One of the coolest parts of my job is easily the periodic travel I get to do. Last month had me heading to Las Vegas for continuing medical education, and this month had me heading to Mandalay in Upper Myanmar to do some hospital visits.
Mandalay is the former imperial capital of Myanmar, until the British overthrew the last King in the 19th Century. It still remains an important city in Myanmar, with over 1 million people living there as the main commerce center in Upper Myanmar. It has a reputation for polite conversation, exceptional Burmese food, a large jade market, and tons of motorcycles (Motorcycles are banned in Yangon).
Until the 1980’s the U.S. had a consulate in Mandalay, which after we shut down, we kept the building and land it was on, and in the early 2000’s opened the Jefferson Center, as a sort of community outreach center. This closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but thankfully I got to be present last week for it’s reopening.
As part of our increased presence in the region, I felt it would be a good idea to get a feeling for the medical resources in the city, so that if one of our employees got sick while visiting, I could make an informed opinion of where to go. Seeing different facilities and medical systems is a really interesting part of the job as even within the same country or across town, you will see so much variety in the way things are practiced. Overall I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw, though hopefully no one will ever need to go to the hospital when visiting.
Outside of work, I was fortunate to be able to see some of the beautiful local sites in Mandalay, one of which is the formal palace ground in the city center. Seen below from Mandalay Hill, the palace is 2 miles wide by two miles long, and is surrounded by a huge moat that runs the length of the walls. No matter where you are in Mandalay, it always feels like you’re staring at a wall.
Two days came and went, and I was so thankful to be able to see another corner of the globe I would have otherwise never travelled had it not been for this job. It was a lovely trip. -Nick
