Bungee Jumping at Middlesbrough

I think it took us about an hour to reach Middlesbrough from Newcastle by train. We stayed at Ibis hotel there which was a simple and clean hotel.

Initially, we wanted to go our for dinner, but due to bad weather conditions and extreme laziness, we had our meals indoors.

From Cheese & Garlic Dough Balls, Lasagne, Chicken Satay Noodles, Butternut Squash & Lentil Stew to Vegetarian curry with Naan bread. I would say that the food was not bad at all and reasonably priced.

Day of the Jump

We headed off quite early to get to the Transporter Bridge. Got loss on the way as well, but thanks to owners of Blackberry and iPhone, we managed to get there on time.

I started getting a bit nervous when I saw the actual bridge and how tall it was. Thought of why did I spend 60 pounds on jumping off a bridge came to my mind. It's like paying to torture myself with fear.

M and I registered and we were allowed to climb up at the same time. Initially we were placed at different time slots but in the end, at least we had each other for comfort prior to the jump. We were weighed to determine which rope to use while we were up there. I didn't really like it as they used a permanent market to write the weight on the back of my hand, so I'm reminded that I've gained every time I looked at my hand.

Wearing the harness. It was tied so tight around my waist that I thought I would have difficulty breathing later on.

Last picture of us before we started our ascend. Just look at the height of the bridge. My nervousness got worse that that time.

It was scary at first when we started climbing the stair, but by halfway, M and I got so tired that we stopped getting nervous and just wanted to reach the top as soon as possible. (I didn't pay for this × 1). I think they should install a lift or something. I'm just being lazy here.

Finally, the top. We were weighed again, confirmed by the additional of a circle around the marked weight on my hand. Harnesses checked. Another ankle harness fastened right before being sitted on a small stool at the start of the jumping platform. M and I were too busy trying to decide who jumps first by scissors, paper, rock. In the end, I went first.

Had 2 latches fastened, one to my waist, and another to my ankle. The jump master tried giving me reassurance at that point, asking me how was I feeling. I think my mind just went into denial mode as I wasn't that scared.......yet. I wobbled to the edge of the platform.....tried to steal a peek down....ok, now I am really scared.

'Look into the distance. Focus on one point. Have you dived before?'

'Yes.'

'It's the same as diving. You go forward as if you're going towards that point, ok?'

'Keep your chin up at all times. Don't worry. You're in safe hands'

'I'm going to count 3,2,1 and you'll jump'

'Wait, don't count yet, I'm not ready', but he didn't listen to me.......'S***', I thought to myself.

'3!'

.

.

.

.

'2!'

.

.

.

.

.

.'1!'

Here goes nothing!

With the loud sound of wind blowing against my ears, the whole world spinning. I couldn't even tell if I was still falling or was I already bouncing back up. Now I know what's the feeling of free fall, the feeling of being pulled by gravity. Being one of the balls thrown off the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (Sorry, that was just one of the memory of the experiment I studied in secondary school)

I was bracing myself for the impact when I reached the lowest point, but surprisingly, I didn't feel anything at all! Weird.

After bouncing up and down a few more times, my world stopped spinning. It was over within seconds. Not long enough for me to even feel any fear. I think I was more confused trying to figure out my bearings than worried about the rope or risk of retina detachment etc.

The irony is, I was more afraid of dropping into the water as I could feel my ankle harness slipping and why is the speed boat so slow in fetching me. I don't want to get wet! ( I didn't pay for this × 2)

Finally, after a few attempts, I managed to catch hold of the plastic stick that he held out to me. They lowered me down safely into the small speed boat and brought me back to safe land.

I had to climb from the small speed boat onto this bigger boat. The steps were so steep and ( I didn't pay for this × 3). It was more difficult than jumping off the edge just now.

After that, I had to climb up the steep ladders which was so far away from the ship. I seriously didn't want to get wet that day. ( I didn't pay for this × 4)

As I got onto solid ground safely, it was M's turn to jump. She was given this Bungee jump voucher for her birthday present last year and only used it after almost a year. I was somehow convince/dragged into jumping with her. You jump, I jump....too bad neither of us is a guy.

M's jump. She told me that she was trying to recite a poem while she was jumping. What a random thing to do. Maybe try proposing to your loved one on the way down, but practice to do that under 3 seconds first or the jump will be wasted. Hahahahaha.

The heroines of the day.

I finally did something outrageous before I turn 25. I was telling myself I better do this while I'm still young. But hey, I think 50 is still young nowadays.

We both bought the T-shirt, DVD and photo of the jump as souvenirs.

The jumpers and their spectators aka video and camera persons.

We made our way back to the town but all the shops were closed on Easter Sunday! Noooo.....not the best time to go sight-seeing.

The town hall.

Groupie

Luckily Walkabout, an Australian pub was opened for business. I was starving after all that adrenaline.

M and I had Kangaroo curry as it was buy one curry and get the next for 1 pound. So cheap. The texture was a bit like beef but after being cooked with the curry, I couldn't really taste it. While waiting for our food to come, we played Cho Dai Di and the loser had to eat an Easter egg as nobody liked the Cadbury creme eggs.

We then shifted to another restaurant as the rest of the group wanted something different. It was also my sifu's day of breaking her no meat fast for Lent. We ended up in Barnacles Fish and Chips.

From jacket potatoe to fish and chips. I wouldn't say that this is the best fish and chips as the fish was soaking in oil and you can see the oil dripping. Not the healthiest meal. Luckily I had my Kangaroo curry before this.

As no shops were opened, and we had to kill another 3.5 hours, we went back to Walkabout for desserts.

I loved the toffee pudding and chocolate cake. Both came with vanilla ice-cream but I asked it to be separated as I was allergic to vanilla. I miss the toffee pudding now. It was served warm and the texture was so soft, the taste was just nice, not too sweet or bitter, accompanied by the delicious toffee smell.

Last photo of Walkabout before we headed back to the train station and go our separate ways.

Next up, Birthday dinner at Italian Club Fish, Liverpool. Hope that you've enjoyed this post as much as I did blogging about my bungee experience. Go try it before you're too old. Hahahaa.

Easter trip to Newcastle Day 2

Day 2, we traveled around by Metro which was only 3.90 pounds for the whole day. First stop was to Wallsend station to visit part of Hadrian's wall.

On our way - Our hostel reception recommended that we visit Segedunum to see part of Hadrian's wall and its museum. Initially we wanted to visit the actual wall but it was 2 hours away by bus and due to bad weather conditions, we decided to just go to the nearby museum. We happily made our way 6 metro stops away without asking for directions beforehand and without a map to this place. Initially we didn't even know what was the name of the museum. Very shocking. But in the end, thanks to the owner of a Blackberry and another with an iPhone, we were not as lost anymore.

Segedunum - Roman fort, baths and museum:

Segedunum fort was built to defend the far east side of Hadrian's wall almost 2000 years ago. The walls are 84 miles long but today, only parts of the wall remain.

What I can say about this place is, after visiting the actual Roman bath in Bath not long ago, this place was not as interesting as it was only a replica. However, we did find something interesting inside the bath house.

The bath house - Romans gather in the center hall to meet and change, some do exercise like weight lifting, food are sold by traders, others play board games. Very weird combination of activities if you ask me. Then, they will go into the hot and cold rooms for their baths.  In the cold room, there was a cute picture of a cupid riding a dolphin. Not sure what's the significance of it.

Ancient Communal Roman Toilet. No privacy at all! That's not actually how you use it, we're just answering nature's call the Malaysian way. The Romans sit on it and if you see the drain on the ground, that's supposed to have running water and they clean their bottoms with a sponge tied to stick washed in that water channel. How hygienic is it, I don't want to know.

Only the foundations of the Roman fort left after all these years

We climbed up the viewing tower to have a clearer view of the whole fort as it was raining.

A few steps away from the fort was part of Hadrian's wall built in AD 125-30. It is the most strongly defended frontier during the Roman Empire.

Groupie on the wall

The 10 seconds of sunshine that we got while waiting for our Metro to The Coast

Arrived at Whitley Bay. I saw this really cute telephone booth trying to disguise itself as a post office.

 

We walked along the beaches on The Coast but too bad, the weather was not a warm as I would like it to.

Lunch time

Initially, we wanted to eat at a Fish and Chips place next door, but decided to try out this pub instead as it was advertised 24 different scones at the door. Well, we were cheated as there were only 7 flavours left and we were restricted to ordering a scone and a pot of tea/coffee for 3 pounds. Price remained the same even for just the scone. Don't know why some places are so restrictive.

Our main meals of vegetarian pasta and fish and chips. Yummy. I really liked the mushy peas that came with my fish and chips, but the best fish and chips which I've tasted is still at Conwy castle. Must go back for more! One thing that I found excessive was the 4 slices of toast spread with butter that came with my fish and chips. There was already enough carbohydrate from all that chips and fried batter.

We were all smiles when our food came and when we left.

Back to Newcastle

Monument of Newcastle

Last picture of the beautiful Newcastle before we made our way to the train station to catch our train to Middlesbrough.

Bungee jump in my next post. Keep reading!

Easter trip to Newcastle Day 1

For the Easter long weekend, M and I have been planning for weeks to surprise another 4 Londoners with my participation of this trip and also for the jump on Easter Sunday. Our plan went smoothly. I traveled on my own from Liverpool to Newcastle station. Arrived 2.5 hours before the London group arrived as the ticket price was the cheapest at that time. Don't ask me what time I had to get up that morning.

Newcastle was freezing when I arrived. I sought refuge at Pumpkins. Had a cup of hot chocolate trying to keep warm and read a magazine while waiting. Plan was going well. Suddenly around 11am, 1 more hour before the London group arrived, I got a message from M. 'They found out that you're coming. PL told H about it'. Noooooooooooo! PL why???? I was so tempted to take the next train back to Liverpool at that moment. Just joking. At least the secret was safe till the actual day of surprise. Haih...... P.s. PL, to get my forgiveness, you have to come to Liverpool for afternoon tea. Hahahahaha.

We checked-into Albatross Hostel which was only 5 minutes walk from the train station. I really liked this hostel. Really clean and free tea, coffee and toast round the clock.

Enjoying our mugs of tea and coffee before heading out to explore.

There's the heritage trail to follow but I think we followed the wind direction and trusted our hearts more.

The black gate and Castle Keep - where the name Newcastle originated from.

Side of Castle Keep

On the stairs up Castle Keep

We continued our journey to see the beautiful bridges of Newcastle and to stroll along River Tyne

On High Level Bridge - it was very busy and there were 2 lanes for vehicles and pedestrian path on each sides.

View of Newcastle from High Level Bridge

Tyne bridge and Swing bridge

High Level Bridge from below

I liked how the new buildings blend in so nicely with the old buildings

Birds making the underneath of Tyne bridge their homes

Tyne Bridge

It was a really nice stroll along Tyne river. The sky was a bit gloomy but luckily it only drizzled a tiny bit.

On Millennium Bridge

Groupie

Walking towards Baltic Art Centre

We went up to the highest floor of Baltic Art Centre to enjoy the view of Newcastle. There were some really comfortable sofas there and we almost didn't want to leave.

Afternoon tea at Baltic cafe on the ground floor. My first taste of scones in the UK.

After a tiring afternoon outdoors, we decided to make our way to The Gate for a movie and dinner.

We ended up buying tickets for Clash of the Titans for 8.20pm. It's an action movie. I wouldn't say it's recommended. Badly written storyline. The princess only appeared for the sake of getting someone to be a sacrifice and I think her total screen time was less than 15 minutes.

Buffet Dinner at Gecko:

The food there was really good. Much better than the buffet places in Liverpool. You can see that they have proper sushi there. Had ice-cream with fruits and crepes for dessert. I should restrict myself from further buffets as it does me no good.

Newcastle Day 2 next. Will do 2 cases first before I continue. Hopefully will be up tonight.

In newcastle

Here I am in my really nice hostel, using my phone to blog using the free wifi. Initially, I wanted to surprise another 4 Londoners as M and I have been hiding my involment on this adventurous trip since months ago, but thanks to a certain someone, the secret was out an hour before I met their group and I missed the opportunity of seeing their shocked expressions. Oh well, at least we've kept the secret for this long. I will be blogging more with pictures when I'm back. Have a great Easter holiday!

SPA interview in Manchester

SPA interview this morning started at 9am, so, take note of that. It does say that we're supposed to register at 8am but the officer only appeared at 8.30 and the interviewer at 9am. The same scenario happened in London.

Basically, it would be encouraged to answer all the questions in Bahasa Malaysia, but somehow, I just gave up and switched back to English. Hahaha. Started off with simple enough questions like tell me about your background, your clinical experienced etc. Most of the questions were based on your CV so make sure you're prepared to be quizzed about it. The interviewer herself is a really pleasant lady. She just makes you feel so comfortable, maybe a bit too comfortable that I sometimes forgot that I wasn't supposed to portray that side of me. Hopefully that doesn't jeopardize anything.

The only 4 technical questions which I was asked were:
1. What department issues your IC?
2. What other documents can that department issue?
3. What department issues your passport
4. What is the difference between MMA and MMC

The questions may be different each time. So, don't just prepare those 4. The answers are simple enough. JPA, birth and death certs, Immigration department, and the last one is like asking what's the difference between BMA and GMC. I'm sure you all can answer that if you're studying in the UK.

My friend who went first didn't get these questions. Maybe that's leniency given to the first candidate. Other things which they would like to find out is whether you're willing to work in the other part of Malaysia as to where you're from. For example, Semenanjung people will be asked about their view about working in Sabah and Sarawak and vice versa. I just somehow got the impression that many people don't treat Sabah and Sarawak as part of Malaysia which is something we really must change. We are a country and yet people are still having bad perceptions of one another. I am really glad that I've spent my time in both parts of Malaysia and that I will be able to adapt quite well no matter where I go in the future. Therefore, traveling should be further encouraged as it widens our mindset and cures misconceptions. That's my excuse for traveling so much. Sorry, I'm going out of the point here but you know what I mean. Hehehe.

I was also provided with a small handbook on career development for house officers in the Ministry of Health and it provides an overview of our pay, allowances that we can get and available hospital placements in Malaysia. Very handy.

One piece of information which I was asked to spread is, any private Malaysian students doing Medicine, Dentistry or Pharmacy who are interested in applying for a job in Malaysia are most welcomed to turn up on this coming Saturday for drop in interview at Thistle Hotel, Great Portland Street, Manchester. It's just opposite Piccadilly Circus.

I'm so relieved that this is over. While waiting for PL to get ready, SY and I went to Ho's Bakery in Chinatown  to get some breakfast.

How I miss the Chinese cakes. I had egg tart and Bubble Tea. Yummy.

Lunch:

Dim Sum at Pacific Restaurant again. Food is still as delicious. Regretted that I ate so much just before lunch. Met up with junior HL as well.

The continuation of PL's shopping spree:

This time, it is in her home ground, Arndale Shopping Centre. I found out why was the toilet voted as the best public toilet in the UK too. Very spacious, well equipped and clean.

There were some promotion going on for Manchester community college. This booth showcased Virtual Styling where we got to pick a fashion for the mannequin and dress it. That was the result of our combined effort. We were given goody bags from Vero Moda after.

 What I had in my goody bag.

The person accompanying Miss Shopaholic into the dressing room and was still given a tag so that she doesn't feel too out of place.

Back to the Pool - Dinner:

This is PL's fault for suggesting bagels for dinner. Now, I'm addicted to it. This is my version of the salmon bagel. I grilled the salmon, toasted the bagel, spread some soft cheese and added some spinach. The bagel was crispy on the outside and the fillings complimented each other really well. I feel like having another one now.

This coming weekend is going to be such a fun filled weekend. Surprises and excitements to look forward to. Adios till then.

Origami Pig-Rabbit inspired from You're Beautiful Korean Drama

I haven't been folding origami in a really long time and this project was a challenge from a friend of mine who sent me the pdf instructions over msn.

For those of you who have watched the Korean Drama You're Beautiful, you will be familiar with this cute Pig-Rabbit soft toy. For those who's thinking of killing some time over the Easter holidays, start watching this drama. Hahaha.

Hwang Tae Kyung after the operation of creating Pig-Rabbit.

I managed to find the original link to the creator of this cute origami here.

I would say that this is one of the most challenging origami that I've attempted so far and the results are not bad at all.

Isn't it cute?