lifemagic

I know last time I posted my experience of the special clinic I got flamed for being negative.

Well, I got sick again and this time had a great experience at Rajaveg opp. Holiday Inn. They have a 'foreign liasion officer', basically an extremely helpful Thai lady who speaks perfect English and whose job it is to shadow every farang to make sure they're OK. When I first phoned, tried to speak English, I was passed to her and assumed I was speaking to a foreigner. I told her the problems and she told me exactly what to do.

When I arrived next day, she turned up, helped me fill out the paperwork, and took me to the clean, spacious and half empty waiting room. Then she suddenly materialised when it was time for my out patient care, and explained each stage. Then when it was my turn for the doc. she just... materialised again, and was there with her perfect English the whole time, very, very sympathetic.

I had blood work and waited about an hour and a half, she arrived again for my second consultation and was there all the way. Then took me to the cashier and explained all the bill, arranged a certificate for insurance in English and printed out another copy of all my tests (AOK by the way, because I know how much I'm loved on these boards and I don't want you worrying). The cost for the doc is 200, it's a full hospital, linked to Chiang Mai UNI as the ID card they gave me was the same as I got in Sri Pat. Total cost, two consultations, Natasha's help, full blood work plus liver and kidney was about 2500, I was in and out in two and a half hours, clean toilets there, you can get there on the free airport shuttle bus also. CANNOT recommend the place enough.

If you want to give it a go:

Phone: 053 801 999.

Listen to a message in Thai

Ignore a message in English

Press Zero

Wait while it rings

Someone will answer in Thai, say either:

A - Can I speak to Natasha?

B - Can I have the International Liasion Officer?

C - I want to speak in English

She'll be there very soon. Tell her the problem, and say when you want to go.

Take the green airport shuttle from various top end hotels around Chiang Mai and get off at the last stop but one.

Cross the road and enter the door that says 'Outpatient'. Don't worry, it's really nice inside.

You're facing an information desk. Go up and ask for Natasha.

Fill in the forms while you're waiting.

As soon as she arrives, you're in good hands.

Rajavej,

316/1 Chiang Mai,

Lampoon Road,

Nonghoi.

That's interesting, as it's a Nationwide card I use.

Don't quite get the comment about 150 not important. I go to Airport plaza weekly for the nearby Rimping supermarket and looking around, so it's no trouble to pop in. When it didn't work, the second one was about 60 meters away, and even then the closest atm to where I was. So actually, I went to no trouble what-so-ever.

I've searched and couldn't find this posted elsewhere.

The Aeon atm at airport plaza was down the day before yesterday, the one in the office, so I asked her if it would be OK later and she gave me a map to the other one, on the same floor of airport plaza. Exit the Aeon office and turn left. When you get to IT City on the right, next to that there's a court of mobile shops called 'ecentre'. Walk into that and look at the far left corner and see an Aeon placard hanging over a gutted shop (honestly). Walk over to the gutted shop and there's an Aeon atm inside, i.e. stand-alone machine (rather than hole-in-the-wall) standing in the middle of it. Weird, but it was plugged in and worked for me (fee free of course), and supposedly keeps better hours that the office one because there was no door on this shop.

What about 'shake'n'vak'? That way we can do the 'shake'n'vak' dance too.

Oh for God's sake. Yes, I'm happy. I'm sorry if that post was too long or harrowing/irrelevant. I'm obviously particularly sensitive to such things in a way that other people aren't. But I'm done with this. Thank you for the posts.

I'm happy.

_____________________________________

Not sure if the picture will show up. It's a bit dark but you get the idea of scale as some of the nurse's finger is included. I lightened it with picasa but can't get that one to upload. It looks awful, there are kind of white spots in it.

Did my 'home tests' today. Hearing 100% both sides. Tinnitus completely gone.

Thank you for posts and any trouble. It's a mixed bag of replies when you post something on the web isn't it? But the fact I did so and said I'd report back kind of goaded me into doing it.

I'll bear the other advice in mind if I need something again, though hopefully it's all done and dusted.

OK, just read it back. Two quick clarifications before I go home.

One, the consultant arrived at four, an hour and a half before my time, but I sat until half five as instructed by the staff (fair enough, as other people booked before me).

Also, when I wrote: It was a guy. THANK GOD, he spoke English. I mean, (just in case it isn't clear), thank god he spoke English. I don't mean thank god it was a guy. I didn't mind the gender either way; I just wanted someone I could communicate with.

Re: earlier post, my six year cyst/tinnitus.

I looked at all the advice and decided on Suan Duak aka Sriphat Medical Centre.

So today, I asked the hotel how much to get there in tuk tuk, but she insisted go songthaw, 20b. So I ate at Darat, stood outside and hailed one. First one, no English. Second, fifty baht wouldn't come down. Second, 40 baht, came to 20 with me saying, yi sip, yi sip.

Off we went. He went round, and up Ratchadamon road towards the wat where he picked up another farang who sat next to him. We got close so I got out thinking perhaps he'd gone past it. I pressed the button and got off. I asked specifically where the hospital was and he told me, and the farang said, 'good luck', which was nice.

I turned left onto Suthep road. The first two buildings were too small to have a thirteenth floor so I entered the third. There was a little desk where a man didn't speak English but called someone who could, and told me to keep walking forward.

I walked through the ground floor to the other side of the building and entered a room. There was a desk with one woman behind it and two in front of it. I got the 'Oh God, a farang' look from the two before but the one behind was reasonable. I asked to see an ENT and she said you can't see anyone without appointments. It will be a four hour wait. I thought, considering how long it's taken me to get here, what the hel_l. So I was told to go register at a counter in the same room. I got the same 'Oh God' look from the counter with two women there, who argued as to who had to deal with me, but the one who did spoke English OK and I had to just fill in contact details, no medical history, nothing to pay.

I looked back to the first counter and the two 'Oh God, a Farang' women were staring at me and talking and obviously don't see a lot of farangs. I spoke to the one behind the desk and asked if I could sit there, or go upstairs for four hours, and she said either, so I left. No one came with me and there were two areas with lifts but one seemed to be service, so I went up to thirteen on the other ones.

I had been given a receipt and plastic card. There was another reception upstairs, cramped with about seven nurses, no one particularly pleasent. I showed them the card and asked if I could wait there and they said to go in this room nearby and give the card to number nine room at half five pm.

So I went in. It was a bigish room with chairs in the middle and rooms with sliding doors all around, with, clinic 1, clinic 2 etc. I found a place in the corner to sit. It was a bit shabby and unpleasent but I was there. A farang couple turned up. A young woman in a wheel chair being pushed by her boyfriend. They wheeled her away and he sat down and said something to them. A while later they returned to him with some sellotape and he sat there repairing a cracked motorcycle helmet with it.

I didn't feel good. Most of the 'clinics' were unoccupied. Occasionally a name would be put on the front, meaning a consultant or whatever was there, and patients would come in. Each one would go in, with charts or whatever, and be in there about three minutes. The door was rarely closed. Other staff would wonder in and out while the consultations were going on. There was a guy who would walk into unoccupied 'clinics' with an ice coffee and just hang about. The staff outside were eating and using their mobiles. I went to the toilet and realised there was no door and the urinal was visible from the corridor.

I sat back down and had brought some work to do, plus my mp3 player. I listened to ocean music to lessen the tinnitus while I meditated a bit. A few other farangs came and went. I notice the staff would talk about them and seemed condescending, sometimes holding pieces of paper over their faces while they looked at them and laughed.

At about four, room nine (my room) had a name put on and people started coming and going for about three minutes each time. I went and showed them my card. She motioned for me to sit down and indicated she wanted to take my blood pressure. She tried but there was no reading, so she kept pumping and pumping while she talked to her friend. My hand started swelling and was a purply colour and I complained but she just kept talking to her friend. Eventually I said 'it's too tight' and touched it to try and loosen it but it was pumped up so tight it came flying off accross the table and they gave up.

She gave me a number and indicated for me to sit down. I asked if she would call it in English. She didn't understand. She called someone else and I asked again if they could call it in English, but again this one didn't understand. The third one didn't either, so I just went and sat down.

I looked at the way it was working. My number was 19, and there were numbers hanging up on the wall, which I had assumed were the queue tickets themselves as they were identical to what was given out to patients, but actually, it indicated the number they were seeing. So, in other words, when it was my turn, I was holding a number 19 with an identical 19 on the door. So I went in.

It was a guy. THANK GOD, he spoke English. I explained the problem. He asked me to describe the ringing. He looked in my ear and said there's a ball of compressed wax (yes, I know) and he'd get it out. He opened the draw, took a metal pokey thing, and a sucky thing in the other. He fished about for about six seconds, and levered out this... black ball of about 1.8 cm. covered in white dots.

I was shocked. The door was open (of couse). The 'nurse' ran in and put it on a piece of gauze. I started laughing and took a photo of it.

Then he spent about ten seconds with the suction machine. He asked me about the hearing loss. I told him. He said there's some infection inside. We should wait two weeks, then do a test to see if I'm deaf accross the range of tones, which means there could be a tumour on the inside, or only a specific range of tone, in which case it's standard tinitus. I said OK (inwardly thinking, get out, cancel tomorrow). I asked him if the cyst caused the problem and he said no (weird, a cyst which has twice been going on the size of a golf ball is nothing to do with it), he said it was because I used Q-tips (I rarely do). I asked if the cyst has damaged my hearing, he said no, that's because I've been listening to music (but mostly ocean music to take away the tinitus). I asked if I should have it taken out (it's currently only around 1.5 cm and has swollen to bursting point twice in six years). He said it's on a junction of muscle and nerve and if we tried taking it out and something went wrong, 'you might be ugly'.

... I mean, that kind of means by implication, that I'm good-looking now then... or what?

OK, whatever. It's done, go. I thanked him and left. I stood there for a moment and was told to sit there and wait. I waited about five minutes and she gestured me over to a room and pointed to it to go in but it was a bare room. I came out and followed her to a counter. A woman gave me an 'itemised receipt'. It says:

1.1.14(2) Other medical charges: 100.00

1.2.1(1) First outpatient care 200.00

1.2.2(2) Doctor fee + procedure 100.00

total 400.00

Discount: 000.00

Total 400.00

I asked what 'other medical charges' are. I think she said, it's one hundred because I didn't need any medicine. I asked, 'I have to pay 100 for not having been presribed medicine?' but she tutted and was angry that I didn't understand what she had said. She spoke around her collegues but no one spoke English. So there was nothing to do but pay and go.

Man, it's a fast lift. It went down so fast, it had come up again before I realised I'd been to the ground floor and back up. So I went down again, got out. It was confusing as it was very quiet then but had been busy when I arrived.

I walked back out into the street, turned left. Crossed the road and sat and looked at the water. Then I looked at my picture of this 'thing' they pulled out. Then I performed the 'experiment' that had let me know I was half deaf, i.e. put on my ocean music and put one headphone in my good ear, then the same headphone in the other and compare the hearing. It had been 100/50 this morning. Now it was 100/100... as far as I can tell, obviously, there's a fair bit of ambient noise round the moat.

So then I put the headphones away and pressed my ears shut to see how bad the tinnitus was.

I don't want to count my chickens yet, but, it seems to be (dare I say) gone.

I haven't been anywhere quiet yet so I can't say for sure. I walked back and went to Chiang Mai Saloon, as I've never been there in all these years and wanted to try it. I wanted coke, a veg burger and a spud. I ordered the coke and spud but the woman walked off to talk to her friend before I could say 'burger' (what is it with these people?).

So I sat there listening to the music for two hours. It's a very strange feeling, to have heard a constant tone for six years and it's gone (or much improved, I'm not sure yet). Plus, it seems so loud on the right, at the very least, there's a very, very big improvement in hearing.

Then I checked my receipt and realised, 'first outpatient care' means the biggest expense was 200 for a blood pressure reading I didn't need, didn't ask for and she couldn't take. Ugh God.

So, It's nearly midnight. I live somewhere quite quiet. I haven't done my proper meditation yet, usually I use ocean music to mask the tinnitus. This will be the real test, in the quiet with no music, plus I'll do the 'headphone test' again to see how it's all lying, and will report back tomorrow.

Yep, that was my day today.

I don't want to draw any firm conclusions or make any recommendations/warnings because I don't really know what I should have expected. I'll sleep on it and see if there are any comments and conclude tomorrow.

Btw, I didn't 'just' ignore it. I was advised by an (expensive) British doctor to safely ignore it, then it worsened gradually and I just got used to it.

Anyway, I'll post mid-week when it's all done.

YES.

I'll do it, and and report in a new post the day after.

OK, I get it. Go now... but it's night time now. And the weekend. OK, I've saved the advice to my usb. I'll list them tomorrow, pick one with a pin, see them, well, it's Sunday tomorrow. I'll definitely try Mon/Tues. After years I don't think the day will count.

About what cost do you guess? That's the thing isn't it? There's no list. They just tell you the amount and you pay. But I feel better having some idea of the procedure (i.e. wait or no wait, some names etc).

Thanks for the replies.

Caution: please don't read this if you're eating.

I need to see someone about 'me ear. I've searched the site and looked at the recommendations and still am unsure how to go about this.

Background: I got a lump just infront of my right ear about seven years ago. I went to the doctor, who said it was a cyst. It might get a bit bigger, but just put cooking oil in weekly and ignore it.

Did that. Twice it's swollen to about half the size of a golf ball, then bursts with blood and pus everywhere. I have constant tinnitus. I've lost about 50% of the hearing there (I'm 38). Inside I can feel compressed wax. After I've showered, I clean it gently and there's like black tar that comes out on a bud but the hard wax is still there.

This is a summery of what I've read on the forum:

RAM - better for serious things, but does seem to have an 'ear' section. Avoid pharmacy.

SriPat - cheaper but need to speak Thai (I can't).

Sripat Special Medical Servies Clinic, facing Suan Dok. Not sure if same as previous.

Chiang Mai Lanna - mixed reviews

Dr. Tawatchai Clinic, Loi Kroh Rd. GP type surgery, overflowing waiting room.

Rajdev opposite Holiday Inn, seems OK, not sure what they do.

Dr. Sukitt Auripibul, Sri Dornchai road. Described as a 'gunk' cleaner, but don't know anything else about him.

It seems to be that you just go to a place and wander in and hope it's someone OK. I don't like that. I was hoping for the name of an 'ear' doc. And to know in advance if I'll be walking in and waiting to see the doctor, or walking in to make a future appointment. I'm a nervous kind of person. I want to know in advance what I'll be doing and who I'll be seeing and they are at least a decent person.

I'm hoping for the 'gunk' out and advice about the cyst removal. Is the latter fairly routine do you know?

Thanks.

REPORT 03-03-2010

I was wondering what all the traffic is about...is it because this is still high season (is it?), I mean, regular tourists coming from Thailand? The last time I was in Vientiane was 2008 and the middle of the week...there were no more than a dozen or so people waiting...are these lines the norm now? Even during the week?

I know what you mean. The visa before this I got in Vientiane November, and I just walked up to the counter, no one there at all.

I think the present business is a combination of things, tail end of the high season, free visas ending (for now), and recession ending.

I've just read that back, and made myself laugh.

These people who just can't sit and wait, that HAVE to stand and queue. Like on budget airlines. The plane lands and these people, most people, jump and and push and shove and jostle to the front, then stand there for ten minutes waiting for the stairs to arrive.

Then the doors open and they all race down, and you just take it easy and stroll over to arrivals and end up sitting next to them staring at the luggage carosel together.

Idiots.

REPORT 03-03-2010

Just got back from the Vientiane embassy, well, a few hours ago actually, and am writing this in Joma. I received a double entry with NO red stamp.

My Passport: British, only issued April 2008 already full. This is the fifth thai tourist, back to back except for two months in nam and a month last year in Laos. This current visa is back to back from the last one.

The story: I arrived at the embassy around 10.15am yesterday and the electronic counting/queue machine is broke so someone told me to just wait, but it turns out you have to approach counter number one for a queue number. I was given a piece of paper like they put sticky address labels on, and it had my number on. My number was 776, which was quite depressing as they were calling 250 at that time.

I sat there until midday and thought I might not get it. They started calling out numbers in batches of fifty, eg. everyone up to 350. The guy next to me had been there since nine and had like number 380. Eventually, about ten past one, they just called for 'everyone else'. So I went up. There were people with number 400 behind me who'd been queuing since before it opened.

I got to the front. He looked through my passport twice and seemed to be counting to himself. Then he wrote 776 on the bottom of the application (my queue number) and X2 at the top, stamped my queue number as a receipt and that was that.

Today I went back, got there 12.50. There was a huge line and all the shops and cafe and tea stalls were full of farangs. It opened and everyone waiting outside ran in and queued again at the entrance to the air con building, but I just went and sat on the blue seats.

I got to the counter just after three pm, and picked it up no problem.

TOP TIPS

Don't turn up early. Don't turn up very late. But if you stand queueing for ages there's not real advantage. 10am. on the first day is realistic.

On pick up day, DO NOT turn up at one pm. and queue. Turn up at two and go straight in and sit on the blue chairs outside. Wait until the queue has snaked inside the building. Then go and sit on the chairs under the AC. Then, when there are just ten suckers left... sorry, I mean 'quality tourists' waiting, limp on over like you've just been queueing for three hours straight, and pick up the visa.

One last note, there are definite notices inside the embassy, eg. on both notice boards, that it will be closed on the 8th March for women's day.

I think there was someone British refused TV having four back to back. I'm on three back to back except for a month in Laos. I'm going for a fourth in about ten days just in time for the promotion. I"ll report back.

Just back from Vientiane embassy today and a tourist application was refused on the grounds that I still have a valid entry in my passport, which cannot be cancelled, only used or expired. On being told this, I went and spoke to someone higher up and it was confirmed. I don't know if you all knew that, but I checked here first and didn't find any warnings, so I'm leaving one.

So if you're travelling about and want to take advantage of the free visas, don't just take a double because they're free. You need to plan the entries so that you always turn up for new visas with no entries in your passport.

Also, I asked the same senior member of staff how long the visas would be free and he said March 4th, but wasn't absolutely sure.

Just back from the embassy today. I used had used one entry of a double I got in dec with no red stamp. They looked at every page of my passport. They found the unused entry and said only one valid visa at a time (I wanted three entries before april as I can return to cm, then go europe in June, so it just suits me).

So I went to the main building to confirm this. I.e. can you only have one visa at a time. Yes. I asked if he would cancel the single entry I have left so I can have a double and he said no. If you have an entry it has to be used.

I asked him how long the free visas would be lasting until and he said March 4th. I asked him if he was sure and he said he wasn't sure about the fourth, but was sure about the March.

I might cross-post this info a little; hope that's OK. I did check the boards here with my plan and didn't find any info about only one visa at a time. Perhaps it's obvious to everyone but me?

Just went to the vientiane embassy today. I picked up a double entry in December 09 and came back having used one entry, so I would have three entries before april in my passport. It was refused, on the grounds you can only have one valid visa in your pp at one time.

The mad thing is, I knew this was my plan and applied for a single in dec, but they guy at the embassy talked me into a double entry because they're free.

But in december, I never got a red stamp or anything. My plan now, vaguely, is live in Nong Khai a month, then get one last on in Feb, and I'm going back to europe in June.

I went to immigration about a week ago to extend the second entry of a tourist visa from Vientiane. Last time I remember walking up to a counter and dealing with the staff. This time I was faced with two black doors. So I walked in and stood there amid uniformed immigration people and couldn't work out what was going on.

Of course the door on the right leads to the client area.

But it was the same as always. Put my paperwork in, give them money. Sit and drink coffee. Get visa. Shopping at the plaza and a kfc and I'm done.

Not sure about the roving assistant. I walked in and pressed the button and got a ticket, then realised I'd have to go and get photocopies. I came back and my ticket had expired but roving assistant said it didn't matter, go to the counter. I went and it did matter and they sent me back to get a ticket (but this was all friendly, no big deal).

But I didn't hear my name outside, and 'roving assistant' brought it all for me while I sat there with my feet up.

Yes, so actually, 'roving assistant' is a good idea. They should assign one 24/7 to all farangs who enter cm by air, that would push up tourist figures, get the world media's attention and be incredibly useful to us all.

Make sure you get cat telecom, and not cat thai card, which looks very similar but charges standard prices abroad.

They have the former in Rimping at the river, and Buddies internet near Kad Suan Kew.

Also, that little post office in Thaepae by the gate, they have a purple phone with CAT written on it... so perhaps there also?

THx for the post.

Icing on the cake, but there's free wifi too, at least at the moat one.

God, it sounds like a nightmare, but thanks for the replies. I even thought about going down to Singapore but am committed here for a bit and can't wait.

But I think the advice is either, insist on a sealed box and check contents/go to Tesco.

Appreciated.

Sorry if this is a bit basic; I don't shop so often! I'm thinking of buying the cheap Samsung ES10 camera for three grand odd, from Airport Plaza Chiang Mai, in like IT City, Photohut or Big Camera. My questions are:

1 -- Do I look at one on display, pay for it and they give me that one?

Or do I look at the one on display, pay for it, then they go and get a new one in a sealed box?

Or do I look at the one on display, pay for it, and they go and get one from the back that's open?

I.e. should I insist on one in a sealed box, as that doesn't seem to always be the norm here?

2 -- If I pay with a UK visa card, will the receipt say NO REFUND (like with the bag I recently bought), and if so, is that OK/nothing to worry about?

Thanks.