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Published: December 14th 2008
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Tubing in Khao Sok
Our guide had as much fun as we did even though she must have run the river over a hundred times. The Thais really know how to have a good time. We left Phuket Town and went to Phang Nga which is a huge bay studded with granite islands. We took a little boat tour and then hung out with the German and Spaniard later that night. We had such a great time talking and drinking rum and cokes in the street that I forgot to take a picture and I lost their freakin' email addresses. Argh!
The next morning we caught a ride at 7 am (ugh!) to Khao Sok National Park. The weather was a tad cool for a change and it had a bit of a camping out feel. There were a couple of bars that even had little bon fires at night though you really didn't feel cold.
We took a bus to another town where we caught a "sleeper train to Bangkok." I just love the sound of that. Makes me think of a dining car with green glass lamp shades dripping in crystal droplets and succulent meals accompanied by a dark purple wine in huge crystal glasses. Well reality was that we didn't see a dining car. The bed was nice with a comfy pillow and soft cotton blanket. But they cranked up the
Shrunken dinosaur
Toby spotted this spiky lizard when we were hiking in Khao Sok. Actually, he almost stepped on him when about to climb this little ladder. He must have been cold cuz I went crazy with the camera on him. A/C to arctic levels which always seems to be the case when you have transport in S.E. Asia that includes A/C. Reminds me of the Las Vegas convention center. So it wasn't the best sleep I've ever had.
I thought that the sleeper train to Bangkok was a unique tourist experience but I can top that like K2. I got hit by a bus in Bangkok. When I say it like that it reminds me of a line from the movie The Princess Bride, "Killed by pirates is good!"
Actually, it was more like I got side swiped by a bus (hit none the same.) Okay, kay, here's the story. I went to my dental appointment (Side note: I called that am and got an appointment at 3pm the same day!) while Toby when shopping for new thongs (his 5th pair this trip!) On the way back I was crossing a street where a traffic cop was even there and waved us across. I was at the head of the pack and as I was about to cross the last lane a black BMW was coming full bore and did not look like it was going to stop.
Yippie-kai-yay Thai style
Cowboy hat made of beer cans. Waterproof too! I jump out of it's way and into the oncoming path of a public bus. It clipped my hip (damn their so huge!) which spun me around backwards and I fell on the asphalt, butt, elbow and then the back of my head. A Thai girl screamed. The traffic cop wanted me to sit down which I did for a second rotating my elbow and wrist to make sure that everything still worked and wasn't broken. A nice goose egg was already forming on the back of my head with a little blood coming through my hair.
But oddly enough, through the whole thing I knew that I was going to be okay. As I fell I was able to see that no other vehicles were about to hit me. And I knew that I was falling slowly enough that I wasn't going to do any major damage. But still, I was aching and I knew I needed ice on my head ASAP. I went into a KFC and got a cup of ice that I put on the back of my head.
I managed to finally find my way to the hotel where Toby was waiting. Toby,
Funky Monkey bar
This was a pretty cool bar complete with a frisky young pup, black and white and dying to play. amazing stayed calm and took it in stride. But after a few hours with ice on my head and elbow and wrist my left arm became very stiff and painful if moved just a tiny bit. Toby said that even though everything moved after the accident that I could still have broken bones. He had broken his wrist in several places as well as his thumb in a motorcycle accident and was able to have full range of movement. Crap, I thought I was safe.
So we went to the hospital, the best one in Bangkok was just a couple of big city blocks away. The lobby was all shiny granite and flowering vines spilled over the balcony above. Wow, nicer than any hospital at home. We registered and I was told I'd have to pay and submit a receipt to my insurance company later since I didn't have my insurance card.
After a short wait we were shown to a curtained gurney in the ER and everything was spotless with all the latest monitoring equipment. I thought, "world class hospital, world class prices. Just how much is this going to cost me?!" And the cabbie who drove
Khao Sok cabin
Isn't this adorable? And it included a private bath with hot water and towels. All for only $9 a night! How can that even cover the utilities? us over (yeah, I wussed out with pain walking just two big city blocks) warned us that this hospital was "very expensive."
A doctor came by and I explained what happened. He sent me to x-ray and then we waited another maybe 20 minutes for the result. The whole time I was fretting about how this was going to really screw up our travel plans. Water sports were for sure out. Argh! But then the doctor showed up and said nothing was broken, just a contusion that should clear up in a week or so. (It's been over a week and still quite sore but hey, no complaints, it ain't broke!)
The doc gives me a sling to keep it stabilized and now we go to the cashier. I'm converting into Baht about how much the bill is going to be. At least $500 or ~17,000 Baht I'm thinking. The bill also includes three prescriptions and the total is a whopping $60 US freaking dollars! They would have charged me $60 just for the flippin' sling in the US! And we were in and out of there in 1 hour 15 minutes. I swear that if I ever
Khao Sok doggies
The big dog wanted nothing to do with this little upstart puppy. Damn kids! need any kind of elective procedure I'm coming to this hospital in Thailand. It's called something like Bumrungrad Hospital if you're interested.
We met an uninsured woman from Alaska at our hostel who came here for tests and treatment for her diabetes and mega high cholesterol. She said she met with about 5 doctors, some were outstanding, some just okay, and one or two just bad. I've had this same experience at home so I think I would try to get referrals from others and pay the lower bill. Probably wouldn't even hit my deductible!!!
Oh, back to the dental part. Boy, have I had the health care experiences in this town or what?! I had this horrid yellow crown for 5 days and came back for the final "installation" of the permanent tooth. They did a great job of matching my other teeth, even shading the top a little yellow and putting a couple of those light gray vertical lines near the bottom like the others. The dentist said she could simply sand out the little chip in the back on my left front tooth so I didn't have to have a second crown. No charge for
"James Bond Island"
This is Phang Nga's claim to fame. I don't know which Bond movie was filmed here but I bet the title had gold, die or never in it. :) that sanding and how nice to have a dentist who saves you from extra work! The new crown cost me about $500 which is about half of what I would pay at home. I had her clean my teeth while she was at it which cost $36. Only weird things were: 1) when they took an x-ray they put the lead apron on me but the rest of them stayed in the room (yikes for them!) and 2) instead of using one of those little rubber thingies with the sandy paste to clean my teeth they used a mini sand blaster which probably got into the cracks better but kinda hurt my tongue a little when doing the inside of my teeth.
Anyway, I now have an even healthier fear of this human game of "Frogger" when crossing streets. Toby still has no prob even when standing on a 6" painted line between lanes with cars (and huge construction trucks!) flying by in each direction both in front and behind.
More to come, stay tuned.
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Jack Schmidt
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Translation of Thai sign
The sign in Thai script means "land of demons." More specifically, "a class of demons from hell, taller than a building, sometimes appearing at night and crying at the top of their voices," according to my So Sethaputra dictionary.