Ending Raya Break Part II

From Part I ...

Lunch was nice. The sun was high at the time and heat was searing. I then walked by Dataran Merdeka - which was calm that day - angling towards the River of Life before stopping at one of the shops for more drinks.

The birds at Lebuh AmpangBy Masjid Jamek and the newly-built shadesThe corridor of the old Court House next to Masjid JamekThe old COurt had been converted into a modern theatreWaiting under the shadesPart of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Hopefully it will long be preserved ...Next was Medan Pasar with a stop at Ruang to catch a small exhibition - The Towns of Malaya - enjoying the air conditioning and some real nice history. Next was Central Market. I debated for another stop or just to take the MRT to Bukit Bintang. Bukit Bintang won.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building from the rear. The tall pole at Dataran Merdeka can be seen as well.You've been warned .... no hanky-panky around here ...The colourful building by the River of Life. The colour of the buildings reminds me of Amsterdam.The flagpole by Dataran Merdeka. Used to be the tallest in the World.Across to the National Textile Museum The newly refurbished Kafe Old Market Square by Medan Pasar.Heading North ...At Bukit Bintang, I stopped for another coffee before making my way on foot past Pavilion back to KLCC using the elevated walkway. I was back at Suria where I started just before 4 pm taking the time to browse at Kinokuniya before returning home ...

A quick stop at RuangTaking the MRT from Central Market, heading to Bukit BintangBack to Pavilion and the famous fountainThe World Cup FeverMaking my way back to KLCC using the walkwayMore World Cup shenanigans Now that was a full day. Plenty to snap but it would have been better with an early start where the sun was lower and the heat was not as bad ...

Ending Raya Break Part I

I took a whole week off for the recent Hari Raya and getting back to work was a pain especially with the backlog of patients waiting for me at the clinic. Luckily, I had a couple of days to get my feet back on the ground before starting my calls.

Deciding where to head to ...Looking up ...Making my way across to Avenue KOne of the newer shops in town - RobinsonsA quick stop at the Leica StoreYes, it is big!For the last day of the break, I decided to take my camera out for a spin. Just me and the camera with my Touch and Go card to take me across town using the MRT/LRT.

Alighting at Masjid JamekMasjid IndiaPlease pay hereHello Kitty!Looking good ...Some of the roads undergoing upgradesLuckily the weather turned out to be superb, and it turned out to be an enjoyable day. When I was finally done, I clocked around 300 snaps.

I parked my car to start the journey at Suria KLCC. From there, I walked across to Avenue K, having a few snaps at the Twin Tower as I was passing along. I was tempted to stop at Robinson’s - the new shopping mall at Four Seasons just across Suria but decided against it.

Red shop ...Pertama Complex - one of the oldest mall in KLLooking out from Medan MARAThe SOGO entrance was rather flowery ...Back to Masjid IndiaTime to settle down for lunchI stopped at the Leica Store while at Avenue K before taking the LRT to Masjid Jamek. I walked along Masjid India, then towards Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, before doubling back to Lebuh Ampang for lunch at one fo the banana leaf restaurant there.

Continued here in Part II ...

Ing-Gerr-Land

The World Cup fever had finally hit me. And yes, I support England, and this was despite our pet goldfish - Gareth the Goldfish - died suddenly last month. Bad omen it may be, but England would still be on top.

They started their campaign against Tunisia the other night. On paper, it should have been an easy win but it turned out that Tunisia was a very organised outfit. Although England striked first - courtesy of a penalty by Kane - Tunisia equalised and the score remained so until an injury time winner from a set piece - a corner this time.

England clearly lacked the flair player who could unlock defences and throved more on fast transition play. This would be a problem against opponents who parked their bus and stayed behind the ball. At the end, the set-piece play bailed England out. Against better opponent, they had to be more clever. Without penetration, England would not go far.

The next game would be another straight forward one before the real test in the last group game against the best team in the group, Belgium. That would be the game who would make or break England’s campaign. For them to progress far, these are the games they would need to perform and get results from ...

Aidilfitri 2018

It was a quiet one this time around as we were just staying at home during the break. The initial plan to travel to Penang was shelved as the travel would be too much as the boys would be back to school on Monday - Raya was on Friday.

My father-in-law was also in not the best of health and my Sister was in Melaka with her husband’s family this time around. Just a few trips here and there but most of the time, my Mother had visitors coming. The house was never empty.

And then there was the small matter of the World Cup kicking off the night before Raya which meant sleepless nights and naps in front of the TV after plenty of food ....

My Father-in-law was a bit worse for wear when on one of the evening he was dehydrated and nearly fainted. A slight change of medications saw to that. Food was plenty though and I was sure I must have put on at least a couple of kilos, despite losing some during the fasting month.

I had a few days off after the festivities just to chill out - and do plenty of photography. For those travelling, drive safe and enjoy the time on the road ...

Final Week of Ramadhan

Another week to go before Raya and I started to miss it already. In fact, things had been rather quiet with the school holidays staring today, lasting for 2 weeks. I am on call today with an invitation for berbuka in town later.

Hopefully there won’t be much problem for me to get there and back in time. I have cancelled my clinic tomorrow morning and looking at my schedule, the clinics were pretty light next week.

The expected Raya traffic when people were out shoppingI will be away for one whole week during Raya. And with another colleague going on a conference in Europe during the time, we were down to one Haematologist during the Raya weekend.

We will be staying at Bukit Antarabangsa this time around, and of course a short trip to Gombak. Julia will be in Melaka. My Mum will be going to Penang the weekend after Raya to attend my cousin’s wedding, but I would be back to work already by then.

Hopefully the call today would be a quiet one, and I can enjoy a quiet few days before Raya ...