Pie in the Sky Adventures #65

Finding Balance in Chiang Mai: Health, Missteps, and New Beginnings

Thanks for joining us on our continuing adventure, such as it is. We are making headway in receiving testings and treatments at the Absolute Health center and eye exam and new prescriptions from the Ram hospital.. We have let our eye care slip past for many years and are now a bit like Mr. Magoo. We let ourselves be lulled into mediocrity in accepting glasses that weren’t right from a Bucerias doctor. After going back three times in a six month period we gave up. Our eye’s have been going down hill since.

Our friend, Brad, laid most of the groundwork for us when it comes to finding the right place and doctors for what ails ya. His experience with the more western thinking hospital first ( the Bangkok Hospital) then finding the more attractive alternative: Absolute Health Center,

https://absolute-health.org/en/blog/post/event-070521-01.html

has benefited us greatly and saved us much time.

Yesterday we had our first meeting with Dr.Wattiwat of the Absolute Health in their new, very comfortable and attractive center. The first impression was peace and care. The attentive staff ready to make you feel like your in good hands, as you are. Tea served while you wait with outside views of lush greenery.

Dr. W. a personable attractive young guy who spoke fluent English took us both in and spent the next two hours getting to know us and our problems. He reviewed the areas that they could handle, what needs to be tested first, etc. It was decided that the first step in determining what areas need help first is a bio feedback scan and bio residence session.

The latter is something we’re familiar with having had treatments a year or so ago in Guadalajara. The machine scans your complete body as you sit, comfortably in a chair while watching a computer screen that shows every inch and organ, from the hair to the toe nails. Areas in need are shown with colored symbols, same with areas looking good with different colors. I’m curious as to the differences in Bio Residence and bio feedback scan.

The technology I think was started by the Russians to test their astronauts. A German company expanded and improved what the Russians had done. The chair you sit in has a pad at your back and a wrist band that are hooked up to the machine, small, and a special computer. Really space age.

Anyway it’s a logical first step to determine what should follow as treatment. This is the only place that has it, I think. The scan takes about 40 minutes and we both have ours followed up by the Doctor’s. review with us as to what he thinks. Appointment Monday, can’t wait.

Dr W. also gave us his choice of skin specialist and eye testing places. It seems there are many hospitals in CM and it seems we can find both of these at Ram hospital. So next week for that.

We, or, I should say I, was very sloppy in preparing for 3 months in a place where few speak a common language. I completely spaced gathering banking tools (debit card), signing up for Zelle and a couple of other whoppers that I’m embarrassed to talk about.

Well we have both paid the price since landing here with little cash while relying on a card of little value here. We sent checks to a friend in the States and he sent us living expenses via Western Union. We’ve since learned is the preferred choice of many expats here.

We were eventually lucky to figure out how to call out of country after two weeks of great frustration and not being able to. The first call we made was to our bank in Washington to see how we could

1.) receive a debit card, which would take care of all our money transfer needs 2.) determine how we could transfer money from our account here somehow. The lack of language has led to some outstanding missteps some funny, some painful.

At last the irritations, the tensions, even the guilt finally came to a soft landing yesterday. The 14 hour time difference requires we stay up late to catch people there at their 9am, our 11pm. After a rocky start with the bank manager we were directed to an officer that we had a relationship with in the past! She was warm, caring of our plight remembered us well and solved our problem for us.

Living the simplified life we have chosen, living in an uncomplicated system in which we have banking and residency, in a small fishing village on the water has lulled us into another time. This is a wake up to what’s been happening in the world since we went to sleep. CM has changed greatly since we were here last at a time when I still had my head on straight regarding travel preparations. Did I say we learn from our mistakes and difficult times.

We had a great conversation with our adventure loving sailor friend and IT person DeDe. She has just finished school and is now in training to be a large, long haul trucker.

I’ll let you know next Friday how they plan to retrieve their cruising boat from El Salvador and how this new profession will enable them to afford their adventurist life style.

We took a Tuk .Tuk to see how the Old Town, inside the moat, has changed in 11 years. It is a favored inexpensive way to get around and great fun to ride around in. The old town has, of course, changed like just about everything else. Much more traffic, so many restaurants side by side with a pot shop every now and then, so many small businesses. We guess it was fairly closed down during the COVID scare but it certainly has reopened for business since.

I feel more and more these days that I was born too late. Everywhere you go it seems like everyone is glued to their phone. The street food pop ups are full of students eating cheaply and actually talking with each other. Most of our meals, 2 a day are between a coffee shop/restaurant next door, where breakfast/brunch costs 5 U.S. for both of us

and dinner for two at a nighttime food area, filled with young people, 4 -5 U.S. They don’t serve alcohol at these pop ups so it’s just for food. Restaurants in the more fashionable areas cost 3 times as much plus the wine.

More on street food next week. We love you, keep smiling. Don and Teri