Tropical Heat Tour: Thailand Part 23
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Bangkok, Thailand
I took one last stab at seeing a dentist today, and decided on one called Asavanant, because it got good reviews on travel message boards. So, after long riverboat and SkyTrain rides, I got off at the Chong Nonsi station and walkd around for a few blocks looking for the place. I even sat down on some steps in the sweltering heat and checked my laptop, but I had already closed the tab with the map. So, just by chance, I walked into Silom Dental and the nice receptionist told me I had to get back on the SkyTrain and proceed to the Thong Lo stop. She even gave me a SkyTrain map. By now, it was rush hour, and the SkyTrain platforms and trains were absolutely sardine-packed to the gills. The first train that I saw was too jammed to board. Luckily, another one showed up a few minutes later. But, it too was completely filled to bursting. People were pressed up against each other on all sides.
When I descended the stairs, I wasn’t sure which way to go, and ended up walking in the wrong direction for a couple of blocks. Then I headed the other way through a thick crowd of people in a sidewalk market, bumping shoulders the whole way. When I arrived at the next main intersection, the huge sign for Asavanant revealed itself. Finally! I guess it would have been too easy for me to write down directions to begin with. It’s a big, fancy, clean place several stories tall with a grand piano in the lobby and impressionist and cubist art prints on the walls and in easels! Upstairs, the ladies at reception were nice, but again there was some confusion over the difference between root scaling and root planing.
After a long debate between myself, them and the dentist, I decided to just get a cleaning with the ultrasonic scaler under the gumline for $30. For some weird reason, following that up with the hand scaler would cost another $90, so I passed. The most important thing was just to get my gums cleaned out. The dentist did a good job, but seemed kind of rude overall, and annoyed whenever I asked a question before and after the procedure. One of the best things was the free bottles of cold water, which saved me from dehydrating to death. I was happy my teeth felt so clean afterward. And I got it done just in time on my last day in Thailand!
Roll over photos for captions.
Words and photos ©2012 Arcane Candy.