Percutian Keluarga di Perth 4 Hari 3 Malam

Ramai kawan2 tanya tentang cuti di Perth:
Itinerary
Tempat tinggal
Macam mana nak apply visa maid Indon
Berapa kos keseluruhan

Saya pun sangat seronok cuti di Perth, jadi sambil mengimbas kembali kenangan manis, saya kongsi tips sekali.



Kangaroo kat Caversham makan sampai kenyang dan terbaring. Jinak betul. Sanggup dia datang dekat dan makan makanan kat tangan kita. Makanan dia macam makanan hamster tapi besar sikit.

Pemandangan dari balcony bilik di Adina Hotel.

Gambar Perth masa tengah jalan dalam kereta.

Jalan kereta di dalam Pinnacles desert

Berbanding Sydney dan Melbourne, Perth kurang terkenal di kalangan rakyat Malaysia sebagai tempat percutian pilihan.

Tapi kami pilih Perth sebab:
1) Ada baby dan anak kecil.
2) 5 jam penerbangan dari KLIA.
3) Tiket penerbangan murah.
4) Kali pertama satu keluarga ke luar negara.

Bubur segera brand Knorr menjadi makanan ruji baby masa di Perth.

Ya, setelah sampai ke sini saya galakkan semua yang mampu dan berhajat untuk pergi.

Sebelum pergi kena (pergi tunaikan Haji dulu bagi yang mampu, kami Alhamdulillah haji 2012, dan anak2 pula suami dah bawa pergi Umrah Disember 2015. Baca blog post saya tentang Tips Haji):

Buat passport
Apply cuti bagi yang bekerja
Apply visa, saya ada blog in detail tempat paling murah untuk dapat visa dan juga macam mana nak Apply visa maid.
Book flights
Book hotel
Book kereta kalau nak guna kereta dan buat lesen memandu dwi bahasa
Tukar duit, kami tukar dalam RM2200 dapat la AUD700.
Rancang itinerary
Beli adaptor (tapi kami tak guna pun sebab hotel dan kereta ada charger USB port)

Pokok rumput atau grass tree ni memang unik dan terdapat di serata Perth. Gambar di kat Yanchep Park, tempat koala.

Tiket penerbangan:

Kami naik Malindo. Flight 11.15malam, sampai 5pagi. Ramai juga kawan2 yang tak tahu Malindo ada flight KL-Perth. Takpe, saya tolong promote free of charge sebab sangat puas hati dengan servis.

Ada tiga cabaran.

1) Masa check in di KLIA2 ada isu pembantu rumah Indon visa dan tiket nama tak sama. Jadi lambat sikit tapi last-last ok je. Dia override system.
2) Makanan. Masa sampai lupa nak declare dalam borang yang ada Brahims. Nasib baik tak kena saman.
Masa dalam flight boleh la mintak landing card (ke apa tah nama nya). So box yang ada tulis meat, poulty tu kena tick.
3) Flight kami terakhir dari KLIA2, return flight sampai KLIA. Jadi suami gi hantar kereta kat parking KLIA, lepas tu ambik tren datang KLIA2.

Bawa bekalan makanan segera macam pasta, brahims, tuna, baked beans, jangan lupa declare di airport.

Transport masa di Perth:

Sewa kereta dengan Aries, sebab ada baby dan budak kecil. Kalau saya dan suami je, memang guna public transport.

Kedai sewa kereta beberapa km dari airport.

Kereta yang kami guna masa kat sana. Sempit sikit sebab anak2 dah biasa banyak leg room jadi dia orang banyak complen dan bergaduh. Tapi perlu bagi dia orang rasa susah sikit macam mana.

Suami yang buat booking online untuk sewa. Company Aries ni orang Malaysia punya. Kedai dia beberapa minit dari airport. Takde counter kat airport macam Hertz dsb.

Kereta bersih, selesa dan user-friendly. Orang Malaysia boleh bawak kereta di Australia guna lesen Malaysia yang baru dan dwi-bahasa.

Jalanraya pun takde masalah. Guna Waze je. Pemandu semua berhemah dan ikut peraturan. Best guna kereta di sini. Kalau ada baby, kena la guna carseat yang kami bawa dari Malaysia.

Kami sampai 5am. Solat subuh di surau airport belakang kaunter sewa kereta atau dalam parents room pun ok. Surau airport ok, satu bilik bercarpet dan dekat dengan bilik air, siap ada tempat wudhu tapi masalahnya campur lelaki dan perempuan. Maid saya yang first time jalan2 luar negara pun terkejut.

Di airport juga kami beli local simcard, murah je. Boleh call kalau ada masalah apa2 masa jalan2 nanti.

Kereta sewa pula siap 9am kat airport. Sempat tidur dulu.

Tempat tinggal di Perth:

Tinggal di Adina apartment hotel. Bilik cantik dan bersih. Ada dapur, washing machine dengan dryer sekali. Bilik tidur dua biji.

Bagus hotel ni ada USB port untuk charge phone jadi tak guna pun adaptor.

Bilik tidur utama, tak sempat nak ambik gambar full room sebab penat masa mula2 sampai.

Tempat masak, bersih.

Hubby book hotel online guna booking.com. Dia sangat rajin survey dan plan itinerary. Saya cuma tolong cari maklumat dan ikut holiday, haha.

Gambar depan hotel. Adina hotel dekat je dengan Bell Tower dan very centrally located.

Lobby hotel Adina.

Kami bawak pinggan mangkuk dari Malaysia sebab malas nak samak. Sabun basuh baju pun bawa dari Malaysia. Makanan standby Brahims dan mee segera. Milo 3in1 dsb. Brahims ada bagi sudu free. Untuk baby kami bawa bubur segera. Cerek, microwave, hot plates, toaster semua ada.

Pemandangan dari balcony bilik kami, ada street art. Memang banyak street art di Perth, sampai bila masuk terowong anak saya tanya, kenapa dinding terowong kosong, kenapa tak letak street art.

Cuma satu je masalah, masa hubby buat online booking mintak unit yang ada dua bilik air, tapi dapat yang ada satu bilik air je. So kena la share reramai, ni anak2 tak biasa so berebut la sikit.

Parking boleh guna hotel punye, convenient tapi kena bayar extra. So kami guna parking hotel masa hari pertama je sebab nak hantar beg dan barang2. Hari2 seterusnya, hubby park jauh sikit dan jalan lepas drop off kami anak-beranak, termasuk maid dan baby.

Gambar masa jalan2 di Perth.

Itinerary:

Hari Pertama:
1) Caversham Wildlife Park
2) Check in hotel Adina (hanya boleh check in lepas 2pm sebab hari tu dia fully-booked)
3) Kings Park
4) Bell Tower

Hari Kedua:
1) Penguin Island
2) Dolphins Cruise
3) Fremantle

Hari Ketiga:
1) The Pinnacles
2) Lake Thetis
3) Yanchep National Park

Hari Keempat:
1) Cottlesloe Beach Sculptures

Caversham Wildlife Park:

Dapat kereta je terus pegi Ke Caversham Wildlife Park di dalam Whiteman Park. Guna Waze. Sangat mudah. 30minit dah sampai. Takde jem.

Masa beli tiket, tunjuk Malindo boarding pass dapat 15% discount. Dewasa $27, kanak2 $12.

Tengok Farm show 10am. Lepas tu Wombat show 11am. Kangaroo feeding lepas tu. Best!

Umur 38 tahun baru dapat jumpa dan bagi makan kangaroo. Alhamdulillah.

Ni sebahagian dari Farm Show. Sheep shearing atau cukur bulu biri-biri. Rupa2nya ada kaedah tertentu. Nampak senang tapi kena ada skill juga.

Pertama kali tengok wombat. Nampak macam teddy bear. Sanggup pula wombat tu duduk senyap.

Masa di luar Caversham WP jumpa orang Malaysia, sorang student baru grad civil engineering. Dia ada bagi tips makan kat Charcoal Chicken Express, halal. Dia juga bagitau pasal farm show dan wombat show.

Tempat Makan:

Guna Waze cari Chicken Charcoal Express, sedap dan halal, dua kali beli makanan kat sini. Saya suka briyani kambing. Gambar tak sempat ambik sebab terlalu lapar. Take away dan makan di hotel.

Charcoal Chicken Express

Pegi beli lunch halal lepas tu check in Adina hotel 2pm. Makan, mandi, solat dan rehat.

Boleh google waktu solat sebelum pegi, jadi boleh plan awal2. Waktu solat Perth

Petang gi Kings Park. Best! Sangat cantik.

Banyak pokok eucalyptus di Perth. Ni gambar mula2 masuk Kings Park. Nampak gelap sebab dah 6ptg.

Dari Kings Park boleh nampak birds eye view of the town.

Rumput bersih so boleh baring dan golek2 kalau dah penat berjalan.

Jangan lupa DNA Tower dan pokok 500 tahun.

DNA Tower.

Pokok ni 500 tahun.

Bell Tower dekat je dengan hotel Adina jadi ambik gambar ni on the way balik.

Malam, rehat je. Suami gi kedai beli roti, nutella spread untuk breakfast dan souvenir.

Hari Kedua:

Bangun solat 5am. Anak2 liat nak bangun sebab letih jalan jauh, lepas tu diaorang terus tidur balik.

Nak pegi Penguin Island kena drive guna waze ke Shoalwater Bay. Parking ok, beratur beli tiket.

Naik bot sekejap je, dalam 5 minit, sampai la ke Pulau Penguin.

Lepas stamp tangan dapat masuk dan tengok penguin for the first time in real life.

Penguin dalam conservatory.

Ada orang bagi penerangan tentang penguin2 di pulau tu. Kemudian dia bagi makan penguin.

Lepas habis show, kami pun pegi jalan2 pusing pulau tu, adalah dalam 30minit. Walaupun matahari terik tapi angin sejuk. Lepas tu lunch makanan sandwich bekal dari hotel, makan bawah pokok, sekejap je rasa sejuk sebab angin agak kuat. Takde tong sampah so sampah kena kumpul dan bawa balik mainland untuk buang.

Cantik pulau dan pantai dia, panas macam Malaysia tapi berangin dan anginnya sejuk maka tak berpeluh pun.

Banyak burung seagull. Masa siang takde penguin sebab penguin ke laut cari makan. Yang jumpa dalam conservatory tu je.

Lepas tengok penguin, pegi tengok dolphins pulak.

Drive lagi guna waze ke Mandurah. Kagum sungguh tengok dolphins berenang dekat dengan bot kita. Best.

Saya cuba upload video, tapi tak dapat, so cukup la gambar ni nak tunjuk dekatnya dolphin datang ke bot.

Cruise dia pegi juga tengok rumah2 mewah dekat kawasan tu lepas puas tengok dolphin.

Rumah harga juta2 setiap rumah ada bot.

Lepas tu balik hotel solat dan rehat. Malam, anak2 dan suami gi Fremantle.

Hari Ketiga:

Guna Waze ke the Pinnacles Desert, jauh juga naik kereta dalam 200km. Bayaran untuk masuk AUD12 untuk sebiji kereta.

Memang sangat cantik dan mengagumkan. Semua sibuk ambik gambar, tak sabar nak turun dari kereta.

Banyak gambar yang ambik kat sini, tak larat orang nak tengok kalau letak semua. Cuaca lebih kurang macam panas Malaysia. Nak senang jalan saya pakai baju yang biasa pakai jogging, baju lengan panjang dgn trackbottom.

Rasanya di sini masa keluar ada bilik air, jadi kami pun tumpang guna tandas dan solat di tempat parking kereta je sebab dah masuk zuhur (dalam 12.30tgh hari). Angin pula agak kuat, telekung pun nak terbang. Kiblat guna compas phone je.

Solat di parking lot.

Lepas satu kali pusing dan dua kali turun kereta jalan2 ambik gambar, kami pergi ke Tasik Thetis untuk tengok fosil dan stromatolite. Sekejap je, turun kereta, jalan sikit, ambik gambar dan chow sebab nampak macam nak hujan dengan kilat.

Benda-benda bulat tu la fosil, tak boleh pegang, takut rosak, jadi ambik gambar je. Kali pertama tengok fosil in the flesh.

Lepas tu kami terus naik kereta sambung jalan ke Lancelin Sand Dunes untuk sand boarding. Kena sewa board lepas tu drive sikit ke bukit pasir. Anak2 dan suami main. Saya ambik gambar je. Kurang minat.

Akhir sekali kami ke Yanchep National Park. Guna tiket masuk yang sama masa pegi the Pinnacles, so jangan buang tiket/resit.

Bilik air dia agak menakutkan sebab gelap sikit tapi bersih. Botol air yang lama mesti simpan untuk guna masa pegi bilik air sebab takde paip, walaupun tisu memang banyak.

Seronok tengok kangaroo banyak tapi mula2 sekali masuk nak tengok koala yang tak sempat masa Caversham sebab baby bad mood. Ada beberapa ekor yang duduk atas pokok. Comel.

Ada sign tulis koalas, jadi masuk Yanchep Park drive terus je, dah sampai.

Lepas tu pegi Chicken Charcoal beli makanan, dan balik hotel makan, solat maghrib isyak dan tidur.

Hari Keempat:

Kemas barang dan keluar hotel. Kena check out 10pagi. Lepas tu ada kawan bagitau ada Sculpture Event di Cottlesloe Beach. Takut tak sempat sebab flight 3ptg, so kena ada di airport 12 tengah hari. Last2 pegi juga, dapat la ambik gambar dengan sculptures dalam 5 minit. Alhamdulillah.

Terus ke airport untuk check in, hubby kena hantar kereta sewa pulang. Dia check in kemudian.

Car-seat baby kena check in kat kaunter 25 untuk oversize baggage.

Tempat check in (kaunter 48) dekat je dengan surau. So solat terus Zuhur dan Asar.

Masa nak pegi dan balik memang letak cecair macam krim dsb dalam beg plastik. Masa nak balik dia orang sediakan beg plastik free lagi.

Mungkin sebab hubby check in lambat kami duduk seat row 28, paling belakang 30, dan row 29-30 memang kosong. So sedapla boleh baring sorang tiga kerusi, staf Malindo pun sangat sporting melayan anak2 sampai makan sorang 3 pek chicken briyani, berpek2 biskut dan air macam2.

Best boleh baring dan tidur sebab tak ramai orang.

Tengok movie & main games dengan anak2. Sampai 9pm. Lambat pula nak turun kapal terbang. Lepas tu, naik tren KLIA, sampai di tempat beg tapi beg masih belum sampai. Suami gi solat dulu. Dalam 11pm sampai rumah di Shah Alam.

Alhamdulillah semua selamat.

Kos
Tiket penerbangan RM6000 untuk 3 dewasa, 3 kanak-kanak dan 1 bayi, tiket baby RM100 je.
Hotel RM3200 untuk 3 malam. Boleh je cari yang lebih murah, seperti B&B dan sebagainya, kami pilih hotel sebab ada baby dan budak kecik.
Kereta sewa AUD284 untuk 4 hari, kalau seminggu lagi murah kadarnya.
Setiap tempat yang dilawat harga lebih kurang AUD100 untuk kami bertujuh (tapi Yanchep dan Pinnacles sekali bayar je AUD12 untuk satu kereta).
Minyak AUD90 untuk 800km.
Visa RM20 seorang, maid dalam RM700

Boleh baca artikel menarik tentang bercuti di Perth dengan anak2 syurga.

Menjadi Blogger Yang Berjaya

Saya pernah ditanya tentang bagaimana untuk memulakan blog dan pastinya ramai di luar sana yang berminat akan terfikir soalan yang saya juga terfikir suatu ketika dahulu....bagaimanakah caranya untuk menjadi blogger yang berjaya?

Langkah pertama adalah untuk mulakan sesuatu, dan langkah ini most probably untuk kebanyakkan orang adalah langkah yang paling mencabar...
Antara persoalan yang timbul:

Nak guna blog yang mana?

Saya ada dua blog. Selain blogger.com saya juga gunakan wordpress.
Pendapat peribadi, gunalah mana-mana pun asalkan anda mula. Jangan spend terlalu banyak masa memikirkan nak guna website yang mana satu, last-last tak start pun.

Dan kalau tak pasti, ikut lah macam saya, buat dua blog hahaha...

Kelebihan ada dua blog ni, kita boleh compare kelebihan dan kekurangan website host masing-masing.

Langkah kedua, nak tulis tentang apa ya?

Ikut lah, terpulang kepada anda. Memang ada orang dah nasihat, khas kan satu blog untuk satu tema sahaja.

Saya bagi contoh, untuk diri sendiri, saya suka menulis/berminat tentang isu-isu tersebut:

Kerjaya sebagai doktor
Cabaran di tempat kerja bagi doktor, pensyarah, wanita dan ibu
Bersenam
Menjaga kesihatan dan mengelakkan penyakit
Menulis
Parenting
Isu agama yang praktikal/dalam kehidupan seharian
Kewangan
Bisnes
Perkahwinan

Dan macam-macam lagi...

Jadi, sepatutnya lah, khas kan satu blog untuk satu tema sahaja, nasihat yang diberi oleh kawan-kawan sebab secara logiknya, pembaca contohnya seorang pelajar perubatan, akan berminat tentang tips berkaitan housemanship, postgrad exam sementara seorang ibu pula mungkin lebih cenderung nak tau tentang tips parenting. Contoh je la, bukan nak stereotype. Jadi kalau ada tema ia memudahkan pembaca.

Tapi saya tak ikut nasihat tu sebab masa mulakan dua-dua blog hampir 7 tahun lepas (2013) saya agak sibuk dan main hentam sahaja. Buat dulu dan edit kemudian. Boleh juga, kan?

Tips lain yang saya sendiri tidak praktikkan, tapi ini adalah dari kursus Irfan Khairi tentang bisnes internet, tulis sedikit setiap hari, kena konsistent. Ok, terus terang saya ada masa terlalu sibuk hanya fokus kerja dan keluarga, dan ada masa lain pula Alhamdulillah, banyak masa lapang, jadi definisi konsisten ni mungkin berbeza untuk setiap orang. Ada yang setiap hari, setiap minggu, setiap bulan, setiap tahun pun ada hahaha...yang penting pada saya ada hasilnya.

Apakah objektif anda menulis blog?

Adakah untuk mempromosi sesuatu produk atau servis? Atau sekadar berkongsi ilmu dan nasihat secara percuma demi kebaikan sejagat? Atau kerana anda suka menulis dan ingin mengasah bakat? Atau sebagai suatu ibadah?

Jika anda seperti saya, lebih kepada suka berkongsi ilmu, maka lebih ramai orang yang baca blog anda adalah ukuran kejayaan blog tersebut.

Secara amnya, memiliki dan menguruskan blog adalah suatu usaha yang mengambil masa, kalau boleh, gunakan lah untuk sesuatu yang positif.

Harap post ini membantu dan mulakan blog anda sekarang, hari ke 44 + 9 (53) Malaysia PKP/MCO dan juga hari ke 7 + 9 (16) Ramadhan.

...

Ini post saya pada bulan Disember 2016:

"Esok, insya Allah saya dan keluarga akan bercuti ke Perth, Australia. Tiket dan visa serta pelbagai persiapan yang lain telah pun dibuat.

Terus-terang, saya bukanlah seorang yang minat bercuti dan bersiar-siar di tempat yang jauh. Saya bahagia jika bekerja lima hari seminggu dan dapat menonton wayang di hujung minggu serta makan diluar bersama keluarga.

Walaupun pernah tinggal di Eropah selama lebih satu dekad, banyak lagi tempat yang tak pernah saya lawati di benua tersebut.

Terima kasih kepada anak sulung kami yang begitu berminat untuk menjelajahi dunia, kami berjanji akan membawanya ke luar negara selepas UPSR 2015. Pada cuti hujung tahun, suami saya membawa anak-anak untuk umrah mereka yang pertama. Ya, sebelum pergi ke mana-mana, tunaikanlah kewajiban dahulu, bagi pembaca yang beragama Islam. Saya pula tak dapat ikut kerana bekerja dan ada bayi kecil, lagipun kami suami isteri Alhamdulillah telah menunaikan ibadat haji pada 2012.

Antara persiapan untuk ke Perth:
1) Tempah tiket kapal terbang (suami pilih Malindo, saya ikut saja)
2) Dapatkan visa untuk ahli keluarga dan pembantu rumah Indonesia
3) Suami mendapatkan lesen memandu Malaysia yang baru (dwi bahasa dan boleh digunakan di Australia)

Saya agak teruja kali ini untuk bercuti kerana:
1) Kali pertama melawat benua Australia
2) Kali pertama cuti di luar negara bersama keluarga (termasuk empat orang anak dan yang bungsu baru setahun lebih)

Mula-mula saya mencari maklumat tentang Perth melalui kawan-kawan, facebook dan juga internet, tetapi google dalam bahasa Inggeris. Bila saya google cuti Perth dalam bahasa Melayu, terus saya terjumpa blog ini:

Blog Faizal Fredley

Terdapat banyak maklumat yang menarik dari segi perspektif orang Islam Malaysia yang ingin bercuti di Australia, dan perspektif ini tidak terdapat di website yang berbahasa Inggeris, yang telah saya baca setakat ini.

Blogger tersebut juga merupakan pemenang anugerah Travel Blog dan blog berpengaruh. Hebat.

I never knew such awards even existed until today. (Rasa macam katak bawah tempurung la pulak).

Tahniah.

Ok, sekarang kena terus dapatkan lebih informasi tentang cuti di Perth".

Career Options for Doctors

A lot of people ask me whether medicine is a good career option. This is what I think:

Yes, it is a good career option for:
1) those who have a genuine interest
2) for those who have a good reason to pursue medicine as a career

It is not a good career for people who are lazy or only have monetary gains as their sole purpose. There are other less painful and easier ways to accumulate wealth other than working as a doctor. And if you knew the starting salary of a doctor in Malaysia, you would definitely agree that there are other easier ways.

Career Advice For Doctors

People often ask me for career guidance and career advice. Sometimes, I wonder why.

Here is my story...

My return to clinical practice has been rather sudden. Well, not really.

I had last practiced medicine in a hospital setting in Ireland in 2006. My last post was as a senior house officer in paediatrics. I hated paediatrics. I almost died during that 6 months posting and I told myself, I was never going back.

I am not saying that paediatrics is an awful specialty, it is just that the experience confirmed what I already sort of knew beforehand, I knew that I did not want to be a paediatrician.

The reason why I took up that post was because of the opportunity. At that point in time, my ultimate career choice would have been emergency medicine.

I enjoyed working in the emergency department much more than any where else in the hospital, but I would get a bit worked up whenever a paediatric patient came through the door, even though this was a very unlikely situation in Ireland where healthcare for adults and children are segregated.

Even so, when working in a smaller hospital like St Columcilles in Loughlinstown, we did encounter a few children and even (*horrors*) babies. So I thought it was a good idea to spend some time in paediatrics, learning the basics. It was a nightmare, but it was also very valuable experience.

I remember being depressed the first few weeks, even crying in front of my husband in the evenings. He would ask what was wrong, and I told him I hated paediatrics. But he advised me to keep at it and that I will learn a thing or two from the posting. He was right. Looking back, I am glad that I did not quit.

Taking a break from practising medicine to lecturing physiology, at that time in 2007, seemed like one of the best decisions in my life. It was so nice to have a normal nine to five job, no weekends, no on-calls, no unsocial hours. No sick patients to attend to, no emergencies or life-threatening situations that needed to be managed, just lectures that in theory could always be rescheduled if necessary.

It was difficult though, because it was the first time I lived in Kota Bharu. It took me awhile to get used to the place, perhaps around 6 months, before I could genuinely be happy again.

I am not saying Kota Bharu is horrible, but like paediatrics, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Of course as muslims, we must always believe in blessings in disguise. Had I known what KB was like beforehand, I would have never said yes to my hubby's proposal of pursuing his training in USM.

So there we were in KB with no extended family support as neither of us were Kelantanese. The kids were still small, my eldest was four and the second was 2.5 years old.

We had a new maid from Indonesia. I had no real experience with Indonesian maids as my late sister in law was the one baby-sitting our children back in Dublin. My hubby was busy with his MMED or plastics masters program. The decision to join the physiology department might not have made sense to others, but it did to me.

Luckily, I came back from Ireland with the MRCP, so I joined USM as a medical lecturer. Life consisted of preparing and giving lectures, conducting problem-based learning sessions and simulated clinical skills teaching at the clinical skills lab. Lunch break was a full two hours. I could go home and fetch the kids back from kindy, then return to the office in the afternoon. It was such a contrast to practising full time.

After a year or so our daughter was born. Our maid also decided to end her contract to return to Indonesia so we hired a new one.

I had promised the then Dean Prof Aziz Baba, that I would pursue a PhD in physiology if he let me join the physiology department. It didn't materialise because about two years later, as planned, we moved back to KL for hubby's training in HKL. I was the happiest girl in the world. Tears ran down my cheeks and I felt that I was finally back where I belonged. I even secretly promised myself I would everything possible to remain here and not go back to KB.

I took unpaid leave to accompany my spouse. We had bought a condo in KL a year or two beforehand in preparation for this period in hubby's training. Kids settled in a kindy nearby. The condo was a stones throw from HKL. After six months, my late dad passed away. We decided to move back to PJ to keep my mum company and sell off the condo.

I had already started lecturing part time in USIM as they were short of staff and even had a vacancy, but due to the 'gentlemens agreement' between deans of medical schools, I could not be offered the post. I had to let go of my USM post first.

I guess it was a blessing in disguise again as I started to look elsewhere for a job. This was the second time in my life I had 'nothing to do' and after two months, I was starting to go crazy. (The first experience was right after graduating while waiting for work to start).

I attended an interview with SEGi and was offered a job as a physiology lecturer. I called up a friend to ask her opinion about SEGi as she had worked there before. Instead, I found out about an opening in Taylors and passed my friend my CV.

Taylors University had a better offer and I took it up. I resigned from my USM post.

I have a lot of good things to say about Taylors University as an employer and in many ways I did enjoy the two years I spent there. I also had the opportunity to pursue my MBA, something I had always wanted to do ever since graduating from medical school, with 50% employee fee discount.

While we were in KB, I ventured into a business opportunity but things did not work as planned. I realised I needed to learn more about business and enrolled for MBA right after hubby completed his MMED.

I will write about the MBA in another blog post.

In Taylors, I was the physiology lecturer of a new medical school. The campus was brand new and award-winning. It was a stones throw away from my mums house in PJ. Work was similar to that in USM but the pay better and lecturers had to only spend 5 hours on site. We had 40 days annual leave, annual bonus and increments, life was generally good.

Our eldest son started primary school that same year in 2010 and I was grateful to have a mum to supervise the maid while I was at work. Hubby though, only came back during the weekends.

Another blessing in disguise, I can relate to single parents. I understand their struggles because at one time, I faced them too.

Having children in primary school was something that I needed getting used to. I wished I was better prepared but I am thankful for the experience all the same.

Working as a physiology lecturer again allowed me time to spend with my children, send them to Kumon and swimming classes, even though I had a hired a van to fetch them from school. I am so grateful for being able to work and spend time with my kids.

Two years later I decided to return to clinical practice. I joined an organisation which will remain unnamed. The patients were mostly customers, who came for health screening, I was back to working full days and even weekends. Thankfully, we did not work nights.

In the beginning, I was required to travel to their center in Cheras, which was about half an hours drive one way from PJ. I left home early, often while it was still dark, in order to get shaded parking. I loved the training for ultrasonography that went on for about one and a half months, although it was a stressful period due to the travelling. That was my first experience with the infamous Klang Valley traffic jam.

After six months, I left because there were things that I was not happy with that myself and colleagues had tried to change but couldn't.

I had taken two breaks from my MBA course and with encouragement from my hubby, decided it was time to complete the course. For the dissertation, I decided to look at the general practice clinic as a potential future business venture, and as part of my research, I worked in a few different practices seeing real patients, mostly, I would say about 85-90% had upper respiratory tract infection or acute gastroenteritis needing a medical certificate to get time off work. It was not a very intellectually stimulating experience but again, I learnt a lot. I also completed my MBA just before our 4th child was born.

I decided, both from gut feeling and from my own research, that it was not an opportune time to open a general practice clinic.

I came across a vacancy in Perdana University and applied while I was pregnant and working on my dissertation write up. I attended an unofficial interview a few days before delivery. When my baby was six months, I started working full time again, but this time as an assistant professor in internal medicine.

Teaching has always been one of my interests and it was great to do that again. I missed teaching. I did not miss hospital medicine.

Not much has changed since I last left. Patients were still non-compliant to medication, reluctant to stop smoking nor exercise. There were a few new medications and some small changes to the management of certain conditions but overall, everything else was the same.

What was new though, was commuting daily from PJ to KL. I had never worked in the heart of KL before. Oh my God, the traffic was insane. Luckily we did have some flexibility in working hours to be able to avoid the worst of it. It was a great privilege to work with American colleagues in medical academia and to have HKL as our teaching hospital. I learnt so much during the few months I was there. I have a lot of good things to say about Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine. I am a believer in the advantages of a graduate medical program due to first hand experience.

While I was busy at my new job, our eldest child sat for his UPSR last year. Our first experience and a lot to learn from as well. Another subject for a separate blog post.

I then found out that there is a private university with as their teaching hospital based in Kelantan. It took me some time to decide to apply. The boys were getting bigger and in need of their father.

As it turns out, I am now back in KB as an associate professor in internal medicine, teaching in the hospitals here.

In Kelantan, compared to KL, we have to state the source of water that patients consume in the history, due to the risk of leptospirosis. The patients are mostly Malay, and speak Kelantanese, so I often need my local students to do some translating. In KL there were patients of various races and many non-nationals too. A lot of Nepalese patients were admitted with acute coronary syndrome.

Currently, I only work 20 hours per week as per contract agreement. When the dust has settled, I plan to pursue further training in dialysis management for our new business venture. We also have a few other business ventures in the planning stage.

My maid is the same maid as seven years ago when my daughter was born, after my second Indonesian maid. The first Indonesian maid returned home after finishing her contract as her children had started school. We know her much better now and trust her to take care of the kids when we are not around. The kids (the two older ones) are now big enough to be able to tell us if anything is wrong. So even though we have no extended family support here, we can cope. I am also not a stranger to KB.

In contrast to patients in Ireland, they are not that different except for:
Fever and rash signifies dengue rather than meningitis, although meningitis could still be one of the differential.
Fever in an unwell patient much always make one think of dengue.
Fever and potential exposure makes leptospirosis high on the differential list.
Thalassaemia is common, though almost as unheard of in Ireland as cystic fibrosis or inflammatory bowel disease is in Malaysia.
Pulmonary tuberculosis is so rampant that there were always newly diagnosed patients in Ward 26, HKL, who were placed at the last cubicle with the bed facing the window. No isolation, no positive pressure ventilation, patient may not wear the N95 mask all the time.

In a nutshell, there is no simple career advice.

I come across a few different types of people through out my life.

The first type is the one who knows what they want, and go out and get it. My husband is like that. He made his mind up early on that he wanted to become a surgeon. His first job as an intern was in plastic surgery and he fell in love with that. The rest is history.

The second type is like me, we are not really sure what we want.We have some idea of what we like and what we don't like but the rest is mostly a grey are. We need to go out and explore things, try new things to see what works and what doesn't, and in the process, hopefully, discover the path that was meant for us.

For women, more than men, family is an important factor to consider when making career choices. I choose to work and have a family, I don't want to sacrifice either one. The challenge lies in finding the right balance, equilibrium.

The Unofficial Guide for Medical Electives

So much to write about and not enough time to write...sigh, the dilemmas of a writer.

At work I have volunteered to help the fourth year students with the upcoming electives. As I read through the curriculum, I thought back of my own experience as a medical student.

I was a student of Trinity College Dublin, and very proud of my Alma mater. I will always look back at those days with fond memories and certainly hope that my children will have the privilege to study or work there in future.

What Does Doing Electives Mean?

Electives are a compulsory module for all medical schools. The length though may vary from place to place. I had two months of elective during the year before final year.

Basically, an elective is an opportunity to go to places other than the hospitals designated to your medical school for teaching, to spend time in a specialty of your choice, in a place of your choice, for reasons you need to decide.

Where To Do Electives?

For most Malaysian students studying in Ireland, it is a good opportunity to come back home and experience the local scene as many of us aspire to one day come back and contribute. Some friends did use the opportunity to do electives in the States as they aimed to go there after graduating.

Our Irish friends usually go to third world countries for their electives. This allows them to travel plus there are usually more opportunity for hands-on procedures which is tough to come by in Ireland and other developed countries as the risk for medico-legal threat is high.

After some searching (which basically involved talking to other more senior medical students who had already undergone the process), I heard that University Malaya was a great place to do electives, plus it was about 15 minutes drive from my parents home (which was where I lived when I came back to Malaysia those days for the summer). The only disadvantage was, a fee was charged (I believe it was around RM500 for two months).

Even back then (around year 2000), everything was pretty much done online. I didn't really have friends in UMMC so I must have looked up information on their website and followed the procedure for application.

Other Things To Consider When Choosing The Right Place

If you are not doing your electives at home, then you need to think about accommodation, travelling to and from the hospital to your place of stay, and of course, meals. In general, these are not provided so you will have to take this into account when budgeting the cost.

Which Specialty To Chose?

I chose Obstetrics and Gynaecology attachment for one month and surgery for the other, both specialties I knew from the start, I would definitely not end up in. How did I know? Because I always wanted a family and I wanted to spend a lot of time with my children.

Other reasons include specialties which you do have interest do pursue in the future, or those that are not available at your usual teaching hospital/s.

Also, there would be ample opportunity to deliver babies and scrub in to assist the surgeon, or so I thought. I later found that both assumptions were not true.

A lot of Malaysian students chose the same specialties for similar reasons.

My Experience and Recommendations

While I did not get to deliver or do much procedures, I did find the teaching sessions extremely helpful. I was basically allowed to tag along with a final year group and join in the lecturers, bed side teaching, and other activities.

I even joined them for lunch, and 'lepak-ed' at their dorm, studied with them at the library, and basically lived the life of a UM-medical student for two months. I loved the experience, highly recommend it, learnt a lot and made many good friends.

Is it worth the RM500 that they charge? Absolutely.

Later on, in my previous post at another institution in Malaysia which has collaboration/s with Universities in the States, students were able to go to the US for their electives. Doing electives in the US is a bit tricky as you really need someone with connections (which means someone who knows the people there in person) to recommend you, before you are accepted. What that meant was, our lecturers who are Americans, helped get placement for students to do electives in the States. That's a great opportunity.

Teh Tarik Madu dan Sup Kepala Ikan Warung Pak Mat Pulau Pisang

Semalam, akhirnya, saya bersama keluarga dapat menikmati teh tarik madu di Warung Pak Mat, Pulau Pisang seperti yang di recommend oleh kawan lama dari MRSM dulu-dulu.

Mula-mula dengar teh tarik madu, takde la rasa teringin pun nak minum, walaupun saya ni boleh kata peminat teh tarik separa tegar. Tapi bila tengok kawan upload gambar teh tarik madu dalam group watsapp, terus rasa wajib mencuba minuman ni walaupun hanya sekali. Sedap tak sedap, lain cerita.

Ni contoh gambar teh tarik madu yang menggoda...

Saya mencari opening hours atau waktu warung Pak Mat ini beroperasi, sebab lokasinya adalah dalam setengah jam dari rumah kami, tetapi tak jumpa info di internet. Saya pun telefon nombor handphone Pak Mat yang ada dalam sebuah blog. Pak Mat yang jawab. Saya pun tanya samada kedai buka atau tidak, dia kata "Ya, buka dari 4petang hingga 12 malam". Lagi satu waktu beroperasi dari pagi hingga 4petang. Tutup hari Selasa.

No telefon Pak Mat: 013-9198131

Kami pun pergi dengan seronoknya (sayalah yang paling seronok) menggunakan Waze sebagai panduan (enter Warung Pak Mat Pulau Pisang, Kota Bharu). Jalannya sama seperti jalan menuju ke Pantai Cahaya Bulan. Guna Waze memang senang sebab gambar pun ada dalam tu. Terima kasih kepada pencipta Waze dan pengguna Waze yang tolong upload gambar luaran kedai.

Alhamdulillah, masa kami sampai gerai agak kosong, mungkin ada satu dua meja aje yang ada pelanggan. Pelayan terus memberi menu dan kami pun order teh tarik madu yang diidamkan bersama sup kepala ikan dan nasi.

Ada anak saya yang agak cerewet dan dalam bad mood malam tu, jadi suami orderkan nasi goreng ayam untuk dia. Baby nak makan bubur tapi tak ada.

Sambil tunggu makanan sampai, saya bersama anak-anak pegi jalan-jalan tengok tempat sekeliling. Waktu malam tak berapa nampak sungai tapi adalah bot dan jetty. Ada juga kedai baju dan surau berdekatan.

Teh tarik madu dan sup kepala ikan pun sampai dalam masa beberapa minit. Semua makanan dihidangkan dan servis memang efficient mungkin sebab tak ramai pelanggan masa tu.

Ni gambar sup kepala ikan yang ada juga daging dalam nya, kami makan dengan nasi. Pelayan tu suggest ambik hidangan untuk enam orang, saya rasa mungkin terlebih sikit la sebab anak-anak tengok mood, ada masa makan banyak, ada masa makan sikit.

Makanan dan minumam sedap, insya Allah kami sekeluarga akan datang lagi di lain masa, mungkin masa tu boleh cuba river cruise sekali. Seronok juga datang waktu malam sebab tak panas dan tak ramai orang. Masa bayar, suami bersembang dengan Pak Mat, rupa-rupanya waktu beroperasi malam ni baru mula, baru sebulan. Patut la tak ramai orang, mungkin ramai yang belum tahu. Suami saya pernah datang dulu bawa pelawat tempat kerja ke sana, dia kata masa tu siang dan memang sesak. Jadi sesiapa yang berminat mungkin boleh cuba waktu malam pula.