Snippets 8

The B.M.A conference was held in Hong Kong in 1970 and Doctor Mc Dougall decided to go there to see if there was anything of interest in Chinese medicine, and to combine it with a holiday trip to the Far East. Fortunately it was held in November, which is probably the best time to visit that part of the world. As it was a one off trip, not likely to be repeated, he and his wife decided to stay in the Peninsula Hotel, which is one of the best in the world, to stay for ten days, and to carry on to Singapore for four days, and to have a further week in Bangkok. On registering at the Peninsula Hotel they were told that they were upgraded to the presidential suite, as the manager was a personal friend of a friend of theirs, having gone to school together. As you can imagine the suite was superb and there was a young man and a young woman at their disposal at the door night and day to help with bathing, dressing, etc, etc. Half an hour after arriving the telephone in the room rang and a gentleman introduced himself as Y T Lee, and said “you befriended my daughter, who goes to school with your daughter in England, having had her to stay in your home many weekends, and I now want to return your hospitality, so I am leaving my Rolls with a chauffeur at the door of your hotel for the duration of your stay”. Dr Mc Dougall said he couldn’t possibly accept this, but Y.T. insisted that the car would remain there anyway and that they had better use it, and added that the chauffeur would take them to the best restaurants and shops and show them where to find a tailor to make suits and anything else they needed. They made full use of this over the next four days, until the phone rang again with Y.T. saying that his yacht with captain and crew would be at their disposal for the next two days, and that the captain had instructions to take them up and down the coast and around the islands. After the two days they met Y. T. and had a couple of meals with him before leaving Hong Kong, and having said their goodbyes and thanked him profusely they flew to Singapore. At the airport in that city a message came over the tanoid asking if Dr Mc Dougall would kindly pick up the nearest yellow telephone, and on doing so he was told that the speaker was Y.T’s representative in Singapore and that there was a chauffeured driven car waiting outside the airport and that the driver had his instructions to show them the city and restaurants etc and then to take them into Malaysia for a day’s trip. The thing to do in Jahore Bahru was to see the palace of the Sultan, but unfortunately when they got there they found it closed. They were just turning away when a side door opened and a man came out. Dermot Mc Dougald asked him if there was any chance of getting through the palace but was told that it was closed to the public for the day. He then said how disappointed he was having come all the way from Ireland. At this the man introduced himself as the Sultan of Jahore Bahru and said he had never to his knowledge met Irish people. Having shaken hands with them he offered to give them a personal tour of the palace and organised tea afterwards.
They had a most wonderful time in both cities, so much so that they almost felt like slumming when they arrived in Bangkok, even though they stayed in the Oriental Hotel, which again is one of the best in the world. It was certainly a trip of a lifetime, and the study of Chinese medicine was also most enlightening. Y.T. was a most delightful man of approximately forty five years of age, and the Mc Dougalls were looking forward to meeting him in London to return some of his wonderful hospitality but sad to say he died unexpectedly a couple of months later.