To Bangkok Again
on So Now It's Cambodia (Cambodia), 14/Mar/2010 00:59, 34 days ago
Yet another hospital report!If this doesn’t interest you please ignore, though you might miss out on comparing my experience of the NHS in England with the private system in Thailand! There’s also our pleasure trips to the island and jazz nights!Have tried to add photos but it's a terrible connection in the Sisophon hotel and keep losing it!!!Initially I saw the VSO doctor in Phnom Penh (very nice lady from the Philippines) who gave a correct diagnosis and wrote a letter recommending my trip to Bangkok as she thought the hospitals in Cambodia weren’t up to the job.This had to be cleared by VSO (medical unit in UK) who authorise the insurance claim. It had been pivotal in our decision to come here that VSO had a good reputation for sorting out medical issues and that the treatment was international standard. Now was the chance to put it to the test.We could have flown but as we live nearer the border (45 mins.) than the airport (7 hours) we took a taxi to the border then got the airport bus to BKK airport. We did this with Matt who had been staying with us which was a great help as he carried my holdall for me. Thanks Matt!We then got a taxi to the hotel/guest house which had been booked by VSO. We had requested an upgrade as we’d heard their usual guest house was dreadful – it even has a sign at reception saying “no complaints”!!Initially we stayed at the Christian Guest house which had been recommended. Simple but effective and only 3 minutes walk to the hospital. The next day we went to see the surgeon. The BNH (Bangkok Nursing Home) hospital is amazing– it looks like a 5* hotel with liveried staff at the door and fountains at the front. Everything is modern and clean looking.After checking in I was soon seen and the surgeon really inspired confidence straight away. He was very clear but was completely puzzled as to why they did the hernia repair at the same time as the appendix back in August. He said they should never be done at the same time as the appendix is a“dirty” operation (risk of infection).He drew diagrams to explain how they could not have reached all the hernia properly (in UK) and I learnt a lot about the procedure. None of this was ever mentioned by the doctors in England but it was on my discharge letter and was briefly mentioned by the nurse when I was sent home.He requested operation notes so I had a lot of e mailing to get these for him but he didn’t ever receive them though he did receive a summary which he said was sufficient. I suppose one of the things that inspired confidence was the time he was able to give me to explain and discuss followed by phone calls. He also has a very intelligent and calm manner with a sense of humour. He wasThai but conducted the whole process in perfect English!He made it clear he expected his patients to make a very quick recovery!We had to wait until after the weekend to see him again to decide about the operation so he suggested we enjoyed ourselves! We took the hint (as if we needed it!) and went to Ko Samet - a popular island off the coast a few hours drive from BKK. We had a lovely beach bungalow and the water was really warm for swimming. Lovely white sand though the water isn’t as blue as Barbados!!!Ours was quite a small resort and beach which was peaceful but the next beach had more resorts and better restaurants. In the evening they pull out“day beds” into the lapping sea and BBQ fish and veg. It was really lovely and we lay on one of these (the bed not the BBQ!) to listen to a small band churning out Neal Young etc. Very relaxing lying there with the water lapping underneath!!Unfortunately, the weather changed for our only full day and it was cloudy wet and windy! You could hardly say it was cold but the receptionist said it was freezing and shivered!! I told her about the snow back home!We had to drag ourselves away the next day to get back to BKK. The ferry boat seemed overloaded and struggled to get up speed. We had booked a cheap (300Baht) shared taxi back but the map we were given to the taxi office was way out. We regretted turning down a tuk tuk ride - even though he kept (cheerfully) dropping his price to practically nothing - as it was quite a walk.It worked out all right in the end and we were quite comfortable and he drove sensibly. Our pit stop before reaching BKK was an experience as there were a lot of tour buses there which were highly decorated in flowing designs as is popular in Thailand. They were thumping out rock music at an unbelievable volume. Apparently they’re one day trip or party buses. Mental note to ourselves – avoid getting on one of these at all costs!!!There was added atmosphere in the service station - which was really a massive Asian style market - as there were a group of young people with a drum singing and dancing. We were nervous at first that they might be Thaksin supporters (red shirts) but they just seemed to be enjoying themselves and competing with the racket coming out of the buses!!The Christian Guest house had no more room at the inn so we were forced to check in to the Swiss Lodge Hotel a few doors away. We had liked this when we’d walked passed and had booked into a basic room with a promotion discount but it was much more comfortable than the guest house. We were delighted and quite overwhelmed when we checked in as we were told they had upgraded us to a suite for no extra charge! This was a lovely surprise – maybe they felt for us as we had told them about the operation.It had a lovely lounge with desk and bar with shuttered doors into the bedroom and dressing area to a lovely bathroom and was on the top (8th. Floor)! This picked us both up and meant Alison could be comfortable, we both had space and it would be nice place to recove - it even had a comfy sofa– something hard to come by in Cambodia with it’s wooden furniture and occasional cushions.The staff at this hotel turned out to be fantastic– one of the best we’ve experienced – they were very kind – asking me how I was – always there to do things for you – anticipating your needs. A real tonic and no – it wasn’t 5* extravagance! – cheaper than a Premier Inn in UK! Just a very nice attitude.I duly reported to the hospital the next morning and after some formalities I was shown to“my room”. The open areas are like a very good hotel with modern leather furniture, works of art and are very spacious. The room was great too with en suite and TV over the bed and a bed settee. This enabled Alison to stay overnight after the op. (A bit like in Cambodia really!).After the usual preparations I was surprised to find myself in the operating theatre still fully compus mentis! They continued with identity checks which I asked about. The surgeon said they like the staff to know they have the right patient and that I had the right doctor doing the right operation! This was quite reassuring I suppose as well as amusing. I was then sent to sleep and later woke up with my hernia duly fixed.The surgeon was happy with the way it went (in about 40 minutes) but said he found no evidence of the previous hernia repair! No mesh– nothing! Completely baffling! He suggested maybe they’d done a few stitches which had come undone…..The next day and even next few days were far more painful than I had expected but they had some lovely painkillers which did help! I gradually weaned myself off them and after 2 nights and a day in my private room I dragged myself back to the suite at the hotel on the 3rd. night!!The hospital staff insisted I had a wheel chair and took control of the situation but when they tried to get us a taxi back none of them would take the job as it was too short! I remembered that the hotel offered a limousine service so I phoned them. A minute later we were surprised to find the manager of the hotel standing next to us! He very soon summoned a taxi and talked him into taking us. We got in - complete with manager in the front - and were taken back. The manager even insisted on taking us to the back entrance as it would avoid the steps at the front for me. So kind and thoughtful. Really impressive. Now that’s what I call service!The hotel stay afforded Alison the chance to join a local good quality gym where she could also do some yoga and to spend an afternoon at the Blue Elephant cookery school learning how to cook Thai food. She was delighted to be met with a picture of Rod Stewart at the school! Apparently it’s famous and has a branch in Putney. We enjoyed the fruits of her efforts that evening at the hotel restaurant.As I was getting gently mobile quite quickly and had packs of painkillers etc. we were able to get out and about together after a few days. We even went on a leisurely boat trip down the river and along the canals with the boat to ourselves. This was fascinating - giving us a chance to see how Thais live by the river in traditional houses. There was even amazing tropical vegetation and views considering it was within the city.We got the boat from the pier at the Oriental hotel and we found ourselves using their facilities several times in order to enjoy the view– the food and drink - and the music. It’s also pretty good for people watching!So we enjoyed afternoon tea on the terrace watching the sunset over the river followed by sundowners on one day. Coffee and unusual nibbles in the bar after the boat trip another day. We also had afternoon tea in the tea room (you may have seen this in previous photos) accompanied by a guitarist who didn’t know any of the tunes all the way through!! Followed by “people watching” in the massive foyer with comfy sofas and listening to a reasonable string quartet playing Mozart. We then persuaded ourselves we could afford their £6 Green Curry with a table right by the river on the terrace (Verandah) restaurant! I think we both deserved a bit of pampering after the previous week’s experience. We finally transferred to the bar where there was more good quality jazz being played live – this time with an American female singer.We were both delighted to find Waitrose products in a well concealed downstairs supermarket in the Silom Centre a few yards from our hotel. I couldn’t contain my excitement at finding the spicy peach chutney we enjoy so much at Christmas. After a brief hesitation we decided it was essential for our well being and have been enjoying it with cheese etc since coming back! In fact we’ve been entertaining a few volunteers and PO staff last nightand today due to an area meeting taking place here (in Mongkul Borei) - so the chutney has brought a smile to a few faces here!!I wrote in a previous blog about jazz at the Sheraton Hotel. We enjoyed it so much the last time that we went again! This time we booked into their Asian restaurant before the jazz and had a delicious and original eating experience. This went down very well with Alison!Once again we were entertained by the superb Cannon brothers but no singer this time. They really are top quality and I’m so jealous of their piano and flugel horn playing. It really is something to aspire to. The bass and drummer are brilliant too. They have a very friendly rapport with their audience and come round and chat to us in the breaks. It’s a brilliant and not especially expensive night out. The discreet staff are always around to ply you with drinks if you should be thirsty!After discovering yet more cafes such as Au Bon Café just round the corner from the hotel (featuring Salmon bagels!) I eventually had to face the doctor again a week after the op. and wend our way home. He was very pleased with my recovery and gave me a certificate for 10 days off work! Ironic!!Nearly forgot to mention Nui’s Italian restaurant and jazz club! Another brilliant place. The attention to detail in the design is amazing. There’s a very smart restaurant upstairs but we ate al fresco as it was a lovely (hot!) evening (sorry frozen Britain!).We ended up in the bar which is New York style with leather chairs. I think they’d been expecting a large party who didn’t show judging by the arrangement of chairs and us being ushered to the front corner of the audience area. This caused some amusement as the staff eventually rearranged the chairs with much comment from the band!We ended up being the only audience to start with. A trendy young trio (Thai) started off then were joined by an obviously very experienced and brilliant flugel horn player (American). He also sang in an effective Frank Sinatra way. He was witty as well– a well drilled act.Eventually a few more people came in but left soon so we were the only audience again. When we decided to leave so the band could go home they politely waited while I returned from the toilet so they could say goodnight - a nice and very polite touch. Shame there weren’t more people there as we really enjoyed it. The band leader was kind enough to say it was the quality that counts in relation to the audience – so maybe we responded well and made it worth their while! It was a lovely evening though.Back to more mundane matters. We stocked up on as much western goods as we could manage and even bought an£11 pound food mixer so Alison can be more adventurous in the kitchen!We used the same taxi as we used for Ko Samet and soon found ourselves at the border. We had tried to extended our visa’s but were told after a lengthy and expensive trip to the enormous and impressive new immigration office that we had a free extra day - except when we arrived at the border they denied this and fined us both 500 Bht. (about £9.00). It was annoying as I’d run out of money and had to walk a longway back to the ATM when I was quite sore – especially considering the efforts we’d made contacting VSO Thailand about this etc. We may never know if it was legitimate or not but they weren’t going to let us through without paying so we had no choice.Our trusty Cambodian taxi driver Cheourk was there to meet us as we had arranged (we bought Thai sim cards) which was a welcome relief. However, he crawled home as his handbrake had broken and the car was making some very funny noises! This pattern continued this week as Alison had to go to Thmar Pouk for the day. His car broke down twice on the way home - in the dark– in the middle of nowhere! 1st. time it was the radiator and he got water from a pond (with help from his “lady friend”) then a shredded or flat tyre about 10 minutes later!Fortunately, Alison was with Oly the volunteer who she shares hospitals with and we were in phone contact - plus we trust Chouerk. Even so, I’m sure Alison and Oly could have done without it after a long tiring day.Alison had gone out there to meet other members of staff and discuss hospital progress. Unfortunately, when they arrived there were no staff there!! This might have been exacerbated by it being the day after Women’s Day –which was yet another holiday here. They have a lot of holidays!So they had a bumpy start and this was after waiting to collect Oly in Sisophon who had set off at the crack of dawn from Siem Reap after a weekend away. It worked out alright in the end and they had some productive meetings though I think the highlight might have been Alison providing baked beans on toast (bought in BKK) at Oly’s house at lunchtime!So since coming back I’ve been taking it easy and the young man downstairs has been very helpful - popping out for the shopping I would have done on the bike – lifting the big water bottle for our filter etc. Alison’s had extra as well and has started some mornings at 6.00am with a run round town followed by a cycle to the psaar (market) then off to work for 7.30!Things seem to be going smoothly though I do still get some soreness which can be worrying. It will be good to get totally freed up and start getting more mobile. A couple of more weeks then I should be able to cycle and play the trumpet again. I have at least been able to (finally) start practising my new electric piano which is great. So thanks again to the staff at Cromwell for the contribution towards its purchase which you gave me when I left. It’s really nice to be playing again after a 4 month break.Thaksin footnote!We were worried about demonstrations relating to the court decision about Thaksins money etc. which took place while we were there. We were relived that they were postponed so we weren’t affected at all but we are glad to be out of there considering the build it’s been getting leading to this weekends demo. Let’s hope it passes peacefully.ThankyouFinally, many thanks to all friends and family who showed interest and support during this time– it has been really appreciated - a relatively straightforward op I think but after the op in the summer and being in a strange land etc. it was something I could have done without! Your support really helped. Thankyou.