My mother-in-law wanted to buy some stuff and I took them to the place I knew had the best choice, the Central Market (also known as the Siti Kadhijah market). Most of the traders are still women, most of them wearing a lot of gold. It is no surprise as the Ketantanese women are known to be very enterprising. In fact the region was once ruled by a Queen (one and only in Malaysia) called Cik Siti Wan Kembang (
Anyway, we were able to get some great bargains on batik stuff - shirts, kaftans, baju kurung (much, much cheaper than in KL).
Will post up pics later.
I also paid a long overdue visit to the dentist at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kubang Kerian, where my dad works. He had already fixed an appointment for me and my wife. It's always nice to have links at the right places.
A visit to the dentist is always scary and this was no exception, more so as I needed minor surgery to remove 2 misaligned Wisdom teeth. My condition was a bit serious, as the teeth were partially horizontal and entrapped within the gums – a condition termed "impacted."
The doctor decided that it would be better if I removed one tooth at a time. We decided on the one on the right side, which looked more serious on the X-ray as it was pushing into the neighbouring teeth. To remove it required an incision into the gums and then removal of the portion of jaw bone that lies over the tooth.
The entire process started with injections to the gums to desensitize the entire right jaw. The tooth was extracted in small sections but I couldn’t see anything as my eyes were covered all the time but I could still hear the drill and what ever stuff he was using to cut the teeth (going wirrrrrr) and pulling. The doctor was quite skilled as I didn’t feel much pain. I was quite relived when it was finally over. It took around 15 minutes but seemed like an hour. The doctor stitched up the wound and then gave me some cotton to bite on. I was given paracetamol, a medicine for swelling and a mouthwash.
The left side was numb for quite some time but not for long as the pain came back in waves. The paracetamol helped. The first day, I didn’t take the swelling medicine. Big mistake. I woke up the next day looking as if I had stuffed an entire Big Mac on the right side of my face. I still have some swelling now but its much beter and I can feel the hollow portion where my tooth used to be with my toungue.
My wife also had her teeth checked and 2 fillings done. She was unhappy that the fillings were not white but grey (amalgam) coloured.
Anyway, the great part is that we saved several hundred ringitt. A procedure like mine that would cost about RM1000 at a private clinic in KL.
I will be going back again for the next one on the 6th of next month. Ouch.