Hotel Heian no Mori

We stayed a pretty basic hotel on the East side of Kyoto called Heian No Mori Hotel. A 70's affair and friendly staff, it was more than adequate. The only problem was it was 10 minutes away from the nearest Subway station. Therefore, we had to rely on either taxi or minibus to get us around.

My room was simple but neat. Fairly big after hearing stories from my colleagues who had been to Japan before, mainly about how small the hotel rooms were. I had a couple of beds, with ample room to move around. The bathroom was also more than big enough with a strong, hot shower. But no English TV channels though. Definitely no football. It didn't appear that football was big in this place despite hosting the World Cup only 10 years ago.

The main lobbyThe room came with breakfast each morning, served at the diner by the lobby. Although the items were al Japanese, I do not mind as they were seafood and vegetables selection aplenty. In fact, the miso soup was among the most delicious I had ever tasted.

For a place to stay short term while attending a conference, I certainly have no complaints. Although honestly, I would've preferred a central, more connected place. But with the company I was with, I was pretty happy. One of my colleague said that there were plenty to see and photographs if I was willing to walk around the hotels. There were a couple of shrines and if we walked a couple of blocks down, you would reach the the famed "Philosopher's Route". 15 minutes on the other direction would have taken us to the edge of Gion district, where the Geishas stayed. But I didn't have much time to explore the area unfortunately.

More on the Kyoto trip here.

Wide Awake

I had a touch of the insomnia last night. Not sure why. I wasn't planning to watch the Manchester derby - which United lost I might add. I just couldn't go to sleep. And the thing that stuck to my mind was one of my senior colleague who had a heart ailment which came out of the blue.

The gentleman would be having some procedures on Tuesday morning, and I'm praying that things would work out OK. I was yet to receive any update at the moment.

Them Toys

The toys I bought for the boys from Kyoto proved to be a hit for the boys. Both of them, among others got a remote controlled car each. And oh boy, they literally slept with the cars last night. Irfan especially enjoyed it.

This evening, the room was transformed into a race circuit, complete with ramps and guard rails. Surprisingly the batteries were still not depleted. It went on and on. It won't be long until the cars would be broken I think. But, for the time being, hopefully the cars would keep them occupied for the next week or so .....

More on my Kyoto trip here.

RIP Baroness Thatcher

Baroness Thatcher had passed away following a stroke. She was 87. One of the best peacetime Prime Minister of note. She was the British Prime Minister when I first arrived in the UK for my A Levels, and in the first couple of years there, the political scene was dominated by the loss of her learns hip to her Chancellor, John Major.

I had always had a soft spot for her, and it was common knowledge that she had not been blessed with the best of health of late. RIP the Iron Lady.

Back to Work

It was never easy to get back into the groove after you've been away. But at least, I did not have to come back straight to be on call. I would have the whole week to my usual activities, although I have a fair amount of work to keep me going.

I came to the hospital early, partly due to the fact that Japan is an hour in front - meaning the usual time I woke up there was 6.30am, translating to 5.30am here in Kuala Lumpur. I also had to do a bit of sorting out with my lab coats and my bags etc, not to mention some stuff to bring to the hospital for my nurses and all. I still had plenty of time to kill when I got in at Subang Jaya.

After seeing some referrals and catching up with the old cases, it was time to head over to Desa ParkCity for my clinic there. I have just done them, and was about to leave. Starving. I could do with an early lunch later. Maybe some proper Malaysian lunch. I was done with Japanese food for now …. at least for the next few days ……

Entries from the Kyoto trip can be read here.