Cobra Attack, Hospital Rips Off The Farang?

[traveller5000]

During songkran I was having a midday nap and my dog makes some barking noises. I have a look out the window and see that he is barking towards the front door. Stupid dog I think to myself, he is probably barking at a small lizard or something. I check anyhow and as I step down out of the room I see a Cobra flaring up and hissing about 30cm from the bedroom door. It was a big one, about 1.5 meters long or longer and easily as fat as a large tube of toothpaste. I have a peek around the corner again and see he is slithering away from me but goes right past the front door to the other side of the room and sits in a corner. I tell the girlfriend I got no experience with snake catching or removal, so she goes and gets the neighbour, who I assume has some experience at these types of things. While she is gone, the cobra basically curled itself up between the wall and the bedroom door in a very safe spot. The neighbours come with various tools and proceed to crowbar and poke the snake out of its hole. The thing is hissing like mad at this stage. Suddenly it sticks its head out flares and spits at one of the neighbours in the eye. The tap was right next to him so he washed it while the other neighbour bludgeoned the snake to death. I race off to the local hospital with this guy and the doc says he has to stay overnight.

The guys eye was fine in the end, just some stinging for a few hours. And they kept the cobra, chopped it up, gave it to some of the other neighbours and made some soup out of it (despite having sprayed the hel_l out of it with a can of flyspray). Apparently it is a rare delicacy.

I was relieved the guy was fine, that was exactly the outcome I wanted, but when the bill came it seemed excessive - a little over 2000 baht for a bed, 3 meals, 3 check-ups by the doctor, and an eyewash. The hospital was nothing fancy at all. Anyhow, perhaps I am paranoid about the double pricing system over here but 2000+ baht did seem like an overcharge. My feeling is if I were just a regular Thai it would have been significantly less. curious to know if others think this amount sounds like a rip-off. ?

[Cobalt60]

I paid more than that for a few of us to get into Samphran zoo the other day. Sounds like a bargin to me considering.

(Or was I ripped off by the zoo ?)

[dekka007]

2000....your complaining about 2000 baht hospital bill???????????????????

20000 i may have raised an eyebrow (Just - but probably not) but jesus man 2k.......3 meals 3 doctor visits and an eyewash and a bed overnight...

If I am ripped off to the sum of 2k it's a good day

[tijnebijn]

Don't think its a rip off at all . You probably could check the prices somewhere .

A night sleep , doctor and nurse care , some medication food and drinks ......

Nahhh , next time make sure they take sunglasses on

[cophen]

The neighbour possibly saved your life. Is your life worth 2000bt?

[traveller5000]

its not about the money, it is the principle. The girlfriend says I probably got overcharged but I wanted a second opinion.

[way2muchcoffee]

It really depends on the hospital. That service could run as much as 8,000 bt at some hospitals and as little as 1000 at others (possibly less).

[dekka007]

ok ok second opinion coming here:

ITS 2000 BAHT WHO GIVES A SH1T.........

If 2k starts to become a concern...time to go home mate

[jayhech]

its not about the money, it is the principle. The girlfriend says I probably got overcharged but I wanted a second opinion.

You're not ripped off. This is the cheapest I've heard of an overnight stay at a hospital + cares + medications. Once again, rest assured you're not ripped off.

[traveller5000]

One thing that pissed me off is that I could have prevented the strike. while they were prying the wood with the crowbar I had a soft long haired broom covering the entrance to the hole to guard agaist this very attack. On two occasions they pushed me away as if to say, "hey we are the experts let us handle this". geez.

It was a basic Thai style hospital. Nothing special.

[ade100]

You know I have noticed that sometimes TGFs like to tell their Western BFs that they have been ripped off. Makes them feel a little bit superior :-)

2K THB sounds like a bargain to me.

Great story BTW

[Spee]

its not about the money, it is the principle. The girlfriend says I probably got overcharged but I wanted a second opinion.

Count your blessings. You now know that you have a heck of a good watch dog. There's a lot worse scenarios I could think of without the dog being there, like having the snake crawl under something only to have someone step on it. Should be note to self to keep the front door closed form here on out.

You should have gotten an itemized bill from the hospital. If not, think of how that 2,000 might have been split up. Maybe 750 for the bed (that's a heck of lot less than a decent hotel). Maybe 750 for the doctor (20 bucks for a medical specialist's time doesn't seem bad at all). Then maybe the other 500 for nursing, supplies and medicines. Thinking about it in those terms, it doesn't seem bad at all.

I feel bad for the snake through all of this. It was probably looking to get out of the heat, or find something small to eat, and paid for it with its life. It probably only spat at someone because it was scared sh*tless and on the defensive.

[TopDogger]

To see an eye doctor and get some drops for an eye infection @ Bangkok Hospital costs 2'000.

[sweetchariot]

Great story.....until the last paragraph.

You need to work on those trolling skills

[geriatrickid]

I would probably have treated the patient gratis and maybe a singha or two, but he probably would have left minus an eye and contracted a staph infection. 2000 Baht for the care you received was a bargain. Relax and count your blessings.

[elkangorito]

Great story.....until the last paragraph. You need to work on those trolling skills

You're a twit.

In the meantime & aside from the "troll" accusers, do you have any 3 inch roller bandages available? You should have, as all Thai households should have, at least 6 x 3 inch roller bandages for such things as snake bites. These things can easily save a life.

The person who came to get the cobra obviously knew nothing about cobras ie they can spit venom up to about 3 metres.

More useful info is available on this thread;

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...hl=constrictive

[elkangorito]

Two more sites of interest are;

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/media/DecMedia07091005.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7300763

[Goshawk]

its not about the money, it is the principle. The girlfriend says I probably got overcharged but I wanted a second opinion.

2000 baht bill for treatment a cobra bite..!!! believe me, don't moan.. a good deal i think you had !!!!!

edit.. bite/spit = same thing

[Foggy Dew]

One thing that pissed me off is that I could have prevented the strike. while they were prying the wood with the crowbar I had a soft long haired broom covering the entrance to the hole to guard agaist this very attack. On two occasions they pushed me away as if to say, "hey we are the experts let us handle this". geez.

It was a basic Thai style hospital. Nothing special.

AMAZING THAILAND! only in Thailand you can visit a hospital without insurance and ONLY pay 2000 baht! "It was a basic Thai style hospital. Nothing special" Are you so special? get real! you are lucky that you live in a area / country that your neighbours want to help you.... can you imagine any other place that you can say i have a cobra in my room and neighbours rush in to help you.

AMAZING....

[lioness]

2,000 is a reasonable price, you weren't ripped off, I would have estimated around 6,000 - 8,000 from my experience of hosiptal stays here.

Incidentially they would have washed the fly spray off the Cobra and/or skinned it before eating it, we skin the ones we dispose of, and then shread the meat for soup or cooking in stir frys.

[elkangorito]

2000 is very reasonable (for eye treatment). Imagine if you didn't use a constrictive bandage (for a bite) & the patient was suffering a nervous system shutdown just as you were getting to hospital. The cost would be significantly higher.

[YoungFarang13]

i did not read his story but want to say why not "blue eyed farang" or "60 kilo farang"....why do you decide to say hospital ripped off farang and not ripped off human being?

[elkangorito]

i did not read his story but want to say why not "blue eyed farang" or "60 kilo farang"....why do you decide to say hospital ripped off farang and not ripped off human being?

I really think you need to read the story. Do you understand the meaning of the word "farang"?

So, which part of "farang" didn't you understand?

[Dakhar]

I knew a girl once that demanded a thousand baht after a rather large snake spat in her eye. I thought that was reasonable.......

Here is another one: A snake bites a guy right on his wanger, so it swells up the size of a 2 pound squash. He runs in to a family owned pharmacy, now owned by twin sisters. He shows the girls his swollen member and says.... "What can you give me for this?" The girls hesitate for a moment, and talk among themselves. Then they reply.... "We can give you the house, the 200 acres, the barn, cattle & the pharmacy"

[elkangorito]

I knew a girl once that demanded a thousand baht after a rather large snake spat in her eye. I thought that was reasonable.......

Here is another one: A snake bites a guy right on his wanger, so it swells up the size of a 2 pound squash. He runs in to a family owned pharmacy, now owned by twin sisters. He shows the girls his swollen member and says.... "What can you give me for this?" The girls hesitate for a moment, and talk among themselves. Then they reply.... "We can give you the house, the 200 acres, the barn, cattle & the pharmacy"

I thought that the above post deserved more than one cheesy.

[martynsnowman]

2000....your complaining about 2000 baht hospital bill???????????????????

20000 i may have raised an eyebrow (Just - but probably not) but jesus man 2k.......3 meals 3 doctor visits and an eyewash and a bed overnight...

If I am ripped off to the sum of 2k it's a good day

hi,

i got knocked off my bike few weeks back thai drivers fault but eye bleeding quite bad so no time to argue with driver , went to local hospital ( with t/w ) washed , cleaned 4 stiches and bag of drugs i,d never need all as out pationt payed cash 1900bt little high i thought but happy enough and they did very good stich work . martyn...

[toptuan]

its not about the money, it is the principle. The girlfriend says I probably got overcharged but I wanted a second opinion.

I agree. But you guys are a bunch of bad investigators--no one has asked the key question yet: Was it a private hospital or government hospital?

If it was private, then I'd say the charge was about right.

If it was public/government, then treatment to a Thai citizen should have been for free.

[jayjayjayjay]

its not about the money, it is the principle. The girlfriend says I probably got overcharged but I wanted a second opinion.

One thing that pissed me off is that I could have prevented the strike.

Stop asking for opinions here, go to the hospital in question and ask for their schedule of charges. There is not a hospital I have found that will not explain there system of charges(as weird as they can be). It appears you really should know! If your living in the area, chances are you are going to need the hospital services again. It's not rocket science.

In addition to this, do it yourself. DO NOT TAKE YOUR GIRL FRIEND as a translater. Hospitals always have someone with English basic enough to communicate services and prices to you, they would more than likely appreciate the fact you are doing this yourself, you might learn a little Thai, and you might gain a little credit in their eyes as well.

And with the quote in RED your being real m..r..n. If that's what you really think, then do it yourself next time. YOU asked for help........ you GOT it! It is not difficult. Next time, leave the door open, go for a 2 day holiday to the beach and when you come back the snake is gone! Easy as that, and you could have enjoyed your 2000 baht on a nice bungalow. Snakes do not want to hang around with humans, believe me.........

[elkangorito]

Let's see...1 Australian dollar = about 30 Thai Baht. Therefore 3 000 Thai Baht = about AUD$100.00. Therefore, 2 000 Baht = about AUD$65.00. WOW!!! That's a lot of money. I'd be complaining to the PM if I were you. As a matter of fact, recommend another coup so you get your money back in the scuffle. Geez, if anybody tried to save my eyesight for this amount of money, I'd be happy to be blind.

Listen buddy, you didn't get over charged. I stayed in Pattaya Memorial for 3 days whilst I recovered from Dengue Fever. It cost me about 10 000 Baht, which included meals & treatment. You'd better start doing your sums.

[traveller5000]

Great story.....until the last paragraph. You need to work on those trolling skills

You're a twit.

In the meantime & aside from the "troll" accusers, do you have any 3 inch roller bandages available? You should have, as all Thai households should have, at least 6 x 3 inch roller bandages for such things as snake bites. These things can easily save a life.

The person who came to get the cobra obviously knew nothing about cobras ie they can spit venom up to about 3 metres.

More useful info is available on this thread;

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...hl=constrictive

Good advice about the constrictive bandage. I safer after reading that. I'll get my hands on one and I intend to find the number for the ambulance in case of emergency without transport.

I live near bushland and had a half a roasted chicken left all day and overnight, I suspect it was attracted to this smell. So i'll be eating and disposing the leftovers to the dogs ASAP in the future. Its a shame about the snake, but he didn't want to come out willingly and so for safety reasons we had no other choice but to kill it.

The hospital was private. The nearest (public) one was closed for songkran. After getting some second opinions I'm feeling reassured that the price was reasonable.