Adventures in outpatient surgery

This week I finally got to talk to the doctor to find out that the results of a bioposy I had in Nong Khai were just fine. So now that I know it turned out all right, I'll briefly describe my adventures with outpatient surgery at the Nong Khai County Hospital.

As it is, we get stared at everywhere we go, since we are taller, fairer, and blonder than everyone else here. Oh, and some of us are considerably *wider* as well, and getting wider by the day. So when I had to spend a week with a big bandage on the middle of my nose, I was just about ready to hide in the guesthouse. Thankfully, there are few people who care less about their appearance than me, so I was able to manage. But living in small-town Nong Khai, I'm sure I was known as the farang with the big bandage on her nose.

It all started when I noticed that a bump on my nose was not only growing but actually bleeding. I've had this before, so I knew it was time to go straight to the doctor. Not knowing what else to do, I went to the Emergency Room in the morning, and did my best to help the nurse fill in the paperwork. My name was recorded as "Kimbefly Lonsway," however, and efforts to correct the spelling error never went very far.

After clarifying that the bump on my nose was not exactly an *emergency,* I finally understood that it was a holiday and I should come back tomorrow. Fortuantely, there was no charge for the visit. The next day, I reported to the main reception area, checked in, and settled in for about an hour-long wait with the rest of the Thai people -- mostly families, some elders, and of course a few monks. Finally, my name was called ... "Miss Kimbefly" ... and I used all the Thai phrases I had been practicing while I waited to describe my problem. I was also armed with the word "biopsy" written in Thai on a piece of paper, thanks to the host of our guesthouse. Yet the doctor spoke some English, and asked me simply "You want excision?" "Yes," I answered. So off I went to surgery.

I didn't wait at all in surgery, but climbed up on the table and tried not to think about movies on cable about health care in foreign countries. They covered my face with a cloth that had a hole for my nose, and I was grateful for the nurse who held my hand while the doctor gave me a shot of local anesthesia, sliced off the bump, and left me with three stitches. I then did my best to understand the follow-up instructions, picked up my prescription for pain medications, paid my bill, and headed back to the guesthouse. The next morning, I came back for a follow-up appointment with the nurse, who checked and cleaned the wound, and said that everything looked good. "Free," she said, "you no pay." A few days later I came back, and the same nurse checked and cleaned the wound, again reassuring me that everything looked good. It was 5pm on Saturday, and she apparently had come in on her day off. Again she said, "Free .. you no pay." A week after the surgery I again returned, and they took out the stitches so quickly and easily I was confused, because I thought they hadn't yet started. Yet again, "Free ... you no pay." I went to the bakery and brought the surgery staff two large cakes, which I think they appreciated.

Now, my wound has healed perfectly. Just a few weeks later, it's hard to even see where it was. Total cost for the whole experience (ER visit, triage at reception, outpatient surgery, pain medications, two follow-up appointments to clean the wound, a third appointment to remove the stitches, lab testing of the excision, and a phone consultation with the doctor about the biopsy results): 600 Boht, or about 18 dollars. Cost for the cakes: 500 Boht.

Overnight Train to Bangkok

What could be more romantic . . . mysterious . . . intriguing? The overnight train to bangkok left Nongkhai Saturday afternoon among cheers and waves. No one expected that we would be subjected to theft, bribery, seduction, political espionage, and ultimately murder along the way. Well, no one expected it, and fortunately we weren't. However, one of the porters did steal some of our potato chips - but she was just joking with us. Anyways, it was a really fun trip that went very quickly for a 14-hour adventure. We got to stay up fairly late and chat with some of the college students since they were trapped on the train and couldn't get away from us. Anna played poker, Max read his book, grandma got to compare shopping notes with Jennifer (new Cal Poly program coordinator), and Kim and Dan actually got to sit together calmly eating dinner and sipping on Leo beer (our new favorite whenver we can't get Beerlao) and Sang Som Thai whiskey (technically it's rum, but who am I to correct them).

After our slightly weary arrival in Bangkok, we checked into our new hotel at the University and spent the rest of the day on a tour of the city. We took a water taxi on the Chao Praya river to get downtown. Then we chartererd a tour boat (a longboat!) to take us through the maze of canals that interconnect various neighborhoods and sites. Who knew that Bangkok was the Venice of the orient? It was very cool as we went by run down shacks and mansions alike - all on stilts and hoping the Thai government can successfully control river level. We stopped at Wat Arun, an awesome old temple on the banks of the river. We eventually made it to a popular river port and got out to take the SkyTrain (elevated subway) to the famous Paragon shopping mall. The Paragon is for the obscenely wealthy, with a Ferrari dealership, lots of Gucci-type stores, and a bunch of fancy restaurants serving Thai and Western delicacies. We feasted on designer cupcakes, custom cream puffs, and pizza in a cone. Wondering when we were going to get around to returning to our normal caloric intake, we hopped in a taxi and made our way back to our hotel for our first night. Hello Bangkok!

Farewell to Nongkhai

Our last week in Nongkhai was jam packed with activity. On Mother's Day (Sunday) we went to an immense sculpture park filled with very large works covering a wide variety of mostly Buddhist-inspired images. It had naga-dragons, Buddhas, mermaids, elephants, and all manner of crazy artistic interpretations of Buddhist, Hindu, and even some Western stories and beliefs. The artists body is actually entombed on the grounds. It was pretty freaky and unbelievably hot. We were rewarded afterwards with ice cream.

We went out to eat at fancy restaurants on several nights. We ate curries while watching the sun set over the Maekong River - an incredibly beautiful sight. Picture a lone fisherman floating by on a longboat sillhouetted against the deep green water while occasional lights began to twinkle on the sparsely populated shores of Laos. An elephant lumbers by looking for bananas (this really happened). Geckos, moths, and surprisingly elaborate beetles compete for time in the lamplight. We wipe the tears from our eyes from the intense spice of the papaya salad poured over our steamed catfish. Some fine evenings - each capped off with a little ice cream.

We spent one full day sightseeing and food-sampling in Wientiane, the capital city of the People's Democratic Republic (P.D.R.) of Laos - which is cool both because it is now communist and because it was once a French colony. This means that there is only one beer in Laos and everyone must drink it (BeerLao - it is actually quite good) and also that there is French bread and croissants in many of the local bakeries. We had a terrific European meal (including crepes) on a balcony overlooking the main town square. The Italian wine was terrific - and duty free! We walked the streets checking out colonial architecture, government buildings, a famous temple (seen on Lao currency), and various other sights. The Lao people were amazingly friendy - especially considering our country bombed theirs in the 70s. After a long day of walking we rewarded ourselves with some ice cream.

Friday night was the farewell party at the college. It was a well-deserved celebration after a long day of sports and games with the Thai and American college students in the blistering Nongkhai heat. We were joined at the party by college administrators, local students, visiting students, a group of Lao teachers, and various local characters. The locals performed the Baan Sii Su Kwai ritual of tieing strings around our wrists and wishing us safe traveling. There were songs, dancing, a huge food spread with sticky rice and dipping bowls, even several cans of BeerLao!). Many of the students and participants were on the verge of tears as friends said goodbye and promised to keep in touch. Even though there was no ice cream, it was an enjoyable and emotional event for all. We slept well and prepared for Saturday's overnight train to Bangkok.

Rocket Festival

Nong Khai province is famous across Thailand for its Rocket festival, held each year in Spring on the full moon before the start of the rainy season. Or so they hope. The intent of the rockets (kind of like giant bottle rockets) is to alert the Gods of the sky that it is time to allow the rains to fall. There are several mythological stories that accompany the tradition, involving various Toad Kings, evil squirrels, serpents, epic battles, and long held promises. But sure enough, the day after we watched the villagers shoot rocket after rocket into the blue sky, the heavens opened up and let loose a series of storms like we rarely see in California. Whether it was the rockets, the rain dances, the all-day drinking and shouting, or simply good timing, the festival worked, and everything cooled down just a bit after a couple of weeks of intense, dusty, heat.

Several other events took place during Rocket festival week. Our family and the Cal Poly students got to participate in many of them. There was a fashion show for international couples held in conjunction with the annual beauty pageant. 13 Cal Poly students were able to pair up with some visiting Thai nursing students, and the whole group rented fantastic traditional Thai costumes to parade down the runway. A terrific time was had by all, and if I do say, the Cal Poly/Thai couples stole the show. Anna and Max got some neat clothes out of the deal, too. A parade took place on Thursday, within which a group of students got to perform the traditional rain dance along the parade route. The parade itself was an epic, three-hour long procession of twelve sets (one for each regional village) of giant serpent floats, gongs, dancers, decorated children, rockets, and large groups of very drunk villagers (mostly teenagers) completely covered in mud. The mud is from the tradition of throwing a rocket launching villager into the muck if their rocket does not launch with sufficient height or glory. It was approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit and desperately humid during the parade. We only lasted for 6 village sets before rushing back to our air-conditioned bus. The Cal Poly students also kept busy during the week by traveling back and forth to school in Nong Khai each day from their homestays in the country, working on individual projects at the Center for Vocational Building Technology (CVBT) with local Cal Poly alum and do-gooder Geoffrey Wheeler, and turning into regular patrons at the river bars and city nightclub (called Bar-Nana but pronounced Bah-nana). Dan did his best to help with logistics and coordination and moral support for all of these activities. On Sunday, our whole family stayed together and rested, doing just about nothing.

News Flash – Cal Poly Student Ordained as Buddhist Monk

Michael, one of our engineering students, accepted a special invitation to spend a week as an ordained novice monk with one of the local temples. Our whole family got to participate in the preliminary Brahman ceremony offered by local villagers and the official Buddhist ordination ceremony presided over by current monks. For the week, Michael had to follow all the rules and activities of the monks – including fasting every day from noon until the next morning, waking up at about 5am to go beg for breakfast with a copper bowl and cloth bag, avoiding lying, stealing, women (that is, ALL women, not just lying, stealing women), skin products, entertainment, and several other things the students had gotten used to. He was not allowed to kill or hurt any animals, including mosquitoes and the beetle that bored its way into his skin one morning. He had regular meditation activities daily. During the week, Michael was a changed man. He was noticeably, visibly more humble and thoughtful. He seemed very vulnerable and exposed in his orange robe and shaved head. It did not seem to be a pleasant physical experience, and he missed several of the fun activities that the other students were undertaking. By the time he emerged in his own clothes at the end of the week, he had undergone quite an ordeal, but after a good night’s sleep in an air-conditioned room and a hot shower, he had a big smile on his face the whole next day. In the end, not everyone envied his experience, but all had respect for what he did and congratulated him on the lengths he went to in the search for enlightenment. Way to go, Mike!

Mango with Sticky Rice, Please!

We arrived in Nong Khai Monday evening and checked into our hotel - the Thai Nongkhai Guest House. We ate our first Mango with Sticky Rice here after purchasing it from one of the many street vendors on the adjacent streets. The vendors sell all kinds of soups, noodles, roti (crepes), meat-on-a-stick, whole fish, iced coffe and iced tea (with condensed milk of course), sodas (Anna and Max love the Fanta), fruit (pineapple, watermelon, jack fruit, tamarind, green mango, apples, green oranges, papaya, guava). There is even a vendor with a sewing machine who sits on the sidewalk and mends the clothes of passersby. Our hotel is very nice with air conditioning and television - amenities that the college students are mostly doing without for now (please don't tell them). Our proprietor Som is super nice and makes a nice coffee for Kim every morning. There are geckos and frogs ALL over the place. Fortunately, they help with the mosquitoes which are quite common.
We swam in the Mekong River on Friday. Of course we had brought some Mango with Sticky Rice to enjoy along the river banks. The river was surprisingly clean and easy to maneuver at the little beach spot we found. There is a strong current, which adds a bit of excitement when the kids begin to drift away to Cambodia. They found endless fun things to do in the current with their bodies, a couple of innertubes, and a rope. We were joined for the day by the Wheeler boys, including father Geoofrey, a friend of Dan's who he met last August on the visit with the Cal Poly Engineers Without Borders group. His sons Andrew (15), Thomas (8), and Peter (8) are delightful and played with Max and Anna nonstop. It was really cool to keep looking over to the other side of the river and realize that we were so close to Laos, a country of very similar people as Thailand but very different politics and economics (it is Communist and much poorer). We hope to visit Laos before we leave the area.
We also got to spend some quality time at the Wheeler's home about 20 minutes south of Nong Khai. Geoffrey's wife Yupin made us an incredible batch of homemade Mango with Stick Rice from fruit trees in their front yard. Anna and Max had more fun with the boys - it is good for them to have some kids their age to play with. They are learning English and they even have Monopoly!
It is now Sunday, and I cannot eat another serving of Mango with Sticky Rice.

En Route - Sukhothai and More

On our long bus trip to Nong Khai we made several cool stops. The first was the Elephant Conservatory. We watched elephants move and stack logs in the Thai logging tradition. They aren't really used for logging anymore, so the conservatory is kind of an employment program for old elephants and their trainers. The elephants are also trained to paint pictures and play music with their trunks. Of course Grandma Waldorf had to buy one of the paintings from the elephant named Cezanne. On our visit to the baby elephant's pen, we got to feed it bananas. The elephant was so excited it reached through the fence and grabbed Max's leg and tried to drag him into the pen. Fortunately, Max was released unharmed after a brief scare.
We visited an amazing 800-year old temple, and then went to Sukhothai. At Sukhothai there is a huge park with several sets of historical ruins from several hundred years ago. Giant Buddhas, towers, temples, and other structures are there for the climbing on. It was very neat - we got to rent and ride bicycles through the whole park. The kids actually had a great time despite some fears about "looking at a bunch of old crumbling buildings." Anna particularly had fun running around with all of the college students that she'd been sitting with on the bus. She's learning lots of new words and picking up some interesting philosophies.
The hotel in Sukhothai was a real treat. After a big thunder and lightning storm the first night we got to swim in their large swimming pool several times. Thankfully, the college students never tired of carrying Max on their necks and playing volleyball with Anna in the pool. Kim and Dan were happy to sip some coconut drinks made from Mekhong whiskey and lounge poolside. We left the hotel Monday morning and settled in for the beautiful 8-hour drive through the mountains towards Nong Khai and our next home.

Farewell to Chiang Mai

Our last days in Chiang Mai were fun but we were sad to leave. We went to the Tiger Kingdom where we got to play with baby lions (in their cage) and tigers (next to their cage). One of the baby tigers really took a liking to Dan and tried to purr and lick our faces through their bars. We took a boat dinner cruise on the Ping River. The kids found it a little boring, but Dan and Kim thought it was very romantic. We had dinner one night at Antique House, set in a 100-year old fabulous wooden house made in the traditional Thai style. Max was served both his dinner and his dessert in a pineapple there. We made our last trips to the zoo again, to Smoothie Blues for more mango waffles, to the vegetarian restaurant for black sticky rice with coconut milk, to the Warm Up bar for some Leo beers. The students suffered through my two exams and started pairing up romantically as the week concluded. So long Chiang Mai, see you next time!