I read a note my grandma wrote back in nineteen twenty-three.
Grandpa kept it in his coat, and he showed it once to me. He said,
"Boy, you might not understand, but a long, long time ago,
Grandma's daddy didn't like me none, but I loved your Grandma so."
We had this crazy plan to meet and run away together.
Get married in the first town we came to, and live forever.
But nailed to the tree where we were supposed to meet, instead
Of her, I found this letter, and this is what it said:
If you get there before I do, don't give up on me.
I'll meet you when my chores are through;
I don't know how long I'll be.
But I'm not gonna let you down, darling wait and see.
And between now and then, till I see you again,
I'll be loving you. Love, me.
I read those words just hours before my Grandma passed away,
In the doorway of a church where me and Grandpa stopped to pray.
I know I'd never seen him cry in all my fifteen years;
But as he said these words to her, his eyes filled up with tears.
If you get there before I do, don't give up on me.
I'll meet you when my chores are through;
I don't know how long I'll be.
But I'm not gonna let you down, darling wait and see.
And between now and then, till I see you again,
I'll be loving you. Love, me.
Between now and then, till I see you again,
I'll be loving you. Love, me.
One year passed by in a swift.
One year ago, I was still reminiscing 2013.
Now it's time to look through the major happenings, accomplishment and events in my life.
Jan First month without calls.
Feb Dept treat for turning AC on 21 Feb.
March Atas dinner at CUT at MBS.
April Watched a concert in National Library (tian reng jiu hui lai) and took pics with liang wenfu.
1 year restraint free in CAMIE.
May Went Beijing, China.
June Jurong lake run.
Went Sydney, Australia for HammondCare field visit
July Watched Sun Yanzi’s concert for the first time at the new Stadium (first ever concert held in this new stadium!)
Went Copenhagen, Denmark for dementia conference.
I know you.
August Purchased iPad air
Purchased Surface Pro 3.
Ice bucket challenge craze.
Health talk at Sembawang CC on 31 Aug. Jazzie got scratched at the car park on way back =(
September Yellow ribbon run on 14 Sep
October Visited river safari
Sworn in for FAMS (geriatrics)
CCK Big farm run
November Visited Jurong Bird Park
Visited Haw Par Villa
December My favorite month of the year with the most significant happenings.
Stanchart run.
Watched Mamamia musical.
Became a senior AC (post 1 year).
We got together and shared many happy days thereafter. This IS the most important and most memorable event and milestone of the year. I am glad 2014 ends in this way, and I look forward to spend our times together in more days/weeks/months/years to come =)
It's my birthday today, and I thought I should do something different this time. I shall write something about myself and my family which I have never really mentioned face-to-face to any other in particular, yet it is something that somewhat affected me and resulted in who I am today. I don't intend to publish this openly, but I guess nowadays no one really visits this blog anymore, and if you know me and I told you the existence of this blog before, well.. congrats, I have treated you as one of my closest friends, at different phases of my life. If you happen to read this, well.. congrats again, you just know something more about me.
To begin, let me wish Singapore and myself a happy birthday, and to everyone a happy holiday and national day. My birthday wish remains the same, but this time, I have included a wish for myself.
The main agenda of this trip to Denmark Copenhagen is to attend the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2014, which is held from 13 to 17 July 2014. We also take the opportunity to tour around Copenhagen, especially since this is my first time in Denmark. I don’t think it is possible to give a day-by-day account like what I usually do, so I guess I will give an overview of what I did, what the attractions are, what I feel about the whole journey and a brief guide on touring Copenhagen in future.
We took SQ352 from T3 at 2350h on 11 July, and the journey took about 12 hours, and Denmark is 6 hours behind Singapore. So I slept most of the times on the plane, watched a Korean movie, and reached Copenhagen airport at 0630h 12 July 2014. It is summer in Copenhagen, which means that the daytime is long (Sunrise at 0445h and sunset at 2145h). We took cab to our hotel The square which is in the city square (relatively convenient for us to tour around), beside the Tivoli Garden but the room is rather small with not much facilities. There is no iron/slippers/water kettle in the room… Anyway, the room wasn’t ready so we deposited our luggage and walked around. Check-in time is 1500h and we reached the hotel at 0730h. The cab was really expensive ~300 KR (exchange rate S$1 = 4.2 Danish Kroner). They don’t use Euro dollars btw.
We walked to Stroget, which is just one street across our hotel. It is the largest pedestrian mall in Denmark, but at the time we went, it was like a deadtown as most of the shops are not open yet, but on our way back at around 11 am, it was very vibrant and crowded! It is 1100 metres long so we walked quite a fair bit, till we reached Nyhavn, which is the iconic landmark of Copenhagen you see on all the brochures and website. The harbour/canal with all the ferries by the side of the canal, and rows of colourful building on the sides of pavement. Walking down further you can see the Opera House across the large canal. Within Stroget, there are also some tourist attraction: the round tower (which you have to pay to go up the tower), and the Danish Royal Theater.
We had lunch at one of the nearby Italian restaurant and I had mussels which were very nice – not too strong and the soup/sauce was good. I had a nap at the hotel lobby before we checked in at 3pm. Dinner at A Hereford Beefstouw, a restaurant beside the Tivoli Gardens. While its specialty is beef, I had the lamb which is also very nice.
The conference starts at 8.30am and ends at 5.30pm on most days except half day on 17 July (the final day). It has a concurrent morning session from 8.30am to 10.15am, a combined plenary session from 10.45am to 11.45am, lunch cum poster viewing session from 11.45am to 2.15pm, concurrent oral sessions x2 from 2.15pm to 3.45pm and 4pm to 5.30pm. We have to settle lunch ourselves sadly. Food in Denmark is extremely expensive! Even a typical fast food can cost 15 sing dollars.
Dinners
Saturday 12/7 – Lambsteak @ Hereford Beefstouw
Sunday 13/7 – Fish assortment @ Le Vecchia with Tivoli Garden
Monday 14/7 – Dinner symposium by Novartis at Crowne Hotel
Tuesday 15/7 – Dinner symposium by Eisai at D’Angleterre Hotel
Wednesday 16/7 – Dinner with old friends ZW/HJ, Fried pork (Stegt flæsk med persillesovs 168 KR), hot pot of pork @ Restaurant Fridas
Thursday 17/7 – Yangchow fried rice at the Chinese restaurant which cost me 101 KR!
Food there is generally expensive but the servings are big. The Danish pastries are quite famous and nice and sweet. The sandwich is huge and cost 57 KR. They like to cook smoked salmon and got this raw fish Herrings which is very fishy. But the lamb and the fried pork are delicious.
Transport Systems
The conference gave us a free unlimited pass which we are allowed to use for all types of vehicles and within all zones on the 5 days of conference.
The city is well-connected by buses and trains, and you can travel easily after you get the hand out of it. On the first day we were quite lost to find out which bus to take, but now it is a breeze.
There are public buses – bus 250A and 30 go to Bella Centre. The “A” buses are express and have few stops; the “S” buses are more frequent; the normal buses are just normal. The strangest thing is that the same number can have different destinations, so you have to look carefully or ask the bus driver. (Which I thought they might as well call it a different number..).
There are different types of trains. No one really checks on whether you purchase a ticket or not, it runs based on honesty system, although once in a while, the conductors will check.
S-trains: this is like the usual MRT with different lines/colours
Metro: this is like LRT and links up the city centre to the airport. There is a Bella Centre Metro Station. There are 2 metro lines M1 and M2. Some stations are metro interchanges eg Chirstianhavn, Kongens and Norreport. The same tracks can carry different lines, so be careful and look at the screens before boarding
DSB trains/regional trains: these are fast trains and link up the north and south Copenhagen. It goes to major stations like the central station, the airport, etc. It goes to Malmo too, a city in Sweden. But unfortunately, our ticket can’t bring us there. Initially we were still planning to go there…
Some of the stations have all metro, DSB and S-train like Norreport and Osterport.
Some have only DSB and S-train like Kobenhavn H (Central) station.
Some have only S-trains like Vesterport, which is the nearest station to the square hotel.
Some S-train stations have many colours (interchange), some only one colour.
So for example, to go to Bella Centre from The Square, you can either:
1) Take bus 30 or 250A (around 25 mins)
2) Walk to Central station to take DSB train to Orestad and transfer either bus 4 or metro (1 stop) (need to see the schedule of trains)
3) Take S-train at Vestaport to Norreport and change to Metro to Bella centre
The last resort is taxi. But as mentioned, these are real expensive. The boarding fee is like sing 10 dollars already!
Cycling. 52% of the residents cycle; there are designated cycling path, so you can join them.
Walk. You can walk for 2-3 hours and finish touring the city square and the attractions around it.
Tourist Attractions
These are places which I have gone, or at least walk past to take photos.
Tivoli Gardens: It is an amusement park, something like universal studio kind. Just next to our hotel, but unfortunately you need to pay to enter. Just to enter cost you 99 KR; to take the ride is 199 KR. Actually cheaper than the usual universal studio price. The good part is the conference has a gathering dinner there on the first day, so we get to enter for free and take the selected rides. I only took the fast train which is a bit scary already. Too old for those roller coaster ride or top gun type of rides.
Town Hall Square: Before entering Stroget, you will pass through the square with the town hall building on your right.
Kobenhavn Hovedbanegard Station: This is the main railway train station.
Christiansborg Palace: On the third day during lunch time, I took the metro down to Christianhaven and walked around. This is one I went, and can take the lift to go up the tower to have a picturesque view of Copenhagen.
Christians Church: Along the way to the Christiansborg Palace, I past by this church, the royal libray, etc. They do have quite a number of churches.
Church of our Saviour: On the fourth day lunch time, I once again took metro to Christianhaven and went to this place, which also has a spiral to go up, but have to pay and the queue is quite long so I didn’t go up.
Noma restaurant: World’s number one restaurant. However, it was closed for summer holiday. Cost 500 singapore dollars per head. Doesn’t look very special on the outside. Within walking distance from Chirstianhaven harbour. Need to make reservation 3 months in advance.
Little Mermaid: The iconic attraction which is a must-go If you are in Copenhagen. I met up with Zhenwei and Huijing on Wednesday (Zhenwei is working here under SQ for 2 years already) and they drove me around, including the Little Mermaid. A bit disappointing at the statues, but well, worth a photo shot. Near it, there is St Albans Church and The Citadel.
Christiania: There is a “green-light distinct” in this area, where people are allowed to sell drugs liberally. No photos are allowed here.
Amalienborg Palace: This is where the current royal family lives in.
The Marble Church: Opposite the Palace is the marble church. Looks grand on the outside.
Botanic Gardens: It has a greenhouse and pond. During summer, quite a lot of people will lie around on the grass patch. The pond has some ducks.
Rosenborg Castle: This is beside the Botanic garden. You have to pay to enter to view the crown jewel, otherwise walking outside is quite scenic as well.
National Museum: There are quite a number of museums around, but I am not the museum hopper kind of person, so it’s a quick go-in-look-take-some-pics action.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek: This is also a museum originated for the guy who first brewed the Carlsberg beer (yup, so Carlsberg is cheap here). I didn’t enter, just took photo from outside.
Helgoland/Amager Strandpark: Beach within the city. 5 minutes walk from Metro station Oresund.
Klampenborg/Bellevue Strandpark: Beach 13 km north from the city centre. It is near the Klampenborg Station (S-train). Along the stretch, the northmost part is nude beach.
Bakken: This is the oldest amusement park in Denmark ~150years old. It is near the Klampenborg Station (S-train) as well, the other direction away from the beach. Supposed to have a lot of deers but we didn’t see any. Got horse wagons though.
Istedgade: Their red-light distinct
Studiestraede: Their gay distinct
Shopping
I won’t recommend shopping here in Copenhagen because of the cost. The largest shopping centre in Copenhagen is Fields, which is at Orestad metro station, one stop away from Bella Centre. I went there on my second day of lunch break.
Strogen, as mentioned, is a pedestrian mall, within it houses Royal Copenhagen and Illums shopping mall, which is like Robinsons.
There is a big Copenhagen mall along the bus journey to Bella Centre, but looks ex too.
The return flight is on 18 July 2014 1230h SQ351. We will reach Singapore on 19 July 2014, 0625h.
So on the whole, I won’t regret coming. Other than building up knowledge on Dementia, meeting like-minded people, seeing the renowned dementia guru, the best part is also being able to tour around. This is my first time in an European country (other than Britain), so I am glad I enjoyed it.
The main agenda of this trip to Australia Sydney is to study the HammondCare model of dementia care, and to attend a 2-day dementia conference (27-28 June) “Risky Business 2” at Hilton hotel.
Flight details: 22 Jun 0825h SQ211; 28 Jun 1415h SQ222.
We stayed in Rydges square hotel which is within the CBD of Sydney, so it is fairly convenient for us to tour around as well. In fact, those were the only places I went, which includes Sydney Opera House, Tower Bridge, Darling Harbour, Botanic Gardens and shop around that region.
I guess if there is chance, should visit the outskirts of Sydney.
Prelude
Exchange rate is about S$1 to 5 yuan. Spent around S$800 per person for air flight (total: S$3492). Tour agency this time is Dynasty travel .
Day 1:
Singapore to Beijing
SQ810, took 5.5 hours from T3 to T3
Reached at around 12 MN
Tour guide - 李军
Driver- 許師傅
Your group- 12 people. Our family of 4, one mother/daughter, one family of six.
Tour bus rather small. Mini bus. Took to Hilton Double Tree hotel. Supposed to be 5 star hotel but I don't think so. No bathtub. Toilet small. Room number 462 (and 460).
Slept at 3am.
Day 2:
Beijing to Tianjin to Beijing
Morning call at 8am. Had breakfast -predominantly Chinese. Not much varieties.
Set off at 9am.
Reached Tianjin at 12pm.
Shopped in this dept store selling local products- 龙须糖，fried pancake, and 狗不里包子，which is actually pork bun.
Lunch at the restaurant there. Squeeze 12 people into 10 people table! Food sucky. Tomato soup not bad.
Travelled to 民族文化村 to take photos. Then to this Italian style place for more photo. Then walked a fairly long distance to the train station to take to Beijing south 武淸站. Fastest speed 300 km/h. Around 15 minutes.
Then walked to Florentia village- selling branded outlet stuff. Didn't buy anything.
Walked a long distance to take tour bus to dinner. Nice ambience but poor service. Similar food as lunch. Tomato soup.
Day 3
Beijing
Morning call 6am, set off at 7.30am.
One stop- 天安门广场Tian an men square, on the left is the Parliament House, on the right is 毛泽东 tomb. Took a group photo here.
Further down is 故宫紫禁城. A lot of people. Various 宫. Biggest stone lion. From the place where the emperor had the morning session, to where he slept, changed clothes etc. We are not allowed to enter the 宫, so can only take photo from outside. Very squeezy!
Lunch at 全聚德烤鴨. The duck is nice, especially the skin. The meat is tender, so it is wrapped together with the skin, unless Singapore one where we only eat the wrapped skin.
Next is 天坛公园. Where the emperor prays to heaven. The centre door is also close, as it is meant for the gods to use.
秀水街 is the next destination, something like heeren which can be bargained. We didn't buy anything there, except eating KFC, which is supposedly to be more tender. Spent 2 hours here.
Watched an acrobatic show after that at 东图影剧院.
Dinner at 功德林, which served vegetarian. Not bad, probably one of the best so far. Quite salty.
Day 4
Beijing
Set off 7.30am.
First visit a jade shop, bought a jade bracelet (4200 yuan), with free gift of jade pillow (300yuan), and bought some souvenir - glass ball with names written in it (60 yuan per ball x 4).
Next is 万里长城Great Wall of China.不到黄诚非好汉. Walked a segment (one stop) to the 8号烽火台. Took a lot of photo here. The steps were rather steep and it was indeed breathtaking.
Next is visit to 景泰蓝workshop. Supposedly famous in Beijing, where the president of China will give presents to other countries' visitor made of this material. Had our lunch there as well, the specialty dish being 雜醬面.
Next is 十三陵, which is the Ming tomb of 13 late emperors. We only had a glimpse (model) of the first tomb, which belongs to Yong Le emperor (zhu de). The building is made of 金丝楠木, which was rather durable and strong. This place also housed some jades for us to view, eg: pendants worn by empress and emperor, ink well, etc.
Next is 东华门market, 王副井 where we bought and ate some roadside food (prawn and intestines), and some local products from a shop.
Dinner was at a restaurant, specialty was crispy chicken.
Last stop was at 紅劇場 to watch gong fu show.
Day 5
Beijing - Chengde
First stop to 同仁堂, which is famous for "curing the incurable". This main branch is located near the 东华门market.
Next is 烟袋钭街, which we walked along and led us to 银锭桥 and 什刹海洒吧街.
Next is Trishaw ride to tour along 胡同, and it brought us to 四合院. The house is small and cosy and they shared a common toilet. The pavement is rather narrow but the riders are skillful enough to ride along. This particular family also allowed us to visit his rooms etc. Have to pay the rider 10 yuan for tips.
Next is lunch, followed by a visit to the summer palace (義和园), where we took a boat ride and walked around. This is about 慈禧 and how she ruled during that era. It also housed the eunuch's place 李连英.
Next is a visit to the silk factory, where we are "forced" to buy something from them. The tour guide gained quite a lot of commission from this.
Next is 3.5 hours drive to 承德. We were received by another tour guide from Chengde 赵小姐。And we had our dinner - 热河八旗风味.
Checked into our hotel 乾阳酒店, 4 stars. No wifi, room ok. Bed a bit hard. Room 7215 and 7216.
Day 6
Chengde - Beijing
Breakfast at 7am, set off at 7.45am.
First stop was Chenghuang temple (城隍庙). Shanghai also has one but the difference is the rooftop of this one is black whereas Shanghai one is yellow. This is quite small. We are not supposed to step on the 門檻 as it symbolizes the god's shoulder; we can't point at the statues but must use the whole palm. Cannot anyhow say things.
Along the journey, there are some mountains. One looks like a Buddha face, one looks like a wooden club (棒槌山). The next stop is 避暑山庄, which is big and used to be a place for kangxi, yongzheng and qianlong emperors to rest and relax. Cixi also spent some time here. Here got the longest 城墻, the shortest river 熱河.
So all in all, we spent about 4 hours touring Chengde, and 6 hours traveling to and fro. Not really worth the trip I think.
Reached Beijing at 3plus pm, and we spent 1.5 hours at a shopping mall (Yazhou). Bought a t-shirt and some souvenirs.
At 5.30pm, we went for foot massage beside the old national stadium, for around 50 minutes. As usual, the masseur kept talking crap during the massage. Tip is 20 yuan.
Dinner is 皇家宫廷宴. Place looks grand, but food is similar.
Checked in same hotel at 9plus, room 1135 and 1138.
Day 7
Beijing
Set off at 8am. First stop is visit to tea house. Famous for their 普洱茶, cost like 200 yuan for a block. Expensive one cost 500 yuan. Looks dark red and taste like red date. It's the only tea that can be kept in fridge and drink cold; it's also the only tea which is more expensive when more ancient (like wine). The salesgirl kept cutting price/offered to give free tea. She introduced 4 different types – xue tea (snow), tian qi something, one more then pu er. Of different prices in ascending order.
Next stop is 前門大街. A street for shopping. From it also leads to 大柵欄, a place for shopping as well (mainly clothes and local products).
Lunch is at 金钱豹buffet, international style.
After that, we go to watch 老北京動起來 at the expo to watch a moving painting.
Walking a distance later, we reach 鳥巢 and took photos.
Visited a supposedly Pearl factory, but ended up buying jade pendant. Somehow it appeared to be a conspiracy and plot. Got introduced by the son of the boss 岩洪. It all began when we didn’t show much interest, then this man came along and tried to explain pearl, but he began by saying that he doesn’t know much but hope that we will give him face to stay and listen for a while, appearing innocent. Then he said he knew jade more and started to talk about it, and brought us to this VIP room to look at jades. Then introduced us this jade pendant with the initial price of 8280 Yuan and he cut to 1200?!! Very disbelieving. A search in the internet revealed that this could well be a scam. http://heimu.wanjingchina.com/bencandy.php?fid=3&aid=30951#
Dinner is 餃子店.
Proceed to Beijing international airport terminal 3 (apparently the largest airport in the world), SQ803 at 0115h, reached at 0735h next day 18 May 2014.
After-thoughts
Fulfilled the goals of visiting Great Wall, Tian An Men, Zhi Jing Cheng.
Gained some knowledge: eg- how to know whether the jade is real or not (colour – the lighter /translucent, the better; sound – the light tinkle the better; use the tip of tougue to taste for 30 second, real one will be a bit bitter due to dissolution of minerals; put a drop of water on it, it will not spread). Myth wise, both fake and real jade, when tied by a strand of hair, the hair will not burn (due to lack of oxygen between the hair and “jade”)
How to differentiate real from fake pearls – real: they are of slightly different sizes; when rubbed against each other, there will be some powder formed but no scratches. Fake ones usually have same sizes, and no powder and may have scratches.
A lot of scam and 老千in China. Must be careful. Must take care of the gullible ones.
Know a fair bit of Chinese history.
Looking at how other people talk about what happened in 2013 and what new aspirations and hope they have for the new year, I thought I should have my own list for reminiscence too. The only difficulty now is that since I have stopped writing blog or diary so regularly, I am having some problems trying to recall what happened during the past 12 months. Nonetheless, I have my calendar and FB which provide some recollection. Somemore, FB has this “year in review” which briefly sums up what I have been up to. Those that I can’t remember, I guess they are probably not as important.
So, chronologically:
January New watch (bought in Dec 12).
2nd high key reservist last 2 weeks of the month, first official high key under 18CSSB. The CO got disrupted in order to run for Punggol by-election. Revisited sleeping in the open field somewhere in Sim Pang (Yishun area).
Regular Sunday breakfast at Sembawang Hills, and the occasional visit to Upper Pierce Reservior.
February Chinese New Year 9-12 Feb.
March 2 of my closest friends since medic days got married this month. Congrats D and EL.
April Beginning of my long-awaited leave. Probably one of the greatest highlights of the year. The annual family trip this year is to Korea (9-15 April), where we visited Seoul and Jeju. 2nd time in Korea, but totally new experience.
Went for a dementia conference at Taiwan (17-23 April), Alzheimer’s Disease International. 2nd time in Taiwan, and I still miss the food. It’s a place which I foresee visiting more often in time to come.
May Spent about 3 weeks in Dover Park Hospice for an attachment, and I must say that it was an awesome and intriguing experience. It gives life a new meaning, and death a new definition. It did stir me a bit to do palliative medicine. Thank you all for the guidance.
June Another friend’s wedding dinner at Sentosa. A public health talk to the residents at Sembawang.
MO farewell dinner at Seletar country club on 18th.
July Has a short respite in CH this month. Nothing too significant happened.
August My birthday leave. One year older but none the wiser.
Another one of my closet fren got married. Congrats XJ!
September Back to the place which brings back some fond memories. TTSH rehab. Hosted a geriatric professor and gained more insight into frailty.
1st marathon run @ Yellow prison run on 15 Sep. This is probably one of the marathon that I will sign up every year.
October My GRM Exit exam on 16 Oct. Likely to be the last final biggest most important exams of my life unless I decide for a career switch or further upgrade myself at another domain. Thank you all for all your help in guiding me towards the route of success.
CCK big farm run on 27 Oct.
November On leave the whole month, mainly to protect the country.
3rd high key reservist. This time in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. 12-30 Nov. Limited phone/internet access. Eccentric weather. Good experience of air/land/sea combo in one. Good catchup with reservist mates. “Nostalgic” feeling of the camp.
December Last call of the century on 19 Dec.
Became a Specialist.
Festive season with Xmas and NY.
I love this month.
The exact post I had on FB, after my last night call on 19 Dec 2013.
THIS IS IT.
After so many years of night calls, this is finally the end.
I will never forget, in chronological order:
1) The smell of liquor, the episiotomies, the day I gave my patient 4mg of lorazepam for sleep instead of 4mg of piriton @ NUH O and G
2) I sat down at the nurse’s counter in ward 64 with 10 empty case-notes lying in front for me to clerk @ NUH Med
3) My first collapse: This pat...ient collapsed in front of me in ward 53 when I was catheterizing him @ NUH Med
4) How I finished clerking >20 patients myself when my MO was lazing somewhere @ NUH Med
5) How this reg-on-call made me, the poor HO, run all the way from KRW to Ward 56 to do ECG for a patient with chest pain when he was just standing there waiting @ NUH Med
6) How 2 HOs-on-call (be it same or different gender) have to share one call room (with 2 beds of course) @ NUH Med
7) Doing 8 calls per month, eating at Hongkong street @ AH GS
8) Cross-covering and helping one another when fellow GRM friends were on call together @ AH GRM
9) Sleeping on this yellow mucus-stained mattress in the hot office when doing DMSO (duty medical staff officer) calls @ SAF HQMC
10) My otherwise peaceful first ICU call @ TTSH GM
11) Refusing to use the supposedly-haunted call room in CDC2 @ TTSH GM
12) Doing IMC for X number of male patients in the middle of the night, watch a few episodes of Korean drama @ TTSH Rehab
13) Having 1-in-4 calls in MICU Ward 26 and having morning dim-sums at Holland village post call @ NUH Med
14) The night-float systems, how I hated to walk to-and-fro from Kent ridge wing to main block (see point 5) through the spooky quiet walkway @ NUH Med
15) The thick pile of lab results for me to sign in Ward 44, 47, 56 and CCU @ NHC Cardio
16) Set plug and take blood from minister and VIP @ NHC Cardio
17) Doing HO-MO night call, clerking the first patient in Ward 75 when KTPH first opened @ KTPH GRM
18) The routine Mac breakfasts post-call @ KTPH GRM
19) The first tag-on reg call @ KTPH
20) The first reg call @ KTPH
21) When there was only one reg on call per night and I have to cover medical and cardio patients in tower A/B/MICU/SICU, and I decide when to activate cath lab @ KTPH
22) Walking across level 5 from tower B to tower A, seeing my cute ah gongs and ah mas sleeping soundly (and perhaps not too soundly) in the middle of the night, admiring the clear sky with twinkling stars, knowing the call will eventually end, @ KTPH
23) When the night nursing staff gave us some tidbits and hot milo during the darkest moment of our lives @ NUH/AH/TTSH/NHC/KTPH
24) This 126th and FINAL reg call, , and still deciding if I should intubate this new patient I have admitted @ KTPH Ward 26
Thanks to all the juniors, seniors and fellow healthcare staff whom I have crossed path with and who have helped me along the way.
Thanks to those who gave me bad memories too, for making sure that I did not become the person I hate most.
Prelude The second time to Korea, after a hiatus of 7 years. I re-read my previous journal entry and re-looked at the photos, and I suppose when one grows older, the thinking and feeling change. Some of the things that I thought I will enjoy again (eg: Lotte World), didn’t seem true this time. In any case, it marks the annual family trip, and it’s my family’s first time to Korea.
Exchange rate is different now. From a S$1 -> 678 Won, it is now S$1 -> 875 Won. Spent around S$1300 per person for air flight.
Day 1:
Singapore -> Incheon
Took flight from Changi Airport terminal 2, Asiana Airline at 11pm, journey around 5.5 hours, reached Incheon International Airport the next day at 6 am. Korea is ahead of Singapore by 1 hour.
Day 2:
Incheon -> Yongjin -> Jeju
Breakfast- adhoc at airport; took dunky Doughnut which cost 20 sing dollars.
Tour guide is Mr Jiang. Trip comprises 13 people – 3 families: our family of 4, another family of 3 (mum and 2 daughters) and another family of 6 (husband Raymond Lim and wife and 2yr old boy Rayden, wife’s parents, wife’s brother Martin Chua).
Everland. Opens at 10 am, 2 hrs bus ride from airport. Spent our time mainly at the zoo area; watch the seal show and the other animal show. Much bigger than Lotte World.
Lunch- ate at Everland in the midst of the exploration. Got fried pork cutlet, fried rice and udon.
Dinner- steamboat with pork
Took domestic flight to Jeju island (1h journey). Reached at around 9pm. Checked in at Ocean suites jeju hotel. Room 538, 539. Took supper from convenience store.
Day 3: (East Jeju)
Breakfast- abalone porridge
Horse-riding. First time riding a horse. Well trained and able to walk/run at the command of the owner.
ATV- all terrain vehicle. Drove a vehicle with big wheels around the area. Not all know how to manoeuvre the vehicle.
Tricky Art Museum. Where we took photos with the 3D images painted on the walls. Quite cool.
Jeju folk village, where Da Chang Jin is filmed partly. A nice scenic carefree place. The tour guide explained some of the Korean traditional culture, eg: the gateway has 3 holes to slot poles in, all slotted means not in for a long while, 1 slotted means away for an hour. And Jeju is famous for 3 items- rocks, wind and women. Women do all the household chores, including carrying heavy water from faraway, whereas men work and earn outside.
Lunch- black pork Seoul garden style
Seopjikopji coast with an artificial chapel, where "All-In" is filmed
Manjanggul lava tube. A cold cave which is forever wet with trickling water. It is quite long a distance and we managed to cover only about 400metres to see the “turtle-like” structure. Yongduam where the stones look like a dragon head
Dinner- seafood steamboat
Day 4 (South Jeju) Breakfast - at hotel. Buffet style
Luckily we came earlier at 7am, else have to wait for seat. Not much varieties.
Teddy bear museum
Ripley's believe it or not museum
Jusangjoelli cliff - appears like bamboo, due to weathering of the rock
Lunch- grilled pork
Cheonjiyong waterfall
Oilolgae rock - which resembles a lady longing for the return of her husband, an outcropping rock in the sea
1 h journey ride back to north part of jeju to watch nanta show
Nanta show at Jeju media centre. Watched the 5 pm show (there are only 2 timings 5pm and 8pm)- started since 1997 in Seoul, run by many teams all over the world. They are 5 actors altogether (manager, 3 chefs, nephew). it's about a restaurant trying to host a wedding bouquet with a timeline to meet and 3 chefs need to finish the dishes by 6pm. They were joined by the manager's nephew who initially caused more trouble than help, but eventually they work hand in hand successfully.
Dinner- ginseng chicken at a restaurant near the airport. Quite nice, hot and tasty on a cold day. Each one has a clay pot of ginseng chicken which wrapped glutinous rice.
Reached hotel at 8pm.
Day 5:
Jeju -> Seoul
Woke up at 5.30am
Breakfast at a restaurant near airport. Had dumpling soup -10 dumplings
Reached airport at 7.30am, took internal flight at jeju international airport at 0825h to reach Gimpo airport.
First stop to Kimchi making. The lady there taught us how- there are more than 200 types of kimchi. To marinate, the cabbage (for example), needs to be spread with coarse salt and rinse off after soaking to soften it. Next is to make the sauce. Chilli, spring onion, garlic, fish oil, radish. Then just apply on the cabbage and use the last leaf to wrap around it. Keep in fridge for 8-10 hours depending on the season.
Also took some photos in their traditional Korean clothes there, and bought some kimchi (12000 won per packet)
Lunch is bak kut teh. Theirs is different in terms of soup paste and huge bones.
Blue house (Jin3 Fu2 Gong1)- where the president works. They have a new president recently and it is the first female president.
Geongbak palace- where the emperor lived during the times when south Korea and North Korea are still one. Been here 7 yrs ago.
Dongdaemun market- bought a pair of shoes at level 5 in minogue shopping mall.
N Seoul tower
Dinner - mushroom steamboat pot. Not too appetizing.
Hotel- Center Mark hotel in Seoul city. 2 minutes walk from Insadong, where they sell antiques and handicraft. Stayed in room 513 and 514. Quite small. Hardly any space to walk around.
Day 6:
Seoul
Woke up at 6am. Meet at 0710h.
Breakfast outside- 5 different types of porridge to share- seaweed (green), melon (yellow), mushroom (light brown), plain (white), black rice (purple). Quite nice.
Korean Ginseng shop- selling expensive ginseng and its variable products, ranging from 400 to 1500 usd! We bought the food stuff from outside, those tidbit, ginseng tea, etc.
The face shop- the lady taught us how to use the various facial products. Bought some facial masks and some creams.
Lunch- Korean pork and squid. Quite nice.
Amethyst shop- bought 2 rings and 1 necklace.
Myeongdong- given 2 hours to shop. We walked around and bought some jackets and a polo tee.
Lotte world- 4.30pm to 8.30pm
Took the boat ride for simbad, the monorail, and walked around. There are 2 sectors: indoors and outdoors. The outdoor area is mainly the adventurous ride, indoor has performance, and Viking etc. We took the pony ride too.
Dinner at own expense, we are at this shanghainese food place. Serving quite big.
Day 7:
Seoul -> Singapore
Woke up at 7.30am, breakfast at own expense. Ate macdonald which is just beside the hotel. The macs is cheaper than in sg.
Started traveling at 10am. Went to this Liver wellness centre selling some health products to protect the liver.
Lunch- Dumpling/mushroom hot pot
Shopping at the mega-departmental store. Bought a lot of food and souvenirs.
Went to Incheon International Airport at 2pm. Took the 4.10pm flight to Sg. Reached Sg at 9.45pm.
Exchanged 2000 sing dollars as a family, left with 500 worth. (not taking into account buying the amethyst with sing dollars.
Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Tour (13 Nov 2012 – 17 Nov 2012)
Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Tour (13 Nov 2012 – 17 Nov 2012)
Prelude
Vietnam wasn’t the first choice, in fact, it was quite a last minute decision, because we initially planned to go Beijing or Korea for a tour, but realized that it is too expensive to book so late nearer the date; and secondly, it is getting quite cold (In fact, there was news about snowing in Beijing even before we depart).
We booked at Chan Brothers (again), with a total cost of 3752 dollars. Exchange rate: S$1 = 16000 Vietnam Dong. The tour group comprises 14 people (3 families of 4 – Tan family [Tan Teck Heng, Chong Siew Yun Rebecca, Tan Yan Hao Joshua, Chong Kooi Lan]; Khong family [ Khong Peng Swee, Tay Keng Ong Yvonne, Khong Xinyue Louisa, Khong Zhongyue Vanessa]; Ng family; 2 son/father-in-law [Lim Ah Lee, Leow Wan Heng])
13 Nov 2012 (Singapore – Ho Chi Minh City)
We took SQ186 at terminal 2 at 1740h and it was about 1 hour flight. Vietnam is behind us by 1hour, but it was already dark when we reached there at around 1830h Vietnam time. We were greeted by our tour guide (Sam - +84 903 922 538) and we moved on for our dinner via a coach. Our first meal was Vietnamese and that includes some bo piah and vegetables and dipped in fish sauce (which is always present in all meals).
The first hotel we checked in is Windsor hotel and we stayed at 15th floor. We learnt from Sam that Vietnam is not a safe place and it is better to be cautious with our belongings. We also realized that Vietnam is rather run-down and filthy, and traffic is horrendous- not just heavy, but chaotic. There is no proper traffic crossing and you just have to be daring enough to walk across.
14 Nov 2012 (Ho Chi Minh City – Vung Tau)
We woke up early at 0615h, had the buffet breakfast in the hotel and set off via coach. Quite a long journey, and along the way we saw their rowdy traffic, their 4D booths, their rubber plantations, etc. Our first destination was to explore the amazing underground labyrinth of the man-made Cu Chi Tunnels, a strategic fort used by the Viet Kong Guerrillas during the Vietnam War. They lived in the tunnels for over 20 years and were self-sufficient in the sense that it was a 3-layer/storey deep tunnels with facilities of kitchen, bedrooms, storage rooms, treatment rooms, etc. They spent their days here (where there were bombings by the US army above grounds and nights out of the tunnels looking for food for storage. They also showcased some of their traps and trench-holes. There is a short tunnel for us to experience and I must say that walking/crawling in a half-bending fashion through the 40m long tunnel was actually quite exhausting!
We travelled further to our lunch destination (Binh Quoi), which is a resort style area for us to try some of their Vietnamese cuisine. Of interest is this steamed fish in some gourds. Took some photos of the resort along the way.
Next is another 3-hour long journey to Vung Tau beach, where we spent a night there. We passed by Saigon river, which wasn’t particularly astounding. Half-way, we stopped at a rest station for toilet break and were obliged to buy some of their local fruit products. I am not particularly impressed by this beach resort (unlike those in Phuket, Bintan, etc), because it was rather spooky and quiet at night. The only advantage is that they have free wifi, albeit slow.
Dinner was at Hue Anh – seafood style. We stayed in this beach resort for 1 night at 214 (level 2)
15 Nov 2012 (Vung Tau – Ho Chi Minh City)
First stop was to visit Jesus Statue at Jesus Monument Mountain, also known as “French Pavilion”. To reach the top of the statue, we need to climb 740 steps (I counted on my way down). It was not for the weak heart, and definitely need adequate rest stops to reach the top. After climbing up the “mountain”, we reached the foot of the statue which we can further walk up a very narrow stairway to reach the 2 out-reached hands of Jesus; each side only has enough roomspace for 3 people.
Second stop was to visit the Thien Hau Temple of Five Races, where we prayed for good fortune and health. Interestingly, they requested us to pray with 8 joss-sticks.
Third stop was a passing-by of the Summer Palace of Emperor Bao Dai, the last Emperor of Vietnam. Nothing impressive, just an empty house (we looked from along the road..)
Fourth stop was to visit the 200-year-old Whale Temple. It was believed that many years ago, a whale saved the lives of some fishermen in harsh seas, and itself got killed. In remembrance and gratitude, the Prince of Vietnam decided to collect the remains (bones) of the Whale and construct a temple to allow the people to worship.
We then had an early lunch at 11am, at this restaurant called Far East, when we had seafood lunch. This was followed by another 3 hour bus-ride back to Ho Chi Minh City, stopped at the fruit toilet station again, before reaching the next interest: the War remnants Museum. We managed to see some of the photos of war time and some weapons used, and also the aftermath of the toxic gas (defoliants) used by the US- Dioxin (2-3-7-8 tetra cholorodibenzo-p-dioxin/ TCDD), which caused mutation in the newborns.
Next was to a lacquer ware factory – didn’t buy anything, but nice to look at. After this was to visit the outside of the former Presidential Palace before reaching the Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Saigon Post Office.
We ended the day by enjoying their local dinner in Tulip restaurant, which we finally saw some crowds (the rest of restaurants are rather quiet and seemed to be only supported by tourist/tour groups). We checked in back to the same Windsor Hotel, but this time at level 21 (non-smoking level and executive level). Room 2104 and 2121.
16 Nov 2012 (Ho Chi Minh City)
This is the day where we spent most of our money. 1.5h long bus ride to Mekong Delta at My Tho, which houses 4 distinct islands (Turtle, Phoenix, Dragon and Unicorn). The Mekong Delta is an extensive artery of waterways, provided by the Mekong River that provides irrigation of nearby rice paddles, farms and orchards and also serves as an essential means of transport of the residents to mainland, be it for work or study. We took a motorboat to Unicorn Island, where we tasted their honey tea and tried some of their local delights (coconut sweets, sugared ginger, dried coconuts and fruits) and of course, asked to patronize them. There was also singing performance by some of their local girls which, well, was passable. There was a short road of shops which sells some keychains, belts, bags etc.
We then continued by boat (sampan) through the secluded canals which is guided by 2 locals, wearing their authentic straw hats. We then transferred to the motorboat and off to our lunch destination at Bach Tung Vien. Of note is this deep fried elephant fish and the “dinosaur egg”, which is some sweet and sticky stuff.
Next was another 1.5h journey back to Ho Chi Minh City (along the way I had to empty my bladder in a plastic bag – too urgent). We visited the Goddess Temple, followed by the outside of the Parliament House for photo-taking, and then shopping at Ben Thanh Shopping Centre, where we can bargain. It was quite huge and crowded (and stuffy), and we were once again warned to be careful of our belongings. There was this “Pho 2000” Beef horfun which was named because it was visited by Bill Clinton in 2000.
After shopping, we were scheduled to catch the 5pm Water Puppet Show which lasted 50 minutes. Don’t really understand the language, and I haven’t read what the show is all about.
It was already around 6pm when we left for our next shopping destination at Antique Street, which was similar (yet not so similar) to our Orchard Road, where there are quite a fair number of design goods and boutiques. We were asked to meet near at the Majestic Hotel (near the Saigon River) at 1915h, when we were to have diner on board the Saigon River Dinner Cruise. It was Asian-style dinner on a ship, with singers to entertain us. We were not particularly entertained unfortunately, because 1) we had the dinner in a smoky environment, 2) we were supposed to wait till 2030h before the ship starts to move. Anyway, it was agreed upon that we will give the ride a miss and return back to Windsor hotel.
17 Nov 2012 (Ho Chi Minh City - Singapore)
Last day in HCMC. Woke up at 0630h and had the same buffet breakfast. Left the hotel at 0900h and reached HCMC Tan Son Nhat airport at 0930h. Took SQ173 at 1220h and reached Singapore at 1530 singapore time. Bought some more souvenirs in the airport (chocolates, coffee etc), and spent for alcohol at the DFS.
Ended off with a bad experience with the Comfort Cab SH6397.
Bought quite a lot of food from the tour guide’s recommendation, which I believed he must have earned quite a lot of commissions – Kuehs, Coffee, crackers.
holidae.
singapore.
lefty left-brainer.
leo.
9 Aug.
selective procrastinator.
paladin by day and nite.
Chatters
Wishlist
tag watch
learn cooking
play a new musical instrument
lasik op
new hobby
clear exit
Fav food
chilli crab
fried kway teow
fried carrot cake @ upp bt timah, bt merah, bt merah view, clementi
fried dang hoon
pig kidney/liver/small intestine/large intestine/organ soup/pig blood
kway chap from sembawang hills
hainan chicken rice with gien3
century egg porridge
fried oyster
BBQ stingray
clams and lala
chicken soup and all sorts of soups my mum cooks
fried fishballs
fish soup from han jee @ amoy
fried chicken wings
salmon belly sashimi
hairy gourd
lotus root
szechuan veg
prawn mee esp from old airport rd, zion rd, adam rd, sembawang hills and hong lim
chwee kueh from tiong bahru, jurong west, clementi, queens st
kueh tutu
coffee/bread toast/egg from sembawang hills, ah kun
prawn cracker
strawberry sundae @ macs
hotcakes @ macs
rum and raisin
duck's tongue
indocafe coffee
water chestnut juice
sugar cane juice
marigold lemon barley
