Hospitals that feel like hotels

Bangkok's big private hospitals, such as Bumrungrad and Bangkok Hospital, can feel like hotels: marble lobbies, coffee chains, interpreters for many languages and short waits. They are excellent and expensive, so one of the first questions at the counter is มีประกันไหม 'do you have insurance?'. Government hospitals have very good doctors and far lower fees, but expect queues from early morning, fewer English speakers and more forms. In between sit neighbourhood คลินิก, many open in the evening and run by doctors from the big hospitals, which are ideal for colds and minor injuries. Carry your passport and insurance card, and at a private hospital ask for an estimate before treatment; most will give one.