Medical Stuff

Many many years ago, I caught typhoid whilst on holiday in Thailand. A most unpleasant disease but made reasonably bearable by being hospitalized for a few days in a brand new private establishment in Phuket where I was looked after unbelievably well and which was oh so cheap. Fast forward to a week or so ago when I underwent a small operation on my hand in one of the many first class private hospitals in Bangkok where the cheapest overnight accommodation as an inpatient is around £200 – just for the room – and the most expensive is more than £700 just for the room!.

My chosen hospital (or, rather, the one I was referred to) is located right in the heart of Bangkok

and the non medical bits are more like a 5 star hotel than a centre of medical excellence.

A quick trip up the escalator

and you are spoilt for the choice of eateries – Thai, Japanese and..

even a McDonalds!

It really is an extraordinary place, covering an area of more than 70,000 square metres where an astonishing 1,200 doctors and dentists work although, I am told, not unique as there are at least a dozen more hospitals of this quality in Bangkok alone!

My op was a success and the care I received was just the best –

– and so it should be for the cost ‘cos it wasn’t cheap. But my AXA insurance helped a lot despite me having to pay a sizeable excess.

Before checking in to hospital and to make my Bangkok trip even more worthwhile, in the morning I got my 2nd jab of Astro Zeneca – with no side effects to speak of . So, I should now be able to obtain a Covid ‘passport’ and might even begin to start planning a long overdue trip back home. WOW!

Whilst I have become increasingly alarmed, shocked and depressed by what I have read and hear about the current state of the UK political scene, the Thai government continue to dicker and dither about how to balance economic recovery with the health of the nation. At the time of writing, still less than 50% of the population have been vaccinated and yet, on November 1st, the government declared that Thailand was, once again, ‘open for business’, especially tourism. In the run up to the beginning of this month, Government spin doctors made a whole host of overly optimistic (and often contradictory) predictions as to the vast number of eager tourists who were poised to holiday in The Land of Smiles but – certainly in the Hua Hin resort area- the result so far has been underwhelming to say the least!

A clue may be that all bars and entertainment venues are shut and restaurants are still not allowed to sell alcohol! And on 11th of this month, the government announced that this is the way it’s going to be until at least the middle of January next year!! So, for the teetotal traveller who likes to go to bed early, this may not be too off putting but Thailand has never been known as a magnet for this type of traveller! In short, all totally depressing, especially for anyone connected with Thailand’s hospitality industry and this latest government pronouncement will, for sure, sound the death knell for many more bars, night clubs and karaoke lounges joining the ever growing number of such outlets that have given up the fight already.

It really is quite depressing seeing the economic hardship experienced by so many in Thailand

caused not only by Covid 19 itself but also by the less than adequate way the Thai government is handling the pandemic.

And talking of politics, there are local elections here in a few days time which seem to attract very little interest from the locals (probably as it’s a bit of a foregone conclusion who is going to win!). Nevertheless there is some attempt at electioneering but not in a way we are used to ‘back home’. There is no door to door canvassing; no leaflet distribution. Apart from a few large posters by the roadsides,

the candidates seem solely to rely on loud messages being broadcast by trucks meandering through the highways and byways urging the public to vote for No 1 or No2 or No 3 etc. It’s almost as though said politicians are just going through the motions of having such elections which, bearing in mind the current structure of Thai politics, perhaps they are!

I get so used to seeing strange sights in this amazing country that I was totally unfazed, a couple of days ago, to stumble (not literally, I hasten to add!) across this example of perfect harmony in the animal world.