Yesterday was my first weekday in Bangkok staying with my old buddy, fellow Bubbles, Bjørn. Below is a photo of his backyard. There were several reasons to move up to Bangkok. Some countries signaled their interest to get tourists back so might let me enter. Thailand, so far, has only given us tourists amnesty through July and Japan still won’t let me return.
The other important reason for leaving beautiful Khanom for the big crowded city was to get the possible hernia checked. So yesterday i went to Mission Hospital, established by the Adventists, a very reputable hospital. After a train and taxi ride i arrived for temperature check at the entrance. Almost no one was inside. Most people are still probably wary of visiting hospitals. After registering i waited 10 minutes for the blood pressure, weight and height measurements and then waited 5 minutes to see the general practitioner.
He said it was best to talk to the specialist so the nurse directed me to another chair outside another room. 5 minutes later the specialist was ready to check me out. Yes, it turned out to be a “recurrent hernia” right where i had the original hernia operation when i was 2. Ok, so the verdict is, make a Sunday appointment with the surgeon to see what next steps might be.
Then direction to another chair and 2 minutes. The assistant, dressed as a nurse, explained today there was no charge. What? I brought all this US$150 equivalent in Baht to pay for the diagnosis. Ok. Well, zero is better than the alternative. Good thing i am not in the US. I would be out a few hundred dollars just to say “Hello” to a doctor.
On the way out, by the entrance, a few tables were set up with a few girls (younger than 30 so i say, “girls”) selling some confection along with rice crackers which “didn’t have much sugar” for 100 Baht (32 Baht=US$1). This would make a nice snack to take back to my friends. They are a very nice snack, and, “not much sugar”. So i was saved what would have been a bank busting hospital bill in the US by a few rice crackers. Oh, when i paid the girls directed me to put the 100 Baht note in the hospital contribution box. I suspect they were made as a charity project to provide funds for some hospital project to keep others healthy.
