Vietnam Intro: 1,2,3,4, what am I traveling for, well I don't give a damn, I'm gonna teach in Vietnam

For those of you that don't know, the title of this blog was inspired by a song famously sung at Woodstock by Country Joe and the Fish. As I submitted my paperwork for our Vietnamese visas, I couldn't help but be amazed what has changed over the last 40 years. In the spring of 1970, the Tet offensive and Battle for Hue were nearly two years in the past. The details of the My Lai massacre were finally filtering back to the states, and the anti-war movement reached a tragic turning point on May 4th at Kent State University. Forty years later, I was joining a international band of Emergency physicians and nurses with the goal of bringing Emergency Medicine training to Vietnam for the first time. I has signed up to be a teaching faculty member for the first International Symposium in Emergency Medicine to be held March 22nd-26th in Hue. When I first explained our plans to both Lindsay's and my folks, it was easy to tell that the thought of that country brought back a flood of memories of a crazy time.

I had heard about the symposium through my work over here. I figured it was a perfect opportunity to use my PDL or "Paid Development Leave," a perk that all Queensland Health docs get to allow them to attend conferences or courses. I got the OK from the department chairman and as soon as the dates were free in the schedule, the planning began. I had organized the visas and plane tickets a couple months in advance.  But, we had returned from New Zealand just two and a half weeks prior to our departure for Vietnam, so all the travel details for the sightseeing/touring parts were done last minute. After Meg's visit to Townsville and a hectic few days of packing and working thereafter, Lindsay and I left for Brisbane on the last plane out of town the evening of March 11th. After a couple of beers at the airport bar, we boarded our Singapore Airline flight bound for Singapore at midnight. If you have never been on Singapore Airline, it's my favorite. The warm "clean your face" towels, the beautiful air hostesses in their colorful garb, and the fantastic food all make for a really great international flight. A glass of wine, a xanax, earplugs, and a face mask later and we were in Singapore. We hung out in the airport, had a couple samosas for a snack, and then hopped on our next flight to Hanoi.

Click here to see a photo album with a few of our photos from the trip.