Lorry

It works the other way round. To run a place like Bangkok Hospital you have very high sunk costs. For example, Bangkok Hospital Udon had the first cath-lab north of Khon Kaen. To get a return on investment, this kind of hospital has to make a certain amount of money every day for every patient The break-even point is rather high. I remember being told 25,000, but that was another hospital and long ago. So, you cannot expect to stay there for less than 25,000 per day - they would lose money. What they do to justify these 25,000 doesn't really matter. Just be creative and find some tests you can do, or give the patient 5 useful meds where one would do, or find another specialist to consult. In the end, it must be at least 25,000. It is a business, after all.

6 figures 6 figures, too, during my lifetime I am still out of the money, but not by much.

5 different meds, in original packaging

Nobody is complaining. OP has a purely educational purpose, for those who think Thailand or medical treatment in Thailand is cheap. It is sometimes cheap. But in the tourist areas, even government hospitals are not cheap for farang.

Hm. I remember a bill of 15,000 USD for half an hour treatment (suture of a ruptured tendon of the left pinky). That was in Boston, in the last millennium. It would probably be much more expensive now.

18,000, more than 500 USD No, not a plastic surgeon. Regular surgeon. Nothing else involved Meds were less than 2000 In hospital: for treatment about half an hour. It then took 2 hours to print the bill. Biggest item on the bill was the doctor, 10000 Not shafted. These are now normal prices in the tourist areas.

For those who think Thailand is cheap: Fall with laceration wound at forehead, no loss of consciousness (so no x-ray or CT), cleaned, 5 stitches, sent home with antibiotics. Small private hospital (part of a well-known chain) in a tourist place. 18000 baht.

Today's other newspaper reports that there aren't really many bookings by Chinese yet. The hotels expect tourism from China to pick up in Q4, that's the end of the year. Right now, covid is ripping through China, it's on the news everywhere, for example in this link https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/14/world/asia/china-60000-covid-deaths.html China reports about 60000 covid deaths in the first month that restrictions were lifted. Many news outlets report that experts think the true figure may be 10 times higher and want more data. https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-reports-60-000-covid-deaths-in-a-month-20230115-p5cckn https://apnews.com/article/health-china-beijing-covid-425a5de577126b04 The peak may have passed (in the cities). A couple of days ago, there were reports that 90% of people in Beijing have been infected already. For Thailand, and for people who live in Thailand, this means when the Chinese come next winter the exit wave of covid in China has long passed.

Best private hospital in Ubon is Ubonrak Hospital. The government hospital Joe mentioned is well-equipped, very big and very busy. They do have private rooms. Cleanliness used to be a problem, I hope it has improved.

This story is well- known, and AFAIK it is not clear who - if anybody - was harmed and what was the purpose of the stock manipulation. https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2022-09-28/the-little-restaurant-that-scammed-the-stock-market.html The SEC alleges that the “Defendants have injured innocent investors who purchased the stock of Hometown International and E-Waste Corp. at artificially inflated prices,” although the SEC does not quantify the financial harm nor the number of investors deceived, which appears to be small, given the little activity in the company’s stock.

You can, but 3T is recommended. I wouldn't assume this. You can do a conventional contrast MRI with a 3T machine. For mp MRI you really have to explicitly ask for it.

Because it gives them a false feeling of safety. Many times I have heard "I am on Ivermectin, I don't need vaccine".

I would skip all these experimental vaccination schedules. In 3-5-7 years you can most probably get subsidized Shingrix in many European countries, not subsidized one in HK and Singapore. I have no idea whether and when it will be available in Thailand.

The theory: 3mg is enough. No hangover. The practice: it works for Sheryl whereas I feel no effect at all. YMMV - you really have to try.

Sheryl has explained several times that there just isn't enough Shingrix around in the world. There are several rich countries where it is not available at all or hard to get. Thailand would be a small market, so the manufacturer didn't even apply for approval here.

It's rational fear. Fear of getting covid. Irrational fear is the fear of masks that many farangs have. Never understood why these guys are so afraid of a mask?

There is no yellow fever in Asia. There is practically no malaria in Thailand, at least for tourists and in Phuket. There are less than 5 cases of Zika per year in Thailand. https://www.mfa.go.th/en/content/5d5bcfb615e39c306001b35a?page=5f29237ab10cf72f1d4a6547&menu=5d5bd3dd15e39c306002ab1d Nobody recommends dengue vaccination for tourists. (For residents, the new vaccine from Takeda might be something to look into) Anyway, tourists usually pick up dengue in Samui, not in Phuket.

It's endemic, not pandemic, at least in several populations targeted by the language of this shirt.

Wait until they call you lung

Above quotes are correct if the doctor doesn't do anything. Just looking at the wound, asking some questions. Even a change of dressing can easily cost 5000. If expensive medication is prescribed, a x-ray or blood test made, or another specialist is consulted (eg skin doctor regarding scar formation, hematologist for bleeding) the sky is the limit.

If you are talking about covid, you are right because it just hasn't been studied long enough. For other vaccines, "over-vaccination" does exist. Prime example is probably tetanus. Many people got so many shots that with the next booster they get impressive local reactions. Nothing serious, though. Whether this can happen with covid vaccines, nobody knows (yet). The other aspect is the possibility of the immune system "getting used" to antigen exposure. Immunologists fear it might happen. Whether this can happen with covid vaccines, nobody knows (yet). Lastly, there is the theory of the "original sin" of the immune system. Meaning, too many vaccinations may hinder vaccines against a new variant. This is disputed amongst immunologists and probably too technical for OP.

My post disappeared, so here it is again: ( OP's reasoning is a bit faulty in 2 respects: 1. Protection against death or severe illness does not go to zero after 4 or 6 or whatever months. It seems to last quite a while. As covid is just 3 years old, nobody really knows. Protection against infection does go to zero within 4-6 months. You can be infected, but won't get very sick. There are 2 kinds of immunity: humoral (by antibodies) and cellular (by T-cells). Antibodies can easily be measured, you can measure the overall quantity and you can measure the neutralizing antibodies. 9 months after my 4th antigen contact (3 vaccines, 1 infection) I checked both, the results were very good. So I decided to wait with the next vaccination. Vejthani Hospital, 2500 B. Camillian Hospital cannot check neutralizing antibodies, only quantitative antibodies, 900 baht. T-cells are not routinely measured. But even if antibodies are low, T-cells is what gives you long lasting immunity ("memory cells"). 2. Yes, there is something like "over-vaccination". Your immune system can get used to the antigen (ie the virus or it's parts) and not react anymore. This happens easier if vaccinations came in quick succession. 4 months is the absolute minimum.

Easy to change. Just choose as target group people who can't be bothered to read up about their holiday destination. That's the majority of people. Tourists plan their trips according to their their available time (school holidays) and the catalogue of the travel agent. For many years, Thailand has been a popular destination for Europeans during the European summer holidays. Peak rainy season here, nice weather in Europe, but they do come. As for the hot season, I regularly get questions how it would be here (eg during the Easter holidays). I always tell them not to come, they wouldn't stand the heat. Fortunately, most don't come.

That will usually make things worse

If the reason is really "trapped wind" the treatment is not so much omeprazol but simethicone (eg Air-X). But if the pain is really bad the reason has to be determined (in Thailand usually by x-ray, maybe further diagnostics). So it is necessary to see a doctor.