HATYAI-KRABI roadtrip (18.1-23.1.13)

After absense of more than 2 yrs; i'm back to share my travelling experience...

18.1.13 : Left home at 6.10 am, just minutes before Subuh azan. Driving my PKG6050, leaving behind my longtime travel love..PDF.  This is my only 2^nd roadtrip in 2 years after leaving beloved Sabah. Road trips have been so nostalgic to me…

Reached Changlun at 8am (Penang-Changlun 1.5 hrs). After breakfast we left in 2 cars (the other being Haqul’s brand new Chevrolet). Filled up car tank; then stopped at Naluri Aman duty free shop; where we did our 3^rd party Insurans (RM14) & visa(WhiteCard)-supposedly free, but they charged (RM1).

Arrived at border at 11.30am. Took almost 1 hour to get pass Thai border due to inefficiency of Thai immigration.

Arrived in HatYai within an hour. Checked in to Emperor Hotel..don’t be deceived by the “grand” name.

Had lunch at restoran Kak Sah..where everyone there can kecek Kelate.

Then planned to see Ice Dome HatYai, but got lost to Songkhla town! Best part is none of those who met can give us direction due to language barrier..including varsity girls & Nissan sales girls! However managed to find our way back to Ice Dome in HatYai CityPark (which was actually only 5-6km away from our hotel)

Night, we went to Pe Thai (night market), as way to floating market seems too confusing. Pe Thai had nothing but some food stalls & stalls selling skimpy dresses… Not worth going! 

DAY 2

Woke up early & breakfast at Kak Sah. Went around looking for Map and got it at a7-eleven (RM12). Departed to Songkhla, visited the bronze mermaid at Samila Beach. Bought souveniers at the beach. Lunch at a stretch with lots of Muslim stalls. Solat at a nearby Masjid

Bronze Mermaid @ Samila Beach

Left Songkhla at 2.30. KRABI here we come! Via route to Phattalung (though not into Phattalung town). Then Trang –KhlongPhon- KhlongThom-Ao Nang. That is rite…not Krabi town…we are going to AoNang (16km away from town). Reached almost 8pm (after some series of lost directions) Then auntie at Ao Nang Miti Resort buat lawak la…kata ada 1 room only. After about 1 hour, baru la another person said they have another room..huh. Must be careful when booking via Agoda..

Checked in, showered & went for Dinner at an unnamed stall, where we had Keow toeow soup & Pancake! We strolled along Ao Nang beach where actually thing were happening (only about 5 minutes drive from our hotel)

Shopping @ Samila

On the way to Krabi. This girl can speak reasonable english

Bedroom in AoNang Miti Resort

DAY 3

Next day started late for us. Had American breakfast kunun at Hasna Palace before going for trip along AoNang beach. 11am sharp we left for Elephant trekking. The most enjoyable activity (for me) throughout my visit to Thailand! And I learned a new diagnosis “Elephant sickness” which hit one of our expedition member. Came back at around 1.30pm & had lunch in Hasna Palace. 2.30 we left to PAN Beach Bungalow in Khlong Mueng Beach (again only indah khabar dari nama!) Place was terrible..electricity only 6pm-6am), dogs are everywhere and tend to chase after cars & they might even swim with you if you go to the sea, toilets are way below standard! Only plus point was beautiful beach & sea scenery (mmg dia resort kat pantai), even which, was full with couples in swimwear..huh.

Had dinner (light) at A-Hud Seafood, before going to Ao Nang beach to book island trip..the agent we met was Ms.Azizah. The price we got was RM100/person. Again to town for sight seeing-went to Krabi Night Walk (ala2 pasar minggu at night- only open from fridays-sundays)

DAY 4

Left PAN at 7.30. B/fast at a new place (nice food). Our pick-up was already waiting at Hasna Palace. They brought to Nopparathara Beach where the pier is. Anyhow the boat only left at 9.30am.

The whole island hopping thing did not excite me. Basically only 2 islands to visit – Bamboo & Phi2. We stopped at Moonbay (a beachside of Phi2) & another place where we could take photos of baboons (The!!!) Had lunch at Phi2 Island..was nice. Well u could do some quick shopping too at Phi2 island.

We were back at hotel (Hasna Palace) by 4.30pm. Night were well spent at Krabi town

DAY 5

Sungai Krabi

We left Ao Nang at about 12 noon & found a place to stay in Krabi town at about 2.30pm (City Hotel). Went for Krabi River cruise (not forgetting the “noname” Cave which we had to pay extra RM2). The trip cost us RM40/boat. Went around town to do some shopping. Had a good dinner at a stall in night market (Gerai Ibrahim) where the boss & all his workers can speak reasonable English. Cost us only RM4/head. Went to Ao Nang again, had our Last Supper in Thailand at Shareefah’s stall.

DAY 6 (final)

Went to morning market alone, as the others were still asleep. Checked out by 9am. Had breakfast nasi campur. Fuelled up our cars (B750) & off we go.

Along the way, stopped by at Hot Spring Waterfall (RM9/entrance);  Khlong Phon town to get some durians (RM10/2 bijik). Took home 6. Trang was were we stopped for lunch & Jama’ Zohor-Asar.Then there was no more stopping till we reached border. But we did stop at Dannok town for our Last Tomyam in Thailand. It was 8.30 Malaysian time when we reached border. 

Then Haqul parted ways with us; he has got another 450km to drive.huhu. We stopped at Gurun R&R to Jama’ Maghrib-Isya’. I reached home at 12MN. Haqul was at Tapah at that time (reports from Whats App)

EXPENDITURES

       Tranportation   

-          Fuel                    
– RM 280

-          Insurans (Siam 3^rd party) RM 14

-          Fee to Enter & leave Thailand – RM 2

      Accomodation (shared by 3 persons)

-          Emperor Hotel (HatYai) RM43.50

-          AoNang Miti Resort RM128.00

-          PanBeach Bungalow RM102.00

-          Hasna Palace RM160.00

-          City Hotel RM120.00

         Activities

-          IceDome (HatYai) RM30

-          Elephant Trekking RM 7/pax

-          Island Hopping RM100

-          Krabi River RM40/boat (RM15/pax)

-          Hot Spring Waterfall (RM9)

ALL in ALL I spent about RM950 for everything including food & souveniers)  

Blogging comeback?

Hi to everyone & myself...

It has been more than 2 yrs since my last post to this blog. 2011 & 2012 have been my year of sadness; things happened unexpectedly. Beginning with my transfer back to West Malaysia; which subsequently contributed partly to losing the love of my life; leaving a big hole in my heart & ever-present sorrow. Suddenly I was alone in a big world. I've learnt from my mistakes & yeah...i can't rewind them.
Nevertheless, as ppl always say...life must go on. So I've got no options but to move on; with Allah by my side...insyaallah I shall be able to overcome & succeed. May Allah show my loved one the true path & give her happiness in this world & hereafter.

Tambuyukon voyage - an electrifying thrill!

Team members

Tambuyukon "The" Trail

23 July 2010 (Friday)

Group photo with out-going Dr.Neren

My phone clock showed 10pm, and we realized we are still in Neren's farewell party..gosh! Rin, Hasan & I have Poring to catch tonite! Quickly we "escaped" the party and made our way home for final packing. (But still managed to snap few final shots inside & outside Swiss Inn before we rushed home.hehe)
11.15pm : Finally departed Sandakan. After 3 1/2 hrs of non-stop "flight"..we reached PoringLodge (some 500m from the Hot Spring) Went straight to bed and unconscious immediately.


24 July 2010 (Saturday)

6am : "Hasan, kul brapa nak gerak?" Hasan replied..."kejap lagi" (Both continued sleeping)

7am : "Hasan, bangun...dah kol 7" Hasan replied..."ok,kejap lagi"

Akhirnya, jam 10.30, setelah mengagih2kan brg2 & mknan; kami bertolak ke Hot Spring. (Another friend of us who's supposed to join from KK pulled out at eleventh hour...leaving us wth more luggages to carry.huh) Anyhow...was not too bad:)

Selepas menempuhi perjalanan yang agak menarik selama 1 1/2 jam (dengan merentasi dua sungai), kami pun tiba di Sub-stesen Monggis (sebahagian drp Taman Kinabalu)

1.30pm : Kick-off! Pendakian bermula (bermulalah suatu perjalanan yg "getir" untk hasan, azniza, rinelda, aziatun & aslam)

4 pm : Sampai di Kem Kera (KM.4) Berkhemah di sini dengan tenang bersama pacat dan sedikit agas2.

(Makan malam : Nasi, sardin & cucur adabi)

25 July 2010 (Ahad)

9.15 am : We left Kera Camp with full determination (of course, can't help with the departure time..hehe) KM.4-6 was horrible and I graded as the worst section of the whole track (changed my mind after I saw the last 4Km...hehe) The track was slippery and I had humpty-dumpty falls numerous times (till I lost count huh!)and I just skid down on several places (skidding was much faster). Moreover my shoes & balancing failed me on many occasions here!)

1 pm : We reached Kem Wuluh, which has the Wuluh River running by its side. We had to descend an "awesome" "mini waterfall" of about 25 metres to reach this camp.

We cleaned & fed ourselves while thinking "is it too late for us to return back to Monggis?huhu"

After about 45 mins breather, we continued another 2km of relatively better track to reach Kem Sg. Kepuakan..Km8 (da name sounds spooky, rite?hehe); where da soothing Kepuakan River runs. We had our Zohor & Asar there, before crossing the river & endured into last "never ending" 2km of the day; which was literally almost 90% of climbing at >30 degrees!

6.15pm : FINALLY we reached Kem Musang (KM 10.7) We only found out on the last day that we were buyok-ed by Leron & Messi, who told us that this camp is placed at KM 10! (Kununnya mau kasi kami semangat supaya teruskan perjalanan dari KM 8 ke Kem Musang.huh!)

Quickly we set up camps under Mejar Hasan's orders & agas2 were even faster than us when it comes to their "feeding" time. They mercilessly "fed" on us leaving us to scratch the whole nite! And a pacat on my waistline, woke me up in the middle of da nite!

Hah...one interesting fact about this camp site is that, the water source is situated merely 80 metres down the hill...AND this 80 metres takes us about 20mins to reach (if u dont get lost:)

(Makan malam : Nasi goreng ikan masin, sayur campoq sweet& sour, kobis wth salted sardin, hupseng wth teh tarik kunun) I was chef-de-mission & wat made me girigitan was...I alone had to eat 3 plates of nasi but my other 4 beloved friends took only 2 plates among them!

26 July 2010 (Isnin)

6am : Kami bangun dgn iltizam tinggi untuk memberi persembahan terbaik pd hari ke-3 pendakian; seterusnya untuk mencapai puncak.

9.30am : Mula berjalan (seperti biasa...kami saaangat menepati masa!)Sempat mengemas tempat khemah kat Kem Musang dgn pengharapan malam kang, dpt berkhemah di Kepuakan (mmg kunun2 jak la akhirnya...:)

Sangat pantas kami sampai di papan tanda KM 11...(masa tu blom tau lagi pasal pembuyokan si liron & messi!) Kami pun pikir..ni mcm harapan cerah nak sampai puncak & turun balik sblom senja! Tapi...

KM 11 ke KM 12 .. kami jalan punya jalan...xsampai2 gak. Nasib baik ada satu kawasan landai sejauh +/- 70 meter sekitar General Camp..yang memberi sedikit kelegaan dan semangat!

KM 12 ke 13 .. huh...speechless!

KM 13 ke 14 .. huhuhu ...

KM 11 ke 14 adalah trail yg saaaaaagat menarik...cerun sahaja...tiada maaf, tiada ampun! (kecuali 70 meter di sekitar General Camp)

I stopped at 13.6km..as it was almost 2pm and in front there's another stunning 400m trail which may take us anther 1hr plus to reach the summit. If we were to continue, we may end up climbing down in dark & rain) We "picnicked" at Km13.6, relaxing & posing; while waiting for other friends to come back from the summit. It was fun there...relaxing on the rocks, looking at the sky...the feel was like floating in the sky:)

The last 800 metres is astounding indeed..in terms of the trail & the views. It was made up of rocks, "pokok2 renek" took over the big trees; and there are 7 "false" peaks before u reach the real peak...hence the name "Tambuyukon" heralded!

4pm : Started our descend and we reached Kem Musang at 6.30pm..all wet, as the final 2 hrs we were blessed with rain:)

6.30pm : In darkness, cold breeze, wet attires & "soothing" agas2 attack, we rebuilt our tent (luckily we only dissembled one tent bfr we left Musang earlier)

All my attires were wet (including underwears!)...my sleeping bag too. After Solat, we had Maggi soup for dinner..made by..hasan & rinelda (I refused to cook becoz of wat happened last nite!)

Though it was wet, I still slept wth my sleeping bag & partially dried up attires.huhu. And the most wonderful thing was...i was kissed on my lips by a pacat..sory to my wife-to-be...u wil not be da first to kiss me..haha.

27 July 2010 (Selasa)

Last day for us...mixed feelings of sadness & happiness..

Woke up as early as 6am (awal la kunun).. 6.30am turun p tpt ayaq...nak BO utk kali petama dlm 4 hari.haha!

Lepaih kemaih2, 9.15am mula la turun...ikut trail yg sama & sekali lg KM 6-4 mengecewakan dgn belaku byk "tackling" ...seluaq putih aku menjadi coklat begemerlapan!

Alhamdulillah, it was an uneventful descend...we stopped at 4 spots (Kem Kepuakan, Wuluh, Kera & Kikulat) and was at Monggis by 6.15pm.

Lepak2 sat kat Kem Monggis..kol 8.30pm bertolak balik ke Poring Hot Spring, pastu pi mkn sat kat Ranau...12MD, left to Sandakan. 3.45am, smpai Sandakan & 8am smpai hospital...nak oncall.hehe.
The trip was really a wonderful experience for all of us.
The adventure was tremendous, the thrill & fun we had was magnificent!

For those adventure junkies who's itching to try this place, few guidelines:

1. Try to get the best suggested month to hike (dry period la kunun). Around October according to our guides.
2. Call up Sabah Park & send a letter of permit application detailing # of participants, time u want to be there. Ensure you follow up regularly...if not they might just wait till the eleventh hour to give u the green lite..
3. Plan your trip well (especially those from out of Sabah) I suggest 4days 3 nights. The night before you start, try to get accomodation at Sub-Stesyen Monggis. Day 1 start hiking latest by 7 am and aim to overnite at Kem Kepuakan (KM 8). This may take you at leisure about 10 hours.
4. Day 2 : Hit straight to General Camp (KM 11.5) which might take you only about 5-6 hrs the most. (The only thing is you've to carry adequate water to the camp from Musang Camp (KM 10.8 + 80 metres)
5. Day 3 : Start from General Camp at about 6am (SHARP!) and shoot up to the peak in about 4-5 hours. Spend 1hour or less at the peak and descend all the way to Musang Camp in 4hours. Leave everything behind, except camera, raincoat, drinking water and some snacks when you shoot up to the peak. Forget about plans to cook at the peak...you will regret later:) When you start at 6am, leave your tents...you can pack up later when you descend. Do not waste your time packing up things that morning. Be sharp..start climbing at 6am. According to our guides, best time to be at the peak is latest by 9am..well you will need a mammoth's stamina to reach the peak from General Camp in less than 3 hours.huh. The other way is start climbing before dawn kalo berani to climb in dark..(not recommended) Seriously it is a tough ride! 
6. Day 4 : Wakey from Musang Camp at start descending latest by 9am. 8-9 hours should be sufficient for you to home sweet home back at Monggis.
7. Make sure you bring all necessary stuff & everything to combat pacat all along till KM12 + agas2 at nite!

Here are some pics that we captured...

Breakfast at Poring

Part of the road we endured on the way to S.S Monggis

Hasan tgah high sebelum pejalanan

Santik kan? New Ranau-KM road under cons

Pacik bwak tong gas rilek jak lintas sungai

KD Pinawantai - the only KD along the way- Poring to Monggis

One of the 3 rivers

My JB experience

This is the hotel where the congress took place
21 April 2010
I stepped foot on JB soil first time ever in 28 yrs of life. The euphoric feel of reaching a place I've never been bfore was there, but manage to keep it at bay. The tiring journey from Sandakan took us almost 12 hrs to reach Senai Airport (including the freaking 6hrs transit period in KK)
Nevertheless there were we (Pojie, Alex, Sam & I) at BlueWave Hotel (took us another hour to reach here...) cost us RM178/night...but worth it...spacious & magnificent view of sunrise at singapore from our room!


22-25 April 2010 - The congress days
Though daytime was packed with talks & food in between talks, we managed to see JB at night (well at least a one eighth of it perhaps.ahaks)And I created my own record of time spent in shopping mall...an unbelievable time for me! And some shopping spree as well...even ladies could have been surprised with our "achievement"hak3.

The Venue: The Zon Regency Hotel; adhered to hosts of "majestic mansions" of night clubs, pubs, discotheque. This vicinity is basically duty free zone & of course liquors & cigarettes are the topmost items on the list. Sort of heaven for hedonisme party-goers! I was further mesmerised to witness such "great developments" in my beloved nation...not that I've never seen bfore; but just that these mansions were just too WOW! (There is a school just 500m away, a surau 200m away & a church 700m away!) Where is our respect to these respected noble places? Sad to say...but "the mansions" have been given the icon status for JB. Name The Zon...and what strikes to your mind are these "mansions".
Generally the main course of these places is LIQUOR! What liquor-mother of all sins has to offer?
1. Waste of money
2. Addictions
3. Loss of conscience
3. Health hazards (when addiction kicks in)
It just took to my nerve if to imagine how many of our youths will be in these "mansions" every night with liquour indulgence and hedonisme partying as their interpretation of enjoyment :(

What took place inside The Zon Hotel was "eye-catching" as well. On 23 April, we had our Congress Dinner at the Ballroom (Level 6) But I depict what we saw at foyer of Level 4 in picture form - such an inappropriate view in a open space. (I don't bother if they had behind the doors) HOW MUCH OF FREEDOM ARE WE TRYING TO ATTAIN? Don't we have the conscience that this is NOT OUR CULTURE. If ever they want to enjoy such a thing, get within 4 walls & "enjoy the show"...
The open show at an open space:)

The trip served to be an "escape" for me, away from calls, OT & hopefully can appear rejuvenated (i repeat..hopefully.hehe). But nevertheless, had other experiences too.
Having to see sights of indecency booming is a lot to bear...and "scarry" to think about it. The authorities really have to control this blossom...though it already appears to be quite late. Having an outlet of night spot might be acceptable...but having "mansions" are ridiculuos & disastrous! And we do have our roles...not to forget that.

On my way back, slept over in KK & met Param; who's going off to UM soon.

Here are some photos of what i've been rumbling about...
The "mansions" - only showing part of it.

A Day of Exhaustion, Frustration, Losses, Anger, …and lost Exuberance...

16 April 2010:
Clocked in at 7.51am & started my day at work (being ON-CALL) in ICU. Morning rounds with my boss, off-going fellow MO & beloved nurses were going quite uneventfully (disregarding few nagging by my boss … until my nurse called me to attend an asystole patient. An 80 y.o lady, with impending BKA & low GCS + multiple co-morbidities has just gone asystole..whew! Resuscitated for 10 minutes and I decided to let her go in view of her holistic poor wellbeing.

At around 10AM; left ICU, with breakfast in my mind. Stopped by to see a post EVD patient in MSW; which eventually resulted in me having my “breakfast” only some 2 1/2 hours later. Soon was called to attend a just intubated patient in MMW (shall call him Pt.A). As I’m done arranging ICU bed for him, I noticed my 200kg patient (Pt.B) (3 of ventilation) struggling with his ETT. (And my medical colleague who just reviewed him did not notice this…huh!) Alas! The balloon punctured & air leaking out of his mouth & nostrils..in other words, he needs an ETT change. Quickly ran to my OT to get “bougie”. Came back to MMW and attempted ETT change using the bougie, with assistance of my fancy MMW nurses. BUT…the abdomen was bloating as we pumped in Oxygen via his ETT…”s*** the ETT has gone into oesophagus. Reintubated him the usual way! Alhamdulillah…uneventful.
After the drama, I left to see my elective cases in Maternity ward, lunch. Also to my ICU to get my nurse in-charge to call Pt.A fast…but she mistook me and thought I was in bad mood…for the fact that I was pushing her to call the case fast; as they (MMW) have already been bagging him for 2 hours & MMW has turned into a kind of fugitive camp..damn packed! (Have already told her to call the case 2 hours before)

1.30pm; walked into MMW to check on my Pt. A & B...(without anticipating any surprises). They were preparing to transfer Pt.A to ICU but suddenly the Sister noted no heart rate on cardiac monitor…apa lagi asytole suda la! CPR + Defib X2 = 10 minutes, pt revived. 2 HOs attended the case but medical MO in-charge & on-call both never turned up. I lost my temper & called the specialist to inform the matter (after stabilizing Pt.A) but to no avail…
Called up my boss; informed the progress…plan changed; Pt.B to ICU instead of Pt.A. Then I moved to gynae to see another pt for op.

3pm: in ICU…checking out on patients; bumped into my boss & got nag by my boss for not referring 2 cases for freaking non-urgent trachaestomy. Tried telling what happened but got a short lecture on “prioritizing ur work” (?trachae referral before resus)..huhu. Thus, called my ENT colleague immediately at 4pm to refer those “urgent” trachaeostomy.

4.30pm: Took over OT…continuous for few hours..well for many hours indeed…till 2am! In between went out to see few ventilated patients in the ward & attended my huge Pt.B in ICU, who was already had 2 inotropes running via a 20G branula on his arm. Set a CVL for him; then later at 1am for pt.A (whom was tenaciously pushed for ICU bed by my Medical colleague for HD kunun). Well Pt.B’s inotropic support kept on creeping up.
Managed to get some sleep at 3 something (without having done my Ortho pre-meds) Woke up some near 6am…had my subuh & went to ICU at near 6.30am.
As I walked into ICU, my Pt.A noted to be not doing well. Within a minute, asystole. Resuscitated him again for another 15 minutes before I called it a day. There goes my 3rd mortality of my call. (Ahah…forgot to mention, my 200kg Pt.B passed away at around 3 am..I was not called, only Medical HO attended).

7.10 am: Went for a “quick” pre-meds of my orthopaedic pts who are going for op that morning. To put icing on my “great on-call day” had 2 pts on the list with some risks of post-op ventilation; who might need ICU back-up. Informed my bosses bout that at 7.30am (huhu…so “early”)

7.50am : Came back to my ICU & my boss was waiting me with a question, “Azlam, wat happened last nite?” Huhu…gave some short compact story to cut short the story. Then a big commotion set off, my boss just exploded on O&G team as they had planned for op on a pt, without informing Anaes team. As to rub salt on wound, she got more pissed off when apparently O&G team had ordered 2 cycles of DIVC regime to stand by for the op. My efficient Kak Imie had already prepared those 2 cycles, but O&G team tried to deny that they had requested so as the did not write down on case note…but for the fact their MO did gave verbal order as so, the night before.

9+am: My other boss called me because one of the patient whom I pre-med had high BP just before the op. Reason, ward did not serve morning dose of anti-HPT & I did not order midazolam for that morning because I only saw that patient at 7.30am Well she did not nag me but advised me to do pre-med earlier next time. Am I to be blamed for this? Well...partly ya:)
That was a day of my on-call…exhausting & frustrating too at certain points…resulting in me losing my passion to be on-call…U r damn tired, doing 2 persons job, yet expected to perform with zero defect>..