Perth Christmast Pageant 2011

i was there.. Part of the Guinness World Record attempt crowd:)

Surviving Nights in RPH

I believe this is my first posting about my job in Royal Perth. I''m sure there are people who goes through my blog and fb postings would have thought I;m on a long holiday in Ozzie land instead of working! hahaha Well, I don't blame them as I view myself an adventurer first, anaesthetist part time :)
I'm post night at the moment.( Night here means on call but you work in shifts, so no such thing as 24 hours thingy).In fact, as Senior Registrar we'll do Friday Saturday Sunday nights for the weekend night job, and during the week 2 nights only. My weekend was good; mimicking my on call trend back home :- tenang dan aman:) It was only last night that i had to sit in the whole night from 8pm to 5am for a spine case! He was stable however, the magnitude of emergency and adrenaline to be much less compared to Malaysia on calls.
RPH serves a similar system to my Masters days in UM. As Senior Registrar, we hold the DA ( Duty Anaesthetist) pager for the night. What does that mean? Well, basically we are the one in charge on behalf of the consultant for cases in OT for the night. The only main difference is the consultant is contactable and will be available when needed.Haha a different scenario back home.Both has its advantages but I guess as a COnsultant, one should always be ready because you  hold the highest hierarchy of skill and responsibility therefore must lead by example.
This job can be scary because imagine, being the one to be contacted of problems and arrangement of emergency theatres for a major state (Western Australia) tertiary centre! Traumas do happen but not so often; however the Royal Flying Doctor service is damn excellent as they will transport the injured ones ASAP with upmost care for intervention in RPH. Therefore last weekend i was in charge for major cases if brought to RPH! haha Wanted to blog this earlier but "touch wood" if i am to mention things earlier, habis la jonah!!
Otherwise, the job is similar to what i'm used to back home. But i guess, being in a different country and catering a different population and persona, it was intimidating at first. I was having palpitations before my first night duty! However, eventhough the attitude may not be that much of a difference from back home at least the system is there.Communication is also better where the transference of information do happen eventhough not as often as you would like to.
ANd somehow,as a Malaysian Anaesthetist in Royal Perth ; the expectation is high! Those who were here before certainly showed how our training ( mostly the informal ones rather than the formal) back home must have been really good to impress the Department. Which I am trying very hard to live up to that expectation!

Aerosmith - I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing (Armageddon)

Somehow had this song in my mind running over and over again since Kalgoorlie..

Northern Terminus Bibbulman Track

 The Bibbulman Track is the longest bushwalking track transversing Western Australia. The total length is 1000 km from Kalamunda to Albany. If you take te whole track, it would be 7-8 weeks trip which is the dream for any bushwalker.
I am not sure whether I can achieve this during my short stay in Aussie so I decided to at least do a bit of it on a hot Wednesday which i later sort of regretted! The bus trip to Kalamunda was about an hour away from Perth CBD. It was not difficult to find the starting point as it was pointed out clearly on any WA map. However, one needs to buy the proper track from the authorities and after going through a bit of its bush track.. I understood why :)

 It was a really hot day and I was drained without realizing it. The track may have its marker but it was confusing. I got lost twice but somehow managed to get my way back to the right track. Doing a solo bushwalking in this track can be scary as obviously one needs companion when talking about safety. It maybe the bush but my, you can go off track easily!

 I had a nice 3 hour walk and enjoyed it very much. I am really keen to do a proper bush walk with camping in between towns to complete the full experience :)

Road trip to Kalgoorlie

 It was a trip that i thought i would not have done. A long way to Kalgoorlie 598 km from Perth and I am thankful to Gobie and Usha for inviting me to join their family in this road trip. Usha will be moving to Shepperton in January thus the expedited visits to Western Australia attractions before she and her family goes East. It was my first road trip in Oz land and it brought me a certain dimension towards travelling by road.Yup.. i wanna do this again!
It is of interesting history that Kalgoorlie was where it all began for WA. The gold rush they had became the catalyst towards mining and the main source of development of cities in Western Australia. Otherwise, it would have been the typical malay saying .. purely PADANG JARAK PADANG TEKUKUR. The great outback of nothingness!

 We slept one night in Westonia the halfway between Perth and Kalgoorie.Amazingly, the towns that we passed through really looked like the ones on TV where they pass about Nuclear testing site towns! Yup..nobody can be seen around! emptiness! and It was an interesting fact that Westonia had only a population of 73.And the day we were there, we increased the population by 8%!

 The drive to Kalgoorlie reminded me of the drive we had during our US trip. A long stretch of road with nothing in between! Arriving in Kalgoorlie was another thing. It is a classic mining town where the facilities were adequeate but not a busy metropolitan businees town.Everyone was laid back and seemed relaxed.
We went to the Mining Hall of fame and sadly it was one of the last days of their existence.Apparently they were closing because of financial woes in maintaining the place. Sayang, as it would have been educational and interesting to know how mining works and a visit to an underground mine was certainly the highlight! Seeing with your eyes how they mould gold was also something I was fascinated with.

 The Super Pit was the main attraction here and I was amazed by the size of the open mine. Papa said that Sungai Besi and Sungai Lembing was similar to this but Development has changed the landscape. I never knew that and I suppose Malaysia should have documented it well and present it to the school kids about how it was.It is interesting especially having to see the majestic trucks and magnitude of mining that they do. Gile besar!!

 

It was an enjoyable trip discovering the Pipeline trail as well as the Mining History of Australia. I certainly came back as a more learned person:)

MALAYSIA JUARA..AUUUMMM:)

If you read my blogs, I've always been an avid Malaysian football supporter.From the days when they were scrutinize and ridiculed,I've always followed them patiently.I try to be in the stadium during their games regardless even if it was a low grade friendly.I even brought Dzaeff to his first stadium game and bought him the Malaysia jersey early this year.
The scene certainly has changed in the past 2 years with our successes.
I was working on night shift; RPH theatres and vodaphone line being the worst combination.In my eagerness to find out immediately after work, I received an SMS. "Game seri.. going to penalties!"
And i rushed home.Switched on to my live streaming and Luckily i managed to catch the last penalty kick which was really heart stopping by Badrul and we won!
Malaysia champions again! On Indonesian soil! Wow.. After AFF Cup and again this back to back gold medal! We are certainly Kings of SEA!
Kudos to Ong Kim Swee and his boys and of course, I'm proud that we've won and reclaimed our past glory! We are still a force to be reckoned with :)

Santos Great Bike Ride 53km

 Muiz posted a link on FB, asking anybody would be interested to join this event last week.I had a look at the website Santos and why not? Since its the biggest cycling event in Perth I should be one of the participants..Bukannya senang nak join international event.. hahaha but of course, I am a novice cyclist therefore doing a 53km..hmm.. don't play-play woo...

 I did do 25km+ worth of rides during the week. I was worried initially that I maybe not in the best physical condition to finish this route.Therefore, I thought that i will take it easy and as long as I finish the race I am happy.
I was quite early to the venue as there were not that many people around.Well, the 106km riders were off as early as 6am and it was the 53km participants slowly filling Langley Park. I was fortunate that Muiz registered as well and at least i have a friend and not being too alone during the race!Its always more enjoyable with company :)

 I registered for my average speed to be <20km/h therefore my starting position/grid was far far behind hahaha Well, riding in bike groups is not something I want to play around because I can pose as a hazard/danger to other riders.Gladly, those in my starting grid did not look as professional as those in the front runners so it went on well.

 The route was excellent; the view along swan river was breath taking.It was about hills to Freemantle but it was not too bad and I enjoyed the lot! It was a good ride and I am glad i did not have cramps nor injuries during this ride.It was a big concern as I usually will get my cramps during my runs before.

 I am glad I took part and I guess this is a start to my new hobby :) Meriam was great!

Introducing my Meriam (Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam)

 Yup.. introducing everybody to my new acquisition. Been interested to have one of the roadies but never had the exact chance back home. The price itself made me think many-many times because I'm sure wifey will give a good bashing of the need:) but since I'm in Perth, land of the bicycles.. its just a matter of time before i get one..
Went to Carousel Cannington and just went to the bicycle shop and walah.. terus buat tour Carousel-Albany Highway-South Perth Swan River-Wellington Street.. hahaha
Since usually we name a boat after a lady, I'm naming it Meriam (character from PHSM).Don't think wifey will approve the actress but the character is neutral enough :)

Mama & Papa in town..

We walked all the way to RPH on the night the arrived.Definitely a bit too far for them :) Tula.. anak dah jadi  Bushwalker from Malaya.. hahaha

Basikal 1Malaysia in Perth with PM.. 1-6 la kot..

 

I was keen on doing some biking here but never had the chance or having people with similar interest to share it with. I was lucky that i came across a message looking for people to join a short cycle around swan river in conjunction with PM having BBQ in Burswood Park. I did not hesitate and quickly registered for the event. It was organised by Kelab UMNO,Post Graduate and Undergraduate societies. Being someone somwhere in between, I wouldn't mind being a part of this group!

 

 It was the GEKA GEBA (or vice versa) group who initiated this event.We were told to assemble in Trinity College car park and after a stroll from the bus stop I saw a number of fellow Malaysians already waiting. Anissa was already there with her visiting friend. I had the opportunity to meet up with an uncle who has been here for a very long time! He runs the Malay Radio in Perth and with it, an invitation to come over to join the programme. hahaha something that i wanna have a go at i suppose soon :)
We then moved to the hire bicycle shed and as with the organier, sorted out our rented hybrid bikes.After a short flag giving ceremony and stretching, we were off to our trail. I believe that this is the swan river trail which is in one of the top trails to do in my small toptrail booklet!
As this was my first ever cycling trail in Perth, I really did enjoy it. I get to cover more distance and not too tired. Hmmm.. it looks like i have to look for a bike here! haha

 We were on a loop and just before arriving to Burswood Park we stopped for a while.We were to follow a cue which is part of the gimmick for the event.The BBQ event was a big one as all Malaysians staying in Perth were invited and I reckon quite a big turn out. We arrived and DS Najib received the flag and met our group.He looked a bit tired i thought, maybe too stressed with lots of things to think about. We were informed later that he is later on his way to Haj.

 Overall, I enjoyed my day! It maybe just a short ride but i reckon a start to further rides in the future. Man oh man... I'm getting carried away with other things to do here in Perth!

CHOGM n the Queen was in town..

  

It was the CHOGM weekend in Perth.A big celebration for western Autralia as events such as this is very rare here. The Queen's birthday which was supposed to be earlier this month was shifted to allow an extra holiday for Perthians.Since it is in town and I am in the middle of it, i reckon i should embrace and try to be a part of it.Otherwise, how do i explain myself to miss such an occasion and I'm like at home?

The town was packed with people from all over and on Saturday, The Great Aussie BBQ was held in Esplanade. Me and CHing Bee took the opportunity to join the crowd and see what it is all about.A definite uncommon sight as the roads were congested with people. We were not really waiting for the Queen but when our path was blocked because the Queen was scheduled to go through the route, I managed to capture it in my mind her waving as she passed by.Unfortunately, this did not materialie in the picture i took!

 I'm glad i took the trouble as it was just electrifying to see the wave of people in Esplanade.We did not manage to be in the main area but the big screen was good enough and certainly clear.
ANd of course, I can tell my children..I was there!

MM127hours-Penguin Island trail

 

Subhanallah, Masya Allah.. it was such a satisfaction to see National Geographics "live". I've continued the list provided by toptrails and so far none has dissapoint me. The trip to Penguin Island is definitely a must to visitors coming to Perth.It may not be a full bushwalking trek but the sceneries that you see along the way is breathtaking! It was nature at its best! The weather was wonderful as the cold breeze maintained its stature throughout the walk It was an experience that I would like to relive again, I'm definitely coming here again! 

I woke up early today, preparing the standard pasta for the trip. It was the Queen's birthday today and all public transport was free. Police were all over town and I was glad i decided to go out of town today. Took the train from Perth to Rockingham and then Transperth bus to the jetty. As it was a public holiday, there were tourists all over and I felt like being in China while on the bus! hahaha People came to the island for different reasons, some picnic, some to the beach, some photography, some bird watching and some just to enjoy nature as it is.

Upon arrival, it was the penguin's feeding time.The original little penguin, the original inhabitant of this sanctuary :) There were cute and smart and I enjoyed their antiques! I started the trek around the island immediately after that. I really cannot describe how beautiful it was, breathtaking! I was enjoying it so much that i kept on taking pictures again and again.. Masya Allah!! I do hope that the pics i took may explain the astonishment i had with nature.

My Ozzie wildlife encounters:)

 

                                                Kangaroo melintas...

                                               Joey came back for a drink..:)

 

and hiding behind the bushes..