Guangzhou hospital
Day 146: Country #15.2
When I woke up, the vision in my left out was extremely blurry. After showering, it was still out of focus, indicating that something was wrong. I fretted, but there didn’t seem to be anything else wrong, so I decided to take a long walk to a satellite Sun Yat-Sen University Memorial Hospital.
One of many green spaces near the river
Given the reverence for Sun Yat-Sen I saw on the first day, I figured the hospital to his name would be of higher quality. I also hoped that by walking the long distance via Haizhu Square then along the river, my vision would improve by the time I arrived, therefore not needing to admit myself. As I wandered the neighborhoods, I wondered what could have happened. After 145 days of travel, a medical checkup in Thailand, and each day filled with extensive exercise, I felt in wonderful health. Finally, I realized it must have been from a large bottle of unmarked flower tea/soda which I drank before going to bed, but I couldn’t understand the effects.
And neither could the hospital’s optometry staff. Though similar to the South East Asian approach, I spent hours navigating and waiting in the relatively simple, but foreign system. After various eye exams where it should have been obvious that my left eye was significantly poorer than my right, I protested that if I really had such a large disparity, I should be cross-eyed, but somehow I wasn’t. With each failure to get my point across, slowly my vision returned to normal and they concluded that there was nothing wrong! In frustration, I left to continue my journey, taking it out on a pile of bikes along the way.
Manifestation of my frustration (I didn’t do it!)
I stopped by the Canton Custom House and Cultural Park, then eventually, as evening approached, reached Liwan Plaza with fully restored vision to enjoy the bright lights and atmosphere.
Liwan Plaza, Guangzhou, China
After a quick dinner, I felt under accomplished for the day, so I went further west to the Canton Opera Art Museum, a theater for Cantonese arts, to look for tickets, so that I could return later to explore the area then catch a show, but I was only able to explore the perimeter and courtyard. The neighborhood was eerily quiet, so I headed to the subway and went home.
Cantonese Opera Art Museum, Guangzhou, China
Tip:
Avoid eating excessive sugar and insufficiently marked products unless you see the vendor cooking it in front of you. This experience enlightened me to the argument that some people make about sugar being a toxin.
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