Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

Travels

at the end of the work week – blue crabs for lunch in Kep’s Psar Kdam

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It’s always nice when work takes you down to the coast. This is our team’s last trip to assess public health facilities. That we were in Kep was much appreciated! Kep is a small seaside province which has been designated a resort area so it is rapidly developing – see some photos of Kep on our Flickr. The crab market (Psar Kdam) is an especially big attraction. There are all manner of seafood on the grill for sale here. Ten squid on a stick cost 20000Riel (US$5). Whole chicken on the grill is around 30000Riel too. Big fish are around 8000-12000Riel each.

Blue crabs are the signature catch for Kep, so we splurged on these for lunch on our last day. For small crabs we were able to haggle 18000Riel/kg (~US$2/lb). For 35000Riel/kg the crabs are bigger and meatier. We got 6kg (13.2lbs) and had them steamed (1000Riel/kg). While waiting, our team made a yummy dipping sauce by pounding together a mix of garlic, chili, lime and some palm sugar. It was really hard to go back to work that afternoon!

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Maternity package rates at Bumrungrad (Bangkok) and St Luke’s hospital (Manila)

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As of this writing, the exchange rate is 30 Baht=US $1. So a normal delivery package at Bumgrungrad is US $1,196, while a C-section birth is US $3100. I was quite impressed with my experience at Samitivej hospital for our first child’s birth in 2011. I imagine the facilities in Bumrungrad, which is considered a higher-class (5star) facility, must be better.

In comparison, when we had our daughter in March this year in St Luke’s Hospital (Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Manila) the quote for a C-section delivery is PHP155,000-185,000 (US $3789-$4512) for 4-5 days’ hospitalization including delivery, recovery and nursery room charges, medicines and supplies used in the delivery room, hospitalization expenses (private room) and professional fees (OB-gyne, Pedia, Anesthesiologist). St Luke’s BGC is a similarly-billed 5star medical tourist hospital in Manila.

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This ad was posted in the elevators.
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the women’s health clinic
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Pediatric department lounge area, complete with a small play space.

 

Other posts on this topic:

Having a baby in Manila vs. Having a baby in Bangkok (for expatriates) Aug 10, 2013

Bumrungrad Hospital in pictures Aug 10, 2013

Giving birth in Manila vs Giving birth in Bangkok Jun 16, 2013

Living in Phnom Penh, Having a baby in Bangkok Feb 20, 2011

Bumrungrad Hospital in pictures

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It feels like we’ve been making a tour of hospitals this year. Six months ago we spent a lot of time in St Luke’s Hospital in Manila (also considered a 5-star medical tourism hospital). I had the baby there while Keith had a series of cardiac checkups and screenings. We all had dental work done there too. Now, Keith was evacuated to Bangkok’s Bumrungrad because of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. What a year. Well.. here is Bumrungrad in pictures. Compared to hospitals back home in NYC this looks like a nice hotel.

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Lobby area of the old building, where the patient rooms are.
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Reception area in the new building, where outpatient services for package checkups start.
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Reception area of outpatient services, for package consultations. This is the 10th floor of the new building. There is a Starbucks, a cafeteria and a Bookazine with an awesome selection of kids’ books.
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The pediatric lounge, complete with a play gym. This waiting area is absolutely spacious.
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The 10th floor of the old building where Keith’s private room is. They have these cars for kids stationed all around the hospital departments.
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Keith’s hotel room -err, his hospital room. The movies, sitcoms and music are fairly recent. There’s also a built-in internet for people who didn’t bring their gadgets.
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The couch was large, more than comfortable for an adult staying with the patient, given that it *is* a hospital room. You can also request a cot, which was 200baht/night. This was all convenient for me and the two kids.
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There is a kitchen area with microwave, refrigerator, table and two chairs, a sink, dishes. The bathroom is equipped with a hair dryer.

 

Other posts on this topic:

Maternity package rates at Bumrungrad (Bangkok) and St Luke’s hospital (Manila) Sept 28, 2013

Giving birth in Manila vs Giving birth in Bangkok (for expatriates) Jun 16, 2013

Living in Phnom Penh, Having a baby in Bangkok Feb 20, 2011

Tropical fruit: A special coconut variety

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These coconuts cost 32,000riel (US$8) each at the markets in Battambang town – compared to 2000riel (US$0.50) for a regular coconut. The meat is thick, tender and incredibly sweet. They aren’t in season right now and the seller at the market wouldn’t tell us when that would be (meaning they won’t be so rare thus so expensive). They’re a variety called locally as Dong Ktii and they’re only available in Battambang and Kampot so far as my Khmer colleagues know. Anyone know what kind of coconut these are, and if they’re related or similar to the macapuno variety in the Philippines?

Tropical fruit: Rambutan

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I’m not a big fan of Rambutan (saw-maw in Khmer), mostly because the woody bark of the seed comes off with the meat (I guess it’s added fiber – see the picture below). But it’s incredible how much of this fruit our son can devour in one sitting. So I came home with 5kgs of it from a friend’s local farm and wouldn’t you know, some kid passed around Hand Foot Mouth at his petri dish pre-school and he broke out in rashes sores and blisters. Rambutans are too acidic for his mouth sores so he can only stare at them :-(

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