It definitely feels like it's been way longer than 5 days... I haven't slept much, I've walked well over 10km every day, and definitely feel like I need a vacation after this trip, but I guess I can't complain when I get to explore the world as part of my job.
I was absolutely exhausted when we arrived in Singapore (because when you're being flown business class you don't sleep... you stay awake so you can actually enjoy a proper 3 course meal, champagne, and bottomless wine). Thankfully everything was well organized by the insurance company, so I didn't have to think too much when we landed - we had an escorted pick-up and were loaded into the back of an ambulance and transferred to a fancy private hospital that felt more like a hotel than a hospital. Everything happened so quickly once we arrived. My colleague was admitted right away, the surgeon came by and did his speech, then the flurry of pre-op prep began.
Somewhere between her blood work, x-rays, ECG, etc.. I passed out on the couch of her private hospital room, incredibly thankful that there was a whole team of nurses to tend to her needs so I could get a few hours sleep in (man, nurses really are amazing!!!!!). Her surgery was later that afternoon, and just long enough for me to check-in to my super fancy 5 star hotel and take the first hot shower I've had in a month. Glorious.
The rest of the week has been spent back and forth between the hospital, hotel, restaurants, running various errands, and fulfilling requests from my colleaugues back in Bangladesh.... one such wish list item request was Tahini - excited for the fresh hummus that will soon be coming our way! I know that Singapore is supposed to be well known for it's delicious food, but all I've had this past week has been salad (my body has definitely been in salad withdrawal). So I can't tell you much about the food, except to say that I know where all the best salad places are around the Orchard Road area... oh, and a great little dessert stand, run by a lovely gentleman, where you can get the most delcious candy-bread wrapped ice cream:
As hospital visiting hours ended at 8pm, I'd usually make sure I was at the hospital until that time, then I'd try to make the most of my free evenings by going out and exploring as much as I could (which means all these late nights and early mornings have now caught up with me). But on the recommendations of friends (thanks Bernardo and Carlos!!) I was able to see some pretty cool things. Like... did you know there's a boat perched on top of a hotel here (spanning 3 hotel towers to be exact)?? And that there's a rooftop bar up there were you can have a ridiculously over-priced drink (or two) and soak in the beautiful skyline of Singapore over Marina Bay while watching a water and light show? Well, it exists...and it's definitely worth it! (see below: left - the view from the rooftop bar (57 stories up) on the boat hotel, which is pictured on the right - not a great photo of it, but google: Marina Bay Sands Hotel if you're interested)
I also randomly came across a show of fireworks over by Clarke's Quay - a huge covered area along the Singapore River that is jam packed with restaurants, pubs, karaoke bars, and clubs (each competing with the next to see who's music can be the loudest), and an awesome place to just sit and people-watch (one of my favourite things to do).
I also had a chance to briefly explore Haji lane... which is a long, trendy street crammed with shoppes, cafes, salons, spas, and some pretty cool street art (oh, and a cafe with a great salad!)
Haji Lane, Street Art:
However, even just navigating to and from the hospital was an adventure. Even though there's probably only 300m between my hotel and the hospital, to actually walk there is an experience all on its own. You have to take all these underground passageways (to bypass a busy intersection) and each step you take feels like a "choose your own adventure" story. There are so many options to choose from: left to Ion Orchard (a shopping center), right to Wheelock Place (another shopping center), down to Tangs Plaza (yet another shopping center), and up to Shaw House (yup, you guessed it)... and then if you do turn down one of these passageways it's like a whole secret underground world of shopping delights, 4 stories deep. But it's dangerous... you get sucked it to all the bright and shiny things, and everything looks the same.... and you're underground so there's no way to orient yourself as to where you are... and the signage is unclear... and it's swirly and whirly, and wynding... and there are 5 of the same stores, so you can't use anything as a landmark... you just have to walk around in circles until you hope you come across an escalator that takes you back to the outside world... and back to your hotel so you can drop off all the purchases that you accidently made... oops (damn you lululemon!)
Singapore itself is an incredible place, and even the small amount I did get to see was impressive. It's so clean even the cars don't appear to have any dust on them (which I guess is to be expected when it's illegal to spit or chew gum, there's a 1000$ fine for littering, a 500$ fine for eating or drinking on trains or in public transport areas, and a 400$ fine for smoking in undesignated areas).
But oh man is it ever expensive. Meals (ie. salads) start at 20$ (a Singapore dollar is roughly on par with a Canadian dollar) and can run up to 70$ for a fairly standard entree. Drinks are pricey too. A bottle of beer or cider starts around 18$, a glass of wine around 15$, and a cocktail about 20$! I'm definitely looking forward to going back to a country where meal prices range from 1$ to a whopping 9$ (for those nights when you need to splurge at the "fancy" restaurant)... even if the only alcohol available is 5$ cans of "Hunter" beer that we down on Thursday night dance parties at the only real bar frequented by expats in town.
But regardless of how tired I am as I sit on my flight from Singapore to Dhaka, (sipping on a Singapore Sling - because as long as I'm still on a Singapore airline it still counts as having at least tried the drink that originated in a bar somewhere in downtown Singapore, right?), I'm very thankful that I was given the opportunity to be able to help out a colleague through her surgery. Even though this time I wasn't allow through the doors of the OR, getting to re-experience what things are like from the patient's perspective is always humbling and a huge learning experience.
And I'm also pretty excited that by some random coincidence (do coincidences really exist?) one of my brother's friends happened to be in Singapore at the same time that I was, and we were able to meet up yesterday for a beer at a little English-style pub and chat triathlon, Harry Potter, and the excitement of moving across the world on a whim (which him and his wife also doing in a few months time). And for all those who are thinking of doing the same thing... do it. Even if it's not quitting your job and moving half-way around the world, but rather just booking a trip somewhere for a week or two (that maybe isn't an all-inclusive resort), or taking a weekend to escape to the mountains, or a day to just drive aimlessly into the countryside and discover new places and small town pubs... just do it! It's such an amazing experience to be doing something new, exciting, spontaneous, and meeting loads of super interesting people along the way... like Alex, the Romanian guy I started chatting about Tarantula Hawks with in a restaurant one night, who had just finished 6 months at sea and was going home to write his exams to become a sea-farer (I didn't even know jobs like that existed! Nor did I know about Tarantula Hawks, and am now even more keen to use my bug hut). It's interesting people like that who make travel even more fun... the stories and experiences that make you really look at life through a different set of eyes and help you gain some perspective of the vast world that we live in.. and that make you truly thankful just to be alive. Life is too precious and short to not take the opportunity to discover all that lies within this beautiful creation. Because all it takes is one second for your whole life to be flipped upsidedown... to slip and break your ankle and not be able to walk, to get sick and end up in hospital, to get that terminal diagnosis, to lose a loved one you thought you had more time with... so do it all while you can, at the first second you receive that opportunity.
I promise you, you definitely won't regret it.
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