The King and I
After my physical in Bangkok, I headed to northern Thailand to the city of Chiang Mai. I sat on the airplane pretending I was Emily Pollifax, heroine of the Dorothy Gilman book series featuring Mrs. Pollifax. I remember that Mrs. P and her husband Cyrus ended up in Chiang Mai. (My dad introduced me to these books in the late 70's, and now I have at least one niece hooked on the series too.) The book about Thailand is titled "Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle." 
And then I got to my accommodations, which are not available to the general public (sorry general public). And it looks like something out of ancient Siam, with pointed roofs and stilts and stuff.
It is like a tropical jungle here too (except it has a swimming pool). There are loud birds in the morning that freak me out. Geckos climb on the inside walls. If they can get inside this log cabin, I keep thinking snakes can too. So I lay awake at night thinking I'm in a Thailand version of a Tarzan movie.
And every time I walk out the front door of my rustic log cabin into the jungle, I expect to see Jodi Foster or Chow Yun Fat* waltzing by. Yes, I have traveled so much this summer that sometimes I get confused. Every now and then when I wake up in the morning, I have to pause to recall what country I am in.
God is my fellow traveler though -- I have excellent company on my trips! "The King and I" are having a busy but enjoyable time on our journeys together. Thanks for your prayers.
*Jodi Foster and Chow Yun Fat starred in the re-make of the movie "The King and I." 'Case you didn't know.
Bangkok
Mimi likes to smoke DentaStix (by Pedigree). She thinks she's cool sitting around with these in her mouth. She has one every evening before going to bed. She loves them. They are supposed to clean her breath. They must work. I like her dog breath. :-)
Aww, look at that sweet look in her smokin' dog face!
I told her how lucky she is. Some dogs have to work for a living, like this dog trained to sniff drugs on the luggage cart at Shanghai's Hongqiao airport. Mimi would probably like this type of work actually, because she could prove how smart she is. But she wouldn't last long in that under-air-conditioned building.
I suppose it seems absurd, but Bangkok has one of the top hospitals in the world. It feels like a 5-star hotel. Inside are restaurants, bakeries, Starbucks (several of them), shops, and highly-competent doctors and nurses who give the best service I've ever seen in the medical field for an unbelievably low price. It is beyond nice.
A physical exam that would take weeks to get in the USA, running around to specialty doctors here and there, getting labs and x-rays here and there, can be done all on one floor of the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok. And it can be done in about 3 hours. They have state-of-the-art digital imaging x-rays. They are awesome. Did I mention excellent, soft-spoken, kind, attentive service? Escorts move you from one station to the next, and if you don't speak a language they know they will find an interpreter for free. All the staff speaks English though.
If you are a Muslim woman OR OTHER MODEST PERSON, you will not find the exams embarrassing because they keep you covered even when doing "those" kinds of exams. (Many rich Arabs come here from the Middle East to get good medical care.)
And if you ever want a colonoscopy, get one in Bangkok. Even if you have your colonoscopy at 7:30 in the morning, you can eat up until 6 p.m. the night before.
And if you throw up in front of the counter at a Starbucks inside the hospital, the barristas will get a paper bag for you to use! And then they send a wheelchair to come get you, put you in a private room for FREE where you can take a nap in a lazy-boy recliner or watch CNN on a flatscreen TV.
If you have to go to the hospital, it is like a resort here! It's not in the Middle Kingdom, but it is close enough that I go here annually and think it is fun.
Smokin'
Mimi likes to smoke DentaStix (by Pedigree). She thinks she's cool sitting around with these in her mouth. She has one every evening before going to bed. She loves them. They are supposed to clean her breath. They must work. I like her dog breath. :-)
Aww, look at that sweet look in her smokin' dog face!
I told her how lucky she is. Some dogs have to work for a living, like this dog trained to sniff drugs on the luggage cart at Shanghai's Hongqiao airport. Mimi would probably like this type of work actually, because she could prove how smart she is. But she wouldn't last long in that under-air-conditioned building.Mimi's living the good life, a doggy diva who just sits around and looks pretty all day.
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