Finding Doctors in KL

I just spent the afternoon in the hospital, having an outpatient procedure done.  I had a wonderful doctor and a very good experience at Gleneagles Hospital here in KL.  I say that because I know one of my least favorite things about moving to a new town is having to find new doctors.  And in a whole new country?  Forget about it!  But don't worry.  There are plenty of wonderful doctors here.  I have lived here about 1 1/2 years, and I recently realized just how many doctors I have seen in my time here. In this blog post I will be recommending a general physician, dentist, orthodontist, dermatologist, gynecologist, orthopedist, and even a plastic surgeon!  (Austin had his nose stitched up.  No, I am not suddenly looking 'well-rested' these days.)  But before I get to the names, there are a few things to know:

1.  If you are going to the emergency room, or going to be checked into a hospital, bring your (or the patient's) passport.  

2.  You will need to pay your bill in full before you leave the office.  And some offices only take cash!  Now we have medical insurance, but unlike in the US, we have to pay bill and then file a claim to be reimbursed.  (A process almost as fun as filing taxes.)

3.  Privacy?  What privacy?  When I walked into my doctor's office this morning, the receptionist took my blood pressure and weighed me, right in the waiting room. 

4.  One nice thing is that if you need a prescription, you will walk out of doctor's office with the prescription.  Of course this means the above-mentioned receptionist will explain how to use the medication.  In the waiting room.  I had to hear all about the poor-guy-in-front-of-me's rash. 

Now on to the doctors!  The doctors I am about to list are ones that I or someone in my family (usually Austin) has actually used.  Except the pediatrician.

GENERAL OR FAMILY PHYSICIAN: 

Dr. Malkit Singh

Klinik Segara, Lot 306

The Intermark, Jalan Tun Razak

03 2163 2140

This clinic is in a mall.  Which is usually not a problem unless you go to the office during Chinese New Year and you have a severe sinus infection with a throbbing headache and they are performing the lion dance in the mall very loudly.  True story, but all kidding aside, Dr. Malkit is wonderful.  This clinic does not take appointments.  You sit and wait, but they are pretty efficient and I have never had to wait too long.  Go in the main entrance by Dome Cafe, and go up the escalators to the third floor.

DENTIST:

Yee Dental Surgery

Bangsar Shopping Center

03 2095 1102

For more information, click here.

My family has used Dr. Tiam Jo Ee and have been pleased with him.  Several of my friends use this dental office.

ORTHODONTIST:

Dr. Mohd Shafeeq Hasan

Shafeeq Orthodontic Practice

Gleneagles Medical Centre

03 4256 5775

We have actually been to two orthodontists.  The first one tried to tell me Savannah needed extensive and expensive work to fix two misaligned teeth.  Dr. Shafeeq very patiently took the time to explain to Savannah and me that all she needed was a special retainer.  He is used by many kids at school and we have been happy with our limited dealings with him.

DERMATOLOGIST:
Dr. Gan Ain Tian
Gleneagles Medical Centre
03 4257 2690
Dr. Gan was recommended to me by a friend who has used him for various issues.  She has been very pleased with him.  Dr. Gan also has a laser clinic here and does some face rejuvenation.  I have used him to remove a few spots, which he did with the laser.  I have another appointment next week (although not for face rejuvenation), and so far, so good.

GYNECOLOGIST:
Dato' Dr. Alex Mathews
Gleneagles Medical Centre
03 4252 0424
Dr. Alex is a Dato, which is an honorary title here in Malaysia.  Let me just say, he is wonderful!  Kind and reassuring.  Just what you want in a gynecologist.

ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON:
Dr. Low Tze Choong
KLMSC- Kuala Lumpur Sports Medicine Centre
Dr. Low was highly recommended to me when Austin broke his ankle playing rugby.  I heard of him from Dr. Malkit, other moms, and Austin's school.  The sports medicine centre (that is not typo, but it is how they spell 'center' here.  I hope we all remember how to spell correctly when we move back to the US) is a one-stop place where they can take care of all your sport injury needs.  And where Austin would usually see a friend or two.

PLASTIC SURGEON:

Dr. Benjamin George, Jr.
George Plastic Surgery
Dr. Benjamin Jr. was the plastic surgeon on call at Gleneagles emergency room when Austin's nose landed on a cleat in rugby practice.  Austin's nostril was sliced clear through and needed to be stitched up in the operating room.  (Sorry for the details.) (I have four children and Austin has had way more injuries than all his siblings put together!)  Anyways, I found Dr. Benjamin delightful and to Austin's great disappointment, he has no scar on his nose.  That may not be a whole lot to recommend a plastic surgeon, but don't fear if you end up at the emergency room and get Dr. Benjamin!  
(the font and color changed on me.  I tried changing it back with no luck.)

PEDIATRICIAN:
http://kiarachildspecialist.blogspot.my/
My kid are too old for a pediatrician, but this clinic was recommended to me by my friend, Krystal.

I hope with helps ease some of your concerns about finding good doctors in KL!  I will update this list as I encounter new doctors.  But hopefully, not too many more!

Viator Trip to see Selangor Fireflies

I spend a lot of time travel planning.  I have a few favorite websites.  The main one I use for flights is  Hipmunk.  You put it where you want to go and when, and the site finds flights for you, based not only on price but also on agony factor.  Very handy.  For hotels and attractions, I love TripAdvisor.  Once I have a flight and hotel, then comes Viator.  Viator is a great source for tours and tour guides.  I use it a lot when I travel to other countries, so I thought, "Hey, why not use Viator for here in Kuala Lumpur?"  That is how I found the Fireflies Tour.

In Malaysia, fireflies are a thing.  Along the banks of creeks and river, in the mangrove trees, whole colonies of fireflies live and flicker, looking like a Christmas tree.  I had actually been wanting to see that, since I first read about them in the book, Gift of Rain.

So off we went, to Kuala Selangor. It took about 1 1/2 hours from KL in afternoon traffic, but less than an hour to return.  Once we arrived, our tour began at Bukit Melawati, or Melawati Hill.  People love to see the Macau and Silverleaf monkeys.  I have seen plenty of Macau monkeys and did not get pictures of them, but this is my first time to see the Silverleaf.

The views from the top of the hill are pretty amazing.  All the way to the Malacca Straits.  This area was also the location of a fort in the 18th century, to protect the area from the Dutch.  Hence the cannon.  (Me, Krystal, Brenda, and Allison)

The lighthouse

Lots of people come to see the monkeys in the area.  You can also feed them, but you need to be careful.

Babies are always cute.  This made me glad I dragged my big camera along.

This man was selling food for the monkeys.  Green beans are popular.

Allison was kind enough to pose at the beheading stone.  Legend says that this is where traitors were beheaded.

After the hill, we had a seafood dinner at a riverside restaurant.  The setting sun was too strong for good pictures.  But I have eaten at another restaurant just down the road, as seen in this older blog post.

We left the restaurant at  7:15 and drove over to the nearby jetty, for the firefly boat ride.  You can only see the fireflies after dark, naturally.  Leaving at 7:15 would allow us to be some of the first customers of the evening.  

The best way to see the fireflies is by rowboat.  It allows one to get closer.

Waiting for darkness

Still waiting...

Krystal and Allison

Almost dark enough!

But first we must put on our lovely life jackets.

This is why we came.  To get pictures of the spectacular and magical firefly display....  But flash is not allowed and fireflies did not show up.  All I can say, is book your own tour and see the fireflies for yourself!  It was enchanting!

I did search for images of the Malaysian fireflies on the internet, and didn't have much luck.  It is a hard image to capture.  If you look closely at this picture, you can faintly see the trees with fireflies along the river.

Conclusion:  Our guide for this Viator tour was fine, but not great.  This tour on Viator is $67.50 a person.  The price included pick up from hotel or central location, transportation, dinner, and boat ride.  That might be fine for one or two people, but for a whole family, there are other options.  Check out this site if you want to drive yourself. Or if you want to hire a driver for a reasonable price, call Aziz.  +6016 316 2299.  He has a group of taxis and drivers.  He is very reliable and dependable.  I have used him for taxi rides and for a whole day.  He knows just where to take you to see fireflies.  And monkeys.  It was a fun outing out of the city!

Chinese New Year in China!

I almost forgot.  Did Austin's team win the gold medal at the rugby tournament in Manila??  They were in the championship game.  At the end of the game, the score was tied.  At the end of the first overtime period, the game was still tied.  At almost the end of the second overtime period, Manila scores and wins the gold medal.  But Austin's team gave it their all and we are very proud of them!

***

So, my whole family was sitting around the kitchen table, working.  I was working on a spring break trip to China.  I emailed my good friend, Julie, who lives in Beijing, and asked if her family would be in town for spring break.  Turns out their spring break is the same time as ours and they would not be home.  But, why don't we come for Chinese New Year, less than three weeks away?  My kids get a four day weekend for CNY. I looked at Joe and asked if he wanted to go to China for CNY and he said, why not?  So two hours later, we had plane tickets to Beijing!

Let's just say I did not think this through.  A couple of days later, Joe told me we all needed visas to go to China.  Oh, yeah.  Hence the whole Operation- Get Austin to Manila chronicled in my last blog post.  Then I checked the weather.  Two weeks before our trip, the high in Beijing was 3!!!  Not a typo.  3 degrees Fahrenheit.  Living in KL, I tend to forget that other Asian countries have cold winters.  I had to borrow lots of winter clothes.  And finally, air pollution problems in Beijing did not even cross my mind till the day before we left.

Let me explain Chinese New Year to those not familiar with the significance of it.  It is like Thanksgiving and Christmas combined, as far as wanting to be with family and travel.  They call it the "largest annual human migration in the world" as millions of people travel in China.  This is an actual picture of the Beijing airport around this time of year.  I did google 'traveling to Beijing on CNY' and found that the city itself can be quite uncrowded, so that is when I decided to go ahead and buy tickets.  But I still worried about the crowds at the airports.

We landed very early Friday morning after a 6-hour direct flight from KL.  I was pleased to see light crowds at both airports.

While the Turners were at work and school, we went to Tienanmen Square.  It was cooooooooold.  Fortunately, it was 30 and not 3, but still cold.

Tienanmen Square is across a very busy road from Forbidden City.  You walk in the tunnel to get there.

This was the coldest day.  I was wearing two pairs of socks, boots, a sweater, down vest, coat, gloves, headband, and neck thingie.  Savannah didn't believe me when I told her it would be very cold.  She was freezing the whole time.  But take a look at that sky!!

The Forbidden City is comprised of several sets of walls.  We went through lots of amazing red doors.

This picture is really of the blue sky, not us.

The Forbidden City is the largest ancient palatial structure in the world.  It housed 24 Chinese  emperors, from 1420 to 1912.  You could easily spend hours and hours here.  There is so much to see.

Just in case you find my delight in the blue sky obsessive, this is what it can look like in Beijing!!  I will be doing a separate blog post on air quality in Beijing.  A subject I can relate to better now that I live in KL!

Warming Savannah up as we wait for our car

After our sight-seeing, we ate a late lunch at Subway.  The sandwiches were about the same, but the chips were different.  Cucumber and Spicy Hot Pot flavors.  Hint:  Do not buy cucumber chips.

  

We are now at our friends' house.  Look what they have in their garage.  Their own tuk tuk!  I had ridden in a tuk tuk in Thailand, but I had no idea people owned them for personal use!  Mark is modeling the attached quilted mitts and lap blanket.  I was anxious to take it for a spin, but the key was, um, no where to be found.  But next visit for sure!

New Year decorations at the local mall

Let's just say the weather was cold enough to maintain the outdoor ice couch.

Ahhhhh.  A roaring fire and a cup of hot chocolate was the perfect way to end the day.  

The next day we headed off to the 'Dirt' market.  You heard me right.  Think of it as a very large flea market one can buy giant temple guard dogs

or a set of antique doors.  I love antique doors.  If I didn't already own two sets, I would have been sorely tempted to buy these!

I just had to throw in this picture of the parking lot!  It has three levels, but the cars get to the upper levels by a sort of car elevator.  Since the parking lot was almost empty, we didn't get to see it in action.

My big purchase at the dirt market?  An old moon cake mold.

These are moon cakes.  They are very popular during the Mid-Autumn Festival.  And no, I have no plans to actually make moon cakes.

A lot of the stalls and lots were empty, with people starting to celebrate the new year early.  But there was still so much to see!

After the Dirt market, we went to the Pearl market.  You heard me right, pearls!  Well, this place had several floors of products.  The very top floor had expensive jewelry.  Lots of pretties!  The floor beneath that was less expensive pearls and lots of other jewelry.  Other floors included clothing, purses, luggage.  The main floor was primarily electronics.  Here are Julie and I, testing out my new selfie stick.  We all had a good day of shopping.

Why am I showing you a picture of Mark and Julie's refrigerator??  Well, do you see the little white squares?  Those are Mandarin symbols!  Mark, Julie, and Hannah all speak Mandarin.  This is their second time in Beijing.  Mark actually went to language school in the US to learn Mandarin before his first assignment in Beijing with the State Department.  It is so impressive to hear this family speak Mandarin as we are out and about.

On New Year's Day, we went into Beijing, to a festival.  But first, we stopped for a Chinese lunch.  Real Peking Duck!  Our whole meal was outstanding.

There were lots of shops and food booths in this area.  Joe is looking forward to his egg tart, which is very similar to custard pie.

Savannah and I shared this strawberry skewer.  The strawberries are covered in a thin layer of caramelized sugar.  It was delicious!

It is now the Year of the Monkey.  There were monkeys everywhere!

And while we were walking around this market area, we just happened on this photo booth.  Well, I can't pass up a costume photo booth!!  I even roped the girls into posing with us!  :)

This was our 'traffic' as we headed back to Mark and Julie's house.  They were shocked at both the lack of traffic and the lack of smog.  Chinese New Year is a great time to visit Beijing!

Unless you want to eat.  When we got back to the neighborhood, every single restaurant was closed.

On our last morning, we spent some time in the flower market.  I have no idea what this is called, but it was beautiful!

We spent a beautiful 4 days in Beijing!  We had so much fun hanging out with the Turners.  I would recommend visiting Beijing at this time, as long as you realize that not everything is open.  But there is still so much to see and do!  Since this was the second CNY we have spent with the Turners, we are already talking plans about next year.  I propose they come to KL!  I won't have to borrow any winter clothes and we can lay out by the pool.  :)

Finally, Happy Valentine's Day.  Here are my most special valentines!