Remember my cloning dilemma story? Well, it slowly turned into a nightmare. 

I made my way back to campus to continue working on my research. It takes time to readjust to everything I left behind for two weeks, hoping that this time, things would finally fall into place after all my previous cloning attempts.

Coincidentally, the research supplies I had been ordering — new ligation kit, primers for colony PCR, and a few other essentials, had finally arrived from the supplier.

Everything was ready. 
The materials were there.
The experiment was waiting.

So, I decided to give my ligation mixture another shot, this time using  the Quick Ligase from NEB. Everything seemed great. It was quick, just like it was named for — Quick Ligase. It saved me a lot of time, and for once, I thought maybe this cloning experiment was finally going to give me some hope...

The ligation was ready.
The samples were ready.
I was ready. 

When I was about to move on to electroporation, I switched on the electroporator… 

And then — ERR. ERROR. No beep. No warning. 

At that point, I was hoping it was just a minor technical issue. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.

Yup. The electroporator decided that my cloning experiment was the perfect time to have a problem. And just like that, my supposedly “quick” ligation experiment came to a very un-quick halt.

So, I did what any researcher would do when things suddenly go wrong. Apparently, one of the most important skills in research is learning how to search for answers at 2 am.

1) I went down the rabbit hole of Google and ResearchGate
I tried to find out whether other researchers had experienced the same problem — and to convince myself that someone, somewhere, had already suffered through exactly the same thing.

2) Repaired by my own
What was I thinking? I'm not an engineer or a technician.

3) I contacted the supplier
I reported that faulty electroporator error and asked for their advice.

4) I reported (cried) everything to my supervisor

I started thinking, maybe I should just start all over again using the conventional heat-shock method. Back to basics. No electroporation. No fancy troubleshooting. Just my competent cells, my quick ligation mixture, and a little bit of hope.

But guess what?

The refrigerated centrifuge was at faulty too.

One instrument broke down, then another. Every time I thought I had found an alternative route, something else decided to stand in my way. 

It may not be going according to plan. Instead, I somehow ended up sending away that faulty electroporator for a diagnostic repair and it definitely took longer than I expected.

But hey, better late than never.

Let’s continue our HaiNow Part II, beginning with…

Well… when I say “we”, phew… I wasn’t travelling solo anymore. Somewhere between the long 6-hour flight, China immigration and figuring out where I supposed to go next, I stumbled upon Rehasri, a fellow postgraduate student from INFORMM, USM.

Yes — a Malaysian whom I had actually met in the KLIA departure hall before heading to Pudong… but I didn’t even have the courage to say hello 😅

Looking back, it was comforting to find another Malaysian stranger in China. Both of us were trying to navigate an unfamiliar Shanghai Pudong International Airport while heavily relied on the WeChat group organised by our host institution for directions and updates. 

Not long after, we were greeted by our PIC. I get to know Rehasri in the middle of our conversation while waiting for the arrival of other participants from the Philliphines.

Rehasri was a final-year PhD student already preparing for her upcoming viva voce, with her research focusing on cervical cancer under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr Venugopal Balakrishnan. What made this connection even more fascinating was our supervisors were both serving on the Malaysian biosafety committee. 

What a small world… I guess.

After the Filipinos arrived, me and Rehasri were taken to our assigned room in the middle of Shanghai Jiao Tong University city campus. 

Oh… the breezy air as winter slowly transitioned to spring by the end of March. Shanghai was much colder than I had expected — the chilly weather instantly made me feel passive (sluggish)... As Malaysian I couldn't say more.

I RISE WITH THE SUN 🌞 

I reached my phone, refreshing the weather updates. Oh, it was around 10°C. OK... I was ready with layer of jackets throughout my stay in Shanghai. 

When I was about to check my Gmail, that was when it hit me... 

My Gmail won't simply load.

Well... Welcome to China, where Google services won't work without VPN.

And guess what?

I didn't get a VPN before coming here... ugh. 

Later, Rehasri asked if I wanted to go out and explored the Shanghai city with the Vietnamese and another Malaysian postgraduate from INFORMM, USM as well. 

That was when I knew we actually had Hugo in our Malaysian group. 

Amid jetlag, I politely declined the offer. Instead, I decided to take a nap and well-rested for the next day activities. 

Oh, and at 12 am on 17 March 2026, I celebrated my birthday in Shanghai...

A simple birthday, but definitely the one I will remember. 

I paused a moment when a single notification popped out from Nabila Ramiza, my Indonesian good friend whom I met in China. 

 “Ting! Nabila Ramiza liked your post story” 

You know that feeling when it’s about a time you suddenly find yourself wandering down a memory lane? 

A day before my birthday, 17 March 2026 is my birthday. I supposed to fly to China from Shanghai Pudong International Airport for an academic exchange programme hosted by Hainan International Medical Center (HMIC). This time as an independent postgraduate student travelling without my supervisor, Dr Wee.

My flight was scheduled at 7.05 am from KLIA. Before my departure time, I was accompanied by my Dad. Together we both looked up a place to get our suhur (سحور). Yes, it was my first-ever solo travelling during Ramadhan… and I was genuinely excited.

Everything seemed to fall perfectly in place that early morning — the peaceful drive before dawn, the little talks with Dad, sharing suhur together, and got to experience the rukhsah of fasting in Shanghai before my arrival to Haikou. All felt surreal in one-combo — nervousness, excitement, and gratitude.

That early morning, I boarded with China Eastern Airlines. My honest expectation was simple. I would probably be seated between the Chinese passengers. So, I quietly kept to myself, minding my own business because starting conversations with strangers has never really been my strongest skill especially in Mandarin.

But life had a different plan.

To my surprise, I found myself sitting next to a friendly, gentleman Malaysian Chinese uncle. He smiled politely and started asking me the typical travel questions.

“U mau pergi mana?”

“U daripada mana?”

"U tinggal mana?"

“U puasa?”

The conversation flowed much more naturally. As a Malaysian, I should have expected this — our Malaysian Chinese uncles are known for their warm and friendly attitudes  — the type of uncles who can easily strike up a conversation with almost anyone, even a complete stranger sitting next to them on a flight 😉

He shared that he was from Puchong, and on his way to Japan, with a transit in Shanghai before heading to Tokyo. His daughter had recently completed a Japanese preparatory programme and was about to begin her Chemical Engineering studies in Kyoto. He was making a visit to help her settle down and move into her new place.

To clear things up, I showed him an offer letter I was carrying in my bag. Seeing the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, he looked at me and asked,

“Doctor?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“No… not yet. I’m just a PhD student.”

For a moment, I think he gave me a little more credit than I actually deserved. After that, the cabin grew quiet again. We both settled back into our seats, enjoying the peaceful flight in our own way. 

Oh, I caught a glance of him, setting up games on his phone to play something similar to Candy Crush — Yes, very typical Asian Dad 😏

As for me?

Well… I’m the type of traveller who treats every flight like an opportunity to catch up on sleep.

So yes, I spent through a good portion of the 6-hour flight... sleeping.

And now, my Part I ended here without the full story how I met Nabila Ramiza in China. Stay tuned. More stories are coming.

Recently, I found myself reading Dr. Tan's writings on his juggling lab life, and I have to admit...

"I was impressed!"

There was something about the way he shared his thoughts, his journey, and his experiences that caught my attention. Yes, I rarely get impressed by people, but this time he humbled me down the earth.

Oh, we met at UTM, Johor Bharu. It was an unexpected encounter because he was one of my evaluators during my first-ever participation in an innovation exhibition and competition. 

And I still remember how humble he was while evaluating my work on molecular experiments — especially when discussing biosafety and ethical considerations. My first impression of him... he looked like a very senior researcher — reserved and serious together with the other two evaluators from UTM and UMPSA.

"Alamak habis la...taknak, taknak, taknak"

And I delivered my presentation nervously... knowing that my project was still at an early stage. I didn't have any fancy prototype, or tangible outcome to showcase yet. All I had were carbon steel corrosion demo in vials — something that probably looked ordinary and, BORING.

But what stayed with me was how Dr. Tan approached my project. He didn't judge it simply based on what was physically in front of him. Instead, he looked deeper into the science, asked meaningful questions, and gave attention to the thought process behind the work I done. I actually forgot the exact details he commented. But it mostly on the CRISPR editing methods and how long my primers were designed. Hmm…

After the evaluation session, I asked him for a photograph, which I wanted to share under Dr. Wee’s biosafety committee network.

So yes, that moment of inspiration stayed with me. And honestly, I'll keep growing and carry the same passion that I saw in Dr. Tan’s.