This was not our hotel in Bangkok, ...

Not our hotel's lobby This was not our hotel in Bangkok, we were staying in the nearby Novotel. The picture above though shows a very pl...

Not our hotel's lobby

This was not our hotel in Bangkok, we were staying in the nearby Novotel. The picture above though shows a very pleasant lobby with my favorite coffee shop, a ubiquitous sight throughout Bangkok.

One of our objectives on this trip was to get thorough physicals. Several of our friends had done that in Bangkok, and I remembered seeing "medical vacations" featured on the American tv news program "The Today Show". The agent for our insurance provider suggested Bumrungrad International Medical Center. We had no idea what to expect. The name "Bum Run," along with my unfortunate pronunciation of the neighborhood, "Ploen Chit," lead to some of my typical poor attempts at humor.

We went into the medical center at 8AM and by 11:30 we were having lunch near by. We went to Bumrungrad for the Executive package with 28 various tests, including a cardio stress test for me.

It was quiet a process that ended as it began with a visit to the doctor's office where the doctor reviews the results of the tests with you. It was a long session in which I kept expecting the other shoe to drop, however, the results for both our doctor visits were summed up in the picture below:

This is not our hotel's lobby, but it is an example of the type of building going on here. We have been visiting Bangkok since 1983, as a couple, then with our kids, for pleasure, for business, and now back as a couple.

Not our hotel's lobby

It has changed a lot over the years. Large condominium/apartment towers have sprung up round the city, dwarfing the classical single family homes. The vehicle traffic, that use to be dominated by the three wheeled tuk tuk and buses, now compete with new SUVs and luxury sedans. This place seems to be thriving.

So if is not our hotel's lobby, what is it? It's the Bumrungrad International Medical Center!