4 Days in Taiwan

The last time I was in Taiwan was a mere 6 months away when i attended the National meeting in Kaoshiung and I am really glad to be here again at the kind invitation the taiwanese neurosurgeons again. Te flight into Taoyuan was good. Managed to watch "Ghost writer" which I thought was a decent movie with Ewan Macgregor. I thought he aged a bit but who hasn't right? The drive to Taichung was painful and took an hour more than usual because of the jams at the gihway. The sky was grey and it was drizzling but I didn't mind that as it kept the weather cool. When i reached the hotel, any hopes of running on the streets were dashed. It was just not too conducive and I thought I would do some gym work except my legs had gone to sleep after all the hours in the plane and car. I spend the rest of theday in my room catching up on paperwork and preparing my presentation for the next 2 days.

This morning it was another hour to Chang Gung Memorial Chia-Yi hospital to meet and run a mini-symposium on intra-operative imaging. It was a new hospital in the middle of nowhere but the size of SGH(!) with a well thought out  layout. I spent 2 hours hanging out there doing a short presentation and going through some of the nuances of using the system and how to modify workflow to accomodate this new technique in surgery.

The highway stops for meals and rest have changed so drastically since the last time I had the chance to stop by which was during my army days. I tried to remember why I hadn't had the chance to view the new changes and realised I had either flown or taken the train, not ideal ways to see the country. We had an uber( with umlaut) fabulous meal of beef noodles before making my way here.

I plan to do some catch up reading for a bit and then possibly hit the gym today before attending the dreaded booze filled dinner which I can't sneak out of. As is typical of taiwanese banquets, everybody carries a glass topped with booze( you name it!) and will walk around to toast each other. As a guest and invited speaker, you get your fair share of "bottoms- up" so the trick is to not touch a drop will this activity starts. Feels like when i do a tri race; i try to conserve energy by doing absolutely bugger-all till the gun sounds! haha.

I can't say i enjoy travelling as much as I have before but I suppose some invitations are hard to turn down. I had already turned down 80% of invitations this year because I would rather stay at home. So this year, for conferences, I have only accepted Seoul( which i have done), Taiwan( 2 down!), Munich( next week, aargh!), Ho Chi Minh, Tubingen and Bali and hopefully there wouldn't be anymore. Then I can have a more ordered life!