I snuck off yesterday and did something my wife doesn't approve of.  At all.  Gwyne is half Japanese but she's about a year away from turning 100% Japanese and donning gloves, a surgical mask and walking around with an umbrella.  She's a germaphobe and becoming more so each and every day.  So while she was somewhere, doing something, I went down to the local food stall and got something that been cooked that morning, but had been sitting unheated for a while.  Green chicken curry with those lovely tiny Thai eggplants.  She wasn't around, so it was okay.  And oh, that forbidden fruit tasted wonderful.  So worth it.   The price was just about what you'd pay for a good case of dysentery.  That's a gamble I've always been happy to take.

Last night was her bunionectomy and all went well.  She told someone at the hospital to call me when she was done, but I never got the call - didn't sleep well, waiting for the ringtone, so I checked fb about 1:37 am as I was tossing and turning.  Gwyne was on.  Just where you'd expect her to be after a major surgical procedure.  At least I knew she was alive, and I knew where to check.  She's recovering today, we're moving to the Bumrungrad Hospital Suites that's a short wheelchair ride away from the hospital (for at least 2 nights).  I've got some definite lessons learned from this experience, and it all comes down to a cost benefit analysis of medical tourism.  Medical tourism is the most cost effective if the procedure you want to get done isn't covered by insurance.  I saw a sex change operation advertised in the Bangkok Post yesterday for a mere $1,675.  And while Gwyne wasn't pleased with the transvestite that winked at me on the way to the hospital, I still say it's a complete bargain, if that's the way you roll. And no,  I haven't done the research about how much it would cost in the developed world.  Substantially more, I would guess, and I don't think most insurance covers that.  I've known people who have come here for boob jobs, face lifts, and one who is considering the trip to get the sized of her butt reduced.  We actually came for a medically required procedure that will be covered by insurance.  So it's a great deal for the insurance company as the cost here would be much less than in other destinations, particularly in the developed world.  Unfortunately for us, there is going to be very little tourism in our trip and a whole lot of medical.  Gwyne will most likely take away two things from our trip to Thailand - an efficient Bumrungrad operation, and her walk up and down Soi Cowboy.  No temples, no rivers, no mountains, no beaches, no spas, just the hospital and Soi Cowboy.  I've got an uphill road to hoe in my effort to get Gwyne to consider Thailand as a retirement location, but I can be a very persuasive fellow.    

Cheap and tasty.