Jingle Bells and Giant Lizards, Dodging Shoppers in Festive Malls and Dragons in Bangkok Parks

Walking around Bangkok, Thailand, is very different from walking around most of the cities I have been to. For one thing, it’s very flat here and the sidewalks are nice, with crosswalks and pedestrian bridges galore. Plus, skytrains, metros, and ferries are plentiful and easy to use if I need a break. It’s fairly quiet too because honking (while going around corners, entering intersections, or just saying hi) is not the custom here. I’m having a wonderful time wandering around, looking at all the amazing architecture this gorgeous city has on offer! But it hasn’t been all fun and games.

To the hospital

Medical tourism is popular in many of the countries I’ve been to recently, but it’s predominantly been dental. You can fly in for vacation and get a crown or implant or whatever for less than in the US, Canada, or Australia (I chatted up an Aussie dude in Bali, Indonesia, who was there getting a tooth implant). But what I see the most advertised in Bangkok is for work on the largest organ of the human body… skin.

Which is perfect because I have a brand new mole on my stomach that has changed dramatically since July (I took a picture so I could watch it). I’ve already had skin cancer, and my family has a history of the deadly disease, so I have to be extra careful. What better place to get this mole checked out than in a city that is so invested in skincare?

Here’s the thing… cosmetic skincare is a lot different from dermatology. I need to check this thing for cancer, not have it removed because it is unsightly. Looks like I need a hospital. Lucky for me, I have five within walking distance. Now, to make an appointment. In Seattle, USA, it takes about six months to get an appointment with a dermatologist, so I’m really hoping that is not the case here because I won’t be here that long.

How do I do this?

Besides a derm appointment, I also need to see a gynecologist. Low and behold, I found a sales promotion at a highly rated, private, not-for-profit hospital a few blocks away. I like sales! I attempted to email the hospital but didn’t get a response. They don’t have a text messaging service that I’m familiar with. The reviews online said not to call unless you know Thai, which I do not. I guess I will just have to walk over there in order to make the two appointments.

Upon entering the building, a wonderful English-speaking human asked if I would like to be seen by both clinics now. Now? Like right now? Yup. Right now. I was not prepared for that, but okay. As I was filling out all the paperwork with my name, contact info, and address in Bangkok, the receptionist asked to see my passport. I did not bring that. Guess I’ll have to come back later? Nope! No worries, I can just use the photo saved on my phone.

Within minutes, another human came and escorted me upstairs to Gynecology. I really wasn’t prepared for this, so I didn’t have any of my paperwork from my last appointment in the States. But I have technology! I was able to pull it up on my phone and send them a copy. So when I entered the patient room, the gynecologist had my chart and went over it with me so she knew what to look for. This is like magic-magic medical land!

Do you need a prescription?

If you are a female in the USA, you know all about the beds in gynecologist’s offices, with the weird foot traps. I just assumed those were ubiquitous throughout the world. Nope. Entirely different bed here with this cool cutout at the end and no foot traps. Very comfortable. The entire procedure was easy-peasie and they will email my results in a week. Afterwards, the gynecologist asked about my medication, which is crazy expensive in the States, even though I have insurance and buy generic.

Turns out, they have the name brand in their pharmacy, and it’s fairly inexpensive. Less expensive than the generic back in the States. I’m in! She put the prescription into her computer and sent me across the hall. The pharmacy is also where I need to pay for the gynecologist, which was, in fact, on sale until the end of the year. 1,900 baht ($60 USD). Now, to the dermatologist!

After getting my vitals checked at the front desk of the dermatology clinic, it was just a few minutes wait before I was seen. The dermatologist didn’t think my mole was of any concern until she saw the picture that I had taken back in July. After that, she suggested that I get it biopsied. She was very concerned because she didn’t know the exact cost of the pathology review of the biopsy because they send it outside of the hospital. It could be upwards of 10,000 baht ($320 USD)!

Let’s do this

Well, there’s not much I can do at this point. I’ve already had skin cancer, and it would be silly to just ignore the mole and hope it goes away. Plus, I won’t have this level of medical care once I get to Vietnam because I’ll be on a tiny island. It’s now or never. And with that, the room is prepped for surgery, and the mole is removed with some discomfort from the numbing shots. Three stitches are put in and, after removing my bellybutton ring, the entire thing is covered in a bandage, a type of transparent wound dressing, that should remain in place for nine days. I guess I won’t be using my swimming pool for a bit!

After that, it was off to the pharmacy to pay for the entire thing and pick up some antibiotics. At this point, I was pretty worried about the cost because if the pathology is 10,000 baht, how much for surgery? Will it be another 10,000 baht? Nope. It turns out that the dermatologist was talking about the entire procedure being that much, not just sending out the sample for testing. Nice! Time to head home.

I’m very impressed with the medical here. I decided to skip taking the antibiotics because I don’t like taking them, especially systemic antibiotics, unless I absolutely have to. There was also a lot of medical literature that was inconclusive about whether it was beneficial to take prophylactic antibiotics for this type of procedure. If it were a dog bite or something where a possible infection could be introduced, I for sure would. But the mole was removed in a sterile environment, so I did not take the antibiotics. Sorry, doctor! I also put my bellybutton ring back in through the bandage by making the smallest and most precise holes possible.

Are you going to use those?

The bandages itched like crazy, but I managed to keep them on for the entire nine days. After that, the dermatologist removed my stitches and let me know the mole was benign. Thank goodness! I again paid at the pharmacy after receiving some topical antibiotics that I will definitely use. I’m so glad it’s not skin cancer. That would have sucked!

So then later on, I’m walking to the grocery store and this gentleman approaches me looking all pale and sad. He tells me that he got into a motorcycle accident and rolls up his sleeve to show me this absolutely nasty-looking wound under a bandage on his arm. He says he doesn’t speak Thai, and he needs help to pay for medical care. I let him know that he should go to the hospital that I went to (just a few blocks away) because they speak English.

I also asked him if he needed antibiotics. He was not interested in that, but he then shows me his itemized list of his medical expenses. Now I’m suspicious. He asks if I can help with any money for his care. That really pulled at my heartstrings, but I said no and walked away. A bit of research later and I learn that this is a big scam in this area with many experiences online. Whether the wound was real or makeup, I’m not sure. I only saw it for a couple seconds. I really hope it was makeup! If he really needs help, his embassy will loan him the money for medical care. Jibbers! Note: I spotted the gentleman two weeks later and he looked fine.

To the run!

I was lucky enough to catch a couple of runs with my running group while in Bangkok. On the first one, I didn’t know what to expect as it would be my first time riding the Metro (MRT). There is a Skytrain just around the corner from my apartment, but that is different from the underground system. And to make things a bit more complicated, the line I need to get on goes in a circle, so I have to figure out which side to get on so I go in the right direction. I do not want to go around the entire circle!

Lucky for me, most everything is also in English, which makes it so much easier. Here’s the thing… I’m used to running with my Seattle group. They set the time, you mossy up, they talk for like half an hour, and then off we go. It’s like ‘island time’ or ‘Latin-American time’ or ‘subject to local time’. I just assumed this would be the same, so I was very surprised when I got there right on time and they immediately took off running! Oh, the start time is the actual start time? These people are punctual!

We all had a really great adventure weaving our way through the city, although at one point I got turned around in a dark back alley and almost ran through someone’s house! The locals were quick to help get me back on track, laughing and pointing in the direction the rest of the group went. We even ran past a gorgeous Buddhist Temple! Afterward, we all met at a local restaurant (that was open just for us!) for dinner. Thanks, new friends! Except now I’m sore because the entire adventure (to metro, to start, run, back to metro, back home) was 19 kilometers!

Pictures, please!