~ March 2011: LIMSC, the Netherlands ~

Again, i went to the Netherlands for participating the 7th Leiden International Medical Student Conference in South Holland.

Again, i went there alone.
This time the feeling of going there was rather mixed up.. I needed to calm myself down while doing my best for the presentation of my project.

The decision to take part in this conference was not well-planned. What i meant was a day before the closing date, i submitted my abstract and i was selected for an oral presentation of 8 minutes with 2 minutes of discussion. I did not plan to go for this conference initially, but due to a sudden incident, i had to go, but i was glad that i'm part of the LIMSC family.

I was the only one from Malaysia, so it was a good opportunity for me to meet friends from around the world, exhanged our ideas and opinions on the issues being discussed during the conference, and was able to learn a bit more about culture of other students. Sometimes, being alone was nice, i walked  to someone and started a conversation, and that was how i expand my social circle. We just have to make the first move. :)

Leiden, was the venue for the conference. 15 minutes train ride from Schiphol Amsterdam airport.  In fact, Leiden was strategically located, which i think i will come back again to visit other cities from here. Of course, this time i will bring my mum along since she wants to admire the beauty of tulips :)

Leiden's West Gate

City of Leiden

Koornbrugsteeg

Leiden Centraal Station

Outside the Academic Building of the University of Leiden

Boat tour

Up to the Citadel of Leiden

The Boerhaave Museum

The Opening Ceremony by the Mayor

The Starter of Gala Dinner  

Yummy Dinner

The party time - He is truly amazingly Tallll........ :)

I won for the best oral presentation for Pharmacology session, yay :)

Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) the LIMSC family of 2011

Rotterdam, was the destination for this post-conference tour.

Getting ready to take a river cruise to Kinderdijk windmills village  

They followed as well :)

They were looking forward :)

Rotterdam

The UNESCO heritage site

I love the scenery

Perfect! ;p

Windmill

It was Sunday, the windmill was not "working"

Back to the boat for lunch

Pancake with various toppings

Overall, i truly enjoyed this trip to the Netherlands. Happy memories :)

I spent quite alot this time.. well, due to some reasons, totally acceptable!.. ^_^

Hello Java!

Last week we went to Indonesia for the annual family trip.
Two cities was chosen for their uniqueness.
Yogyakarta is located in the southern part of Central Java, which housed temples of Borobudur (Buddhist) and Prambanan (Hindu), world heritage sites rewarded by the UNESCO.
Borobudur and Prambanan were built in the 8th and 7th century, respectively, much earlier than the Great Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Entrance fee for Borobudur is USD15 for adult (USD8 for student) while Prambanan costs USD 13 for adult (USD7 for student). Student card must be brought along to get the discount.

In addition, we also visited Mendut Temple (which is near to the Borobudur with the entrance fee of Rp 3000).

The most exciting part was we were able to have a look at the active volcano Mt. Merapi before it was erupted the following afternoon. Mum was disappointed for we were not allowed to go nearer to have a closer look due to the risk.

Here is the Malioboro street, where we can observe the local life and a good place to buy souvenirs.

We then took about 8-hour train journey to Bandung, a city with a cooler temperature located in West Java, Indonesia. We visited Tangkuban Perahu ("upturned boat" in Sundanese), tea plantation in Lembang and saw cute rabbits.

Of course, when we go to Bandung, sure we will not miss the chance to shop since there are numerous factory outlets for us to choose. These area are Dago, Riau, Setiabudi, Cihampelas, to name a few. However, we did not buy much, but still brought home some of our favourites.

Overall, we enjoyed the trip. Indeed, mum was very satisfied. Hopefully to come back again.

~ June in the Netherlands ~

Recently, i had the chance to go to the Netherlands for a week of International Student Congress of Medical Sciences (ISCOMS) and a two-week of ISCOMS Research Fellowship  (IRF) in the University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG).                                  

                                                         ISCOMS Presentation
                                                 

      

               Nienoord Castle & Martini Tower in Groningen

                                                                                                                                                               

IRF Programme in Department of Pathology & Medical Biology, UMCG

~ IRF Participants 2010 ~

It was such a memorable trip for me to make new friends from all around the world and an opportunity to present my work to the world in addition to have a taste of doing research in UMCG. Overall, it was truly a fruitful trip and i will come back again to the Netherlands with my loved ones to explore more of the country.

~ Last but not least, I am truly grateful for the guidance of my IRF Coordinators ~

In addition, i had a chance to visit Amsterdam, Volendam and Schiermonnikoog Island. Below are some of the pictures taken during my trips.

Souvenirs