HPB Voices Reloaded

Erwin Teo, from the Strategic Planning Dept. He will be joining Research & Evaluation when he returns from his studies.

London 2006.

A cosmopolitan city associated with fashion, happening clubs, pubs and football, a magnet drawing the ablest from all corners of globe. They come in search of their pot of gold – this is the impression I have of this great city.

My first thought of London was that it is a melting pot of cultures, ideas, races and languages.  I remembered the dinner in the West End the day I arrived.  To my right, sat a Black couple speaking in their native language and  to my left was a group of five White youths conversing in  Italian.  I, an Asian, proceeded to place my orders in English.  All these took place at a Chinese takeaway.

At The London School Of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

My studies at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine had been intensive, enriching and stimulating.  A typical day at school begins at 9 and lasts till 5.  Being a postgraduate institution, the school draws students from every continent and I can count Australians, Asians, Africans, Americans, Canadians and Europeans as my classmates.  Because of this rich and diverse mix of cultures and experiences, seminars can sometimes lead to heated debates on what works and what doesn’t in public health. 

As time went by, I have learnt that in many instances, there is no one solution to the many public health problems the world faces.  The past seven months has also opened my eyes to the global health challenges, especially those faced by developing countries.  In Singapore, while we may be obsessed with decreasing smoking and increasing physical activity prevalence, respectively, in many African nations, these issues do not even feature in the government’s agenda.  Why talk about tobacco control when pre-requisites to good health such as housing, sanitation, nutrition and health services are missing.  

Exploring Europe

Studies aside, I took the opportunity to explore Europe during the Easter hols.  The cheap budget airline flights connecting London to other major cities in Europe were simply too enticing to give it a miss with the price of a return ticket going for as low as £20 (S$60).  So cheap, don’t go, stupid, right? 

The land of clogs, tulips and windmills

Two countries beckoned.  First stop: the land of clogs, tulips, windmills – The Netherlands or Holland.  Two things strike me about Holland.  First, it is an incredibly flat and windy country; there are no mountains in the horizon, and any attempt to use an umbrella just makes you look plain silly.  Second, the Dutch sure know the meaning of healthy living.  Bicycles rule with wide lanes dedicated to them in many cities.  It is not uncommon for the Dutch to cycle an hour to and from work daily.  In fact, it made me envious that due to the heat and space constraints, Singapore is unable to encourage cycling as a safe, convenient mode of transport. 

A week in Holland gave me the chance to visit attractions such as the Windmills of Kinderdijk, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, traditional Dutch villages in Volendam and Marken, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.  Amsterdam was particularly memorable for its lovely canals running through the city and for its (in)famous Red Light District (RLD).  It was also in the RLD that I had an up-close and personal encounter with drugs.  It happened in broad daylight and took me by surprise. 

I was negotiating a corner in one of the many sleazy lanes in the RLD when suddenly from out of nowhere, a Black Afro-Caribbean man jumped out and bumped into me and whispered, “Hey, Chink, yo wanna try som coke and ecstasy?” 

As if by reflex action, from the deep recesses of my mind, I found myself conjuring up a reply in a language which I have never found useful, “Huh?  Dui bu qi.  Wo bu dong ni zai jiang shen me fei hua.  Bu yao lai fan wo!”  (Sorry.  I don’t understand what nonsense you are saying.  Don’t come and disturb me!)

Scurrying away and sighing in relieve, I had learnt a very valuable lesson:  Learn Mandarin – it’ll save your life one day.

Exploring the Czech Republic

Charles Bridge with Prague Castle & Little Town in the Background

Next destination:  The Czech Republic.  I have heard many rave about this former communist country, but nothing beats being there myself.  Romantic, picturesque, rich in cultural heritage, pretty, lovely, colourful – all are apt descriptions of the capital, Prague, and of Cesky Krumlov, a beautifully preserved medieval town in Bohemia.  Castles dot the country and architecture-crazed me revelled in delight as I found buildings spanning almost a thousand years in Prague alone, from Romanesque and Gothic to Baroque and Renaissance. 

Church of Our Lady Before Tyn - Prague

The best part of my trip came at the end of each day.  After a hard day of walking, I would shuffle into a restaurant selling Czech food and go insane.  For £5, I would have on my dinner table a three-course meal: a huge plate of appetiser (FRIED cheese), a main course (consisting of flour dumplings, cabbage, and a SUPER-SIZED chunk of CRISPY ROASTED PORK knuckle or knee, and HALF-A-LITRE of premium Czech BEER.  All these eaten in a completely SMOKE-filled restaurant. (Ssshh…don’t tell my bosses about my escapades, ok? Because I’m supposed to walk the talk!)

After stuffing myself sick for four days in the Czech Republic, I finally understood what I have learnt in school all year long – why cardiovascular disease rates in Eastern Europe are among the highest in the world. Well…aside from a perfect recipe for disaster, if there is one place that gets 10 marks out of 10, it has got to be Prague.  Enough said.

London, my London?

Lately, family, friends and colleagues who look forward to my return, have begun asking me if I missed home and look forward to returning.  To which I quote Samuel Johnson, one of England’s greatest literary figures, who once remarked:

“You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London.  No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

My sentiments exactly!

- Erwin