I managed to pick up some nasty bug that has knocked me into next Tuesday… But while I feel completely miserable at the moment, this little bacterial bout has given me the opportunity to experience, first-hand, the joys of the Thai medical system.
First, doctors make house calls. When you’re as sick as I am, the last thing you want to do is get dressed, sit in the car, and go to the doctor’s office. Not a problem in Thailand… they come to you, all for about $30. And yes, they speak perfect English.
Second, if you’re a believer in medication, you can buy pretty much buy whatever you want over-the-counter– from antibiotics to codeine to Viagra. And everything costs a small fraction of what you would expect. You almost feel guilty, like you’re ripping off the pharmacy.
I paid 80 baht, roughly $2.50, for a 5-day batch of antibiotics, ibuprofen, and throat lozenges.
Third, if you so choose (and I do), you can have a team of nurses attending to your every need while you’re getting better. I’ve got a couple of ladies whose sole mission in life is to take care of whatever I need– changing the sheets, making a bowl of soup or tea, giving me a massage, or just sitting next to the bed with a wet washcloth over my forehead.
It’s funny what kind of misperceptions people have about medical care overseas. I’m frequently asked “What happens if you get sick overseas? Aren’t you concerned about the quality of medical care?”
Trust me, if/when I get sick, especially in an emergency, I truly hope that I’m in a place like Thailand or Panama instead of wasting away in waiting room back in the US, or paying through the nose for medicine.
Anyhow, I’m going to cut this short today for obvious reasons… depending on how I feel tomorrow I may or may not post something, so don’t be surprised in case you don’t hear from me.
I was in the back of a black sedan on Friday morning speeding along Highway 7 from Pattaya to Bangkok when my driver’s phone rang. He picked up, jabbered for a few seconds, and then said to me:
“Sir, my friend call me from Bangkok; he say big protests in city, we need to go around.”
“No chance–” I replied. “Let’s go see how serious they are this time…”
Here in Thailand, you have to be living under a cave to not know what’s going on in the political scene. It starts with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the Thai military while he was out of the country in 2006.
He’s one of the richest men in Thailand having amassed a fortune in the telecom industry, and among other things, Thaksin has been accused of corruption, tax evasion, censorship, and human rights violations.
About half of Thailand loves him, the other half hates him… it just so happens that the current administration falls on the side of hating him, and they have issued several warrants for his arrest.
In fact, shortly after the 2006 coup, the new government set up a commission to investigate Thaksin’s financial holdings; it was ruled that he accumulated an unusual fortune during his time in office, and roughly $2.3 billion of his assets were frozen pending further investigation.
Years later, an official legal judgment has yet to be made about Thaksin’s frozen assets… until this week.
This Friday, February 26, is known as Judgment Day in Thailand because a high court will finally rule on the fate of his assets.
Did he evade taxes? Did he use public office for personal gain? Or did he follow the letter of the law and become victimized by Thailand’s notoriously corrupt politicking? The verdict is set to galvanize the country as many Thais regard it as a referendum on the corruption of their political institution.
There have already been mass demonstrations leading up to the decision by a group known as the “Red Shirts,” who in many ways are like the Tea Party protesters in the United States.
Like the Tea Party, the Red Shirts are commonly unified by their desire for acute political change. They despise the current administration and everything it has done to their country, yet many of the Red Shirts are undecided about Thaksin… sort of like Sarah Palin.
Many regard him as a free market hero who can liberalize the economy, while others find him to be just another self-serving politician… though not necessarily guilty of the charges against him.
The protests on Friday were held by the Red Shirts who shut down several streets and chanted refrains about freedom, justice, and change. I jumped in the thick of it to get a sense of their passions… are they true believers, or simply going through the motions?
I was surprised at what I saw.
The thing is, in Thailand, these sorts of protests and mini political revolutions are about as common as seeing a military parade in North Korea or the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas– if you miss it, just wait around for another few hours.
Oh yeah, and they sell T-shirts. Lot’s of souvenirs, actually… something like “I went to the revolution in Thailand and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” sort of thing.
It’s widely expected that the outcome of the “Judgment Day” decision will result in nationwide protests and rioting, regardless of the outcome. That makes for a lot of t-shirt sales.
As you could imagine, foreign governments are totally overreacting. The British and US embassies are urging their citizens to exercise caution; and if there are wide-scale protests, you can count on the mainstream media to portray Thailand as a country coming apart at the seams.
Truthfully, Thailand will be just fine. Both foreigners and locals alike are accustomed to political instability… it’s par for the course in Thailand. Government or no government, Thailand is one of the most peaceful places on earth.
Case in point, Pattaya is probably the most international city per capita I have ever been to– Russians, Americans, Canadians, Brits, Germans, French, Thai, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Malaysians, Japanese, Aussies, Arabs, and Jews, all living in one place in complete harmony.
Why? Because they’re here for the same things– ultra-low cost of living, privacy, warm weather, quality medical care, high class lifestyle, and of course, cheap sex.
These factors trump politics any day of the week, and they won’t go away just because of a couple of protests.
If Thaksin is able to engineer a real revolution, he will make his return to Thailand. In the meantime, he is enjoying the fruits of having planted multiple flags and traveling around the world on second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth passports from friendly jurisdictions in the Caribbean, Asia, and Latin America.
Let’s talk about these later this week. Stay tuned.
Seriously… isn’t it time the investment community stopped listening to the rating agencies?
Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P– these are the usual suspects who completely missed the boat on the US sub-prime debacle. Back in 2005, they gave pristine credit ratings to risky mortgage portfolios stuffed full of borrowers who are notorious for not paying.
The recent debt crisis in Dubai underscores their irrelevance once again.
As I discussed earlier this week, Dubai’s flagship holding company announced that it had run out of cash and put a temporary stalemate on all debt payments. The announcement sent markets reeling and once again caught the rating agencies with their pants down.
It’s mystifying how these three groups, each with a long tradition of getting it completely wrong, are still considered relevant by the financial community.
Meanwhile, amid Comrade Bernanke’s reconfirmation hearings, the job summit, the estate tax extension, and the Afghanistan rollout, it has been quite a week.
These four events underscore some significant problems that are faced the United States: reckless monetary policy, inappropriate fiscal stimulus, a government budget crisis, and a disastrous war effort.
As I mentioned in this week’s letter on the conflict in Afghanistan, though, nothing will actually be accomplished other than more summits, hearings, and motivational speeches.
Sure, it would be nice to affect the system, but is it really worth spending one’s life fighting against a corrupt bureaucracy? Especially when so many ‘fellow citizens’ embrace the status quo, and most others are too uninformed to care? Ssssh… American Idol is on.
I’ve spent a great deal of time setting up a system that keeps me largely free of these headaches. I still close my eyes and shake my head on occasion, but it’s mostly like watching a bad sitcom. With a multiple flags approach, you have the ability to pick up the remote and change the channel.
On the subject, I received several questions from a letter I wrote earlier this week, outlining my top picks for Asia and Latin America (Chile, Panama, Colombia; and Malaysia, Philippines, and China).
The biggest question– why weren’t Uruguay and Thailand included on the list?
Thailand is a fantastic country, and I will be spending more time there next year. The problem is that it is difficult to reside in Thailand for the short-term and long-term.
Neighboring Malaysia gives 90-day, extendable tourist visas upon entry; Thailand is good for 15 to 30. Malaysia makes it easy to establish residency; Thailand only issues 100 permanent residency permits each year.
The property market in Thailand is also quite cumbersome, with significant restrictions on foreign ownership and a lot of sharks who will take advantage of foreigners.
Overall Thailand is a wonderful place, and there are ways around these challenges. But comparing price and hassle, I think Malaysia is a better value.
Uruguay is also great country and would probably be #4 on my list. I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from buying property or living there. In terms of value, available services, and lifestyle, though, I would pick Chile, Panama, or Colombia, mostly because Uruguay can be exceptionally sleepy.
And although I did not mention it in the original letter, I really like Ecuador as well.
The country is poor… very poor, but its local agriculture is spectacular– “all natural” is the only way they know how to produce.
This is of vital importance to me; I’m very careful about what I put in my body and think that the poison and hormone-filled foods in North America significantly contribute to poor health… and health, after all, is our most important asset.
We’re fortunate that world class physicians are available in places like Panama and Thailand for the price of a steak dinner, but as someone who has a natural aversion to doctors and hospitals, I tend to focus more on staying healthy. To me, this has a lot to do with food.
Aside from Ecuador, I’ve also noticed that Laos, Chile, New Zealand, and surprisingly China have a vast stock of organic and all-natural food products. Meanwhile I’m highly suspect of foods in Buenos Aires and Eastern Europe, especially at restaurants.
Of course, the hardest place to have a restaurant meal that isn’t served with a side of poison is in the US– probably the impact of corporate chains.
I recently bought an e-book though, for the whopping price of $29.95, that is the most comprehensive guide I’ve ever seen for all-natural restaurants in the US. I was really impressed, especially given the price– about 200 pages of listings, reviews, and pricing of just about every place you would want to eat, coast-to-coast.
If you travel frequently or just want to eat some good, poison-free food, you should check it out… as far as I can tell, the information simply isn’t available anywhere else– www.healthyeatshere.com
I was having breakfast this morning at my favorite Bangkok cafe– they do a delicious American breakfast with eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, and fresh fruit for under $3… and it’s delicious. For another $3 I could get a backrub while I eat.
As I was reading the local paper, something caught my eye in the business section– a full page ad for a real estate development about 2 hours outside of Bangkok. The development looked generic enough– another condo tower with a pretty view of the ocean, nothing special.
The catch? They are giving away a gold bar with each sale.
Particularly in tough times, sales managers come up with all sorts of gimmicks to improve their numbers. If the sales gimmick speaks to a specific need or concern in the marketplace, chances are it will probably succeed.
Tony looked the part– measuring tape draped over his shoulder, wire frame spectacles, and ashy hands that had been sullied by the chalk marks he had been making on my garments.
“SAHM SIP!” he said in Thai, announcing my 30-inch waist to an anxious-looking recorder. The fitting was almost over, and Tony’s crew was about to spend the rest of the evening cranking out an exquisite wardrobe of new clothes for me– pants, shirts, ties, blazer, and a new suit.
This is another great reason to come to Thailand… what I call, ‘cutting out the middle man.’
For about $1,000, you can completely redo your entire wardrobe; right down to custom-fitted underwear should you so choose. Throw in another $2k in travel expenses, and you have an amazing experience, all for the price of one nice suit in the western world.
It’s no secret that the vast majority of clothing retailers outsource their labor to cheap countries. There’s nothing wrong with this; if Canadians were doing it, a pair of socks would cost $12 in Toronto.
I was reading a menu, but I wasn’t in a restaurant.
Liposuction: $625
Tummy Tuck: $1,250
Breast Enlargement: $1,125
Sex change operation: $1,625
I did a double take. Yep, that wasn’t a misprint.
Thailand is renowned for a lot of things– beautiful beaches, crazy nightlife, political instability, etc. One of the things it should be better known for is medical tourism.
People often ask me because I travel so much, “Simon, what would you do if something happened to you– wouldn’t you be scared to go to a hospital in a foreign country?”
First of all, thanks to all the well-wishers (especially Dusty) after my accident… your concern is much appreciated, and I’m feeling a lot better.
Today I want to talk about real estate in Thailand, and particularly here in Pattaya. I’ve spent the last few days scouting property, and talking to agents, developers, and buyers. Overall, some aspects of the market are reasonably attractive in the long-term, but I need to give you a bit of background first.
In general, I dislike countries that place restrictions on foreign ownership… buying property in Panama, for example, is great. Foreign ownership is allowed and protected to the same extent as a local Panamanian’s. Plus, buying property can often lead to residency.
Thailand is completely different. Foreign ownership is limited by law, and this is a big negative to me. For people that are interested in moving here, though, the private sector has found a few ways around these restrictions.
First, a foreigner can establish a Thai company and buy property through that company. S/he would be the largest individual shareholder, but have to give up at least 51% of the company in order for the transaction to be legitimate. Usually a team of attorneys would be the remaining shareholders.
In this case, a buyer would clearly need to have a high degree of trust in the attorneys who are the legitimate controlling shareholders of the company and property.
I’m actually reporting tonight from bed-side in my hotel room; I managed to crash my $3/day motorcycle rental this afternoon, and between the cracked rib and other pleasantries, I’ve decided to call it an early evening.
Fortunately for me, Thailand has some of the best healthcare in the world, at least if you’re an expat and go to the several renowned and accredited private hospitals… but more on that in future letters. Tonight I thought I would sit down and specifically address some of your questions, which is something I have not done in some time:
Keith from Ontario recently asked, “Simon– where is your money when World War III starts?”
Good question. The emergency fund is in physical gold and silver, plus a lot of currency from about 40 different countries. I travel with quite a bit of it and keep the rest stashed away in some strategic locations around the world– you can read about these places in our free Gold Report.
I don’t believe that the world is going back to a barter or gold system anytime soon. Governments like having an inflatable fiat currency, and people have become too institutionalized on worthless paper money.
If there is a future cataclysmic event that causes a worldwide currency and financial meltdown, governments and financial markets will likely engineer a substitute quite quickly. In this case, gold and silver will have been fantastic investments, but likely not needed as a hard currency for the long-term.
As I was reading the local paper, something caught my eye in the business section– a full page ad for a real estate development about 2 hours outside of Bangkok. The development looked generic enough– another condo tower with a pretty view of the ocean, nothing special.