race back in 2004, he promised himself that he would compete in at least 80 races by the time he is 80 years old. As of December 2019, Dr Arthur Tjandra who is coming to 50 years of age, has competed in 56 marathon, half marathon, duathlon, triathlon and 10K races. Let’s wish him good health, so that he can continue to run up to and beyond the age of 80!

Covid-19 border closures, rip-offs and end of marathon race trips

After being ripped off by hotels during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Dr Arthur Tjandra of Elixir de Vie has decided to stop traveling and put an end to his marathon race trips. The reason is that many businesses are taking the opportunity to use border closure due to Covid-19 as an excuse to seize pre-payment which travelers have made, when they are unable to utilize their bookings due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Expedia.com.sg and Watermark Hotel-The Harbour in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, are two of those unscrupulous businesses which took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to seize fully pre-paid booking from travelers who could not travel because of travel restrictions/border closures imposed by the countries where the hotels are located.

Novotel Brisbane South Bank is another one of them. Fortunately, Dr Arthur Tjandra was able to request for charge back through his credit card issuers, OCBC and UOB Banks.

To aggravate Covid-19 lockdown and border closure situation implemented by many countries, UOB Bank advised Dr Arthur Tjandra that both VISA and MasterCard put in place a new policy which states that in the event of a country’s border closure or lock-down, hotels and airlines are not obliged to provide refunds to customers should customers not able to utilize the service because of the border closure or lock-down!

The following information is provided by VISA and MasterCard:

This is the second time Dr Arthur Tjandra has been cheated by such unscrupulous third party travel booking website. In 2019, Klook.com sold half-priced train tickets on Taiwan High Speed Rail to Dr Arthur Tjandra. But, when he attempted to redeem the tickets at THSR counter, he was informed that those tickets had expired, although he presented the email he received from Klook.com which indicated clearly the date of his travel booking on the train. Dr Arthur Tjandra ended up having to purchase new tickets, while Klook.com refused to provide a refund! Klook.com and Expedia.com are two unscrupulous businesses which have been black-listed by Dr Arthur Tjandra! He should have known better when he made transaction on a dubious website which chose KLOOK, which rhymes with CROOK, as the name of its company!

On top of that, hotel loyalty membership programs, such as Accor Live Limitless (ALL) and Accor Plus, did not extend expiry date of accumulated membership points and privileges at all, even as strict Covid-19 travel restrictions and border closures imposed by many countries around the world, as well as flight cancellations and unavailability of flights, prevent people from traveling.

Accor Plus is an annual-fee-based membership program which charges annual fee, in exchange for 2 complimentary nights at a hotel of your choice and a host of dining benefits. It is a great deal on normal circumstances, considering that its hotel portfolio includes 5-star luxurious hotels, like Sofitel. Two-night stay in such hotel would certainly exceed the cost of the annual fee. However, Dr Arthur Tjandra’s 2 complimentary night stay was forfeited when the hotel he had booked closed down due to Covid-19, and it was impossible for him to travel due to strict Covid-19 travel restrictions and flight cancellations. It was not until Dr Arthur Tjandra posted the incident on this blog, and brought this up to the attention of higher management, that Accor Plus eventually made a refund of the annual membership fee on 22 March 2021.

Likewise, Accor Live Limitless (ALL), which rewards travelers with points for their loyalty, initially did not extend expiry date of their points, even as Covid-19 prevents people from traveling. All of Dr Arthur Tjandra’s accumulated 121,022 reward points (which are worth Euro 2,420.44) would have been forfeited in April 2021, had Dr Arthur Tjandra not posted his ordeal on this blog and captured the attention of its senior management. In late March 2021, Accor informed Dr Arthur Tjandra that the validity of his loyalty points would be extended till 15 December 2021.

It seems that Accor is the only anomaly in the hotel loyalty membership industry, as Dr Arthur Tjandra is also an elite member of Hilton Honors, Mariott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt and Shangri La. Not only do the other hotel loyalty programs extend the validity or freeze the expiry of loyalty points, they even extend members’ elite status till 31 Dec 2021 with no requirement to make any number of minimum stay, whatsoever! It was not until Dr Arthur Tjandra drew the attention of the senior management of Accor by posting his account statements from the other 4 hotel chains above, that they decided to take the same steps.

Covid-19 pandemic has taught Dr Arthur Tjandra four extremely important lessons:

1. NEVER book flights and hotels months in advance!
2. DO NOT EVER book flights and hotels during this Covid-19 pandemic until Covid-19 has been completely eradicated from Earth. Even then, new mutants/variants and infectious disease may still pop up from nowhere.
3. NEVER book through third party travel booking websites! They usually do not care about customers’ rights.

Although it is safest to only purchase air tickets and book hotels last minute, preferably just hours before departure when it is confirmed that there is no border closure, being a frugal (read: cheap) person, it is also not an option for Dr Arthur Tjandra to book last minute and end up having to pay 2 to 3 times more.

Perhaps all these incidents are wake-up calls for Dr Arthur Tjandra to inject more funds into his foundation, instead of spending them on marathon trips! Besides, with current rise in anti-Chinese sentiment where Chinese and Asian people are being beaten up and killed all across Western countries, it may not be safe for an ethnic Chinese person like Dr Arthur Tjandra, to visit Western countries anymore.

Life story through pictures

Life as a medical student: early to mid-1990s

@ University of Wales, College of Medicine:

@ University of Sydney School of Medicine:

Life as an intern (house officer) and medical officer (senior house officer): mid- to late-1990s

@ Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney:

Life as a resident and fellow: 2000 to 2008

Some photos taken with prominent figures while undergoing post-graduate medical and surgical training in Singapore:

With President Wee Kim Wee:

With President S. R. Nathan:

With A/Prof Fong Poh Him

With Dr Pierre Fournier

Once, when We were Young (2000 to early 2010s)

---

Race Photo Highlights

First Race: Osim Singapore Triathlon 2004:

Singapore Duathlon 2005:

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2005:

Completion of his first full marathon distance race in Dec 2005, approx. 2 years after Dr Arthur Tjandra first picked up running as a hobby in Jan 2004.

Singapore Duathlon 2006:

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007:

Photo shoot Oct 2008:

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2008:

Gold Coast Marathon 2012:

Gold Coast Marathon 2013:

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2013:

In 2013, Dr Arthur Tjandra took part in his last full marathon race at Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon. 2014 is the year he downgrades from full marathon to half marathon races, as he simply does not have the time and conducive environment to train for full marathon. He is a decent sub-2-hour half-marathoner, but a pathetic 5-hour marathoner.

With such bad timing in his last full marathon race, Dr Arthur Tjandra is determined to focus on and train for half marathon, instead of full marathon races.

Maldives 2014:

Gold Coast Marathon 2015:

Gold Coast Marathon 2017:

Sydney Marathon 2017:

Brisbane Marathon 2018:

Sydney Marathon 2018:

Melbourne Marathon 2018:

Chinese New Year, February 2019:

Spring Break, April 2019:

Chinese New Year, Jan 2020:

A photograph taken with the first smart phone in his life, a Huawei P30 Lite (Feb 2020):

---

Photo Albums

1. My virgin race: Osim Singapore Triathlon 28 Aug 2004
2. First State Visit to People’s Republic of China Oct-Nov 2004
3. Singapore Duathlon 13 Mar 2005
4. Osim Singapore Asian Triathlon Championship 2 Jul 2005
5. New Balance Real Run Sentosa 28 Aug 2005
6. Army Half Marathon Singapore 11 Sep 2005
7. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 4 Dec 2005
8. Singapore Duathlon 26 Feb 2006
9. Phuket International Marathon 18 Jun 2006
10. Army Half Marathon Singapore 27 Aug 2006
11. Singapore Oakley City Duathlon 20 May 2007
12. Siemens Run Kuala Lumpur 8 July 2007
13. Army Half Marathon Singapore 26 Aug 2007
14. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2 Dec 2007
15. Army Half Marathon Singapore 24 Aug 2008
16. Photo Shoot Oct 2008
17. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 7 Dec 2008
18. Tribob Sprint Series Singapore Duathlon 15 Mar 2009
19. Army Half Marathon Singapore 16 Aug 2009
20. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 6 Dec 2009
21. Long Beach Marathon 17 Oct 2010
22. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 5 Dec 2010
23. Army Half Marathon Singapore 4 Sep 2011
24. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 4 Dec 2011
25. Tokyo Marathon 26 Feb 2012
26. Paris Marathon 15 Apr 2012
27. Gold Coast Airport Marathon 1 Jul 2012
28. Army Half Marathon Singapore 9 Sep 2012
29. Behind the scene: Channel News Asia documentary TV show, Nov 2012
30. Seoul Marathon 17 Mar 2013
31. Gold Coast Airport Marathon 7 Jul 2013
32. Army Half Marathon Singapore 1 Sep 2013
33. Sydney Marathon 22 Sep 2013
34. Melbourne Marathon 13 Oct 2013
35. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 4 Dec 2013
36. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 7 Dec 2014
37. Gold Coast Marathon 5 Jul 2015
38. Melbourne Marathon 18 Oct 2015
39. Vienna City Marathon 10 Apr 2016
40. Gold Coast Marathon 3 Jul 2016
41. Sydney Marathon 18 Sep 2016
42. Melbourne Marathon 16 Oct 2016
43. Jeju Olle Trails Run 22 Jun 2017
44. Mount Namsan Seoul Run 26 Jun 2017
45. Gold Coast Marathon 2 Jul 2017
46. Brisbane Marathon 6 Aug 2017
47. Sydney Marathon 17 Sep 2017
48. Melbourne Marathon 15 Oct 2017
49. Mizuno Wave Run Singapore 26 Nov 2017
50. Run for Hope Singapore 21 Jan 2018
51. Gold Coast Marathon 1 Jul 2018
52. Brisbane Marathon 5 Aug 2018
53. Run for Singapore, Nation Run Challenge 53 Km, 9-31 Aug 2018
54. Sydney Marathon 16 Sep 2018
55. Straits Times Run Singapore 23 Sep 2018
56. Run for Animals Challenge 4 Oct 2018
57. Melbourne Marathon 14 Oct 2018
58. Home Team National Service REAL Run 21 Oct 2018
59. Christchurch Run Jan-Feb 2019
60. Queenstown Run 2-7 Feb 2019
61. Te Anau/Milford Sound Run 7-8 Feb 2019
62. Canberra Marathon 14 Apr 2019 (running with plantar fasciitis)
63. Sun Moon Lake Walk Jun 2019 (recovering from plantar fasciitis)
64. Qingjing Farm and Small Swiss Village Walk Jun 2019 (recovering from plantar fasciitis)
65. Gold Coast Marathon 7 Jul 2019 (running with plantar fasciitis and cough/cold)
66. Run for Singapore 54 Km Run/Walk Aug 2019 (recovering from plantar fasciitis)
67. Sydney Marathon 15 Sep 2019
68. Batman Run Singapore 21 Sep 2019
69. Melbourne Marathon 13 Oct 2019 (running with buttocks and lower back injury)
70. SG Run 19 Oct 2019
71. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 30 Nov 2019 (withdraw from race due to bad influenza (Covid-19?))
72. Da Nang Chinese New Year Run 23-29 Jan 2020
73. Covid-19 Runs Singapore Feb-Aug 2020

---

Dr Arthur Tjandra’s Race Results

2K Races

No.	Date	Event	Time
1.	28 Aug 2004	Osim Mini Triathlon – Run Relay	0:07:58 *PB

5K Races

No.	Date	Event	Time
1.	6 Oct 2018	Treadmill Running	0:21:05 *PB
2.	2 Jul 2005	Osim Triathlon – Run Relay	0:24:34

10K Races

No.	Date	Event	Time
1.	21 Sep 2019	Batman Run Singapore (8K)	0:45:58
2.	21 Oct 2018	Home Team NS REAL Run	0:53:38.2
3.	23 Sep 2018	Straits Times Run	0:54:48
4.	16 Sep 2018	Sydney Marathon	0:53:12
5.	21 Jan 2018	Run for Hope	0:56:38
6.	26 Nov 2017	Mizuno Wave Run	0:54:27
7.	8 July 2007	Siemens Run KL	0:55:12
9.	20 May 2007	Oakley City Duathlon	0:57:55
10.	26 Feb 2006	Singapore Duathlon	0:47:47 *PB
11.	13 Mar 2005	Singapore Duathlon	0:56:21

Half Marathon

No.	Date	Event	Time
1.	13 Oct 2019	Melbourne Marathon	2:08:36
2.	15 Sep 2019	Sydney Marathon	2:03:17
3.	7 Jul 2019	Gold Coast Marathon	2:14:59
4.	14 Apr 2019	Canberra Marathon	2:08:02
5.	14 Oct 2018	Melbourne Marathon	1:59:16
6.	16 Sep 2018	Sydney Marathon	1:57:22
7.	5 Aug 2018	Brisbane Marathon	1:59:20
8.	1 Jul 2018	Gold Coast Marathon	2:01:01
9.	15 Oct 2017	Melbourne Marathon	2:02:12
10.	17 Sep 2017	Sydney Marathon	2:00:21
11.	6 Aug 2017	Brisbane Marathon	2:03:48
12.	2 Jul 2017	Gold Coast Marathon	1:59:48
13.	16 Oct 2016	Melbourne Marathon	2:06:51
14.	18 Sep 2016	Sydney Marathon	2:11:40
15.	3 Jul 2016	Gold Coast Marathon	2:09:14
16.	10 Apr 2016	Vienna Marathon	2:18:44
17.	18 Oct 2015	Melbourne Marathon	2:21:39
18.	5 Jul 2015	Gold Coast Marathon	1:57:45
19.	7 Dec 2014	Singapore Marathon	2:20:48
20.	13 Oct 2013	Melbourne Marathon	2:04:13
21.	22 Sep 2013	Sydney Marathon	2:00:13
22.	1 Sep 2013	Singapore Army Half Marathon	2:18:40
23.	7 Jul 2013	Gold Coast Marathon	1:58:11
24.	9 Sep 2012	Singapore Army Half Marathon	2:06:53
25.	1 Jul 2012	Gold Coast Marathon	1:53:06 *PB
26.	4 Sep 2011	Singapore Army Half Marathon	02:23:24
27.	17 Oct 2010	Long Beach Marathon	02:08:08.93
28.	16 Aug 2009	Singapore Army Half Marathon	02:03:41.50
29.	24 Aug 2008	Singapore Army Half Marathon	01:57:45.45
30.	26 Aug 2007	Singapore Army Half Marathon	01:58:54.54
31.	27 Aug 2006	Singapore Army Half Marathon	01:57:33.65
32.	18 Jun 2006	Phuket Marathon	02:06:02
33.	11 Sep 2005	Singapore Army Half Marathon	02:07:06.82

Duathlon

No.	Date	Event	Distance	Time
1.	15 Mar 2009	Tribob Sprint Duathlon	3K-20K-3K	1:03:42
2.	20 May 2007	Singapore Duathlon	10K-40K-5K	3:20:28
3.	26 Feb 2006	Singapore Duathlon	10K-36K-5K	2:35:17
4.	13 Mar 2005	Singapore Duathlon	10K-40K-5K	3:04:37

Marathon

No.	Date	Event	Time
1.	4 Dec 2013	Singapore Marathon	5:29:02
2.	17 Mar 2013	Seoul Dong-A Marathon	5:10:37
3.	15 Apr 2012	Paris Marathon	5:09:28
4.	26 Feb 2012	Tokyo Marathon	5:05:17
5.	4 Dec 2011	Singapore Marathon	5:26:43
6.	5 Dec 2010	Singapore Marathon	5:38:35
7.	6 Dec 2009	Singapore Marathon	5:09:22
8.	7 Dec 2008	Singapore Marathon	4:44:18 *PB
9.	2 Dec 2007	Singapore Marathon	4:53:25
10.	4 Dec 2005	Singapore Marathon	5:09:30

*PB: Personal Best