a new and exciting career in...medical tourism blogging?

i was looking up some tourist information since the happy grunt (and family) are coming to bangkok in a couple weeks and i ran across this:

a blogging contest for medical tourism in thailand!

medical tourism in thailand is hot.

as a foreigner, it's definitely been cheaper for me to get first-rate health care here paying out-of-pocket than it has been to be insured in the US. so it makes sense that the tourism board here would want to promote travel relating to medical procedures and health care.

my local hospital, vejthani, has a massive advertising campaign, soliciting clients worldwide. i even saw them doing "product placement" in thai soap operas. you know, some poor maiden is struck with some horrendous disease and while her nemesis profits from her illness by stealing her boyfriend, you rest assured that she'll improve because she's staying at vejthani. phew!

it's a super long shot for me and my meager blog, but i figured, why not give it a shot. this is exactly the reason why i got a public health degree. thanks, johns hopkins!

thai bread balloon

"pung weii...heii!"

ปังเว้ยเฮ้ย

western and eastern bread were not created equal. while western bread prizes the development of crust, tooth-someness, and a certain yeastiness, eastern bread delights in airiness, velvety oiliness, and what you can stuff in it.

this is the bread made to addict the thai palate.

"pung weii...heii" makes football-sized buns and loaves that bake up to a fluffy balloon packed (yes, really packed) with fillings. sweet fillings include red bean, blueberry, vanilla cream, raisins, taro, corn, coconut, and chocolate almond among others. savories include pork floss (who knows what else to call it. we chinese call it "ro-song"), tuna salad, ham and cheese, sausage, ham salad, and red pork. before you poo-poo this place as ordinary or un-noteworthy, just try it. i've already been twice this week and have daydreamed about what to try next.

while this place is out of the way (unless you live near a branch), there is a constant flow of people coming to buy regardless of the fact that there is no seating and you have to eat it in your car or take it home. or if you're impatient like me, inhale it immediately before you have a chance to figure out what to do next. who needs seating?

i've had the red bean, taro, and pork floss buns and i'm hooked. each bun is totally heavy because of how much junk they stuff inside. the taro bun was like a paperweight. the pork floss loaf had like a dense brick of pork floss inside. the sweet buns weren't too sweet and very fresh. this is the stuff dreams are made of. of course, while there are so many flavors to choose from, there are several i will NOT be trying - like "butter"!?!? and the "mixed fruit" bun is just stuffed with candied fruit chunks used in fruitcake.

every bun is a steal at 20B. so while you may feel guilty about eating five loaves, your wallet won't.

"pung weii...heii!" (ปังเว้ย...เฮ้ย!)

kaset-nawamin (new) @ marker 138 (it's the road btw nawamin sois 74 & 76, there's a mcdonalds on the corner)

085-444-0580

8am-10pm

other locations:

*town in town (02-539-2119)

*ratchayothin (02-513-5570)

*wachraphon intersection (086-996-9447)

*laksi (02-521-4107)