h.3.l.3.n

Happy Chinese New Year 2012!

2012-01-23T00:00:00.002+08:00

here's wishing all my dear friends and readers a

Prosperous Chinese New Year 2012!

and for those married folks, hope you get a dragon baby!
(don't ask me, i'll have to wait 12 years if i want one LOL)

unfortunately i would be update my blog (or fb) much this week, but will definitely tell you why soon! Happy holidays everyone (before the festive drought comes).. now to get on with packing by luggage..

Approaching Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-19T20:17:00.006+08:00

limbang definitely isn't going to be left out of all the celebrations.. most of the shops look very red! i bought some decorations myself but to decorate the clinic.

mental note to self: Never Ever EVER visit the supermarkets, shops now on an empty tummy.. the amount and varieties of tit bits are overpowering..

the clinic looks a bit redder at least

over at a relatives place, the kitchen seems to be working extra hard producing lots of chinese new year cookies and cakes! this freshly steamed moist chocolate cake is To Die For! i had to have a few more slices after having the first.

i received 2 CNY cards this year, my 1st by hand and another by mail with a packet of bak gua (dried bbq pork).. what a delight! and my 1st ang pow as well..

and many manyyyyy more to come i hope!

Fruit Season in Limbang

2012-01-17T07:28:00.000+08:00

its a common sight here for the past few weeks, and many more weeks to come, to see bags of tropical fruits everywhere.. i had different bags of fruits in my clinic everyday (rambutan, langsat, membangan/ canon ball?, dabai, even durian!), at my relatives house and even at home.

rambutan and dabai.. dabai or as the Foochows call 'kanan' is a kind of local black olive which u need to soak in hot water to cook, and add black sauce, sugar etc.. as however you like it.. you can even cook it as a dish or with rice as dabai fried rice!

this is one fruit i've Never seen before and its everywhere here in Limbang (4 for only rm1.50 or rm2!) .. locally called Membangan or something like that.. it has an Iban name as well which i forgot .. looks something like a cannon ball although the flesh is like a very fibrous mango.. the skin is brown and tough and u peel it like a pamelo (apparently the locals even cook the skin) its abit like a mango or kuini.. but has an odd aftertaste.. and definitely helps constipation has it has a Very high fibre content!

durian here there everywhere! had up to 4 rounds of durian with different people in a week! even the doctors here said more patients are coming in for high sugar/heatiness/etc.. due to overdose of durian..

another breed of durian, durian kuning.. a smaller pricklier breed with has only a couple of yellow inti unlike the bigger paler types... the texture and taste is also kinda different.

and this is how the locals enjoy durian (if they have too much maybe) they cook it into congee or porridge like texture like bubur.. and sometimes add green beans etc to complement it.. honestly i prefer durian as its original condition.

some cucurs (deep fried fruit fritters and 'begerdil') we have, with banana and cempedak even.. if you cook cempedak long enough the seeds can be eaten as well.

seems that nearly every fruit i've featured here are not only eaten in its original form but cooked in one way or another.. how creative the locals are! even the skin, seeds or young shoots do not escape the Wok.. except the rambutan of course.. that will be the day when i eat a cooked-form of rambutan.. (as dessert don't count)

on a lighter non-fruit note (yes, fruit becomes the heavier part of meals lately) i had claypot mee, chicken chop and peanut butter cheese toast at Papa Recipe as my first outside meal in Limbang

my friend recommended the Club Sandwich at Nurul cafe (not bad, could be crispier) with many layers.. and i tried the Nasi Katok as well (top left picture) which is famous in Brunei cause its only B$1 there (like our nasi lemak maybe, in top right picture) with rice, cucumber, friend chicken and sambal.

its been a very fruity post- Christmas/ New Year season.. might sound like a good way to diet except that the fruits are mainly Durians and Rambutan (high sugar!) anyway, can't wait for the upcoming Chinese New Year 2012! and out comes the Dragon here there everywhere...

not just another Thursday

2012-01-13T23:13:00.005+08:00

friday the 13th is just another day to me, besides the obvious that its a TGIF.

thursday, on the other hand, was a better day, thanks to one of my appointment patients.

i booked the Chinese middle-aged lady for a minor oral surgery for an extraction which could be routine but i did not want to take the risk anyway.. its easy to underestimate difficult cases and struggle in the end leaving patients frustrated and in great pain. i explained the procedure, warned her and assured her again and again.

she was anxious but she told me something that was least expected.

"i heard you are very good at extracting teeth! painless!"

"oh..?"

"yes yes.. all my Chinese friends say that the dentist here very good.. "

"ooh.. maybe they mean the other dentists in Limbang.."

"no no.. the Chinese dentist.. you.." (i am the only Chinese dentist here)

"oh.. thank you.. "

we proceeded with treatment, and having warned her and estimated a possible 1-hour surgery, she must have feared the worst. but lo and behold, the tooth came out in a few minutes without the surgical blade, and of course, without any pain.

"was it painful?" i asked as i wrote her medical prescription and filled in her sick leave form.

"no no.. good good.. really as people say..."

"probably so happens that a couple of your friends came and..." i tried to explain as i don't think i deserve such compliments.

"..no no.. if you are Really Good.. people will talk about it.." she interrupted. well, that's some truth to that, especially in small towns.

"and if you are Bad, people will talk about it too," i joked back.

"Yes! that's true.. i know of such dentists! the extractions are.. painful!" she said quietly, as if there's spies on the other side of the wall listening in.

"Really? you mean here in Limbang? must be in the past.." i was sure that my current fellow colleagues are all capable as well.

"yes.. last time.." she shook her head.. and thankfully she did not reveal any more than i should know.

"So, where are you working?" i asked her as i filled the sick leave form as i needed that information.

"SMK Sundar... "

"Sundar? in Lawas???"

FYI, Lawas is another town about an hour away after Brunei, equipped with dental services as well. why waste the time, petrol and cross the Brunei borders twice per journey? well, i suppose its normal to the locals to have their passport stamped 4 times just to go to the next town for short day trips.

"Lawas has its own government dental clinic and even a private dental clinic (there's no private dental clinics in Limbang).." i started to explain when she interrupted again..

"i know.. but.. " she shook her head for a while and i didn't want to probe further, "..i rather come here." definitely a smart neutral way to end her sentence.

this conversation is one of the most flattering things i've heard in the past 3.5 months serving in Limbang, if not the most.

"avoid rinsing.. make sure you bite on your gauze to stop the bleeding.. etc.. " i said before i left.

"thank you thank you.." she said.

"welcome.. take care."

the whole conversation took place in Mandarin... so none of my staff understood (i was the only Chinese in the clinic as well) which was good as some things are better kept for myself to savour.

as i said, friday the 13th is just another day, but thursday the 12th was a little sweeter than usual, thanks to that patient, although i would prefer to be good in other aspects of dentistry like restorative works or dentures than painless extractions. i suppose that's better than nothing though!

The Return of Kuching Flood

2012-01-11T18:04:00.007+08:00

the last time i recalled the unfriendly waters entering my house was perhaps during my secondary school days nearly a decade ago.. was it after SPM in 2003? i can't be sure, i just remember a certain friend with interest who cycled all the way to my house from his (in the flood waters) just to check if i was ok and if my family needed help. that's how i estimated it was during or post SPM era.

was i touched? you won't get an answer from me.
did he manage to impress me? some things are better left unanswered.
where is he now? i have no idea as well.

anyway, those were the days. Now u expect a guy to cycle in the dangerous flood waters just to check on u?

Dream on.. now u call/sms/msn/yahoo/facebook message or wall/ whatsapp/ viber/ email... (the list is endless)

anyway, flood waters returned again last Thursday.. entered through my front gate uninvited

could be at least a feet high as about half a feet entered the house

i remember for sure as a child i really like floods, only coz u get to play with water IN your own house (not the pool or beach!) and i was kicking around, getting scolded by my parents for making matters worse when the furniture got wet and having mud all over the place.

i also remember going for 'walks' in the flood water around the neighbourhood with my dad wearing rubber boots and we caught a big catfish (kept it in one side of my boot so i had to walk half bare-footed in the flood).. its kinda exciting to see turtles and fishes and even a yellow snake swimming around the roads and houses as its not the normal habitat for them.

this time around i am not home when the flood hit Kuching. but somehow not only were there no pleasant memories, there was a tragedy that claimed two lives, a young girl (from my ex-School!) and a hero who tried to save her.

not to mention another horrible incident of the Sibu murders which claimed 4 lives.

*shakes head* it was barely a week into the year 2012 and Sarawak made headlines again and again.. for all the wrong reasons.

We all need to pray harder this year. and to all who's reading this now, please take good care of yourself.. and have a Happy new year 2012.. seriously..

Go with the flow

2012-01-07T14:50:00.007+08:00

I noticed the decrease of comments in my blog, and it actually delights me as i prefer to keep this low-key/close-friends-only (even contemplated several times on privatizing this blog ) cause i don't want to draw any unnecessary attention.

only cause i can't be myself if there's too much attention. i can't say what i want to say, and that converts my blog, which was my diary to jot down my thoughts, into just another eat-and-travelogue like the million other blogs out there.

or maybe i have learnt to just keep things to myself more.. seems that i can't say what i want to say in real life too. many silent questions in my head still unanswered. maybe cause i don't what to know the answer. or that i can't agree with or influence the answer. maybe cause there's no answer.

"just go with the flow" is the common advice. but shouldn't one have an aim or a goal? a direction to 'go with the flow' towards?

but the goal depends on so so many other factors.. like work.. like family.. like..

its impossible to have the ideal goal.. and even if one successfully does come up with one, anything can happen tomorrow that puts one back to the drawing board..

its so confusing it scares me. i try asking, try seeking direction, try finding help, but to no avail. maybe that's why i learn to be more reserved... cause its no use to ask questions only i can answer, which makes me lost in my own world. perhaps its easier to go with the flow after all, but where does it flow to in the end.. i dread to find out..

First Days of 2012, Last Days of Holiday

2012-01-05T07:00:00.004+08:00

woke up late on the first day of the year (like most people) and had brunch at C121 next to Stutong Market, wanted to try the dim sum at Siao Ba Wang but they had already finished, and there weren't many varieties anyway, ordered the siu mai which was Kuching sio bee (its different from the typical siu mai) so we went back to C121 for yong tau hu, laksa and chee cheong fan in addition to the sio bee (yes, 2 people ate this portion.. *burps*)

had a Porkie's Gathering (again!) that first night of the year (yet to discover why doctors like to come to Porkie's but i guess its the beer.. or lamb..)

on my Last day in Kuching for this 12-days break, i had claypot at Min Joo Kee, Ang Cheng Ho. the claypot noodles in Limbang is rather different, the egg noodles are thicker and they put a whole raw egg inside (without u ordering)

then my journey back to Limbang started (not as bad as the Limbang-Miri-Sibu-Kuching-KL-Penang trip fortunately).. flew to Miri for a 2.75hours transit and had McD at a Shell Petrol Station cause i bought back 6 McD burgers for Limbang (there's only KFC and Sugarbun in Limbang)

i was sitting at the Miri Airport during transit just a couple of seats different from the seat where i sat when i was starting my long break to Penang via Kch-Sibu-KL.. and although the trip was super long, constantly delayed, very tiring and i suffered a missedflight, i would rather go through all that again and have another night at Pan Pacific KLIA (Christmas Holiday 2011 Begins!) if only!

(noticed that my pictures are clearer now?)
even my work LongChamp bag is all buckled up for Limbang.. and thus ends the 12-days-Christmas 2011-and-New-Year 2012 break in Penang and Kuching (and my series of 12-daily-blogposts, coincidence but not 1 for each day of holiday, not including 3 more on Christmas in Limbang)

i think my blog will be a bit more quiet after this.. while awaiting for Chinese New Year 2012!! come on, less than 3 weeks in Limbang then its off to another long break before the Feb-onwards-holiday-draught!

New Year Eve 2011 in Kuching

2012-01-04T01:58:00.002+08:00

It's the Last day of 2011, or so everyone says. honestly it makes not much of a difference to me, i'll still be binging and enjoying the day regardless of the date (although it seems nicer to say u r binging cause its new year eve), unless i have some voucher i need to redeem by this year or something...

Sarawak Laksa, beef noodle and fried chicken for breakfast (i realized this is my 4th round of fried chicken after Aladin, Porkies and Chubby Baba Nyonya in 3 days! this is BAD) at Madam Tang's. if you want to impress people with expensive and big-portion Laksa, come here. if you want to impress people with Very expensive Kolo mee, go to the corner kopitiam next to the Majlis Perbandaran Padawan at 10th mile... the prices can throw u off the chair.

was shopping for gadgets at old-school Wisma Saberkas (as mentioned 2 blog posts ago) so had some rojak and ABC on the highest floor.. funnily enough its my first time here although i been to Wisma Saberkas countless time.. like i said, its old-school, used to be the hang out place during school days, On school days.. we go to Parkson at Riverside during weekends..

ABC, Cendol and a big portion of rojak (they charge by weight) for more than rm20! Wow!

then its time to get to the New (and only, so far) hang out place in Kuching, tHe Spring for the Jack & Jill movie (hilariously stupid or stupidly hilarious, whichever)! few days ago its so Christmas-y and now its so red with lots of CNY decorations and a CNY bazaar offering lots of samples.. gosh, i was still in the Christmas-New Year mode. even Padungan has lots of CNY stuff out for sale already.

has our Kuching cat at Padungan changed clothes yet? i didn't notice.

New Year Eve buffet at Grand Continental Hotel .. they gave each of us a small box of cute party knick knacks to celebrate the countdown

the dessert section.. always my favourite part

time to go crazy with the year 2011 coming to an end! put on those party masks!

chomp chomp chomp

since half of my family wasn't around, i brought some 'replacements' to form my family of 5... Lol, jk! thanks dear friends for joining!

and the last few hours of the year was spent at Tarot Cafe, Jalan Keretapi with G

is it that time of the year to make New Year Resolutions? ok i'll write it down soon, on my new hp! this would be a common sight of me from now onwards (hey, i just got a new toy for a couple of hours in this pic, whaddaya expect), anti-social as it may seem.. sorry peeps!

perhaps i'll have to add 'Don't be Antisocial by playing with the SG S2' to my New Year Resolutions list (which has been renewed and carried forward for the past decade..) but since i've only though of it this year 2012, i can only put it to action in 2013.. haha excuses, excuses, excuses.. (oh wait, i think one of my constantly renewed resolution is to Not come up with excuses.. hmmm)

Post Christmas in Kuching - Binging Time

2012-01-03T01:10:00.002+08:00

it would be a sin if you return to your hometown and not binge. well, by my books it is. the following food posts are the in-between-Christmas (after my Damai Beach Getaway)-and-New Year Eve.. so around 28-30 Dec..

Day 1

char kueh tiaw, roti canai, indian rojak (not easy to find in Kuching) at Eastmoore (only cause its near) and chocolate ice cream smoothie at the food court at tHe Spring.

we decided to try the famous Fried Chicken rice at Aladin cafe at Carpenter Street.. never been there, apparently they sell different types of chicken rice for lunch and dinner. the staff there do dress like Aladdin with the funny hair and baggy pants.

there was some performances at the nearby temple.. i think there must be some occasion for the Buddhists.

the crispy chicken rice.. supposely can compete with KFC. the flour coating is thin and crispy, but its different from KFC so i don't think they are comparable.

we watched the Chipmunks at tHe Spring that night and camwhore with the Christmas decorations, and had KFC supper after that coz it opens late.

Day 2

breakfast with laksa, kolo mee using green noodles and pulut panggang at Chong Choon Cafe.. some ppl like the big portion home-made green noodles here but i prefer the bak chang and pulut panggang

lunch was at Pinoy Fiesta haw-haw, a Philippines Grill and Restaurant at Padungan

as far as i know, Filipino food is famous for roast pork leg, suckling pig, pork burger.. and more pork pork pork...

we had the rm36 medium Crispy Pata or Crispy pork leg, which was Yummies! we had the pumpkin special as well, which is vegetables (pumpkin, long beans) cooked in a coconut-milk broth served in a pumpkin. dessert was their version of ABC called halo-halo... interesting..

thanks for the lunch feast

that day was Definitely an Overdose of pork coz i went to Porkie's for dinner! pork sausages, lamb cutlets, chicken wings.. *burps*

a small reunion of ex-schoolmates way back to primary school days.. spent the night talking about what happened in primary school!

Day 3

famous kolo mee at Green Road for breakfast.. i don't remember the name of the stall, but its the only stall and the food took 30mins to come.. tastes a bit sweetish.

treated some colleagues for lunch at Secret Recipe, Jalan Song

thai fried rice that comes with a mini lobster, a slice each of white macadamia cake and almond cake.. its really hard to choose which cake to try..

the new Lof Bakery (new to me cause i've not been) has lots of interesting cakes & buns

that night we decided to try the new Chubby Baba Nyonya restaurant at Jalan Setia Raja next to the western My Restaurant.. it opens for lunch and dinner.

the menu.. hard to decide coz they have quite a few interesting dishes that's not common here in kuching like the nyonya pork leg gula apong, assam buah keluak chicken, nyonya ngo hiang, nyonya deep fried cincalok chicken, babi pongteh, kacangma and nyonya rendang lamb.. (basically food u learn from 'The Little Nyonya' series)

decided on the chicken and babi pongteh.. not bad and the helping of vegetables (paku) was reasonable. too bad the nyonya kuih already finished as we would want to try those blue pulut rice kuih! perhaps next time!

Happy New Year 2012!!!

2012-01-02T07:00:00.001+08:00

2011 is indeed a bit of a hectic year (i know after i completed my SKT - some annual report for government servants on your progress/performances which gets graded) as i was attached to so so so many clinics and specialists then got posted to district.. it has also been an emotional year (hmmm) and a year i undergo the transformation from being a newbie to a clinic boss (*sweat*)

how do i end this eventful 2011?

with a Bang! new Gadgets!

on the Last day of 2011, i purchased my new baby, Samsung Galaxy S2! and a power pack USB Output Battery as well so that my S2 (and BB or any other smartphones, consoles etc) is always charged (3x!), a new camera Nikon P300 and a new portable DVD writer.. yes, new collections to my 3-month-old HP laptop, two external hard disks, my Nintendo DS Lite and of course my old Sony camera and my Blackberry

what's a girl to do with so many gadgets? hmmm

anyway, Birthday 2011/ Christmas 2011/New Year 2012 shopping done.. time to face the year 2012 (in district posting) fully armed with gadgets to keep me in touch with the rest of the world... and maintain my sanity ><"

Christmas in Kuching 3 - Damai Beach Getaway

2012-01-01T07:00:00.001+08:00

After church, eating and visiting, my family decided that we should have a mini getaway since we were travelling this holiday.

off we went for a 3D2N getaway at Damai Beach Resort!

but we didn't stay at just any ordinary chalet, we went for the Baruk Suite, which are like Bidayuh houses on the hilltop.. (supposedly costs RM 800/night!) there were not many Baruk Suites and there are other suites/rooms that look like longhouses on the hill. There aren't any parking space on the Hilltop but you can parallal park.. its safe if you park at the main resort and take the FOC shuttle van.

the view inside the large suite

looks very ethnic-y with the wooden interior design touch to the Bidayuh house

you even get a jacuzzi inside!

the view outside from the balcony which you can see through the glass doors.. the two double beds are facing this breath-taking sea view and since the weather was horrible, we just relax and enjoy the view (although the waves were really noisy) like how any REAL holiday should be like..

buffet breakfast

there are two big pools at the main resort (refer to first photo) but on the hilltop we get our own personal pool which overlooks the mountain and the sea..

why is everyone cramming the pool? coz of the crazy waves during this rainy season, the beach is totally Off-limits!

don't believe me?

look at the crazy waves.. thankfully i have not bought my new camera yet!

nearby there's a new building with the huge Burung Kenyalang overlooking the beach (like Langkawi right?) and a seafood place.. the place isn't open yet so i wonder what's there.

anyway, had a fun Pre-Christmas in Penang for 3 days and another 3 days Christmas visiting + getaway at the beach.. time to get back to Kuching for the remaining week and get to work, ticking off my To-Do-and-Buy-and-Meet-in-Kuching-list doing all the random chores and long report aka SKT and etc...

Christmas in Kuching 2 - Christmas Day

2011-12-31T07:00:00.003+08:00

On Christmas Day my family went for the morning Christmas church service, followed by dim sum breakfast at Yun Cai, Central Park. my mum knows what i like for breakfast :)

Yun Cai

the dim sums on offer.. there's buy 4 free 1 promotion

the steamed ones

and the fried ones.. we even have Bak Kut Teh as well

after breakfast i went for Christmas visiting at my colleague's house.. and there's the roast turkey and all, really like an English Christmas Open House.. yummies

here's a more modified version, still has turkey but 3-layered pork, rendang, satay, fried noodles etc..

can't believe I've been showered with so many Christmas presents (more than bday pressies) and 8 Christmas cards (2 all the way from UK) this year ...a box of Chocs, a friendship book, a bag charm from Taiwan, 2 pretty bookmarks, Christmas CD, a candy stick and even a gingerbread man with my name on it all the way from KK!

thank you for all the presents... and the cutest must be the gingerbread man with my name.. how am i suppose to eat this thing?

Christmas in Kuching 1 - Christmas Eve Dinner

2011-12-30T12:14:00.001+08:00

back at home, Christmas celebration started slightly earlier as my family already have a Christmas cake from Tom's.

cutting the cake.. looks good, will try some as there's still a lot in the fridge.

i touched down about 4 and reached home not long after, just a couple of hours before the family Christmas Eve dinner at Grand Continental Hotel.. told ya i'll be home for Christmas!

the roast turkey guarded by 2 chickens, and more and more food

and desserts! sorry, dentist on holiday, sweet tooth comes out to play

time to pile up the plates (and the kgs) again...

time to dig in! had a friend along as well, thanks for the Christmas pressies!

we were entertained with a choir and some musical performances as well

choir singing some carols

cute puppets!

full and satisfied, that's why everyone is smiling so brightly

anyway, Merry Christmas my dear family!
it's good to be home for Christmas~

Christmas in Penang 4 - Alor Setar, Kedah

2011-12-29T12:07:00.001+08:00

Instead of staying in Penang, i've decided to drop by Kedah as well since i've never been further north than Penang itself.

after more than an hour's drive north we arrived at Alor Setar, Kedah Darul Ehsan!

to meet up with my ex-unimate/flatmate/groupmate etc, yin hui! went around AS sight-seeing for a while as it was already evening

then we had dinner at Times Cafe, looks like a very nice cozy cafe, especially with the London photos!

teriyaki chicken, cordon blue and chicken lumpia! haha anyway, thanks for the the AS sight seeing and dinner treat, YH!

Christmas in Penang 3 - More Indulgences

2011-12-28T11:52:00.001+08:00

time to indulge again in Penang

this time at E&O Hotel (eastern & oriental) i heard the executive seafood buffet lunch is a luxury so go give it a try

around the Sarkies restaurant at the basement carpark.. what a weird venue

the hot station with soup noodles etc

roast meat area.. and the grilled seafood with mussels, oysters, prawns, lobsters, salmon, crab etc..

the buffet section.. and the cold seafood section

other random sections

sushi section.. and oysters

and pretty desserts!

more pretty desserts

chocolate fountain and Christmas house (but Pan Pacific's christmas house prettier i think hehe)

fruits and ABC

and the greedy one doesn't have to worry cause she done her uric acid and cholestrol blood test weeks ago..

and had her glucose level checked too! so dig in!

drove over to mainland to meet up with Epl at Starbucks, Juru! thanks for the xmas present!

watched Sherlock Holmes at Gurney that night.. how i wish Limbang has a mall like this!

supper with maggi goreng and telur goreng

breakfast at Bobo not far from the airport with prawn mee, wantan mee and toast and egg.. perhaps the only hawker food i eaten this trip!

thanks for a (luxurious) pre-Christmas trip in Penang but it's time to head home to Meow City for Christmas!

Christmas in Penang 2 - Butterflies and Hard Rock

2011-12-27T11:21:00.001+08:00

also located at Batu Ferringhi is the famous Hard Rock Hotel Penang. the only other Hard Rock Hotel/Cafe/Restaurant i've been to is in London, once. glad to visit this one, heard that Hard Rock is a hotel with a difference.

looks very rocky and retro indeed, the Beatles seem to be the main theme

around the hotel lobby

the many costumes around the lobby for display

the lobby looks very cozy with huge cushions and the swimming area has a beach theme

with a play area for the kids

view of the hotel from the pool

Hard Rock Cafe for dinner

nachos, seafood spagetti and finger food

salad, macaroni and beef burger.. not bad

outside the hotel

say cheese everyone! thanks for dinner :)

walk along the main streets for the Batu Ferringghi night markets

saw some nice fancy restaurants, one has a camel like its Eygptian or Turkish, there's Golden Thai.. and another is The Ship which has several branches throughout West Malaysia

the menu of The Ship was appetizing, only cause we were looking for dessert, but once we entered i was surprised to see that the place looks really Christmas-y, as if i just walked into one of those Scandinavian restaurants during Christmas!

that night i felt like i was in Europe, without the freezing winter! magical! thanks :)

banana split with 3 flavours of ice cream and vanilla choc chip ice cream cake

seems that dinner at Hard Rock Cafe doesn't count of having experienced Hard Rock Hotel so i had the chance to try the breakfast buffet as well

Pan Pacific Hotel yesterday morning and Hard Rock Hotel this morning... *rubs tummy*

thanks for the breakfast treat at the hotel :)

eat full already have to exercise if off.. not too far away is the Penang Butterfly Farm

the farm isn't very big but there's Lots and Lots of butterflies everywhere! quite magical in a way

good place for photographers or butterfly lovers.. that's the love's swing, i don't know why its called that. and there's this butterfly-shaped feeding place of hibiscus for the butterflies

there's other animals there as well, and exotic plants

camwhore time

more pictures around the place

the indoor part of the farm with lots of paintings, little cinema, photos and more animals (live or preserved)

more photo opportunities

the spider/worm/other animals part of the indoor section, and the hundreds of types of butterflies! i would know some friends who would definitely love the place due to the butterflies!

nice experience dining at Hard Rock (twice!), visiting the Batu Ferringhi night market and dining at The Ship, and being surrounded by butterflies!

Christmas in Penang 1 - Sight Seeing on the Island

2011-12-26T09:11:00.038+08:00

finally reached Penang at 8.30am after leaving Limbang at 4pm.. how many hours is that? my UK friend said its about the same duration as his flight! >_<"

dim sum breakfast as Tuck Sai Cafe

some of the dim sum

the lor mai kai here is different, they put it in an overturned metal bowl which u lift up, unlike ours where its wrapped in pandan leave

driving pass the pasar/day market at Lorong Kulit

visiting the Toy Museum at Tanjung Bungah, supposedly the World Largest Toy Museum.

well there are a LOT of toys everywhere.. the only place i see tons of toys of my generation.. without Angry Birds! finally! lol

doraemon, dragon ball, lau fu zhi..

Monster Inc and Kung fu Panda

headed on to Batu Ferringhi, a beach side tourist place

Taman Negara Pulau Pinang at Telok Bahang.. don't think can challenge Sarawak ;P

there's boat services to Monkey Beach, Kerachut and Coral Island

this is the end of the world!.. for penangites.. coz their world is just Penang Island ;P jk!

sights around the place

the view of the Taman Negara..i think i have to pass, i'll save my hiking energy for the rural areas of Sarawak..

lots of boats and a long walkway towards the sea

Telok Bahang Dam which isn't too far away

sights and sound around the dam

so hungry so stopped by one of the restaurants by the road, Guan Guan, which isn't that great and kinda expensive coz its for tourists. at least its a shelter from the heavy rain

Toy Museum, End of the World and Taman Negara at Telok Bahang and the Telok Bahang Dam conquered. that's all for now, continuation coming up soon~

Christmas Holiday 2011 Begins!

2011-12-25T21:43:00.015+08:00

finally after 3 months working in Limbang, its time to fly for my long (well-deserved) 12 days Christmas Break!

(yes yes, i know i've been to Brunei 4x, Miri 2x, Lawas 2x and Sabah once in that 3 months.. but to travel to West Malaysia or to go back home is Still a different feeling altogether)

as we all know, Limbang isn't a very easy town to connect to other places as it only flies via Miri, and i was trying to connect to Penang, so i bought the Limbang - Miri flight and Miri - Penang flight from MAS. the flight transits at KL, and the Miri-KL flight has one stopover at Kuching (which i didn't know till i bought the air ticket..)

I thought to myself, "Wow 4 Flights! that's as bad as it could get!"

i was Soooo So So wrong.. thankfully my 4+pm flight to Miri was not delayed.. but the Miri flight to KL via Kch was delayed 35mins.

That's still ok.. until in that flight they announced that there was system failure due to bad weather conditions in Kuching so they had to turn back to land in Sibu (takes 30mins), wait for 30mins and then fly back to Kuching (another 30mins) to stopover for 40 mins before the next flight to KL.

imagine my shock.. such a long delay and i still have the LAST flight from KL-Penang to catch... whyyyyy????

so what could be worse than 4 flights? well, 5 flights! (yes, and touchdown at 6 airports: Limbang-Miri-Sibu-Kuching-KL-Penang)

my friend teased me for being able to "conquer" Sarawak in 1 night (4 towns) and still being able to fly to the other end of West Msia (up to Penang, only took the extra ride to Kedah the next day, to Really conquer the northern end of Sarawak which is Limbang up to the other northern end of West Msia, Alor Star)

Goes without saying that i Miss the KL-Penang flight (by nearly half an hour), but thankfully i was travelling with MAS so they had to take good care of me!

hotel voucher with breakfast at the 5-star Pan Pacific KLIA Hotel (around RM500-900/room, which is already more than the cost of my air ticket) and a new ticket for the first flight to Penang the next morning.

not bad, fortunately i had nothing urgent to rush for.

Pan Pacific KLIA Hotel

two single rooms for the night at a 5 star hotel.. very very big change from my no-aircon, no-heater etc.. room in Limbang.. thus my holiday begins NOW!

the restaurant had very pretty Christmas cakes!

and the complimentary buffet breakfast was simply sinful (another big difference from my typical simple meals or bbq/steamboats in Limbang) ... goes without saying that i was spoilt for choices at 6am in the morning!

yes.. my 12 days holiday when i checked into the 5-star Pan Pacific KLIA hotel which comes with a scrumptious buffet breakfast! what a grand opening ceremony indeed, difficult to top that! i nearly forgot i actually missed my flight to be here.

and before i forget, Merry Christmas again!!

Last Night of 2011 in Limbang

2011-12-20T23:35:00.008+08:00

my friend invited me over to her church's BBQ party tonight.. and what's a bbq without chicken wings, hot dogs etc.. we even had lamb, fishballs, pork and corn!

i was glad to make new friends (although hi-bye friends, but nice company is always better than none) and enjoy the food, but my heart has left Limbang already, only cause i'm going on holiday tomorrow for a 12-Days-Break!

can't wait! its always good to be home, to be in a familiar surrounding filled with TLC (tender love and care) with familiar faces where u know u can just sit back, relax, embrace the moment and be urself..

time to turn the Christmas songs on louder...

i'll be home for Christmas...

Christmas in Limbang 2 - In Town

2011-12-19T18:19:00.011+08:00

17 December is a busy day for the church members in Limbang.

in the morning there's a Christmas Open House at Dewan Suarah.. i wasn't sure what it was, i thought there's many stalls selling food and knick knacks like those charity sales in Kuching but actually all the churches had performances and singing that morning.

Kinda like a combined church service. even more surprising is there are Muslims there as well, with the tudungs and kopiahs.. i think they are important people who were invited and later present gifts to the unfortunate like the kampung folks.

That's what Christmas is about right? Giving, regardless of religion and race :)

and there's lots of food as well, its an open house after all

at night was the parade + carolling by all the churches.

it was really fun walking around Limbang town for 2 whole hours, joining the churches who each have different themes/attire etc and they even stop for performances along the way, Santas giving sweets to anyone by the road and people gathering by the roadside to take photos of us like we are celebrities.

felt like a mad person donning a Christmas hat with lots of lights, holding a candle, singing endless Christmas songs while walking in the middle of the road , waving and shouting "Merry Christmas!" to all the bystanders and curious folks. but with hundreds of others doing the same thing, its fun afterall! not to mention tiring, thank God it didn't rain (only poured after its over, just in time!)

Sorry for the traffic jam though!

random shot while carolling.. then we had kampua mee and cendol supper at the night market at 11pm! yes it was That late, and it started at 6.30pm!

anyway, Here's a Merry Christmas to everyone! Peace and Love to All!

Christmas in Limbang 1 - At Work

2011-12-18T11:37:00.018+08:00

thankfully recently one of my colleague from Lawas helped to relief here in Limbang so my workload has reduced.. after work we out for lunch at the hospital canteen

nasi ayam lalapan rm7.50, not bad actually, lots of the staff promote this, really like our nasi ayam penyet, at least they boil the vege for a while

nasi ikan lalapan.. Rm10

dessert at Kokoberry with ice cream, bubble milk teas and chocolate crepe at the Plaza

salad prawn dinner at Maggie Cafe

on Friday afternoon our clinic organized a Christmas cum Farewell for trainees party, my first Christmas event of the year (more and more and moreeeee to come i hope!)

everyone gets a set of KFC chicken rice, even my Lawas colleague joined

selaku YM, i have to give speech and also the presents to those who are leaving (started to get used to having to give impromptu speeches and smile for the camera)

sights and sound around our clinic, esp our boss's wife who is visiting with their cute baby

thanks to all the staff who gave and supported and helped as well! hope everyone had fun!

Look at What the Postman brought today

2011-12-16T17:17:00.000+08:00

my first (non-official) mail after i transfered away from home, a birthday present+card :)

my 2nd birthday card

presents from Sabah!

a belated birthday present, a pink dress!

and just recently, another belated birthday present with card & christmas card, a cute doll indeed that's suppose to cheer me up

thanks mr postman, and of course to all my dear friends who sent me the gifts.. means alot when u r far away from home & loved ones that u can have the tendency to forget that there are ppl out there who still cares.. :)

Total Lunar Eclipse 10 December 2011

2011-12-12T07:00:00.013+08:00

last Saturday night i had badminton till 8pm and then dinner & chit chat till 10pm, only to come back and see a couple of colleagues sky-gazing. they informed us about the rare total lunar eclipse (the next is in 2014!) so the 4 of us joined them and everyone tried to take pictures with our own cameras/dslr/handphones. it was fortunate for us as it was not raining or cloudy and the sky was studded with stars as well.

take from Wikipedia , this is how the sequence looked like.. the whole process took a couple of hours but i just watched the 1st half (like football huh?) coz i was tired and the mosquitoes were getting unbearable! plus i think i just have to rotate the photos and it would look exactly the same as the 2nd half! ><"

for those who missed it, these are my pictures, not very clear due to the low resolution after Zooming it to nearly the maximum.

about 2/5th covered

slightly more than half

about 3/5th covered

less than a quarter left

disappearing soon

barely there

and its gone!

i think the last time i watched the eclipse back in school through camera films, and although i wasn't really into it, its nice to just join in the fun (feeding mosquitoes) and witness the rare total lunar eclipse.

Thumbs Up. Twice.

2011-12-11T16:40:00.008+08:00

Friday morning was the normal cabut gigi (dental extraction) session, and in came a middle-aged Chinese woman who i knew i saw not long ago, also for dental extraction (you'll be surprised by how many 'regulars' we have who have more than 3 teeth to extract!)

"You are very good, last time u took out my tooth! Can see a lot of patients outside waiting for u!" she told me in Chinese after i injected her, giving me a Thumbs up.

I blushed and thanked her, and even my nurse teased me "Doktor dapat pujian!" (doctor got a compliment).

"There will always be a lot of patients outside regardless of how good i am," i replied before i took out her tooth in seconds, and she again gave me the Thumbs up saying, "Good Good!"

Another middle-aged Local lady needed an upper tooth extracted as well and after i injected her, she wasn't very convinced she's numbed enough. However, i assured her i know what i was doing so i told her it won't hurt.

And it didn't. Cause after the tooth was out she praised me for the painless extraction, giving me a Thumbs Up also.

After treatment was over, my nurse told me that i got 4 compliments today from a few patients. Didn't expect her to be keeping track.

It might be no big deal, but after being in a routine and doing things in auto-mode, once a while it's good to know that you're appreciated and complimented.

Now I'm Stronger than Yesteryear

2011-12-08T07:12:00.008+08:00

for the past week i have been chatting with a couple of friends from yesteryears... meaning from my secondary school days/college days/ early university days..

to my surprise, they all commented on how i have changed and grown over the years, from the way i talk, the things i say, the things i do and from my blog entries...

"no more the weak fragile helen.. i like this helen more.."

"not as emotional as before... more stable... "

"u seemed to be very happy, doing what u like, going where u want to go.. unlike us in the rat race.."

britney's 'stronger than yesterday'

i guess it takes the past to see the present self and notice the differences cause sometimes i myself did not realize the changes as well. i admit in the past things were different, anyone could tell the difference just by looking at my blog a few years back, what more to say 10+ years back into my secondary school days!

hey... isn't that a normal process of growing up? we go through our rebellious teenage years, our freedom-seeking adolescence-hood, making illogically and irrational decisions, letting emotions play a Major part of our lives, thinking parents are always wrong, sacrificing everything for the 'Special one', always swapping roles from heart-breaker to heart-broken and back, trying hard to be accepted in different cliques of friends, constantly losing the Dieting battle to look like a stick-thin supermodel, haunted by acne and a million other physical imperfections, feeling lost and searching for our identities, who we Really are and what we Really want to be during early university days instead of conforming to society, taking up several part time jobs just to earn some extra cash when away from home, constantly struggling to juggle it all and still make it out of university alive, what more with a degree...

..gosh, if u ask me to elaborate, i don't even know where to start!

my reply was simple.

"well, once u been through Hell, u know what Heaven is like.. and appreciate it.."

the 1st 13 years of life i was living in ignorance and bliss, being naive like any other child, and when i hit puberty and was awaken by raging hormones, the next 13 years was definitely a hell of a roller coaster, which i did not regret (maybe a bit.. a better word for these 'mistakes' is 'experience') but would definitely NOT repeat. finally being 26, it's time to enter the next phase of life.. i did not take overnight to get to where i am now for sure!

"i suppose it's good to be the helen now... have a stable job and no worries financially (government servant ma..), graduated with the title Dr., have dear ones, a loving family, supportive close friends, drives a car and have a place to stay, reasonable working hours and still able to travel... life's good for u now.. "

not 100% though. there are definitely new challenges now, like taking care of the dental clinic as the boss (A LOT to learn about management! *headaches*), and lots of important decisions to make like whether to go for further studies and specialize, or be happily married and settle down with bouncing bundles of joy .. or Both.. whether to stay in the government sector or open my own private practice.. to reside in Kuching or elsewhere..

Yes, REAL life-changing decisions unlike the 'life-changing decisions' of yesteryears on what to wear on my 1st date, or what to write in the 1st love letter.. thinking back during those foolish days never fail to make me laugh, and as much as i miss it, its time to grow up...

my old friends are right. a lot has changed especially in the past 13 years, and i thank God and everyone who has contributed one way or another through this metamorphosis.

"My 15-year-old brother just won't listen to my advice!" a friend complained, to which i laughed and replied.. "Let him be, he isn't going to listen anytime soon.. sometimes he needs to make the mistake himself to learn.. he's a teenager after all, he'll grow up sooner or later..."

i know i did, and there's plenty more to learn and to continue growing..

My Parents' First Trip Here! Part 4 - Limbang

2011-12-01T19:26:00.015+08:00

nope, that's not the end of my parent's 3days trip to northern Sarawak. any trip to visit me isn't complete if there's no visit to Limbang town itself!

on our first night in Limbang, we had dinner at Maggie Cafe. only then i learn that they have panggang/grilled fish and squid as well from the stall outside.

breakfast at Mei Xing. i think i've been here endless time, but it's my first time having the zao chai hongan (foochow salted vegetable noodle)... not bad.

dessert was a rm25 durian at the Tamu!

and my uncle's favourite King Cafe coffee with toast and half-boiled eggs. actually the roti kahwin/ butter-kaya toast here is crispy and light... only problem about coming here is that 95% of the people sitting at this kopitiam are 60-year-olds and above, sitting down chatting all morning and afternoon..i don't think i fit in so well with this crowd.. its their version of Starbucks i suppose.

during the last morning in Limbang, we had dim sum at Union restaurant.. 4 of us ordered about 18 plates! rm2 each except for the pao and lo mai kai (rice dumpling)

some of the many many dim sum we had.. my parents actually prefered it to 2020, Miri! small but cheap and reasonable quality.. the owner is a Cantonese from Lawas!

and it serves the smallest siew mai i've ever had, 4 of this siew mai equals to 1 of our Foochow version. i warned my dad that the siew mai is the size of his thumb to which we took a photo to prove that its true to an extend..

so how was my parent's trip here? Thumbs up, can't you see in the photo above? well, definitely different to my usual London-Europe trips, Korea or Australia tours or the usual day trip to Lundu or Sematan beach or overnight at Santubong Resort...

their only complain? the hours on the road... it's not called a road trip for nothing!

My Parents' First Trip Here! Part 3 - Lawas, Sarawak & Sipitang, Sabah

2011-11-30T18:11:00.002+08:00

if u have some spare time and already conquered the west side of Limbang (eg. Miri, West Brunei) then its time to head east towards Sabah.

from Limbang side, u need to get onto the ferry (rm8/ B$4) towards Temburong and u reach Puni, Brunei. well, honestly there's nothing much on this side of Brunei, most ppl just drive through to head onto Lawas (and then Sabah). it takes just over an hour Limbang-Lawas.

at the sub district of Sundar (after entering Lawas at the Mengkalap border, Trusan) there's this fishing village which i visited before called Kampung Awat-Awat.. wanted to buy crabs here but someone before us bought the whole lot!

anywhere here's the little town of Lawas (again) they don't have a plaza but they do have a way better hotel than our Purnama called Seri Malaysia

had lunch at Soon Seng, which my dad claims is cheaper and way nicer than Limbang's Maggie Cafe. the famous dish here is deep fried bitter-gourd. don't be fooled, its not bitter at all, tasted like vegetable crisps!

then we head on to Sabah!

actually Sarawakians and Sabahans should be able to visit each other without passport checks at the Merapok (Lawas) - Sindumin (Sabah) immigration office... somehow they still stop certain people though. if possible, drive a Sarawakian car to speed up queues! anyway, its about 150km to KK from here but less than 30km to Sipitang, just less than an hour from Lawas.

the Esplanad at Sipitang

lovely view indeed, nice colourful kites.. u can imagine its pretty breezy...

more of the esplanad

the waterfront of Sipitang

there's lots of stalls nearby selling mostly satay, the famous delicacy here

not bad actually.. had ABC too which is unusually colourful

Yes! finally in this trip i passed the Maximum number of borders, doing the full stretch of Miri-Brunei-Limbang-Lawas-Sabah!

Here's a brief summary of the endless check points if you were ever to drive from Miri to KK! (make sure u have some pages in ur passport)

1. Miri RM10 (Sungai Tujoh Immigration Check Point or ICP as i shall name it) -West Brunei B$3 (Kuala Belait ICP)
2. West Brunei (Kuala Lurah ICP) - Limbang (Tedungan ICP)
3. Limbang (Temburong ICP) Ferry ride RM8/ B$4 - East Brunei (Puni ICP)
4. East Brunei (Labu ICP) - Lawas (Mengkalap at Trusan ICP)
5. Lawas (Merapok ICP) - Sabah (Sindumin ICP)

So yea, 10 passport checks, and don't forget to get ur car checked too when you enter Brunei! and the Sarawak-Sabah check point at Merapok-Sindumin is at the same building.

So come on and pump ur petrol, bring ur passport, some cash and head onto a road trip this part of the island! I think i've covered enough of this area, next stop definitely has to be Labuan.. or even KK!

My Parents' First Trip Here! Part 2 - Kuala Belait & Jerudong, Brunei

2011-11-29T17:53:00.041+08:00

Miri visited, so next stop, Brunei. the nearest town after miri is Kuala Belait.

i always remember this town for the teapot in the middle of the round-a-bout, in fact i use the nozzle of the teapot as a compass which points towards the sushi! haha

escapade sushi 4th round in 2 months, with my parents this time!

some of the sushi, the hakata, mini california and the octopus becomes 'the regulars'

had fresh salmon and seafood + vege tempura as well this time

instead of going to Gadong or Bandar Seri Begawan, i decided to detour to the next interesting town, Jerudong. we were searching for Jerudong Park but there was no clear signboard from the highway, u have to turn into the Exit to Jerudong Park Medical Centre (coz we missed it and had to U-turn somewhere and slight mistakes like this takes a while to correct on intercity-highways)

ended up at Pantai Jerudong instead first with the fish market opposite

then as u enter to Jerudong Park, if u turn left u'll see Lots and Lots of horses grazing in fenced fields, must be the Equestrian Park.. perhaps it's for the rich and royalties to play polo on horses

if u turn right then u r heading the right way to the amusement park.. look out for the Diamond ring as the round-a-bout!

even the horse is the logo of Jerudong Park, the largest and most expensive amusement park in the whole of S. E. Asia! entrance is FOC but i think u have to pay for the rides.

i will visit the Jerudong Park amusement park one of these days, but not today, cause i have another place in mind, the really grand 5/6 star hotel in Jerudong, The Empire!

heading towards to The Empire Hotel & Country Club

the cars parked outside the hotel.. if u are a car-pro, then try telling me what cars are those at the bottom.. i think the top cars are the hummer and the bentley.. costing millions!

the entrance, part of the lobby and the toilet

the palace-like hotel with gold white gold white everywhere and glass walls/windows facing the sea.. even the escalator is gold..

the glass windows are several stories tall

outside the hotel

the view of the hotel that faces the sea.. looks like a university campus!

the pool

dining area

the activites.. and the price! gosh, the emperor suite is B$16,600!!! i think i'll just head for the B$400 superior room..

resting by the poolside sofa and taking a picture with the grand hotel behind us.

staying in the B$400 room? its affordable, but how about having a wedding here? maybe only if i marry a filthy rich Bruneian, or some royalty! perhaps it would be easier to just win the lottery.. lol!

My Parents' First Trip Here! Part 1 - Miri

2011-11-28T16:12:00.028+08:00

The 3-days-long weekend is here again! Don't you just love Novembers for not just one but Two long weekends? Previous long weekend i had the chance to go to Gadong, Brunei for the 2nd time, but this weekend has been maximized to cover several towns!

first stop was Limbang airport cause i was going to meet my parents in Miri.

there's this pretty restaurant called Kent Garden in Lutong housing area, similar to alot of the cafes/ restaurants in Kuching like Sharing Planet

then it was a bit of a drive to the Esplanade for sunset at the beach.. long stretch indeed with lots of restaurants along the way too

Park Hotel itself is kinda run down but the Kok Chee restaurant does serve good food

don't play play.. rm450 dinner! memang sedap...

that night we stayed at Imperial Hotel (and went over to shop at the attached Imperial Mall till closing time!) my first sight of the Christmas season... Hohoho, time for Xmas shopping.. i mean Pre-xmas shopping..

the room wasn't too bad, pretty cold, better than Mega Hotel but yet to try Imperial Palace and Grand Palace.. stayed at Marriot Hotel before and of course considering the price, its more grand.

saw a cute wedding car the night before and another the next morning at the hotel...

love and wedding bells are definitely in the air regardless of where you go!

dim sum breakfast was at 2020 Cafe

some of the dishes that came up to rm20++.. price was reasonable but quality-wise, plenty of room for improvement. they do have a wide variety but the mass production (there's 3 shop houses of it in total, like Penang's Maxim) made some of the dim sum dry and tough..

went to the Petronas Museum on Canada Hill where u can get a good view of Miri

passing by the docked yachts on the way to Marina Bay

at the Spine and Joint Specialist Centre at Marina Bay with the gigantic seahorse statue, the trademark of Miri. gosh, its way bigger than our Kuching's Cat! well, at least our Cat changes clothes... soon gonna adorn the Santa suit i suppose.

visiting the 5 shopping Malls of Miri, clockwise:
Bintang Megamall (has the new and old part with Parkson and will have GSC soon in June); Permy Mall (newly opened on 11.11.11, on the way to Sungai Tujoh Checkpoint/Brunei),
Imperial Mall (attached to Imperial Hotel, has Boulevard department store);
Merdeka Mall (with Star Cineplex, the only cinema in Miri for now)
and Boulevard (.. perhaps the oldest mall)

and there's MYY Mall coming up soon, so stay tuned!

lunch at Sun City

last stop was to tapao some famous char siew pau in Miri before heading to the 2nd stop: Brunei (yet again)!

and Off we go to the Sungai Tujoh immigration check point to Kuala Belait, Brunei!

Just a reminder, for the Miri-Brunei journey, the prices of toll at Jambatan Sin Yang at Miri side is RM10 and at Rasau Bridge Toll at the Brunei side is B$3 (or RM8 i think) so make sure u have some cash at hand!

Miri's not bad after all (didn't think that way at first when i came from Kuching but after Limbang, my perception totally changed) and there's still lots of food to try, but i would leave that till another day...

Locked Out!

2011-11-23T11:56:00.003+08:00

Monday evening was suppose to be just another day after work.. until my housemate called me to open our house door as it was latched from the inside..

...but i was actually behind the wheels on the way home when she called..

so that's when our nightmare started, we keep banging the door hoping the 1-cm-diameter metal latch can unlatch itself like how it latched itself to begin with.

6pm, still no luck, so we called for assistance.

the door knob is open but the door just won't budge, and our light doesn't work as well so we had to use the torch to see as the man tried to pry the door open

no, it doesn't look like we have any mercy or sympathy towards the door although we tried to minimize damage as much as we could, getting in is one thing, but going door-less for the night? big screwdrivers, chisel, hammer, crowbar.. everything can out..

its late, there's no outside light, we are on the 3rd floor so can't climb, any other door to the house was locked from the inside with a padlock and our neighbours are all on leave so we can't try the ceiling either. frustration, this stubborn door was the Only way in.

alas! 8+pm and one Big Push by one of the man managed to bend the latch open.. i think they were frustrated cause they need to catch the Malaysia - Indon final football match so they just used brute force! well done!

yes, our house door was mutilated but we were so relieved to be able to go in that even after the men left, we just sat and stared as the ugly door remained open.

now that we are in, how to fix the door? *grunts* and life goes on!

Kuala Medalam Mobile Clinic Trip 2

2011-11-22T11:56:00.000+08:00

while everyone was busy attending weddings and dinners, i had to go for an outstation travelling trip 2 hours away from town, on a Saturday!

the 2hours journey with winding roads and roads fill with holes.. and the little health clinic at this small town. yes, there's not hp line here as well.

the patients were already waiting.. since its Oral Cancer Awareness week, i had to give a talk/ceramah on Oral Cancer (the 3rd time this week!)

then its treatment time

the event (with the medical team providing free medical check up , pap smear etc) was officiated by the YB. even had lunch with him as he asked where i am from and where i study etc.. it was an honour to be seated there but i much prefer eating with my staff.

the dedicated dental staff that day. looks more like the Red Devils, huh?

you'll probably be thinking "Outstation again?" well actually we have to cover a few villages/kampungs like once every 3-4months so that makes it nearly a monthly thing.. sooner or later it will just be another day of work to me. not complaining yet, but it would be better if the roads are good and there's water, electricity and hp line... sounds demanding, huh?

the simple life

2011-11-21T07:32:00.015+08:00

this weekend must be a really lucky one, everyone's somebody seems to be tying the knot,
be it my colleague's friend,
or friend's friend,
or family's friend,
or relative's friend..
or just Facebook friend's friend..
in fact i had TWO wedding invitations this weekend but (obviously) i can't make it due to work commitments (yes, i worked all Saturday too), and due to time constraint, financial limitations and the (again obvious) distance..

sorry to all the (rejected) invitations to birthdays and bridal showers and weddings, u know i'll definitely it be there if i could make it.. but alas..

got into blog-hopping again on a lovely Sunday. perhap's its the wrong move cause i got to see lots and lots of exciting and happening photos..

of having bridal showers or afternoon teas at fancy restaurants (i guess u know who u are),

or celebrating birthdays with girlfriends and loved ones with style (photo from my 24th Birthday celebrated in the heart of London)

or marking of anniversaries at world-class restaurants with exquisite dishes prepared by world renowned chefs (i guess u know who u are yet again)

or trying new cafes or highly-recommended restaurants with friends just for the fun of it during weekends..

sometimes its sad to know that the past remains the past and better left as a sweet memory... life has took a 180 degrees turn..

weekend eat outs.. here's simple noodles and very-odd-laksa that even has yar char kueh (which isn't very nice) aren't there even any decent Sarawak laksa here?

meals are mostly at hawker stalls or kopitiams

bye bye to fanciful restaurants or fine dining with carefully prepared pretty dishes that satisfies just by looking at it, every mouthful is exciting..

it's just simple dishes now, who cares how it looks like as long as its good, cheap and fills the tummy?

birthdays are a small gathering of some mutual friends or colleagues who you probably don't talk to, except, of course, during birthdays when you wish 'happy birthday'
(and they apologized to me for not celebrating my birthday cause they didn't know)

and any celebration is usually with the all-time favourite: cheap, filling and easy Steamboat! throw it all in and dig in, although it all tastes the same or gets overcooked and soggy, don't waste!

or the outdoor BBQ, raw or burnt, coated with ashes or burnt bits, its all good. hotdogs, wings, satay, fried mee hoons, nuggets and etc, u get the idea..

well, no offence to Steamboat or BBQ, i guess its more the fun of preparing and cooking the food together and then digging in, than actually enjoying the food. for such gatherings, i rely more on the company than the actual food.

that's the problem of having seen the world and lived a different life.. i suppose that's the joy for those not having done so and remain content and just plain happy with what they have here...

is it possible to tuck away such lifestyle in the suitcase of memories, stack it up in the attic and shut it behind urself, then face the reality of the simple life now?

What I Did on 11.11.11

2011-11-20T07:43:00.003+08:00

at 11.11am 11 seconds? getting ready to go on air on Limbang FM.

evidence? yes, i know the DJ's clock showed 11:11:13 instead of 11:11:11, but that's the closes i can get to as many 1s as possible

not my first time on air, and won't be my last! i hope noone who knows me listens, its embarrassing actually! (yet my staff in both Limbang and Lawas clinics turned the radio on Loud purposely.. supportive indeed ><")

What Faith Can Do

2011-11-13T13:31:00.006+08:00

Knowing my housemate was busy, i was contemplating whether to go to church or not (yes yes its spiritual warfare) as i never go alone before.

anyway i am glad i did cause i learn an inspiring new song at church today.

What Faith Can Do by Kutless

it was just yesterday that i blogged about how busy everyone was so i can have some Me-Time this weekend. it wasn't totally a complain, but of course it does cross my mind of how quiet and lonely it can get if one doesn't have any friends in a new place. One weekend is fine but if it prolongs it can be depressing. humans aren't born to live in solitude!

God must have heard me, cause today at church they introduced a couple more newcomers, one of them looking relatively young as well, and i overheard her talking in perfect English!

ps: do you know its very very rare to find English speaking youngsters in small towns? everyone either speaks the local Bumi dialects or Mandarin.. English-speaking-youngsters are in bigger cities for tertiary education, better job opportunities or enjoying city life..

her car was parked next to mine and as she was getting into the car and me walking to mine, i had this sudden urge to call out!

"Hey.. are you from Kuching?"

to which she exclaimed "Yes! How did you know?"

"Your car number plate.. You new here?"

And that was how it began under the hot noon sun after (the only English) church service.. turns out that she's a new English teacher from Kuching as well, and we both even have the same surname! what coincidence!

"What's your mobile number? Maybe you can come over my place one of these days once i get back from holidays..." she said just minutes into the conversation with a warm smile.

and that brief encounter made my day. we exchanged numbers and it ended there as she would be away for 1.5 months (school holidays approaching after all)

i believe that we need a variety in our social life; i can't keep disturbing my homely relatives, or keep hanging out to talk about work all day and night with my busy colleagues, housemate and neighbours who are All in the medical field.. so meeting someone from a different field (and familiar background, that's a plus!) was a refreshing change.

Thank You God for answering my silent prayer :) That's what faith can do after all.

Saturday Morning

2011-11-12T09:44:00.006+08:00

the weekend is here. more than 48-hours to savour.

online/fb friend's enjoying the weekend outside online world,
church friend's busy with wedding bells (11.11.11 afterall),
neighbour's staying over at her friend's place,
colleague's travelling,
housemate's working,
relatives' busy,
and this small town continue to hustle and bustle with life at the morning markets (pasar and tamu) while those well into their golden years (warga emas) sit and chat over kopi 'O' at small kopitiams on this early Saturday morning...

i guess this weekend is solely for me, myself and i (since i am oncall this weekend and can't leave this town to travel or visit other people)

it's fun to have lots of plans and hang out with people all the time, but i suppose sometimes its good to have some time off just for yourself.

there's always two sides of a coin, it depends on how u see it.

Limbang / Brunei Weekend 3 - Back to Limbang

2011-11-09T09:52:00.004+08:00

of course if you were to visit me, i have to bring you around Limbang as well. depending on requests, some people want to visit tourist sites and eating places, some wants just relaxing and casual look see look see, and expects not only eating out but home-cooked food as well (my dad a good example)

what is impossible to miss here is the colourful Bintang Plaza cum Purnama Hotel, a 2-star hotel here, opposite the Market near the waterfront.

lunch at Papa Recipe, which i think seems like one of the most presentable places to (try to) impress people.

bought some (cold and hard!) waffles at Limbang Plaza while shopping

and day 1 ends with simple home cooked food.. have not cooked in ages actually

day 2 breakfast with Kampua meet at Daily Cafe

and that's when we headed to Gadong and BSB as blogged about previously

and we only reached home like 8+pm! (took 3 hours roughly, thanks to super long and slow border queues) day 2 also ended with simple home cooked food.. no chance to try Limbang's famous crab yet.

day 3 breakfast at Mei Sing, the kampua mee here looks more like kolo mee!

places to go? Taman Tasik Bukit Mas (i am always confused with this name but basically its a Taman with a Tasik located on a Bukit called Bukit Mas, more sights at my previous post) and next to it, the Limbang Museum that operates only when there's visitors (my previous post about the museum)

the waterfront opposite and the Pusat Penjaja Medan Bangkita Tamu opposite the Plaza

and day 3 also ended with more extravagant 6-course home cooked food courtesy of my generous and kind relatives!

anyway, thanks for the belated Birthday treat and (de-stressing therapy) weekend visit :)

time to get back to reality! oh well.. and life goes on in this small quiet town...

Limbang / Brunei Weekend 2 - Bandar Seri Begawan

2011-11-08T10:44:00.002+08:00

unfortunately when leaving Gadong and heading for BSB it was raining, but thankfully it stopped soon after we reached.

landmarks while driving towards the town centre, looks pretty cloudy and windy

the town centre looks very developed with lots of big but short buildings.. but alas, its the capital of one of the richest country after all! there's a big shopping centre opposite the grand mosque.

the star of the trip, Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien (named after the Sultan's late father), very big and pretty mosque with a golden-coated dome!
from Wikipedia 'Built in 1958, features a golden dome and an interior of Italian marble walls, carpeting and an elevator. It also has tunnels, which are used by the Sultan on journeys through the town. This mosque is one of the world's most beautiful mosques'

can challenge Turkey mosques!

the area around the mosque, which is surrounded by water.. there's even a uniquely decorated boat.

driving towards Muara along the Sungai Brunei passing some administration buildings, the bottom right is the Memorial opposite Kampong Ayer

Teng Yun Temple on upper left picture and the rest, Kampong Ayer
from Wikipedia "It is a well preserved national heritage site, the largest of its kind in the world with approximately 30,000 residents. The Kampong is over 1,000 years old. The name Venice of the East was coined by Antonio Pigafetta. Self contained, the water village is equipped with schools, police stations, clinics, a waterborne fire brigade and mosques"

there's lots of cars parked along the winding road of this river, perhaps the people here park their car and take the boat over to go home. one thing for sure, the ferry port is packed with people!

Like most capitals, BSB is full of history and culture as well, worth a day's visit just to explore, be amazed by the landmarks and learn more about Brunei.

Limbang / Brunei Weekend 1 - Gadong

2011-11-07T10:55:00.033+08:00

my 'new' hometown is pretty small, quiet and might not be worth a few-days visit, so whenever any friends/family visit me here (which is Highly Appreciated, thank you so much :) ), i will make an effort to plan to visit somewhere else outside instead, e.g Brunei (2 hours++ drive), Labuan (2 hours ferry), Lawas ( 1hour+ drive, and to visit Sipitang, Sabah too), Miri (3-4hours++ drive) or maybe even KK (4-5hours++ drive), depending on time constrains and immigration border check point queues.

Thanks to the 3-days weekend due to Hari Raya Haji, the border checkpoints have a longer queue compared to the last time i went to Brunei. Somehow the Tedungan immigration check point (Sarawak side) has no queue, it's more of the Kuala Lurah (Brunei) side, and not to forget, get ur car pass checked here as well!

took about 2+ hours to get to Gadong, and extra hour compared to last time, and thanks to my 'scribbled map' from my last trip here, now i officially can say i know how to get to Gadong from Limbang, although i missed out the 2 turnings before the check points.

got to Gadong in one piece by noon.. had trouble finding parking though.

time for lunch at Escapade Sushi, opens 11am-2.30pm and 6pm-10.30pm.. so better go before it closes! can't believe its my 3rd visit here in my 5 weeks since i left Kuching!

Mini California Special has a crispy coating, something different from the typical sushi

Hakata Roll (again) with unagi inside and topped with fish roe and salmon

Octopus.. nice sauce, recommended!

Layer sushi.. like our Kek Lapis? haha..

layered with salmon, mayo, avocado and unagi on top.. creative!

Konagi smoked salmon.. the salmon here is definitely fresher!

i confess, coming out of a small town looking for something new, this becomes my new favourite place (and Gadong in general as well with international cuisine restaurants, Pizza Hut and McD!) which is within couple of hours at least,
The Mall!

watched the Three Musketeers at the cinema

and had the Beard Papa's cream puff while overlooking Gadong town

Bought some Fun Bread buns and cake too, perhaps cause its more Fun ;P (Secret Recipe has to wait, lol) next trip i'll try to find this Mr Baker's Bakeshop which isn't too far away, the cakes here look pretty!

next stop, just 5km away, Bandar Seri Begawan!

It's Not Easy

2011-11-01T19:39:00.004+08:00

its one of those days when u feel like u are doing work outside of your own job description.
u handle things outside your scope of work.
even outside of office hours, or outside the comforts of your own home.
and staying alone, you don't have a support group to come home to.

they say challenges make or break someone.
as much as i am shaken, i am not broken yet.
the carpet is pulled under me, but i will get up again.
and its only the second day of having authority.
the sudden heavy burden and responsibilities are already aching on my shoulders.
there must be a reason why God throw me into a pit of fire after the lion's den.
all i can say is Thank You God for giving me this very very challenging test indeed.
after all, He won't give us more than we can handle, so if He thinks i can handle this, i need to believe and trust in Him that i can.

its not easy.. but its possible.

"I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

Eating in Limbang 2

2011-10-31T22:05:00.001+08:00

ok, i think so far i managed to eat at most of the acceptable places here in Limbang (after being nearly month here).

Union restaurant behind Hong Leong Bank area serves dim sum at 6am-1.30pm daily.. surprise surprise, there's dim sum in Limbang! the only place i suppose.

the dim sum is generally rm2 each except for loh mai kai which is rm3.. i doubt there's any ha gau (prawn dumplings) or any dumplings in fact, and the siew mai is Tiny! for rm2, i don't want to complain so much or have too high expectations. they serve noodles and other dishes too, probably they know dim sum alone is not filling.

there's several places u can grocery shop (being in a small place, all i do is grocery shop that i spent maybe rm500 at least this month, i don't realize how but i guess a bit here and there builds up.. especially when u first arrived and settle down) like Choon Cheong (there's 2 branches, the new one is 3 storey, yay!) Soon Seng, MK Mart and Ngui kee in the plaza but there's this warehouse/gedong style by the road on the way to the airport which sells lots of random odd imported stuff and wholesales too (Especially junk food!)

anyway, there is another place to kill time, the Limbang Muzium, its FOC, opens daily from 9am - 430pm and perhaps only becomes operational (lights and aircon on) once u come!

come to learn the history of Limbang, the cultures, the different ethnic groups like Lun Bawang, Bisaya, Penan, Tagal, Kelabit, Kedayan, Tabun etc..

its funny that they say Hokkiens pioneer the place followed by many other Chinese dialect groups with Foochows being the last to arrive here, yet Foochows grew to be the 2nd biggest group here after Hokkiens, statistically.. and Yet seems that the majority here are the Foochows as nearly every Chinese i hear talking are Foochows...

ps: I know i am not suppose to take pictures but i just wanna share abit about Limbang.. *peace!*

people here catch fishes, crabs, other shellfish and the famous ikan tahai (it looks like dry tasteless fish but once cooked like sambal its superb!)

and not to forget, there have apple farm at Ba'kalalan (south of Lawas) and strawberry farm soon.. i want to go there! and so you know, they only have Maxis line reception.. like how Long Rayeh only has Celcom.

one of the 3 lunch places with air con (besides Papa Recipe and Bubble Bing) is Sweet Home, opens 730-5pm.

seems that we all go for noodles here, i had clayport noodles and its kinda different from Kuching's style.

next door is Sarimah Curry House (oh yes, How Greedy!) for malay food.. i only noticed now they have Mee Kerbau, maybe should try that since Limbang is famous for buffaloes/kerbau..

i had the pink Puspa, like a cendol + bandung drink.. its also rm3 like the normal cendol, but i think i prefer cendol. we came for the rare roti canai, only cause it opens mornings, closes for lunch (Yes! Wonder why..) and reopens at 2-430pm.. we actually had to wait till 2pm for this. at the same time i ordered buffalo curry (kari daging kerbau) to try.. its like beef.. but rougher..

not satisfied with that lunch or dessert? time to cool off at Snow flake Cold Drink Centre, opens daily 12-6pm (but unpredictable, i discovered that some eateries are unpredictable as they can be closed suddenly for the day, i guess that's how shops in small towns are like)

Rainbow flake and Fruit flake ABC.. we tried the rojak too, i prefer the prawn and yam one (udang + keladi) as i don't like sotong that much, the prawn n yam fritters rojak is quite good actually, will definitely be back! we had fried Wan Tan too

oh gosh, all these fried stuff is causing endless acne attacks, not to mention weighing scale attacks (don't ask me what does that mean)

dinner at Maggie Cafe which is all along the same row behind Tong Lok (Daily Cafe, Pearl Cafe, Union, Maggie Cafe, Tong Lok, Crystal Palace, Mei Xing, Papa Recipe, Limbang Rojak, Adnan restaurant etc etc.. are all within the same 2 Blocks) that's how small Limbang is..

for typical Chinese dishes.. was not hungry enough for crabs here, apparently they serve good crabs too.

i just noticed there's a 4th Bakery here, Nuraisy, only cause it opens late till 8pm (yes, 8pm is considered late) like Strawberry bakery. the best bakery? will have the verdict soon.

Yap, i think that's Most of acceptable Limbang food. Birth week is coming to an end, no more excuses to splurge and binge! time to save up for that 2k Handphone...

Wake up Call

2011-10-29T09:16:00.005+08:00

as much as people try to avoid making mistakes, its still one of the way (and for me, the Only way) to learn..

..like paying a price for being gullible
..like making mistakes that cost time and money
..like being careless that affects other people around you

i have known for months that my Blackberry mobile phone is sick, often hang or stuck or jammed; late or unreceived sms, msgs and calls; needs to be restarted (this process can take HOURS) and lately its condition is deteriorating that it just becomes a blank white screen (like below) even when restarting/rebooting..

..and like Last night, while i was Oncall, the BB decided to hang again and unknowingly, within that small window of half an hour when the BB hang, the hospital A&E (accident and emergency) had been trying to call me..

..and i only got the sms saying i got 3 miss calls last night from A&E, This Morning.. at least if i got it immediately last night i could still call back and rush in..

and staying out, u don't have a land line, other family or friends to call to pass the message, so if your mobile is gone, u r Absolutely not contactable, unless they knock at ur door.

yes, i was in denial thinking i can survive with a half-dead mobile phone that jams for hours suddenly.. its a Wake up Call that i have to get a new handphone ASAP so that i can Wake Up when A&E call.. (what irony...)

My Unexpected 26th Birthday on 26th October

2011-10-27T07:31:00.020+08:00

hmm someone said i might be going through Pre-birthday syndrome, maybe being far away and alone makes u miss loved ones instead, like during Christmas and CNY.

However, i must say, D Day (or Birthday .. or Birthweek) turned out a lot better than i expected.

23 Oct: Went over to relative's for my weekend-ly visit on Sunday night and little did i know they have a sweet surprise with me, complete with a bowl of chicken mee sua and egg! (our typical Birthday + 1st day of CNY meal)

and a birthday cake with a present as well! thank u dear relatives :) , so touched, and i thought it would be a Cakeless one this year as i did not tell anyone D Day.

25 Oct: i wanted to ask my colleagues/housemate for dinner on D Day's night but they were busy, so we went for dinner the night before at Musbee's.

the malay-thai food that we had.. the first time i had the rm10 nasi lelapan, only to learn its our version of nasi penyet. definitely the same thing! had sizzling chicken noodle which is sizzling, seafood fried rice, nasi pattaya and seafood tom yam.. the tom yam is spicy indeed!

my new group of friends here. they didn't know its my D Day, but i consider it a 'celebration' anyways :) :)

26 Oct: D Day itself. i kinda know there's 2 options to spend this day, either just keep a low profile and life goes on as normal (and ur pocket remains full)..
or have a Birthday Party!

alas, knowing me (the party-organizer queen since UK days), i decided to order catering and bought snacks for my 20 staff in the clinic and 10 at the office = 30 people.

that's everyone's favourite way to have a celebration = Free Food.

my clinic staff found out D Day and surprised me with a birthday cake, even off the lights and sang for me! :) :) :)

my staff at clinic

and Lo and Behold, the office staff came over and surprise me with another cake, a chocolate one! i have 2 Birthday Cakes today! totally a surprise :) :) :) :) makes me 26 x 2=52 years old...

my office staff.. thanks to everyone

D Day night was supposed to be a quiet one as i don't have any plans but i ended up following my colleagues for Deepavali visiting right after work (here in Limbang? in Sarawak?) surprise surprise, and its my first ever!

and yes, D Day falls on Deepavali day which IS NOT a public holiday here.. happy diwali anyways ;P

so i can't say i spend D Day night home-alone as i was out although for a short while, met more colleagues, visited a friendly Indian home who served a delicious array of Indian food! :) :) :) :) :)

27 Oct: i recently joined the Young Adults thursday night meeting at the Methodist Church here (which does Everything in Chinese) and this week they had a steamboat... obviously its not in conjunction with D Day but they know its D Day so they all wished me a Happy Birthday :) :) :) :) :) :) (in chinese) its always nice to be welcomed into a family/church again, however new/whatever the language barrier is, although i have yet to attend an English service church yet.

my 2 presents, one in the mail and one from my relatives
:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Sounds pretty happening for a newcomer in a small town right? you bet! i realized its how u see or deal with things, its your option to be cooped up in your room and be depressed, or go out and have a good time making new friends with some money, time (and weight!) at your expense.

its better to give than to receive after all, and surprisingly the unexpected returns are more rewarding at the end of the day.

While I am Still 25...

2011-10-25T19:56:00.004+08:00

...i am gonna complain. perhaps reality is starting to sink in.

i thought its alright to have slower internet, But i ended up waking up in the wee hours or at the break of dawn to online, and make blur sleepy decisions which resulted in carelessness, time loss and financial losses, and a not-so-well-rested self.
i thought its alright to be friendly or trust people, But i end up getting scammed, which resulted in further financial losses and frustration.
i thought its fun to be located far north, with many other cities nearby worth visiting, But being the only other dentist only means i am oncall 24/7, up to Christmas. that's probably nearly 10 weeks i have to stay put here. and the few hundred bucks for making me stay for weeks/months isn't worth it.
i thought its more relaxing working in a small town, But that only means u have to take charge, bear responsibilities and that's Far from relaxing.

am i complaining too much? maybe. what's wrong with a handphone that's unreliable and half dead, internet that's not working half the time, workload increasing, weekends taken away and a social life just about surviving...

look on the bright side right? i am gonna be a year older and i should celebrate, but no one else here knows anyway and i am not thick-skinned enough to tell. i think i need to treat myself to something, regardless of financial losses or busier work schedule... but then whatever i want isn't available in this small town, and i can't leave cause i am oncall.. and i don't have friends to get stuff for me.. and the cycle begins again..

Futsal Tournament

2011-10-23T18:30:00.000+08:00

on Saturday my dental society organized a Futsal tournament for Hospital staff and invited outside players as well.. there were 16 guys teams and 6 girls teams

the prizes and lucky draws

the male dental and female dental team! support!

i thought the event would finish by 5 pm but there were 44 games in total, and although each game is 5 minutes, due to warming up, time to change etc.. it takes 4-5 games Per Hour.. so that means 10-11 Hours, not including starting after 8am, time for lunch And dinner.. we actually finished at 930pm!! that's 13+hours!

prize giving ceremony

in just 3 weeks here, i already had Family Day, Futsal Competition, went to school to screen students, went for 4D3N outstation travelling, attended meetings etc... seems that smaller towns are definitely More Active!

Long Napir & Long Rayeh Mobile Clinic Trip 1

2011-10-22T21:42:00.033+08:00

last week i joined the hospital for a 4D3N Outstation trip to Long Napir & Long Rayeh. Both kampungs are about 3+ hours drive away on bumpy logging roads (headache headache!)... luckily i did not suffer serious motion sickness as i forgot my meds.

i didn't expect to go for outstation travelling just within my 3rd week here (just like back in Kuching when i work just 3 weeks in service then had to go to a village alone!) but luckily i had previous experiences with Community Service so i know what to expect, at some point i expected even worse!

bumpy dusty dangerous roads

the guesthouse, the Pejabat URA at Long Napir.. at least got sheltered accommodation although no phone line, electricity only supplied 6-10pm and on 2nd day there's No Water! u can imagine we get pretty bored (and Hot!) at night with no phone line or TV etc..

a river beside the resthouse. too bad the water is muddy due to the rainy season. usually its clear. one of our staff went fishing and caught 5 fishes each on 2 days, mostly ikan baung, ikan sema..

the catch on the 1st night

that evening we tracked about 45 minutes up and down the hill to the nearby penan village .. it was raining heavily after that so we had to track back on slippery wet slopes! imaging just Day1 of our 4 days trip and we have wet dirty laundry already..

the best part is one of the nurse was a good cook so we are over-well fed.. this is dinner and breakfast.. (i was definitely better fed than back in Limbang when i stay alone)

then its time to open the clinic at the Kelabit longhouse

work work work

medical team worked hard as well

approaching noon.. one of my nurses caught me dozing off (a usual sight of me) after the morning's work..zzZZZzz

lunch, dinner and breakfast

then its another 3-4hours to the 2nd kampung.. both the pictures at the bottom of a wooden hut was suppose to be our accommodation..

but thankfully a nearby Petronas resthouse offered us their 5-star accommodation.. and i mean it when i say 5-star as i expected nothing (no line no water no electricity, sleep on floor with mosquitoes) but we had a properly room with Air con, own bathroom with water heater , electricity and even Celcom line! and a canteen nearby with food!

thanks Petronas!

our lunch

then its time to get to work again for the patients of the Penan village

part of the team

dinner and breakfast

the full team with Petronas workers

4 tiring days due to travelling and part of the time feeding mosquitoes, having no phone line, electricity or water.. perhaps its a small sacrifice to help the rural villagers who takes hours and even days (yes nearby villagers can walk ALL DAY, its their only mode of transportation..) to seek treatment from our mobile clinic.

and its weird to say this but i was glad to be back in Limbang coz however small the town is, its still civilization! electricity! water! internet! a room of my own.. what bliss...

Day Trip to Gadong, Brunei

2011-10-16T18:23:00.002+08:00

We left from our quarters at 8am and with my colleague's KL-driving + no queue at border, we were there just after 9am, too early in fact!

so we had breakfast at McD first. i even got excited seeing McD that i took picture of it since Limbang as no McD and Pizza Hut (although back in Kuching i hardly eat at those fast food places)

by 10am The Mall opened. not bad, although not as large as KL Malls but it seems to have more stuff and more people than The Spring. and of course, the Cinema! We watched the 11.10am movie and there were hardly anyone, it was So Cold in the cinema and we watched 'The Thing' which was filmed in the Antarctica.. Brrrrrrrr

some nice shops there.. Tea Box Cafe, Coffee Bean, Fun Bread and Fun Donut next to each other. wonder what's so Fun. there's Secret Recipe opening soon as well

the Misato stall at food court and Beard Papa's reminded me of London! even Kuching doesn't have beard papa, only saw it in KL!

some shops around the place, can always come to Brunei if you only use 'certain brands' like Body Shop, Face Shop etc..

then its off hunting for Escapade Sushi opposide Gadong Centrepoint

we had Fuji Roll, Hakata Roll and the Chicken Bento Box

say Cheese! sorry, no scenic view of Brunei, just took pictures of the only attractions i went to, The Mall and Sushi! (like travelling in KL, shop eat shop eat...)

then we went further for cheap groceries at Hua Ho.. they have lots of fresh imported fruits vegetables and etc, some cheaper than back home. they even have Gardenia Bread! i am impressed haha

reminder to self: bring ur shopping bag as they don't provide plastic bags! ended up buying their shopping bag for B$1.50 (exchange rate B$ 1 = rm2.47)

then it was another 2+hours back home thanks to the long queue at the border check. long tiring day but well worth it. the only disadvantage is you get that slight sad feeling once u return to ur small small town with only basic stuff, but that makes the bigger towns more exciting and worth travelling for plus something to look forward to right?

Family Day

2011-10-15T19:34:00.003+08:00

During my 1st weekend at work, it so happens that my colleagues and staff organized a family day at Taman Tasik Mas.

i was the first one there so i had time to take a stroll and take pictures

more views around the park

there's hilly steps like Reservoir park and a BBQ pit as well!

and for the more adventurous, there's a trekking trail up the hill.. perhaps next time when i am more Fit and i have company then i go..

a platform in the middle of the park, for fishing or boat rides?

another view with the suspension bridge at the back

then its family day time with lots of presents and lots of kids playing all kinds of games, reminds me of Sports Day in primary school

kids and adults all had their fair share of fun

and home-cooked food for lunch of fried mee hoon, fried chicken wings, kuih, hotdogs etc, the typical must-have of all outdoors events in our country

prize-giving..

part of the Dental Family here which i have become part of..

Tiring but fun day getting to know my colleagues and staff better.. as much as people discourage me of being here, making me face the reality of how tough things are gonna get, how many years i have to be stuck here and the challenges i have to face, i try to push them aside and look on the bright side, making the best of what i have here.

People say that one day, you'll still miss the place u work and stayed, however rural or small it is, and perhaps that is true. I think what is worse than living a quiet boring life, a kampung life, or a busy life.. is living a life filled with regrets.

Cute stuff on Facebook

2011-10-12T12:32:00.013+08:00

gosh, seems that i have been reduced to the level that i don't know what to blog about anymore as things are starting to get monotonous, my camera is starting to collect dust, Facebook is the only thing to look forward to on the computer and basically things are falling into a routine.

i guess that's what they call 'settle down in a new place'.

anyway, i saw some cute stuff while surfing the home page in my Facebook so i decided to share some, in case you guys didn't come across them.

just for laughs... although there's some truth to these 2 pictures

life is like a vicious cycle..

makes me smile :)

life's like that

agreed!

ouch! lol~

how true...

i found this the most meaningful and even posted it on my wall.

Don't ask me why.

Eating in Limbang

2011-10-09T14:29:00.002+08:00

the thing about small towns is, there's not much choices of food, and the places where people normally eat aren't world-known that people would travel far and wide for it, but its still the best in the class of their own in this little humble town.

i told my friends i heard a few eating places that i can visit and the usual response is "Its O.K. not to say Fantastic but better than the rest.. And u can visit All these eateries in Less than ONE week" (considering 2 breakfasts for weekends, 7 lunches and 7 dinners, not the non-stop-eating-all-day-escapade like what i did in Penang before)

and honestly, If i eat out every meal for 1 week here (like what most non-locals would do), i Would have covered the better places in Limbang.

the hand-made kampua mee at the corner at the Pasar is worth visiting and its cheap at rm2.50

i heard there's 3 bakeries that's not too bad here

Wang Lian Bakery in Limbang Plaza

Strawberry Cake House & Cafe at Buangsiol, but i doubt there's a cafe, more like a home bakery kind. the only bakery i saw so far with wholemeal bread.

and Bread Shop that looks new and clean

at least these bakeries look presentable. the first bakery i saw was this narrow small shop near the Pasar.. no offence, just looks small

lunch at Pearl Cafe with roast duck/chicken/pork.. i noticed that more and more cafes or kopi tiams offer fancy Toasts too

chicken, pork and local Limbang pork sausage.. doesn't taste very much different from the typical Chinese sausage

or try the Limbang Rojak (one next to Hong Leong, one at the market) which has tauhu, kangkong, squid, cucumber and white turnip.. not too bad, like our typical sotong-kangkong but add tauhu, cucumber and white turnip.

the most decent cafe/restaurant style place is Papa Recipe (most expensive, i heard, and also has Wifi! you serious??)

serves fusion food that isn't too bad, but no cake though. heard its similar to KK's Mama recipe

had Sugarbun for a change at Limbang Plaza, the 6th time in my 10days in Limbang. now i understand what the rest mean when they say they go to the Spring everyday as there's nothing to do

dinner at Tong Lok Restaurant for a new friend's farewell (and i am going to occupy her room!) and she recommends this place as the best Chinese place in town.. it was deserted as Limbang ppl eat at home, unless during CNY, mooncake festivals etc where it becomes full!

yam basket, sweet and sour pork, man lee chai and salted egg prawns. not too bad

and the new friends from Hospital who i met in Limbang! say cheese!

Something Sweet for the Girls

2011-10-07T17:37:00.007+08:00

Found this in Fb under the user 'Boy's don't realize how much one little thing can upset a girl' urghs! i admit that's True! something small and insignificant which guys forget the minute they say or do it could actually hurt, bother or be misunderstood by a girl! sensitive fragile us! anyway, i took some of the quotes to share, hope you all (esp the XX chromosomes!) like it!

45 Things girls Want but Won't ask for (yes, we Are complicated that way)

1. Touch her waist.
2. Actually talk to her.
3. Share secrets with her.
4. Give her your jacket.
5. Kiss her slowly.
Are you remembering this?
6. Hug her.
7. Hold her.
8. Laugh with her.
9. Invite her somewhere.
10. Hangout with her and your friends together.
Keep Reading...
11. Smile with her.
12. Take pictures with her.
13. Pull her onto your lap.
14. When she says she loves you more, deny it. Fight back.
15. When her friends say “I love her more than you”, deny it. Fight back and hug her tight so she can’t get to her friends. It makes her feel loved.
Are you thinking of someone?
16. Always hug her and say I love you whenever you see her.
17. Kiss her unexpectedly.
18. Hug her from behind around the waist.
19. Tell her she’s beautiful.
20. Tell her the way you feel about her.
One last thing you need to do to show her you actually do mean it.
21. Open doors for her, walk her to her car - it makes her feel protected, plus it never hurts to act like a gentleman.
22. Tell her she’s your everything - only if you mean it.
23. If it seems like there is something wrong, ask her - if she denies something being wrong, it means SHE DOESN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT - so just hug her.
24. Make her feel loved.
25. Kiss her in front of OTHER girls you know!

We might deny it but Actually we like and kinda want you to Tickle us..
26. Don’t lie to her.
27. DON’T cheat on her.
28. Take her ANYWHERE she wants.
29. Text message or call her in the morning and tell her have a good day at school, and how much you miss her.
30. Be there for her whenever she needs you, and even when she doesn’t need you, just be there so she’ll know that she can always count on you.
Are you still reading this? You better, cause its important!
31. Hold her close when she’s cold so she can hold you too.
32. When you are alone hold her close and kiss her.
33. Kiss her on the cheek; (it will give her the hint that you want to kiss her).
34. While in the movies, put your arm around her and then she will automatically put her head on your shoulder, then lean in and tilt her chin up and kiss her lightly.
35. Don’t ever tell her to leave even jokingly or act like you’re mad. If she’s upset, comfort her.
Remember all these things when you are with her next...
36. When people diss her, stand up for her.
37. Look deep into her eyes and tell her you love her.
38. Lay down under the stars and put her head on your chest so she can listen to the steady beat of your heart, link your fingers together while you whisper to her as she rests her eyes and listens to you.
39. When walking next to each other grab her hand.
40. When you hug her, hold her in your arms as long as possible.
Make sure she knows she's loved
41. Call or text her at night to wish her sweet dreams.
42. Comfort her when she cries and wipe away her tears.
43. Take her for long walks at night.
44. Always remind her how much you love her.
45. Sit on top of her and tell her how much you love her and then bend down to her face and kiss her while you’re sitting on her.
You’ll never know when she needs just a little more love .. ♥!

after reading this, i am sure ur book will be filled!

Every girl wants to find the one ♥
She can be herself in front of :)
the one who wouldn't want to see her in makeup all the time ♥
The one she can say anything to ♥
The one she can laugh, smile, and cry with
The one she can play with
and she can fight with :)
And at the end of the day...
He's still crazy about her :)

----------------Girls---------
-----------are like apples------
-------on trees. The best ones-----
-----are at the top of the tree.-----
---The boys don't want to reach---
--for the good ones because they--
-r afraid of falling and getting hurt.-
-Instead, they get the rotten apples-
from the ground that aren't as good,
but easy. So the apples up top think
something wrong with them when in
-reality they're amazing. They just--
---have to wait for the right boy to
---- come along, the one who's-
----------- brave enough to-----
---------------climb all---------
---------------the way------
--------------to the top----
--------------of the tree ----

Lovely Chinese Christian song which i just learnt from the young adults bible study at the methodist church here.. in times of trial, you just need to hold on to prayer..

Tao Gao - I Pray

禱告，因為我渺小；
禱告，因為我知道我需要明暸，你心意對我重要。
禱告，已假裝不了；
禱告，因為你的愛我需要；
你關懷，我走過的你都明白。

有些事我只想要對你說，因你比任何人都愛我；
痛苦從眼中流下，我知道你為我擦。
在早晨我也要來對你說，主耶穌今天我為你活；
所需要的力量你天天賜給我，你恩典夠我用。

First Day at Work

2011-10-03T19:20:00.007+08:00

Introducing Limbang Hospital

not too bad.. the garden looks pleasing to the eye.. all the buildings are only single storey, so no need for stairs. has some departments like haemodialysis, haematology, woman & child clinic, xray, surgery, operating theaters, several wards and of course dental clinic..

the canteen, conference room, public toilet.. and lots of walkways with big areas or fields that reminds me of school

and the dental clinic. looks clean and not too crammed. workload not too heavy as compared to Kuching. and my 2nd home for the next 2 years, MAXIMUM!!!

several days ago i met a pharmacist who said "I am here for 3 years.. only got to transfer out cause i got Married! don't you know that's the Only way out?"

and today? another recently-married-and-very-much-pregnant officer said "So when are you getting married?" to which i said "Har? Marriage? Not so soon!"

to which she replied "Owh, you plan to stay in Limbang for GOOD?"

It is discouraging when people seem to imply that the only ticket out of rural/district posting is a marriage certificate.. or a swollen belly.. (whichever comes first!) unless you have some 'connections'. Perhaps i didn't not plan Far enough on how i am going to get out even before i arrive!

as far as i know, on the day i volunteered to go where Noone else will go, i was assured that i would only be here a couple of years, and that i won't be forgotten although thrown somewhere far.. and that i would have a colleague to assist me, soon, so i won't be struggling alone.

"Well.. not sure about all that.. there are some changes and updates since then... well, you have to consider the needs of the rest of Sarawak..."

*sigh* can't help feeling cheated though, as if you had agreed to some assuring conditions in a contract only to know there are changes and updates once the you penned down your signature in black and white.

now that i am here, no point bringing the case to court. be positive, have an open mind, accept any challenges and Pray.

First Weekend in Limbang

2011-10-02T21:30:00.003+08:00

Saturday morning noodle breakfast is at Mei Sing coffee shop, opposite the post office

i also checked out there's air-conditioned Bubble Bing (serves No Pork!), few shops away from Sarimah Curry House

there's a mixture of cuisine here where east meets west, we had the nasi lemak and fried mee hoon for lunch.. and drinks, 3-layer Teh C Peng, Bubble Milk Tea and Ice Cream Float. i won't say its has the best food around but at least i know where to hang out on a hot afternoon when there's no Starbucks.

for dinner, my relatives cooked chicken soup, bird nest soup with red rice-wine (erng cha) pork, a Foochow dish. haven't eaten this red pork dish in a while, since my last visit to Sibu perhaps.

On Sunday we went to King Coffee again, next to the Sunday market for soft boiled eggs this time (instead of the crispy roti kahwin) and fragrant coffee

visiting the Limbang Market/ Pasar Limbang.. there's the famous Limbang Rojak too (there's another Limbang Rojak shop next to Hong Leong Bank.. the advantage is i don't have to specify which branches of Banks, restaurants etc.. as there's only One of each! even 1 Petronas and 1 Shell Gas Station!)

the Limbang Tamu selling clothes and random stuff, and opposite is Pusat Penjaja Medan Bangkita which is a wet Sunday market like Kuching's Satok

home cooked food for lunch! haha perhaps i should stop taking photos of home-cooked food as my relatives had to wait for me to take pictures before they dig in (Helen's picture policy: Camera Eats First!) .. it came to the point that my cousin was waiting and reminded me to take pictures of the food although i did not want too cause i got lazy.. Lol

this is Limbang Airport.. better than Lawas's at least, it has the basics but too bad only flies to Miri, and 2-3times daily. can u at Least fly to KK?

at the counter there's this Limbang - Miri return timetable. very convenient indeed, shall be refering to this all the time till i memorize it!

the library is on the 4th floor of Limbang Plaza and those are the opening hours. at least its air conditioned, but there's no Wifi.. not here and not Anywhere in Limbang. so bring ur own internet modem or use their LAN connection.

the Sports field at Limbang with a big jogging track, there are lots of people exercising here in the evening, not bad actually

and the public swimming pool which has lots of people, mostly youngsters who aren't actually swimming but playing around every corner and sides of the pool with the occasional more serious swimmers. the pool opens daily from 3pm-7.45pm with a RM1 entrance fee. that's the same cost of the registration fee in government dental clinic.

yap, my first weekend in Limbang was not spent sightseeing but finding the banks, JPJ, Immigration office, post office, police station, hospital (obviously, and my future accommodation), recreational park, market, tamu, Limbang plaza with Nguikee supermarket and the odd things like bakery, hairdresser, photocopy shop, printing pictures shop, handphone shop, ATM etc.., Petronas & Shell gas station, public library, public sports field and public swimming pool.. need to find a mechanic though, my car's headlights is out, what timing!

tomorrow is my first day at work in this little town. Here goes nothing!