Conrad and Kelli's Excellent Adventure We are done with medical school and off to Asia tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-01-28:/blog/?domain=kellrad 2009-03-13T06:29:13Z Kellrad img/travel-blog-feed.png Great time in Bangkok tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-12:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=72&entryid=154923 2009-03-13T06:27:38Z 2009-03-13T06:27:38Z Although our time was brief in Bangkok, we surely made the most of it. I have spent alot of time in Bangkok, so I will let Conrad post about his impressions of the city. All I will say is that we had an excellent time and spent most of it with my extended family. They fed us exceptionally well and did their best to bring me to see NEW things in Bangkok. We went on an evening dinner cruise on ... Although our time was brief in Bangkok, we surely made the most of it. I have spent alot of time in Bangkok, so I will let Conrad post about his impressions of the city. All I will say is that we had an excellent time and spent most of it with my extended family. They fed us exceptionally well and did their best to bring me to see NEW things in Bangkok. We went on an evening dinner cruise on the Chao Phaya, and it was a perfect night. We also went to see the Queen's PROJECT handicraft exhibit, which was just stunning. I had a great time and was sad to see the vacation come to an end.

I am, however, VERY excited about our upcoming Match Day! Also excited to sleep in my own bed very soon and not live out of my fabulous bag (that lived up to all of my expectations and then some!).

So I guess this is my last message post on our Southeast Asian adventures. It's been fun! We will post more of our pictures to the blog album once we get home (we are currently in Taipei on a layover) and enjoying the free internet.

Great time in Bangkok remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Bangkok Whirlwhind tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-12:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=71&entryid=154922 2009-03-13T06:29:13Z 2009-03-13T06:23:31Z We arrived into Bangkok on the 11th and were picked up by Kelli's aunt. She took us to a delicious Thai lunch and then we checked into our hotel. Kelli and I explored Wat (temple) Arun in the afternoon and then went to her family's jewelry shop in Chinatown. We had a buffet dinner that night with ehr family on a riverboat. Good food and beautiful views of a very busy city. The next day ... We arrived into Bangkok on the 11th and were picked up by Kelli's aunt. She took us to a delicious Thai lunch and then we checked into our hotel. Kelli and I explored Wat (temple) Arun in the afternoon and then went to her family's jewelry shop in Chinatown. We had a buffet dinner that night with ehr family on a riverboat. Good food and beautiful views of a very busy city. The next day Kelli and I went to the Grand Palace, a pretty amazing place that is the Royal Residence then we went to Wat Pho witha massive reclining Buddha. The temples here are much differenmt from Vietnam and Cambodia, very ornate and large.
After cooling off at the jewelry store with a bag of Thai iced tea we went with ehr aunt to check out a spectacular exhibit of beautiful gold replicas of thrones and boats and other objects and silk embroidery at the queen's palace. The works were commissioned by the queen in an attempt to preserve fading arts of Thailand. Absolutely fascinating and intricate stuff. We then had a delicious home cooked meal at her family's beautiful house.
Our trip to Bangkok was short but it was a good ending to what has been an incredible 6 weeks. Kelli's family was incredibly kind and generous and, while I am not much for big cities, Bangkok didn't feel massive to me. Extremely busy but with lots of character.
I am in the Taipei airport right now waiting for our flight to LA. Once I am home I will post pics and then one last post to end it all.

Conrad

Bangkok Whirlwhind remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> We are officially poor tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-10:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=70&entryid=154641 2009-03-10T15:15:12Z 2009-03-10T14:38:56Z After two unfortunate incidents (1-the boat company we took from Phi Phi back to Phuket promised us land transfer to our hotel in the cost, but supposedly does not go to the one beach we booked on 2-our hotel which we paid for online by credit card only charged us a deposit by credit card and then conveniently does not have a usable credit card machine for the remaining balance of our room tonight), we are officially poor. As in...we ... After two unfortunate incidents (1-the boat company we took from Phi Phi back to Phuket promised us land transfer to our hotel in the cost, but supposedly does not go to the one beach we booked on 2-our hotel which we paid for online by credit card only charged us a deposit by credit card and then conveniently does not have a usable credit card machine for the remaining balance of our room tonight), we are officially poor. As in...we have maybe 200 baht (~$5) to our names. We had to use all our cash for the car from the pier to the hotel and then for our hotel room, so we almost couldnt eat tonight. no joke. By luck we passed a nice restaurant that takes credit card. Since we were ecstatic about being able to use credit card, we splurged and got 2 drinks each, soup, entrees and dessert (all for 750 baht, about $22). Then the bill came, we gave Conrads credit card, which "didnt work" so we gave my credit card. The owner told us to just go to the ATM on the corner, but I told him our ATM didnt work. he didnt seem to believe us. i asked him to try my card. it also didnt work...so when i went down to looka t the credit card machine it just kept saying "please try again later." obviously a machine problem. I told him we were leaving tomorrow morning and really had not enough money to pay for the dinner, so he told the waitress to take me on her motobike to his other restaurant on the beach (1km away) to use that machine. Once we finally go there, the card worked in less than 20 seconds, but geez, I was freaking out...

I hate not having money. This is just ridiculous. We are thankfully going to a big city tomorrow (bangkok) so we can go to a bank where people speak English and can hopefully help us with the cash advance. Thank goodness my aunt is picking us up at the airport!! I am so grateful!

It is so frustrating that 1) very few places take credit card 2) even places that say they take credit card dont want to or cant take credit card 3) our ATM doesnt work 4) no one believes me when Is ay my ATM doesnt work.

Oh well. C'est la vie!

P.S. Phi Phi Island was very nice. Clearer waters, a bit colder water, but very nice. We enjoyed the sun as much as possible during the day, and then took the boat back to Phuket. Conrad read all of my Patterson book (he is finished all his books) and I am halfway through my last book. Thank God we have Luxor to play once we get back on China Airlines!

We are officially poor remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Hating on Capital One Bank and still loving Koh Lanta tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-09:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=69&entryid=154477 2009-03-09T09:46:12Z 2009-03-09T09:34:24Z So we found out on day 1 of Thailand that my atm card (Capital One Bank) does not have agreements with any banks in Thailand, so we have no way of getting any money. Obviously, this sucks. I thought we would be fine on the little American money we had (~$200 post-Cambodia, which really drained our cash cause everywhere takes American dollar as the standard) and the use of credit cards. Phuket places took credit card, but Koh Lanta...not so ... So we found out on day 1 of Thailand that my atm card (Capital One Bank) does not have agreements with any banks in Thailand, so we have no way of getting any money. Obviously, this sucks. I thought we would be fine on the little American money we had (~$200 post-Cambodia, which really drained our cash cause everywhere takes American dollar as the standard) and the use of credit cards. Phuket places took credit card, but Koh Lanta...not so much. It is all mom & pop type shops, which is why we love the place. It gives us the freedom to do whatever we want and explore, but since so few places take credit card, we have started to feel the crunch. As in, we have had to not do things we wanted to (like get a massage from the nice lady with a 6 month old adorable boy or buy only one lanta festival t-shirt instead of one for ech of us or rent a moto from a local person) because we have limited cash and need it to take cabs and eat. It sucks cause we would so much rather pay the locals for their services directly than our hotel, where we had to rent our motos from.

Since we have only USD $6 and a bit more than 2000 baht to our name (together), we are hoping we can get a cash advance on my debit card (maybe Capital one allows that!) in Bangkok. We will see...Thank God we have paid for all of our hotels ahead of time by credit card. We may or may not have to pay an international departure tax of $11 each, but I think it is included in our flight ticket out of Bangkok. Hope so!

P.S. in case you are wondering why I let this happen, since I always think ahead, I in fact called Capital one before leaving the country and they said it would be no problem for me to use atms in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. They were correct on the first two countries, but have failed me in Thailand.
-Kelli

And yes, we are still loving Koh Lanta and are sad to leave this place tomorrow. We rented a moto again today and explored the WHOLE island. We also had some delicious food in the Old town and kayaked for a bit near the Sea Gypsy Village. It was a lot of fun. We are going to hang low tonight and watch the sunset on our hotel's beach tonight. Then we head to Koh Phi Phi early in the morning

Hating on Capital One Bank and still loving Koh Lanta remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Another great day tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-08:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=68&entryid=154369 2009-03-08T09:44:28Z 2009-03-08T09:44:28Z So we were told to check out the Lanta Lanta fest in Lanta old town- sort of sounded like a mini jazz fest/school fair with a blend of many cultures (the island is 70% Muslim). The festival was great. After getting lost due to a not so great map, we made it to the festival. Walked around eating delicious and cheap foods and drinking watermelon shakes and frozen mojito smoothies. Delicious food from Pad Thai to ... So we were told to check out the Lanta Lanta fest in Lanta old town- sort of sounded like a mini jazz fest/school fair with a blend of many cultures (the island is 70% Muslim). The festival was great. After getting lost due to a not so great map, we made it to the festival. Walked around eating delicious and cheap foods and drinking watermelon shakes and frozen mojito smoothies. Delicious food from Pad Thai to beef curry like thing to Thai beignets that we dipped in a sweet coconut sauce and on the way back to our moto, we played a carnival game. The point was to throw a basket at a group of different drinks (cokes, lemionade) and if the basket landed upside down, totally covering a drink then you won that drink. Kelli and I each got two baskets and we both missed our first. After Kelli missed her second one, I nailed one right on and Kelli had to balance holding a 1.5L thing of coke as we made our way up and over the mountain, back to our side of the island.
This morning Kelli and I rented a motorbike and borrowed some snorkeling equipment and we set off down a road that ran along the beach looking to do some snorkeling on our own. We stopped at a pretty big beach with some rocks at the end. After Kelli used her girl charm to get a couple of locals working at a fancy resort to let us rent some life jackets for cheap, we set out to find some fish. We didn't snorkel for very long, maybe 30 minutes and the visibility wasn't great but we saw lots of beautiful fish, made even more beautiful by the fact that we found them by ourselves. Hung out and read on the beach before going to a Thai restaurant on the beach called Same, Same but Different where we split a fish fried whole (sharp teeth and all) and swapped sips of a lemon and a coconut shake. We wanted to make it down to the southern point of the island where there is a national park, but it as too hot so we came on back to the pool and now we are heading back to the Lanta Lanta festival tonight.

It is hot as blazes here!

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]]> Ko Lanta tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-07:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=154269 2009-03-07T10:26:56Z 2009-03-07T10:26:56Z We arrived in Ko Lanta today after taking the boat from Phuket to Phi Phi and then on to Ko Lanta. We checked into our place and I already like this island much more than Phuket. There are still almost all Scandinavian tourists but they are much fewer and all the resorts are pretty well spaced out. This seems like much more of what I was expecting/wanting: beautiful not so crowded beaches, a pool with a nearby ... We arrived in Ko Lanta today after taking the boat from Phuket to Phi Phi and then on to Ko Lanta. We checked into our place and I already like this island much more than Phuket. There are still almost all Scandinavian tourists but they are much fewer and all the resorts are pretty well spaced out. This seems like much more of what I was expecting/wanting: beautiful not so crowded beaches, a pool with a nearby bar and some local street food. We will be here for at least 2 nights. Tonight we are heading to a a festival in the old town with lots of music and food. Tomorrow we will be renting a mortorbike and travelling around the island to snorkel on our own and maybe do some hiking.

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]]> Sawadee Phuket tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-06:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=154204 2009-03-06T14:54:41Z 2009-03-06T14:54:41Z For those who don't know, I LOVE thailand. I have loved it ever since my 6ish months here in 2003. Everytime I come to Southeast Asia I want to incorporate a trip to Thailand into the visit, and so far I have been pretty successful at doing so. Conrad has never been here, so I definitely wanted to show him a bit of the country so he can really see why I love Thailand so much and want to eat ... For those who don't know, I LOVE thailand. I have loved it ever since my 6ish months here in 2003. Everytime I come to Southeast Asia I want to incorporate a trip to Thailand into the visit, and so far I have been pretty successful at doing so. Conrad has never been here, so I definitely wanted to show him a bit of the country so he can really see why I love Thailand so much and want to eat at Siamese Thai, the most delicious thai food in the Greater New ORleans area, multiple times a week.

Since I have seen most of Thailand but not yet the Westernside islands and Conrad wanted to enjoy some beach time, we decided to go to Phuket. Phuket is Thailands biggest island, and a huge tourist spot. Having been to Samui and all those islands on the eastern side, I figured Phuket would be really similar, and in a way it is. Pristine beaches, friendly always smiling people, and lots of tourists. I just underestimated the % of tourists and how much the city caters to them. Samui was touristy, but I never felt like I wasn't having a thai experience. Here, that is not the case. Our hotel is swarmed with Dutch people, and the streets are lined with dutch restaurants, signs, etc. There are also a ton of scandinavians, russians, italians, and israelis, but not many americans. The vendors on the street always try to talk to us and guess where we are from, and not once has anyone guessed American. Most people think (or claim to) that we are Aussie, cause I assume there are alot of Aussies here too. Anyway, the short end of the story is, when I walk down the major street near our beach (Kata, which is a beautiful beach), I don't even feel like I am in Thailand. Conrad and I made good effort to find some authentic thai restaurants (where thai people eat) and one that doesn't serve Weiner Schnitzel or other European foods. We did a good job. We got lost, but it was a good lost. Our first dinner was at a place that didnt even have a menu. Just a husband and wife with some food laid out on the counter. Since I am obsessed with thai food, I know alot of names of dishes, and I knew what we were both craving. I asked them if they had a few of them, and a few minutes later we had some delicious food. The wife thought I was thai since I knew so many thai words (all food related) and so she told me she was going to leave, go to the market, but if I want anything else to order it in thai to her husband (who only speaks thai). I laughed.

Today we found an even better place for lunch, and it was so delicious we went for dinner too. Another mom and pop stall that made delicious curries and tom kha gai. Conrad had an awesome watermelon shake, and I finally found some yummy chai yen. Also, I bought some som tam on the street that was dang good.

Other than eating delicious food, we visited Kata Noi beach (a 15 min walk but in the blazing heat it felt like forever to me) which was awesome and less crowded than Kata, where we were yesterday. We spent the afternoon reading by the pool. I lost to Conrad in HORSE ;-( but I had a good showing. He just kept bouncing the ball off the turtles and elephants that lined the pool, and then made a ridiculous shot. It killed me. We enjoyed some more mai tais and pina coladas by the pool. The bartender let us drink the coconut milk before and eat all the carved out pineapple. it was delicious and juicy.

We are definitely enjoying the relaxation (we even slept in til 8am today!!) and are looking forward to heading out of this uber-touristy island and exploring a more low key one. we settled on Koh Lanta first and will spend a few days there. Its farther away than Phi Phi, but should be more relaxing and has just as great snorkeling (some say better, since there arent a ton of people to scare all the fish away). We will be there two nights, then decide whether or not we want to stay another night on Lanta or head to Phi Phi for a day and a half. I don't really think we can lose...both sound beautiful with great snorkeling and natural beauty. Phi Phi just sounds overrun with tourists for its size.

I am proud to report that Conrad is losing his paleness to a certain degree. He has officially lost his forehead tan line (thank God) from his hat and our Mekong Delta bike riding tour. He is even starting to lose the t-shirt farmer's tan that has plagued him for many years I suspect! I am turning quite dark, but sadly have my raccoon eyes (from my sunglasses) already. I will try to get rid of that before I come home.

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]]> Last bit of Cambodia Details tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-06:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=154201 2009-03-06T14:34:37Z 2009-03-06T14:34:18Z Since I never got to finish my cambodia post, I will try and recap the enjoyment we felt there from where I left off...We LOVED angkor wat, and I was so glad we could fit it into our already busy SE asian schedule. We climbed up and down some less than sturdy and less than level stairs to see the sunset at Bangkeg Mountain, as did several other tourists, and then a weird storm rolled in so we went back ... Since I never got to finish my cambodia post, I will try and recap the enjoyment we felt there from where I left off...We LOVED angkor wat, and I was so glad we could fit it into our already busy SE asian schedule. We climbed up and down some less than sturdy and less than level stairs to see the sunset at Bangkeg Mountain, as did several other tourists, and then a weird storm rolled in so we went back down...and back up when it passed. The sunset was sadly not a clear, crisp one so we opted to go down the scary stairs before the herds also did. We also had incentive to get back to our resort, since we pre-ordered some delicious Khmer specialties, which take 2-3 hrs to cook, and scheduled some relaxation massages to soothe our overworked muscles from the long day at Angkor.

I was thoroughly impressed by all of the Khmer food I ate throughout out time in Cambodia. I had a chicken curry the first lunch, some khmer flat noodle dish that night, and then the Cambodian specialty Amok (delicious fish cooked in cocounut milk and wrapped in a banana leaf), followed by a very delicious sour pineapple chicken soup. It was sooooooo delicious. My new goal is to find a Cambodia restaurant in whatever city I end up moving to this summer.

our massages were great. As were the pieapple pancakes we had for breakfast by the pool before leaving for the airport. We sadly had to say goodbye to Cambodia, but were excited to get on to the last country on our trip. The flight to Bangkok was super short (maybe 35 mins) but Bangkok Air made the most of those 35 mins. We were served plenty of orange juice & water, as well as a yummy tuna sandwich lunch pack. In the States, I dont think they would even give us a drink in that short of a time. I was very impressed with Bangkok Air. We had a tight (1 hr) connection in Bangkok before our plane to Phuket (also on Bangkok Air), and we had to go through immigration and customs. We were a little worried we wouldnt make it, but they put some stickers on our shirts, so we were flagged to go by as quickly as possible. We did it all and still had time to stop into the transit passenger lounge with had free internet, popcorn, delicious fresh juices, and conrad had 3 pieces of pineapple upside down cake.

An hour later we were flying over the Andaman Sea and landing in Phuket!

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]]> Thailand tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-06:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=154199 2009-03-06T14:21:46Z 2009-03-06T14:21:46Z Thailand is quite different from the two places we have already been. I knew coming in that Phuket was quite touristy, even since the tsunami. I think I slightly underestimated how touristy it would be and also it is magnified since we are coming from a month in Vinh. Phuket is what it is, a vacation destination. It doesn't make excuses, lots of tourists (seems like 85% at least are Scandinavian), prices much higher than in Vietnam. ... Thailand is quite different from the two places we have already been. I knew coming in that Phuket was quite touristy, even since the tsunami. I think I slightly underestimated how touristy it would be and also it is magnified since we are coming from a month in Vinh.
Phuket is what it is, a vacation destination. It doesn't make excuses, lots of tourists (seems like 85% at least are Scandinavian), prices much higher than in Vietnam. We have been forced to be even more frugal since Capital One ATM cards don't work in Thailand.
But on the other hand, it is still a beautiful place and a great vacation. Wonderful, sunny beaches and amazing sunsets. It just has taken me some adjusting which has been smoothed over by yummy Mai Thais and Pina Coladas (though not as good as my Harbour Island specials). We also found an amazing local Thai food place with incredibly flavorful dishes for dirt cheap by Phuket standards.
Tomorrow we leave for 2 and maybe 3 nights on the quieter Ko Lanta, then maybe one night on Phi Phi before heading back to Phuket for a night and on to Bangkok.

Conrad

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]]> Safe in Phuket tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-05:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=63&entryid=154067 2009-03-05T14:04:23Z 2009-03-05T14:04:23Z Sorry we haven't posted much but we got to Phuket today and have been busy drinking Mai Thais at the pool. ... Sorry we haven't posted much but we got to Phuket today and have been busy drinking Mai Thais at the pool.

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]]> Cambodia Itinerary tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-04:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=62&entryid=153874 2009-03-04T14:46:51Z 2009-03-04T14:46:51Z While our stay in Cambodia has been short, it has also been very enjoyable and memorable. It's also been the first time I felt like we were really just vacationing. We arrived around 1pm, toured our hotel and just loved everything about the place. It was recommended to us by Emilie, Conrad's older sister, and I am so glad we took her advice. We stayed at the Palm Village Resort, not really in Siem Reap center, but out in real life ... While our stay in Cambodia has been short, it has also been very enjoyable and memorable. It's also been the first time I felt like we were really just vacationing.

We arrived around 1pm, toured our hotel and just loved everything about the place. It was recommended to us by Emilie, Conrad's older sister, and I am so glad we took her advice. We stayed at the Palm Village Resort, not really in Siem Reap center, but out in real life cambodia (the dirt road we are on is very bumpy, dark, and its otherwise a poor area). Upon check-in, the hotel gave us a packet of menu-like pieces of paper. A page for ordering drinks, a page for ordering breakfast, a page for lunch/dinner, a page for Angkor Wat tour guides and/or taxis or drivers for your trip to the temples, and a page for all the massage options. The food pages are extensive (with Khmer and Western food) and then we have the option of having the food delivered to our room, eating in the restaurant, taking it away, or eating by the pool. our first breakfast was take away since we left to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. tonights dinner was by the pool and tomorrow we have ordered pineapple pancakes for by the pool. We also had cocktails by the pool, and after a long day at Angkor we had hour long relaxation massages for $9/hr each.

We heard the guides through the hotel were good, so we booked through them. We left when it was pitch black at 5:15 and went to Angkor Wat for the sunrise. Unfortunately for us, the sunrise was not crisp and clean (too many clouds), but the colors were great, and it was just unreal to see so many people waiting to start their day on this incredible and powerful structure. After 5 mins of walking through Angkor Wat, I knew my expectations had been met. For those who don't know, I have wanted to visit Angkor Wat ever since 2003 (the first time I visited Thailand). I had such an amazing time exploring the similar styled Thai temples, and since angkor is bigger and older, I just had to visit the place. I finally have, and it was an amazing day. For those unaware, the Angkor Wat complex has hundreds of temples on it (all built by past Khmer kings in a style of a mix of hindu and buddhist). We visited all of the major ones (along the "short circuit"). Some tourists come and stay a whole week, most stay 3 days, but we only did one long exhausting day of the temples. You could easily fill 3 days with visiting them all, but since each one is in a different state of construction (some just rubble that you cant even walk through), I think we did just fine. We visited Angkor Wat (huge, immense and the "8th wonder of the world"), Angkor Thom and the Bayon (where Tomb Raider was filmed), Ta Proem (the one overtaken by trees). I enjoyed them all, but the Bayon was my favorite. I just loved it because I felt the most connected with it. Its been nicely restored but preserved in architecture, so we were able to walk up and down so many towers. Angkor Wat, on the other hand, is a bit more dangerous and less sound in structure, so you cant climb the stairs. We climbed our fair share of very scary stairs today, and Conrad did quite well for someone who is modestly afraid of heights.

Sorry to cut this short, but I have to run. I will continue this post tomorrow.

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]]> A Beautiful but Sad Day tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-04:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=61&entryid=153861 2009-03-04T13:55:04Z 2009-03-04T13:55:04Z We made it safely to Cambodia yesterday, and after spending the rest of our day exploring the town of Siem Reap, we got up at 445 this morning to head to the temples of Angkor Wat to catch the sunrise. We then went on a whirlwind tour of the fascinating ancient temples with a guide that we hired. Cambodia is quite different from Vietnam. The people are poorer, the terrain is quite arid, and there is a significantly different ... We made it safely to Cambodia yesterday, and after spending the rest of our day exploring the town of Siem Reap, we got up at 445 this morning to head to the temples of Angkor Wat to catch the sunrise. We then went on a whirlwind tour of the fascinating ancient temples with a guide that we hired.
Cambodia is quite different from Vietnam. The people are poorer, the terrain is quite arid, and there is a significantly different feel to it all. The people and the country are beautiful, but I just sensed this immense sadness throughout the day, starting before dawn when our guide told us that he is one of 11 children. 3 of his siblings and his mother were killed during the Khmer Rouge takeover and ensuing civil war. He was just 6 at the time. For those who know very little about Pol Pot and the atrocities he committed, need to google him or buy a book about it. I am reading a book about Lenin, Stalin and Hitler, all ruthless leaders with millions of people's blood on their hands. Pol Pot, I think, has outdone them all when he murdered nearly 2 million of his own people in about 4 years.
Vietnam has certainly seen its fair share of war and political unrest in the last 50+ years, but the Vietnamese, while fiercely remembering all the wounds of their past, are truly looking forward and don't seem to still be struggling with the issues. I have gotten the sense that this is not the case at all in Cambodia. While Vietnamese did fight each other, there was always another country also doing the fighting.
In Cambodia, it was one of their own who ruthlessly killed nearly one third of his fellow countrymen and I think this is one of the reason for the sadness I saw in the natives faces. Cambodia is a land with many natural resources and many years ago was quite wealthy. After the Khmer Rouge were overthrown the nation was in upheavel. THousand died of starvation and currently 85% of the country lives in poverty.
Cambodians, darker skinned than Vietnamese, are beautiful people. The children especially just melt your heart. The people have such kind eyes and are incredibly generous, shy and friendly. I could just see in their faces, however, an intense sorrow and incredible sadness borne of the terrors that are so fresh in their past.
Everywhere we went, the sweetest children would be selling trinkets for "one dollar, sir". Incessantly pleading with you to help them. It was so difficult for me to see that. On the way down the mountain from seeing the sunset, we passed a tiny girl of maybe 5, sitting in the dust, not making eye contact and just barely making a peep as we passed, begging. Not holding out her hands but just sitting there all alone on a jungle path. Really just broke my heart to see her.
We leave tomorrow for Thailand but this has been a memorable, yet haunting trip. Completely differen experience from Vietnam, but has made the trip even more memorable.

A Beautiful but Sad Day remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Tam Biet, Vietnam tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-02:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=60&entryid=153625 2009-03-03T01:14:08Z 2009-03-03T01:14:08Z It is with a heavy heart that we leave the beautiful people and country of Vietnam. It has been a month that I will always remember in so many ways. Our medical experience was incredible, but that is only a part of what has made this such a memorable trip worth every penny I have spent. This is truly a fascinating place, and I have been enchanted since the day I arrived. Now it is on to Siem ... It is with a heavy heart that we leave the beautiful people and country of Vietnam. It has been a month that I will always remember in so many ways. Our medical experience was incredible, but that is only a part of what has made this such a memorable trip worth every penny I have spent. This is truly a fascinating place, and I have been enchanted since the day I arrived.
Now it is on to Siem Reap for a couple days and we head for Thailand on March 5th.
-Conrad

Tam Biet, Vietnam remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Tour de Mekong, part 2 tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-02:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=59&entryid=153519 2009-03-02T13:33:01Z 2009-03-02T13:33:01Z So we woke up about 545, well really about 4 when the roosters started cock a doodle dooing, caught a beautiful river sunrise, had a quick, and mercifully light, breakfast then hopped on a small wooden boat to check out the floating market. There are about 6 of these sactterd throughout the delta. Basically, families with farms in the delta load their harvest onto boats and travel to these markets, living on their boats while on the river. Some ... So we woke up about 545, well really about 4 when the roosters started cock a doodle dooing, caught a beautiful river sunrise, had a quick, and mercifully light, breakfast then hopped on a small wooden boat to check out the floating market.
There are about 6 of these sactterd throughout the delta. Basically, families with farms in the delta load their harvest onto boats and travel to these markets, living on their boats while on the river. Some markets are wholesale, people come to buy a bunch and seel it on land and others are for individual purchases. Ours was a wholesale one and was fascintaing. They only sell fruits and vegetables, and boats put samples of what they are selling on a tall pole so people can find what they need. Most sold only one or two items but a few sold almost ten. We didn't spend much time there but it was truly a great experience. Not another tourist in sight and no one trying to sell us stuff. We saw local transactions going down and then headed for the land market at Tra On to put our Vietnamese skills to the test trying to buy items we needed for our lunch. The market was amazing, we saw the fruits and veggies first and had as delicious pineapple cut up before our eyes. My favorite section was the meats where I got to play my favorite market game of "guess the animal part" The meat section had every organ you could want (brain to bull's testicles) with beautiful cuts of meat. Each table put the head of the animal (pig or cow) on display as well. Certainly more than ornamental as I am sire this is eaten as well. Quite a sight and I will post pics soon I hope. I would maybe recommend that they clean the animal's head off, but who am I to tell these beautiful and amazing people what to do with their livestock. Chin, by the way, also was on the Vietnamese power walking team, as he sped through the market with us wandering somewhere behind.
We got our groceries and some flowers for our host lady, headed back to make spring rolls (both the guide and the lady of our home commented on how excellent my rolling technique was) and stuffed ourselves with food. The couple would constantly keep pur plates full even if we shook our head no. All delicious and totally stuffed.
We sadly said goodbye to our host family and the German couple who were travelling on the Can Tho, crossed the river and got a car back to Saigon. An amazing trip...

Tour de Mekong, part 2 remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Tour de Mekong Delta, Day 1 tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-02:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=56&entryid=153517 2009-03-02T13:20:21Z 2009-03-02T13:20:21Z So apparently Lance Armstrong has a long lost Vietnamese brother named Chin who works as a tour guide for Innoviet tours here in Saigon...Back to this later. So we have returned from an amazing two days on the Delta. We originally planned to do this bike tour with a company we read about in our travel book. A two day deal for $35. It went to the more touristy places but since we only had two days we figured ... So apparently Lance Armstrong has a long lost Vietnamese brother named Chin who works as a tour guide for Innoviet tours here in Saigon...Back to this later.

So we have returned from an amazing two days on the Delta. We originally planned to do this bike tour with a company we read about in our travel book. A two day deal for $35. It went to the more touristy places but since we only had two days we figured we would take what we could get. On the way to this place though we were lured into another tour compnay shop by signs of smiling faces riding bikes under banana trees. So we ducked in there and immediately knew we had what we wanted: a two day trip with a visit to a floating market, biking, and a homestay all in a place that saw few tourists.
This trip was considerably more but we quickly booked it. The next morning we met the two other people with us for the trip (a German couple about our age) and we headed to the pier nearby to catch our boat. The boat ride took a little over three hours, but it was great. The first part near Saigon was a massive port about the size of New Orleans (the whole trip was quite similar to the Mississippi) with huge tankers coming and going. In the midst of these massive ships though were many small wooden boats ferrying various goods up and down the river.
As we turned up one of the many fingers of the Mekong as it fans out in the delta, the tankers disappeared and it was our speedboat and hundreds of wooden boats, from tiny cigarette-like boats to large boats and barges carrying dirt and rocks. The river was alive with commerce, from the many piers actively loading or unloading goods and people to the many boats carrying everything from coconuts to sugar cane to dirt to bananas to rocks to pineapple. Everything. It was truly fascinating to see this all in action.
We pulled up to a random dock and hopped off on the land where the family we would be staying with lives. We met them (an older couple with one son who still lives with them). They work a farm right on the river that has been in their family for generations. They have over 2 hectares on which they grow Mangosteens, pomelos, oranges, bananas, pineapples, rhambutans, and coconuts. We settled into the house and began to help make our lunch. It was a vegetarian hotpot with tofu everything, much to my chagrin. I don't understand tofu and never will but most of the tofu we had was the best I have ever had, but that was only because it was cooked in all sorts of yummy spices and herbs. The tofu brought nothing to the table, we even had tofu shaped and colored like shrimp. Gross.
After that we hopped on a boat (our home was on an island in Vinh Long province) and went to the mainland. There we got bikes and this is where the trip got kind of crazy. It definitely felt like we were in the peloton in France. We had one American team and one German team and our fearless leader Chin "Armstrong" who would take off down the road without saying much. We would follow furiously pedalling behind him. Then he would slam his brakes and veer off into the place he wanted to show us without warning, leaving us screeching to a halt or wobbling into oncoming moto traffic.
We did see some cool things. A couple of beautiful Buddhist temples. We also visited a brick factory where they take sand from the river and clay from inland, throw it in a machine that pumps out raw bricks. They then load the bricks about 6000 at a time into huge brick ovens. The fires are fed with rice husks from harvested rice, they bake for 2 weeks, and then cool down for a week. The ashes leftover from burning the husks are then used as fertilizer for their fields. A pretty cool thing, I thought. I was astounded during the whole trip about just how "lived-in" the Delta felt. These people have been here for ages and just have it all down pat work it beautifully. We sped on passing some more farms and then turned down a narrow path along a small branch of the river and the trip got interesting. Kelli was bringing up the rear at this point as we took in the scenery, and I listened to her curse in Chinese as she hit bumps unexpectedly and motos flew by nearly touching our handlebars which would send us either into cacti or down into the river. Then she tells me she thinks her tire is going to fall off, so I tell her to ride past me and sure enough she has a flat tire.
So doing my best impersonation of a support rider in the tour, I quickly caught up with Chin and told him the news. We weren't able to fix the bike so he hired a local dude to drive him the rest of the way on a moto while he carried the bike. This made it even worse since the last thing he said before speeding off was "We go drive slow" and we didn't see him again for a while.
At this point, our German guy friend was bringing up the rear when suddenly we hard a loud crak and looked back to see him pulling his bike back on the road and apologizing to local family whose fence he just knocked down. Apparently, he got knocked from his bike when he took a bamboo pole to his shoulder, medieval joust style. After realizing he wasn't hurt, we commenced laughing hysterically and the locals got a kick out of it too. We made it back to our ferry point and awaited Chin while he got the bike fixed before heading back to the homestay for a shower and to begin helping to cook dinner.

Tour de Mekong Delta, Day 1 remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> The Mekong Delta through Kelli's eyes tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-02:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=58&entryid=153516 2009-03-03T00:52:04Z 2009-03-02T13:19:41Z I know Conrad is posting about his view of the trip as we speak, so I won't rehash the details of the trip, but rather tell you what I enjoyed most/least about the trip. First off, I think it was the perfect way for us to end our time in Vietnam. I really couldn't imagine ending it on a more positive note. We spent two days living life as a Vietnamese person in the heart of the Mekong Delta. We did ... I know Conrad is posting about his view of the trip as we speak, so I won't rehash the details of the trip, but rather tell you what I enjoyed most/least about the trip.

First off, I think it was the perfect way for us to end our time in Vietnam. I really couldn't imagine ending it on a more positive note. We spent two days living life as a Vietnamese person in the heart of the Mekong Delta. We did one of those "off the beaten path" trips to the delta, and we literally saw no other tourists the entire weekend, aside from the German couple who was part of our trip and the few tourists who took the same speedboat to the delta. The boat dropped us off on a handmade bamboo pier for our host family. We opted to do a homestay with a family that has two huge farms full of various delta fruits. We cooked with the family, walked with the family, ate with the family, drank with the family, etc. We slept under mosquito nets and used their same outhouse (although they did have an old wooden one that i think and hope they retired).

What I liked most: seeing no other tourists, having the many village kids run out of their houses to wave to us and say hello, eating the delicious food, learning how to prepare the delicious food (they use sugar in everything, salt minimally), cheers-ing with our host dad, touring the family's farmland and eating the fruits they grow and are so proud of, biking along the canals off the delta, seeing the action of the local floating market (again no other tourists there, no one harassing us to buy random stuff, they just did business as usual), the weather, shopping for goods to make our own lunch with at the land market and speaking in vietnamese with the sellers, buying one of my favorite flowers (stargazer lilies) to our host mom as a thank you gift and giving her a hug before we left.

What I liked least: our tour guide's hurried behavior throughout the entire trip (he was a speed racing biker and walker - and I walk fast so for me to say he walked too fast is a BIG deal), the fact that i was biking so fast to keep up with our tour guide i often didnt get to enjoy the landscape as much as i wanted or wave to as many kids as i wanted, the fact that we couldnt stay and play with all the kids i wanted, the fact that once the family went to bed they locked the doors and turned off the power so when I woke up at 11pm to go pee I couldn't see or even get out of the house to go to the outhouse and pee (It was HORRIBLE! my bladder was going to explode, so I had to get creative and basically peed in a thick plastic bag - lowlight of my entire trip, believe me! Conrad suggested I pee in a water bottle, but I do not have the skill to pee in a tiny opening in the pitch black), the fact that 4 of the family's roosters started non-stop crowing at 3:46am and continued through the whole morning, the 4.5 hr drive back to Ho Chi Minh through rush hour traffic

So here we are in Ho Chi Minh for our last night in Vietnam...I am sad to say good-bye to Vietnam. I really love this country and everything the Vietnamese people represent (hard work, determination for improvement in so many realms, and a developing country that is making strides little by little). I am so glad I got to experience parts of it. We are already planning our next trip in Vietnam, so I am certain I will get back sometime in life.

Now it's on to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I have been waiting to see Angkor Wat since 2003, so I couldn't be happier about this trip. Unfortunately we wont get to spend too much time there, since we have so little time left for this vacation.

The Mekong Delta through Kelli's eyes remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Random aside: Acute Otitis Media tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-03-02:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=57&entryid=153511 2009-03-02T12:59:28Z 2009-03-02T12:59:28Z Before I tell y'all about the wonderful trip we had to the mekong Delta, I wanted to mention something about the hospital in Vinh. In case anyone was wondering why I never mentioned us diagnosing kids with AOM (middle ear infection, one of the most commonly diagnosed pediatric problems in the States), the reason is clear and simple. Our hospital and most hospitals (per our doctors) do not have otoscopes. They have nothing to look into the ear canal besides ... Before I tell y'all about the wonderful trip we had to the mekong Delta, I wanted to mention something about the hospital in Vinh.

In case anyone was wondering why I never mentioned us diagnosing kids with AOM (middle ear infection, one of the most commonly diagnosed pediatric problems in the States), the reason is clear and simple. Our hospital and most hospitals (per our doctors) do not have otoscopes. They have nothing to look into the ear canal besides a normal handheld flashlight, so they obviously cannot see if the tympanic membrane is red, inflamed, angry or dull. Since they cant see these, likely febrile, kids' ear drums, then it must be the lungs that are infected! Maybe that's why everyone gets diagnosed with pneumonia.

Anyway, I know this is a random post, but this weekend I was thinking about the overdiagnosing of pneumonias in kids in Vinh, and I was comparing it to AOM. In the states or at least the hospitals I have worked in, too many kids are put on antibiotics for AOM.

Random aside: Acute Otitis Media remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> So many things... tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-28:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=54&entryid=153206 2009-02-28T15:34:38Z 2009-02-28T15:34:38Z I know we have been MIA for the last two days, but it's only because our days have been jammed packed with fun. Our last day in Vinh went by so quickly. We went to the hospital, said bye to many cute kids and to most of the staff. Although many of them said "see you again soon" so I am not sure if they understood that we were leaving for good, or if they were just being optimistic for ... I know we have been MIA for the last two days, but it's only because our days have been jammed packed with fun. Our last day in Vinh went by so quickly. We went to the hospital, said bye to many cute kids and to most of the staff. Although many of them said "see you again soon" so I am not sure if they understood that we were leaving for good, or if they were just being optimistic for our return soon. Either way, it made the good bye easier. Conrad and I definitely would love to return to Vinh sometime in the future, whether it is to work in the hospital again (which we both would definitely do) or just stop bye and say hello to our friends. We had an excellent visit here and made so many memories. It was very sad to leave them all, especially when they said how much they would miss us. They stuffed us full of yummy food over the last few days, gave us some delicious candy from the region as a thank you, and gave me some (regifted and moldy...) flowers to say thanks. It's the thought that counts!

On our last day we sadly did not give English lecture. Everyone was too busy, since it was also national health professionals day (thanks to Uncle Ho who started the holiday in the 50s). Instead, we met with the medical director and vice medical director to talk about our month at the hospital. It was an excellent meeting. I thought it would be a few mins long since they dont speak English and our french is basic, but we had two of hospital friends as translators, and it was a really productive and optimistic meeting. They wanted to know how we enjoyed the hospital, Vinh and the doctors. They asked for our advice on improving health care at the hospital and within the local communities. They asked about asthma and future directions they can go to fight it in the community (of course I went on to several tangents about the role of public health, education and preventative medicine...). They asked about other possible projects medical students could do in the future. They asked about ways they can improve English skills among doctors. They truly just want to be better at everything, and their dedication will prove them far into the future, I hope. At the end of the meeting the medical director wanted to take us out to dinner, but it turned out we all already had fun plans, so we had to decline.

We went to an awesome dinner part with the entire Emergency department. It was an assortment of chicken with lots of beer. The table was segregated for "tradition." All the doctors (men) at one end, nurses at the other, and me at the cusp. It was great because they wanted me to drink beer with the men and cheers with them too, but since I was also a girl and on the cusp, I didnt have to do it all the time. Conrad had to drink with the big boys. The only bad thing was that all the nurses were talking about me, my weight and height. No idea why but they wanted to know. They were making guesses. One lady guessed I weighed 80 kilos!! I almost died. I know I am much fatter than I have ever been, but geez, 80 kilos (176 lbs!) no way. One of the nurses was right on with my weight and height, so we cheers-ed together.

Other highlights from our last day: we stopped for bia hoi at this place we always walk by en route home. it was alot of fun. One guy who worked there came up and wanted to take our order. He didnt speak any English but started off with "Sprechen sie Deutsch?" It was amazing (for me)! I got all excited! As we were leaving, some locals wanted to 100% with us, and we obliged. Also alot of fun. I think we have more than 10 pictures of us 100%-ing with people.
Also, we went down to Ho Chi Minh Square last night to celebrate national doctor day with many hospitals. More singing and dancing, and luckily we did not have to sing! Afterward, we went for coffee and this delicious frozen yogurt (it was literally a thing of breakfast yogurt that was put in a freezer). Then back to the house to crash.

Today, it was pouring and storming for a few hours. The first real rain of our whole trip. We couldnt believe it. Conrad and I were afraid the one and only flight out of Vinh (ours) would be cancelled, but luckily it stopped. One doctor and the head nurse took us to visit a war memorial 30 km outside of town today. It was in honor of 10 single women, who volunteered to rebuild the roads that were destroyed when the US bombed in the war. They were all killed with one bomb, which left a huge whole in the ground (still there today). We had an awesome lunch with our doctor friends and then were escorted in our hospital's ambulance to the airport.

Now it's on to the Mekong delta...

So many things... remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Wrapping up the medicine part of our trip tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-28:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=55&entryid=153205 2009-02-28T15:27:36Z 2009-02-28T15:27:36Z Our month in Vinh truly was worthwhile. It was great to be immersed in a health care system tootally different from the one in which I have trained so far. Everything was such a memorable experience: from talking with the doctors in broken medical English to examining so many kids with pathologies that we rarely see in the U.S. because of the access to so much care back home. I also fell that the asthma survey will ... Our month in Vinh truly was worthwhile. It was great to be immersed in a health care system tootally different from the one in which I have trained so far. Everything was such a memorable experience: from talking with the doctors in broken medical English to examining so many kids with pathologies that we rarely see in the U.S. because of the access to so much care back home. I also fell that the asthma survey will wind up doing much good. We had a final day meeting with the hospital director and we gave him suggestions as to how to implement a program to educate both children and parents about asthma. It was an incredible learning experience and I hope to return one day when my medical knowledge is so much better than it is now, and maybe my Vietnamese will be slightly better also.
An awesome experience and Kelli and I hope to set up a pipeline to Vinh for Tulane students to come every year or so. We would highly recommend it.
The country is amazing and the kindness, hospitality and generosity of the Vietnamese people is truly humbling. This has so far been a trip that will forever be on my mind and as soon as I return home, I will be trying to figure out when I can come back.

Wrapping up the medicine part of our trip remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Saigon Take 2 tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-28:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=53&entryid=153195 2009-02-28T14:56:46Z 2009-02-28T14:51:38Z So we arrived back in Saigon today after our send off from Vinh. We were brought to the airport via ambulance with 3 of the doctors we worked the most with as well as Nga and her two daughters. After spending much of the week eager to get our vacation started, it was certainly with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to the people we worked with and the few people in the community we came to ... So we arrived back in Saigon today after our send off from Vinh. We were brought to the airport via ambulance with 3 of the doctors we worked the most with as well as Nga and her two daughters. After spending much of the week eager to get our vacation started, it was certainly with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to the people we worked with and the few people in the community we came to know (even if not linguistically) during our time in Vinh. It truly was a memorable experience, culturally and medically.
We made it to Ho Chi Minh city safely, booked our flights to Siem Reap on Tuesday, got a METERED cab (this ride cost us less than 6bucks compared to the $16 or so we spent the first day) and made it to our hotel.
Coming from the quieter much less crowded city of Vinh back to the craziness of Saigon was a small shock. But I already have a much better feel for the life of Saigon. I think our first stop a month ago was so quick and I was in shock at how much different Vietnam was from the US. While I still think Hanoi is much better, Saigon is a vibrant place that really never sleeps.
Also, THEY HAVE PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME!!! Now I don't stick out like a sore thumb, but it is kind of weird to not have people staring at you and to come across so many natives who speak English.
We then set out and booked a two day Mekong Delta Tour. We will be leaving by boat tomorrow morning and will be exploring the area around Vinh Long by bike and boat with a couple of cooking classes and a stay overnight with a local family, then an early morning visit to a floating market, which I am most excited about. It seems that it will be similar to our one day trip in Hoi An, but not quite as rustic and certainly with not as much fun company as we had with the Canadian trio. But we are excited since Vinh Long sees much fewer tourists than other towns in the delta.
Excited about our two weeks of vacation and will keep updating although we won't lilely be back online until we return from the delta on March 2.

Saigon Take 2 remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Finally...finito! tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-26:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=51&entryid=152717 2009-02-26T12:15:07Z 2009-02-26T12:02:24Z I am happy to report that we have finally finished logging all of our school survey data into excel. We thought we would be done very early this morning, but of course we got another 100 or so to do. A total of 1200 students' information! And now the fun part...tallying and doing some basic statistical analysis. That's what we are going to try and tackle tonight, so that we don't have to spend our last day in the hospital ... I am happy to report that we have finally finished logging all of our school survey data into excel. We thought we would be done very early this morning, but of course we got another 100 or so to do. A total of 1200 students' information! And now the fun part...tallying and doing some basic statistical analysis. That's what we are going to try and tackle tonight, so that we don't have to spend our last day in the hospital doing statistics. We would much rather see some adorable kids ;-) Who wouldn't, right?!

Today we did mostly data entry, but got to work clinic for an hour or so. A lot of rashes among other things. It amazes me still how different our countries practice basic pediatric care. The whole "common things are common" is the guideline they use here. Anyone who has cruddy sounding lungs MUST have pneumonia and MUST need a cephalosporin. Every kid with a rash for longer than a month must be allergic (so we observed today). That's just the way it goes. They order the tests they can, and they don't order the tests that are out of the realm of the possibility. In saying this, I mean, they really will order every test they can for something, even if it has NO BEARING on their management. They love their CRP and ESR, which I know alot of people in the States do too, but I am not one of these people. I just find such little use in them. Sure they can notify you of inflammation, but more times than not, they are just some moderate number and it doesnt help me or hurt me to know this. Here, they do it all the time. For example, a kid with pneumonia today (this girl really did have pneumonia, I think). Get a chest x-ray and CBC, but why a CRP or ESR? If the chest x-ray looks bad you are going to treat. If the CBC shows high WBC, you are going to treat. If these are fine, but a CRP or ESR are mildly elevated, then what? I know, I know, I know, I am not a doctor yet. But after my Finger-upbringing where you better have a reason for doing everything you do, working in the clinic here is a challenge at times. Especially when the doctors look to us for alot of guidance it seems (often times on rounds they ask us - so what is your diagnosis? what should we do?). It's scary at times. Especially when they want us to change the vent settings or read the CT scans because they have little to know experience in doing so. I think they forget that we are still students...

Today we also had a ~13 yo male patient that experiences chest tightness towards the end of swimming and for 5-10 minutes afterward. I was thinking exercise-induced asthma, since I had many swimmer patients on my away rotation at Pittsburgh with the exact same complaint. I suggested to the doctor that maybe it was asthma, and he first said "I don't think." I asked him why not, and he told me to listen to the lungs. I did and of course they were clear (he wasn't exerting himself at all, just sitting on the bed). I think the doctor thought the kid should wheeze if he had asthma. I explained to him that often times kids with exercise induced asthma will only sound bad during and after exercise. Then he asked me if they should get a chest x-ray. The kid also had a HR of about 96, so in the end he decided to order only an EKG, which has to be done at another hospital since our hospital's EKG machine is broken.

One thing I have observed and really find value in is that the doctors very common prescribe vitamins or other supplementation to their kids. So every kids with pneumonia also gets a multivitamin (which by the way also include Taurine! yes the same taurine that is a big ingredient in red bull), every abdominal pain kid gets lactobacillus, every dermatitis kid gets vitamin C and E. I was thinking this may have to do with the fact that Vietnamese people really only seek medical attention when they are really ill, so maybe the doctors are grasping every opportunity they can to boost up these kids. Whatever the reason, I am okay with it. Especially since this country doesn't acknowledge the concept of preventative medicine to any significant degree.

On a happy note, the last kid we saw in clinic today was the most adorable thing ever. Maybe 15 months, and he was just smiling and giggling with his big cheeks. It was great!

Finally...finito! remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Healthcare System tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-26:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=52&entryid=152716 2009-02-26T12:02:22Z 2009-02-26T12:02:22Z I will try to stay as apolitical as possible here. One of my college professors would be able to speak much more intelligently on this topic but I will do my best. First, I must say that Vietnam's health care system is certainly not nearly an adequate model to use in comparing various systems, but as I have been working intensely within this model for the last month, it is what is most fresh in my mind. It is also an issue that ... I will try to stay as apolitical as possible here.
One of my college professors would be able to speak much more intelligently on this topic but I will do my best.
First, I must say that Vietnam's health care system is certainly not nearly an adequate model to use in comparing various systems, but as I have been working intensely within this model for the last month, it is what is most fresh in my mind.
It is also an issue that is certain to be in the news back home much more frequently as President Barack "I can do or say no wrong as long as I end my speech with 'Yes We Can'" Obama has just said he wants to spend over 700 billion on overhauling the healthcare system. Where exactly all this money he wants to spend is coming from is another story. I will say I am certainly intrigued to see the ideas that will be tossed about to improve the system we have now.
I think it is terrible that there are so many Americans with no insurance and are just an accident away from financial ruin. We certainly need to find some way to provide every citizen with affordable health care coverage, at the very least every one of our children.
So back to Vietnam health care system... After working here for the month (again keeping in mind that this is not the best model to make the conclsion I wanrt to make), I have realized some things:

1. Nothing too groundbreaking, but the quality and quantity of medical care in the U.S. is unrivalled. The superiority of the doctors, hospitals, medical education, and treatment options is the best in the world. It has really been an eye opening experience to see that, for example, in Cardiology here in Vietnam it seems that heart rhythm problems in children are for the most part ignored or not well addressed. The ECG machine here is broken and has been for four months. I have been surprised that even issues more basic than an ECG machine, such as hand washing, are not at all emphasized.

2. Governments should not be responsible for providing and paying for healthcare for everyone. I don't care if you are as rich as the US or as poor as Vietnam, politicians should not be allowed to have 100% control healthcare. I really am not sure how best to improve access to healthcare system in the US, but I will leave here with a stronger belief that a completely nationalized, government-run system is not the way to go.

3. After getting another onslaught of completed asthma surveys this morning, we finished them all off! Huge relief would be even bigger if we didn't have to do preliminary data analysis on over 1200 kids. We should definitely have some interesting and useful results, but this week has confirmed why I hate research stuff. It just bores me (unless of course it's Cardiology related)

Healthcare System remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> And it continues... tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-24:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=50&entryid=152482 2009-02-25T07:41:10Z 2009-02-25T07:41:10Z After borrowing a doctor's laptop to do more data entry from our hotel last night, we thought we would finish all the surveys today. But then we got a reqest to work with one of the PM&R doctors in clinic this morning, and while in clinic the head respiratory docto delivered us another 250ish surveys. MORE! So we didn't go back to our hotel at lunch and instead did more data entry. Looks like it will continue all night, tomorrow ... After borrowing a doctor's laptop to do more data entry from our hotel last night, we thought we would finish all the surveys today. But then we got a reqest to work with one of the PM&R doctors in clinic this morning, and while in clinic the head respiratory docto delivered us another 250ish surveys. MORE! So we didn't go back to our hotel at lunch and instead did more data entry. Looks like it will continue all night, tomorrow (since we already committed a halfday to working with the cardiologist in his clinic tomorrow), and maybe Friday.

Fortunately/unfortunately for me I finished my last book last night (which had a lame ending by the way). Now I have nothing to distract me from more data entry...

Unfortunately I also have nothing to read on the 3 hr flight back to Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday either. Bummer.
-Kelli

And it continues... remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Food tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-24:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=49&entryid=152465 2009-02-25T05:34:39Z 2009-02-25T05:34:39Z The russian roulette game that is eating in Vietnam without knowing the language continues. Last night we decided to try a place that had Bun Hue, a noodle dish that we thought just had pork in it. So as Kelli is watching the lady make our meal, she sees her pour some unidentifiable meats into the stew. When we get our bowls there is much more than noodles and beef in them. Kelli quickly throws some ... The russian roulette game that is eating in Vietnam without knowing the language continues. Last night we decided to try a place that had Bun Hue, a noodle dish that we thought just had pork in it. So as Kelli is watching the lady make our meal, she sees her pour some unidentifiable meats into the stew. When we get our bowls there is much more than noodles and beef in them. Kelli quickly throws some sort of pate looking thing from her bowl into mine. After looking at the off white slices with unidentifiable clear chinks in them I decided it reminded me of geology, as they closely resembled sandstone. I took a bite, not gross but not terribly tasty. I have no idea what it is. The next meat object was a pork rib. Not too tasty, very tough. Then I picked up what looked like liver. I gave it a bite, not as bad as I was expecting but a weird smooth, greasy texture. So I left the rest of the "liver" and ate all the noodles and the broth.
This morning on the way to work, for some reason, I remebered reading in a book that Bun Hue is a popular dish that usually has beef and coagulated blood cubes. So yes, I am pretty sure what I ate was not liver...

Food remains copyright of the author Kellrad, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Utterly exhausted tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-02-24:/blog/?domain=kellrad&thisblog_entryid=48&entryid=152239 2009-02-27T02:20:42Z 2009-02-24T10:26:17Z Some of you may know how much I dislike people telling me I look tired. I know they really don't mean anything by it, but I always feel like it means 1) I look like crap 2) I should take better care of myself 3) maybe I look bored or disinterested. Maybe they just say that because normally I am a bubbly, energetic person who smiles alot, and to stray from this norm must mean I am tired. Maybe it's ... Some of you may know how much I dislike people telling me I look tired. I know they really don't mean anything by it, but I always feel like it means 1) I look like crap 2) I should take better care of myself 3) maybe I look bored or disinterested. Maybe they just say that because normally I am a bubbly, energetic person who smiles alot, and to stray from this norm must mean I am tired.

Maybe it's none of those things, but they always cross my mind. Anyway, it has been a trend since maybe last Thursday for one or two doctors or nurses to tell me I look tired. I have been getting considerably less sleep lately (due to a variety of loud noises-domestic disputes, heavy construction, and maybe a kid seizing or shouting in pain-inside our hotel). Additionally, we have just been working a lot. Last week we had to help the cardiologist translate a 52-slide powerpoint into English for his uncle who was going to Ha Noi to present it. We ended up staying at the hospital until 9pm or so that night. This past weekend I got alot of sleep and felt well rested, and the last two days we have been working non-stop with data entry (even skipping our afternoon lunch/reading/internet-ing break to do more data entry).

Anyway, I do feel completely exhausted. Today I didnt even want to make the 10 minute walk back from the hospital to the hotel. I think I am just ready to be on a real vacation. Lucky for us, it starts this Saturday! I just hope I can muster the energy to get me there without too many people making me feel bad for "looking tired."
-Kelli

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