Still in Kolkata.

Dear friends,

I'm still doing okay in Kolkata (apart from an irritated stomach result from the constant bombardment of oily food and their spice), right now i've avoided all solid food for 2 days and living only on Glucozade.... hope things will get better in the coming days.

Choice of food here is really limited, no pork and beef because of religious reason (Muslim and Hindu) and all chicken in west Bengal area are culled as they are afraid of the spread of avian flu.... that leave no other choice than mutton (lamb) and vegetable.... the only problem being that the Indian tend to cook their mutton and vegetable with a lot of local herbs and SPICE... eating it once or twice is okay... but on a day to day basis my stomach simply give up and cant stop vomiting.....

Kolkata is really... how should i put it.... contrasting city..... they have got some really rich and well educated people living here but maybe next to them there are people from the slums..... they've got beautiful landscapes and so full of colours but their sky is hazy black from the air pollution.... it has some of the best kept scenic points in india (Victoria Memorial and Church of Mother Thersea) but their streets and roads so lousily maintained that there are always lumps and bumps through out the journey.... Still.... I'm still exploring and experiencing this mystic and charming city...

I've started my visit to dental school 2 days ago, seen quite a number of cases on different aspect of dentistry (some are really astonishing as the incidence in HK are so low that there might not even be one case in 10 years time.. but in here... rare cases are plentiful) .... the hospital that i'm in is a really busy hospital, with 800 new cases coming in each day and around 300 old cases (as it's the only government dental hospital in Kolkata and its nearby region).... the hospital is not particularily well staffed and dentist here have to work fast.... really fast. That's something that really impress me. And another thing that i remember clearly is the disregard of sterilization of instruments and their infection control... apart from major surgery, gloves is never seen in the hospital... the instruments are dipped in hot water only and available for the next patient.... if you put this to the Hong Kong standard, i am quite sure by tomorrow this hospital will be close down by the Hospital Autority~~ Anyways~ the patient here are all compliant and cooperative, the doctor said so, they do so.... this is so much better than the siutation in Hong Kong.... well.... totally different experience for me...... The fee the patient has to paid here is a lot less than in HK, only 2 rupees for examination (around 40 cents HKD).... they charge on each treatment item but the most expensive being the procelaine crown it's also cheaper than HK (just 1000 rupees = 200 HKD), no wonder the hospital have some many patients coming in.... it's good for the dental student here as they can have a lot of chance to learn and practice~ (but frankly, if i were given the chance, i'll still pick HK for sure.... the hygiene condition here is too.... unsatisfactory)

One funny thing to note... it seems that having overseas elective student for visit is a major thing in the city, cause today when we are having the routine tour around the hospital we are called for by the principle of the dental hospital. They have arranged 2 TV crews and 1 newspaper press to have an interview on us..... that's really amazing as i have never thought they would view our visit so importantly..... have a funny feeling when giving the interview.... as a Chinese in a totally Indian population no matter where i go I'm always the center of their attention.... kind of like a celebrity~ I'll enjoy the 'fame' for the rest of my journey (really, it's kind of a cool feeling~)

By Saturday I'll be leaving Kolkata for Daijeeling.... heard it's still snowing right now... just hope that the temperature and weather will get better by the time we arrive there~

Shall write again soon. Do leave me messages.

PS. Janice, I'm not sure the post card will get to you before you leave for Australia, do write me your address by the time you arrive, okay? I can then relay the mail to you.