(Pic above: Chula Hospital just over the zebra on the left, maccas behind)
We attend a hospital in Bangkok (Chula Hospital), which we were recommended by some of Sutiya's nearest and dearest, they gave us the name of a maternity doctor at the hospital, and with some ducking and diving, he became our man.
At first we went every month, now, for the last couple of months, we go every 2 weeks.
We have the journey well tuned....
Chula Hospital is 2 hours away, door to door, so up at 5, showered, shave, cup of rosy, we hit the road at 6.30. The driving is fine until we hit the outskirts of Bangkok at about 7.30-8.00, then it goes pete tong.
Once we have fought through the traffic, we are usually a bit behind schedule, so I'll drop Sutiya at the front door, and scoot round to a paid car park a couple of minutes away (if you thought parking at your hospital in UK was bad, ha ha, trust me, it ain't so bad).
This is an excellent opportunity for me to grab a bacon and egg mcmuffin. A year ago, I was a silly boy, and wrote about how dumb it was for falang to seek out McMucks food when they had lots of Thai food to choose from.
Crap. I grab a burger any chance I get these days.... Shameful.. But I am the fat falang.
Into the hospital, to locate Wifey amongst a thousand or so black haired ladies on the 8th floor (the maternity ward).
The first mission is to get there. You can either use the hospital lift, 8 in total, and swamped with the young, old, healthy and ill. No previous experience of queueing is required....If anything, it's a disadvantage.
If you have had a ding dong with wifey during the journey, or are generally hungry / tired / frustrated, you are now on collision course with trouble....
People jostle, nudge, elbow, tread and cough on you..... space is now a limited resource, and everyone wants a piece. . you will get mad, at someone, during the wait you will probably invent a thousand different queuing systems in your head (all of which would probably fail) and pass judgement on the Thai's for their indifference to 'i was here first'. But then you're not really any different.... You find yourself owning space, and after some silent queue intimidation, you will be a part of the winning 15, squeezing in, leaving all the losers behind.
Or you can take the stairs, my preferred option. No matter how hungover, or ill. 8 floors is a bit of a tug with gravity, but well worth it. Stairwells in Thai hospitals are generally empty...
Talking about the actual care / attention given to the afflicted, we have had a pretty positive experience I would say... there is always a wait when you get to the hospital, but this is to be expected, and something the Brits are drilled in. After the first month when you have your bearings, you can be in and out within a few hours... Urine tested, blood pressure checked, doctor thumbs up....
The doctor? He speaks fluent English, is internationally trained (I believe), and seems very nice and in control, so I'm happy. He has answered all of our questions thus far, and seems very competent. All good.
The only thing that worries me now, is the two hour drive to the hospital once baby has had enough, and decides it's time to make an appearence.....
Ah. Chula Hospital, my mom's final stop. I know that place well. Yeah, I sometimes hoof'ed it to my mom's floor too. The elevator gets insane!
Posted by: oakley | October 09, 2009 at 04:25 PM
Hi Oakley, I think its a good hospital.... Staff are good, and a good location. The lifts are a nightmare.. no need really. Sorry about you mom. Ben
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | October 09, 2009 at 04:49 PM
So Ben, when yer wife goes into labour, you gonna take here all the way to Chula? If so, hope you training yourself already with those on-the-spot baby delivery videos on YouTube - just in case anything happens in the meantime likes..
Good luck with the following weeks...
Posted by: Stephen Cleary | October 11, 2009 at 04:45 PM
Honestly Steve I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I just plan to drive fast and safely. I reckon the closer it gets the more we will think about staying in BKK with friends, trouble is, you just don't know how long.... Obviously if things are too hairy, first stop will be Suphan!
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | October 12, 2009 at 01:42 AM
Yeah... definitely stay with friends in Bangkok, Ben. Babies have been known to appear before the doctor's due date.
Posted by: Stephen Cleary | October 12, 2009 at 05:56 AM
2 hours by car. Probably get it down to 90 minutes on the day (or more likely night).
I just wonder what all the locals say when you turn up in a maternity ward taking endless photo's.
Posted by: Captain P | October 18, 2009 at 11:55 AM
What they always say, ****ing foreigners....
(probably)
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | October 18, 2009 at 02:17 PM