High Speed Rail

There are many development plans from the last administration which would help elevate Malaysia to the next level. A national railway network would have been one of the steps to the right direction.

Imagine getting to Penang in 2 hours. 3 hours to either Kota Bharu or Singapore from KL? That would be awesome.

The plan was there but the implementation had created a lot of ill feelings. There were too many middle men making a quick buck escalating the cost. If we were to continue with the current plan, the cost per kilometer of a train service to Singapore would be among the highest in the world.

I for one agree that the rail network should go ahead but after some renegotiation. The current cost is just too high.

I was in Singapore last weekend. Both the journeys out and back were delayed. I spent more time at the airport than the actual travel. A clear waste of time. It would be more efficient to take the train instead. And with a high speed network, the journey would have been faster taking into account the travel time to the centre of KL from the airport.

Hopefully in the years to come, this would be built. We shall just need to wait and watch ...

Academia at SGH

I remembered giving a seminar for Medical Officers back in 2010 with my team from UMMC back then. It was a Saturday whole day event teaching the basics of Haematology for those in Medical Training. It was very well recieved and the delegates came not only just from Kelang Valley but down to Seremban, Ipoh and Kuantan.

It was organised by the Me\alaysia Medical Association - MMA - and the venue was the MMA Headquaters at Jalan Tun Razak, opposite HKL.

The main entrance foyerThere were a few meeting going on at the same time ..The building had since been demolished to make way for the MRT Project. The Headquarters had been moved out of town to Bukit Jalil, and the events such as these were now held at hotels and other venues.

In Singapore, they were moving forward differently and investing in the future. Continuous Medical Educations or CME forms an integral part of lifelong learning in Medicine. It would expose the trainees to the rapid new development in Medicine as well as keeping the seniors in touch with the current thinking. The value of these CME should never been underestimated. And along those thinking, the MMA had now made CME points compulsory in attaining our yearly Medical practice licenses.

It would have been noce to have a central hub for these meetings such as in Singapore. There, each institution have their own centre for CME with modern facilities and centralised organisation of these events.

Our meeting that dayIt wasn't just facilities for medical talks, but a training hub for nurses and surgeons as wellThe plaque by the office. The facilities is less than a couple of years oldLast weekend, I was involved in a regional Haematology event and it was held at one of these facilities. Academia as it was called belonged to SingHealth who is the body who has Singapore General Hospital under its organisation. The location was smack in the middle of the NUS-Duke campus and it had everything you would need to run such events.

Imagine the cost savings in terms or venue rental, program development as well as the actual organisation. I was also sure that its running would be efficient as this would be their bread and butter. We don’t have to rent a 5-star venue anymore to run such events. Another advantage here was the MRT station was right nearby - another advantage Singapore has compared to us.

The event I attended was hosted by a Pharmaceutical company with inputs from the University. There did not have any hesitation to use the venue despite us staying is a 5-star hotel. They could have easily use one of the conference room at the hotel instead.

The NUS-Dule building just across the roadThere were a few artworks at the walls. This was one of them ...Heading to another room for the afternoon sessionWe had a few venues and services such as these when I was in UMMC but the facilities there could do with a bit of investment. The MMA Headquarters seemed out of town and organising events there would be a logistical drawback. I had delivered lectures at facilities in Sungai Buloh ran by UITM. Not bad at all, but again the venue was a bit of a challenge. I am sure HUKM also have their own venue, but having a venue was one thing, having a dedicated team to run and coordinate such facilities was another.

All in all, if there is a facility with a central location which can ran these events - which takes place at least on a weekly basis - such facilities would have plenty of mileage and with the right investment, it could throve and be a model for more venues such as these in each general Hospital. Imagine if HKL were to kick things off, with a state-of-the-art venue? I don’t think it is not doable ...

If we are serious about developing a national CME program, a robust venue is a must .... this will create an identity and will make things easier to move forward.

A Quick Hop

A bit of a change this weekend with an overnight trip down south to Singapore on Friday. Great that I would be back on Saturday evening and would have the Sunday to chill.

I was at the hospital early that morning to clear a few things before Anita dropped me at KL Sentral for early lunch. The journey to KLIA was tight as the train was full. Most of the passengers however went on to KLIA2. My flight was only half full.

Didn't pack muchThe train to KLIA was packedDelayed ...The schedule for the rest of today and tomorrow looked full. I would go straight to the conference venue from the airport, then to attend the faculty dinner before my pickup back to the hotel at 9.30 pm. I would only check myself in then.

It would be an early start tomorrow. Pickup would be at 7.30. My talk would be after the coffee break in the morning before being taken straight to airport for a 7pm flight.

En routeWaiting for my pick-up from the airport ...What should I do on Sunday then? There is a hifi show in town. Maybe I'll go to that ...

GoPro-ing Orchard

The hotel we stayed in was right at the edge of the main shopping district in Singapore, the famous Orchard Road. What better way to do the field test of the new GoPro than to take it out shopping.

With limited time on my hands, I had to plow on and learn how to use the camera practically in the fly. As I mentioned, i wasn't expecting much at the start. I got more than what I bargained for.

Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant somewhat hidden in the end of the streetWaiting for lights to turnCelebrating the Year of The DogsI spent most of the time taking photos rather than videos. I then noticed that the battery needed managing. Good thing I bought an extra battery from the off.

Weather was great. I only managed half the way down the street, turning back at the Apple Store. I also noticed that the shutter lag cost me a few shots. The learning curve was steep.

Pigeons The GoPro can't cope with the wide dynamic range and flaresAt least the weather was gorgeous

There is always time for ice-creamI really loved the wide angle fish-eye effect coming from the lens. The deep blue from the capture also caught my eye. It had problem handling the highlights though - it tended to have a blue tinge to it. The dynamic range was also limited in earnest. I had to carefully pick my angles, which could be tricky when capturing wide angles.

The lens also had issues with flares - another thing to watch out for when a opting into the sun.

A happy cellist heading for a spot on the street to buskThe architecture was a mixture of many cultural elementsMore shopping malls

Plenty to learn. And plenty to enjoy as well.

Night Safari

It was a much-touted destination. The Night Safari at Singapore Zoo had garnered worldwide attention for their work in preservation as well as good experience all around.

In the last trip to Singapore, this proves to be the main event for the four of us.

Anita booked up a package which worked out great. This being a Saturday evening during the peak season meant that the place would be full. The package she booked included transfer from the hotel to the Zoo, entrance ticket as well as a priority tram ride - the best way to enjoy the park.

From the hotelOur guide, RobinAll badged upWithout the priority access, waiting time for the tram would be around 90 minutes. We got on ours in less than 5. Great value. The tram ride on the whole took about half an hour snaking along the various attractions in the zoo, almost a touching distance at some of the animals.

The place was hot however despite the ride starting after 8 pm. The lights were pretty dim and since flash was not allowed, snapping photos was almost impossible during the tram ride. Despite using my X-Pro with an f1.4 lens, the captures were still blurry with shakes. I should've brought my Alpha 7R with the 85 mm f1.4 instead. Well, originally we did plan to fly. I wanted to keep my gear to a minimal.

The queue for the tram was crazy!Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap muchThis one was relatively clearAfter the tram ride, we had the choice of either taking a shirt all down a designated path or went straight for dinner. We decided to do both.

The path only took us 15 minutes before Irfan complained of being hungry. Dinner then came at the food stalls there. Plenty of selection. You can also get a package with buffet dinner but we decided to give that a miss since we weren't sure if it was halal.

We did the trail after the tram, before settling for some dinnerThe return bus right was at 10 pm, and half an hour later we were back in the comfort of our room. Time for shower and some hot chocolate. I decided to have some sandwiches before bed.

All together the ride was expensive and novel. Not sure if it was worth doing it again but should I had the chance, I'd probably went straight along one of the 4 paths available. There were also animal shows if you decided against walking or taking the tram every hour at the main entrance.