These are the flowers and plants at the National Botanical Garden,Llanarthne.About 30 minutes frm my place.Worth a visit I would say although it is not very big.

It has been a hectic week for me.I've been working for the past 3 weekends but still got 2 more to go.Just finished my 12 hour weekend shift...when you are working in A&E....it is really exhausting plus my dad was admitted into hospital back home.Hope he is recovering.Anyway...these are the photos taken during my visit to the National Botanical Garden with my bro on his birthday last week....luckily it was my day off.

I know it's only about 3 pm and I am supposed to be at work....actually was scheduled to a teaching this afternoon....punya laa rush from theatre back to Llanelli for the teaching.....sampai2 was told that the session has been cancelled. Geram betul....so here I am. Went to Turkey on the 15th March....this time with Kathy aje....took a flight from Manchester.....naik Turkish Airline and the journey took about 4 hours. I enjoyed the flight....firstly the interior was nice, clean and new....seat turquoise in colour and leather....and we had in flight meal which was delicious. Arrived at Attartuk International Airport about 8 pm and took a cab to our hotel kat the Sultanahmet area....not bad for a 3 star hotel. Freshened up and went wondering around the hotel area.....which is only about 5 minutes walk to the Blue Mosque.....was really excited to try my new camera....geram and sedih pun ada jugak coz my first camera apparently could not be fixed.....jalan-jalan carik makan (as usual). Had dinner at a kebab house.....ordered the Turkish special.....really liked it but the portion was quite big for 1 person. The next morning, headed to the Topkapi Palace which is about 700 metres walk from our hotel. It was built by Mehmet II....if I am not mistaken and became his principal residence. The palace was later abandoned by Sultan Abdul Mecit I in favour of Dolmabache Palace. Chewah....can jadi tourist guide dah nie....hehehehe. I really enjoyed the visit.....amazed by the architecture.....not that I know much about it....a bit like Al-Hambra but unique in it's own way lah. We also took the guided tour into the Harem of the palace.....which cost about 10 Turkish lira....fairly cheap....if I am not mistaken it can only be visited if you take the guided tour....nama pun Harem maa. After spending about half day in Topkapi Palace.....we walked around the Hadgia Sophia.....but decided not to go in.....to be honest both of us don't quite fancy going into another museum.....so just took some photos. Had lunch at a restaurant quite opposite Haghia Sophia with the most significant roof top view of Sultanahmet area and the food was really nice.....a bit pricy but for the view it was worth it. Tak caya tengok the photos. I had shepherd chicken kebab and really loved it.....Kathy didn't quite like her meal....I think she ordered Iskander kebab.....the strong falavour of the lamb perhaps. Next destination was the Sultan Ahmet Camii Mosque or well known as the Blue Mosque. Blue coz its interior is mainly decorated with blue Iznik tilework. The Hippodrome was our next stop.....situated just outside the Blue Mosque and later we made our way to the Grand Bazaar.....shopping time. Rambang mata jugak when I first stepped into the Bazaar.....I think there were about 5000 stalls.....and seriously boleh sesat. The key thing kalau nak shopping kat sini is you really have to bargain coz prices vary and tak fix.....so kalau pandai bargain.....murah laa barang nyer. In general, Turkey is quite a cheap place to shop.....and there are loads of things that you could buy unlike Greece.....sama aje. Did a bit of shopping and the next day did a bit more shopping and took a cruise up the Bosphorus.....it took about an hour and later we went to a nearby hill called Pierre Lotti....named after a French writer who had spent his time writing there.....not that I've heard of him....the view was really nice.....took the cable car down.....much to Kathy's liking. Returned and went back to the Grand Bazaar for last minute shopping. Hhhmmmm.....I really enjoyed this trip.....lagi best compared to Greece and I will definitely recommend it. If I have the chance will definitely go back for the second time coz there were loads of things to see.....tak sempat nak cover everything in just 4 days.

We left from Luton Airport on the 10th March 2007.....7 of us....that would be Anis, Win, Kt, Yah, Normi, Na and of course me. It was dark when we arrived at Athens.....took a cab oops 2 taxis to the hotel. The hotel was not that bad besides the smell of cigarette.....apparently they do smoke a lot in Greece....yang tak tahan tu smoking is allowed indoors. After checking in, we went to have dinner at a nearby Greek restaurant called Alexander The Great.....recommended by the hotel staff. The food was a little expensive but nice and the portion was quite big. I had seafood spaghetti. We all had complimentary walnut pie with ice cream for dessert.....lagi lah sedap when it's free....hehehe. Headed to Monistiraki Fleamarket the next morning after breakfast.....it was quite early....so tak banyak stalls yg open. At about 10.30 am, made our way to Syntagma Square.....to catch the 'pom pom parade'.....it's actually the changing of guards in front of the Greek Parliament House at 10.45 am. We were quite lucky coz on Sundays and on major holidays the evzones (the guards) come out in the full regalia for an extended affair with military band. Susah gak nk kena squeeze in between mat salleh yg tinggi2 and besar2 but we some how managed to do so. It was quite funny watching the ceremony especially the part when they lift their legs 90 degrees in the air while marching. The next stop was the Acropolis.....well what can I say.....byk jugak amik photos.....almost every step.....when we finally got to the top the wind was so strong.....but still managed to pose for photos maa. We went to the Temple of Olympian Zeus after.....but it was closed.....so just took photos from outside and headed back to the hotel. Took a short nap and headed out again in the evening to Lykavittos Hill literally means 'hill of wolves'.....damn....penat giler panjat the tangga.....rasa mcm kat Batu Caves pulak.....took the funicular railway to the very top. It was really windy so we just stayed about 10 minutes outside 'enjoying' the view.....I think it would be better to go during the day time. We took a ferry to a Greek island called Aegina the next day. The journey took about an hour and the view was fantastic.Had a 'light' meal and then took a ride in the kerete kuda around the island. Later, some how we decided to rent a bicycle and cycle around the island....I don't know why lah....kat M'sia tak pernah pun nk rent a bicycle. It was quite fun but ended up with 'gluteal' pain for 2 days after. Had lunch....calamari and grilled octopus plus Greek salad. Superb and cheap. On the last day, we headed back to Monistiraki Fleamarket and Plaka to do some shopping. Unlucky for me, my camera wat hal......and apparently there was something wrong with the sensor.....nasib lah on the last day.....so I am thankful for that Overall, it's an okay trip....I was expecting the trip to Athens to be more exciting but it was just okay.....plus org Greece nie are quite kasar so maybe that's why.

Balik kampung last weekend....literally meant driving up to Sheffield....my second kampung I was working half day on Friday and after completing my ward round plus some administration work.....drove to Cardiff....Pak Kai's place. It was raining heavily so the journey to slightly longer than usual. Left my car at Pak Kai's house and we were on our way to Sheffield. Surprisingly I managed to stay awake the entire length of the journey. The traffic kat Birmingham and Notts was terrible.....and again it took slightly longer. We arrived at about 8 pm after one stop for a cup of hot Mocha. Waited for Mun Seong who took the train from Rhyl. At about 9.30 pm....we went to the train station to pick Mun Seong up and then we were on our way to Rossi's.....Italian restaurant....I had risotto mare (seafood risotto).....only managed to eat half of the dish.....okay but I had better. Had chocolate fudge cake for dessert.....pun tak abis....but the cake was really nice. The next day, we decided to spend time at the city centre and later went to Meadowhall. Watched the movie....Because I Said So....I must admit I thought it was quite boring and there was just too much talking....I felt bored half way through the movie and I would not recommend it. Had dinner at Baan Thai.....since it was the eve of Chinese New Year.....so kira like makan besar for Pak Kai and Mun Seong. I really like the food.....I am not the only one. We spent Sunday watching DVDs from Tokyo Drift to a Malay movie called Cinta....I really like the movie....touchy and yeah.....I cried Thank you to Yah, Farah and Normi for being such good tuan rumah (hehehe actually dah macam rumah sendiri....second house maa).

I set to work yesterday at about 9.00 am even though I was not feeling well with fever and cough.....thinking that I've got only a ward round to do at the Gynae ward and some administration work. When I left Llanelli, it was raining and half way to Carmarthen it started snowing. Little that I know it was going to snow heavily. I completed my work and had lunch at the hospital cafeteria and then left for Llanelli at about 12 noon. It was still snowing heavily and it took me about and hour and the half just to get on the A48 from the hospital (normally around 10 minutes max). I wished it ended there but no.....the traffic was not moving at all on the A48.....and I virtually switched off the engine and fell asleep twice. Some of the drivers got out of their cars....did saw a lady walk her 2 dogs....some children were making snowman.....SO MUCH FOR THE PREPARATION, HUH? Some just abandoned their car by the road side. We did not know what was happening in front.....bongek jugak mat salleh nie....dah bertahun-tahun with the experience still tak tau macam mana nak handle the situation. The traffic was at a stand still for about 2 and half hours and when we finally started moving....we were moving less than 5 miles an hour. What can I say except that no one was prepared for the bad weather and ooh ya weather forecast can be absolutely wrong.....so much for the heavy snow prediction on Thursday....does not apply to this part of Wales. It took me 6 and half hours to get back home....the normal journey usually take maximum 45 minutes. It was an awful experience. I really hope that no one will have to go through what I went through yesterday. Hope the weather would be much better next week coz I've got to travel to Cardiff for 3 days.....for my basic surgical skills course (so lazy to read the manual and go through the DVD) plus at the end of the week....hoping to drive up to Sheffield with Pak Kai. I am really looking forward for the trip.....lama nyer tak balik kampung....hehehe

Anis, Syida and Kathy drove down to my place from Sheffield on Friday. I think they arrived around 12.00 midnight. On Saturday, I took them to Margam Country Park near Port Talbot. Nothing much to see plus the weather was bad. Drove to Cardiff after and walked for a bit at Cardiff Bay and then off to the city centre but unfortunetely we could not find a place to eat. Drove back to Cardiff Bay and finally decided to have dinner at a Turkish restaurant....okay I would say. After dinner, decided to catch a movie so went to Swansea to catch the 9.00 pm Pursuit To Happiness....I like it plus I have Ben & Jerry with me ( I had to queue up for about 20 minutes and miss the first 5 minutes of the movie for that ). Got back at about 12.30 am and watched Girl Interrupted.... I fell asleep ahlf way through the DVD (typical). Today, after nasi goreng and coffee went for a short walk on the beach about 5 minutes drive from my place.

We had our Christmas lunch yesterday at this lovely restaurant in Nantgeredig about 10 miles away from the hospital.The drive up there was really good....beautiful sceneries. It was a nice cozy restaurant and the food was really nice. I had vege couscous and for dessert treacle tart with vanilla ice-cream....yummy. I had a great time with the team and thank you to the secretaries who organized it all. MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We went out for Indian food last Tuesday at this restaurant called Sheesh Mahal. The atmosphere was nice. I had chicken pakora for starter.....which was not really good....I had tasted better ones and for the main course I had lamb briyani. I only managed to eat half of the portion. It was nice to see the familiar faces again. We sat and talked until about 10.30 pm. I started my new posting in a new hospital last Wednesday....I must admit that I miss Prince Philip Hospital and also my team. I think by far....it's the best hospital. Currently doing Obs and Gynae....which is kinda interesting. I've enjoyed the posting as a medical student and I was thinking to take the specialty up as a career...we'll see. The new hospital is massive and God I hate the fact that I have to drive every morning....the journey took about 1 hour with the early morning traffic and all