My sanctuary

I relaxed every muscle from top to toe.

Feeling more relaxed, I positioned myself at the very top of a flight of stairs.

I slowly descended the stairs, exhaling with every step I took.

I took my time, paying close attention to my breathing as I continued descending.

Soon, I approached a door. This door leads to my sanctuary - My secret escape.

I reached and turned the large door knob, a smile slowly formed.

As I opened the door, I could smell the salt in the air, the sound of waves greeted my ears.
I stepped into my sanctuary, the light sea breeze caressed my face, the soft sun warmed me.

I threw a few pebbles into the sea, each pebble represented my frustration, my stress, my anger, everything I wanted to get rid of.


When the last of my worries were discarded, I sat on my favourite spot.

I looked up and blue sky filled my vision. A sense of peace and calm washed over.

I feel recharged with new energy. It is time to go back.

I returned to the door, now ready to face any challenges.

But of course, my sanctuary will always be there for me.

A place where I can run to.
A place where I can escape.
A place where I feel at peace.
A place where I can return to.
As long as I need it, as long as I remember its existence.

Final lesson from CCT at Llandudno before we left this beautiful place - Self relaxation therapy

Christmas Dinner and last day of GP

Monday - Christmas Dinner

My housemates in Llandudno decided to throw a Christmas dinner before our rotation ended. I felt so lucky to have such nice housemates throughout my stay there.

Everyone were so busy in the kitchen by the time I got back from GP. My mouth was watering just from smelling the food from the moment I opened the door.

Pulling Christmas crackers, wearing the red paper crowns, enjoying the delicious meal with a good crowd. What more can I ask for.

From Yorkshire pudding, roast chicken, roasted carrots, potatoes and parsnips topped with gravy and bread sauce. Yummy! I was surprised that everything could disappeared from my plate except for the thicken bones of course.

There's always room for desserts. Yule log and banofee pie. A good end to the Christmas meal.

Wednesday - Last day of GP

I had mixed feelings at the end of this rotation. I know that I will definitely miss it cause not only it was relaxing, the people that I worked with over the last 7 weeks were really nice. Haih, but of course, nothing can make me more happy than having my holiday.

Initially, we wanted to go to the Liverpool Arms for fish and chip. But when we got there, they told us that they do not serve food for lunch.

Luckily L recommended another fish and chips restaurant in Conwy and it is the best fish and chips which I've tasted so far! They even have a selection for senior citizen. It is a really nice cozy restaurant. Too bad I can't remember its name but I do remember its location.
The best fish and chips. Don't let the pale look of the fries deceive you. It's crunchy on the outside and tasted really nice. The cod was really fresh and tasty too. Blogging about it now is making me hungry. I miss it so much but now it's so far away. I will return one day.

We walked along Conwy Quay. The sun was out, the seagulls poses for photos, the ships rocked gently to the waves. I was glad that it all ended on such a fine day.

My only regret was not able to buy mussels from Conwy Mussels as it only opened on certain hours on weekends when I wasn't back yet.

Last stroll around Conwy castle area. I'll remember the unique little shops along the cobbled stone streets confined within the stone walls.

Last photo before I waved goodbye.

Pizza hut happy hour

Pizza Hut on Thursday was better than expected. We went for the Happy Hour offer at lunch time which was only 4 pounds for starter, a pizza or pasta and a drink.

We somehow ended up with an extra portion of broccoli and cheese pasta as they got our order wrong. Felt like it was a buffet instead as we were so full after that.

I could feel the Christmas season in town that day. With Reindeer and Santas parading in town.

The Snowlady on skates

Two person on a Reindeer

I can't wait for Christmas holidays. It's going to be my last week at Llandudno!!! Looking forward to the Christmas dinner on Monday.

Hairstyle evolution of 2009

What do I do when I'm really bored? Change hairstyle. So you all can guess how many times I was seriously bored in 2009.

There was a time

There was a time, when I mustered up enough courage

To follow this path, not knowing where it will lead me.

I came across many signposts, some real, some merely mirages.

They tell me many things, but I was only naive.

The sky got darker, pebbles started to make walking difficult.

I stopped at this barren land, feeling hopeless and all alone.

I turned to every direction, only to see jagged stones.

But the footprints tell me, others have been here before me.

I looked into the distance, this little ray shone ever so bright.

As it catches my eye, I wondered how did I walk past without noticing it.

I looked at the pebbles, they seemed so small now.

I look ahead again, this time fully taking in the beauty.

Filled with renewed energy, I continued my journey.

Always reminding myself, never to lose sight of that ray of light.

Pictures taken at West Shore, Llandudno.

Weekend in London

I went down to London on Thursday initially planning to make my visa for Morocco on Friday, but unexpectedly, they were closed for Hari Raya Haji. It just occured to me how much it made sense that they celebrate their main festivals even overseas like how we still celebrate the festivals that are occuring in Malaysia.

Little Venice, just 3 minutes walk from Paddington Tube Station. It reminded me more of Amsterdam actually.

Feeling disappointed and sleepy, M cheered me up with Beard Papa's cream puffs. That did the trick. The bun was crunchy on the outside and filled with lots of cream inside which wasn't too sweet. Yummy.

We went along Oxford Road and visited a few computer shops as M was planning to get a new laptop. The best offer so far is from Sony. They give a rebate of 100 pounds if you trade in your old laptop.

As I kept on complaining that I was hungry, M took me to Cafe de Hong Kong to have lunch. The cream puff didn't last that long.

I would say that the portion was quite small for the price that we were paying. Service is the typical service you get at Chinese Restaurants where they just collect your plates without first asking if you were done. I liked the Bubble Tea and even bought a packet home myself to make my own. Haven't attempted it but I hope that it's nice.

Covent Garden Market - I loved this place. There were so many stalls selling so many unique little things and impressive live string quartet. It does give me the feel that Christmas is just around the corner.

Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop - M's favourite place in Convent Garden Market. I was suddenly brought back to my childhood. Loved those paper pop-up theatre and puppets. M seriously didn't want to leave her red dragon behind. She even went back to play with it. There were other street performers doing stunts which left the audience in awe.

The highlight of my trip - Chicago musical

M told me that we could get really good seats at student price depending on our luck, so, we went to Cambridge Theatre right after lunch. It was my first time watching a theatre in London and I was really excited. The seats that we got were stall seats, just 4 rows from the stage for just 28.25 pounds.

I would have to agree that it's the sexiest theatre in town. After getting past how sexy and fit the performers were (not to say that it's a liability), I was really impressed by the quality of singing, dancing, acting, and how the whole show kept me entertained throughout. There wasn't even a second when I felt bored. I really liked how the conductor of the band participated in parts of the act, how they depicted that Roxy Hart was mearly a puppet controlled by her lawyer whilst being interviewed by the reporters about her murder. I went home singing 'it's all....that....jazzzz'.

Being so nice and warm in the theatre, we didn't realise how cold the weather turned outside. My teeth were chattering all the way to Tomoko, a Korean restaurant where we had our dinner.

It was my first time trying Korean Tea and I liked the subtle taste and nice fragrant. The spicy rice cakes were named appropriately. They were spicy but I enjoyed it. M's spicy pork was not bad too. The thing I noticed about Korean food that we tried that day was that they were sweeter then most food I've tried and there were loads of onions.

Saturday:

M handed me over to my sifu, H, who was my weekend consultant for activities in London. As she has so many templates, she just fitted me into the Duck Rice at Four Seasons followed by desserts at Malaysian Students Department after.

The 3 classmates from college. M, my deskmate for 2 years and H, my sifu in makan but retired. We were supposed to meet up with A who came all the way down from Edinburgh, but he never appeared even after we've finished lunch till the moment they sent me to Bayswater tube station. Luckily he appeared later with proof of a phonecall and photos from H's blog, or else we'll call her scam!

At Four Seasons, we had boneless roast duck with char siew, and straw mushrooms with crab meat. Recommended. I had take-away sotong with fine beans from MSD as I had to make my way back to Liverpool by train that evening.

Thanks to M and H for making my weekend trip to London so memorable. Now to cultivate the motivation in me to complete my portfolio and face another exciting week of GP.

Cooking halibut

Finally, we managed to get to the smokery on West Builder street before they close for the day.

It was a really weird experience for me as I confidently stepped into the shop thinking that they might sell a species of fish which I knew but how wrong I was. Except for the cod and salmon, I couldn't recall any fish with those names.

We ended buying a piece of halibut fillet and a packet of smoked salmon for a really cheap price of 9.07 pounds.

The smoked salmon was half priced that day. Such a bargain.

Initially, the man who was serving us looked very bored, but after watching out antics, from asking him to recommend which type of fish to how to cook it, he was smiling all the way while I was paying him. Hahaha. I guess we brightened up his day. Too bad he didn't know how to prepare halibut.

Next, we stopped by Asda to get the ingredients to cook the fish and saying that, it was really funny as we haven't got a clue how to prepare it. A brilliant idea came to my mind, why don't we ask the person at the fresh fish counter?

'Which fish sauce do you recommend cause I'm planning to cook halibut tonight?', while casually pretending to choose one of the fish sauces arranged at the bottom of the fresh fish counter.

'No, you shouldn't prepare it with fish sauce. You should lightly fry it and top it with mashed peas........'

And so, we found out that he learned that recipe from watching Saturday Kitchen and had even tried the recipe himself. Hahahaha.....my ingenious plan worked all thanks to him.

The 3 enthusiastic cooks in the kitchen. D was the main chef and NI and I were the assistant chefs.

After 20 minutes.....

Tadah!!!!! Halibut topped with mashed peas, smoked salmon with boiled vegetables, mashed potatoe and fresh salad. Yummy!

I was trying to get a self shot with the amazing dish but D somehow was caught in the background. Oh well.

Halibut is seriously amazing. The fish on its own without any marination at all tasted so good. So, if any of you are interested in having seafood, halibut is a must try.

I think the picture says it all. The above was for photo taking purposes, and our actual meal was the one below. We even had rice with it. Hahahaha.

I'm now looking forward to our next cooking project. What will it be?