Dec 29, 2011 Hotel
Duo wireless area near reception, 7.40 am
Free wireless only at the reception area, not in rooms
or even dining areas on 2nd level. The past days, my 5th
floor room and another one had the smell of sewerage, as
if there was a leak somewhere in the toilet. The smell
disappeared later. From my experience in seeing the
Sewerage truck coming to Toa Payoh outside my surgery to
suck out the sewerage material, the smell was almost
identical. This hotel is popular with Japanese and other
Asians and boast gym, bowling ally, pool and casino and
so is of a higher standard. I can't understand why there
is this sewerage smell inside the bedroom on a 5th
floor! Luckily, today Dec 29 morning, I would be leaving
for Dresden, Germany. That smell was bad.
Yesterday, the others went to another shopping mall and
then another one called Venezuela Square with its
boutiques from 10am to 6 pm. A free and easy day and so
Marcus recommended this shopping as the group was not
keen on another heritage castle some 3-hour drive away.
Sick of castles, church and shopping.
Fortunately for me, I went with Daniel to the Jest ski
resort. He was skiing. Patches of snow below the hill,
due to global warming. On driving to the top, there was
a sudden blast of air or wind. Visibility was 1 metre in
front. Temperature was below zero. Was this man-made
machine whipping up artificial snow or was it nature? I
went into the tower to hide.
Renting ski equipment with
the help of Katrina who
works for Magical Prague,
contacted via the internet
by Dr Daniel Sing
The resort was not
open fully. Only a small lane was open for skiers.
Some bumpy areas as there was insufficient snow. A
snowboarder hit Daniel and broke his ski.
It was not fun skiing in such
an area. So, at 1.30 pm, after the ghoulash steak lunch,
the guide Katrina drove us back to Prague. I asked to
meet her boyfriend Dr Tomas Stastny who does voluntary
cat welfare work 3 evenings a week. "His practice is a
small one. Not those with lots of equipment," she said.
"It is not the practice that is full of modern equipment
that I will want to see," I said. "It is to know more
about how the vet works in Prague."
"There are only 5 vet surgeries in Prague," Katrina
said. "It is very expensive to buy equipment to set up a
practice. There are 180 vets. For 2 million people."
Katrina worked with international tourist and so her
conversational English is good. Daniel said: "She means
that there are only 5 vet hospitals in Prague."
Her boyfriend's practice is in a farm area on the
outskirts of Prague which has 22 districts. The town
centre with the church, the big land of farms and the
row of shop houses remind me of James Herriot's practice
some 50 years ago. I had studied in Glasgow Univ in 1969
and had visited Thirsk, a village mentioned in James
Herriot's novels. Katrina and Tomas are fans of James
Herriot as James' Yorkshire veterinary stories
have been translated to the Czech language.
A small
village with farmland and a town centre (church
in the background) in the outskirts of Prague
city which has 22 districts
Three boys
suddenly came into the pub to sing for Dr
Stastny and I. This was already 3 days past
Christmas
Dr Stastny's
pager pipped and we left the pub to go back to
his surgery in less than 1 minute of walking
A lady with a
black poodle was waiting. Left fore lameness. Dr
Stastny diagnosed that the anterior cruciate
ligaments were not ruptured and gave 3
injections
Dr Daniel
Sing inside the consultation cum surgery room of
Dr Stastny's practice.
Katrina
shared her story of the bird patient that
escaped in the consultation room. Dr Stastny
finally caught him in his hands. But the bird
died of heart attack in his hands and the owner
was heart-broken. However, the owner's partner
was very happy.
Katrina & Dr
Stastny like James Herriot's veterinary stories.
A stray cat went inside the
car engine compartment and
was wounded in her abdomen.
Guts spilled out. Dr Stastny
had spent 2 hours in surgery
to close her abdominal
wound. His favourite
purplish blue skin
disinfectant was from
Russia. "Only two good
products come from Russia,"
he showed me the bottle of
disinfectant. "The other is
the
Kalashnikov!". He had a
great sense of humour and is
a very experienced vet at
the age of 45 years. He had
rented this practice for the
past 12 years and did
volunteer work for stray cat
shelters 3 evenings a week. Tomas' practice is located in similar farmland
countryside small village as you can see from some
pictures. His 12-year-old son wants to be a journalist
and he could write stories of the stray cats and
patients of Tomas if this young man can be motivated to
do so. The waiting room is under renovation. I was
surprised to see a black and
white TV set.
TOA
PAYOH VETS
