Our journey home was very long but uneventful. On Saturday we flew from Nakhon Phanom to Bangkok and on Sunday departed Bangkok for Elizabethtown. We left our overnight hotel in Bangkok at 5 AM and arrived in Elizabethtown by 2:30 am on Monday. Because of time zones and crossing the international date line, our May 20th lasted around 35 hours. It was interesting flying from morning to late afternoon to night to morning to afternoon to night all in one day.
Reflecting on the mission, we again were able to help many people to see and the dental team was able to help relieve pain and discomfort. We made new friends and experienced new aspects of our incredible world. Thank you to our organizers and team leaders - Connie Spark, Dr. Amy Spotts, and Dr. Robert Lawson-Smith and thank you to the Rotary Foundation for allowing us to "do good in the world."
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Year 2555
Cultural Day in Sakon Phanom
On Friday we traveled west to the Sakon Phanom province. The main part of the day involved a tour of the Phu Phan Royal Development Center which is a sprawling agricultural research and education center established by the king. As part of the tour there was a sampling of some local cuisine including fried crickets and silkworms.
We had a farewell party in the evening at the hotel. Below is a picture of Ken and I exchanging our Elizabethttown Rotary Club banner with our wonderful host Ann.
We had a farewell party in the evening at the hotel. Below is a picture of Ken and I exchanging our Elizabethttown Rotary Club banner with our wonderful host Ann.
Cultural Day in Mukdahan
Whenever we go on a mission, our hosts are always eager to share with us their local culture and sites. Our final 2 days in northeast Thailand were spent touring the Mukdahan province south of Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Phanom west of Nakhon Phanom.
On Thursday we boarded a bus and headed south to the Wat Phra That Phanom. "Wat" means temple. This is the most famous temple (and one of many) in Nakhon Phanom. It was built by a Laotian king and, according to legend, contains the breastbone of The Buddha.
Our local host showed us the proper way to show reverence to the Buddha. Of course, first we had to remove our shoes to enter the temple area. The ritual is to walk around the stupa three times, the first time reflecting on the Buddha, the second time reflecting on sacred scriptures, and the third time reflecting on the monks. Then a lotus flower is placed in a basket, incense is lit, and then a small piece of gold leaf is applied to the temple.
After leaving the Wat, we traveled on to Mukdahan and had lunch in a rotating restaurant at the top of a 15 story hotel. We then went to the Indochina market, which stretched along the street by the Mekong River. It very much reminded us of Saturday's Market in Middletown. On the way back to Nakhon Phanom, we saw the Laos-Thailand Friendship Bridge 2.
Final Day in Nakhon Phanom
Wednesday was our final day seeing patients in Nahhon Phanom. The clinic ran smoothly and we finished up and packed up the equipment by 6:00pm.
During the week while we were busy in the eye clinic, the dental team was having adventures of their own. Today they went to a local prison to provide services and we are looking forward to hearing about that!
Over the entire mission, we provided prescription glasses or reading glasses to around 1500 people. The interesting thing about this mission is that their were very few people who passed the screening. (Less than 10?). This may be because we saw mostly adults over 40.
The next 2 days are cultural days followed by a weekend of travel to return home.
During the week while we were busy in the eye clinic, the dental team was having adventures of their own. Today they went to a local prison to provide services and we are looking forward to hearing about that!
Over the entire mission, we provided prescription glasses or reading glasses to around 1500 people. The interesting thing about this mission is that their were very few people who passed the screening. (Less than 10?). This may be because we saw mostly adults over 40.
The next 2 days are cultural days followed by a weekend of travel to return home.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The Baht Stops Here
The Thai unit of currency in the BAHT. The current exchange rate is about 31 bahts to the US dollar.
Prices are very inexpensive here in Thailand, especially outside of Bangkok. Our hotel in Lopburi cost 750 baht per night with breakfast and wi fi included. That equates to $24 per night.
Roundtrip airfare from Bangkok to Nakhon Phanom was a little more than $100 equivalent.
A bottle of Coke - 13 baht (42 cents). One of the Brazilian Rotarians bought a button down shirt for 40 baht ($1.30).
If you drop a baht, you should not step on it to keep it from blowing away. This is because it has the King's picture on it and you should not step on the King.
Prices are very inexpensive here in Thailand, especially outside of Bangkok. Our hotel in Lopburi cost 750 baht per night with breakfast and wi fi included. That equates to $24 per night.
Roundtrip airfare from Bangkok to Nakhon Phanom was a little more than $100 equivalent.
A bottle of Coke - 13 baht (42 cents). One of the Brazilian Rotarians bought a button down shirt for 40 baht ($1.30).
If you drop a baht, you should not step on it to keep it from blowing away. This is because it has the King's picture on it and you should not step on the King.
Day 2 in Nakhon Phanom
It was a busy day today in the eye clinic. We had an unexpected delay in the morning and arrived later than anticipated. We worked until almost 6 pm to make up the time. We saw an estimated 280 people in the refracting lanes today.
Some of the people we are seeing are traveling from far distances to see us. Apparently there is not good access to refractive eye care and prescription glasses for many of the working population. A lot of people are coming in with glasses that they purchased off a rack at a store. We assume they just look through them and pick whichever power they think they see with the best.
We aren't seeing as many sun-related eye conditions here in Nakhon Phanom as in Lopburi, but still we are seeing quite a number of cataracts and pterygium.
Almost all of my patients are older than 40. We have seen very few kids.
The people are genuinely grateful and very cooperative as patients. We were applauded when we arrived at the hospital by the waiting masses.
For dinner this evening a number of us traveled up the street to a pizza restaurant - though they ran out of dough after 3 small pizzas..... so we ended up with more Thai food.
Some of the people we are seeing are traveling from far distances to see us. Apparently there is not good access to refractive eye care and prescription glasses for many of the working population. A lot of people are coming in with glasses that they purchased off a rack at a store. We assume they just look through them and pick whichever power they think they see with the best.
We aren't seeing as many sun-related eye conditions here in Nakhon Phanom as in Lopburi, but still we are seeing quite a number of cataracts and pterygium.
Almost all of my patients are older than 40. We have seen very few kids.
The people are genuinely grateful and very cooperative as patients. We were applauded when we arrived at the hospital by the waiting masses.
For dinner this evening a number of us traveled up the street to a pizza restaurant - though they ran out of dough after 3 small pizzas..... so we ended up with more Thai food.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Monday in Nakhon Phanom
Our first clinic day in Nakhon Phanom started with an hour long series of speeches and photo ops by the local organizers at the Nakhon Phanom Hospital.
By the time we set up the clinic and ironed out the flow, we ended up seeing only around 160 people in the eye clinic.
The ophthalmologist at the hospital doesn't want us to do eye health checks; he only wants us to refract (determine glasses prescriptions). We are set up in 4 refracting lanes, 3.5 feet apart in a 10 foot by 20 foot room. Fortunately the air conditioning is working well.
In the evening we had a sunset boat cruise on the Mekong River followed by dinner at the hotel restaurant. I ordered Tom Yum which is a "hot and spicy" Thai soup...and yes, it was! My tongue now hates me...at least whats left of it.
By the time we set up the clinic and ironed out the flow, we ended up seeing only around 160 people in the eye clinic.
The ophthalmologist at the hospital doesn't want us to do eye health checks; he only wants us to refract (determine glasses prescriptions). We are set up in 4 refracting lanes, 3.5 feet apart in a 10 foot by 20 foot room. Fortunately the air conditioning is working well.
In the evening we had a sunset boat cruise on the Mekong River followed by dinner at the hotel restaurant. I ordered Tom Yum which is a "hot and spicy" Thai soup...and yes, it was! My tongue now hates me...at least whats left of it.
Monday, May 14, 2012
On the Road Again...
Today (Sunday) was a travel day, leaving Lopburi and heading to Nakhon Phanom. Our plan was to bus back to Bangkok and then fly to NachonPhenom.
One of the key elements for success on these missions is having a local Rotarian who can handle logistics and make arrangements in the native language and with respect to the local culture quirks. We have really struggled with this in Lopburi and it was a stressful day not knowing if our equipment would get trucked to the next location and running late to the airport due to a dispute with the bus company.
In the end, everything worked out ok and we arrived in Nakhon Phanom in the afternoon. We received an amazing welcome at the airport from the local Rotarians complete with fresh flowers (orchids) for all of the team members.
Nakhon Phanom is on the banks of the Mekong River on the border with Laos. Our hotel is the Riverview Hotel and is right on the river. Above is the view from our hotel room.
After settling in we received a tour of the city and visited the hospital where we will work. In the evening we had a welcome reception with delicious Thai food and native music and dancing. The team is looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow.
One of the key elements for success on these missions is having a local Rotarian who can handle logistics and make arrangements in the native language and with respect to the local culture quirks. We have really struggled with this in Lopburi and it was a stressful day not knowing if our equipment would get trucked to the next location and running late to the airport due to a dispute with the bus company.
In the end, everything worked out ok and we arrived in Nakhon Phanom in the afternoon. We received an amazing welcome at the airport from the local Rotarians complete with fresh flowers (orchids) for all of the team members.
After settling in we received a tour of the city and visited the hospital where we will work. In the evening we had a welcome reception with delicious Thai food and native music and dancing. The team is looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow.
Day 2 in Lopburi
The second day of seeing patients wasn't quite as hot even thought the AC remained broken. Today was a holiday in Thailand so we were a little slower seeing only 225 patients in the eye clinic.
Apparently there are alot of holidays in Thailand. The king can declare a holiday as he sees fit. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the king is highly revered. King Rama IX has reigned since 1946 making him the world's longest reigning current monarch and the world's longest serving head of state. His picture is everywhere - signs along roads, in front of all government buildings, inside all public buildings, etc. Currently at age 84 he is ill and hospitalized.
With this being our last day in the province of Lopburi, we were guests at the Lopburi (city) Rotary Club for dinner. They happened to also be welcoming a GSE ( Rotary Group Study Exchange) team from
Tennessee. We had a wonderful Thai meal and lots of fun.
Tomorrow we travel to northeast Thailand.
Apparently there are alot of holidays in Thailand. The king can declare a holiday as he sees fit. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the king is highly revered. King Rama IX has reigned since 1946 making him the world's longest reigning current monarch and the world's longest serving head of state. His picture is everywhere - signs along roads, in front of all government buildings, inside all public buildings, etc. Currently at age 84 he is ill and hospitalized.
With this being our last day in the province of Lopburi, we were guests at the Lopburi (city) Rotary Club for dinner. They happened to also be welcoming a GSE ( Rotary Group Study Exchange) team from
Tennessee. We had a wonderful Thai meal and lots of fun.
Tomorrow we travel to northeast Thailand.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Finally the Work Begins!
After lots of traveling over the past week, we finally got down to business today and started seeing patients. We are working at a hospital in the provence of Lopburi in the town of Nakhon Chi Si. Even though it is a hospital compound, the eye team is working in and around what amounts to a small wood cabin. We are checking vision and pretesting and fitting glasses outside, while the doctors work in the cabin. Because the cabin is air-conditioned,this was a good deal in the morning, however the AC died by the afternoon. The outside temp was over 100.
We processed over 600 people through the eye clinic today with about half of those getting prescription glasses and many others needing just reading glasses. I saw a lot of eye disease related to sun exposure, especially cataracts and pterigium. Most of the people said they were farmers or outdoor workers. Surprisingly , I saw no macular degeneration. Perhaps the Thai people aren't genetically predisposed to it and/or perhaps their diet rich in fish, vegetables and fruits is protective against the disease.
I had some new career experiences today... Doing eye exams without shoes on (I was in socks but some of the other eye docs were in barefeet). This was because of the Thai tradition of not wearing shoes in a building. All of our patients were shoeless also. I did an eye exam on a Buddhist monk in his traditional robes (and barefeet).
After a long hot day it was great to rehydrate back at the hotel. We are at the same location tomorrow.
We processed over 600 people through the eye clinic today with about half of those getting prescription glasses and many others needing just reading glasses. I saw a lot of eye disease related to sun exposure, especially cataracts and pterigium. Most of the people said they were farmers or outdoor workers. Surprisingly , I saw no macular degeneration. Perhaps the Thai people aren't genetically predisposed to it and/or perhaps their diet rich in fish, vegetables and fruits is protective against the disease.
I had some new career experiences today... Doing eye exams without shoes on (I was in socks but some of the other eye docs were in barefeet). This was because of the Thai tradition of not wearing shoes in a building. All of our patients were shoeless also. I did an eye exam on a Buddhist monk in his traditional robes (and barefeet).
After a long hot day it was great to rehydrate back at the hotel. We are at the same location tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
How many Rotarians can you fit in a tuk-tuk?
Unlike previous missions, we started this one with a day of relaxation and sightseeing . This was partly due to the long trip to get here but mainly to wait for the Rotary International Convention to conclude. Those of us not attending the convention were able to see the top Bangkok attractions. We started with the Shrine of the Golden Buddha.
Shoes cannot be worn inside a temple so shoe bags are provided to carry your shoes along. There is also a strict dress code that forbids shorts above the knee or bare shoulders.
We then endured a cross-city trip in Bangkok traffic (impending gridlock)to see the Grand Palace and Shrine of the Reclining Buddha.
We ended the evening with dinner at Hard Rock Bangkok. After dinner we realized that we had not made arrangements for the hotel van to pick us up for the return trip, so we hired tuk-tuks. A tuk-tuk is a three-wheeled open air "taxi" (think golf cart on steroids). The trip weaving in and out of Bangkok traffic in this cart was exhilarating ! And the answer is ... 4 Rotarians can be wedged into a tuk-tuk.
We arrived in Bangkok at 10:30 pm local time last night. We had no significant problems with our flights. The team was very impressed with our experience on JAL - Japanese Airlines. The service was top-notch and the food and amenities were wonderful.
Sleeping during the trip was interesting. I slept in small segments of time , usually 20 minutes for the most part. I did get a 2 hour sleep in on the Tokyo to Bangkok leg. None-the-less, for having little sustained sleep over the past 2 days I felt pretty good.
Thanks to a Thai Rotary Past District Governor we were treated like diplomats in getting through immigration and customs.
My first impression of Bangkok is how big it seems. There are large skyscrapers spread across miles.
The Rotary International Conference is occurring in Bangkok right now and we are staying at one of the official hotels. Some members of the mission team arrived several days ago to attend the conference.
Wednesday is a day of rest and sightseeing before traveling to Lopburi on Thursday .
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Here we go!
Heading out shortly to begin the trip - leaving Etown at 1:15 am to York. We have a 7 am flight from Dulles to Los Angeles...then to Tokyo and onto Bangkok. 30+ hours of travel!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Here's the "Wiki" on the 2011 Thai Floods...
Severe flooding occurred during the 2011 monsoon season in Thailand. Beginning at the end of July triggered by the landfall of Tropical Storm Nock-ten, flooding soon spread through the provinces of Northern, Northeastern and Central Thailand along the Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins. In October floodwaters reached the Chao Phraya and inundated parts of the capital city of Bangkok. Flooding persisted in some areas until mid-January 2012, and resulted in a total of 815 deaths (with 3 missing) and 13.6 million people affected. Sixty-five of Thailand's 77 provinces were declared flood disaster zones, and over 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) of farmland was damaged.[1] The disaster has been described as "the worst flooding yet in terms of the amount of water and people affected."
The World Bank has estimated 1,425 billion baht (US$ 45.7 Bn) in economic damages and losses due to flooding, as of 1 December 2011.[2][3] Most of this was to the manufacturing industry, as seven major industrial estates were inundated by as much 3 meters (10 feet) during the floods.[4] Disruptions to manufacturing supply chains affected regional automobile production and caused a global shortage of hard disk drives, which is expected to last throughout 2012.
The World Bank's estimate for this disaster means it ranks as the world's fourth costliest disaster as of 2011 surpassed only by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, 1995 Kobe earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[5]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)