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41

Doctor Blogs (Public) / D4 - the art of slicing

« Last post by lywuu on November 20, 2024, 07:42:48 PM »

D4 - the art of slicing

 The 3rd day was sleep till you awake day. As usual, I woke up early and started my planning about the next 2 days.

It was a shame that I was able to secure any ticket for the military museum. There were many place to visit but yet I opted for an easy one.

Peking is divided into rims; the first rim was the area surrounding the old palace and Sky Safety Square. Extending outward until you reached the outward of the bird nest stadium.

All I care about was food actually. To see and to eat till we drop.

We took the MRT headed to one of the PekingU station which once posted the Harry Porter Nine and Three Quarter Station. The decoration was gone but yet it basis structure was there. We then traveled to the cow street where most of the Muslims gathered around. We were lucky that the place was not crowded and we eaten the signature mutton puff and desert. The tour ended at a famous Muslim restaurant where we had another Peking Duck treat.

We travel back to the first rim and later patronized the bookstore and mall around our lodging site.

Xian was amazed by big shelf around the entrance. A huge collection of the leader publication. I think the only place that we could see such view is located in the states where the bolehland had no diplomat ties. The book was interesting and I had stopped by the medical area where I read their medical text book. Well, the content itself explained their standard….

However, I had bought some books for my nephew and niece during the tour. Very nice translated book in simplified Chinese which I could not get in ghost island.

We headed to the ghost street for a great firepot meal. Cheap and artistic was the word I could described. In my whole life, when I dipped a mutton slice into the shabu shabu firepot, I always get a shrinkage piece no matter how fast I pulled it out, should it be raw or medium. However, the special way of slicing the mutton had led to an enlarge piece of slice no matter how long I dipped it in the firepot. That is art...

The ghost street was actually a place where ancient people do underground business just like what you did in the dark web. However, it had transformed since the revolution. The ghost street was flooded with small lobster shop nowadays but yet the shabu shabu was still the best in my humble opinion.

While I chewed the desert bought from the cow street in the kitchen. I started to worried about our last leg of journey. Should I change our flight to noon so that we could have 3 hours of transit instead of 1.5 hours?

I decided not to gamble our luck and put my faith with the great one….

Source: D4 - the art of slicing

42

Doctor Blogs (Public) / D3 - the Great Wall

« Last post by lywuu on November 20, 2024, 07:42:48 PM »

D3 - the Great Wall

 

The third day was the peak of the travel as we
would follow the trail of our ancient defender at the Great Wall.

There were 3 spots to enter the Great Wall around
Peking. I opted the MYT as apart from the Great Wall there is a Tobago ride. I
had an excellent experience at the Sentosa island many years ago with the Tobago.
MYT Great Wall had less visitor compare to the BDL Great Wall. The reason that I
had chosen Great Wall run on the Monday was that all of the tourist spot was
closed on Monday. It was a bad decision and lots of the tourist had done the
same thing. As it was pre-school holiday and I thought I would still be safe and
I was wrong. There were tons of families taking their children for early school
holiday trip.

The push off was smooth and we had reached the two
food joints as planned. One of them was named “Big lazy dragon”. Lazy dragon
was a nick name for meat wrap. We bought 6 which should be enough to supplement
our energy climbing the stairs. We stopped by a very small shop for breakfast.
The price was darn cheap and we were eating among the locals. I had gone to the
public toilet nearby and found that no door was installed in the toilet. It was
like 15 + years ago when my parents told me about the doorless toilet in the
kampung area when they visited mainland. Doorless toilet in Peking at this
modern age ?

The breakfast price reflected its quality;
cheap and nothing but cheap. Chain breakfast shop which was selling affordable
breakfast to the locals. We were sitting among laborers and students. The bao,
fried liver, meat loaf, soya was so so but yet it pacified your hungriness.

We were able to reach the gathering point on
time and successfully get onto the bus. We met a bunch of kurang ajar kids who
spilled their drink and hopped to another seat. Leaving us with one of the seats
with stain of drinks waiting for to clean up. Yes, they were still locals who
are rude, impolite and selfish. Although education had flourished over the years
there were still people who is still caring only about themselves. Long way to
go before it is considered as developed….

The journey took about 1.5 hours and at 9am we
had reached the base of the Great wall. The cable car queue was very long and
it took us 2.5hours wait before we reach the 5^th tower at 11am. We
decided to skip the Tobago and ascended by foot to the 14^th tower
where we would take another cable car back to the base.

The stairs were really not ergonomic and unfriendly.
We stopped by the 7^th tower,  while
we enjoyed the spectacular view, we walloped the lazy dragon and prepared for
the final ascent. Although it was early summer, the breeze and temperature was
darn relaxing.

It was crawling speed for Ving and me accompanying
the shortness of breath and leg soreness. How could the border guards tolerate
such walk up and down as their daily routine? However it was hell of an experience
to be part of the history…

Well, we landed back to the base at 3:30pm and we
had a good sleep on the bus and by 5pm, we were walking back to the apartment.

On our way back, we had stopped by one of the famous
Muslim firepot restaurant situated around the hotel. It was an expensive meal
though. The meat and mutton were excellent and the slicing method was one of
the signature features of the shabu-shabu.

Unlike the Japanese style shabu shabu which had
influenced most the shop around ghost island. The Peking style shabu shabu utilized
the old fire pot which was heated by charcoal. Just like the old fire pot that Malaysian
use. No broth was used and only plain water inside the pot. The dipping which
knowns as two eight source is a combination of sesame source and peanut butter
using the ratio of 20%:80%. Mutton was dipped in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes;
unlike the Japanese style shabu shabu where you dipped for seconds only.

A satisfied meal and we retreated to our apartment
before night fall.

All I had read from the net/book were materialized
in front of my eyes. I had completed the 2 major spots on the list.

It took me half a century to lay my foot on this land. It was so far away once…

The waiving of visa had brought the dream come
true. My last visit about 10 years ago was an initial RM2k visa fee and 2 weeks
of anxiety fearing the lost of passport while sending it to HKG for visa application.

Until now it was an amazing trip. While resting
on the sofa sipping the Artic Ocean orange soda and staring blindly at the night
scene; I thank the Great one for taking me all the way (with some hiccup of
coz, but yet I am still grateful)….

Source: D3 - the Great Wall

43

Medical News (Public) / Woman Discovers Shocking Source of 20-Year-Old Stomach Pain: A Needle Left Inside Her During Vaginal Surgery

« Last post by Ketua Dobbs on November 20, 2024, 07:42:40 PM »

Woman Discovers Shocking Source of 20-Year-Old Stomach Pain: A Needle Left Inside Her During Vaginal Surgery

A woman in Thailand recently discovered the source of her decades-long abdominal pain: a surgical needle allegedly left in her vaginal area during childbirth.
Source: Woman Discovers Shocking Source of 20-Year-Old Stomach Pain: A Needle Left Inside Her During Vaginal Surgery

44

Medical News (Public) / Confined spaces and stress alter how people perceive food aromas

« Last post by Ketua Dobbs on November 20, 2024, 07:42:37 PM »

Confined spaces and stress alter how people perceive food aromas

New research from RMIT University found confined and isolating environments changed the way people smelled and responded emotionally to certain food aromas.
Source: Confined spaces and stress alter how people perceive food aromas

45

Doctor Blogs (Public) / Peking - old palace

« Last post by lywuu on November 20, 2024, 09:14:09 AM »

Peking - old palace

 

The room although old but yet remarkable. I had
a good night sleep and awaken up early at 5am. Everything was in order and the front desk staff was friendly enough to give them a 5 over 5.

We had pushed out by 7am and decided
to take slow walk of 1km to a branch of a famous snack shop. The Protect Country Temple shop was one of the oldest breakfast shops in Peking. They sold
a variety of food from main dish to desert. The taste was interesting and some
of the food that I had never tasted before. However we were still reluctant to order this green bean juice which was one of the classic of Peking. It was
made of fermented green bean leftover which smell and taste like spoiled food. It take "balls"  to take it

Price was acceptable but yet after my tongue being
trained by food from the ghost island. I felt that it is just up to the
standard. There were better food that I have tasted back in the ghost island.

However we had also taken away some meat roll and
meat puff for lunch. We arrived at the meeting point and minutes later our guide
came. A middle age lady who could speak English. She led us into the palace and
started the tour. It was a 2.5hrs tour where we were introduced to history of
the old palace. The tour ended by 11 and we started our own wandering around
the palace.

The mainland treated it as old palace museum as
compare to the one on the ghost island. Frankly said, the main exhibition is
the building and not the collection. We were allowed to walk outside most of the building and only
allow to walk into some of the building which was decorated as exhibition hall.
We covered 80% of the assessable area by 3pm

Both of our lower limbs sore and we could
barely walk back to the hotel which was another 2km walk….

As we hit our room by four plus, everyone of us
was exhausted and we could only pace out for dinner after seven.

We headed to a mall and we had HALAL food for
dinner. 2% of the resident are Muslim and some of the signature dishes is HALAL.
We had Peking duck, Beile(prince) BBQ and other side order. Special meal and
very salty compare to what I usually eat. On the way back, we had grabbed a
load of sour milk as most of them were packed in a special small vase-like
bottle and Ving just like it.

The TnG epayment was the best compare to Wechat
payment. Straight forward authorization as simple as I use it in Boleh land. I was lucky enough to have some cash inside my PB account.

The area we were residing was previously
knocked as Prince Gong Mansion. The residence was previously owned and built by
a Duke who was the biggest bride collector in Qing dynasty. When the Duke was
arrested and his property confiscated, the big house and land was awarded to
the Prince Gong who later become the regent acting on behalf of the CiXi queen.
The area was abolished during the CCP ruled and converted to a shopping area
where a few shopping malls was erected around the area.  

The market was cold and only some shoppers were
patronizing the area during Sunday night; it should be crowded with people but
yet it wasn’t.

The 1^st day was filled with excitement and the
second day was another day of thrill as we had to travel to the major bus terminal
by 7am by MRT. With the help of Dianping app, I was able to find 2 shops to
stop by before we hopped onto the tour bus. One for breakfast and the other for take away lunch at the Great Wall.

Could our legs which was filled by lactate
survival another strenuous walk ?  I couldn’t
bare to think about it….

Source: Peking - old palace

46

Doctor Blogs (Public) / Peking - D1

« Last post by lywuu on November 20, 2024, 09:14:09 AM »

Peking - D1

The trip started
late at noon where we would take a flight to HKG with a short transit and
headed to Peking later in the evening. CP was one of the best flight that I had
ever had, I had travel with them in the pre Covid era and they had given me a
good impression. Although the food at the airport was quite expensive but I am
a fan of Cantonese cuisine.

The journey was
great as the seat was spacious than the AA I had taken few months back. The
food was ok and I had a nap before we landed

We arrived at the
CLK airport in time but the connecting flight gate was at the other part of the
airport and we had spent a good 30 min walk passing the security check. As the
connecting gate was very far from the center food court area, we had to settle
with some snack from a small food joint. Expensive but nice though.

The connecting
flight was on time and we arrive at Peking airport 30minutes earlier.

The entry process
however was not smooth. We would have to present to the finger print taking
machine and signed up the entry form. Another long wait at the immigration counter
that took us a good 1 hour wait. I sighed when all of us passed the immigration.
Visaless ? always a chance to be denied entry….what a relief when everyone of
us had gotten pass the imi counter.

Finally we hopped
onto a cab and arrived at the apartment by 10:30pm. I tried my first payment
with the Wechat paying system and found out that it sucks…Two time approval
needed and it took me a good 5 mins before the payment is out. Will try TnG on
my next payment.

The ride was
smooth and nothing to complaint nor shout.

The Marriot apartment
was located at a shopping area but yet by 10pm, everything had closed down.
Only 2 convenient stores that was still operating around the area at the time
we arrive.

We grabbed some
food and water at a nearest shop before we retreated to the room.

While sipping my
drink relaxing on the sofa, I had a deep thought about the trip; I had finally
returned to the land where my ancestor originated. It was my first trip to the
mainland but yet I would be visiting the ancient palace and the great wall the
next 2 days. I was excited indeed as I would be walking through the ancient
building however I one more thing to settle before our journey at 9am; our
breakfast and take away lunch…..

Source: Peking - D1

47

Doctor Blogs (Public) / Peking - minus to push off

« Last post by lywuu on November 20, 2024, 09:14:09 AM »

Peking - minus to push off

 

The QM run was a
stunning one for me and the trip for me was the Thailand shooting trip. However
it was 6 months away and part of me wanted to make up for Ving about my solo
trip.

I offered a short
trip to Xiamen which was one hours plus away. Simple hop in with flight from K
city and proceed with an eat and walk around trip for 3D2N. My thought was
simple, we should use the visa free entry for at least once before it is closed
again.

My offer was
rejected as Ving told me she all she wanted was a visit to the old palace and
great wall…A great leap from my initial plan and a further leap of fate for me.

So many things to
sort out apart from the lodging and flight.

The flight was a
crucial one to settle. The first step was to inquire Xian if he could settle
with a HKG transit. It was many years ago when HKG started to enforced strict
law about treason. Xian was terrified for a while and he told me he never
wanted to land his foot on the land anymore. Well, he had however nodded when I
asked him if he is AOK with the transit. The best choice was CP as it offered a
variety of time to choose from.

The next was the
duration and I had finally squeezed a window of 6D5N…a late flight in and late
flight out which allow us to spend 4.5D around P city. I regretted not long
after I did the purchase; I had booked a flight back to K city which had 1.5hrs
transit time in HKG only. My club mate who travel frequent to HKG told me, if CP
could offer the flight then they are confident to get you on. It still haunt me for the rest of the 2 months prior to take off and I kept thinking off changing the flight…

The lodging was
another challenge and I decided to go for a service apartment instead of a room.
We would need the kitchen and washing machine as it was a long stay. I had
chosen a service apartment managed by Marriot ; it was situated around the old
palace and located around a great shopping area.

The old palace was
a crucial point for our trip to Peking and purchasing entry ticket was a challenge. The only way for a
guarantee ticket was to book a tour. Trying to do a purchase at the gate would mostly ended
with a sold out leading to depression. I pre-booked a private tour as I need someone to
tell the story about the place. Even though I am a fan of “six month river” and read most of
his work but I am not a historian that could tell the palace story to my family.

The great wall
part was simple, I opted for the MYT great wall  which offered a Tobago run as well.
I booked a bus ticket from MYT bus service which offered a late trip back. Most
of the bus service run between 7am to 2pm. The MYT bus service offered from 7am
to 4pm. An extra 2hours would allow us to do a relaxing ascend and descend.

That above arrangement
settled the first two days of the trip. Nothing was planned for the leftover 2.5 days, however I knew we would make up of something when we reached there.

There were a few
things that bother me before the trip. Google was not a reliable source for
info as the partial lock down only shown out of date info. I had to installed
CHN software like it or not.

The next part was
the payment method, although Peking was still foreigner friendly with real
bucks however the e- payment was the way to go. I was lucky as I had TnG set up
back in Malaysia. The Wechat payment was another backup plan but without
linking with a local CHN account it is like a handicap software.

The initial booking
and reservation phase took me about 2 weeks and the next task was sourcing take
away food to buy and eat during the old palace and great wall trip. The app
DianPing was an ultimate guide and it proved its value during our stay in Peking
providing valuable pre-buy coupon that was worthy and good recommendation about places and food.

Before we depart
from our house, I was still hesitating if I would change my return ticket to a earlier
time but yet I decided to gamble with my luck…

Source: Peking - minus to push off

48

Doctor Blogs (Public) / something to brag about

« Last post by lywuu on November 20, 2024, 09:14:09 AM »

something to brag about

 

The trip to
Bangkok ended happily eventhough I performed poorly, but yet… a bronze for the
senior division pacified my uneasiness….

3 medals in 7 days….
Well, something to brag about for the next few days for me.

the no1 is a local police officer, the 2nd place is my team mate, a retired sergeant major cum engineer

Source: something to brag about

49

Doctor Blogs (Public) / The bump......

« Last post by lywuu on November 20, 2024, 09:14:09 AM »

The bump......

 

It
had been 4 years since I actively involvement in shooting competition. There are
2 bodies that organized airsoft shooting event on this island. The defense
association and the practical shooting association. The PSA is a member of the
IPSC and had been well known through a serial of movie “Double tap” and “Triple
tap”. I had been deeply attracted by the movie but was unable to assess the PSA
as whenever I inquired about the entry procedure and training, the head would
always gave the answer, “ you come over and play for a few rounds before you
joined”. Unlike the IPSC in HK where introduction course would be held and admission
would be done after the course.

I
just don’t have the extra time play a few rounds before I officially joined.
However I did purchased a whole piece of gear from CR speed belt, magazine carrier
with Ghost holster. That was of course almost 18 years ago.

4
years ago, I had found this course organized by the defense association and I had
joined the course with Xian. I got by Glock and Xian got his 1911. I had shot a
few matches after the course and was wrongly assessed with a DNF during a tier
III game. It was major setback as I was not familiar with the rulebook and some
#$%## safety officer had wrongly given me a DNF instead of a all miss….

I
had translated the rulebook(prohibited of course as it only recognized the English
version[however I am pretty sure there was a Italian version around somewhere])
and share it as an unofficial learning tool.

My
shooting skill sucks as I had switched my interest to revolver after the tier
III match. Shooting REV was a frustration as the tools was poorly design and
inaccurate. My skill improved but however since there was only a handful of participants,
only the best man won. As a senior aged shooter, getting a placement with prized
was never feasible for me. Shooting real steel was another impossible dream as the
tours available would take up at least 6-7 days.

Last
year, my club’s master had informed me that he had found a short trip in
Thailand which only last 4 days. 1 day training and 1 day competition + 2 days
of travelling.

I
lost my mind and signed up…Ving had however pushed Yun to join me in the event.

It
was an amazing trip, Yun, a newbie to the sport, had conquered her fear and
completed the race.

I
finished the race while struggling to adjust myself with the recoil and trigger
control.

One
of the mates had shared his secret about airsoft to real steel transition; ---- to get an airsoft with great recoil and trained!

He
recommended the GHK. I immediately placed an order with the upgraded version
while on my way back from Bangkok.

The
training process was lagging initially while I struggle with the trigger
control and grip to overcome recoil.

After
months of training in the attic. I finally had a breakthrough and started to advance.

The
club had organized another trip in August and I had refrained myself from
joining any real steel tour I think it would be fun to go with the big group.

My
training result finally came into test when I joined the tier II match nearby;
I made it and was bumped from marksman to sharp shooter…..

Tomorrow,
I would be heading north and taking another flight to BKK as 2 days later I would participate in the tier i real steel IDPA challenge  ……

Source: The bump......

50

Medical News (Public) / G.tec Medical Engineering's Innovative RecoveriX BCI Treatment Now Available In Hospitals & Neurorehabilitation Centers

« Last post by Ketua Dobbs on November 20, 2024, 09:13:59 AM »

G.tec Medical Engineering's Innovative RecoveriX BCI Treatment Now Available In Hospitals & Neurorehabilitation Centers

Using recoveriX improves neuroplasticity, which helps rewire nervous pathways and replace damaged neurons that were affected by the stroke, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's disease.
Source: G.tec Medical Engineering's Innovative RecoveriX BCI Treatment Now Available In Hospitals & Neurorehabilitation Centers