Dr. G Travels: Santiago

Thank goodness my flight to Santiago, Chile was for all purposes straight down south with no time difference. This time around, I got to sleep! This frequent flyer has no problem sleeping, especially after flying from the other side of the world the same day!

So you may be wondering why I travelled to Mendoza, Argentina?  Well, I just recently became the proud owner, with three other “strategic” partners, in a planted vineyard of 1.3 Hectares of Chardonnay and 2.6 Hectares of Malbec. Our vineyard is located smack dab in the middle of a multitude of well-known Mendoza vineyards, in the valley of Lujan de Cujo, in the town of Perdriel. The soil is so rich and so fertile that if you throw a watermelon seed into the vineyard, I’d bet my bottom dollar we would have watermelons within a very short time.

 Our vineyard is called Vinedo Los Flaneurs and our Malbec will be called El Flaneurs, while our sparkling will be called Elisabeth, with an "S". It was a timely visit as our Chardonnay now a Champenois was maturing beautifully in a contracted out Champanera into an amazing sparkling wine! We had a tasting of our sparkling and even without adding the necessary sugar, it tasted amazing! After it has matured for six months in the bottle the borras sediment will be removed and we will end up with over 3000 bottles, which should yield around 350 cases. Sparking anyone?

 My flight to Buenos Aires from Mendoza was anything but uneventful. On approach to the runway, about 30 feet from the ground, wheels up and the terminal a short distance away, the engines roared to life and the plane took off at what appeared to be a 90-degree angle straight up. The passengers along with myself started to panic. Countless scenarios ran through my head as we gained altitude back to 32,000 feet. After about 20 minutes, the captain came on over the PA system and explained in Spanish what had occurred. Have you ever had your life flash in front of your eyes?  Well mine did! However, we arrived safe, a little shook up, but safe.

I attended the COSAE Endodontic Conference, which hosts endodontists from all over Latin America and provides an opportunity for exceptional networking and learning from the most intelligent minds in our profession.

My half-day, fast paced presentation went smoothly and the ballroom filled with over 600 docs from around all over Latin America, resonated with appreciation for what I had to offer them with the latest and greatest in technique and technology. The next day, I gave a hands on workshop and then participated in a debate with three other world renowned endodontists on the merits of the technique that we each advocate.

All in all, the COSAE Endodontic conference was very successful and I look forward to returning to this world-class city real soon. Thanks to Steve Jones, VP of Sales and Marketing for SybronEndo and one of my strategic partners in the Vineyard.

Back up at 32,000 feet and heading back home. Ill arrive in Toronto at 5:30 am in the morning, just enough time to go home, unpack, throw a load of laundry in the machine then go pick up my son Cory and take him to London, Ontario to help him get settled in for his four years at the University of Western, Ontario where he got accepted into the Ivey Business School.

Dr. G Travels: Hong Kong

It all started Thursday August 21, 2014 with my usual "Thursday Rush" to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. I was on my way to Hong Kong, where I went for a full 48 hours to speak at the HKIDEAS Dental Conference. One of my "retreats from the real world" is when the plane door closes, my smart phone goes into Airplane Mode and I am disconnected from civilization, as I know it. I relish these moments when I have 15 hours of "undistracted time" to catch up on unread emails, fine tune and polish my presentations, and work on an article or two that I am planning to publish in one of the many journals worldwide that I have previously been published in. Simultaneous to this, I get to watch several "first run" movies and enjoy a few nice meals served to me in my "pod" in business class.  

 Fifteen hours later, having slept maybe a couple of hours, we touch down very smoothly at Hong Kong International Airport. In true "lifestyles of the rich and famous" fashion, an all too professional limo driver who had an electronic placard with my name on it met me. Whisked into the limo, equipped with wireless, it was only a 30-minute drive to the Grand Hyatt hotel. At this point in my travelling life, as long as the room is clean, quiet and bedbug free, I’m ok with simplicity however; the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong on Harbour Road was anything but plain and simple. It boasted a gorgeous view of Hong Kong Harbour and had all the amenities one would need. You could essentially live in your room for at least one month! Always being offered to be wined and dine in the most exclusive restaurants by the powers that be of the local dental society, I opted for a light dinner in the hotel with my SybronEndo host, Steve Shepherd and my good friend, Hong Kong endodontist, Alex Chan.

I was up early for my daily morning workout and a breakfast buffet that is so typical of fine Asian Hotels. On the menu were fresh fruit just picked at the market an hour before, dim sum galore and made to order omelets. It was hard to resist eating all morning long but duty called, as my full day presentation would begin in 30 minutes.

In the lecture theatre, the crowd of dentists slowly filled the soon to be SRO (Standing Room Only) 400 doctor capacity, as I worked feverishly with the video technician to get my Mac computer to sync with the high-resolution projector. I had visions of one of my very first presentation I had given years ago to EndoBaja in Ensenada, Mexico. At that presentation, my brand new laptop was incompatible with the projector provided. This was a nightmare as smoke billowed from my computer as the doctors in attendance looked on in horror! Thankfully, it all worked out fine in Hong Kong and the presentation went without a hitch.

That Sunday morning couldn’t have come sooner as it offered me the opportunity to work out and chill until I had to catch my afternoon flight back to Toronto. One of my favourite things to do when I have the time is to read as many newspapers as I can while sipping lattes or cappuccinos. I had the time so I did just that.

It was now time to say goodbye to Hong Kong as my time here had now come to an end. This flight was long, which was to be expected but I made it home safe and sound. However, my travels weren’t over just yet. I arrived at 6:30 p.m. Sunday night, went home, unpacked, repacked and headed back to the airport to catch my 11:00 pm flight to Santiago, Chile. Some would venture to say INSANE but I love the action, I love the travel and I love the experiences gained from both. These are the reasons what drive me and define me. Next stop…Chile!