Life is like an odometer

February 28, 2016

My Journey to the West - PART 1

I am writing this on the auspicious day of Aidilfitri 1436. A journey which I shall call it "A journey of my life" took place a couple of weeks ago.

25 JUNE 2015 / 8 RAMADHAN 1436

Departed to KL via Air Asia flight. Arrived in KLIA2 just before buka puasa time. Made my way to the food court, ordered a cold cham drink to accompany a pack of rice with sambal udang (packed by mom) for buka puasa. Made my way to KLIA (via Train) after prayers. Checked in soon after reaching KLIA. Flight Lufthansa KL to Frankfurt ; Frankfurt to Edinburgh. I am going to Europe..huh..I still cant believe this! I checked in luggage & another hand carriage.

Security checking & boarding was uneventful.

The Long Flight

My total travel time was estimated to be 19 hours 10 minutes (including 4 hours layoff time in Frankfurt) Flight left KLIA at 12.45am (instead of 12.05am) and the caucasian pilot sarcastically attributed the delay to a MAS flight leaving before ours.

Lufthansa in-flight service was mediocre...not as good as MAS (before the dissolution of MAS of course). They provided 2 meals. Juices prn basis. and of course aplenty of the "haram beverages". Meal was prepared by MAS (so ditanggung halal la)

It was a unique experience of doing sahur in the sky :)

Arrived in Frankfurt on 26 JUNE @ 7am (local time). German security was stupid I would say...not sure for what reason they wanted to record down the ophtalmoscope I was carrying. Nevertheless nothing eventful. The next flight to Edinburgh also departed slightly delayed by 20 minutes.

Edinburgh - Here I come

Arrived in Edinburgh Airport at around 12.45 noon (local time). It was drizzling & quite cold (though it is summer). Immigration clearance was not a hassle at all. The guy did not even bother to ask for my examination admission letter. He only asked why am I here & wished me the best when I told him I am here for an examination.

Took a cab and cost me 20.90 pounds!! (paid 20 only). Took me 30 minutes to reach my hostel.."Euro Hostel" The receptionists were friendly but really I had to squeeze my ears to understand their accent. I can only check in at 3pm & it was only 1.30pm. So I wandered around there, looking for the Edinburgh Central Mosque and finally found the masjid at 2.30 and Jumuah prayers were over by then. Made my way back to to Euro Hostel at about 2.45pm.

Accomodation I : Euro Hostel

Stayed for 4 nights - made booking via booking.com. Paid an average of 25pounds/night. A clean, cozy place offering private room with shared bathroom, shared kitchen (with toaster, fridge & water boiler). Everything was ok except :
1) there was a mice which will freely run in & out of the room

2) usually in the evening for about 1-2 hours, there will be a group of girls making noise at the outside of hotel while having their drinks (loud enough, can be heard on 4th floor - where I was staying

3) No lift

Weather (in Edinburgh)
It was pretty chill & ya I guess I was the only one walking with gloves on in summer. I can't stand the cold even when I am inside my hostel room

Food
I stayed at "the old town" (as they call it), which is only 10 minutes walk away from the Edinburgh Central Mosque. Aplenty of Muslim food restaurants around this mosque. So food was not really an issue; though my meals were mainly breads/canned sardine/ peanut butter I brought from home (to cut cost) I only bought outside food 3x throughout my stay here. they were all either Arab or Indian food. Restaurant I went to : Mosque Kitchen (there were 2 different shops with the same name but definitely they are not owned by the same person; as each of them acclaims to "the only original Mosque Kitchen" on banners). There were few other eateries as well quite near by to each other, but I did not actually enter all the places

Where I went in Edinburgh
I was in Edinburgh for 4 consecutive nights; then in Bishop Auckland for another 2 nights before heading back to Edinburgh on my final night.
My routine in Edinburgh were pretty simple. I'll iftor at 10.30pm; then prayers +/- study and continuous eating until Subuh (2.30am). After Subuh I'll sleep till about 7 or 8. Then wake up & study for a while before I start dreaming in my room. Either noon time or around 5pm I'll get out of my room & walk around. Only on my final day in Edinburgh I met up with Joyce (my PACES training buddy); we took a bus to look around at her exam place (Western General Hosp) & walked around sight seeing, as well as going to the "tourist shopping area" (which is quite near by) Joyce stayed in Tune Hotel (which is a train station away from my place)
Edinburgh Central Mosque - has been my favourite place. I went for night prayers on most of the nights. Tarawih starts at 11.45 and ends at around 1.15am! Imagine 8 rakaat + Witir (3) in 1 1/2 hrs. And guess what, the sof maintaned as how it began! That is something I had never seen in Malaysia. It is so enthralling to see Muslims here! At least 80% will be back to the Mosque 1 hour later for congregatory Subuh prayers.

Off to Bishop Auckland (30 June 2015)
My exam was at a distant town call Bishop Auckland, which is about 2.5 hrs by train (approx 330km) from Edinburgh town. And it is actually in England (which I only knew when I was about to leave the town..hehe). Took "Virgin Train"...that is what the train is called as; from Edinburgh Waverley station (which is 15 minutes walk from my hostel). Left at 6.45am (punctual). Quite a classy train I would say, as the seats were cozy they serve food using the small push cart (just like in flights) err..of course you need to pay for the food. U can buy train tickets online (which offers cheaper price) & print the tickets at the station. Quite convenient. It stopped at several stations (3 I think) and I got off at Darlington, as had to take connecting train heading to Bishop Auckland.
I arrived at Bishop Auckland at 10 past 9. Whew...it was a small quite town with lots of geriartics population (was so apparent the moment I stepped on Bishop Auckland soil) The station was like 5 minutes walk to the hospital (my exam place) Took a bus towards Park Head Country Hotel. Bus driver and senior commuters were very helpful. It is only about 15 minutes to the get to the Hotel
Reached the hotel at 9.45am & the receptionist swiftly checked me in though I was like 4 hours early than the scheduled check-in time. The gave a "suite"...huhu. (No wonder I paid 135pounds for 3 nights!) Weather here was perfect. I can see the sun & no more "Raynauds" for me.

Bishop Auckland is a town in the Durham district (England). A quiet but lively town I would say. I noticed a hypermarket (Morrisons) and the hospital is a district specialist hospital. Nevertheless none of the buildings were more than 2 storeys. Saw a few Chinese and Indian eateries, but did not try any. I "survived" on breads & canned food I brought all the from Malaysia...huhu. No place to cook in this hotel, so I just had to heat up sardines using boiled water.
On my second day I took a bus to the Morrisons and had a peak at the hospital. My stress level has reached max I guess...cant really read anything in peace.

2 July 2015 - 'D' Day

I cant really put into words of how I felt the night before the exam & the morning of the exam. Only Allah knows how I felt. Called home while I waited for the bus to go hospital.
Reached the exam place at about 8am. Exam scheduled to start at 9am. I was the second candidate to reach. There was one Hindustani girl (working in Edinburgh) there even before me. After me came the other 3 (all were Asians except for one girl). There was even a guy from Kelantan who has been working in Glasgow for the past 9 years. The exam co-ordinators were friendly. Approximately 9.30 : the game started!
1) Hx taking : 35 y.o /lady with Cluster Headache. Given hx was quite straight forward & discussion was not too difficult but somehow my mind blanked out when asked about treatment.
2) CNS & CVS. CNS was a 40 something aged chap with LL weakness for many years. Paraparesis with sensory level (likely spastic, but I did not dare to say)as the reflexes...were not hyper, in fact hypo! Gave some differentials. Examiner asked about investigations.
CVS : a middle-aged lady with dual valve replacement.
3) Comm.skill. A total failure. Was given the task of breaking the news to a patient with mesothelioma. Instruction given on paper was that pt attending his appt to know his biopsy result etc. However pt said he has come today as he felt chest pain. His actual appt (to see the consultant) is next week. Did not do enough to satisfy the examiner (who was clearly unhappy); I did not tell the pt that he got this because he used to work in shipyard & he is eligible for Industrial Claim Benefit (though I voluntarily mentioned this during the discussion) Examiner was also unhappy as I said I will arrange an appt to see the oncologist. He wanted me to say that this will be discussed with my consultant.
4) STATION 5 : Partial disaster
1st case : 60 y.o lady wth violaceoes macularpapular confluent rashes on nose, face, forearms, buttocks, knees. (Mind you, it is not Heliotrope or butterfly or DLE rashes. Not psoriatic neither!
Stem was : She has got these rashes for 4/12 - on treatment under skin. Now has come with worsening dyspnoea for 2/12. SPO2 on air : 94%.
O/E : not in failure, Lungs : clear, Not clubbed. SHE HAS ORAL THRUSH. I suspected she is on some immunosuppressant drugs, but she said she can't reveal that to me! I was clueless.
I simply said could pulmonary-vasculitic syndrome, opportunistic infection, Pulmonary HPT. The lady examiner did not appear that happy. (RETROSPECTIVELY : I think she has sarcoidosis with lupus pernio & lung involvement)
2nd case : 60 y.o / lady wth Lt sided headache & partial ptosis of Lt eye for 3/52.
O/E : CN IV, VI intact. only partial ptosis. Pupil : normal size
My dy/dx : Temporal arteritis. The examiner accepted, but asked what else I would think of? I said need TRO CN III lesion (.e.g. compression/ mononeuritis) Do MRI/MRA.
5) Respi & Abdo :
Respi : a lady wth Lt mastectomy scar. Findings: consistent with B/L bronchiectasis. Questions asked: what are your differentials. CXR finding in bronchiectasis. Spirometry findings.
Abdo : a guy wth mid-sternotomy scar, LIF & RIF scar, a weird looking semi-horizontal abdominal scar & B/L BKA! Actually he has got a tranplanted kidney (which I missed out initially: but thank Allah I had 1 minute remaining for examination, thus the examiner offered me to use up the one minute and it was during this 1 minute I found out he has got a transplanted kidney on LIF!)
And he final bell rang... Was a tensed 2 hours of my life.

Honestly I was not happy with my performance. Went back to ParkHead Hotel and just slept till 5pm (though cant really sleep) No mood to explore Durham town (as planned earlier). Checked out at 5 something. Ran down to catch a bus to Durham Railway station (30 minutes away) Reached the station in time. Btw I think I boarded the wrong train (mine was Cross-Country, but I boarded Virgin Train..thinking both are the same)
Reached Edinburgh Waverley Station about an hour before Iftor. Quickly walked to Mosque Kitchen & packed up Kebab for 3 pounds. (Left my luggages at Euro Hostel on the way to Mosque Kitchen)
Iftor at the Masjid. Then had my Kebab after maghrib (It was too much, I had to eat at 3 separate times) Stayed on at the Masjid till the end of tarawih. Then walked back to Euro Hostel, slept for a while at the reception, before going back to Masjid for Subuh. I spent the whole night walking and catching a nap intermittently at the Euro Hostel until about 7am.

3 July 2015 (FINAL day)
My last day in Edinburgh. Walked in & out of gift shos & "kedai 1 pound". Bought some souveniers & some biscuits (sold at 1 pound per box) I was like a zombie as of course literally I did not have a place to sleep last night. (I paid to stay in ParkHead but decided to leave earlier as I might miss the flight if were to stay there another night)
At about 10am, took airport coach (4.50 pound). Checked-in uneventfully (except that the guard did not allow me to carry a litre of juice in hand carry).
Flight to Frankfurt departed at 1.30pm (ontime)
Lay-off in Frankfurt supposedly only 1 hour, but delayed to two hours. Tried to spend my remaining 4 pounds,but none of the merchants wanted to accept "coin form"
Endured another long-flight & reached Bangkok on time. (My return flight was EDIN to Frankfurt; Frankfurt to Bangkok ; then Bangkok to KL (by MAS) Lufthansa personnel was waiting for me at the arrival gate & swiftly took me to boarding gate.

Finally I am back
Took a bus to Penang & reached late night (almost midnight)

WHAT I LEARNED
1. Sitting for an exam (moreover practical/viva exam) in a foreign land IS NOT EASY. Especially when you are never exposed to their culture/practice. Believe me..i was there and take my words. Be there early (at least a good 4 days earlier than exam date to acclimatize yourself with the weather, environment and to calm your nerves..to certain extent)
2. Plan your trip well (especially accomodation and how are you gonna travel from one city to another (if needed)
3. Survey food places and prices. Bring along some canned food which you could heat up. Saved me a lot. I bought only 3 meals during my 1 week stay. The rest, I relied on food I brought from home (including mom-made nasi with mutton; which stayed afresh even after 26 hours!
4. Experienced Ramadhan in a far away land. I observed fasting for a total of 8 days in Edinburgh. Each day approx. 19 hours of fasting (except the first day; 23 hours as I took safe side by not eating after 4hours into plane) Subhanallah...the 19 hours of fasting was not bad at all. Perhaps fasting in Malaysia could be a little tiring at times; but never in Edinburgh! Perhaps the weather, but I really dont know why.
5. Accomodation - try to go for hostels with separate rooms (shared bathroom is fine); as they provide place to cook and relatively affordable as compared to hotels/apartments.
6. The InterCiy Trains were extraordinary. Frequent travel times. Basically can go anywhere in UK by just boarding the train. Reasonably punctual. Something our KTM must emulate if there is any hope in improving public transportation in Malaysia.

PACES tips:
1. It is still better to sit for PACES in our own place or at leasdt near by places i.e. Brunei. Going UK can be "intimidating", scarry (unless you did undergraduate in UK)
2. Having said that, if the inevitable happens, you still have to go UK; or else you may end up waiting for a place in Malaysia, where as your juniors have started doing sub-speciality training... 9as what happened to me :) I have a colleague (same HO batch; who is a Nephrologist now ;)
3. If you are going UK, do learn how they approach patients. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. It is a bit different than how we do it the Malaysian style. If you have plenty of money, attend a course or two in UK. If not much money (like me), just prescribe the PasTest videos. Learn from the videos. The video is not much of a use if you are attending exam in Malaysia.
4. Books :
- Pacing the PaCES (by PGMES Penang) : for Neurology
- Oxford by Iqbal Mehta : for Clinical topics (read selectively)
- Ryder : for Comm.Skill/ Hx taking and Volume 3 for Station 5
INI CUKUP. Dont read too much

5. Practise daily 1-2 cases. Or else EOD, but make full use of your weekends. Get good training buddies.

6. Attend at least one proper course before you go for the exam (Mock is not really important - but good if u get an opportunity) In my case, I managed to go Batu Pahat as an observer ( for a short course & Mock exam) and another in Hydrebad (which was quite disappointing!) If you want to go for courses in India, go to a course held at teaching HOSPITALS not at some private clinics...mind you! Nevertheless, the Hydrebad course was good for Comm.skill & History taking (at least something :)

Finally I would like to say that I am grateful to have Joyce (whom I met during my preparatory Course in Hydrebad in May 2015), Chin (my junior in UNIMAS) and Yew YX. These 3 were extremely helpful and I shall help them too when their turn to sit for exams. I go Skype to practise comm.skill, Hx and station 5 - with Joyce. Besides I am also thankful to have some words of wisdom from my sifu, Kantha Rao; whom I emulated by finishing MRCP in 1.5yrs; as well as my colleague, Arvind who took me for a few History sessions.
Last but not least, my training buddies during Masters Part 1 exam - Suba,Rabeah, Salina & Gan. These are the people with whom I " held hand-in-hand" as we polished our clinical skills bit by bit from basics (as it was all rusted back in April 2014; when we were preparing for Part 1 exams)

ALHAMDULILLAH - all praises to ALLAH. I got my results 3 nights before Aidilfitri. I PASSED!

Mohamed Azlam bin Mohamed Micdhadhu
MD (UNIMAS), MRCP (UK)

April 9, 2015

Terrible Experiences with Bertam Properties

Would like to share a series of bad experiences with this developer called Bertam Properties.
Saya membeli sebuah DSSD house dengan depa ini dan telah mendapat kunci pada minggu kedua Dec 2014 - well ahead of the scheduled completion in Feb 2015. Was impressed initially.
Jadi macam biasa, dah dapat kunci, pi lah tgk rumah...dan catatkan segala defect yang ada. Tgk punya tgk, adalah dlm 25-30 defect...ada yang major (sliding door tak leh kunci), ada gak la yang minor. OK la..xpa...biasa la defect2 ni bila beli rumah baru.

Pi lah hantaq defect form ni kat office Bertam, pada keesokkan hari. Jumpa la sorang staf dia ni nama H***a*...muka nampak cool & beriman. Katanya dalam 4 minggu boleh siap lah segala defect. Minggu ke-3, pi balik rumah, tgk apa depa dah buat...takat pasanag kepala paip kat bahagian dapoq saja (kepala paip asai tu depa dah ilangkan). Defect2 lain...tetap status quo. Call la balik mamat muka"beriman" ini...katanya bagi masa lagi...kontraktor x sempat2 buat lagi (dasar pemaju Ali Baba...kerja pembaikan bagi kontraktor lain...tp xdak penyeliaan pun) Siap suro aku lak kontek Kontraktor tu...nama Salizan ka apa ntah....kol2 bukan jawab pun..

Minggu ke-5, pi lah tgk lagi....satu haram x buat. Kol balik mamat muka "beriman" kata nak ambik balik kunci, pasai nak pasang grille & habaq dah kecewa dengan Bertam Prop sebab daripada 20+ defect tu, baru buat dalam 10....selepas 5 MINGGU!!! Dia pn kata, xpa..en boleh buat aduan kat CEO,Dato Roslan.

Aku malas nak panjangkan cerita, carry on la dengan kerja2 pemasangan grille (NI satu lagi cakap putar alam oleh Bumi so-called-muslim contractor)...I wont go into details of this :(

Sementara tu, 2/3/15 aku dah mula attachment kat IJN...jadi x leh la kerap nak ke Bertam ni.. Al-kisahnya, 29.3.15...pi lah tgk rumah kat Bertam (masa tu dok balik cuti seminggu). Nak tgk la apa macam finishing Bumi so-called Muslim contractors ni.. Macam hampeh gak...pasang grille, payah nak bukak..tempat kunci & tebing grille tu letak cukup punya rapat. Sampah satu haram x clear. Tapi duit dah minta awai lagi...masa keja x siap lagi pun.. haih..kata "ana Muslim" tapi mutu kerja & cakap x serupa bikin...macam.....(malas nak sambung) Buat malu saja..

OK back to topik asai...climax kekecewaan aku dengan Bertam Properties ni... P naik tingkat atas..tgk siling ruang tamu atas..abih lencun. Ayaq dok mencurah ntah brapa hari dah...abis lantai terrazo terkopek skali pasai ayaq dok bertakung. Pi la call PIC bahagian defect ni. Kol sorang..."saya cuti hari ini". Sorang lagi...7x x jawab fon. LAst kali jawab la sorang "ana Muslim" gak..nama A***..."hari ini Ahad, x leh mai tengok, sok baru bole" Aku pn,,,OK la jumpa sok.

Soknya pi lah Bertam skali lagi...depa pn mai la dalam 9.30am. Kontraktor nama Khairul pun mai skali. Tgk2 punya tgk...rupanya tangki atas bocor. Janjinya petang tu gak plumber akan mai..repair tangki & pastu akan tukar siling & lantai terrazo tu dalam tempoh 1-2 minggu.

Seminggu berlalu. Mak & kak aku pi tengok, siling & tangki dah ok la...tapi lantai tak terusik lagi. Kol la mamat nam A*** ni...dia kata, "saya pun x pasti apa dah buat setakat ini" Tu supervisor bahagian defect untuk Bertam Properties, claims to be a Muslim..tapi langsung xdak rasa tanggungjawab. Gaji bulan2 on time...apa yang masuk dalam perut...pikiaq la sendiri!
Aku pun...OK...fine...mintak la tolong percepatkan sebab nak move in dah ni.. Bole2 dia jawab, "en x bole kata dah 4 bulan, sebab tangki bocor & siling runtuh & lantai terkopek ni baru jadi" Mmg macam HA-RO-MEEM!
Terus aku kol PA CEO, mtk appt nak jmpa CEO. PA dia nama Norlela lak kata, dia akan mtk customer service contact balik dan ni dah hari kedua..aku masih menunggu panggilan balas daripada Customer Service.

Bad quality of work, bad service & terrible people working here. The worst part is they call themselves Muslims. Hope ALLAH puts some insight into them and hope they will be responsible in their jobs and work towards making their "hard-earned" money truly halal.

Wallhu 'Alam

Ni lah kesan selepas air yang bergenang telah dilap kering

Siling terkopek kesan daripada limpahan air

April 4, 2015

Fenomena Gerhana Bulan

Semalam berlaku gerhana bulan penuh yang dilaporkan telah dapat disaksikan di Malaysia. Satu perkara yang menarik perhatian saya adalah berkenaan anjuran Islam untuk kita adakan SOLAH SUNAH GERHANA. Ini menyebabkan saya terfikir, kejadian gerhana2 ini...yang kian kerap kebelakangan ini, pasti ada sebab musabab & rahsia unik disebaliknya. Memang benar ia adalah suatu petanda kekuasaan ALLAH; namun saya kira pasti ada sesuatu yang ALLAH ingin kita ketahui daripada peristiwa sebegini...cuma mungkin aqal kita terbatas untuk memikirkan lebih jauh.

Semalam juga merupakan kali pertama saya berpeluang menyertai solah sunah gerhana serta khutbah. Saya langsung terlupa akan solah ini dan hanya teringat apabila tiba di Surau Al-Falah, Danau Kota. Di sini saya letakkan link tentang kaifiat solah ini : SOLAH SUNAH GERHANA.

Saya juga tergerak untuk membaca lebih lanjut mengenai fenomena ini dan mendapati web ini agak informatif : INFO ON ECLIPSE.

Seterusnya satu hadith daripada kitab Al-Lu'Lu; Wal Marjan...daripada bab Solah Gerhana

"Abdullah bin Abbas berkata; Telah terjadi gerhana matahari pada zaman Rasulullah. Maka Rasulullah mendirikan solah.Baginda berdiri terlalu lama, setara waktu membaca surah Al-Baqoroh. Lalu ruku' dengan ruku' yang lama; seraya mengangkat kepala dan berdiri lama, namun tidak selama yang pertama.

Kemudian Rasulullah ruku' kembali dengan ruku' yang lama, namun tidak selama ruku' yang pertama; kemudian sujud.

Kemudian Rasulullah berdiri kembali waktu yang lama, namun tidak selama yang pertama. Lalu ruku' lama, namun tidak selama yang pertama. Lalu mengangkat kepala dan berdiri lama, namun tidak selama yang pertama.

Kemudian Rasulullah ruku' kembali dengan ruku' yang lama, namaun tidak selama yang pertama dan kemudia sujud. Kemudian baginda selesai solah sementara matahari tampak kembali. Baginda bersabda:

Sesungguhnya matahari dan bulan adalah dua tanda dari tanda2 kebesaran ALLAH. Gerhana terjadi nukan kerana mati atau hidupnya seseorang. Jika kalian melihatnya, banyaklah mengingati ALLAH.

Ada sahabah bertanya; Wahai Rasulullah kami melihat anda hendak meraih sesuatu di tempat anda itu. Kami juga melihat anda menahan ketakutan.

Rasulullah menjawab, "Sungguh aku melihat syurga, lalu aku hendak meraih setandan anggur. Seandainya aku dapat meraihnya, pastikalian akan memakannya selama dunia masih ada. Kemudian aku melihat neraka; aku belum pernah melihat suatu pemandangan yang mengerikan dibanding itu. Dan aku melihat kebanyakan penghuninya wanita."

Sahabah bertanya lagi, "Mengapa begitu ya Rasulullah?"

Rasulullah menjawab :Kerana mereka berbuat kufur (ingkar)"

Sahabah : " Apakah mereka kufur pada ALLAH?"

Rasulullah : "Mereka mengingkari pemberian suami dan mengingkari kebaikannya. Seandainya kamu bernuat kebaikan kepada salah seorang dari mereka sepanjang masa,lalu ia melihat sedikit saja keburukan darimu maka ia akan mengatakan. "tidak pernah aku melihat kebaikan darimu sedikit pun"

_HR Bukhari & Muslim_

FYI, Kitab Lu'Lu' Wal MArjan is a book which compiles hadis recorded by Bukhari as well as Muslim; hence THE MOST authentic hadis book we have.

Ada beberapa lagi hadis berkenaan Gerhana ini, namun atas kekanagan ruang dan masa, saya tidak memuatkannya di sini.

Wallahu 'Alam

Credits to : alfalakonline & jabatan hal-ehwal agama Terengganu

March 28, 2015

Saigon @ Thành phố Ho Chi Minh - PART 1

29th JANUARY to 2nd FEBRUARY 2015

Finally I've made it to Saigon..Alhamdulillah. It was a trip scheduled in May 2013; before Najib announced elections exactly during that week; much to our dismay. Lost in terms of flight fares & hotel bookings...sigh.. Ok, put that a side.

This time it was only Awang & I. No one else available & I did not extend invitations to friends with children commitments..will be difficult for them.

I took off from Penang on night of 28th Jan, to spend overnight at Awang's place...before we head back to KLIA2 the next morning. Flight AK departed punctually & landed in HCM @ 9.15am (local time). (Vietnam time = malaysian time - 1 hour). It took us only 1 hour 45 minutes.

The airport is called Tan Son Nhat I'national Airport. Took a taxi to reach our hotel, Tulips Saigon Hotel @ Lu Ty Trong Road (dont ask me how to pronounce that...huhu)

I would say Saigon is synonymous to Ben Thanh Market to many Malaysians. Being avid shoppers, Malaysians cannot resist this place. But I find Saigon is more than just this. Lots of places to explore if you are an adventurous person.

PLACES OF INTEREST :

1. Saigon Zoo & Botanical Garden

3. Cu Chi Tunnel

3. Mekong Delta

4. Indian Jamia Mosque

5. War Remnant Museum

6. Water Puppet Show

I did not put the whole list here. These are mostly places that we went & commonly frequented by travelers. Shopping avenues will be mentioned later. Cu Chi Tunnel & Mekong Delta warrants a little bit more explanation.

Cu Chi Tunnel is approximately an hour drive from Saigon. It was built by Viet-Kong during the US aggression to protect & safeguard their place from the "superhero" US armies. I find it rather astounding and amazing to how they could have built such a delicate and well planned underground tunnel with not much sophisticated tools. We had our try through the tunnel (they open for tourists only a length of about 60 metres I guess), which caused me quadriceps strain for the next 4 days! People actually lived in this underground hut & used this tunnel daily. Imagine how determined they were to fight off outsiders. We booked our trip through the hotel; which cost us VD 240K (including entrance fee of 90K). You can actually go to this place on your on by taking a public bus.

Mekong Delta is a must for those coming to Saigon for the first time. OK, do read something about this delta before you decide on which trip you want to take. Basically there are few towns (some can even be called cities) along this delta (Don't think deltas are just paddy field along the river...)

Nearest is called My Tho (Mee-Tow), followed by Vinh Long, Can Tho & Chau Doc. Mind you, to get to My Tho (from Saigon), it takes 1.5 - 2 hours bus ride & to get to Chau Doc (the farthest city) IS 4-5 HOURS! What are the attractions? Cai Be floating market, Cai Rang floating market, Honey farm, some local snack-making factories, visit to muslim Champa village, Sam Mountain, Snake farm. That is a long list. The one we went was straight to Cai Be (from Saigon). Cai Be is a small jetty area, from where they took us (by boat) along the so-called floating market (trading starts at 5am, finishes by 10am; and they only brought us there at 11am+) to see some floating boats instead! We stopped by at Honey farm, pop-rice, pop-noodle & a type of rice kerepek making factories. They also demonstrated how they prepare rice wine. They capped the tour with some local music show. After a while, it was lunch time, which I did not take as "kehalalan diragui" (I did not pay for the food either). The lunch was served at a small island called An Binh. Met a pakcik while I was walking around the place (the soil was so fertile that you could see aplenty of nangka, pisang, belimbing trees which were bearing fruits - nice view) who gave me a belimbing and spoke something in his language in a jolly mood & asked me to take a photo of him beside a pokok pisang & he kissed me on cheek too..err..dont know why he was too friendly...That shall remain mysterious...huhu. We were back to Jetty by 2.30 and the bus to take us back to Saigon was awaiting. Reached Saigon at 5.45pm.

OK..that was my experience in Mekong Delta, which I did not find as interesting as it sounds... Please read later segments on my suggestions.

Saigon Zoo is more of picnic park for the locals...you can see ppl picnicking in the middle of the zoo. Well nothing to shout about this place. Entrance fee was only 50K

War Remnant Museum was the first place we visited (err...after Ben Thanh). It is a museum glorifying Southern Vietnamese's achievements & also portraying their sufferings during US aggression. US were extremely cruel when they used the dioxide bombs, which they nicknamed "agent orange" to kind of eradicate Vietnamese population. Children of those exposed to the chemicals are seen nowadays with no limbs / mentally retarded/ blind...effects still manifested up to the 3rd generation.

Btw, Saigon has at least 7 museums. Anyone for more museums??

Indian Jamia Masjid. Sounds peculiar...what Indians were doing in Saigon? Probably there were Indian traders before in Saigon. It is a beautiful Masjid just beside the Sheraton Hotel at Dong Du Street. About 1 kilometer from our hotel.

Water Puppet Show : kind of famous among tourists, but we did not go.

WHERE TO STAY :

Saigon offers aplenty of hotels to choose from. To be near to Halal food, easy access to public transportation & shopping arcade, get a hotel along these roads...Lu Ty Trong Road, Le Thanh Ton Road, Nguyen An Ninh. Avoid Pham Ngu Lau..as this road is full of pubs. Just look into google map. Anywhere within 500-600metre radius from Ben Thanh Market is just nice. Nguyen An Ninh is nicknamed "Malaysian road" (it is a self-proclaimed nickname...Vietnamese does not know about that) because you will see familiar faces along this road and most of the Halal restaurants are here. It is a short road of only about 150 meters distance. Hotels here are of higher demand among Malaysians.

We stayed in Tulips Saigon Hotel in Lu Ty Trong Road...about 500 meters from Ben Thanh Market. Was a pleasant place to stay. Cost us about RM85/night (for a twin-bedded room).

FOOD :

Halal foods are not difficult to find in Saigon. But for those who crave to taste truely Vietnamese delicacies, forget it! All these halal restaurants has Malaysian-style food occupying 95% of their menu list. The only prominent Vietnamese dish on their menu would be "Vietnamese Beef noodle". That is the disappointing part, as for me, we should try local delicacies as much as possible when travelling. Btw, some of these restaurants are actually owned by Malaysians. Kindly be reminded, prices of these food are a bit dear....a piece of roti canai is 25K - 30K Dong :)

Here are some of the restaurants we came across :

Restaurant Hjh Basiroh (has 2 shops opposite to each other)

Restoran Aisah

Restoran Kampung Melayu (or Malaysia ... cant recall)

Amin Halal

Saigon Green

Nabil Briyani House

Seri Penang Restaurant

The Leaf Restaurant (opposite the hotel we stayed)

Restoran Baba & Nyonya

Saigon Halal

(the places in bold are very near to Indian Jamia Masjid on Dong Du Road; while the rest are basically surrounding Ben Thanh. There are a few more near by Ben Thanh..I can't recall. Do explore and you will find them. But all these places have more less similar menu & does not differ much in terms of price; except for Nabil Briyani & Saigon Halal which are a bit more pricey than the rest.

SHOPPING :

This is the main agenda for many Malaysians and I understand why they cant resist. We did some shopping too..well but did not require us to buy a luggage to fit in our shopping items. Ok, Ben Thanh Market @ Cho Ben Thanh is most popular place when it comes to shopping. Bear in mind, Ben Thanh has many entrances..so remember your door number! Items of interest include :

- kain baju (3.5 or 4 metres) - Vietnam silk, English cotton

- kain jubah 2.5metres

- travelling/hiking bags (e.g. Deuter / North Face)

- branded footwear

- souveniers (the usual items)

- nuts (e.g. cashew nuts, pistachio - I find these to be cheaper than in Penang - well of course cant beat the price we can get in Tawau)

The items in bold are the most popular among all. U can see Malaysians occupying 1/2 of the market area & some literally buying in boxes!

Another place which people tend not to explore is the Bin Tayh Market @ Chinatown Market. As the name implies, most of the traders are Chinese. This place is about 6-7km away from Ben Thanh Market. We took a public bus to get there (only 5K Dong/trip). It is mainly a wholesale market & the items sold there are more vast..u can practically get anything.. Though I did not buy anything here,(as I was in deep economic recession on Day 3 onwards), I find the prices are a bit cheaper & not much Malaysians here, so you can bargain better I guess. Mind you, Ben Thanh can be a difficult place to bargain if you go during peak "Malaysian season". (We went during the thaipusam-federal day long weekend, so you can imagine Ben Thanh was like Jalan Masjid India, KL at that time and these traders know Malaysians' buying power...so they don't mind if you don't buy, as they know the next Malaysian who walks in will clear at least 1/8 of their stock :)

TRANSPORTS WITHIN & TO OUT OF SAIGON :

OK now I've come to the most exciting part of my story. Moving within & out of Saigon. There is central bus stop just opposite Ben Thanh Market (exit door #1 and you will not miss it). This is the place where you can take buses to Bin Tayh, Cu Chi Tunnel (if you want to go there on your own). One can even go to Mekong Delta on their own...NEED NOT FOLLOW "ARRANGED TOURS". You may take bus #2 or #39 and get down at Maw Tay Station, which is a station for you to get buses to any of the cities in Mekong. For instance, bus to My Tho city will cost you 100K Dong/person. Time spent from Saigon to My Tho will be about 2- 2.5 hours. You must have pre-booked a hotel in My Tho (or at any other cities in Mekong you wish to visit). If you plan to go Chau Doc, you may even take a flight, as you will have to spend 4-5 hours on the road, if you were to travel by bus. In my opinion, we should try something different for every trip we go. It will be dull if we just follow the usual routine trips already prepared via packages. Of course if there is no other means or if you are travelling in extra-large groups or with parents/small children, you have no option but to hop onto the readily available tour packages which booking can be made through most of the hotels.

MY SUGGESTIONS :

Terima kasih atas kesudian & kesabaran membaca segala leteranku setakat ini. It is rather incomplete if I don't end my story with my two-cents worth of suggestions/advices :)

1) Book your hotel at some where around Ben Thanh Market. It is not only for convenience of shopping, but for so many other reasons as well - esp food.

2) Do visit Masjid Jamia there & Explore a bit further from Ben Thanh Market. It is nice to walk around in a foreign country. But avoid walking after 12 MN or before sun is up. I had an unpleasant encounter when I was walking to Masjid one morning for solah subuh (just wanted to see how are things in Masjid on a muslim-minority place) Nothing bad happened, but I would discourage going out during that period.

* Masjid Jamia is fairly near to Saigon River

3) Bring along some instant noodles / gardenia breads/buns in case of emergencies & if you wish to save money..hehe. (I have few pictures of the menu & their prices)

4) Bring xtra bag to carry your things later (Im sure you will need xtra) and make sure you buy xtra check-in luggage from A.Asia!) Or if you think you need a travelling/hiking bag, just get one in Ben Thanh and stuff in the other things you buy.

5) Avoid coming here during long weekend off in Malaysia...if you wish to buy things at a better bargain :)

6) Best duration of trip depends on you. I recommend :

---> 3 good days in Saigon (visit War Museum, Cu Chi Tunnel, stroll around the town & shop till u break); 2 days & 1 night to Mekong Delta. Here go direct to Can Tho (take noon or evening bus). Next morning to Cai Rang floating market & arrange for other trips with local (in Can Tho) tour agent. If you are not keen to see Floating market, just go My Tho & Ben Tre (activities are confined to sitting on sampan to the canals & visit to local small scale industries)

---> BETTER OPTION. Go for a one week trip! You land in Phnom Penh (Cambodia), after 1 or 2 days, come to Chau Doc (by boat), overnight there. Visit Cham Muslim village & do some local activities there. Then head to Saigon. 1 or 2 nights in P.Penh; 2 nights in Mekong (Chau Doc), 2 nights in Saigon. OR you may also do the reverse.

FYI, Chau Doc is the town at Cambodia-Vietnam border & is easy to find halal foods as a lot of Cham Muslims here.

7) Tukar duit siap2 kat money changer di Malaysia. Kalau x sempat (macam aku), at least tukar di KLIA2 (tempat CIMB - better rate). I spotted only one money changer in Saigon, adjacent to "Malaysian Road" @ Nguyen An Ninh & of course the conversion is not favorable to us.

Conversion rate (may change depending on current FOREX rate)

10000 Dong = RM 1.80
100000 Dong = RM 18
1000000 Dong = RM 180

8) Tulis siap2 atas kertas kecik...jadual conversion. Senang nak rujuk bila pekedai bagi harga dalam Dong (this was idea from Awang :) Trust me....very helpful. Macam kat atas tu : 10000 Dong = ?RM etc

9) All in all...Vietnam has huge potential to be an economic force to be reckoned in future. And it will interesting to see how Vietnam will look like in 10yrs to come.

9) For further readings :

www.saigonmuslimtours.com/Saigon-Tourist-Attractions/vietnam-mekong-river-delta/

www.dulichvietphongcaibe.com (this one is in Vietnamese)

www.frommers.com/destinations/can-tho#sthash.E6ebP8OV.dpbs (this one is pretty detail)

Disclaimer : I am not promoting tours by these companies, but read their articles to know what are the available tour options. The latter website is by a company operating near Cai Be Jetty. Just to reiterate, you may go Mekong Delta on your own & arrange trips around the delta directly with the operating tour companies there. Tours arranged by guides in Saigon are NOT the only available option.

That is all folks! I'll post pics & expenditures on my next entry...bila entah la...