Medical Tourism: The Rush

Everyone is talking about medical tourism these days. 
Some refer to it as Health Tourism. 
Seems like the citizens of the first world countries got fed up with their own healthcare system where curing a disease means plunging yourself into an ocean of debt or downright poverty. More than half of US denizens are not insured. No, they did not hate insurance nor did they distrust it....or perhaps they did...it is just that they could not afford to pay the premium. And without insurance there will be an impossibility to seek medical treatment...not the modern kind anyway; yeah, you can still go and see a witch doctor or medium or something. And probably you can operate on your own kidneys and stitch your own gaping wounds. But generally normal human seldom resorts to the aforementioned health solution. 
Anyways, back to Medical Tourism. 
US citizen are flocking across the border to Mexico, across the ocean to Bulgaria, Chekoslovakia (in Europe), India, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia (in Asia). Malaysia.....? Uh-huh. You know that country in South East Asia where until three years ago the tallest building in the world was erected in its capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Now it is just the tallest twin towers in the world. The title went to Taiwan and now Dubai is holding it and maybe no one will ever be able to surpass it. So superficial....we got the tallest, we got the longest, we got the widest, we got the ugliest etc etc. Ugliest? 
Anyways, back to Medical Tourism (saying this can get to be a habit). 
Went to a few cities in India: Mumbai, Chennai/Kolkatta, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Bangalore on different time of the year.  NB don't go during the summer. 
Visited the hospitals; some are reasonable enough with reputable enough doctors and a few actually got JCI accreditation. 
Funny, isn't it? I mean this JCI things? Seems like every country in the world went head over heel trying to get JCI accreditation. As if when you got it the whole of the USA will descent upon your country bringing with it their patients fully stuffed with billion of the old green bills. Wake up people, the ISO, ISQUA etc etc are just as good; even the local accreditation system too. Want the mighty USA to descent on your country? Try being Afghanistan and Iraq. Don't forget Guatemala, El salvador. And while we are at it try changing your country's name to North Korea or Iran or Evil Axis; Wait a few more years and see if the old green bombs..ooops..old green bills come and rain onto your paddy field or poppy field or just plain old fields. 
Any fields. 
Back to India: don't go to the government hospitals. The corridors are lined by people sitting or lying on the floor; rather filthy people if you know my meaning and not at all confidence inspiring to any sick rich foreign people like, ahem, you and your spouse and children. Even the private hospitals, while themselves (some anyway), look grand enough, are surrounded by lots of poverty in the form of dilapidated everything (almost). 
All the big cities excepting perhaps New Delhi the seat of the government and foreign embassies are littered here and there with old dirty plastic sheets which constitute dwelling where human actually live, sleep, having sex and procreate. And how they procreate. Real contribution to humanity numbers. Sex is good, eh? 
Did I mention Agra and the Taj Mahal? Ahhhh.... Taj Mahal. The most beautiful building I had ever seen if I may say so. Truly breath taking from afar and close up. No other buildings in the world can compare to her; and I had travelled all over the world mind you. But the city of Agra itself is a disgrace. Dirty, noisy potholed roads and denizens with lackasaidal attitude. It is like having a beautiful beautiful princess standing in the middle of a murky, foul smelling mud swamp and attended to by a bunch of morons and the mentally retarded. 
When in Hyderabad do not forget to savour the best Briyani Rice in the world. Only in Hyderabad. Such glorious food.
Thailand has more impressive hospitals and the staff are so polite it is condescending on our part. We felt like royalties, pompous; while in reality some of these people in their hospitals are making more money than our average Jane and Joe. 
Singapore is clean and the hospitals are high tech but compared to the Thais the people are bordering rudeness. It was said that Singapore is sixth best in the world for medical treatment and facilities. And the people speaks English. Or Singlish. 
Malaysia then:....put it between the Thais and the Singaporeans. The country is reasonably clean, the people are polite enough but can be slightly irritating with their lackasaidal attitude. English (or Manglish?) are spoken. Things are cheap here and that includes the medical bills. Hotels, food. transportation. Everything is half what Singapore charges and 30% cheaper than Thailand. The hospitals are fantastic and you would not believe some actually possess more advanced equipment than Singapore's. Traffic is bad but not as half bad as Bangkok, Thailand or worse India's impossible traffic. And her highways which traverse the whole length of Peninsula Malaysia and extend from Singapore in the south right up to Thailand to the north is one of the best in the world; even by US standard. 
But beware many the drivers in Malaysia are probably the insanes who just bolted from some mental institution and wreak havoc in the highways turning it into an impromptu F1 circuit. And their tempers are just amazing; these people need to be taught anger management and injected with a high dose of road courtesy lesson. 
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton will be right at home in these highways, otherwise.