Facts and Ideas from Anywhere (From the Editor) (Public Health and Medicine in Thailand) (Affluenza in United States) (Editorial‪)‬

LEARNING FROM THE THAIS I spoke at a meeting of about 350 attendees in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 11, 2002, and had an opportunity to speak to several Thai physicians about their country and about medicine in it. Although I had been to Bangkok once previously, that visit was brief (24 hours), and my memory of that visit is hazy. This time I stayed at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and Towers, one of Thailand's magnificent hotels, which provided a magnificent view of the Chao Phraya River ("river of the king"). The river is incredibly busy, with large barges, dining boats, and boat taxis of various sorts.