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My stay in Sri Lanka was very intense. I got a lot of new impressions. Sri Lanka is a very interesting country as an island with thousands of years of history. Many different cultures, religions and people on a very small area. Today living in peace. The nature is astonishing.

Religon plays a very important role in the day-to-day life of Sri Lankans. Although the island is predominantly Buddhist, other religions such as Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are also present. I learnt a lot about Buddha, and it is said that the Buddha visited the island about 500 years BC. In brief, my encounter with Buddhism was very friendly and I also learnt that Sri Lanka has been under religious suppression by European countries, but other, surrounding countries have helped Sri Lanka to prevail culture and traditions. In Asia, countries collaborate and help each other, and have done so during centuries.

I will continue to write, so this was just an introduction to Sri Lankas fascinating history and culture. Sharing a photo from one of my first Buddhism encounters, introduced by my friend Anu.

I have spent quite a lot of time to write about my journey in Vietnam. Vietnam deserves a lot of attention with its fascinating history and culture. It was so nice to see Vietnam. From north to south. And also to rejoin with friends from previous work at Astra Zeneca. We used to do quite advanced studies. I remember that I learnt a lot about the importance of water to be able to do MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) studies. The oscillation of the water molecule in the body. T1 and T2. Nuclear physics including eg electrons and positrons. So, I was very happy to see Raimo and his family in HCMC in their beautiful house. Life.

Just before I went to Asia I saw my previous mentor Professor Jörgen Engel at a drug addiction meeting in Stockholm in December. I am so happy that I can be a member to follow what happens within drug addiction. I like to read the “Bulletin”. I will soon write about how ethanol (alcohol) orchestrate the brain reward symphony.

I was a little sad to leave Vietnam. But, then, it was good to know that I was going to meet my friend that I made at Gothenburg University. That is more than 15 years ago. She was in our research group led by Professor Jörgen Engel. I finished my thesis work and she decided to move to England to get a license for medical practice. MD. We stayed in contact and I visited her several times in England (White cliffs) and also in Scotland.  Anu is now licensed within Psychiatry and her husband Visahan, works as a Surgeon at a hospital in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

I went from Saigon to Bangkok and changed planes for Colombo. I got to Colombo in the middle of the night, and my sweet friend met me at the airport to go to Anuradhapura. We went three hours by car through the jungle. We had to be careful, because sometimes elephants occur, like elks in Sweden. However, we had a skilled driver who knew all, crooked roads. At their house I got a few hours of sleep and woke up to a beautiful, peaceful and warm Sri Lanka.

It was a long time ago I saw this movie. Films are a very good way of understanding history. I don´t remember much. Humor is a very important way to survive history. Like Victor Borge. Historical events that are so un-understandable that you can only make jokes about them. Like the awakenings. I thought a lot of Good Morning, Vietnam when I was in HCMC. And that is why I had to go to the Rex Hotel, a popular base for several journalists during the Vietnam War. It was built by French colonial developers and became a focus of the social and military activities of American soldiers. The US military officers gave the daily press briefings “The Five O´clock Follies”.

My humor is academic, I think. And it might be difficult to understand sometimes. But to laugh has helped me throughout life. First, I wasn´t going to the War Remnants museum but I was highly recommended by the hotel where I stayed. I really don´t like to write about it, but a lot of war crimes are committed during war. Among the most disturbing exhibits at the museum are the formaldehyde-filled jars containing foetuses deformed as a result of the chemical defoliants (agent orange) used during the Vietnam war.