After unpacking, I decide to shower and start exploring... While showering, I slip and fall (full on fall). I attempted to cushion the impact with my hands, resulting in a sore and mightily damaged left arm.
After 2 days of arm agony, I decide to go to the hospital. I have sprained body parts in the past, so am no beginner dealing with muscle strains. And even though I knew that was what it was, 10,000 miles cannot remove my hypochondria, so off to the hospital I went.
Mistake number 1: Grabbed taxi outside hotel and asked to go to hospital, driver said 200 baht ($6), I said OK, and off we went. For a total of 500 yards (DOH!). Like I couldn't have walked it in say 5 mins... Just goes to show, use google maps, even in Thailand.
So I go into hospital. They make me fill out some forms, get some basic medical info, then it is off to the doctor.
Doctor definitely looks like resident (based on age), but asked same questions any doc in the USA would ask. I was shuttled off for an x-ray, then back to the doc. Sure enough, no bones broken, but nasty sprain. Doc prescribed muscle\pain medication and an arm sling and I was good to go.
Now I had no idea what all this was going to cost. Care was equivalent to hospital in USA, even better than hospitals in NYC. When I went to NYC emergency room, total time was around 4 hours (similar injury). Cost was about $175 (that's with insurance and no meds prescribed).
My trip to Thailand ER experience lasted 1 hour and came out to 1174 bht, that's about $35 (that included all meds and supplies).
Notice the "professional service" was a whopping 500 bht ($15).
Now people say that America has one of the best quality health services in world, and based on my experience, I just don't see it.
People working at Thai hospital were attentive and nice... Can't say that about ER in NYC.
Course, when I left hospital, cabbies were already soliciting me, but I decided to walk the 500 yards back to my hotel.
Here is a photo, all patched up and ready to go...
