Bangkok, Thailand - The Bad

We arrived in Bangkok late on Friday night, and quickly headed out of the hotel to find some of the Thai food we'd been craving for so long. It didn't take long for us to succeed, stumbling on a street stall selling noodles and soup. The food was delicious, and so cheap. We ate pad thai, tom yum, and fried rice, all for less than S$10!!!

After enjoying the meal, we wondered around a little, taking in our first sights of Bangkok. As expected, we were a little taken back by the in-your-face sex trade, but I guess that's what you expect in BKK.

We retired to the hotel to plan our day and enjoy a rest...Hotel wise, the place was nice, but overpriced for what they provide. We had tried to book smaller hotels, but all the ones we liked were fully booked for some reason, so we ended up at the Mercure.

Saturday morning, and our tale commences...After finishing a big buffet breakfast, we decided to head into town and sample the shopping that BKK is renowned for... Little did we know that within 10 minutes all our plans would change. As we wondered down the street towards the sky-train station, I suddenly became very dizzy...The next thing I knew I was waking up in a hospital bed with a pretty young nurse checking up on me.

According to Hanna, after complaining of dizziness, I quickly collapsed to the floor and started spasming all over. I turned blue, foamed at the mouth and well-and-truly freaked Hanna out. I am also reported to have put myself in the recovery position (good'old first aid courses seem to have sunk in!). Hanna got me in a taxi (even though I was trying to get out) and got me to the hospital.

On a side note, the hospital I ended up in was quite lush....I've included a picture...just to add something to the post. I must admit, the hospital was a lot nicer than the hotel we were staying at...but of course, the food was horrid.

Cutting a long-story short...the hospital couldn't figure out what had happened, and recommended that I seek advice in Singapore.

We arrived back in Singapore on Wednesday morning, and headed to the doctor first thing in the morning. In a bit of a surprise, I was referred onto a specialist and an appointment made the same morning. I was then referred for an MRI and other tests. All within the same day. Quite impressive I believe.

So today, I got all the results...the doctors don't know what happened, but found a couple of benign choroid plexus cyst's in my brain, which they reassure me are nothing to worry about, and merely taking up a bit of the space in my head (which is probably good as there's not all that much brain in there anyway!)

All in all, we're both fine, just very shaken by the experience. We're very impressed with the medical service here in Singapore (though you do pay through the nose for it)...but I doubt I could have had the same turn-around if I were back at home in Sydney.

Thanks to Sheila and Michael who kept us company and sane in the hospital in BKK. It was great to spend some time with you guys, even though we didn't get to do all we planned...

Alan & Hanna