Welcome Event by Commonwealth

Getting ready with formal wear

I was thrilled to receive an invitation by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission to attend its largest event, a welcome event. Held at the University of Nottingham, about 400 scholars turned up for the grand event. Woke up as early as 445am in the morning, I quickly made myself to the train station where I had to walk for a good 20 minutes. Luckily, it was not freezing in the morning. Upon arrival, I did not know which platform that I should wait for the train. Quickly asked someone who worked there and he pointed me to platform 6. As soon as I reached, the train was there and I made it just in time. Sat in the train for 30 minutes, I had to alight at Ely and transit to another train, going to Nottingham. At the station, I met some other Cambridge students who are Commonwealth scholars and heading to the same place as I was. When the train arrived, I sat opposite to a Nigerian lady and she told me that she is a Commonwealth scholar too. Had some talks with her and didnt realize that time flew, we were at Nottingham in no time. Then, both of us took a tram but alighted at a wrong stop so, we had to walk back to an earlier station and met the rest of the Cambridge scholars. As soon as we reached, I met two Malaysians. They introduced themselves as Nini and Halimatun. Greeted with warmth, I could feel how friendly they are. We had good talk about our projects and how did we cope with a total new environment in the UK. Then, we were told to meet out programme officers at the banquet. Surprisingly, my officer recognized me as soon as I stepped into the hall. She is quite pretty but we didnt take any pictures together. Thought there would be time to do so later but how wrong was I.

When the event was about to start, we were ushered to the conference room. In the room, another Malaysian came to sit next to me and her name is Isabella. There were only 7 Malaysian holders who turned up that day (out of 12 holders for 2015/2016 term). Like any other event, it was inaugurated with welcome speeches by the director of CSC. Unlike events in Malaysia, we really enjoyed the way it was conducted. So much joy and laughter. This was followed by some discussion among group members. Shall not disclose the content of discussion as it is nothing interesting.  When it was lunch time, I was introduced to Jamuna. She is a Malaysian doctor who is doing her master in London. After lunch, we rushed our way to have a picture taken but we had to wait for the 6th Malaysian to turn up. After waiting for quite some time, the photography session went on with only 5 of us. After that, there was this ice breaking session which I found quite interesting. The rule of the game was to get as many names as possible, to be listed on a handout paper. So yeah, it was fun having to ask around so that people could write on my paper. Amidst the chaotic moment, I got to know some friends.

After the ice breaking session, there was an awkward gap of 2 hours and we were to help ourselves with drinks and snacks at the reception. Well, since wine was free, I drank 3 glasses of wine that day. When dinner was about to begin, the 6th Malaysian turned up and her name is Puteri. Managed to talk a bit with her before we made our way to the banquet hall. We were separated and positioned to sit with other scholars. So, sat next to me was an Indian girl who is doing her Master in Newcastle and our topic ranged from weather to movie. It was an awesome conversation. Unlike Chinese cuisine, we were served with a soup as starter, chicken and potato as main course & chocolate with ice-cream as topping for dessert. Nevertheless, I was still full from the snacks I ate earlier so it was okay for me. After dinner, I got to know another Malaysian and his name is Quek, doing his Master in Oxford. Coincidentally, both of us were given the same room in Brittania Nottingham Hotel but we did not chat much that night. We were both tired and he had to wake up early tomorrow morning to catch an early train to go back to Oxford. He had volunteered himself to help out at a museum.

Majestic train station

The next morning, Quek left and I went down to have a decent breakfast before checking out at 1030am. Then, I took a good walk at Old Market Square. Got to take some nice pictures and since my train was at 1:32pm, I still had plenty of time for sight seeing. Left around 11ish and went to wait at Nottingham Train Station. The station was so amazing with its architectural design and still standing firmly after a century. Decided to buy myself a coffee so sat down at Costa and waited for my train. Then, another coincidence happened when Puteri sat not far from me. I went over to her place and kept her a company. This time, we got the chance to talk more and got to know each other more. After that, I left and Puteri was waiting for her 2:17pm train. It was indeed a good experience to meet up with so many new friends. Will definitely join such event in the future.

Life in Cambridge

It has been a while since I last wrote on this blog. Sorry about that and here I am, back again after almost a year of disappearance. A little update about what happened during my disappearance. Things had been difficult and I was preparing to go to the UK for my PhD attachment. Months of preparation and scholarship application were some of the toughest moments. However, I survived and made it through. Currently, I am on a Commonwealth Scholarship, doing my attachment at University of Cambridge for one whole academic year. Came here in late October and it is now still autumn. Temperature goes as low as 5 degrees because it is approaching winter soon. Got myself a bike at 80 pounds and cycling around Cambridge town is so freezing. Nevertheless, having to explore an old and historical town like Cambridge, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. People here are extremely friendly, polite and helpful. Therefore, integrating into this community isnt that hard after all. Research here is stressful and at the same time, fun. There are so many exciting research going on here and you wont know that someone you know here, could be a Nobel Laureate in the future. It is also exciting to know that James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin and even Mr Lee Kuan Yew are the alumni of Cambridge. Standing on Cambridge ground, I am thinking if I can be as successful and famous as they are. In this one year, I promise myself to learn as much as I can and return home to anticipating family and friends. They have put so much hope in me and I told myself not to disappoint them. Since I am already in the UK, traveling is a must-to-do and stay tuned for my travel entries. Here are some pictures I took in Cambridge =)

In front of the famous King's College

King's College

Inside of King's

Spectacular design of King's

Bridge of Sighs. Lee Kuan Yew was here, so was I

Ipoh-My Heritage City

Born and bred in Ipoh, a beautiful city 200 km in the north of Malaysia's capital, KL is something I am proud of. Well, I guess everyone carries the same pride for their hometown. History of Ipoh dates back to 1880++ during the British colonial era and there are many historical buildings still preserved nicely in the Old Town and New Town. Hence, making it one of the oldest cities in Malaysia together with KL, Penang, Malacca, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu (formerly known as Jesselton). Previously known as Paloh by the local folks (my parents still address her as Paloh), she rose to fame as the City of Millionaire after adjacent towns such as Taiping and Gopeng. When the tin value dropped in the market and tin mining gradually lost its popularity, she became a sleepy town for decades. Despite her slumber, she was well-known as the Heaven of Good Food. However, this title has been officially claimed by the neighbouring city, Penang. 

 Ipoh is definitely no stranger to Malaysians when it came to food hunting. I can honestly tell that when I asked my friends where to hunt for good food, they will only limit themselves to Ipoh and Penang. Ipoh is famous for chicken bean sprout (invented by the Wong siblings). This delicacy rose to fame due to the juiciness of the bean sprouts, smooth chicken, prawn-shelf soup and smooth silky 'hor fun'. Do not look down on the bean sprouts in Ipoh, as they are nourished and watered by the Kinta River, making them super fat and juicy! You can never find a more tasty bean sprout else where in Malaysia. This city is also full of coffee-maniacs where you will drink a coffee at least once a day otherwise your day will not complete. Known also as the City of White Coffee, she is of course famous for her white coffee. First invented by Sun Yuan Loong, the specialty of white coffee is that the coffee beans are roasted with milk before being brewed. However, the coffee got its fame Malaysia-wide from Nam Heong's brewing. For your information, these rivals are still facing each other in the Old Town after three generations of rivalry. I remember asking my mother why wasnt it white as the name implies. Not literally.

Old town white coffee
Source: www.holidaygogo.com

Chicken bean sprout
Source: asianstreetfood.wordpress.com

Other famous food include Dai Shu Geok (Foot of Big Tree) which serves yong taufu and noodles (famous country wide too). Its fame lead to other stalls in KL borrowing its name and popularity to attract customers but the owner denied having any branches outside of Ipoh (sole stall). The people in Ipoh also good in making taufu, and the most notable stall is Funny Mountain. I had been there almost everytime I go back and the taufufa is so nice and cheap (only at RM 1 or 2-I forgot). They even provide the drive-thru service where customers can eat in
the car and the bowls will be collected after satisfying indulgence. Ipoh trip will never be completed with dimsum. The dimsum in Ipoh is very different in KL where you can find prawns almost in every dimsum (KL only has pork in dimsum and prawns will be very limited). Foh San, Ming Court, Yoke Fook Moon and Chef Ah Fat are all dimsum restaurants and located on the same street (hence, the dimsum street). The restaurants are fully booked in the morning and on festivities. However, the one worth mentioning is Chui Yue Lou (chef came from Yoke Fook Moon), located at Ipoh Garden South. The dimsum is so big, juicy and cheap! Only 10 minutes drive from my home, I can savour the Hong Kong style dimsum.

Interactions between the Chinese and Indians also enable the Chinese to cook good curry. The most famous is Yee Fatt Curry located opposite to MGS (Methodist Girl School), followed by Nam Chau and Sun Seng Fat (both in Old Town) and also Diamond curry in Menglembu. The aroma of curry will make you crave for more and each restaurant has their own way of making curry so they have their own fans. I particularly find that the ice-kacang at Dung Gu Ting (Mushroom Hut) is the best I have tasted so far. The texture of the ice is smooth, unlike other ice-kacang in town which is rough and the sweetness is just nice (not too sweet). Another must-try food are the cendols at the Ipoh Garden roundabout, beside Pasir Pinji field and beside Bercham Road. Sold by both Chinese and Indians, the cendols quench your thirst on sun-glaring days.

Yee Fatt Curry
Source: www.j2kfm.com

Pasir Puteh is also famous for two delicacies, the fried 'nien gou' and machi. Located on the same street near Pasir Puteh market, the owners of these respective stalls sell at very reasonable price with genuine tasty snacks to preserve the taste which last for three generations. They are still selling at small stall with no license, just to provide good food to the folks without gaining huge profit and not taking anything for granted. I really salute them for their dedications and therefore, worth mentioning in my blog. I shall emphasize on the nien gou and machi, where the tastiness is beyond description. Each has their own way of making you melt them in your mouth, not your hand!

Confectionery in Ipoh lures many foreigners and Malaysians to buy mountains of biscuits to be distributed to beloved friends and family. Sin Eng Heong, famous for its kaya puff really make me crave for it whenever I go back for holidays. Situated very near to Funny Mountain and Octagon, the kaya puff has winning fans from all generations. Close relative of the owner of Sin Eng Heong is the owner of Ming Yue at Pasir Puteh. However, Ming Yue is only famous for mooncakes and peanut candies. Whenever Mooncake Festival is around the corner, there will be long queue for mooncakes everyday until the shop stops making them. I bought once and it is very delicious (even my aunt in Penang crave for it). Opposite to Ming Yue is Tuck Kee Duck, where the roasted duck is so crispy and juicy. Serve best with white rice (my parents' favourite). The ducks at Pasir Puteh have rival at Gunung Rapat, Sun Yeong Wai. Both have their own way of marinating and roasting the duck, therefore attract their own customers and fans over generations.

Wat Dan Hor
Source:www.j2kfm.com

Oh yeah, before I forget, fried noodles in Ipoh is represented by Tuck Kee (not to be confused with Tuck Kee Ducks). This fried noodle stall is situated next to Lou Wong (chicken bean sprout) and the wat dan hor and yue gong hor really made me crazy, in a good way. I will definitely call my day as cheat day when I visit this restaurant. Due to family conflicts, you can actually see another Tuck Kee next to it, Sun Tuck Kee (opened by the nephew). Not far from Tuck Kee is the Dessert Street, where you can find varieties of dessert and food. The sago lolo is one of the best attractions that keep me returning to this street. Aside from this, you can enjoy very tasty wanton mee, Pangkor curry mee and beef noodles. All with established fame and history, which will make you go extremely guilty for supper. Weng Seng egg tart also made it to the list with its crispy crunchy texture and mouth-watering egg paste. The food in Ipoh can never been listed all at once as they are too many to mention. Also, these food that I mentioned have survived for at least three generations.

Another thing Ipoh is proud of producing is beautiful girls and handsome boys. Haha, not to be narcissistic but this had been told since my grandparents' time. My mother once told me that Ipohans were drinking the water from Kinta River so the natural beauty of oneself was preserved (but who drinks it now? so dirty). Below is a conversation I encountered which led me to this entry.

New friend: Where are you from?
Me: I am from Ipoh
New friend: Oh, no wonder you are good-looking

Please dont kill me for this but there is also an article in a Chinese newspaper (forgot which paper) which has the headline 'The outflow of Ipoh beautiful girls'. I dont know the content of the article (banana here) but from the headline, I guess it said that the beauties went out to work in other cities than retaining in Ipoh, therefore the outflow.

After all, Ipoh is still the best city to live in, at least for me. Being listed as one of the great retirement cities in 2014 by US News & World Report, she has yet to be listed by UNESCO as the world heritage site, which Penang and Malacca did. Although the history of Ipoh is not as old as Penang (1700++) and Malacca (1400++), she is still a charming and breath-taking city. The folks might not need Ipoh to be recognized internationally as she is already our heritage city in our heart, preserving her with all we could. I was tempted to write this entry as I will be leaving for Ipoh for the weekend (the first time in 2015, after Christmas in 2014). Till then, see you!

Wednesday Night

This entry is about my night out with Alex, as promised on my previous entry. It was a nice and happy one, as a whole. Took my leave early from the lab at 4 pm, I rushed myself for shower and getting prepared for the night. It was 5 pm when the train came to the station and luckily, I made myself on the train as planned. Upon reaching Central KL, I realized it was quite early and Alex told me he was going to reach around 6. Thus, I bought a tuna egg roll to fill up my starving stomach and strolled around NuSentral. At the same time, Alex updated me on his where about and approximately 630 pm, he reached and the ultimate reason to meet at the central was because he wanted to buy a train ticket back to Ipoh on Friday night. 

Yummy

 

Accompanying him to the counter, he settled whatever he needed to settle and we quickly made our way to the monorail station where we boarded the monorail to head to Medan Tuanku station. Disembarking at that station, we went to the cinema at Quill City Mall and purchased tickets for The Eye's Diary, a Thai Horror Movie. Frankly, I thought it was a romantic movie from the name. We were both hungry and so, we went into a restaurant and I had a cheat meal. Chicken and mashed potato with mushroom sauce all over it. Had one of the most filling dinner in my life and Alex had nasi lemak. During the dinner, we caught up to each other's story and it was good catching up with old friend. 

The movie started at 8 pm but we went in at 815, to skip all the advertisements. Fortunately, the movie just started right when we stepped in. I half expected that the horror movie was not scary at all and the plot was lousy, as depicted by most Asian horror movies lately. Anyway, I was wrong and this movie really scared the hell out of me. It was quite good but still, not the best after all. Quite satisfying and both of us were horrified by some scenes. After the movie ended, it was almost 10 pm and I was so tired that night. We quickly went back and chat happily on our way back. It was a short night out and we both thought it would be better to hangout a little bit longer but time did not permit. He got off at Hang Tuah station and reached home before I did. Upon reaching home, I had a quick shower and crashed on my bed until I overslept. LOL

Worth watching with unexpected horror scenes, depicted the horrifying side of Asian ghost tales

Sunday Date

It had been a while since I last posted any entry on blogspot since I paid a visit to Alan. He is now healthy and strong, if some of you may ask of his current situation. My Sunday morning started with a blackout throughout the campus as early as 7 am. I was sleeping soundly when the fan stopped working but managed to resume my slumber until 10 am. Was told that the electricity will be back at 12 pm so patiently waited until 1230 pm but to no avail. Due to the low battery status of my phone, I decided to go out to Midvalley, my second home for a recharge. Reluctant to go alone, I asked KY for a date and fortunately, he was going to the same place for his personal business. I knew KY for less than 2 months and we had been friends since then. A little update on KY:

KY was a JPA scholar and graduated from the Minneapolis University, majored in Sociology. born and bred in Johore Bahru, this pretty boy is now doing his 3 months internship at Putrajaya, a city 30 minutes drive from my campus. I remember the first time seeing him was fetching him to Alamanda Shopping Mall and our first meal was Kenny Rodgers. He is a nice guy to talk with and has a good sense of humour where you will not be bored talking to him. Anyway, KY is recently taken so sorry guys, he isnt available.

My name is written Jhiyo instead of Jiho

Back to my Sunday afternoon, KY went over to do his business at the Boulevard and it took him 2 hours so I decided to stroll at The Gardens and looked for a place to charge my phone. Hence, I picked a seat at The Starbucks, The Gardens and chose a secluded place to charge my baby whilst enjoying my Frappuccino. During my 2 hours indulgence there, I accidentally met Nicholas, a guy whom I chat on app but never meet before. Instantly, he recognized me and greeted with a bright grin on his face. I returned with a polite gesture and walked away since he was with his friend and did not want to interrupt their coffee session. At the same time, Alex whom I had not seen for almost a year, was going to the Midvalley and we agreed to meet up for dinner, together with KY. A little update on Alex:

Alex is a senior of mine of two years and we came from the same hometown. Born and bred in Ipoh, he completed his high school from the Anderson School and TAR College, majored in Accounting. Currently residing in Cheras, he is one of the cutest guy I have ever seen in my life. His small size and big round eyes charmed many guys in this circle. I knew him around the time I knew Alan which was around September 2013. The first time I met him was at The Pavillion and we spent the day having meals and watching movie. Being anti-Japanese meal, we had our first meal at the Japanese restaurant. The funny thing I remember about him was, he was always feverish when we met. However, we lost touch for quite some time before getting in touch again recently.

He brought along a friend of his, Kent, a polite and funny guy with good proficiency in English. Meeting him for the first time, KY and I realized that he has good social skills. His proficiency in the second language was due to his 2 years stay in Manchester, England. Currently working as a mechanical engineer in Manchester, he was also from Ipoh and happened to be Alex's schoolmate back then. We had dinner at The Simple Life and shared some stories but overall, the dinner was quite quiet due to the awkwardness for meeting the first time. After the dinner, we parted ways and Alex apologized for not being able to catch up further with me. Hence, we agreed to meet again on Wednesday for a movie. Till then, stay tune for my upcoming entry.

Get well soon, Alan

Alan and I knew each other for a year, when I was still doing my undergraduate final year project. Alan is a nice and caring guy, like a big brother to me. He is a senior of mine by 3 years and already stepped out into working life, where he helped his mother in family business. His family owns the shoe empire with the brand 'Princess' and has many outlets throughout KL. However, to this date, I have never been to any of his shoes shops yet.

Alan had an accident and as a result of this, one of his fingers is crooked and he was upset about it. When this happened, I was too busy with studies and never had the chance to visit him in the hospital or ask about his well-being properly. I felt bad about this whenever we talked about the accident which happened early this year.

Recently, Alan got admitted into hospital again, this time is wound infection on his thigh. I thought to myself that I must visit him this time and therefore, after doing my daily workouts, I quickly made my way to Sunway Medical Centre which is about 30 minutes drive from where I stay. I was so lucky that I did not take any wrong route using Waze.

Me and Alan

I went to Tower B, only to know that all wards are located in Tower A. After searching for the ward for a few minutes, I found him finally, lying on the bed and he was surprised to see my presence. We talked a bit about his condition before his friend, Roy came in with fruits. I realized I came empty-handed and felt embarrassed, lol. Alan asked Roy to buy some food and only then I knew, Roy is no ordinary friend to Alan.

Before I left, I got to speak with Roy and from that conversation, I knew he is from my hometown, a senior of mine by 2 years and is currently doing his PhD in Monash University. We shared our experience in science and he is a handsome and nice guy to talk with. It was 9 pm and I decided to leave for dinner and bid farewell to both of them. I am glad that I could visit Alan this time. Get well soon, Alan =)

Interview at Celebrity Fitness

After spending 160 MYR on fixing my car brakes, I felt broke and decided to take up a part-time job. Hence, I made my way back to the room and completed the resume, headed out to Midvalley. Jonathan and I agreed to meet up for a simple dinner and a movie, afterwards. Upon reaching, I walked slowly into Celebrity Fitness with my heart beating fast. I did not know why, probably because there were so many hot guys and girls. At a corner, I saw a local celebrity, Henley Hii sitting with his friend and playing with his phone. Many friends of mine claimed up to 70% resemblance between the two of us but of course, he is better looking. I did not ask to take a photograph with him or went up to him. I asked for a person to refer to due to my job application and was asked to fill in the application form. I filled up the details, thinking that I do not need to submit my resume anymore. Then, this Chinese guy who claimed to be the assistant manager of the club, interviewed me after I submitted the form.

Henley Hii (He is better looking than me)

Seriously, I think I screwed up. I thought I was prepared for the interview but I was not. My mind went blank and I gave stupid answers. I could see that the A.M seriously gave second thought on my application. However, he still explained the details to me: working hours, wages, commission, etc. He even told me that this job is only on full-time basis and no part-time. How am I going to split myself into two when I want to focus on my research as well? Besides, I am leaving Malaysia next year, so I turned off the application.

Jonathan and I went for a simple dinner and we watched 'Extraterrestrials'. The beginning was okay but the director ridiculed his audience in the end. The ending was so abrupt that I really want to punch the director in the face. It was getting late and we parted our ways. At the same time, Dixon and Yang were helping an old man to get to Klang Port from KL Sentral, so I decided to wait for them when I reached my university's station. Forty minutes of waiting and they finally reached. I dropped them off at their room and quickly made my way back to mine, where I slept like a pig.