Bangkok: City of Contrasts

Bangkok, Thailand

5pm

First of all, to all of you, dear readers, who have emailed me worried about my health, I am on the mend. I imagine that it was a combination of culture shock and illness. I realized I was better last night when I went to the 7-11 ( yes, there are 4 within a Km. amidst distinctly non-Western stores and whatnot many of which are open air ). I walked over the feral dog who was sleeping at the doorway, and didn't even think to myself--what is wrong with these people?

Last week, as part of my apparent immersion into Thai culture, I had the dubious distinction of going to not one but two Bangkok hospitals. I went to St. Louis Hospital on Thursday to see an internist. The hospital has alot of marble, doormen, English speaking "nurses" in crisp uniform and cap. And best of all, there is no waiting. You are registered, and promptly spirited off to the appropriate section of the hospital. All my angst about waiting for hours was incorrect information. I was out of there in two hours after Dr.     , suggested that I stop taking Cipro, and that I would be fine now. So I wasn't dying of tropical sprue ( a disease I saw at Mayo Clinic as a student--ugly disease then and I'm certain still is. Imagination has its liabilities. ) 

On Sunday, I had another chance to see healthcare up close in Bangkok. A molar had already lost its enamel during my Mekong trip which I nursed along, hoping to work around it until March. But that wasn't intended to happen.

 My morning routine yielded a pinky  nailbed size piece of filling. So, being a careful person with my mouth a million miles from home, I called one of my resources, the Penninsula Hotel, and talked to the concierge who gratiously told me that they recommend Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital for its dental clinic. Well, I was ready about 9am to trundle over there and wait when I decided to call instead. 

Figured out how to dial the damn number ( don't ask about the phone system ) and magically got someone in the clinic. "We very busy," she offered. "Tomorrow better. "But I gently suggested there was a cavern where both enamel and a metal amalgam had lived. So, my appointment was set. 1pm with Dr. Anakam. 

I fretted, fearing that this was a just graduated dental student who got the Sunday gig because she was the low woman on the totem pole. Or worse, she had just seen Marathon Man, and I was going to be the patient who she needed information from. Then, I had the inspired thought to look the hospital and the clinic up on the internet.

 Ah, the age of technology. I not only found out about the clinic but also a bio of all of the dentists including their pictures. She looked about twelve. I cancelled my plans with colleagues for the day, and set out to get to BNH as it is fondly known.

Another marble interior, more crisply dressed registrars right inside the front door. And off I went to see my new dentist. Some of my reticence is squarely on the shoulders of my friend and dentist at home. When I emailed him about the situation earlier in the trip his reply read: " Don't do anything until you get home. If you have to do something because of pain, call the US Embassy or Consulate in Bangkok." Now that would put the fear of god in anyone, right?

Another debunked American notion. My dentist, I found out after extensive vetting with her staff prior to agreeing to go inside to see her, had been practicing for five years, and had graduated from the best university in Thailand with a DDS. Dr. A was great, her English was great like everyone else I encountered at the hospital, and she ended up putting in a temporary. End of story.

Now for the small pictures above. Thiw is the American Ambassador's Thai residence. Why do I know? Because it is very near the hospital and I walked by both the embassy which is a double walled fortress--and later, today,  this mansion.

Know that the picture doesn't do it justice. It is immense. It is completely surrounded by a trench full of water. Yes, the embassy has a moat. Who would believe it? But the hard part for me as I become aware of the great divide between the haves and the have nots, is how the poor Thai who make a daily wage of 195 baht ( about $5.80 US ) must perceive it? Mind you, my question also relates to the immense airconditioned malls that rival Columbus Circle/Time Warner complex or the chic Water Tower Place in Chicago. I saw no Thais in the upscale Paragon ( although there are very wealthy Thais.) It's impossibly expensive, full of Versace, Jimmy Choo, and a floor with showrooms for BMW and Lamberghini. 

If I sound like I'm becoming sensitized to the working class Thai, I suppose that's true. And, as I learn more about the shut down of the international airport in December, I can imagine that some of the anger is that the Thais are becoming more aware of the disparity.

I only have begun to unravel the paradoxes of this ever churning city. But I am aware of this--I could spend years in Bangkok and never understand the nuances. This is, indeed, the other side of the world.

M.C.