Crossing into Thailand I was surprised that Islam was still the major religion in the very southern-most parts of the country. The further north i got, through the mountains, the more and more Buddhist it became and the less people spoke Malay (almost the same as Indonesian and my only outlet for communication as Thai is proving very hard to pick up). Things flattened out, and heated up, near the city of Songkhla and when my month of diarrhea turned into blood I was forced to seek medical treatment. My lack of communication ability and my desperate state resulted in me explaining my condition to a (very attractive) Thai nurse, in front of a waiting room full of people, by pointing out the word 'blood' in my phrase book and then motioning as though I were throwing something out of my ass! All the onlookers found this display irresistibly funny and I also couldn't hold back my laughter. Being from America I was afraid that my hospital trips were going to cost me a fortune, but the more I travel and require health care, the more I realize that health care in other countries is a service, not a business. And after 5 hospital trips, lots of antibiotics and other medicines, I.V. injections, and access to surprisingly good health facilities, I was charged a total of less than $15, a price that would have surely been in the thousands at the cheapest county hospital in the States. I can't help but wonder 'why is that?'
2 comments:
We're stil watching your adventure. Julie and I are in North Carolina - went hiking yesterday up to 5200 feet - glorious views! Keep on keepin' on.
Thailand is awesome, but yeah all those tones in the language are hard to pick up!! I too have experienced good health care in the developing world, and come to the conclusion that it only costs so much in the USA because we keep paying it! (Also, the FDA approval process throws up a big wall to more competition.)
--Alan from Bali
Post a Comment