HaiNow Part I: Exchange Programme to Shanghai Jiao Tong University

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 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.