Doctor808 Plastic Surgeon Honolulu Hawaii

I went to Korea some time ago,  perhaps  1 year and met some marvelous Korean Cosmetic Surgeons. I was the invited instructor to teach my technique in Buttock Augmentation. It was a great country and I was of course happy to have my way paid and teach some plastic surgery technique.  Well many of the doctors asked me if they could spend some time in my clinic to observe and learn.

This brings me to Dr. Yeom who had our mutual contact who I know as “Maverick” had emailed me about his desire to come here. In fact I knew he was sincere in his quest to learn more from me. The reason was when I was in Korea he could not speak English so he spent the last year learning English so he could communicate here.

Troy Wilson, Dr. Yeum, ME

He arrived about two weeks ago, unfortunately the clinic is slow,  but we did have enough cases to keep him occupied. So he learned enough to make his trip worth while. We performed several breast augmentation surgeries and he assisted and learned some technique. He also observed Rhinoplasty some facial surgeries and liposuction.

Dr. Yeum has his own clinic in Korea which he names Dr. Beauty Clinic. The problem is he says no one in Korea knows the english term “beauty”, so he is unsure of how effective it is. Never the less Dr. Yeum likes the term so he will keep it.

I have met a lot of plastic and cosmetic surgeons in my 20 years in the field and I must say he is indeed one of the most pleasant I have met. For me as teacher of techniques it was a nice experience, Additionally Dr. Yeum taught some of his non-surgical techniques to me. During his visit we had a new product come in called Dysport. Dysport is now a FDA approved competitor to Botox cosmetic sold by Allergan. Both products are similar yet we had no experience with Dysport. Well with Dr. Yeums visit we had an experienced Dysport teacher for myself and the staff. It seems that dysport has been used in Korea for about 3 years while we just received approval here this year. So we were able to get the scoop and all the insight on the use.  Another potential aspect of Dysport which we learned and actually now have tried on a few patients is something called “dermatox lift” we call it a” dysport lift” until I complete my study of this and then I will give it a catchy name. We noted that by injecting small amounts of Dysport in the dermis ( skin ) it produces a lifting of the skin. This by no means is like a surgical face lift,  but indeed all agreed that they could see a slight lift on all the patients we tried. Originally when Dr. Yeum mentioned this we thought it sounded very strange. Yet when he demonstrated the technique we were all amazed.  I will be writing more about this technique later once our “mini-study” is completed but initial indications are it looks very good.

One more thing about Dr. Yeum is that he likes karaoke and he can really really sing. In fact we were amazed at his wonderful voice.

Dr Yeum as lounge singer !!

Well all I can say is that this was impressive even though he sang a Korean Song which I could not understand. I think he is a baratone. Everyone at our table and entire strangers were simply amazed. The one musician with our group stated that Dr. Yeum missed his calling and should have been a singer instead of a doctor.

I agree though he seemed to be a good doctor as well.

His visit ended with our presentation of certificate stating that he completed a two week preceptorship in cosmetic surgery at our clinic.

We will be having other surgeons visit our clinic in the furture as we have in the past for learning and exchanging the latest techniques. This is always enjoyable and educational.

Doctor808

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Well its been several months since my last Muay Thai fight. I was pretty banged up because of the unorthodox fight it turned out to be and probably my age is catching up to me. It takes much longer to heal and recover when your older. That I have noticed.  I have only been doing some basic cardio since the fight. So I have been very very LAZY. I went to Prague CZ and Amsterdam as well as Geneve as I previously wrote. I became very ill for 5 days there with a dental abscess, this virtually wiped me out. In fact,  I was so ill that I turned pale white, dropped my blood pressure and pulse rate of 144 at one point. Finally in I found a dentist after a root canal that failed earlier  in Praque and dentist who extracted the tooth. My training’s schedule was thrown off and well, the old laziness set in. So for the last few weeks I have been trying to gather up the energy to get going again and now I am ready.

Here I go again

I will share with my kind readers my training this time. I will show you details on how I transform myself. Although I am a plastic surgeon and have been accused of creating artificial beauty through unnatural means -plastic surgery. I do know one thing. The best transformation is through physical training and proper diet. If I document this maybe a few of my dear readers will see an interesting transformation and be inspired.

Well I feel rather anxious about exposing myself on the Internet so I better pull this off. If not you will see what a failure I can be or not. Then I suppose my dear readers you will not be inspired.

One can accomplish so much with exercise and diet in improving ones appearance that it amazes me. Yet of course exercise does not always work. for example a woman has had a baby and her skin stretches and will not retract,  a tummy tuck may be in order. Yet combined with exercise its always better. The results of a person exercise plus plastic surgery is very good.

Yet with pure exercise you can accomplish a lot. Take for example the two photos below which are of  the same person:

The above picture illustrates well what can be changed with exercise in about 12 weeks without plastic surgery. There is no magic only discipline. This was accomplished with 3 – 4 nights a week of kickboxing training. No weight training was done with this transformation. Yet diet played a huge role as well. The one on the left has hair and the one on the right does not but the difference can be still seen.

Not only does the body benefit but the facial features do as well. Lets look at the many faces of the same person as seen  below. Hairstyles, weight changes and of course lightening can enter in the picture all can change appearance a lot as well.

Different People or Different levels of exercise ???

These pictures of yours truly were not taken like ten years apart although some were a two years or so ago. Yet the surprising thing is that the younger looking pictures were taken after some of the older pictures. To really illustrate this look at the facial picture below:

Latest Picture less than 3 months ago

I was training for a muay thai fight in the above picture so my physical condition and shape were at the top in the scale. As you can  see the face is more youthful. The point of this is that good exercise and diet can make for great changes that plastic surgery cannot.

Well to give my readers an idea of my training to undertake I will begin tomorrow with 1 hour of surf & swimming and then to work. After work I will go to my Muay Thai training as noted in this blog elsewhere. The training will be about two – three hours of jump rope, bag drills and other normal activities like 100 sit ups. That will be enough for first day back. I will add weight training and other activities as I go along for the next few months.

Most important is diet. This has to be individualized for each person. What works for me may not work for you. So for example I am very carbohydrate sensitive so to lose weight I have to approach an extremely low carbohydrate intake. So I switched to complex carbs like oat meal in the morning. Resistance training is very important to lose weight as you have to shift to having a higher percentage of muscle. To build muscle you must use resistance training like weight lifting. The reason why this is so important to weight loss is something called Basal Metabolic Rate. That is the rate you burn calories when not doing anything. So since fat burns no calories in this basal state and muscle does burn calories when doing nothing. You want to keep your muscle up and your fat down.

Well we will let you know dear reader how this goes. I will make updates over the next 12 weeks or so. My weight now is 192 lbs and body fat is about 15%. I need to get down to around 9-11% and 180Lbs.

Plastic Surgery can do a tremendous amount as well. Liposuction makes the job of looking better easier. If men for example have that spare tire around the waist. They can loose that with proper exercise and diet. The problem is in some people when they do lose that their face is so thin or other parts of their body become so thin it does not look right. They look like a skeleton except around the waist. These people are the perfect candidates for liposuction in that specific area.

Well as stated I will keep you informed and hope I can inspire some of my readers to get up and exercise.

doctor808

Time to Load up the Hummer for camping !

Well we now have the big plans together and this will be interesting. The entire office staff has agreed to go as a giant family for an overnight camping trip. I am not sure whose idea it was but we all agreed to do this.  This big event will occur the weekend after next and we will go to the North Shore of Hawaii on Friday and stay overnight in the darkness of star studded sky.

Well I think the issue here is the mix of people that will be going some never been camping in their lives. Yet everyone voted today to go. Families and friends are invited , children , grandmothers and fathers whomever wants to come is welcome.

The main event will be food , maybe some volleyball and maybe some exploration of the North Shore. Yet the underlying event is the exploration of each other outside the natural habitat of work. Who will shine and who will be the leaders and the followers or the complainers or what have you. Out of the “natural office habitat” it sure will be revealing and perhaps entertaining.

I have my coleman stove, my coleman lantern and my tents with sleeping bags. I know how to be comfortable outdoors, but I wonder who in my office will not be ? They cannot fight over the air conditioning being too low or too high so what will be the issue in this 36 hours of isolation.  I will be sure to keep you informed.

I hope this plastic surgeon can see this

My main goal is to see a starry night with out city lights. You may know what I am talking about where the pitch blackness is pierced by about a million billion small twinkles of light. The shooting stars and all that you can see. This is peacefully to me. I hope its a clear night.

I have not been camping probably in 4 years way too long. So I am really looking forward to this. We must get all the stuff ready such as

* Sleeping bag, camping chairs, extra blankets and cushions

* Tent, pegs , poles, bungi cord, shovel , hammer , axe

*  Ice cooler, Ice, Food, camping dishes,coleman stove, coleman lanterns, flash light , fuel,

I am sure I will forget something but thats ok. Although we pretend we are roughing it the seven-eleven store is 15 minutes away.

Well in the office lately,  we have been carrying on as usual , liposuction , breast augmentation and today we removed a nasal implant from a Japanese gal who had her surgery in Japan 3 weeks ago from a famous clinic. The implant had come through the skin on the bridge of her nose .  When this occurs the implant ( made of silicone) must come out. Of course being a student traveler she had little money so I am forcing her to pay me,  by writing content for some of Internet Japanese web sites. I could not leave her with an infected nose so I made that deal.  This happens. We are in a resort city and people come from all over the world. My question is why if she had the 3000 or 4000 to pay the surgeon who put it in …..why do I get stuck with the end result. Well to answer I do live in a resort and these things happen all the time. No one could predicted this. So I hope she is good writer. We will see.

Speaking of Japanese our new Japanese Plastic Surgery Web Site is being worked on now ハワイ美容整形.  This site when completed will be a good example of our ability to design web sites in Multiple Languages for plastic surgeons. The graphics are very nice but we also seek to capture the Japanese mind.

Doctor808

I read a lot of blogs about Plastic Surgery for many reasons. First ,  I like to keep in touch with the public opinions, what is hot and what is not in the field of plastic surgery and plastic surgeons. Second, I have a web design company and SEO  firm .In simple terms it is an Internet marketing/advertising company to promote business on the Internet. We handle  from design to promotion at 3d-plasticsurgery.com . So I need to know as much about blogging as is possible. How can I advise my clients if I  don’t know? The third reason is that I enjoy many of these blogs purely as entertainment.

Since I am an nternational plastic surgeon and my internet company is international,  in that we have capability for  multiple languages both in my plastic surgery office,  as well as web company ,  I read blogs in other languages.  Yet as my readers know, I barely can read some Romaji Japanese at this point, so how do I do that?  Well I use translations software.  On my Mac , I have a button on the browser that if for example I am reading  this blog:

「ハワイ美容整形外科」　豊胸・二重・脂肪吸引・フェイスリフト・フォトフェイシャル・レーザー脱毛・スキンケア

Which says something to the effect of Hawaii Cosmetic Surgery I click on my translate button and whoopee— its in english!  It is not accurate in Japanese , but I get the idea what the author is talking about. It works much better for simplified Chinese and European languages these are clearly translated . Unfortunately Nihongo is not so easy.

The blog to the left is about various aspects of Plastic Surgery in Hawaii, notably my practice. The  interesting issues about these Japanese Blogs is the bloggers. The culture it seems takes a more ” diary “approach to their blogs. They are heavily scattered with a lot of insight into the bloggers mind. I wonder if this is due to the nature of Japanese culture,  where there is the public face and then the face which is hidden. That means that there has been pressure on Japanese society to all stay within some very confined limits. The nail that sticks out,  gets hammered down so to speak. So the blog especially if anonymous or a written in psuedo-name. allows for greater freedom of expression.

On the other hand the American Blogs are more expressive of individualism it seems and its about the author and what he or she thinks should be said and DIRECTLY. As example , I will tell you I am the best plastic surgeon in Hawaii and perhaps the world (said with tonque in cheek) but the Japanese are more subtle and have a certain humble aspect so they would not say that.

If this is good or not,  you have to judge for your self , but I believe this is what I see when comparing the blogs by Japanese writers and American Writers about Plastic Surgery or other topics such as Hawaii vacations and the like.

Another aspect I note about American Blogs is they are usually very commercial, as many blogs are becoming. In my case of www.doctor808.com which is a mixed plate of Web stuff , Plastic Surgery, Travel and Muay Thai I tend to simply bring the reader into various aspects of my life so they can perhaps figure some of these things out how they help. I also enjoy entertaining and as my readership continues to grow I get more comments to my email.

Yet there is a commercial aspect to this blog as well. It is one I have discovered indirectly which does help with my internet company. That is the value of blogs to help gain ranking in google. This is pure advertising but it works great. Some SEO blogs really give the reader nothing in return meaning that their purpose is to gain rank or clicks and earn accordingly. It is well documented that this adds to how well a web site will rank in google. As mentioned in an earlier post about ethics of some these internet companies I strongly disagree with the making your blog for pure commercial benifits as does google. So I think of it more as two way street. I try ot bring good information, written by me as well as entertainment to my readers. In return my blog becomes valuble and the commercial aspect comes with that. That is difference between my blog and the blogs my company promotes and the borderline fraud of some blogs out there who write nothing but keywords and seek to try and obtain rank only. They are rather ruthless with no redeeming value.

At any rate, I suppose my point is lets keep the internet clean to some degree and in doing so we can have our own interest in mind as well. You have to give to get I suppose and I dont think there is anything wrong with that. Yet taking all the time is another story I will save for another blog. Seems many Americans are turning into takers more than givers these days. It gets back to the golden rule of treat others as you would be treated.

doctor808

One of the more interesting things living in Hawaii is the soldiers , sailors , marines and their dependents. I was in the military as many of my readers know, in fact I was in some high speed units as infantry , as well as doctor. I really miss the military and now basically live through the tales and the sharing of these stories by  those who just got back from Afghanistan or Iraq.

Can you guess who this is?

One problem I noticed was the concern to pass the military tape test. This is some diabolical method by which the military member is judged if they are too fat or not ,for the promotion or retention board. It never ceases to amaze me the super fit GI who would come in my office  having  failed his tape test because his neck -waist line ratio was off.  Yet he looked like godzilla and or Mr. America muscle bound. Yet that is the way it goes some time, the tape test has been determined to be fair and the best way. There are also those who just have an abnormal area of too many fat cells which throw the tape off.

Well for those types I am always happy as most times I can change that, really change the results on the next tape test. They get their promotion or pass the standard and everyone is happy! Plastic Surgeon is happy, Military member is happy, Commander is happy and life is good and I am the hero plastic surgeon.  The reason why it works so well,  is that it simply is taking inches off the problem area,  typically its the waist on men, hips on woman and the liposuction does the job. Get rid of those inches. The 25 th infantry here in Honolulu Hawaii I see often enough and some of the Primary Care Docs have sent me their soldiers.  However,  I will not pick on the Army,  the Navy is more often the ones who come in. I guess navy ships food is very good.

Yet I shall not forget the marines, these tough guys are the ones who are most often the most nervous about the procedure. It seems the bigger they are the more nervous they are. Liposuction may make them nervous but the tape test is anxiety can be worse !

Well back to the quiz of who the guy who is loading mortar shells in the picture. Its the same guy who is the picture below on the far left. Yes thats me. I am on the far left of your screen actually the only American as a “military advisor”. I could tell you where but then I would have to ……..you

Doctor808 19 years ago----can you guess where?

doctor808

Life transitions amaze me. I graduated private catholic school, had my first date , army, college ,medical school and married lived through conflicts between countries and so on. Next was practice and for me next will be retirement. Life is quick , you blink and its over.

Front: Dr.Lee, Dr. Flowers-Back: Dr. Peterson, Dr. Pasquale

Tonight was one of those nights that make me think about   “the speed we go through life” and done. No more –game over!

One of my teachers who is also my friend is on his way to the next step which is retirement.  But first let me tell you who I am talking about my Dear Reader. In the picture above you will see three younger ( over 45 all of us ) and one older gentleman. The elder in the crowd the only one  world famous is Dr. Robert Flowers.  The Asian man is Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Charles Lee , behind him is Honolulu Plastic Surgeon Dr. Robert Peterson and then there is ME.

Now as I was saying life is stages and life is quick. Dr. Flowers is leaving Hawaii and entering his retirement phase. After becoming a true  icon in the world of Plastic Surgery he has decided to leave. Its a field he has loved,will always love and  one that he has made dynamically change and will forever live in plastic surgery history.  I can speak for the other two younger ones and we agree he has influenced our lives. We learned from him, we listened to him, talked about him and admired him. Sometimes even mad at him , or laughed with  him…….but always felt awe and respected him.

The reason us three Charlie, Bob and myself were out with him tonight is because of a special relationship from the last ten years. Charlie ( the asian ) Bob ( the one behind charlie)  and me have all “hung out” if that is what you call it. Like college roommates in the world of plastic surgery we chat all the time, compare notes, teach each other tricks and gossip behind each others back in good humor.  We were all in Dr. Flowers office as a group at one time. We know each other well. Dr. Flowers  was always the father figure to some degree to us. We were the prodigal sons at times, other times the we were the younger ones helping out the family or something like that.  In a nut shell we know each others secrets, strengths and weaknesses. Yet even when competitors in the same community I suppose it was never like that, never felt that and I appreciate that.

Dr. Charles Lee left the Hawaii family on to La and then to Beverly Hills , Dr. Bob Peterson  and I stayed as we have always been more established here as Dr Lee is the younger brother.  This is my take on things. What does it meant? It just seems interesting that many years ago we were planning a group practice which broke up for various reasons and now much later we are all sitting at dinner , as a family.  When a group practice breaks up to most doctors its like a bad divorce. When this group departed it was more like kids leaving home to make it on their own. The home being the group. That does not happen often in the medical setting. Yet it did this time and I think I know the reason. It has something to do with Dr. Flowers. His presence seems to prevent any bad feelings only good memories.

I recall one day I was in a local hardware store looking for some tool to fix my car. Up pops Dr. Flowers and with a grin on his face says to me….”Michael looking for some new instruments for surgery?”  Well funny I thought, many surgeons of his era proabally did just that. Found useful items to use in surgery in a hardware store back before it became a modern industry. When he started there was not much in the way of plastic surgery instruments and many like him fashioned their own. Today my generation has everything for them spoiled we are. Yet at the same time he was lucky, he did not have everything prepackaged so creative ability  was exercised more easily. Such  a great time in history to be a plastic surgeon.

Finally I am sad to have him leave Hawaii. He was great for advice for myself and Dr. Peterson as he was only up a 6 floors from my office and few blocks from Dr. Peterson’s Office.  We lose a senior surgeon locally but he has a phone where he is going I suppose.

Doctor808

American Eagle

Today we completed http://www.militaryplasticsurgery.com which is our newest web site creation for Plastic Surgery and Military Members ( yes including military discounts) . Appropriate I would say for the 4th of July!

Military Plastic Surgery Website

Many Americans hardly know anymore why we celebrate the 4th of July. This day in 1776 is thought (although there is some debate) that the Declaration of Independence was made and signed. The story is very interesting, in that the founding fathers of the USA were taking an extreme risk to  discuss such a thought as to gain independence from the British Empire. They easily could have been hung or drawn and quartered for such treasonous act.  We today in the USA forget how much freedom we have now ,to say what we want and to discuss freely ideas. This simply was not possible in 1776.  A person who spoke against the King of England at that time could have paid for his or her words with his or her life. It is unfortunate today we have taken our freedom for granted and there is high risk of  losing that freedom . President Reagen said we are only at any time one generation from losing our freedom.

Our military , the young men and woman who serve to protect that freedom seem to be a group who know well what freedom lost can mean. They have seen it with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears in Afghanistan,. Iraq and elsewhere,  the misery brought on by dictatorship and years of lack of freedom. We need to really look around and see the world as it is, learn history and current events and see what leads to loss of freedom to prevent that from happening here. It can happen and is happening as you read this. The Romans did not notice either,  until it was too late and they lost their republic. It seems a republic ( USA is not a democracy , never was but  a republic) like ours can only last maybe two hundred years…??

I just hope our young people will take the time to really learn something about our history, not just about what is cool or the trend of the day. I do both so can you. You can do cool things and learn history , keep current at the same time.

Plastic Surgeons 4th of July

On the fourth of July, this plastic surgeon does what many Americans will do, that is barbecue outdoors. In fact,  I just finished two of the most juicy hamburgers I have ever known. I cooked them myself on my lanai on a charcoal grill. I dont care for the gas grills which are popular, it just does not taste the same. Also we had pork-n-beans and potato chips with a side of pickles,,,hmmm good.

I don’t eat that way often,  other wise I would need liposuction myself,  but on occasional holiday its fine. Its a sorta of traditional issue on the 4th of July for this plastic surgeon in  Hawaii. I wonder if the military in Afghanistan and Iraq are having hamburgers and hot dogs too?

I think many are and we hope they are safe!

So for any of my readers who follow this blog either for Muay Thai Kickboxing , for Web design or Plastic Surgery in Hawaii—yes its cool,  but lets take a minute and really appreciate what today is. Take a few minutes and look up some facts about Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin and others who signed that declaration on this day in 1776. It a day that changed  the world.

doctor808

Military Plastic Surgery and Plastic Surgery In Hawaii

Many of you may not known I was in the military for many years. I spent most of time  in the reserves. In fact, I spent a lot of that time with the 20th special forces group which at the time was a reserve unit (NG) and we were based out of Maryland. During my time I met some of the greatest people anyone could meet, dedicated, smart. most spoke at least two languages.

As a plastic surgeon in Hawaii I meet many military members and their families from the marines , the army and navy as well as special operations. I always share with them war stories and understand their military life. It was some of the best experiences I have had. As a Hawaii plastic surgeon we also have patients from Guam, Japan and Korea who are in the American Military. Interesting to note we have many patients who fly back in have their plastic surgery in Hawaii and fly back to their Pacific bases.

I think one of the most interesting time,  was when we received 6 emails from Afghanistan from 6 female soldiers who some how had heard about us. They all flew back at the same time when their tour of duty ended and we performed 6 breast augmentations,  Wow —talk about beautifying the country. In a more serious light my hat goes off to these dedicated individuals who sacrifice for our freedom in some of the most harshest conditions on earth. I think 4th of July coming up is an excellent time to salute them. They are in hearts and minds as they serve heroically.

Our web development company has even devoted a web site specifically to these service members about plastic surgery and we offer a discount. This can be found at www.militaryplasticsurgery.com . This web site about military and plastic surgery will offer discounts and address some of  the issues we have seen. So Please take a look.

doctor808

 As I mentioned last post,  I would give you some details on Thailand. specifically Bangkok,  instead of about my reasons for going. To review–I go to train in Muay Thai and to reassess my life and changes-much like a retreat. Yet many of you may not be interested in that. So you want to know more about Bangkok? Well allow me to be your eyes.

First Bangkok,  Thailand is huge population, Estimated people in the city during business hours is 15 million ( yes the official census is  8 million, not counting ilegals). Its a city of where you can find anything….legal, illegal, moral , amoral what ever your fancy. You want high class —well its there, you want low class scum its there too. Yet most Thai people are like anywhere else. They go to work , come home and see their families and then go to work again.

A lot has been written about the sex trade,  but that is probally less of a percentage than any other American or European City probably , its  just more open and visible. One of my plastic surgery colleques wife has claimed she will never allow her husband to go Thailand becasue of the sex trade. Well I have news for her, go down to Wakiki in Honolulu and anything you have in Thailand is right here. Even though that is what many times is written about, believe me its not what Bangkok is about. 

In the many years I have been going there,  I have met some of the most interesting people on earth. These range from local Thais,  such as our friend who is the daughter of ex-Thai diplomat who speaks 3 languages fluently, educated in the best American and European Universities to my Muay Thai instructor who has no education except Muay Thai and his one travel experience is to fight in Switzerland. Japanese business people to American retiree’s are all there. They come for the change and to do business in the Kingdom. A Kingdom it is ..do not speak in negative manner about the King or his family or you may end up in jail.

Yet I think the best way to understand this place is to see photos. A picture is worth a thousand words they say, so I will show you some with some comments.

Beggars are seen as with most of South East Asia on the street.

The poverty around is seen , yet when you think about it its not a “bad poverty”.Many of these beggars are actually brought in by Asian mafia to work and earn money from other countries. Sad to see, but at least they are not starving as you will see in some African countries. Most Thais have an excellent diet. Fruits and street food such as grilled chicken are abundant and very very cheap. No one starves in Thailand. The weather is tropical so no one freezes and did you know the government clinics provide health care at least  the basics. Yet at the same time there is no welfare as we know it in the west so everyone works or there is no help except from churches or the like. This I think is good, they do not have generations of welfare recipients who are dependant on the State as virtual slaves.

Overall to be a “poor person” in Thailand is not that bad from what I can see. Maybe you will not own a car, but people are happy for the most part , eat well and respect each other. Certainly most of us  would rather have that,  then be a member of some street gang in L.A. California. Life is simple and its a world of difference here to be poor than to be some inner American City poor. At least that is the way I see it.

The life in Thailand is easy going, land of smiles most happy. Seems it has never changed much in many many years. 

Little Fish drying in sun

There is food all over Thailand sold on the street and cheap. I calculated to survive you can live on about 1 us dollar a day. Not at Starbucks or the fancy places but you can live. That’s for food. Rent I do not know what the cheapest way to go is for living.

Communication is easy,  they are used to tourist and English is spoken by enough. Yet to accomplish something complex maybe need a good translator. Most activities do not require complex language. All the street vendors and sales people know how to tell you english numbers like “thirty two baht” instead of ”sahm-sip sorng baht” which is 32 in Thai. So that money is not a problem when you want to buy something. 

You can buy anything in Bangkok. They have the best department stores with all the brands if your into that or the weirdest stores and street shops in the world with everything from fried insects to your favorite flavor in ice creme. Its all there and if you look you can truly find anything you could possibly want.

One area which is easy for new tourist is called Kao San Road and this is shown in the picture below. This is one of the main “back packer” areas with all types of tourist. There are lot of hostels there and the crowd is mostly Caucasian hip types and a few from Korea and Japan. The Thais there are mainly to sell what they can to these tourist. I don’t care for that area much because its a tourist spot and I like the natural environment of the Thais.

Want to buy sunglasses??

Yet there is a lot for tourist to do. Temples are all over the place and historic places to see.  The textile industry with Thai silk is excellent as is the gold and precious stone shops all over.  You can check any travel book on Thailand and find the current districts to shop in for what you want. 

As for me,  I do not buy much so I can not offer such advice and if I were to buy gold or jewels I would probably be ripped off. I don’t know that industry so I stay away but for people who do know it can be a bonanza.

Its a circus like atmosphere in some places day and night

The places you go will depend on what you want to do. The tourist areas are like a three ring circus. So many people selling the strangest stuff and westerners drinking beer.  This will be 24 hours a day in some places as with so many people arriving at all times of day and night it never stops.

The night life as in night clubs and discos etc are endless as well. There are the “entertainment districts where you can buy ladies ( if they are ladies) such as nana plaza a real western man hang out for those seeking cheap female company.  There are traditional disco and DJ music places for Thais and westerners to enjoy music and drink. Personally when I travel I prefer the places that the local people go. There are two night clubs I have found suitable to my taste. One is the Q-bar and the other is Hollywoods. The Q bar is owned by a guy from New Jersey who opened his first club in Viet Nam until he was run out of there and now he is Bangkok. We have had drinks together a few times and his place does sport some of the best Dj’s in South East Asia. The HollyWoods is almost 100 percent Thai.  I go sometime and have been welcomed by the Thais. Its fun to watch the Thai Stage show with their version of go go dancers  ( not nude) and music and light show is very good . The most unnerving thing is to to the rest room. There a guy will come up to you as you stand in front of the Urinal doing your thing and he will give your back a massage. Its weird but apparently accepted by the Thais. You must tip him of course. For you that are less adventurous stick to the Q bar. Yet for me what is the point in traveling if your going to a place you could go to a similar place like in your home town.

HollyWoods Night Spot

There are so many bars and night spots in Bangkok ranging from the  most eloquent sophisticated to the most simple girly beer bars.  The variety in my opinion surpasses New York and Tokyo where I have spent a lot of time.  So like shopping in Bangkok, the night life is ….what ever you want to find its there–its there!

My advice to you don,t be afraid to check out some place which is not for tourist. You should be polite and when in Rome live like the romans not like the American ,Japanese or European that you may be.  Thais are very nice people but of course always use common sense as far as safety goes, I have found Bangkok safer than most American cities by far.

How to get to various places is the huge challenge for most visitors. Try to get some help to explain to Taxi drivers where your going. The sky train is excellent and easy to use, but is very limited on where you can go in Bangkok. The water taxi is little more difficult to use but its what so many Thais use and I found it cuts hours off my travel time.  The Thai people get a kick out of watching an American travel by Water Taxi.

Well there is so much to do in Bangkok and so much written on the internet I do not want to bore you with these things yet I hope I gave you a little insight into Bangkok. As stated the pictures tell more than my words So here are a few more….

draw your own conclusions

Few Speak English here

There is something very special about Thailand.  To me its my retreat, an inner sanctum of self inspection and evaluation of my life and simply an escape. When I get off the plane here I am surrounded by people who I cannot communicate with due to the fact I do not speak Thai and few speak English. Yet I have  misspoken in that we do communicate the basics–go here, buy this, how much is that etc etc. Yet there is no substantive conversations. This is good for me. I don’t have to talk or think about others much.

In my real world that is all I do is think about others and put a lot of effort into communication. “What do you mean you want a natural looking breast”  I have to ask when a patient tells me they want that. Its all about communication. Thats what we in plastic surgery must do if we are to have a happy patient. What one lady thinks is a “natural breast” is another ladies vision of saggy breast. Again its all about communication and Thailand to me is a place of little communication and lack of need to communicate for me. So its a good thing.

Pool at Condo-no talking here

I recall the first time I came here and found the Muay Thai Gym and how no instructor spoke English. Yet they taught me with hand signs, grunts and other noises with many facial expressions thrown in. If I did something wrong they had no difficulty in letting me know. They did this by making an angry face and when I did good they showed a happy face. To instruct me the right way they simply did a demonstration using themselves and I copied their movements. Simple. practical and it worked. I think in plastic surgery the same applies. Words are inadequate so we allow the patients to demonstrate to us with pictures what they consider a natural breast. Simple and practical with few words.

It is also a good place for me to think about people I know as I seem so far away from them. My wife is here but we dont talk so much after 20 years of marriage. Of course we talk about what we need to. Yet after that time of being around each other for well over 20 years,  we know what each other will say, like it or not. We know. So relationships with workers or friends– is a good time to revaluate. I am not in the middle of things and can see much more clearly—is this person really a good worker? Should I stay in a business relationship with this person or that person? These type of things are always resolved by the time I leave Thailand. I think about what I should do then I decide and then do it.

River Taxi no talking here either

What I actually do in Thailand is pretty basic. On this trip our company Thaidox LTD is getting ready to launch and I am going through the business process and set up. That is my web development company which is based here in Bangkok. So I take care of that. Doing business in Thailand is not easy nor is it as crazy as some would have you believe. One must get used to the Thai way of doing things. This is not different from getting used to doing things the Hawaii way. I came out of New York City so adapting to the Thai way is certainly easier than adapting from New York to Hawaii. 

The other thing I concentrate on here in Thailand is training in Muay Thai. Every afternoon around 2pm I get on a river taxi, which is a long boat made to run in the canals for a 15 minute ride to my Muay Thai gym. I usually spend about three hours a day with this. I also go down to my gym in the Condo here and work out as well in early morning. I do this pretty much everyday.

In the evening I may go to a movie or simply sit on the Balcony working on the computer. This is easy life for me. Its an escape and a place to make life decisions.

I suppose I wanted you to just see why I come to Thailand in this post. Next post I will show you my world here in more detail about this place instead of about me.

Doctor 808