Sydney Trip - Day 3 (Delayed post)

Plan asalnya Khai's counterpart nak bawa kami jalan-jalan ke Manly, itu pun kalau hari tak hujan. Bila bangun pagi tu, hujan tersangatla lebatnya. So plan B kami adalah ke Queen Victoria Building (QVB). Bangunannya merupakan bangunan lama yang dibina sekitar tahun 1893 -1898. Di sini banyak butik-butik yang menjual jenama-jenama terkenal dunia. Hiasan dalaman dalam bangunan ini sangat klasik dan memang sangat cantik. Bahagian bawah tanahnya bersambung dengan stesen keretapi Town Hall. Setelah sesi bergambar di beberapa tingkat di bahagian atas, kami terus ke bahagian bawah tanah ie. basement.

Misi kami: Victoria's Basement...outlet yang menjual peralatan dapur pada harga diskaun yang SANGAT menarik. Kalau dah perempuan kan...macam-macamlah yang kami idam, kami jumpa. Jadi membelilah dengan ala kadar....takut tak muat beg. Bolehlah dikatakan dapat a good catch juga. Mujur tak bawak extra bag dan masih tidak menggunakan wang plastik. Masih boleh bertahan dengan wang tunai yang telah dibajet dengan baik.

Next stop is misi mencari macaron La Duree yang dikatakan sangat sedap. Jadi kami ke Westfield Shopping Centre yang terletak tak jauh dari QVB. Dah dapat La Duree, kami pun pulang ke apartment untuk solat then kami ke Sydney Opera House untuk mengabadikan gambar kami di sana pulak...at least we've been there and done that. 

Pemandangan di Sydney Opera House di waktu siang. Masih hujan renyai-renyai.

Aku seterusnya meneruskan misi jalan-jalan ke Sydney Fish Market (SFM) dan Khai pulang ke apartment kerana ada discussion pada jam 2.30 petang. Aku naik bas dari Circular Quay. Perjalanan ke Fish Market mengambil masa selama 15 - 20 minit. Sampai je, hujan turun dengan lebatnya. So terpaksalah berteduh di kedai-kedai yang ada di situ. 

Harga pun boleh tahan

Besar-besar

Pekerja membersihkan tiram

Ad juga dijual buah-buahan dah sayur-sayuran...

Manggis pun ada tapi dah kering

Strawberi yang besar-besar

SFM ni dikatakan salah sebuah pasar ikan yang terbesar di Hemisfera Selatan. Info lanjut di sini. Maka terujalah nak melihat pasar ikan yang besar ni kan.... Bila hujan dah reda sikit baru aku masuk ke pasar ikan tu. Kawasannya agak luas dan bersebelahan dengan pelabuhan pendaratan ikan. A beautiful scenery dengan burung-burung camar yang terbang dan hinggap di situ. 

Suasanan lepas hujan...

Ronda-ronda di dalam tu yang menempatkan deretan restoran yang menjual pelbagai makanan laut. Kita boleh memilih segala macam hasil laut dan meminta pekerja masak ikut menu yang tertera. Memang rambang mata dan pelbagai saiz. Aku beli kombo 'fish & chips + scallops + calamari' dari satu kedai Japanese yang hanya menghidangkan makanan vegetarian dan seafood. Jadilah sekadar untuk merasa.

Dah habis ronda-ronda, aku balik naik tram dari situ ke Stesen Paddy's Market dan jalan kaki ke apartment. Dah solat jamak, kami terus ke Stesen Keretapi Townhall nak naik train ke rumah Nor. Nor ni adalah anak kepada babysitter yang menjaga anak aku Atikah semasa kami tinggal di Ampang Jaya. Rumah Nor kat Baulkham Hills which is about 40 minutes from Town Centre. Kami turun di Seven Hills station dan Nor dah ready nak ambik kami dengan si comel Zarya Jane. Kami lepak-lepak, borak-borak & makan-makan till about 9.30 malam. Rezeki kami dihidangkan dengan mee kari yang sedap dan banana bread yang amat sedap jugak.

We reached the apartment around 10.30 pm walaupun penat tapi hati & perut kami happy:-D

Sydney Trip - Day 2 (Delayed Post)

Since Khai akan ada meeting dengan counterpart dia di sini dan aku pun dah buat my own itinerary...so let's start. My first plan is nak meet and greet koalas and kanggaroos kat Featherdale Wildlife kat Blacktown. Senang sebab aku dah buat 'homework' ie nak naik train mana, bas nombor berapa etc. Ini memudahkan perjalanan sebab tak susah nak mencari-mencari. Semua 'homework' menggunakan Google Maps dan berpandukan website Sydney Train. Sangat membantu merancang perjalananku.

So pagi tu aku dah keluar sekitar jam 8.00 pagi ke Town Hall train station which is a 10-minute walk from Meriton. Kekerapan train agak bagus kerana waktu tu adalah waktu puncak dan aku pula ke arah yang berlawanan. So train agak lengang. Aku tiba di stesen Blacktown dalam masa 40 minit. Untuk ke Featherdale Wildlife ni kita kena naik bas dari stesen Blacktown ni. Cari Stand 9 dan tunggu bas nombor 725 Bus yang menghala ke Doonside. Jika tak yakin boleh mintak tolong driver bas bagitau kita bila dah sampai di Featherdale Wildlife ni. They are very helpful. Tak kena marah pun. Aku sampai di situ dalam masa 10 - 15 minit. 

Bayaran masuk ke zoo ini adalah AUD29. Suasana agak lengang kerana hari itu adalah hari bekerja dan masih agak pagi. Zoo ni bersih dan haiwan-haiwan di sini dijaga dengan baik. Penjaga-penjaga semuanya friendly and melayani sebarang pertanyaan dengan mesra. Bila aku dah masuk dalam ada juga 2 kumpulan kanak-kanak dari sekolah rendah yang datang melawat.

Aku spent masa dalam 2 1/2 jam di sini. Dah puas ronda-ronda, aku pun bertolak pulang ke Sydney town centre. So I reached the Central Station around 2.30 pm. Then aku naik lrt ke Paddy's Market. Dengan harapan kalau ada stall yang buka sebab nak belikan kiriman dari anak-anak. MALANGnya memang semua stall kat bawah tu TUTUP. Saja try my luck walaupun ada tulis kat pintu tu it is closed on Monday &Tuesday.

So ronda-ronda dalam Asian supermarket kat situ and beli buah sket. Then terus balik apartment. Petang tu kami plan nak pegi naik feri. So kami pun naik bas 555 (free shuttle) ke Circular Quay. Waktu tu hari pun dah senja. Kami naik feri dari situ ke Darling Harbour. The view was so magnificient. First time in my life melihat sendiri mercu tanda kota Sydney ie Sydney Opera House. Ia umpama mimpi menjadi kenyataan. Feri juga melalui Sydney Harbour Bridge dan beberapa perhentian lain. Sampai di Darling Harbour hari pun dah malam dan kami pun berjalan kaki pulang ke apartment. Badan pun dah penat, mandi, solat dan terus tidur....

Beberapa foto dari handphone sebagai kenangan...

Sydney Trip - Day 1 (Delayed post:-D)

This trip took place in August 2014. Due to 'laziness', 'busyness', 'tiredness' & a lot of things I only manage to write it properly these few days. Just sharing with you guys who may need some tips on planning for trips to the places that we are unfamiliar with. I learned a lot in planning for this trip from blogs posted by other bloggers. It really saves my time, energy and money by doing my homework before travelling:

A few months ago my sister Khai alerted me that she might be on a few days work assignments to Hong Kong and Australia in the 2nd Quarter of 2014. As she is working in one of the renowned Telco company in Malaysia, she is in charged of both countries' accounts in her business unit. It is our dreams since we were small to visit other countries especially the 4-season countries, well I believe all of us have that dreams.

She went to Hong Kong sometime in May with her colleagues. And some time in July she told me that she'll be going to Sydney in August. I was so happy that she agreed to sponsor my flight ticket. The only thing I need is my hubby's permission. Alhamdulillah permission granted and to ease everything, my daughter Ika was on her semester break. At least I have somebody at home to cook and feed everybody....well that's the challenge of being a homemaker.

We 'fly' MAS on the night of 24 August 2014. Even though with the current situation in the aviation industry, the flight was almost 98% full. It was code sharing flight with KLM and Sri Lanka Airlines. With my back pain, it was quite bad after more than 5 hours without moving around. I hardly can sleep. After 8 hours flight, we reached Sydney Kingford's Airport at 10.00 am the following morning.

@Sydney Kingford's Airport

The box behind the coach is used to put luggages etc. 

It was quite sunny even though it was stated as rainy in the weekly weather forecast. Khai has already made online booking for the airport coach. It costs us AUD14 per person. The counter was just outside the arrival hall next to a bakery. We went out to wait for the coach. Due to the traffic, we only manage to board the coach after 1 hour waiting...

We checked-in at Meriton on Kent at around 12.30 pm. Khai booked a 1-bedroom apartment and we got the room at 45th floor. It was a clean and modern apartment complete with cooking utensils, oven, stove, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge and iron. After refreshing and solat, we went out to find some food as we have not taken our breakfast and lunch. We found a kebab store just across George Street. We bought 1 kebab (AUD8) and share the portion as it was quite big.

We intend to go to Paddy's Market to shop for souvenir as Khai will be busy with her appointment for the next 2 days. Reached Paddy's at around 3.00 pm. Went around and first we were tempted with a stall selling all kinds of nut and nougat. We settled with some quite a big size of macadamia and brazil nuts plus half kilos of pistachio and walnut nougat each.

When we were browsing some small souvenir items, we were greeted by an Indonesian young lady who manned the stall. That makes our purchase easier as it is easier to bargain and we got a good deal! ;-)

Apart from the souvenir, we also went to the wet market which sells vegetables, fruits, spices etc which is just next the souvenirs area. We were so happy to see those fresh and the size of the produces which are bigger than the ones we always see at supermarkets near our homes. Grabbed 3 punnets or strawberries at AUD4...it tastes sooo sweet.

T-Shirt for the boys

Pencil case

On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at Coles for some grocery shopping; eggs, bread, milk, butter, sugar and teabags. Had our simple dinner and we called it a day....

Cuti Sekolah, Balik Kampung

Adeh! Lamanya tak berblog...dah naik bersawang. Mood menulis memang ke laut::-(

Anyway, memandangkan sekarang musim cuti sekolah, fulus pun dah berkurangan, jadi kami tak merancang untuk bercuti ke mana-mana. Jadi pada hari Sabtu awal cuti sekolah yang lepas kami pulang ke kampungku di Bahau. Anak-anak seronok balik ke kampung kerana ada 'feel'. Rumah yang dikelilingi pokok-pokok dan dapat melihat sawah padi yang menghijau.

Tambahan pula dapat berjumpa dengan mak saudara, sepupu-sepapat dan anak-anak saudara. Ika tak dapat ikut serta kerana ada program di kampus. Nasib baik jalan Bukit Putus tak sesak dan perjalanan ke Bahau amat lancar. Satu kemestian bagi kami jika pulang ke kampung adalah menikmati roti Nasir dan kuih talam di Bukit Kelulut. Kira ini adalah 'must have' food. My favourite dari kecil adalah biskut panjang dan anak-anak suka roti krimnya. 

Kuih talam di kampung kami adalah berlainan dari kuih talam di tempat lain. Lapisan hijau dan lapisan putihnya (santan) adalah lebih nipis dari kebanyakan kuih talam yang biasa kita jumpa di kebanyakan tempat. ONLY in Bahau;-) Ianya dimasak di dalam talam kecil dan dijual secara seancak (sedulang) atau sekeping-sekeping. Ianya dipotong seperti potongan piza/kek. Rasanya lebih kurang sama seperti kuih talam yang lain.

Kebetulan Faizah, Fadhlie & keluarga masing-masing juga pulang ke kampung. Jadi agak meriah suasana di kampung. Hari Ahad kami ke Air Hitam untuk melihat rumah yang akan didiami Asrul kerana beliau akan berpindah dari Manchis ke Air Hitam kerana telah dapat berpindah sekolah ke Negeri Sembilan. Asrul & Ani pergi mencuci rumah tapi kami datang tolong tengok dia cuci:-D

Memandangkan kanak-kanak semua dah basah sewaktu main air di rumah Asrul, kami terus detour ke Hutan Lipur Serting Ulu. Saja nak bagi kanak-kanak ni berendam. Air jeram agak kering kerana musim panas yang berterusan dan hujan yang sudah lama tidak turun. Memadailah untuk kanak-kanak ribena ni mandi-manda. 

6 SEPTEMBER 2012

The date that I will never forget. The very day that I was wheeled into the operating theatre (OT). Even though that was my 7th times into the OT (previously were 4 C-sects, a D & C and an appendicitis),  but this time the feeling was more scary because I don't know what to expect.

I was diagnosed having slipped disc in June 2012. It started when I was having a terrible backache after lifting not-so-heavy plastic box in my bedroom. I thought it was just another episode of muscle sprain, so I went for a massage by the usual masseuse that I used to call for. It was so painful as it was like shooting pain that I felt from the back till right below my left calf. I kept on putting heat rub and heat patch. After a week the pain did not subside. I dragged myself to see the doctor at the clinic that I normally go. The doctor gave me painkillers to take for a week. Unfortunately the painkiller did not do any good, so I went to see the doctor again. She suspected something unusual so she referred me to the specialist.

I went to TMC which is near my house for further check. I did the MRI and based on the MRI, the orthopaedic (Dr. Soong) confirmed that I was having slipped disc. I was so sad thinking that I have to avoid many activities that I love to do. I had to stop my gym activity, I could not lift heavy things etc. Dr. Soong scheduled a series of physiotherapy for me to undergo. The physiotherapy ranges from what is called 'traction', putting cold pack on my back and electrical nerve stimulation.

Due to the physiotherapy, there was a slight reduce in the pain but I cannot sit for too long. As and when I need to lie flat on my back just to relax for at least an hour. 

In July 2012, in the middle of Ramadhan, we went back to Banting to celebrate fasting month with our family there. It was on 29 July at about 10.00 am I was lying down reading novel, I felt the pain on my right leg just like the one I had on my left leg. And suddenly I felt slight numbness from knee below. I was so surprised as I do not know what to do. I just applied deep heat. The next morning I called Dr. Soong informing him about my condition. He asked me to go to the hospital which I did. Another MRI was done and based on that, Dr. Soon told me that my condition is getting worse. The disc has bulged out from its place. I was immediately warded and was scheduled for a minor procedure which is called 'facet block injection' the following day. It was basically injecting the medicine into the problematic disc. I asked to be put under GA but refused by the anaesthetist and she put me under local anaesthetic instead:-) I had to stay in the hospital for another night.

The following week I met Dr. Soong again. He suggested to undergo surgery. It was to take out the problematic disc and putting the titanium plate to support the missing disc. The word surgery really scares me. This is a different one from those I had before. The fear is one thing and the costs involved is another. If I were to do it at TMC, it will cost RM35,000 - RM40,000 without any complications. I told him that I need to go for second opinion.

A few days later I went to KPJ Seremban with my good friend Noura to meet the spine surgeon there i.e. Dr Shukor. He suggested the same option i.e. surgery and the cost of having it there is not more that RM20,000 if without any complications.

All the costs for the treatment I had was covered by my hubby's employer via insurance. At this point the insurance coverage has decreased to slightly less than RM20,000. That is why we had a tough time to decide on the surgery and which hospital to go. I met Dr. Soong again and told him that we couldn't afford the cost if I were to do it at TMC. He suggested me to see his friend Dr. Tan who is a part-time spine surgeon at TMC but is a full-time surgeon at Hospital Putrajaya. I got to meet him after Hari Raya. 

When I met him he explained to me what is the procedure like in details. He also gave me the assurance that the cost to do it at Hospital Putrajaya will not exceed RM20,000. This gave us better hope. The surgery is scheduled on 6 September 2012. I had to be admitted a day earlier i.e. 5 September, in the afternoon. Alhamdulillah the admission process went smoothly. I was put in a 6-bedded room in the orthopaedic ward. My first experience in a government hospital. By Allah grace, many good things happened; that night Dr. Tan informed me he manage to get 50% discount on the cost of the titanium plate which will be put on my back (the original cost is RM10,000/pair. In government hospital, the cost of equipment used is to be purchased separately and is not included in the hospital bill). I was asked to start fasting from 2.00 am on 6 September.

I woke up at 1.00 am to have some light snacks i.e. hot tea and some biscuits. Then I performed 'solat hajat & solat tahajud' (voluntary prayers). Then I read some surahs from the Quran. It really calmed me down. Then the waiting began. I was informed that I will the 4th person for the orthopaedic surgery. My hubby came during the visiting time and he stays with me as the hospital allowed next-of-kin to stay. My brother Alang also came in the afternoon. Their presence some how or rather gave me sort of calmness.

At last I was called into the OT at around 4.00 pm. Pheww! such a long waiting plus the hungry stomach!:-( Hubby accompanied me until the OT door. I keep on 'zikir'....I was so scared.....

When in the OT (it was around 4.30 pm), the anaesthetist (could not recall his name) introduced himself and explain to me what he'll be doing. Then came Dr. Tan and the anaesthetist injected the anaesthesia then it was all dark for me;-)

I heard somebody calling my name and I asked him to pull me a bit to the right as I felt so painful and he did. I saw his blurry face and I assume he was the anaesthetist. I was wheeled into the ward. I asked hubby what time it was and he told me it was 10.30 pm. Then I saw my sister Akak, my brother Acek, my SIL K. Ana, my niece Nazira and my nephew Ikram. After talking to me for a few minutes, they went back home. Then the anaesthetist came and told me to press the button on my hand if I ever feel any pain. It was heroin  as the pain killer and I was put under it till the following morning. The next morning Dr. Tan came to see how I was doing. I was to lie flat on my back for 3 DAYS. It was quite difficult as I felt the pain on my feet as I could not move my body to the left and right. Everything I did need to be assisted...brushing teeth, eating, getting things.... I felt so helpless and sad. The pain on my back was indescribable after the 'heroin' was disconnected.

It was a long 7-hour surgery. Earlier Dr. Tan mentioned to me that it will be a mere 2-hour surgery as was considered as minor surgery. But according to him, there are complications so lot of time needed to untangle the nerves in the disc (layman term...can't remember the exact medical term though). My hubby told me that everybody was so worried that after 2 hours I was not out of the OT. So many things came into their minds especially when we had the experience in which my father passed away on the OT bed:-(

The next morning I was allowed to have my first meal AFTER 32 hours. I had bread, porridge and coffee. Alhamdulillah... That afternoon I was transferred to the 2-bedded room. That night Akak accompanied sleeping in the ward. At least I have somebody to help me and the following night hubby stayed in. During the day Akak went to Adik's house to rest. She even cooked for me the snake head fish soup that hubby bought at the market. That is our family's signature dish for anybody who is recovering from any surgery. 

I am also thankful that many friends, family & relatives came to visit, be it my STF SK86 friends, my ex-Jakartans, my ex-Celcom, hubby's office mates, children, siblings, nephews, nieces and my in-laws. Their presence really cheered me up. 

I was discharged after 8 days in the ward. I needed to put on a brace on my waist to ease my movement. I needed to really careful with my movement and the wound need to be treated and dressed accordingly. The wound was 6 inches long just above the lumbar. It healed properly within 2 weeks (the outer part). 

The pain due to slipped disc was gone. What left in me is the numbness from calf below on my right leg and pain on my butt if I sit down for too long. It really affects my movement as I could not run anymore, I have to really watch my steps especially on uneven space (I tend to trip and sprained my ankle) and sitting for too long esp while travelling. Therefore, a walking stick is my best friend now. If I ever in any journey by car, hubby will stop at least every 2 -3 hours. Well, according to Dr. Tan the numbness may go or may stay permanently. I just hope it will go permanently someday.

I had another procedure of 'facet block' sometime in the end of 2013 to treat the pain on my butt. But it did not go away. I still feel the excruciating pain if I ever sit for a very long time. Therefore, I will always walk around or lie down to ease the pain. I cannot perform 'solat' as the normal person do, I need to do it while sitting down on a chair instead. As much as possible I will avoid sitting down on the floor as it is very difficult for me to get up.

During these 2 years, apart from the continuous check-ups at the hospital, I have tried some alternatives treatments i.e. Islamic medical treatment, cupping (bekam) and acupuncture. I am yet to find the right solutions/cure for the both numbness and pain. As of now, I need to go for bi-annual follow-up with the doctor.

Alhamdulillah I can still do many activities, go anywhere which my health & money permits me, manage my family and serve my Creator....