Health for Wealth: Day Eight to Ten (08-10/07/13)

On Day 8 of the program, we woke up bright and early to travel the 3 hours back to Bangkok, and i must say, we were all pretty relieved to be leaving Pattaya.  A tour of the Indian markets in Bangkok was offered but i didnt book this tour so i had the whole day free which i was pretty stoked about. I spent the day napping and eating. After eight day of an intense program, i was pretty happy to have the day free to do nothing, which as an introvert, is much needed on my part.

Day 9 began earlier than usual, and we made our way to Vejthani hospital in Bangkok, and honestly, as the fourth private hospital we’ve visited, it all sounded quite the same to me. All four were international hospitals with Medical tourism in mind, and offered many services in operations and plastic surgery. The second part of the program was the Institute of Applied holistic health sciences and we were presented by Katherine and Mohana who were teachers/masters in Reiki. A hands-on therapy that focuses on energy and works on expanding chakras and auras. I must say, it was interesting to hear these teachers talk about their field, their beliefs and how it affects their way of life. Having never heard of the art of Reiki before, it was really an experience to hear their point of view on how it has changed their lives and the lives of the people they work on and train. Overall, an interesting experience.

We spent day 10 at Rangsit university which was a great experience. It was a private university which offered many degrees, and had an emphasis on international study and development. We met with some lovely nursing students from all stages of their degree, and were shown around their large facility and their nursing study labs.

After which, we ventured out to find a dinner at a quaint little place called ‘Chef bar’. With twelve people in tow, the lovely homely-feel cafe could barely hold us all. Dinner however, was absolutely delicious. I ordered a wagyu beef burger with goats cheese and a bunch of delicious spices, served up with the most amazing home-cut potato chips i have ever tasted. Definitely a place to visit while in Bangkok.

Health for Wealth: Day Seven (07/07/13)

Day seven of the program was spent going to church with the children from the day before, at Baan Jing Jai children’s home. It was quite a strange situation as we were under the impression that we were going to be at the church with the children, otherwise why else would we be there? A majority of us were not religious or practised other faiths, and the entire service was in Thai. When we arrived, the children weren’t there so we were quite confused. They turned up a while later while the church music continued, only to leave again after 10-15 mins at the church. We were supposed to sing a song at the church in front of the children, but after they left, we thought it’ll be quite a joke for us to sing this song which was directed for children with hand motions in front of the church members without the children so we insisted we not do the song without the children. After two hours of the Thai church service, we proceeded to having lunch with the children and the church members, playing a little bit with the kids until leaving to see the site of a new project of the children’s home.

The most heartbreaking part of the day, and the whole trip was this little 13 year old girl who seemed to become quite attached to me. I had met her the day before and played with her for a bit, or rather teased and chased around tickling. She came up to me pretty much straight away at the church and was holding my hand and hugging me throughout the time we came out, and wanted me to sit next to her while she ate, and vis versa when it was my turn for food. When it was time for the children to leave, she kept coming up to me to hug me good bye. She did this a couple of times, and probably about the third, fourth time, she came up to me again with her jacket covering her face and waved. I could see the tears on her face, and all i could do was give her a gigantic hug and rub her back before she left to go onto the van. I really didn’t know what to do, it was absolutely killed me. I’ve been around kids before, and I’ve had my nephew and niece cry, wail and chuck a tantrum because they wanted to stay with me when they were little. But in those situations, i could laugh, hug them and tell them i will see them real soon. In this case, i didn’t know if i would ever see her again. This girl who i had only met the day before, who i couldn’t communicate with except with smiles, hugs, poking, chasing and tickling. Who i didn’t feel like i did anything special or extraordinary from any other children, and yet was crying because of I was leaving. It was actually gut-wrenching, and i’ve felt terrible about it since.

After that emotional roller-coaster,  some of the group and I made our way to the Sanctuary of Truth for our last day in Pattaya, Thailand. A city, which to be honest, we did not like one bit. We didn’t really know what to expect from Pattaya, but what we found was not it. The city was in-your-face with its sex tourism. You walk out of the hotel, especially at night, and all you hear is loud music from the numerous clubs and bars around, and walk down the street and see women standing in line, barely dressed, on top of podiums, swaying their hips from side to side by a pole and eagerly calling tourists in. Men were generally seedy and the whole area was just dirty, in every sense. I don’t know if it was just the area i was in, but even the beach it was known for, was filled to the brim and hidden by umbrella seats, and the water was not something you’d want to jump into with miscellaneous objects hitting you and touching you. The sanctuary of truth temple however, was a gem in this god-forsaken city. I’ve been to a lot of temples, including Siem Reap in Cambodia, but this was by far my favourite temple. It was just so beautiful, the music enticing and the entire building was just so extremely detailed, the interior made completely out of wood. It was amazing. I left the temple feeling light and thinking ‘life is good’. The photos do not do this temple justice, it simply must be seen. Absolutely gorgeous.

Health for Wealth: Day Six (06/07/13)

Day six of the Health for Wealth: Nursing in developing countries program was by far my most favourite day to date of the program. We took our monster double decker bus to Baan Jing Jai children’s home and went around meeting the kids. Everyone was very open and welcoming and it was lovely meeting all the staff taking care of these kids for were left without parents who were physically, mentally or financially able to care of these children. They ranged from the age of 6 months to about 18 years. We were given the opportunity to spend the afternoon with the kids free to our suggestions. Throughout the day we played with the children in the playground, braided hair, did origami, played with stickers, various games including musical chairs and ball games and my personal favourite, pumping up the music and dancing in the playground. It was a really wonderful day, a memory i will keep with me throughout my lifetime. To watch the smiling faces of kids, to chase after the cheeky ones and to see them interact with everyone, these kids who have nothing but lives life to the fullest and take joy in the company of others.

Health for Wealth: Day Four & Five (4-5/07/13)

On the fourth day of the program, we woke up bright and early in time for breakfast and to check out of the hotel in Bangkok, before making our way on a bus to Pattaya. A tourist beach city in Thailand. The trip was a three hour bus ride, and soon after a nap or two, we made it to our destination. We had a little bit of a break to recover and check into our rooms before loading back on the bus to make our way to the project: A home for HIV/AIDS. We were unexpected by the hosts and there were some confusion, but overall an interesting experience.

The next day started with a lovely tour around the area of Pattaya which included Silverlake, a beautiful landscape of trees, flowers, and water surrounding a picturesque european-like house. We also visited a temple and experienced an amazing view of a hill rock encarved within it, a large golden image of Buddha.

After a small break, our next stop was Pattaya orphanage where we had sponsored dinner for the 150 children housed there. We had a tour around the facility, met and played with some of the kids, and received a general overview on how the children may spend the day and what kind of education they receive. It was nice to see an orphanage so well supported and looked after, it is one that i wish all orphanages will develop into. It was really great to see and meet the kids, and see their smiling faces with so much life and joy.

Health for Wealth: Day Three (03/07/13)

Day three of the program started at Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital which was established by a group of expats and one of the first private hospital in Thailand. Like the previous hospital visit (Bumrungrad hospital) it has a brand as a first class international hospital which attracts medical tourism, and is decorated to be modern with a goal to not appear like the sterile, illness atmosphere of a hospital.

The second half of the day was spend on a Buddhist temple tour. The half day tour included a visit to three famous Bangkok temples: Wat Traimit, Wat Pho and Wat Benchamabophit. The first stop, Wat Traimit also known as the Temple of the Golden Buddha, was a beautiful temple which featured a 3 meter, 5.5 ton, solid gold Buddha statue.

The second temple was reached by a journey through Chinatown and the flower market, before arriving to Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha. At 46 meters in length and 15 meters in height, the Buddha is the largest in Bangkok, and illustrates the passing of the Buddha into Nirvana. If that wasn’t enough, walking out and around the temple was quite a sight. With beautiful temples and statues surrounding the temple, its hard to explain, it simply must be seen to appreciate its beauty. An absolute experience.

The last, but definitely not least, temple we arrived to was Wat Benchamabophit, or Marble temple. This was one of my favourites as it was a magnificent monastery built from white Italian marble from Carrara in the late 19th century and houses one of the country’s most beautiful Buddha images. Unfortunately, we were unable to view the Buddha statue due to the monk’s daily chanting, but it was such an amazing experience to sit under the shade, away from the heat and listening to the calming melody of the voices coming together to form the chants.  After which, we wondered around the temple and explored the area, passing by bridges and statues standing over a stream of water with the cool breeze wandering through the gardens. It was a really lovely temple and i wish i had more time to sit and take everything in.

Statue of a fasting Buddha

The night ended with drinks for Lisa’s birthday, again in the rooftop bar at Siam@Siam hotel and spa, on a beautiful night with a gorgeous view and awesome company.

Health for Wealth: Day Two (02/07/13)

Day 2 of the Health for Wealth: Nursing in developing countries was a beautiful informative day that begun at the Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Bangkok. We were presented by Chanpen Ninwatcharamanee, Deputy director for Academic Affairs who informed us of the purpose and function of the college, Nursing education for a Bachelor degree and Education accreditation.

Although the course is quite similar to Australia, the course structure has some prominent differences. These include the fact that their degree: the Bachelor of Nursing Science program is a 4 year course, as opposed to 3 years, due to the fact that Midwifery is included in the course. Whereas in NSW, Australia, Midwifery has to be completed as a post-graduate degree, or as a degree of its own (only two universities in Sydney offer the Midwifery course on its own). Thailand has three compulsory semesters- 2 basic, 1 summer, whereas as Australia has two compulsory semesters and Summer courses are voluntary.

Music/Band room in the college.

Something else that i found quite profound is the availability of International Nursing exchange courses that can be offered by the college, university or some of the hospitals in Thailand. The Head of International Affairs at Boromarajonani College, Karinapa Kaewjuntra, spoke to us about a yearly exchange program (STIKES Bali) that is available at the college that provides two excelling nursing students the opportunity to spend three weeks in Bali and learn about the subject of Nursing and how it is done in Bali in comparison to their country. On this particular day, i found it amazing to see how further advanced these countries are in comparison to Australia in their exchange/international programs for their nursing degrees. At the University of Technology, Sydney, Nursing is the only degree that cannot do an exchange program for the sole reason that Nursing is taught and practised differently in other countries, which is understandable, but learning about how other countries practice nursing should not change the way that we learn or make us incompetent, only to realise the difference in practices and how cultures and religions can affect this. UTS does offer a double degree: Bachelor of Nursing/International studies which adds two years to the 3 year course (5 years in total) and includes a language course and one year overseas doing classes of International/Art studies, not nursing. I hope over the next few years though, and after the success of this Health for Wealth program, our exchange programs will begin to develop because i believe its such an enriching and educational experience to see the difference in Nursing in different countries, in particular, developing countries.

Different uniforms for nursing students on differing occasions

After which, we visited Bumrungrad hospital and was given a presentation by the CEO, Mr Mack Banner about the rise of Medical Tourism in Bangkok. It was a very informative and interesting presentation about the rise of individuals coming to Thailand for medical procedures such as heart, bone operations and plastic surgery, as opposed to their own countries because of the huge reduction in waiting times, in procedure costs and for the simple desire and appeal for medical tourism. Overall it was an interesting presentation and the hospital tour was quite an experience because of its airport ambience instead of a hospital.

Two pictures above are of the lobby of the hospital

Picture of the lounge in one of the more expensive rooms in the hospital.

The day ended with dinner and drinks at the pier, and a cabaret show in Bangkok.

Health for Wealth: Day One 01/07/13

Day one of the Health for Wealth program started with a visit to the Medical Association of Thailand, meeting the Vice President of the Associated, Professor Dr. Teerachai Chantrarojanasiri, with a presentation by Assistant Professor Col. Kidaphol Wadhanakul, MD., Chairman Medical Education.

Professor Col. Kidaphol Wadhanakul gave us an Introduction into the Thai healthcare system, the three Public financing schemes used for healthcare (Social Security Scheme, Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme, and the Universal Coverage Scheme), we gained knowledge on how this could benefit the 65 million population of Thailand and the quality of healthcare provided, although 96% of the population are insured making 2 million people reportedly uninsured in Thailand. We focused in particular on the Universal Coverage scheme (UCS) which was established in 2002, and studied the result of this over the last 11 years. It was concluded that UCS not only increased access to care of beneficiaries, but also led to reductions of household poverty, more equitable access to care, improved equity in financing health, and gained in the efficiency of the Thai health system. Overall it was a wonderful presentation, and we were very appreciative to the members of Medical Association of Thailand who were very lovely and welcoming, eagerly answering our questions and extremely hospitable.

Our second visit was to the Nursing and Midwifery Council office in which we were met by Professor Wichit Srisuphan, RN, RM, Dr. P.H., President., who addressed the role and development of nursing in Thailand. We were presented with the roles and responsibilities of the council and its members. In comparison to Australia, I found the Nursing and Midwifery Council worked very much the same to Australia in the way it addressed primary health care, the provision of roles, and the regulation of licencing and performances. I was also quite surprised to find that Thailand also has the ‘standard 1:4 nurse to patient ratio’ although not surprisingly, it was noted that this most probably is not the case in most cases. Seeing as there’s a real fight to keep the ratios in NSW, and all over Australia, i found this quite interesting to hear. Again, i found the members of the TNC (Thai Nursing Council) and Professor Wichit Srisuphan to be extremely lovely and helpful, very willing to answer our questions and made our visit very welcoming and informative.

After the presentation, we then continued to the museum where we learnt more about the Royal family and the history and progression of nursing in Thailand, which included examples of the old nursing uniforms and how that has changed throughout the years.

 

 

 

The night of course ended with a lovely dinner and drinks with a couple of the girls atop of the roof of a hotel.

I’ve had such a wonderful day and am very excited to continue and see how this program progresses.

 

Health for Wealth: Program begins 30/06/13

The Health for Wealth: Nursing in developing countries Program by UTS BUiLD, began in Bangkok, Thailand with an optional River canal/Rice barge cruise tour along the waterways of the city.

We cruised by a long tail boat through the the canal, taking in the scenery of exotic flora, the different classes of canal houses from broken down ruins to strong standing houses, experienced feeding a number of large fishes, sailed past friendly waving locals and beautiful temples in the backdrop. It was amazing sailing through this canal and seeing how the Bangkok people still use and depend on the canal to transport their merchandise, particularly rice as the canal link the rice fields, and how they use the waterways to travel through the city. We ended the night by experiencing traditional Thai food by a lovely restaurant that faces the river called ‘Supatra House restaurant’.

 

And it begins…

And so my journey begins, with a 22 hour stopover in Singapore, I decided to make use of my time there and see a little bit of the country with what little time i had. I stayed in a hostel called ‘Adler Hostel’ which has labelled itself as a luxury hostel with the feel of a five star hotel. And it does certainly live up to its expectations. As a new hostel, it is nice and clean, in a prime location, with a fragrance of  lavender  lingering in the air. Definitely one to look out for when looking for  budget accommodation in Singapore.

 

View of Chinatown from outside the hostel

Temple around the corner from the hostel  

  
View from atop Marina Bay shopping centre                

Twenty-two hours later, i boarded my flight at Singapore’s Changi Airport and two hours later arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, my destination for the next few weeks.

                          

Seeing as I’ll be doing some of the sightseeing and tours when my program begins, I’ve just been hanging around and visiting the sights and attractions around the area of my hostel, Lub d Bangkok. These include the Siam square MBK shopping centre, the Arts and Cultural centre and Jim Thompson’s House.

         

MBK shopping centre, Siam Square

MBK shopping centre was about 7 levels high, with enough shops to get completely lost in, they sell everything from clothes, to bags, to electronics, several restaurants and fast food chains, a cinema, and pretty much everything you can think of.

Entrance of the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre

Ladies making flower necklaces in front of Jim Thompson’s House

Entrance in front of Jim Thompson House

                   

 

  Art and artefacts around Jim Thompson House.

Overall, its been a wonderful few days. I’m still hanging around and doing little bits of exploring but with many more to come. The weather’s been good, the food is amazing and the people are so lovely and welcoming. I’ve only been here for a few days and my descriptions are quite short, but the pictures say it all, its such a wonderful place to visit. Stay tuned for more travel details and the start of my Nursing program.

three days…

So with three days left to go before my flight to Thailand. I am still unnerved, unprepared and have not even begun thinking about what I should be packing. This seems to be the case every time I go overseas. It never hits me until I step out of the airport and am overwhelmed with the scene and cultures in front of me. The heat, the shouting in a foreign language, the smell of food or just something I can’t put my finger on, and the overall clutter of being in an airport.

Most airports are similar to me, concrete structures, luggage trolleys, airport officials in uniform, and people scattered everywhere but it still amazes me how different everything in as soon as I step out the door. As I catch a tax or motorcycle ride to my hostel, I gaze all around me, trying to take it in my surroundings and mumble the same thing every time: ‘I’m definitely not in Sydney any more.”