So I’ve been getting questions from my non-medic friends about what an “elective posting” is all about. Well, it is actually a given period by medical schools for students to learn in other hospitals other than their own. We’ve been given the freedom to choose just about any hospital in any country in the world, so it is up to what one really wants out of their elective in choosing a place for their posting.
Those with enough funds may opt to do it overseas and experience what it’s like to practice medicine in other countries. For instance, my boys Heng and Joshua did theirs in Kenya and had many hands-on experience that one could not possibly get in local teaching hospitals (both performed their first Caesarean sections there. JEALOUS!). A few of us went to European countries like the UK to feast their eyes on angmohs *ehem*. Many opted to go back to their hometown hospitals for an additional 6-week holidays. And some people just wanted to go off for a 6-week vacation!
Like me. Heh heh heh.
I chose Sarawak mainly because I’ve never been to either Borneo states before. Sabah hospitals placement have all been swapped up by my other classmates, so Sarawak was the only option left. Did plan on going overseas, but my application for Melbourne was rejected and I was already out of funds by the end of the semester. So Kuching it is!
On day one itself, our elective supervisor-cum-medical registrar-cum-tour guide Dr. Wong Jin Shyan has reminded us that a successful elective posting comprises of 1/3 medicine, 1/3 cultural experience, and 1/3 gastronomic experience. We took to his wise words and made sure that we lived the Sarawak life to its fullest.
We were attached to medical, surgical and emergency department of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH). To be frank, we just went to the hospital for the sake of filling up our attendances! Hehehe. But worry not, the kiasu bit in me made sure that we at least attended ward rounds, specialist clinics and OTs. We got to discuss a lot of interesting cases too, thanks to the ever helpful medical officers, specialists and consultants of SGH. :)
Sarawak Cultural Village was among the first tourist attraction we visited in Sarawak. It introduced us to Sarawak’s astounding variety of tribes as there were replicas of longhouses for every major ethnic group in Sarawak; namely Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, Melanau, Penan, Malay and Chinese. I used to have trouble differentiating between Sarawak and Sabah tribes, but I am now well-educated on that subject. I can also proudly say that by the end of 6 weeks, I could pretty much understand the Sarawakian Malay accent! Mauk kamek klaka Sawak kah? Sik hal.. (which means, do you want me to speak in Sarawakian accent? No problem..) :)
Few entries ago I did mention about Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, which is a temporary home for various endangered wildlife of Sarawak, especially orang utans that were rescued from captivity. We arrived in Semenggoh during their feeding time, and were lucky enough to see 6 orang utans coming out to eat a delicious spread of bananas, coconuts, watermelon, and papayas that were provided by the centre’s staffs. Nora and her adorable son, Baka attracted the most attention as they swung by the many trees looking as if they were performing stunts on ropes. These primates left us enthralled for quite a while, before we eventually lost sight of them as they get into the deep forest where they actually belong.
It would have been a shame to visit Sarawak if one does not go about exploring its magnificent tropical forest, thus we jumped on the opportunity to visit a few national parks that were situated near Kuching. We were in luck when the Sarawak Forestry Department informed us that Rafflesias were blooming in Gunung Gading National Park! So off we go to the quiet Lundu town where the national park is situated and hiked up the mountain to see the world’s biggest flower.
Now Rafflesias are exceedingly rare and special, as the flower buds take 8-9 months to mature and once they bloom they can only last for 3-4 days before starting to wither. We consider ourselves very lucky as there were only 2 flowers blooming during our stay in Sarawak. The Rafflesia we saw was disappointingly small though, measuring just 50cm in size. Bummer.
We then continued to climb up Gunung Gading for another hour and settled ourselves at the clean Waterfall Number 7. Later on, we took some time off at the unbelievably cheap
Union Retreat Resort at Siar Beach just 10 minutes away from Gunung Gading before heading back to Kuching on the next day. Siar Beach was just so-so (Sarawak beaches in general are nothing to shout about, really) but we had the whole resort to ourselves so twas fun.
Bako National Park was on our itinerary for the third weekend. We boarded a speedboat from Bako terminal and passed through Kampung Bako, a fishing village along the riverbanks of Sungai Bako. Prior to our journey, we saw a signboard warning us to be careful of crocodiles and to our surprise; we did see a wild crocodile basking under the sun on a rubber tube! We screamed our lungs out as our boatman tried to corner the crocodile but it quickly glided back into the river.
After the encounter with the wild crocodile, we reached the national park and headed straight to the park headquarters to check in. Bako had various types of vegetation perfect for wildlife spotting. We’ve seen just about everything from silver-leaf monkeys, long-tailed macaque, bearded pigs and hermit crabs to Proboscis monkeys and even fireflies at night. Proboscis monkeys are probably one of the main reasons that make Bako National Park a worthy visit, as these long-nosed monkeys are now heading towards extinction.
The national park also boasts a picturesque coastline with exquisite multi-shaped rock formations. We rented a boat just to get near the famous sea stack, which is the icon of Bako National Park as commonly seen on
Cuti-Cuti Malaysiaadvertisements. Other than that, we also went on a few trekking trails and saw spectacular views of various plants and trees along our way. We may came back from Bako with our skin a shade darker, but the scorching sun was damn well worth it. Highly-recommended to everyone!
