Tuesday 19 November 2024
Full Day in Bangkok 5 – Phed Mark and an Adventure

This will be a longer post as the “Adventure” requires a longer narrative.

Phed Mark

A very common dish eaten by Thais is Pad Kaprow (often, including by me, misspelled Pad Krapow with the “r” in the wrong place). Having learned of and coming to like Pad Kaprow over the last couple of years, I thought I would have a late lunch at a famous Pad Kaprow restaurant just 5 or 6 stops on the BTS Skytrain from my hotel. That restaurant is Phed Mark, serving only Pad Kaprow.

From the Ped Mark website, this is their story, as told by Mark Weins:

Khun Tan (Thai food blogger and manager), Khun Pongthep (designer and actor), Chef Gigg (Chef and Iron Chef Champion), and Mark Wiens (food video blogger, full-time eater) – what we all love and what brought us together is Thai food.

One night in Bangkok, we were of course eating, and we started talking about where to eat the best pad kaprao in Bangkok. This is a very tough question, and we had different answers – like at the stir fry stall on the corner of the road next to my house, or for myself, my mother-in-law’s is the best, because I can order it to the spicy level I love. But in the end, we all didn’t really know where.

That very night, we decided to open a restaurant, and a few hours later, Khun Tan had already come up with the name Phed Mark.

What does Phed Mark (เผ็ดมาร์ค) mean?

Phed in Thai means spicy, and Mark is my name. But it’s bit of a play on words because the Thai word for “very much” is Maak. Phed Mark is our name, our slogan, and we are addicted to spicy food!

Phed Mark Menu and Lunch

Looking at their icon, a face with flames at the top and a chili for the mouth, one can expect that this will be spicy food. The menu at Phed Mark is fairly short, Pad Kaprow with various proteins and the spicy level.

Pad Kaprow is most commonly made with pork, so I ordered Pad Kaprow Pork with level 3 chilies spicy, said on the menu to be “less spicy.” Phed Mark is very busy all the time, and even at 3 PM, after I ordered, the wait was about 20 minutes. It also has limited seating inside, so you place your order and pay, then sit outside until your order is called and the staff seats you. A photo of my lunch:

Even at the “Less Spicy” level, this dish was extremely spicy. Wow! It was spicy, spicy, spicy! But despite the heat, the flavors were very good. Without a doubt, the best Pad Kaprow I have had.

Massage and an Adventure

After getting back to the hotel, I freshened up—teeth brushed, tongue scraped, and mouth rinsed thoroughly to cool the fire in my mouth. Feeling refreshed, I made my way to Sukhumvit Soi 26 for a Thai-Swedish combo massage. Along the way, I passed several of the “erotic” massage shops on Soi 24 and Soi 24/1. The ladies made cheerful calls of, “Handsome man, you want massage?” I can’t help but laugh—I know it’s my wallet that is handsome to them, but I love hearing that I’m handsome and I’ll take the flattery! Their friendly vibes definitely made the walk fun.

I made it to the legitimate massage shop and was assigned Jenny, a masseuse in her 40s. After a long day of walking between temples in the Bangkok heat, I was ready for a good wind-down to the day. And the massage was everything I had hoped it to be: good pressure, and a relaxing touch. After the massage, since oil had been used, she offered a shower.

As soon as I stepped out of the shower, I knew something was wrong. I wasn’t dizzy, but I felt so unsteady that I couldn’t stay on my feet. Before I knew it, I was on my knees, then lying on my side, completely drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. I felt awful.

I said, “I need a few minutes,” and Jenny helped me get onto the massage platform (almost like a bed). I kept thinking it would pass, but it didn’t. Then I told Jenny I needed to get to a toilet, and my body tried to vomit, but nothing came out. Something was very wrong with me. This went on for a little more, and by then, the manager and several ladies were in the room, all trying to help but not sure what to do. I told them I was sure it was something I ate, and that I had eaten at Phed Mark. They all knew Phed Mark and how spicy the food is there. They asked if they could take me to the hospital, and I told them I could not sit up, and that they should call an ambulance. They called, and it took what seemed to be a long time because the ambulance was stuck in traffic (traffic in Bangkok can be very dense).

The ambulance finally arrived. Jenny and the ladies had gotten me dressed. The attendants got me onto a stretcher to carry me down the stairs and into the ambulance. The manager told me that Jenny was going with me. In the ambulance, to my surprise, there was a doctor. She started asking me and Jenny the relevant questions about what had happened and had the attendants start an IV to start getting me hydrated. My blood pressure was alarmingly low, my systolic was barely 80. I was feeling not at all well, but deep down, I had this strong sense and just knew everything was going to be all right. Thailand has excellent medical care and knowing that helped me stay calm.

I was taken to Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. I learned later this is considered one of the top 3 or 4 hospitals in Bangkok and is a system of 7 hospitals. About 45% or more of their patients are non-Thai (foreigners, like me). Their logo:

And here is a photo I found of the hospital at night, appropriate since I was there at night.

Samitivej Sukhumvit is a fairly large hospital with 87 exam rooms and space for 270 patients. I was first in an exam room in the Emergency Department, and the admitting doctor spoke fluent English. He conversed with Jenny in Thai and I heard “Phed Mark” mentioned.

Tests were run and it was clear I had an intestinal bacterial infection. By now, with the IV getting me hydrated and after a trip to the bathroom, I was feeling better and much more relaxed. I agreed to be admitted overnight because (1) I am older, (2) I am alone here in Bangkok, and (3) I have insurance. Letting them monitor me seemed the safest thing to do. So at about 11:00 PM, I was taken to a room, with more monitoring and nurses in and out. I also said goodbye to Jenny, thanking her profusely. She said she would come back in the morning to check on me, and she did. By morning I was feeling pretty well, and she seemed relieved.

Many logistical things to work out. I contacted the insurance company and several e-mails went back and forth between the hospital and the insurance company.

The next morning, I called the Four Points hotel and added a day to my stay because I would not make my flight that afternoon. I also started the process of canceling my flight to Chiang Mai so I could book a replacement. And I contacted The 3-Sis letting them know I would arrive a day later than planned. Everything fell into place. I was hoping to be discharged before lunchtime, but it kept getting delayed so one more blood test could be run to make sure I had improved adequately. I was finally discharged at about 3 PM, and got a taxi back to the Four Points hotel. [The taxi was very cool – a replica of a London cab only dark blue instead of black.]

On Thursday, before going to the airport, I returned to the massage shop, thanked the manager and the other ladies, and gave Jenny a generous tip for her time. I am convinced that her being able to speak to everyone in Thai helped the process.

So what really happened? Is the food at Phed Mark bad or even suspect? No. I think that I was still tired from the long day of travel and adjusting to Thailand time 15 hours ahead of home. Then after walking around in the heat of Bangkok (even with a hat) for about 5 hours, I became severely dehydrated. And I know better. Both fatigue and dehydration can weaken the immune system, so when I went to Phed Mark, adding on the extremely spicy food, my immune system was unable to resist an infection that under better circumstances might have been, as is said, a non-event. And, as I said, I know better – I have with me a supply of electrolyte replacement powder to mix with water to replace the electrolytes lost when sweating. I allowed myself to be too much in the moment and not thinking. I’m more embarrassed than anything – what a rookie mistake, and I’m not exactly a “rookie.”

The total cost was 40,540 Thai Baht, or about $1275 U.S. This is for everything: the ambulance, the doctor’s charges in the ambulance, emergency room, and on the floor, the room overnight, medications, all supplies, food, etc., etc. Healthcare in Thailand is of high quality and affordable. Samitivej is a modern, state-of-the-art hospital with caring, compassionate doctors, nurses, and staff. I feel lucky and very grateful for the prompt, efficient, and compassionate care I received.

Life is an adventure. Sometimes quite the adventure. This was one of the more memorable. I am deeply touched by the compassion and caring exhibited by the ambulance and hospital staff when I was in something of a health crisis. Yes, an adventure. Not an adventure I hope to repeat soon, but memorable in a very positive way.

Next: Back in Chiang Mai