Only in Bangkok since Friday morning but already feeling very much at home in a truely remarkable city. That being said I have a love affaire with Asia (including an Asian wife) loving the natural friendliness of the people I have met everywhere I have been so far, the food (except maybe Indonesia which is below par compared to the other places I have been before ie. China and Japan), the extraordinary cultural patrimony and just the energy you feel in all the big Asian cities. Actually, assuming the quality of the surgery is as good as elsewhere, something I believe to be true, it is worth coming here just to experience the place.
Friday, a little tired after a short night, I just settled in but still had time to have lunch with Melissa who looked in really good shape just two and half weeks post surgery and, after a two hour nap, an excellent dinner with a friend from the company I was working for up until the end of July.
Yesterday morning I had my pre-op appointment and like Melissa, was told I will need a skin graft to insure the target depth of at least 6". I hesitated about that as I'm not sure I'm ever going to need that sort of depth but, once I better understood the principle, I accepted. Dr Chett explained that the skin for the graft is taken from the thigh in the zone adjacent to the scrotal tissue and adds little to no extra scarring. On that basis and since it should allow me to keep all options open, I decided I might as well go with it rather than experience eventual buyers regret later..
He also sold me on 350cc low profile implants ie. wide base to cover chest but low forward projection. I was clear that I wanted no bigger than B cups and he insisted this would work but I've been thinking about it since and am not totally convinced so I'm going to revisit the subject tomorrow. In part, having seen quite a lot of trans women who, to me, have boobs that look too big compared to lower body size, I would definitely prefer to err on the too small rather than too big size.
Other than that, I found the first contact with the team here frankly delightful and came away from the appointment feeling very comfortable with my choice. Given that, I have been using the time since yesterday to enjoy Bangkok as much as possible. It rained very heavily yesterday afternoon so that limited the possibilities but I still got a good feel for the place and quickly found my bearings in a city that is fairly easy to get around by any means of transport except car. From what I can gather, there are more or less permanent traffic jams here, 24/7, on the main arteries going west out of the center. So while taxis are really cheap, when you set out on a journey, you have absolutely no idea how long it will take you to get from point A to point B.
The best option by far is public transport. From the Bangkok Rama where I am staying, it is a 15 min walk to an Airport Rapid Link station (Hua Mak) which will take you into the center of Bangkok in about 15min for 30TBH ie. about 1$. Only problems are the heat and getting across across Srinakarin Rd road to the station. The latter requires some pretty hairy jay walking reserved for those who have no problem facing down 2 x 4 lanes of constant trafic. That being said, when you see a cute little Thai lady doing it, you quickly find the necessary moral fiber
Of course, for those who wish to avoid walking you can always take a taxi, about 40TBH for the run from the hotel to the station. The only risks taking a taxi are that you will take considerably longer than 15min and/or that the taxi will get lost. Yes, yes, many of the Bangkok taxi drivers cannot read a map and when you can't explain in detail where you want to go (their English is no better than your Thai), imagining you will arrive at any distant destination requires another act of faith. Happily though, anyone who is doing GRS is using to placing their trust in higher authorities...
The way this post is panning out, it could quickly become a book so I'll probably leave it at that for this evening except for one final remark. Choice between the Dusit Princess and the Rama. Haven seen both, I prefer the Rama. It is not as modern and clean as the Dusit but the rooms are considerably bigger and I would personally far prefer to begin my recovery strolling around in the greenery here at the Rama than at the Seacom shopping mall beside the Dusit. The staff are probably equally nice and accomodating in both places because that just seems to be the Thai way!
More tomorrow but now time for bed hoping I'll sleep in spite of all the rumbling in my stomach. I walked about 5 hours today and have had nothing to eat since breakfast apart from some liquid food as specified in the preparation instructions.
Hugs from Bangkok!
Donna
