A few words about Thailand

This post might come off sounding a little negative, but don't worry it's just me venting my frustrations. It's one of those situations where I know what I need to do to handle it, but it doesn't quite stop it from being frustrating. Anyway that's my disclaimer

There have been some things that have happened on this trip to Thailand that have taken away from my enjoyment of the country, experience, and general relaxation of a vacation. But first I will write about the good things.

The Bumrumgrad Hospital was top notch. It completely surpasses the average American medical system in every way. Now maybe there are some elite US hospitals, but how would I know what those are like? I'm no Bill Gates so I'm stuck on some HMO plan, waiting for a month to see a specialist plan.

The hospital here is more like a hotel. It was a pleasure to go there. Anything you need they have for instance a Visa Extension desk In case you need to stay longer. The 2nd day I went for an eye doctor appointment and after the nurse had taken care of the preliminary checkups they gave me a coupon for a free coffee or food at the McDonald's because the doctor was going to be busy for a while.

And there is a food court in the hospital. Starbucks and everything.

The place was also very efficient. There is a desk you can go register with at the beginning and they will give you an ID card and enter all of your information into a computer so that you don't have to fill out forms in each individual office you visit. Instead of going through all that BS you usually go through when you enter (Hello! Please fill out these 10 forms) I just handed them my card and they printed it out. The form even has my picture so they know who I am and don't have to worry about mangling my name trying to find me.

I was also impressed by the payment system. You take your number to the cashier on the floor, there are about 20 stations in the cashier's desk and within 10 minutes they pull your prescription and you can pay all at once. There is a sign that says if you wait more than 15 minutes please let us know.

The doctors were great. Quick and knowledgeable. The eye doctor I saw was a Lasik specialist as well, but more about that later.

I have also enjoyed the food. For me, living in a place where the restaurants serve Chinese, Chinese, and Tibetan (when I can get to a restaurant) it is wonderful to be able to get good pizza or Mexican food.

The temples I visited are also very beautiful and I can't wait to share some of my pictures with you.

And now to the negative:

The eye doctor told me something that no one else has ever felt relevant to tell me: that Lasik is not a good idea for me because the prescription I have been using for several years is actually severely overcorrecting my eyesight. What this means is that my eyes have been weakened a lot over time by having glasses that are too strong; in short they have gotten really lazy. So now if I want to change them I have to retrain my eyes by dropping my prescription down slowly over time, or I can wait until I'm old and my eyes have deteriorated to the point of the prescription I'm using now. To be told that my eyes are more screwed up than they should be because of some incompetent doctors is not the greatest news to receive.

Second the unscrupulous taxi drivers. I have been a little ticked since one decided to lie outright and charge me 100% more than what he had quoted me at the beginning of the trip. And before you ask, there is no way that I would hear 20 as 200, let alone the fact that that is a high fare for anywhere in the city. The whack thing is I decided the best thing was to pay the guy and walk away since I am in a foreign country where I don't speak the language.

Also everyone and their mother will walk up to you and try to overcharge you into their cabs. Even people in their shops will come out and try to talk you into coming inside. Hey if I need a suit, I'll come inside. Do they think I'm going to be walking to a temple and some guys says "Hey buddy you need a suit?" "You know, now that you mention it I do need a suit!!" And I'm not blind, I can see each and every taxi, if I need one I know where to look.

To continue about the taxi drivers they are hawks. The best are the guys that sit in front of the hotels and try to charge 4xs the price am accustomed to bargaining and paying a bit more for things since I am a foreigner in Asia but these people just take it to a new level. It's come to the point of frustration where I just get out or walk away rather than trying to bargain with them..

Which brings me to my point, that I believe is a shared experience by many travelers like me. That you don't experience one earthshattering event that flips you, it's more like 100 little things chipping away at you until you snap. Believe me I'm not the only one. I remember telling this to a friend when he had been in China for 1 day. He laughed and told me I was being melodramatic. I saw him a month later and he had the same look on his face and told me I was 100% right.

Anyway that's my rant. I feel better now just getting it off my chest. That's life you know...not always the ideal situation. But at least I can have a latte, it's the little things that make it worth the trip.