Roti First

Breakfast. Roti telur. Before setting off to Melaka. Great idea. I might as well do that as the traffic turning out from Subang Jaya would be murder at this hour. It was just before 8.30 am when I was done with the ward round and thought it was far too early to set off just yet.

I have a few items to pick up from the apartment as well. So, Bangsar, then off to Melaka! Woohoo!

Calling it the Day

Finally calling it the day after reading through my materials for my talk on Saturday afternoon in Melaka. I will be driving there tomorrow morning after I complete my ward rounds, planning to reach there by lunch. Hopefully, my room would be ready by the time I reach there.

I plan to get up extra early tomorrow to finish my slides after what had been a long day after rushing for the BLS exams and sorting out my clinic patients and admissions. The slides form Melaka still need beefing up but I'm sure things would be ready in time. All I need is just a couple of hours sorting things out. Hopefully thy would come in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

I would be driving to the hospital after the mining rush hour, sort out the patients, and then I should be off. Planning my next entry after reaching there.

A Great Honour

It certainly is an honour to be invited back to your school. I have been back to Terendak on a few occasions before, giving career talks and the likes, but this time it would be something different. I was invited to give a pep talk for the coming exams, and to officiate a program there.

I would be given a couple of hours to talk, answer questions as well as officiate the event. Talking is never a problem and being a lecturer to 8 years certainly helps. The only problem would be the medium. It seemed like it would be in Malay. A potential disaster. I was also asked to prepare some slides.

When it come to slides, those who had been in the audience at my talks soon learned that I am a minimalist when it comes to slides and lectures. The maximum number of works on the projector at any given time was 10. And I would be sticking to that. Hopefully I could keep the audience enthralled as I would be relying on anecdotes most of the time. And there would be plenty of those in store.

There would also be a serious part to my talk, and in the end there would be three parts - the past, the present and the future. The past would mostly be about me, and how I got to where I am today - which is not very much …….

The present would be some exam tips - mainly the importance of studying in group and to strategies. And thirdly, what I would have hoped to have known if I was back in their shoes. It should be interesting.

So, the slides are done, though I could do with a few more pics. I have a long drive tomorrow, leaving KL at 6.30. I would have to be there by 9 am. Hopefully, it would be a day to remember …..

Seafood at Kuala Sungai Baru

As soon as we decided to head for Melaka, one thing that came out of Anita's mouth was seafood. She wanted to go to Serkam, but that will be out of the way from Port Dickson. Our driver, Pak Cik Sufian, originally from Melaka had another idea. Apparently, he knew of a similar place near his kampung, which is halfway between us and Melaka.

On the way back after our outing in Melaka - which I will blog in another entry - we made a stop at Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru, which is near Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM). He grew up there and his sister and relatives still lived at the kampung. The place was only open after 6 pm, so he made some calls, and by the time we reach the place, just before Maghrib, the food was already on the table for us! All we needed to do was eat! Just as well.

Fresh sea prawns. You can taste the sweetness still.Seafood-filled fried tauhuIkan goreng tiga rasa - delish!The place is a small complex, converted from an old jetty. The fish and seafood were brought in the same day, and cooked fresh at the restaurant. Since most visitors liked to pick their own fish, it will involve a slight wait for the food to be ready. Since Pak Cik Sufian sorted the food early for us, we just sat down and enjoyed. The particular restaurant was apparently best at the area - there are a few more fancy ones just across the bridge. It was comfortable, in an open air setting by the jetty overlooking the Straits of Malacca. They had TV, and very clean toilets and surau. The challenge was to drive in, since I must say, I would have probably missed the entrance - all it said from the main Kuala Linggi road - M143 - was ‘Kompleks Ikan Bakar Kuala Sungai Baru’. I don’t think you will find it on any of the GPS system. If you are interested, it’s 2.353887, 102.033762.

If you fancy, you can have your food outdoors.The food were really fresh, and the fish was best enjoyed with some nasi lemak. We had fried squid - highly recommended - and ikan masa tiga rasa. All the standard seafood were there, but it will be at the mercy of what caught on the day. In terms of cooking style, it may lack the variety of Kuala Selangor, but still well worth a visit.

Sorry about the quality of the snaps as they were taken using my iPhone 4. The quality was not as good in low light I'm afraid.

More Abang Beca

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I was pleasantly surprised by the trishaw pusher at Bandar Melaka. They treated us local Malaysian with the same zeal as they would do foreigners. They were eager to help and explains what was on show, and took us through the landmarks, with stories and anecdotes one would expect from a seasoned tourist guides. I thought that I should give them props as props were definitely due here.

These trishaw riders were young, as young as your typical rempit riders in KL. Rather than being a menace, these lot were a creditto society and quite rightly form the frontline to tourist. Their English were not perfect but there lies the charm. If the tourist wanted to hear somebody describing Bandar Melaka in perfect Queen's English, they should attend an English class instead! You need to hear the enthusiasm, you need to experience the charisma of the place. I have been disappointed with local guides in my time and even at the hotel, while I was attending Habibah's wedding, Puan Anita was left fuming at the receptionist when she asked information about local attraction. The young lady behid the desk just nonchalantly replied, "I don't know as I never taken the trishaw ride before". When asked again about the river cruise, she replied something similar. I wonder of that was only the reply she gives to the locals. I can't imagine her getting away with that if a foreigner asked. She doesn't deserve her job if you ask me.

Should any of you visit Bandar Melaka again, make sure that you check these trishaws out. The riders were modest, polite, helpful and more importantly surprisingly resourcefully. I would definitely take another ride again should I spend a weekend in Melaka, but through a different route of course. There were so much to experience!

The slideshow for the trip can be found here.