"The Pook in Chiang Mai?'... no, this will be in BKK.

Up early this morning to throw in a load of washing and get ready for two dental appts at the noon hour. I'm not sure how long it will all take. One more appt Wednesday as well.

Maeng was complaining about the heat at the weekend market yesterday. She doesn't usually say anything about weather. I have not noticed any stifling heat or humidity... am I missing something? lol

Exchange rates are running right at about 33 baht per US$. I have not needed to exchange currency yet, but hopefully Vasu gives me a good deal when I go in there. I went home with quite a bit of extra baht from August, which I got at a more favorable rate of about 34. I note that the US$ and the Swiss Franc are just about equal.. UGH.. DH and I will be going back there on T'giving Day. Switzerland is already expensive, and when the dollar and franc are equal, it is even costlier! I note the euro is also stronger against the dollar. Glad I came home with extra euros and SFs when the rate was a bit friendlier.

Enjoy your evening. My day is just getting started. Looks sunny this morning at 7am. We will probably have a shower sometime during the day though. I hope to get in a bit of shopping, maybe at Pratunam today. We shall see.

Carol

Sawasdee kah. It's Monday morning here in BKK. Yesterday was a lazy day, after my two dental appts that kept me at Bumrungrad from 11:30 to nearly 4:00. I'm glad it's done!!

Interesting... my 11:30 appt was running late (by 5 whole minutes) and the lady at the reception desk came over to me to apologize for the delay. Seems the appt before mine was running a little bit longer than planned. Wow... no way would my dentist at home have someone apologize for a delay of 5 minutes. An hour, maybe.. but five minutes.. no way.

So cleaning was slightly delayed. When that was done, I was asked to wait in the waiting area for my next appt, which should be about 45 minutes later. After I sat down, the lady at reception came over to me, yet again, and this time she apologized for a 15 minute delay for my next appt. I'm not sure why Dr Pacharee was running late, as she is a dental specialist and knows to schedule plenty of time with her patients. Anyway, the receptionist gave me a coupon for a free coffee at Starbucks since I was having to wait an extra 15 minutes!! Unbelieveable... The delay ended up being more like 30 minutes, and they also came and got me for a quick x-ray during that delay.

So, a little before 4:00 I left Bumrungrad and walked down to see DS at his favorite pool hall (where else would he be??), and then just went back to my apartment. I ate my left over pizza from Via Vai dinner the night before, watched a bit of TV, did some reading on line, and then went to bed fairly early again. I was rather tired after spending the afternoon with my mouth gaping open. One thing I note, at home, my dentist gives me plenty of "breaks" to rinse and relax my jaw. They don't really do this at Bumrungrad... I could have used some relaxing now and then... my jaw felt like it was going to be in a locked position after 2 hours! Anyway, my appts are done. Wednesday is just a follow-up, with no new work to be done. My bill for services, just under 29k baht. At home... I have no idea what the cost would be now. Last time I had this same thing done was about $800, and that was a good 12-13 years ago.

Today, Pratunam, I hope. Looks like we could get some rain during the day today. It's rather grey outside. The "belly" of Pratunam Market is pretty much covered (part of it by metal roofing) so I won't get wet if it pours down outside!

Tomorrow, Chiang Mai (yes, just for the day) and Maeng is joining DS and me. Should be fun!

Carol

~$1,000 US? Sounds like you got shafted, Carol. What did the doctor do exactly?

Mango

It was more like $850. I had the cheap alternative to "porceline fronts" (which are about 12,000 bt ++ per tooth) but it was still a lot better than the price I would have to pay back home. The 29k baht also included the cleaning and the x-ray. I'd guess the "fronts" for 6 teeth ran about 4000 baht each. They are a "painted on" amalgum (or something similar) and they really do last a long time. The last time I had it done was in the mid-90s maybe? But I bit into something too hard and chipped/cracked one of my two front teeth a few years ago. It just took me this long to get the job redone!!

I'm happy with the results. The color is a great match to my own teeth, which are not naturally white white. DS said it looked great as well. But I have a "high" spot which will need to be sanded down on Wednesday afternoon. Should only take a couple of minutes to do. Not a big problem, but something I want to get taken care of before leaving BKK. I can chew, but I keep "bumping" the high spot, so it needs to be removed.

There are other dental procedures that I could get done in the future. Nothing more right now. I'll give these new facings some time to prove they are worth the baht I paid!

Carol

Yes, dental work is so much less in Bangkok than in the US. Just a routine cleaning at Bumrungrad is between one fourth and one-fifth the price in Seattle. So we have one cleaning each year done at Bumrungrad.

Mango, you obviously haven't priced dental work in the US for a while...

Carol- You paid much more than a Thai would have been charged(Farang fee schedule..FFS). Comparing at-home prices to the quoted farang fee in BKK can easily distort your commonsense logic. Call around next time..

But Mango, she is a farang! No doubt she could find a dental clinic in Bangkok that charges less than Bumrungrad. But I'd rather go with the best - at a place where I am an established patient. Price isn't everything - especially when talking about medical/dental care.

So, Carol, are we going to get a chance to meet this week? There's a new Mexican place down by Emporium, run by a real Mexican and recommended to me by another real Mexican. I throw this out because my chances of enticing any of my Thai friends there are pretty slim. ;-)

I believe BH only has one price and make not distinction between a foreigner or Thai. Some people do get discount but nothing more than 10 - 20% or sometime 50% for a inpatient room if it is needed.

Michael, I wonder if that is the same restaurant Brad has tried (and liked) as he said it's real Mexicans that own it and do the cooking. Not sure what Brad's schedule is (he has pool league some nights) but I'll ask him. Friday may be a possibility??? Or Sunday???...

Thanks for backing me up, Kathie. I agree, I would rather pay the BH price and know that I'm getting quality dental care! There are many dental clinics, but how do you know what sort of care they give... with BH I'm sure. I've been going there for cleanings for the last 4 years or so.

I try to watch exchange rates around various places in the Sukhumvit area and other places I visit. Today I saw a rate of 33.08 at a walk-up near my apartment. Platinum Fashion Mall had an exchange rate of 32.27. I'm glad I went to VASU, where I got a rate of 33.37 this morning.

I went into the "belly" of the Pratunam market for an hour or so this morning. I was looking for a particular scarf which I had purchased before, but could not find the vendor!! That's so frustrating!! But then, I was getting really sweaty and hot (very hot/humid today) so I went to the Pratunam Center air conditioned mall for a while. I found the same scarves there, and for a better price! Needless to say, I bought a number of them.

I'm going to hopefully get a good night's sleep, as I need to be up early to fly to Chiang Mai on the 7:50 morning flight (on a 747!!) on Thai. Our CM driver has been alerted of our arrival; the frog factory will be looking for us, as will a good friend we try to visit each time we go to CM. It will be a busy day! I will need plenty of energy!

Enjoy your day!

Carol

Kathie- I highly doubt that that Bumrungrad has the best dentists. Good, probably, but far from the best. You seem strongly attached to your misbeliefs, in general.

Oh, Mang - now you'll get a smack.

Well then Mang, as you seem to be an expert in all things Thai do tell where the best dentists in Bangkok are to be found?

Mango7, you "highly doubt". You seem strongly attached to your misbeliefs. How can you characterize those beliefs as misbeliefs when all you have offered is a high doubt, another belief.

The best dentists and doctors are going to be attracted to the higher pay at Bumrungrad. You can highly doubt that too, if you want.

Mrw - LOL

Oh my.... look what my simple (but costly??) appt has caused....

Michael, I should not have said Friday night... sorry. We have dinner with Dr Jack that night. I had forgotten.

You are welcome to come to the Pickled Liver on Saturday night. It promises to be quite interesting, as there is a costume contest for Halloween! I am coming as myself.. unless I find something stunning or scary in CM today... (I leave my apt in about 15 minutes to go to the airport with Maeng and DS).

Mang... BH is in the top 10 hospitals in the world...

Carol

Carol, Just wanted to say that I'm greatly enjoying reading your report, and I enjoyed meeting you at the Boston GTG. I have a lot to learn about Asia but I'm starting! (I'll leave dental discussions to others!).

MrW- The best dentists in Thailand have their own offices and would never work in a hospital setting unless surgeons with hospital privileges. As smug as you are in your confidence here, you are as wrong as one can be. For future reference be sure to know what you're talking about to avoid looking less than intelligent.

All these fodorites that are having dental work done in BKK- I'm guessing that none of you have dental insurance where you work or are you all retired living large in BKK?

Mang - clearly not taking a bit of your own advice then....