Dhara Devi, Mandarin Oriental hotel, villa 99, Chiang Mai
This was my second stay there for 3 days. On my first stay I was a bit unlucky and not everything worked out as I had imagined it. This time I have nothing serious to complain about. The service could still improve from good to higher levels maybe.
The Dhara Devi now already became a place where I will book at least one stay per year, it is just one of those few, special places where I feel I need to stay every year. What they created at the Dhara Devi is truely remarkable. The budget for creating it was something around USD 200 million which makes it one of the most expensive hotels/resorts of South East Asia (the St. Regis Bangkok hotel+residences cost EUR 1 billion for comparison).
This time I had pre-reserved villa 99 which is fantastic. I paid something around THB 60k++ that time which I consider to be a very good deal for money.
The pool is a real pool, not a plunge pool, the villa is also more tangled into the ricefield and offers more privacy. Moreover you can take a short-cut to the beautiful pool overlooking the rice paddy from there : they have a bridge on the right side of the villa which will lead you there.
The outside area like kitchen and sauna are impressive as well.
The villa inside isn’t too large, it feels just about right. The ground flor is small even. The bed is comfortable and the bathroom sufficient but not great. The ground of the shower area wasn’t exactly straight, so often there was still plenty of water on the ground the next morning. I have the feeling that most villas have minor issues like this, I also experienced several minor flaws in the other villa.
In general maintenance could be better around the whole complex. Because it is a huge area, this of course is an immense task.
The breakfast is really good. There I also saw again that the majority of their guests are above 55-years-old. Chiang Mai is a perfect place for older people. They are save there, the sun is not too strong, the humidity is not really bad like in the south of Thailand and it is just so damn convenient around in Chiang Mai. It is the ultimate retirement spot from my point of view.
Gaggan is maybe the world’s only restaurant serving Indian molecular gastronomy, the owner calls it progressive Indian cuisine.
Sra Bua restaurant at Siam Kempinski is the only other molecular gastronomy restaurant in Bangkok so far.
Spains “El Bully” restaurant owner, Michelin star chef Ferran Adria came up with the whole idea. Gaggan had worked there as an intern.
Chef Adria did close his restaurant last year by the way and now thinks of opening a simple tapas restaurant.
Tyler has the following opinion :
“My hypothesis is that the restaurant was never intended to turn a profit, but rather it was a loss leader for book sales, endorsements, lecture fees, TV contracts, cookware lines, and so on for Ferran Adria. Even if higher prices could bring in a twenty percent rate of profit, it wouldn’t — at this point — be worth keeping the place up and running. Adria already has a reputation as the world’s greatest chef, running the world’s greatest restaurant. It’s best to quit while ahead and branch out into food-related money-making ventures.”
The restaurant looks like a traditional Thai style house, the interieur is simple decorated. Cool was to sit at this see-through glass window with a view into the kitchen. We all had the tasting menu (group of 4, THB 1600 each, including 10 courses).
The Indian person serving our table gave me this kind of friendly but sadly dishonest feeling, looking at me like as if he tried to stash out as much money from me that evening as possible. When he realized after course 3 or so that I can be a tough and unfunny game, he suddenly disappeared and someone else took over.
The dishes were tiny and what exactly reminds people there of Indian cusine ?
To sum it up : the whole experience there was mediocre and rather boring.
I share the opinion of Mr. Jakobs, St. Regis hotel, here who said to me beforehand that a good cuisine should not be influenced by trends.
And I go even further and say : I dislike molecular gastronomy – i like molecular biology !
The Penthouse hotel, Angeles City, construction ground, November 2011
The Penthouse hotel built by the Lewis Grand hotel group will most likely be opened around early 2013. I just stayed at the Lewis Grand hotel and spoke with the young Mr. Lewis about the project. He believes it makes no sense to push the opening still into the year 2012, as the christmas times and end of the year is rather slow in Angeles City anyway, so it would just cost more money.
The project is a USD 5 million investment, 10% is self-financed by Mr.Lewis, most of the rest is financed with Filipino banks at an 8% interest rate. The interest rate is pretty high, but you have to consider that the risks for the bank is high as well and because the Filipino central bank interest rate is at 4.5% at the moment, it is really hard to bring such investments down to 5% which you could get right now in Europe or the USA because of much lower ECB and FED prime interest rates. They expect 25% return on equity which would be great, but the risk is high without doubt.
Gerard from the ABC hotel/Fields Plaza suites considers the interest for too high to make much money but he is in the comfortable position that he doesn’t really need debt. He is now growing organic with the money he generates. In 2006 people were laughing at him, telling him he would go bancrupt with such a luxury place in Angeles City. How wrong they were…From my point of view, it was the opening of the ABC hotel in 2006, together with the Dollhouse group who initiated the rapid growth and change within Angeles City – since 2006 : things go really mad/dynamic there.
Mr.Lewis aquired/opened quite a lot of bars (Dirty Duck/Forbidden City)/clubs (High Society) in the meantime this year as well. The Penthouse hotel looks really good on the computer models, still it doesn’t really fit yet in the poor area on Santos street and surroundings though. Santos street is known as the “blow-row”, blow-job bars with rather unattractive girls. The Wild Orchid is close to it as well. People who loved the “old Angeles City” won’t be happy about that development. Expect more skyscrapers to go up in Angeles City soon and some small, dingy bars to be disappearing.
Global Nanpa is back with a fresh, updated design and some new features. We are still working on more stuff which isn’t availabe yet. It will will take around another year to get some ideas implanted.
The video guide section is now much better structured than before already, thanks Ni. It is not finished yet, it will take until fall 2012 to make it better.
The last trip really broke a barrier. In general I would say : everything is possible now. I just have to decide for which action I want to spend my energy on. The old limits of money and time can hardly be felt anymore. Still, I dislike wasting resources of all means where I don’t see any value for.
Once you cross the EUR 1000 per day stay barrier you are mainly paying for having everything private for yourself and at a level beyond that (3000++) you are mainly paying for the prestige/show.
This amateur video stuff can hardly improve by me alone anymore that’s why I called for external help to hopefully bring things to a higher standard. I had worked with Jakob twice before and now we will focus on a more serious project that will take almost a year to get officially released.
I still try to involve as less people as possible here, but I had reached my own limits on the former website that’s why I asked other people for help.
There is not much time left until the next trip and I am so damn busy again with my real job that I have no idea how to release 10.000 pictures and 100 GB video material (can’t call me lazy…) from the last trip.
That’s why I decided to kick out a summary video at the beginning now because it can take some time until you see the independent videos of it.
Who knows, maybe Jakob and I get to see Brad Pitt and a big Hollywood crew next time we are out there ?! When I stayed at Six Senses Koh Yao Noi in November, the news just came in that Brad Pitt and a Hollywood crew want to rent the entire resort in December, most likely working on a massive new Thailand project. On my day of leave of Six Senses, they delayed their plans because of the current flooding problems those days in Bangkok.
Hollywood landed a big hit with Hangover 2 where the action takes place at Ritz-Carlton-Phulay Bay, Krabi and in Bangkok.
It is too funny, but Cherry (Baccara, Soi Cowboy, Bangkok) and some other people (friends of Sam/Tilac bar, Soi Cowboy, Bangkok) told me that some staff people from the Hangover 2 crew still often frequent their bars, sitting outside (not inside) the bars and barfining girls. And now you tell me that Thai bargirls aren’t a powerful weapon of mass destruction ?! LOL.
Angeles City news :
Gerard, Angeles City’s most innovative entrepreneur, from ABC (Angeles Beach Club) hotel introduced me to some of his grand plans in Makati, Manila – a real shocker, but more about that later. He actually did fly 1 day after me to Pattaya and the guy from La Pasha was on the same plane to Thailand like me.
What’s new in Bangkok :
Mr.Klingenberg (former Anantara hotel, Chiang Saen) from Muse hotel showed me around the hotel, Medici restaurant, when we accidentally ran into each other.
The Siam Hotel will most likely be opened mid of June 2012 and the Central Embassy mall / Park Hyatt hotel might be finished around end of 2013.
The new shopping mall Terminal 21, next to Sheraton hotel Sukhumvit, got an interesting airport theme.
I met plenty of cool characters and there are lots of things to report about – if I only had more time…
Check it also on my new video channel http://www.globalnanpavideos.com/
Soon almost my entire video library (500+ vids) can be watched there.
I am listing the different locations with times here, independent videos and reviews of it are about to follow :
0:01 royal suite, St. Regis hotel Bangkok; 1:15 champagne sabering, St. Regis hotel, Bangkok; 1:30 Bentley chauffeur service at St.Regis hotel, Bangkok; 1:45 Hanoko restaurant, Bangkok; 1:56 Sherbet, G-Club, Bangkok; 2:00 the drawing room, St.Regis hotel, Bangkok; 2:20 Thai models at Siam Kempinski hotel, Bangkok; 2:48 duplex suite, Siam Kempinski hotel, Bangkok; 3:15 Jojo restaurant, St. Regis hotel, Bangkok; 3:32 Reflexions restaurant, Bangkok; 3:40 Plaza Athenee hotel, Bangkok; 4:00 Six Senses resort Koh Yao Noi; 4:38 long-tail boat beach discovery and sunrise; 4:48 „secret lagoon“; 5:33 Monkey beach; 5:40 Kovalam beach/Koh Phi Phi Don; 6:10 Four Seasons hotel Tented Camps, Golden Triangle, Chiang Saen – Explorer tent; 6:37 baby elephant camp; 6:44 Golden Triangle; 7:05 market in Burma; 7:08 Wat Chedi Luang in Burma; 7:20 Wat Rong Khun near Chiang Rai; 7:40 Tented Camps spa; 8:15 Six Senses Yao Noi spa/treatment room 5; 8:30 Doi Ithanon, Chiang Mai; 8:40 Mandarin Oriental hotel Chiang Mai/Dhara Devi/villa 99; 8:50 terrace suite, Siam Kempinski hotel Bangkok; 8:45 royal suite, Siam Kempinski hotel, Bangkok; 9:17 avantgarde suite, Le Meridien hotel, Silom, Bangkok; 10:00 Sheraton hotel Pattaya, Balmy’s villa; 10:23 Cosy beach, Pattaya; 10:30 small restaurant, Chiang Mai; 10:35 Muse hotel, Bangkok; 10:45 Medici restaurant, Muse hotel, Bangkok; 10:50 Central Embassy and Park Hyatt, Bangkok, construction ground; 11:00 The Siam hotel Bangkok, construction, mid of November 2011; 11:10 Hilton hotel, Pattaya, oceanview suite; 11:20 Sheraton hotel Sukhumvit, governor suite; 11:34 Gerard, ABC (Angeles Beach Club hotel), Angeles City, Millennium wing; 11:54 The Penthouse hotel by LGH (Lewis Grand hotel) construction, end of November 2011, Angeles City; 12:10 Fields Avenue/Walking Street/Angeles City, Philippines; 12:30 Lewis Grand hotel, poolside jacuzi room; 12:48 Soi Cowboy, Bangkok; 12:54 Nana Plaza, Bangkok; 13:30 Inside Tilac bar, Soi Cowboy, Bangkok; 13:35 short-time room, Nana Plaza, Bangkok; 13:45 St.Moritz, G-club, Bangkok; 14:30 Fields Avenue, Angeles City.
The Pent on Wireless road, next to Swissotel is still the number #1 G-club of Bangkok for me. They have the best organized shows, you feel that things run professional and the girls mostly speak ok English too, happy to cater to farangs as well.
The location is good and the location will even win higher attraction when they start constructing the shopping mall Central Embassy and the Park Hyatt (2014) close to it. I think the ground was sold from the British Embassy, I am not sure. The japanese Okura hotel will be soon on that street as well. Nothing can stop the Pent….
Malioboro and Stadium for me are the 2 best reasons for visiting Jakarta. Funny enough but both places are operated by the same owner and both are truely unique, you won’t find something like this anywhere else in the world.
They employ around 300 girls there, Indonesian girls in general cost IDR 800k, foreign girls around IDR 1.5 million and their superstars up to IDR 3 million for an hour.
At Malioboro they have a lot of foreign girls, only Alexis can really compete with them at foreign talent. Some of their Chinese, Russian and Colombian girls look really good. Of course I didn’t go for Thai girls there. I was also so overly satisfied with Indonesian and Chinese girls, that I opted for the curvy Latinas. Russian girls feel like German girls, I get plenty now for free back at home, so I didn’t feel tempted.
What I really like about Malioboro is that they are not fucking around, the organization is perfect, it is not dark (is it the only big spa which isn’t dark??) and I felt perfectly relaxed there, also often went into the relaxation room afterwards.
The foreign girls like those Colombian girls often have 1-year contracts. They come into the country with student visas which can be extended once after 6 months, so they get 1 year total.
The girls get 1/3 of the money they generate, the top girls average 5 customers per day. Back in Colombia, Russia or China they at first would mostly get lower rates and second and more important they would have less customers. There are just not many places in the world like Malioboro that have that immense customer inflow and it is very well organized and safe for the girls too. I clearly see the attraction.
The most remarkable place of Malioboro for me is the jacuzi area in the basement. It is not the biggest spa jacuzi area and also not the flashiest one but it is getting so god damn raunchy there. Man, sadly I could not videotape there when the girls are doing their dance rotations, they are dancing in front of this little waterfall with poles and directly between the jacuzi tanks. That can get fucking hot, they will also swim towards you, curve your lap and body when you buy them a “flower” (overprized at IDR 50k). But banging these girls downstairs is good value for money like many other people in the jacuzis told me.
The best scene of my entire Jakarta trip happened when some kind of Indonesian martial-arts-gangster-look-alike stepped into the room when I was sitting in one of the jacuzis. He first went into the steam area which has a glass front and you can also watch the action from there and on the other hand I could see him inside there. At that moment the music started pumping and the girls went grinding customers again. That heavy-tattooed “monster” was just getting warmed up and hopped around in the steam room, looking at the girls and doing some stretching moves. That scene was priceless, really hard to describe, I wish I had it on camera. Fuck, that’s why I went there.
The Dusit Thani in Pattaya is a big hotel with 457 beds, almost as much as in Bangkok. The place is mostly always well booked, it was fully booked when I went there. No other hotel in Pattaya generates more revenues than them. The only business I know of in Pattaya that is even more profitable is : Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.
I had some kind of sea view room there, nothing special but a good deal for money priced at around THB 6k that time. The view along the whole Pattaya beach was nice, the room is quite modern, the hotel itself looks already a bit older.
At the Dusit Club lounge, 8th flor, you get free drinks from 5.30 to 7.30pm. I always had two starter Singhas there and some fruits to compensate the vitamine loss.
The panoramic views are pretty good of the hotel. I didn’t get a chance to try their Cascade restaurant, the Chinese one, The Peak, I didn’t try as well.
The first, actually larger pool is more old-school and has a deeper water level.
The other one, Lagoon pool, is more adventureous, I went there often, moreover they have a kitchen there where I daily ate some kind of early lunch, I am not sure if that gets prepared inside of Bay restaurant. Mostly I regenerated every morning at the pool from the night before. The Dusit Thani is isolated at the one end of the beach but for relaxing it is really good and you can easily jump on the Baht busses when walking out of the gate.
The Devarana spa is great, similar like in Bangkok. The little garden behind the main lobby was a nice idea and makes it look very tropical. From the spa you can also walk into this little garden.
Every morning at 7am you can watch 9 monks getting food from the hotel. As you know all monks can go wherever they want to optain a food donation and the Dusit Thani is taking care of those 9 monks in Pattaya.
Overall a pleasent stay. The Dusit Thani fulfilled my expectations :
This post again is for the people who only want to watch the chicks and shit.
Yes and the girls love the place too. Really stylish, they love the decor, only the vibrant lobby is missing. But having a few drinks at the drawing room with such a view is hard to beat. I am a nerd anyway, for me it does not need to be crowded with people, I can easily enjoy it there alone with a few beer.
We had a fun time there. Sometimes you really can feel like Bruce Wayne in the hotel, especially when having such hot chicks around.
Tar said she would like me organize a Bangkok pool party there, I also talked with a friendly British guy there who manages the pool bar who said it should not be a problem. But currently I am really done with events, it is too much stress.
I really liked to have Dome around, I didn’t expect I could actually need a butler but after I found out how fun it can be, I see the value.
The St. Regis got an in-house Mercedes S-Class and Bentley limousine service. They have the new S-class. Next time I try it as well. But Mr. Frank is simply my prefered driver and he knows me well already.
The most unexpected surprise of my reviews of this trip is clearly this hotel. I never expected I would ever rank a hotel in Bangkok above the Four Seasons and Peninsula in this decade and now it happened with a shock.
They are getting an advance praise from me and I am more evaluating them where I see them in 1-2 years : then it will be hard to beat them, at least in terms of accomodation.
The most negative thing is simply that the hotel is really empty, I also doubt that it will ever get as vibrant like in the Four Seasons lobby. The Four Seasons has the advantage that everyone can easily enter it from the street and it is a very open lobby concept.
The ground flor lobby at St. Regis isn’t cool and not fun to hang out, it can hardly be a place where people want to sit and relax.
The drawing room on the other hand, the upper level lobby is smashing, they have a better bar than the Four Seasons and they even got a terrace overlooking the royal sports club. That thing is very different, very modern and not comparable with Four Seasons nor Peninsula.
The international restaurant VIU i didn’t get a chance to try. The pool and gym is great. I totally love the design. The pool is one of the most stylish ones of Bangkok. The spa is on the same flor. The walk ways you take in the hotel are in general very well thought out. I feel very inner-protected there and even the walk-ways to the toilets appear to be just right.
The butler service is outstanding and a great strenghts of the hotel. One my first stay it was Oui and on my second stay Dome helped me with my schedule and calls. The service is truely exceptional.
I got introduced to my room by Natascha who is from Berlin, Germany like me. She is here during the pre-opening phase. The hotel had its soft opening on April, 1st and has its grand opening July, 1st. Before high-season in November things will probably still remain quite there.
The Caroline suite is a fantastic deal for money at THB 30k++. I hope they keep this price level, no luxury hotel in Bangkok prices suites like that one at such a competitive rate. It is just unbeatable : it is brand-new, got smashing panoramic views over the royal sports club and into Ratchaprasong intersection from your bedroom, living room and bathroom. The bed is super-comfortable and the room is equipped with the most modern utilities, switches and electronic plugs. The Jim Thompson suite at Four Seasons costs me almost double as much but can only score on the design side and size in comparison. The Caroline suite has an insane price/value relation.
Mr. Jakobs was also showing me the royal suite, 2411, which costs around THB 120k++. Because it was still under construction I could not yet videotape there but let me tell you already that this room beats even the Peninsula suite, the top room of the Peninsula directly under the helipad. Next time I would like to check it out. He also showed me a few John Jakob Astor suites.
The Minor group is a major investor of the St. Regis and Four Seasons Bangkok. No matter for which hotel you decide in the end, they are going to profit from it anyway…They rule up Rajadamri road now. Moreover they are selling residential property at the St.Regis. This project will be the last chance to get something that overlooks the royal sports club. Another project at Sathorn from Ritz Carlton was planned but it doesn’t seem that likely to ever get realized now. Moreover Sathorn is boring.
Mr. Wanatanakul from the Minor group was guiding me around the residential area which also got an own pool. The units are huge, the smallest unit is 320sm big and costs THB 80 million. For that price you can almost buy a Four Seasons Chiang Mai residential villa.
Rajadamri Road is the best place in my eyes to stay. I also tried a hotel on Thonglor this time and was actually dissapointed a litte, not of the place but of the location. Maybe I was too heavily influenced by Funky Villa close by. I mean, yes it is a nice place, but is it that exciting ? They have a few mediocre restaurants there, the small japanese ones are the only really good ones. I covered the street pretty well during day and night time now and it is in general only Funky Villa that will drive me back. Ekkamai is similar.
So I really think that Rajadamri road is the best place from where you can get into all directions, Sukhumvit is second best, if you want to have it quiet, riverside should be your location and if you want to be really safe and close to foreign offices it could be Sathorn.
The St. Regis is even getting a direct walk path bridge into the skytrain station, they are currently constructing the path : this is really cool and just shows again how intelligent this whole hotel was built. I doubt in this decade another hotel will arise from nowhere which has such a great concept.
The gym is brand-new, they have all the machines and the staff is really helpful almost like in a professional one as WOW California.
I got to know a lot of people within the hotel. They are really good. Of course the Four Seasons staff has more routine and is very natural-friendly – the major strenghts of the Four Seasons Thailand group – but the St. Regis people got a lot of skills. Just give it some time until they have the routine as well in a year or so.
I really love the drawing room, at 6pm they are cutting the champagne bottles with a saber. I always just missed the action within seconds. Next time…
Steffen is a really cool German hardcore guy there taking care of the F&B section. He was born in Hamburg but stayed in Berlin for many years. He also worked for hotel Adlon and the China Club Berlin where I celebrated my 30th birthday. The world is small….
Steffen and Mr.Oberoi, the managing director are two really friendly and easy-going characters. Mr. Oberoi got a really great presence, very much like him similar like Mr. Haksar from Four Seasons. I feel very well among them.
Mr. Jakobs shared a lot of time with me. He is very smart, got a great overview and detailed knowledge of the Asian hospitality market. He got great teaching ability, he explained me a little of the history of St.Regis and we talked about several other hotels and resorts. I learned a lot from him. Moreover he allowed me to explore more than a dozen of rooms of the hotel. In no other hotel I was ever instantly treated that way.
Mr. Selves is the big boss there, I like the tie. The St. Regis really put together a bullet-proof management team there. They clearly rank in the same league like Mr. Stampfer / Mr. Haksar / Ms. Waibel from Four Seasons. I didn’t get a chance yet to get to know the French gentleman Mr. Beliard from the Peninsula, but Mr. Behrens their F&B guy is really cool.
If you stay at either St. Regis, Four Seasons, Peninsula, you really cannot go wrong. They rank in a different world, the next hotel in the ranking is already a step down.
The idea for this video was to show the hospital in a neutral, authentic perspective of a touristic outsider.
You will see people walking towards and away from the camera, strange and “unwanted” things are not getting cut out. Of the 1 hour walk I originally was planning to cut a 30min video but I liked all so much that I actually only cut out 10min of some longer walks. This just shows how authentic the whole video is.
My motivation for this is : I simply love Thailand, if I can help a little a good place like this one, it makes me happy. I am not doing this for everyone, only if I really consider something to be worthy to be portayed.
The staff I encountered at the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is extremely friendly and helpful. I had the opportunity to have Dr. Ian Corness as a guide. He is a very knowledgeable person, an excellent communicator and he got a great sense of humor. Thanks to him, this whole walk doesn’t appear sterile and boring.
Video 1 explains general things about the hospital : They have 400 beds, are accredited by the Joint Commission International, their international service speaks 22 languages. They are even a little more international orientated than Bumrungrad in Bangkok making 60% of their revenues with foreign patients.
Dr. Corness shows a standard room which costs something around THB 5000 / day. Rates in Pattaya and cost of living in general are cheaper in Pattaya than in Bangkok. Dr. Corness liked to stress that Bangkok is considered as a transit for most people (not me !) whereas Pattaya is a destination. Traffic in Bangkok moreover can be so bad that the transport from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport to Sukhumvit can take sometimes almost same time (usually around 40 min) like driving down all the way to Pattaya (usually around 2 hours).
Dr. Corness explained in a great way why people should not be worried about the standard of the hospital although the city being best known as the world’s largest sex destination.
Nowhere in the world except in Thailand you will find the hospitals being constructed like a hotel. The main reason for the medical tourist coming is still the very lower price which can be around 25% of what you would pay in the USA or Germany.
In video 2 we see the dental cosmetic & implant center where 28 dentists work. We learn about the efficiancy of the health promotion center : for example you get your blood test results only 45 minutes later after the blood was taken. Some befriended MDs in Germany might get mad when they read it here. Things in Thailand just work easier, heavy beaurocracy like in Europe helps creating extra jobs but it won’t get more efficient…
The hospital employs 12 cardiologists who all have extensive experience and are fully accredited specialists. I have a quite high trust that hospitals like Bangkok hospital and Bumrungrad employ physicians that really work on a very high level. Local universities like Chulalongkorn or Chiang Mai university for example have reached a standard that appears really good to me.
Because they are a private hospital they are able to pay higher salaries to their physicians than a public hospital could pay. This is clearly an advantage to get and maintain some of the best doctors of Thailand.
Dr. Corness already works 12 years for the hospital. He explained in a funny way that he came to Thailand 14 years ago like many other foreigners who had been through a lot of shit in their home country. I bet he really could write a best-selling book about life in Thailand from the expats point-of-view. He is a great character. He got re-married 10 years ago with a Thai and got a son and a daughter with her.
In video 3 we see at first the Arabic reception area and Intensive Care. They are the only hospital in Pattaya that has an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner.
Dr. Somchai who studied medicine in Munich, Germany, introduces his supersight surgery which isn’t LASIK. He brought a lot of technology and knowledge from Germany to Thailand. He works together with Carl-Zeiss from Jena for the lenses he uses. Dr. Somchai works since 15 years for the hospital, he developed his technology in 2002 and had 205.000 operations being done with it. Dr. Corness refered to him as one of the leading lights of the hospital. He was also responsible for getting the Icelab from the German company Zimmer to the hospital.
In total the hospital employs 100 full-time physicians and 100 part-time.
In video 4 you see the brand-new, cutting-edge Icelab, a cryo therapy spa, which is the only one across whole Asia. You can heal all kinds of conditions with it at minus 110 degrees, especially pro sports men like to use it for healing faster. I should inform Mr. Rainer Calmund about it to send his football injured pro-players down there for a little fun rehabilitation time. It costs only around THB 1000 per session, around 10 you should do depending on what you use it for. You walk through 2 chambers with different temperatures and try to last in the 3rd chamber around 3 minutes. Next time I come to Pattaya I want to try it. You get a big boost of endorphines and oxygen from it because of the density of the air. After all the heavy partying and drinking in Pattaya that I am used to : this is just what I need. In case they don’t like my video portray, they won me at least for the Icelab already. LOL.
Later you see the cantine and the dermatology & cosmetic surgery center. They employ 5 cosmetic surgeons. The most popular surgery there for forgeigners is breast augmentation (enlargement) and for locals a nose operation from flat to more western looking. A big part of the medical tourism happens within beauty surgery. Pattaya as a nice, touristic beach destination is clearly scoring in convincing patients to stay for a longer time if the operation demands it.
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is a fully digital hospital. All your data (for example blood tests, diagnosis, X-rays, prescriptions, etc…) is electronically stored and you get identified with a barcode you carry along. Moreover they share data with hospitals abroad, so let’s say you want your doctor in the USA to have all the info on what you did in Pattaya : no problem, they are very cooperative. I am very impressed of it.
In video 5 you see the MRI scanner. The hospital got their own busses and can arrange picking up international patients from Suvarnabhumi airport. The International Service Department can also take care of visa and other issues.
The hospital got 11 ambulances, the majority of ambulances run in Pattaya are public, run by various foundations. Their own ambulances go out with a doctor on board and treatment could already start there.
The Emergency Medical Service got 16 beds. Pattaya, let me assure you, is so much safer than any place in the USA I know of.
We make some jokes about the large amount of public holidays in Thailand : Dr. Corness wants to produce a small pocket calendar for Thais which lists the days when Thais are actually supposed to work. LOL.
The International Service Department will also help you with your insurance, trying to figure out if your insurance abroad will cover fully or partially costs of your stay at this hospital. What I learned about insurances is : they really don’t give a shit about people, of course we all work in the monetary system. The insurance looks at the numbers like everyone does : as long as they don’t have to pay more, it is very likely that they agree to a stay/treatment at the hospital. That’s why price matters so much. Plastic/beauty surgery however is nowhere covered anyway.
I want to say many thanks again to the entire Bangkok Hospital Pattaya staff, especially to Dr. Ian Corness taking the time and guiding me around that spontaneously. I am always shocked and impressed how helpful people in general are towards me in Thailand, like giving me permission for such video tours. Taking into account my aggressive logo and sometimes controversial website content : When they give me their trust, I am all the more willing to help.
