The worst fear of a travel course trip leader is illness, not his or her own, but of the students. I must have hit the jackpot, having two students (out of a total of eight) who have fallen ill in this very first travel course that I offer (which makes me wonder if I should offer a travel course again).
Because of this misfortune, we have witnessed yet another positive aspect of the Hong Kong society: convenient and affordable health care. We were able to locate a nice, quiet private clinic with doctors who were trained in top medical schools and who were willing to accept new patients on the spot without an appointment. A doctor’s visit plus medication only cost about HK $300, which is unthinkable in the U.S..
The clinic is located in the Fu Tai Estate, a public housing area which is within 5 minutes walk from Lingnan. The word “public housing” might scare away a lot of American readers, but this kind of area in Hong Kong actually could bring very positive living experiences. Fu Tai Estate, like many other public housing areas in Hong Kong, is located right next to a transportation hub with a lot of buses and mini-buses. The estate includes a small mall with a grocery store, a couple convenience stores, a post-office, an organic product store, several clinics, bakeries, and restaurants. Many Lingnan students come here for lunch or dinner every day. There is even a small wet market with food vendors on the ground floor.
