Songkran Festival @ Hatyai Thailand 2013 (Part 1)

Sawadeekap from Thailand!

  After some decisions being thrown about, Hatyai it was for our (with my family) mini trip during my one week holidays. I don't really get many holidays though, so I was thinking of making this worth while. Well, it isn't just going to be a normal kind of trip, it was a trip to Hatyai of purpose, which I would say, to experience the annual Songkran Festival in Hatyai. Songkran Festival are the Thai's new year, in which yes, you do go around wishing them Happy Songkran.

Songkran Festival

  A chartered van and a few things packed, we soon got on a 2 hour journey from Alor Star right down to the boarder of Thailand, and straight right into Hatyai City. Being a northern Malaysian state, we residents of Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan enjoy the priority of having to use only boarder-passes instead of passports, in which serves to cut down many tedious procedures upon entering the 'King's Land' as they would call it.

Immigration checkpoint

Thai currency, Baht

   Hustling through the streets of Hatyai, our eyes were locked-on the unconstrained, unsystematicly busy traffic. At each moment you would feel an accident is about to happen, with cars and motorbikes changing lanes almost instantly, forcing their way through the clogged traffic. Streets were narrow and congested up to a breaking point. If you think Penang being bad, imagine this of a worst case scenario. A change of view above, one could observe a nestled-spider-web-like electric cable interchanges. For us it may be shocking, but for the locals, it's as normal as it gets. Somehow at one point, I'm glad to be in Malaysia then.

My dad actually went there to pray for luck, Huat arh!

Crazy cables!

  It was evening by the time we arrived at Hatyai City area, hence we decided to make our first pit-stop of the trip. Our driver and tour guide took us to a well-known Thai restaurant, known as Saban-nga Restaurant. Here, we were treated to a wide range of Thailand delicacies. Of any Thai food that you've heard before, you could get it almost all right here. Pictures speak more than words, and I'll let them do the talking here.

Famous Thai restaurant, Saban-nga

Great Thai dinning ambience!

King's of Thailand

A bar outside the restaurant

Thai mango slice fried fish

Thai fried pork trotter

Thai ulam

Sauces for taste

Tom Yam Kung

Pork-filled veggi

Special purple steamed rice (the dye is from flower petals I heard)

Must-try Thailand Green Curry

Mango cubes fried fish

  A check on the schedule saw us heading towards Yong Dee hotel to check ourselves in. It was a decent hotel then, complete with everything you need. Just a tip, that the plugs there (as in every country) are different, so do brace yourselves on charging your electrical devices then. A quick bath and we were soon all ready and set for our next destination ~~ Greenway Market.

Yong Dee Hotel

Comfy!

A coffee bar at the hotel

  Well, from Yong Dee hotel (or any hotel at Hatyai City area) to Greenway Market will only take less than 15 minutes. So I would suggest, not to walk there of course, to take the all-round famous Thailand transport, the tuk-tuk to travel there. It costs only 20 baht per person and it's really refreshing to get a change of transportation. Greenway Market is famous for it's wide range of products sold at bargain prices. From dandy pants to portraits and pictures, you can find it all right there. A tip here is to bargain your prices, get the lowest price as possible there.

A whole lot of goodies for sale!

A scene of Greenway Market

Bargain for better prices!

  All that aside, I would really regret if I had not paid a trip there. Mind you, not because of those fancy women clothing on display, or those eye-catching cigarette lighters in array, but because of the amazing tastes of Thai delicacies it has to offer at the food court!!! I'll just never stop being a food lover.. :)

An art in many ways!

Boosting creativity!

  Yes, it does bring excitement to one's taste-buds, being able to taste so many foods in just one place at reasonable prices, it really is a heaven for food carvers! Be sure to pay a visit here, it will be worth your while.

Thailand LengCheeKang, must-try, lots of tasty ingredients!

Grilled garlic pepper pork slices!

Thailand famous mango durian rice pudding

Som-tam!

  Soon after, we took the tuk-tuk back to Hatyai City center, only to be bombarded with blasts of water from water guns aimed at us. One hint, is that you'll be sitting ducks on a tuk-tuk during this festival, so look out for these attacking maestros who will show no mercy! You could get the water-guns there at a price you'll need to watch out for. For 1500 models, you could get as low as 240 baht, while the 5000 models costs merely 500 baht. Beware of swindlers who overcharge visiting tourists. Cheaper prices could be attained at a flea market, explained in Part 2 then.

Tuk-Tuk

Water-gun fight!!!!

  From then on, it was rocking to the rhythm till midnight. People were dancing to the beat, pumping out to the base. It was an awesome scene and it lasted throughout the night, with DJ's planting high spirits in each and everyone of them there.

DJ's rocking the event!

An appreciated crowd!

  This festival is awesome, where in my opinion, touching a girl or guy with powder (purchased at the spot for 40baht) is of no matter. In fact they willingly let you do so, but remember to wish them Happy Songkran, not for the sake of just touching. (Touching in which I meant their faces and hands ONLY! Treat them with respect and usually we go for the opposite sexes. And yes, I made sure they are REALLY GIRLS! If you know what I mean).

Partying till midnight!

It's a wet night in Hatyai

Plan to get tattoo's here? I swear I almost went in there, :)

Hotel and massage parlor

Weapons for sale!

  A plus point, I admit Thai girls are really pretty, somehow I felt. Don't believe mii? Come experience it for yourself! And, also in my opinion, the more powder smudged on your face, it meant a higher popularity amongst the girls, as for girls amongst the boys. And yeah, I got plenty I would say, high market of mine? Muahahahhahahahaha! Erhem, ok, sorry, back to the point. Aside from all this, there were food stalls around the area as well. A good way to grab a warm bite after a chilly water fight I thought.

Giant fried prawns! 50 baht each!

Lobster feast! 100/200/300 baht depending on sizes!

Lot's of road-side delicacies!

Thailand's famous fried chicken! 70 baht each

  A note that Thailand's time is an hour later than Malaysian time. That said, all the excitement, the colours and the fun died down at 4am Malaysian time. I was told by a few girls to expect a bigger celebration come the next night where their real new year kicks into place. As that, this was just their new year eve, and I'll be expecting more amazement to come as I retired to my hotel for a rest. Part 2 to come then. For now, goodbye!

Happy Songkran Thailand friends!!!

Read more on Part 2 here:

http://nickel-low.blogspot.com/2013/04/songkran-festival-hatyai-thailand-2013.html


Part 3:

http://nickel-low.blogspot.com/2013/04/songkran-festival-hatyai-thailand-2013_25.html





Signing off,

Nickel Low CJ

Life In CUCMS, Now and Then.... (Under Public Demand)

  Alright, alright. Wow, the questions are falling in like the pulsing burst of the Nigeria Falls. Emails, Facebook messages, and blog comments, I'm being surrounded by questions of all kinds about CUCMS. Haha, don't worry, I'm not annoyed, in fact I'm more than willing to help. Now then, this blog is more on CUCMS as a whole, to all those newbies and future CUCMS-ians, really hope this will answer many of your questions.

Beautiful interior

Main desk

  First of all, I'm Low Chen Jie, a would-be-senior if you guys were to step right aboard our ship, am in MBBS 3rd year now and currently enjoying my life as it is. Then, many of the questions asked were:


How is life in CUCMS?
How is it studying there?
Is the university recognized and will it last till the end? (Was amazed by this question, XD)
Compared to other universities, how is CUCMS different from them?
Would you recommend newbies to study there?
How are the lecturers in CUCMS?
How is the management in CUCMS?
Has anyone graduated from CUCMS and how are their lives now?

Bungee jump!!!! Just joking! XD

Great library!

  Well, these are just a few of the many questions forwarded to mii recently. And yeah took some time to reply them one by one. Hopefully through this post, I could answer them all at once. Alright, good or bad news first? There's this one young girl I chatted with, well, she wanted to know the good news first. Let's go with that then shall we?

Foundy night!

  The good of CUCMS, come to think of it, I really am proud to say I've been in one of the best. Academically  CUCMS is no other than 'awesome' could describe. They are really well organized, objectives of each lesson listed at the beginning and yeap, the syllabus are all more than applicable in our future medical lives.

Presentation!

  Starting with foundation, I dare say we're one of the best in Malaysia. The lectures are well integrated and focused on bringing students towards the lines of MBBS and Pharmacy. Meaning, just foundation itself, we students are exposed bit by bit to the medical world, on how to apply our knowledge medically and what not. In fact, the lecturers themselves are amazing, in foundation, look for Mr. Eric. Not only a great and respectable lecturer, but he could be an awesome mentor as well, listening to your problems and helping you in whichever way possible. Till now I myself am indebted to him!

That handsome chubby guy in the middle is Mr. Eric!!!

  Besides just academic, CUCMS does focus on co-curricular activities as well. Apart from sports day and other stuff, there are also team-building camps organized each and every year up till 5th year. This could really train you, instead of thinking it as a burden, think of it as a challenge and you'll enjoy it very much. Mr. Eric and Dr. Basmullah will also bring you guys on really interesting field trips, so look forward to that too!

Jungle trekking!

You! Come along!

  In CUCMS, we really focus on a system known as a mentor-mentee system. This in my opinion, works great when you get super cool mentors (they will be your usual lecturers), and works erm, poorly if you get care-less mentors (this should be in the bad-news part but, whatever lahhhhh). Still, no matter what, this mentor-mentee system brings bonds closer and also, enables a student to voice out their opinions about the university, the course they are taking and many other things down even to personal matters, like disagreements amongst group members etc.

Future doctors and pharmacists!

  It's a two-way communication system, but as said, works well only if the mentor you get actually likes to communicate. Some would even bring you out for dinner, and some sporty types would love a game of futsal or badminton with their mentees. No matter what, it is something different compared to other universities where students and lecturers don't bond well as we do. Good point, checked!

Yay!

  Next on, CUCMS also upholds an Affective Domain system (you'll hear them blabbling AD system, AD system, well, this is it then) which I think is the core of the university. To a question above, yes, many students have graduated from CUCMS and are now working happily in respective hospitals and clinics. And according to survey, the seniors instead of knowledge, they admitted they gained most on Affective Domain.

Medical checkup programme!

  Well, it's a little hard to explain, but AD is more on the personal attitude of students, where students are trained from scratch in CUCMS to be more cooperative, humane, positive thinking and committed to whatever they do. Really, I don't see any other universities upholding the importance of this matter, and through this we are stronger in a way. In fact, CUCMS students were highly looked up upon in hospitals due to the good affective domain of each students.

Red House, Champions of last year! What about this year?! XD

Morning exercise!

  Now for the bad. 'Is the university recognized and will it last till the end?'. Seriously, this question I think, is one of the most important questions ever. In fact I myself would ask the same way. OK, to be honest, CUCMS has faced problems in the past. The 236 incident is and will forever be a black spot in CUCMS history, where due to CUCMS policy problems, received an intake more than the 150 students limit permitted. And due to that, excess students had to be removed, which in my opinion, by force. It really is something sad, and what affects most is the aftermath of the incident. Students were affected academically and mentally, even myself suffered from the wrath of the incident. More to that, CUCMS was suspended of it credibility and students were left clinging on fearing for their futures.

  But no matter how bad things seem to be, there is always a silver lining. CUCMS learnt from their lesson, and now everything is stabilized  In fact, we've gotten our credibility and we're now listed as one of the official medical universities in Malaysia. Check the papers and you'll know. Everything is back to normal now, the university is growing fast with students increasing each year, but abide all that, those friends who left us for other universities will be remembered forever!

I dissected a frog! Muahahahhahaha!

  Sniff..... No I did not cry! LOL! Moving on, the management. Yes, this is a major point which still needs lots of improvement. Slow, inefficient and lots of procedures to go through to get things done. This really is a problem CUCMS has to settle fast. Do not worry about the facilities in CUCMS. However, the accommodations posed a few problems ~~ sky-high rental fees, slow response to complaints of broken household equipment and other stuff. All these are being fought for now and I myself hope a change could be implemented as soon as possible. However, this is a point to note for students who really have to got through the management. For those who wants to come in, being normal, study-focused students, this is a paradise I would say. But for those like mii, fighting for our student rights, it poses many hurdles and problems for us. Still, being juniors and newbies, I would advice to hinder this problem and just focus on studying. Let your abang and kakak fight for you for now. :)

Classrooms!

  In Cyberjaya, it would be hard to get your meals I would say. There's a canteen but the food there is almost same everyday, it'll bore you out trust mii. And from 2nd year onwards I would advice to get your own transportation, if not car-pool. Hence you really need to plan well in moving about in Cyberjaya. The things in Cyberjaya are also quite expensive, and food outlets in Shaftsbury Square are just too expensive to take as everyday consumption. The food stalls in Cyberia are a little cheaper, but watch out for the hygiene, don't wanna get diarrhoea now would we? If you have time, pay a visit to MMU's cafeteria, it's cheap, clean, of large portions and yummy! Haha, those were my foundation days and how I missed them.

Teamwork!

  Overall, CUCMS is a not-so-bad place to study in. Academic wise is great, other than that you'll just need to adapt well. A tip to survive is to mix around as much as possible. Do not form self-groups and try to mangle around whenever possible. This will really help a lot, better bonds better life. No matter what, the most important thing is to get your mind and will focused on the things you are studying. Make it part of your life and you'll certainly enjoy it much. I dare say every university has problems of itself, it is up to us on how we see things in the end. I am happy with where I'm studying now, and I bet you guys and gals will too if you think positively.

Sunat-thon!

Basic Life Support activities!

  I know many of you still have many questions to ask. For that, you are welcomed to forward questions to my email or reply to this post. I will try my best to help. For pharmacy life, just post your questions here as well, I have friends who could attend to them. For now then, adios amigos! Hope to see you all soon! XD

Together as ONE!

An old picture of mii! 'Am more handsome now', said my friend Pauline Ng! Thx Pauline! :)

Do you want to know what it takes to being a medical student? Read it here on my LATEST UPDATE!!! 

http://nickel-low.blogspot.com/2014/05/7-tips-on-what-it-takes-to-step-into.html?spref=fb





Signing off:

Nickel Low CJ