Alas! Life always throws you curve balls when you least expect it — my mum had an SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) and had to be rushed to the hospital. SVT in layman’s terms means the heart is pumping much faster than usual. In my mum’s case, it was hovering at around 200 beats per minute (BPM), waaay higher than most women who only average some 70 to 80 BPM.

We rushed her to Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (University of Malaya Medical Centre) or PPUM for short, also known as Hospital Universiti or UH. I’ve always known PPUM as UH and prefer to refer to it as thus. Anyway, UH is a semi-government hospital which is, as the name suggests, connected to University of Malaya. So it’s quite uncommon for student doctors to be milling about and doing the rounds with the specialists. But I digress…

To cut a long story short, despite responding positively to the medication initially given to her at the emergency room, my mum was admitted for further observation and testing given her advanced age.

My mum had 4 ECGs, several blood tests, urinalysis, x-rays, and a two-night stay in a four-bedded room in the Cardiology Ward. Upon her discharge today, the pharmacy gave her a month’s supply of medication which included a box of Micardis 80mg, which retails for some RM80 in most pharmacies. As I queued at the counter to make payment, I braced myself for the total bill, mentally estimating it to be at least RM2,000. Note that I based my estimate on my experience with private hospitals in Malaysia.

To my surprise, the total bill was only RM297 (~USD94), including the medication which only cost RM60! My mum was more shocked than I was, after having experienced firsthand the quality of the medical care, the efficiency and professionalism of the doctors and nurses, the hospital’s facilities and state-of-the-art medical equipment which rivaled, if not surpassed, what private hospitals can offer. Had my mum been a Malaysian citizen, she probably would not have had to pay a single cent other than a token registration fee. Even if she had to pay, it would have been some ridiculously low amount, a mere fraction of what private hospitals usually bill.

The Malaysian healthcare system continues to impress me. It may not be perfect but it’s a world apart from what is offered in the Philippines or Indonesia, based on my personal experience. Yet another reason why I’m truly grateful to able to call Malaysia my home right now.

The Petronas Twin Towers in the background. Trees in the middle of the city. A ‘Daulat Tuanku’ banner (loosely translated to ‘Long Live The King’) affixed to the building beneath the sky bridge. A Malaysian motorcyclist with jacket worn backwards.  You can’t possibly get any more Malaysian than that! (The only thing missing in this picture is the food!)

Photo taken at the corner of Jalan Ampang and Jalan Yap Kwan Seng with my Samsung Galaxy Tab. Post composed and uploaded using WordPress for Android.

Ever since their presence started gracing KL’s skyline, I’ve yet to tire of seeing them day or night. And I take pleasure in finding various places from which to take snapshots of them. It’s as though I’m still a tourist after all these years!

Photo taken with a Samsung Galaxy Tab. Pic unedited other than resizing and watermark. In retrospect, the pic looks a bit odd because the famous twin towers look small here in comparison to the two buildings in the foreground…

Bon weekend à tous!

The jogging track is 1.3 kilometres long and is marked every 100 metres. You might want to take note of the location of the two public toilets in the park, which I’ve marked in the map below. (Click to see a slightly bigger view.)

As you can see from the map, there is a huge children’s playground in KLCC Park, as well as a children’s wading pool. Both facilities are open to the public free-of-charge. The wading pool opens at 10 am and can get quite crowded.

This is one of the numerous water fountains that can be found in several points beside the jogging track.

There are trees all around to provide shade. And if going round and round the jogging track starts to get a little too boring, you can always jog up and down the hilly portion of the park within the jogging track’s perimeter.

Notice the lady jogging with a scarf on? Expect to see all sorts of people at KLCC Park — from expats in short shorts and fluorescent spandex; to Indian ladies in kurta, salwar khameez and sport shoes; to old men with canes; to couples with babies in strollers and/or children in tow; to seasoned runners whom you can identify from their steady, unbroken pace around the track and their well-defined calf muscles.

If you are a shutterbug, watch out for Photo Spots such as this one, which shows a great spot for taking photos.

The results will vary, depending on your camera but, more or less, the Photo Spots are quite spot-on with the angle and location.

If you’re anything like me, who gets excited over stuff like the Petronas Twin Towers’ reflection in Symphony Lake, it’s so easy to get side-tracked as you run/jog/walk — there are just too many photo opportunities along the way!

This is the bridge right next to Photo Spot 2, where lots of runners (and the occasional early-riser tourist) stop to have their photos taken. Can you spot KL Tower in the picture?

Mandarin Oriental KL Hotel then comes into view right after you pass by Petronas Twin Towers.

KL Tower becomes more visible as you round the corner and approach the KL Convention Centre. It does look a bit weird because the KL Tower looks dwarfed by other buildings from this angle.

As you turn the corner and jog past KL Convention Centre — where AquaRia is located — you can see Traders Hotel right behind it.

KLCC Park is open daily, from 7am to 10pm. I suggest you go early so as to beat the crowd and, if you are a puteri lilin like me, to avoid the heat. [NB: 'Puteri lilin' is the Malay term for someone who dislikes the heat of the sun. Literal translation: 'candle princess'!]

Parking fees are RM2.50 for the first hour, RM1.00 for the subsequent hour. Payment is by cash only. Alternatively, you can take the LRT and get off at KLCC station.

See you soon as KLCC Park’s jogging track!

*All pics taken with my HTC Desire’s camera.

Photo taken at Bukit Malawati, Kuala Selangor, Malaysia on September 2009. Photo shot with a Nikon D90 and Nikkor 18-135mm lens, hence the bokeh is not outstanding.

The Malay word for ‘date’ is tarikh but when you want to ask someone for, say, today’s date, you don’t ask “Hari ini, tarikh apa ya?”; instead the more common form is “Hari ini berapa haribulan ya?”. The word tarikh is used more in phrases like ‘Tarikh terakhir penerimaan permohonan‘ (Late day of acceptance of applications). You will also find tarikh in application forms, such as date of birth (tarikh lahir) and date of expiry (tarikh luput lesen).

[Side note: In Indonesia, you ask for the date by asking "Hari ini tanggal berapa?".]

And in case you haven’t noticed it yet, Malaysians follow the European way of writing the date, i.e. in the day-month-year format.

The Months

The names of the months in Malay are very easy to remember because they are adapted from the English — Januari, Febuari, Mac (remember: ‘c’ in Malay is pronounced as ‘ch’), April, Mei, Jun, Julai, Ogos, September, Oktober, November, Disember. However, it is also very common for Malaysians to refer to months by number, e.g. saying ‘bulan empat‘ (month 4) when referring to the month of April.

Hijrah Calendar

In Malay wedding invitations, it is quite common to see two dates stated in the card — the date based on the Gregorian calendar and the date based on the Hijrah calendar. The card will state something like: “8hb November, 2010 bersamaan 1 Zulhijjah 1431H”.

The Hijrah calendar is the Islamic calendar, which also have 12 months, calculated from the year of the emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. And since the Hijrah calendar is lunar-based, this is the reason why the fasting month of Ramadhan changes from year to year, just as the Chinese New Year changes from year to year since the Chinese calendar is partly based on the mean motions of the moon (to be more precise, it is lunisolar, i.e. based on the mean motions of both the moon and the sun).

Incidentally, Malaysia ushers in the 1432nd Islamic New Year tomorrow, the 7th of December 2011. The Islamic New Year is also known as Awal Muharram in Malay or Maal Hijrah in Arabic.

Salam Maal Hijrah kepada semua. Semoga tahun ini akan lebih baik dari tahun lepas dan membawa berkat pada kita semua. Amiin.

Baju Melayu is the traditional Malay outfit for men and boys. It’s primarily worn during major holidays like Hari Raya Aidilfitri (a.k.a. Hari Raya Puasa or Eid ul Fitr) and Haji Raya Aidiladha (a.k.a. Hari Raya Haji or Eid ul Adha). It’s also worn during formal functions and weddings, much like the barong Tagalog of the Filipinos. What’s interesting about it is that traditionally, they do NOT come with buttons. You heard me right. No buttons, only buttonholes all the way to the lower layer of the baju where the buttons are supposed to be.

The buttons — known as butang baju Melayu — are sold separately. I got these ‘silver’ ones from Mydin a few years back.

With children, the key to picking butang baju Melayu is to choose a style and colour that can match any colour of baju Melayu. More importantly, they must be inexpensive so as to save you from heartache when the buttons get lost. Because they WILL get lost. It’s one of life’s inevitable truths.

For adults, the sky’s the limit — you can even buy diamond-studded butang baju Melayu or ones made from cultured pearls from certain jewelry shops.

So how do you attach them buttons? Simple. First you take one button…

…then you slip it under the baju Melayu, the portion where buttons are supposed to be but only buttonholes are present.

You slip it in from the bottom like so…

…making sure that the decorated portion of the button remains on top.

Easy-peasy!

Now do the rest of the buttons. There are usually three buttons for children, five for adults. Make sure the flat, undecorated side of the button is at the bottom portion, i.e. inside the baju.

And voila! Buttons! :D

Here’s how it looks like from the side and back.

And this is how it looks like once the buttons are all done up, as modeled by Twin2 in a size 2 off-the-rack baju Melayu bought from one of those small shops in Wisma Yakin in the older part of KL.

Side note: Baju Melayu aren’t cheap — I think Twin1′s baju Melayu (and matching trousers) cost some RM55 (~$18). The other alternative — getting it done by a tailor — is even more expensive unless you get it done in Kelantan or some other place outside KL where upah jahit (labour charges for sewing) are much, much cheaper.

It is also possible to purchase baju Melayu that a round neckline with a single button to fasten it with, a good idea for babies and toddlers. This type of baju Melayu fashion is from the state of Johor.

Photo from LizOthman.com

Note to self: this is NOT the way to fasten butang baju Melayu.

Otherwise I end up with buttons in front with no way of attaching the back portion to them.

You’d think I’ve got it right down pat after all these years? Noooo! I still make this silly mistake :P And I have the gall to write this how-to post hehe…

Oh…and just one more thing: don’t forget to remove the buttons before putting the baju Melayu in the wash!

The End.

Today is one of those days — I have these pics of Masjid Wilayah but no earth-moving writeup to go along with it. But I’m posting these photos anyway because I like them very much and hope you enjoy them, as well.

Just some quick background info: Masjid Wilayah is a huge mosque in Kuala Lumpur that is situated near the government complex along Jalan Duta. Its architecture said to be is largely influenced by Istanbul’s Blue Mosque. I often drive by this mosque and have always admired its beautiful blue domes decorated with elaborate swirls that remind me of Turkish scarves. I never had the chance in the past to stop and take photos until this morning, albeit only from the outside.

I liked the first photo but thought of taking another shot to focus on the dramatic sky over Masjid Wilayah, with clouds that reminded me of cotton wool. Plus, I wanted a shot that eliminated the row of cars parked in front of the mosque ;)

And finally, here is a quick shot of KL Tower framed by one of Masjid Wilayah’s arched walkways.

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Update (17-Nov-2010):

Masjid Wilayah at noon. Photo taken 15 November, 2010.

The akad nikah (solemnisation ceremony) took place at the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque in Putrajaya. The wedding reception — themed: “Malay Warrior In The Celestial Palace” — was held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. The reception — attended by some 1,000 people, VIPs, family members, close friend and 100 astronauts from 35 countries — was steeped in Malay tradition, with the only non-traditional item being the wedding cake, which was shaped in the form of a Soyuz spacecraft.

Here is a short and sweet video of the wedding’s highlights from their official photographers & videographers.

Wanna see more pics from the wedding? Click here to see Gua.com’s gallery of photos from that special day, including pics of the hantaran.

For some background on Malay weddings, you might want to browse through my mini-series on it:-
Malay Wedding Part 1: Meminang
Malay Wedding Part 2: Hantaran
Malay Wedding Part 3: The Venue
Malay Wedding Part 4: Akad Nikah