Tag: travel

Dr. Noorali Bharwani poses in front of the world-famous Alhambra on the left and city of Granada, Spain on the right. Granada was a long-time capital of Moorish Andalusia. Alhambra is one of the most important Arabian palaces with lush gardens.

Every now and then go away,
Have little relaxation,
For when you come back to your work
Your judgment will be surer……
-Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

From time to time I listen to Leonardo da Vinci and pack my bags and leave town to reflect on the past, the present and plan for the future.

For more than one reason, 2005 is an important year for me. Many of my personal wishes and dreams are coming closer to fulfillment. I feel this year I have reached an important milestone in my life. So it was time to take a long break and think where I need to be in the next 10 years.

So I packed my bags and treated myself and my family to four weeks of holiday. We spent three weeks in Toronto, Portugal (Lisbon, Algarve), and Spain (Seville, Granada, Cordoba and Madrid). Before that I took five days off and did some continuing medical education and golfing in Canmore and Banff.

The holiday was wonderful. In Toronto, we attended Musoma Reunion. Musoma is in Tanzania where I was born and went to school until Grade nine. Since there was no high school in Musoma, I went to a boarding school in Dar-es-salaam. Then I moved on to India, England and Canada. So I had not seen most of my friends for many years. I hate to say how many! But it was an eye opener to see how passage of time has aged people – including me! I still remember many of my friends in their school uniforms!

In Portugal and Spain we found the people to be nice and friendly. The history of these countries is very fascinating. From 1000 BC to AD 1179 Portugal was under occupation, from Romans to Moors.

Then came the Age of Discovery and Portugal became a powerful empire. Portuguese ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, and in 1497 Vasco da Gama reached Calicut, India. By 1560, Portugal had claimed Brazil and many other countries.

Spanish history is very similar. First came the Romans, then Moors and then the Christians. A Moor is a Muslim Arab who lives in northwest Africa. Moors invaded Portugal and Spain in the 8th century and established a civilization in Andalusia that lasted until the late 15th century.

Muslims built mosques where the Roman temples were. Christians built churches where the mosques were. For hundreds of years Jews, Muslims and Christians lived in harmony until they started fighting to control the land. Islam brought to Europe mathematics, papermaking, oranges, spices and rice as well as unique Islamic architecture and planning which is visible even today.

Temperatures in summer are anywhere in high 30s to high 40s Celsius. Between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. most businesses shut down for siesta. You have to organize your schedule for shopping, meals and tours accordingly. Bullfights are scheduled only on Sundays. People smoke everywhere.

Not all shops, restaurants and banking machines accept credit or Interac cards. So carry enough cash with you. All our flights were running late by an hour or more. This makes it difficult to catch connecting flights. Make sure you have about three hours lay over to be on the safe side. These days airlines do not give a damn about our comfort. The planes are packed like sardines and leg room between seats is minimal. Not to mention other discomforts in the planes.

But, you cannot walk to Portugal and Spain. So, we have to fly because these countries are worth a visit. Remember, every now and then go away…

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Going on a vacation is part of healthy living. There are many different ways of taking a holiday. And there are many different ways to unwind and relax by getting away from your regular environment.

Parents like me find Easter week school break a good time to take a family holiday. The week usually falls in between Christmas and summer holidays. So, this Easter, I took a week off and went to Arizona with my family.

Arizona is a popular holiday spot for Albertans in particular and Canadians in general. We, in Alberta, are on the same time zone as Arizona except they do not observe daylight saving time. One can drive to Arizona in three days or take a direct three hour non-stop flight from Calgary to Phoenix.

Phoenix, also known as Valley of the Sun, is a thriving capital city of Arizona with a population of 1.3 million. There are numerous suburbs and shopping centres. The dry climate and natural beauty have attracted many tourists and businesses.

Scottsdale has a population of about 200,000. There are many art galleries, shopping areas and restaurants. It is also known for the rugged beauty of the surrounding Sonoran Desert. We took a three-hour jeep tour of the desert. We were informed of the local history, of the desert animals and vegetation. In fact, we had an encounter with a rattle-snake. We saw and learnt about different kinds of cacti.

We spent a day in Sedona. It is a two-hour drive from Phoenix. It has a population of 10,000. Sedona is comfortably situated between the huge rocks of Red Rock State Park and the rich vegetation of Oak Creek Canyon.

Sedona’s beautiful rugged red rocks and canyons are very popular with the tourists and as a back drop for many Hollywood western movies.

There are many different ways to go through the red rock canyons, deserts and forests of Sedona. One can take an aerial tour by plane, helicopter or hot air balloon. One can hike or take a tour by bus, jeep or hummer. We chose to go by hummer. It was a ruggedly fun day.

Grand Canyon is 375 to 445 Km away from Phoenix – depending on which route you take. If one plans to drive then it is a good idea to stay overnight at one of the hotels at the Canyon. Since we had planned to do the trip in one day we decided to take a Grand Canyon aerial tour with a ground tour.

We flew in a nine-seat Cessna. It is a small plane and on a windy day it can be little rough. Those who have fear of flying or get air sick should take a tranquilizer and a pill to prevent nausea and vomiting about an hour before the flight.

The plane flies low so we can get a good view of Sedona’s red rocks, the San Francisco Peaks (Arizona’s highest point), then we see the Painted Desert and Navajo Indian Reservation which leads us to approach the Grand Canyon where we take an aerial view of the eastern part of the Canyon.

The flight time is one hour and fifteen minutes. We landed at the Grand Canyon airport. We were picked up by a bus and went on a tour. This was a three hour guided tour of the south rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. We stopped at the south rim overlook and took lots of pictures.

The visual impact of the Canyon is hard to describe. At this time of the year, the temperature at the Canyon is -4 C low to high of 10 C. So you have to take appropriate clothing with you. Flight back to Phoenix was smooth and took only 45 minutes as the plane flew high and the wind was behind us.

After a day of golfing in Scottsdale we were ready to fly back home and deal with the reality of life… until the next holiday!

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This summer, we decided to go to Victoria and Vancouver for a holiday. We have been there before but it has been few years since we went as a family. Both places have a sentimental value for my wife and I. We were married in Vancouver and had our honeymoon in Victoria.

I remember those days quite well. We were both working hard to finish our studies and training. That was the time when we could not afford much.

My wife and I had several family members in Vancouver. But much has happened since our wedding. We have had two children. They are now teenagers and close to finishing high school. And we have had some losses. My father, brother and sister have passed away. And my wife’s parents have left this world.

But still there are number of other relatives who are there. For them Medicine Hat is not an exciting place to visit. So we thought it is time for us to visit them. It is good for family bonding, especially for children. Besides that we wanted to visit universities in B.C. in case our children decide to go there.

Victoria, of course, is a very beautiful city. It has 150-year history. It is British Columbia’s oldest city and provincial capital. In 1908, it had a population of 25,000. Now the population is 326,000. The horse-shoe shaped Inner Harbour is the hub of activity during the day as well as at night. Besides the marine activity there are street musicians and artists who entertain and draw crowds of onlookers. It is a very lively and busy place.

The downtown has excellent walking and shopping areas and multitudes of restaurants to cater to almost everybody’s needs. The city boasts of several beautiful golf courses whose green fees run into three figures. And there are lots of recreational activities of all kinds.

We spent fair amount of time in and around the Inner Harbour and downtown area. We also visited the Butchart Gardens which was celebrating 100 Years in Bloom (1904-2004). We spent a day at the University of Victoria and took a campus tour.

The University was founded in 1963. It is located on 160 hectares in residential Greater Victoria. It is a 15-minute drive from downtown Victoria. It has 12,014 full-time students and 6,022 part-time students. Tuition: $4,271.

Vancouver is a cosmopolitan city where you can hike, ski, or golf by day, and enjoy lavish accommodations, live theater and fine dining by night, says a tourist brochure. And that is the truth.

Vancouver is Canada’s third largest city. The city of Vancouver has a population of 571,708. But Vancouver and its 18 surrounding municipalities (Greater Vancouver) have a population of 2,028,996. Besides doing some sight seeing we did lot of walking and eating. We also took campus tours at the Simon Fraser University (SFU) and University of British Columbia (UBC).

SFU is situated at the summit of 400-metre-high Burnaby Mountain. It is 25 minutes from downtown Vancouver. It opened its doors in 1965. It has 12,104 full-time students and 9,580 part-time students. Tuition: $4,174. Every high school student with a 90 percent or higher admission average automatically receives a $3,500 entrance scholarship.

UBC is like a city in itself with 40,000 students (full-time 28,091, part-time 11,141) on a 402 hectares land and 412 buildings. It is 20 minutes drive from downtown Vancouver. UBC has students from 114 countries. Tuition: $4,036. It is one of the most beautiful campuses I have seen. UBC was established in 1908.

It was an interesting holiday. Weather was perfect until the last couple of days. The experience was diverse. Visiting institutions of higher learning was quite an experience for our children. We hope it will be a positive factor in their future planning. We had lots to eat. And I put on five pounds! Time to get on my treadmill!

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Every now and then go away,
Have little relaxation,
For when you come back to your work
Your judgement will be surer;
Since to remain constantly at work
Will cause you to lose power of judgement…

–Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

I like this quote. I have used it before in my column. I may use it again. I like it because it is so true. It was written about 500 years ago and it is more valid now than ever.

But planning and getting ready for a stress free holiday is stressful in itself. That is one reason why many refuse to take a holiday.

Holidays are expensive. There are many hidden costs. And there are many fears. If you are in a wrong place at a wrong time then your time is up.

Workaholics feel they are indispensable. Or they are subconsciously afraid to accept that life will go on whether they are there or not.

Every time I book a family vacation, I have mixed feelings. My anxiety level settles down when I am back home with my family and am able to sleep in my own bed. I like the security and comfort of my home.

That is how I felt last Sunday when I got home after spending Easter week cruising some Caribbean and Mexican islands.

We had left on Easter Friday. The day started around 4.30 a.m. The flight from Medicine Hat was at 6.30 a.m. with a tight connection (I worry about tight connections!) in Calgary to fly to Toronto.

In Toronto we had to change planes and terminals and go through U.S. Customs and Immigration at the new big beautiful Pearson Airport to catch a flight for Fort Lauderdale.

We were in our Fort Lauderdale hotel at about 10.30 p.m. local time – 17 hours after we left our home in Medicine Hat. Long enough to get a blood clot in the leg which can be fatal.

After a good night’s sleep, we boarded Caribbean Princess the next day. There were long lines everywhere but the organization was great and the lines moved pretty fast.

Caribbean Princess is a brand new ship. This was her second voyage. It is beautiful inside. As we boarded the ship and entered our stateroom (cabin), we were handed a precautionary health advisory on Norwalk virus. Also known as “24 hour stomach bug”. We were advised to call the Medical Centre if we had diarrhea or vomiting.

We stopped for a day at Princess Cays island in Bahamas. Next port of call was Montego Bay. Then we sailed to Grand Cayman Island. Unfortunately, we could not land because of inclement weather. So we headed towards Cozumel, Mexico and then to Fort Lauderdale.

We disembarked at Fort Lauderdale at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday. Rushed to Miami airport to catch a flight at 12 noon. After over six hours in the plane we arrived in Vancouver. We cleared the customs and immigration and waited about three hours at the airport before catching a flight to Calgary. We arrived in Calgary at 9.30 p.m. with no connecting flight to Medicine Hat as it was Saturday. So we stayed overnight.

Four days from Medicine Hat to Fort Lauderdale and back. Three days at sea and three days at different islands. Quite a journey. Was it all worth it?

Yes, there was plenty of food – healthy and unhealthy. The service was good. Nightly entertainment in Princess Theatre could have been better. Recreational activities were plentiful. And the sun was shining most of the time (yes, I did use my sunscreen!).

I feel holidays are always worth taking – in spite of all the hassles. But wherever I go, I am glad to be back in Medicine Hat, sleeping on my own bed and getting back to my daily routine – until it is time for another holiday!

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!