Recruitment Drive

Calling all doctors with an interest in writing! SMA News has a couple of spots on its editorial board and would love to hear from you. If you have a passion for important medical issues, have no qualms about putting them down on paper, don't mind doing all this for nothing, and would like to find out once and for all who the Hobbit is, come join us now!

Okay, I'm kidding about the Hobbit part. At most, you can hope to be a Hobbit suspect and get asked "So are you the Hobbit?" at some point. I've already been posed this question a number of times, which is a great honour indeed. ( Alas, I am not The Great One. Not even close. )

We recruited one new member through this blog not too long ago, and hope to do so again. If you're not up to the task, then by all means spread the word and recommend potential candidates to me via email.

Thank you. :)

Vietnam Part 4: Beauty In Unlikely Places

[ click on the images to magnify further ]

This series of photos illustrates a little-known fact about the country -- that it possesses quite a treasure trove of loveliness, if you would only open your eyes and see it. Here're a few of my personal favourites.

Here's a shot of the Dalat flower garden, which may be much smaller than our impressive Botanical Gardens, but easily rivals it in terms of flora.

From gigantic, plump orchids to yellow ponsiettas ( yes, yellow! ) to fascinating cabbage-like blooms and the elusive Keng Hua, the place is a dream come true for flower lovers everywhere.

Unlike the images you see from the Keng Hua link provided, we were treated to bright pink blossoms in their full glory. And around 10am in the morning too!

It's supposed to herald good fortune, so all the better for us, heh heh! Won't be posting those here since they're quite precious. :)

On the right we have a view from the cable car en route to the Truc Lam Pagoda ( also within Dalat ). The weather was terrific, and the ride super-smooth. That's the Tuyen Lam Lake in the distance.

The pagoda itself is also surrounded by lush greenery and gorgeous blossoms, which include fat, healthy chrysanthemums, daisies and humongous roses similar in size to those in Europe.

I was duly impressed! :)

Ah, I'm very pleased with this picture, which was snapped hurriedly as we were leaving a resort hotel's restaurant after lunch.

Just one of the many ( and I mean MANY ) modern tourist-friendly establishments located along the pristine Mui Ne beach, this particular day was absolutely perfect, with a pleasantly warm South China sea breeze and the bluest sky I've ever seen in my Asian travels.

Colourful sailboats floated close by, with jet skis playfully weaving in between. All I needed was a cocktail with a tiny umbrella sticking out of it and I would've been totally contented.

Unfortunately, that was the start of my GI upset spell. Darn.

Last but not least, my definite fave of the lot: a fishing village basking in the afternoon sun at Mui Ne.

This is just one of around 5 photos I took, from different angles, so the colours don't stand out as much with the sun in the way.

Nevertheless, if you ever come face to face with this breath-taking vision, I guarantee you will never forget it.

The real thing is a combination of bright reds and blues, multiplied by the hundreds. The vessels are all anchored and floating serenely on the water's surface, their owners nowhere to be seen. The entire scene is awesome, to say the least, and I wish I could've stood there on the beach for just a while longer.

Next entry: some good ( albeit quirky ) stuff we saw and did in Vietnam.

Cough's much better. I'm all set to party with our MOs before they leave the department! :)

Other aspects of my social life, however, will have to wait for now. So much work to do...