Day +1153 : Pangkor Trip – From Bidor to Sea View Hotel

I am fine today.

We reached Lumut Jetty before 11:00am, but the buses reached there about one hour later.

About thirty of us who traveled using private cars boarded an earlier ferry to Pangkor Island.

There were a lot of tourists visiting Pangkor Island due to the National Holiday that fell on Monday. The ferry was almost full.

The journey from Lumut Jetty to Pangkor Island took about 20 minutes only. This was a lot faster than the fishing boat that we rented two years ago which took about 45 minutes to reach.

There were plenty of "taxi" waiting at Pangkor Jetty. The ride From the Pangkor jetty to the Sea View Hotel took less than 5 minutes. Each taxi could take 12 passengers, and the trip cost RM12; RM1 per passenger.

Lumut Jetty
Ticket counter. Purchasing tickets for such a big group can be a challenging task.

A nice boat at the jetty
View from the jetty
The ferry - double storey

In the ferry
A naval ship at Royal Malysian Navy, Lumut
A naval ship in the making?
A rusty ship :-)
Pangkor Jetty


Boarding the "taxi"
Welcoming drinks - drink as much as you can, but none I drink.
To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +1152 : Pangkor Trip – First Stop at Bidor

I am fine today.

We started our journey at 6:30am on Saturday. My wife and our four children boarded the tour bus which the church rented while I travelled with Pastor Tan in his new Proton Persona. Together with us were Rev. Lui from Hong Kong, and Mrs. Tan. This was the first time ever I boarded such car :-)

We stopped at Bidor for breakfast, and of course, we had the famous duck noodles for our breakfast.

The car which I traveled with
The famous duck noodles of Bidor
Fruits at Bidor



Bidor street
To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +1151: Hurray, we are moving :-)

I am fine today.

All participants of the camp are required to gather at the church at 5:45am and we will be starting our journey at 6:00am, driving from Puchong to Lumut, and then proceed to Pulau Pangkor with ferry. It would take about three and half hours to reach Lumut jetty, a distant almost equivalent to driving from Puchong to Penang.

As mentioned earlier, I will be going by Pastor Tan’s car, and the rest of my family members going by bus.

About two years ago, we were traveling the same trip, to the same location, for the same purpose, and I was blessed amazingly in the trip :-)

The day was Day +465, and the blog entry carried the same title - Day +465 Hurray, we are moving :-)

May God bless us, and everyone who go for the trip, and of course also faithful reader of my blog like you:-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1150 : To go or not to go? Just go lah :-)

I am fine today.

Due to the outbreak of A(H1N1), my brothers and sisters, especially those who lived in Sarawak, were very worried when they knew that I am going to the church camp. The worry is understandable because I am belonged to the high risk group due to lung problem.

They are very concerned about me and all of them urged my eldest sister, Sie Huong, to talk to me last night about their concern. They strongly advised me not to go to the camp.

So to go or not go becomes a flip-flop in my mind again. My wife and children were waiting for my decision as they needed to prepare for the camp. This is a tough decision to make.

I started to calculate the risk. About 120 adults and children, including 25 from Hong Kong, will be attending the camp. Does the camp pose a higher risk than normal events in my life?

The crowd is big – higher risk

I am exposed to more than 120 people in every church service. So the risk is equal in this sense.

25 of them are from Hong Kong – higher risk

Yesterday there were 279 new cases in Malaysia and 379 new cases in Hong Kong. Yes, higher risk but shouldn’t be too high as the number from Hong Kong is small.

Even though I am very careful, the children might transmit the disease to me – higher risk

In fact the risk for children to get infected in the camp is less than that of school. In the school, Joseph and Daniel are exposed to about 50 students each – that is the class size, so just the two children are exposed to 100 persons. My wife is teaching at least 3 classes, so the exposure is about 150 persons. So the total exposure added up to 250 persons. Therefore, the school poses highest risk than the camp :-)

Taking everything in consideration, the risk of the camp is not much different than normal events in my life. So I decided to go and I am very confident that I will be fine :-)

Dr. Gan advised me not to go and definitely she has her points. However, another Dr. advised me to go but take care of myself; wearing mask and keep my hands clean. He said, “Go, whatever situation it is, life has to go on.” :-)

See you next post :-)

Day + 1149 : Never had I felt so alive!

I am fine today.

I like Ice Age movies. There was one conversation in Ice Age 3 that caught my attention particularly.

When Buck the Weasel describes his heroic fight against the giant dinosaur called Rudy, the two Opossums, Crash and Eddie, posted a quit ridiculous question. “Were you killed?”

From left: Crash and Eddie, Buck. The fight cost his right eye.
Rudy

I say the question ridiculous because if Buck had died, then who were they talking to? It was very obvious that Buck was alive.

But the answer was ridiculous too. “Sadly, yes. But I lived,” replied Buck :-)

This was followed by something that caught my special attention.

“Never had I felt so alive, than when I was so close to death,” continued Buck.

Anyone who experienced moment that was so close to death will definitely appreciate life very much, and always feel that he is so alive :-)

I shared the same experience with Buck. Even with so much health problem post bone marrow transplant, I am still feel that I am so alive.

Therefore, I am counting the days that God bestowed me – the days that I see as bonus due to the grace of God. This day was printed on the title of my blog entry everyday but will extend to eternity as God promise those who accept Lord Jesus an eternal life :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1148 : It’s time to apply for an identity card

I am fine today.

Daniel is 12 years old now. We brought him to Jabatan Pendaftaran (National Registration Department) located at Puchong Utama to apply for an identity card.

Before that, Daniel and all other boys had a nice haircut.

Jabatan Pendaftaran Puchong Utama branch is located in a shop lot. Apart from handling the identity card related business such as application and replacement, the branch also accept birth certificate registration.

We waited for about one hour to complete the application. There were about 10 persons in front of us when we got our queue number.

I have to pick up Daniel’s first ever identity card one month later.

Jabatan Pendaftaran, Puchong Utama
While Daniel was waiting for his turn, I and two other boys went for Roti Canai :-)

Aaron and Joseph enjoying Roti Canai
See you next post :-)

Day +1147 : To go or not to go, that is the problem :-(

I am fine today.

Our church is having a 2 days 3 nights family camp at Sea View Hotel, Pangkor island, from 29 to 30 August. There are 120 person, including 25 from Hong Kong, attending the camp.

I and my family members registered for the camp.

Due to the outbreak of A (H1N1), attending the camp becomes a risky business for me especially considering I am belonged to the high risk group :-( Some advised me not to go to the camp to avoid the risk. So to go or not to go becomes a problem that flip-flopped in my mind.

I sought opinion of Dr. Gan regarding this problem.

“Why you have to go?” she asked.

“I strongly advise you not to go,” she said, "because it is very contagious."

After so much hard work to keep me alive and yet die of A (H1N1), worth it? That was a strong argument against going to the camp, isn’t it? So I promised not to go.

But to go or not to go is something that continues to flip-flop in my mind, until this evening, during the weekly church management meeting, Pastor Tan offered to fetch me, rather than taking the bus which is definitely more risky.

I accepted the offer, and I would do all necessary prevention including wearing N95 mask and bringing along a hand sanitizer. The rest I leave it to God :-)

Why I have to go? It is simply because I am part of the church, and the church is part of me :-)

May God bless us!

See you next post :-)

Day +1146 : Follow-up at BMT Clinic

My Blood Count Today: - Readings in square bracket [] are result from previous test.
Red Blood Count (HB) = 14[151] (Normal 130-180)
Platelet = 205[256] (Normal 150-450)
White Blood Count (WBC) = 7.3[9.2] (Normal 4 - 11)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 2.263[4.876] (Normal 1.5 - 8.0)
ALT = 51[66] (Normal 30 – 65)
AST = 33[37] (Normal 15-37)
GGT = 52[68] (Normal 15-85)

I am fine today.

Both blood count and liver function test results are well within the normal range. Dr. Gan said that there is no need to monitor the liver function test so closely from next follow-up onwards. So she didn’t order the liver function test for the next follow-up. This indicates that she is confident that there will be no issue on the liver since the enzyme levels have been stable for a long time :-)

I also informed Dr. Gan that I was discharged from the lung (asthma) clinic because the lung specialist thought that my lung is well. However, both she and I think otherwise. She said that she will refer me back to the lung clinic if necessary in future.

I will have to take steroid again if my lung condition worsens. I didn’t feel that it is worsening; the problem of shortness of breath and chest restriction remains status quo for quite some time. We will see the result of next respiratory function test before deciding next course of action.

Dr. Gan also prescribed me Ventolin Evohaler, a type of inhaler that is used to relieve asthma symptom. Hopefully, with this inhaler, I can breath more smoothly when doing more vigorous work such climbing staircase.

“Hospital is not a good place,” doctor commented in view of the widespread of A (H1N1). And she arranged my next follow-up 8 weeks later.

See you next post :-)

Day +1145 : Lunch at Cheong Wah Seafood Restaurant (中华海鲜酒楼)

I am fine today.

I had lunch at Cheong Wah Seafood Restaurant (中华海鲜酒楼) today after church service. Together with me were church pastors, church committee members and the family of visiting pastor.

I like the food served. In fact, this is one of the best restaurants that serves Chinese dishes in Puchong.

A group photo before lunch

The dishes





See you next post :-)

Day +1144 : What is classical music?

I am fine today.

Adriel said she wanted to listen to classical music.

“What is classical music?” I questioned her.

“Many class of music,” is the answer :-)

If you were asked the question, what would you answer?

If you have the patient to read a long answer, there is a very good explanation on the topic on Wikipedia here :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1143 : Mother-in-law’s spring roll – the best ever in the world!

I am fine today.

My mother-in-law is very good at making spring roll. She made spring rolls again today.

The spring rolls that she makes are the best that we ever have. They are not only delicious but also in very good shape :-)

Both adult and children in the family like the spring rolls very much.

I captured part of the spring roll making process today and upload here for your reference :-)

Spring roll pastry
The stuffing - make of carrot, chicken meat, turnip, dry shrimps, garlic and shallot etc.
In the making - need skill




Ready to be fried
Frying
Ready to serve

See you next post :-)

Day +1142 : Dinner at Puchong Yong Tou Fu (蒲种酿豆腐饭店)

I am fine today.

My wife and I had dinner at Puchong Yong Tou Fu this evening. Together with us were our church pastor Rev. Lau and Mrs. Lau, and a visiting pastor with his family. The visiting pastor is Rev. Lau’s nephew. He is currently pastoring in Limbang, Sarawak.

The restaurant is situated somewhere near SJKC Han Ming (蒲种汉民国民型华文小学).

The food here is fairly delicious. Due to good appetite, I enjoyed the dinner very much.

If you haven’t been to this restaurant, we recommend you to give it a try :-)

The restaurant
The location
It is opposite to this school
My wife and Mrs. Lau are selecting the Yong Tou Fu
Sari (Kedondong) drink - first time ever to have this type of drink in my life. I never know it can be blended to make drink before.
The sauce for Yong Tou Fu
Paper wrapped chicken
Yong Tou Fu

See you next post :-)