Hernia fixed! And.....the food of Thailand

I recently had my hernia (acquired about a year ago) fixed at a GREAT clinic in Bangkok, Thailand. My health insurance covers care in any country EXCEPT the US, so I had to go somewhere else. The clinic I visited was absolutely amazing--like a fancy hotel! The doctor was great and the procedure was quick, basically painless and now I'm almost 100% better! I won't dwell on my health matters, but thought I'd give people an update and a plug for Bumrungrad Clinic--if you ever want high-quality health care literally a fraction of the cost as the US, take a vacation to Bangkok!
We had a break from school (for Eid Al-Adha) so I took 9 days in Bangkok to receive the care and recover. Needless to say, it wasn't a very exciting trip for me, but I did get to eat some really great food and I got photos of ~some of it~.

First, I had a GIANT, crispy delicious dosa and an amazing mint lhassi at an Indian restaurant--it was as wide as the entire table and light as air!

The sauces are from left to right: coconut chutney, pudina (mint/coriander) chutney, veg/daal and sambal.

Another evening, a couple other faculty who were also traveling in Bangkok and I went to a Korean BBQ. Of course I forgot to get a photo when the meat was actually on the grill, but here's one 'before' shot of all the tasty side-dishes that come: (I have no idea what this stuff is, but I love the surprise flavors and that I can't identify most of it!)

And here's the grill and table after all our food was cooked and we were almost finished eating:
It was some of the best Korean food I've ever had.

Here's one shot of a very typical open-air food market where lots of people come in waves throughout the day.
I had some VERY tasty noodles here one afternoon.

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Shahirah and I went to lunch at a GREAT Thai restaurant that was also for a good cause. It's called Cabbages and Condoms. Their proceeds go towards projects such as AIDs prevention and family planning, among other things. The restaurant had a beautiful, outdoor garden seating area--here are Shahirah and I enjoying the fountain, plants and cool drinks:

This photo is day 2 after my surgery, and I walked quite a ways down to the restaurant, so I think I was doing pretty good!
One of my favorite aspects of the garden area was that the plants were labeled ;-)

Here are our refreshing drinks and shrimp chips:
And a most amazing traditional Thai appetizer--I don't know what it was called, but it had toasted coconut, dry shrimp, lime, onion, peanuts and some other magical flavors with a sweet/spicy sauce. Then you wrap it all up in a betel leaf (a slight peppery/sharp taste) and eat it. It was really really tasty!

The rest of the food was also very good--a fried-to-the-max fish, spicy ground chicken salad and our favorite--green papaya salad!
When the bill came, they didn't give us mints, but a condom each! How appropriate.

Around the garden, there were many different mannequins with outfits fashioned completely out of.....you guessed it....
.....condoms! (you can click on all these photos to see much larger versions)

And for a smile on the way out, the following take-what-you-want condom dispenser with two version:
"What's the difference between the Republican and the Democrat?", you ask?--the Republican's are smaller, of course!

If you're ever in Bangkok, I highly recommend it--Soi 12 off Sukhumvit.