Nigh ime in Kuala Lumpur: The Peronas Towers, once he world s alles buildings, as seen from he revolving resauran in he KL Tower The Malaysian feelgood facor Afer sampling he high life in he capial Kuala Lumpur, Clive Nicholls invesigaes he boom in medical ourism in Malaysia PHOTOGRAPHY: CLIVE NICHOLLS 32 33
Malaysian culure is colourful and exciing Shop unil you drop he prices are good in he high-end Pavilion Mall The KL Tower is almos los in cloud in he foreground one of he Peronas win owers WHEN THE Pos Office Tower opened in London in he mid-sixies, he papers were full of picures of he je se wining and dining in he revolving resauran. How glamorous and space age i all seemed. When he resauran shu in 1980 (i was run by Bulin s incidenally), I realised I was never going o reach he dizzy heighs of dining in he BT Tower or for ha maer joining he je se No maer, onigh I m going one beer: he ower is wice as high, he views are more specacular and, alhough I never ased Billy Bulin s revolving food, I would be ha wha I m eaing is more han a mach. I m in he revolving resauran of he Kuala Lumpur Tower looking eyeball o eyeball wih he op levels of he Peronas Twin Towers (once he world s alles building) abou a quarer of a mile away. The wiling sun has dropped hrough he mis on he horizon, and across he ciy lighs are coming on. To he lef of he owers, a leading Malaysian bank is hrowing enough ligh ino he sky ha you suspec i s rying o break he counry s Naional Grid, he owers are sparkling in he nigh sky and, as he resauran slowly revolves, he picure consanly changes. I migh have missed he Pos Office Tower, bu his makes up for i. I s lae evening bu wih jelag working in my favour, I check ino he hoel, sill full of beans. My ears pop in he lif up o my room always a good sign. Rooms on he higher floors seem o have a beer view and in his high-rise ciy i s even more imporan. No sleepy, I make a plan for omorrow. Kuala Lumpur is a big shopping desinaion and having spoed a massive high-end mall jus across he road I figure ha if I pop over firs hing in he morning I ll have he place o myself. I m no a big shopping enhusias bu his looks oo good o pass by, paricularly as i s jus yards away. In he ime I have in Malaysia I wan o sample big-ciy life, explore he beauiful and enchaning counryside and enjoy he hospialiy my early ase of he cuisine on offer was promising indeed bu I also wan o check ou wha is a growing and hriving business: medical ourism. I ll se he alarm; jelag may no be so kind o me in he morning. Breakfas was shrimps, noodles and freshly squeezed juices differen bu specacular. A Malaysian woman spoed me making a muck-up of cooking my noodles and gave me a one-o-one lesson i s easy when you know how. The hoel saff are probably sill rying o clean up afer my firs solo aemp, bu afer my lesson I was hinking of applying for MaserChef. As expeced, he shopping mall was almos desered a opening ime. All he big brands were here a bi wased on me, bu I did conver some of he prices and here were significan savings on UK price-ags. If you are planning on shopping overseas, do your 34 35
Firs, I would book direc wih he hospial. Going hrough an agen could add 20 per cen o he medical bill and ea ino he reason for coming in he firs place he price Clockwise: Ea on he sree or in he resaurans he food is good and he culure warm and welcoming research before you leave he UK; check online prices o ge a rue comparison. Wach ou for any elecrical producs ha wouldn be compaible in he UK. Make sure you have space in your suicase and don ge carried away clohes ha you may never wear suddenly become expensive. Check wih he HMRC websie on allowances: (www.hmrc.gov.uk). The las ime I checked I hink he limi was goods up o 390 and, remember, if you buy a wach for 500 you pay duy on he full amoun, no he difference. Don be pu off, hough i s grea o have somehing o remember your holiday by and ge a bargain a he same ime. Medical ourism is big business here. The governmen suppors he indusry and even has a recepion office a he airpor o make sure visiors ge well looked afer. On my rip I ll visi a number of hospials, clinics and surgeries bu firs, le s look a why you migh wan o come o Malaysia for reamen. Price is a big facor, depending on wha you re looking for (cosmeic surgery, join replacemen, denisry, eye surgery and much more); he prices can be around half he price of UK reamens. You obviously have o fund your fligh and accommodaion so ha has o be facored in, bu if Malaysia is a place where you would like o ake a holiday and have a makeover a he same ime, i could work ou for you. The faciliies are good, surgeons are well qualified, so wha do you need o check ou? Firs, I would book direc wih he hospial. Going hrough an agen could add 20 per cen o he medical bill and ea ino he reason for coming in he firs place he price. If you ask an agen o quoe firs, i s difficul for a hospial o give you a price aferwards. If you can have several reamens a he same ime (such as muliple eeh implans) he case ges even sronger. Check he exchange rae wih he Malaysian Ringgi a sronger pound means a cheaper operaion. Make sure you re fi and able o have he operaion. One consulan plasic surgeon I spoke o advised no o smoke for wo weeks before operaions nicoine has a dramaic negaive effec on healing. Blood-hinning drugs would also cause problems. Check ha axes are included in any price quoed in some areas new axes come in from April 1. If you are going for a day s healh screening, you should facor in he cos of one day s holiday ha is, he cos of flighs and accommodaion divided by he number of days you are saying. Check ha he hospial will pick you up from he airpor, provide afercare, and ge you back for your fligh. Allow a bi of exra ime on your say for coningencies and don book anyhing you would have o cancel if you needed a lile exra ime for follow-up visis o he hospial. Have a conversaion wih your UK docor or denis before you book anyhing. I don fancy liposucion, a facelif or geing my eeh done bu I did ry ou acupuncure a a Tradiional Chinese Medicine faciliy no sure wha o make of ha. Back o my holiday ouring round Kuala Lumpur is easy. The Pink Buses are free and run from 6am o 11pm so you can hop on and hop off when you wan. Wach ou for he axis; some will ry no o use heir meers and jus charge wha hey wan. The governmen is rying o samp ou he pracice bu i is sill going on. The Naional Monumen is well worh a visi. Malaysia has had a roubled pas and 36 37
Clockwise: The Naional Monumen remembers Malaysia s warime years; he Buddhis Temples in Penang are magical and specacular; seafood in Penang and he cheeky monkeys a Penang Hill his massive bronze sculpure honours hose who fough and died in he Second World War and he bale agains communiss from 1948 o 1960. Independence Square in he ciy cenre is seeped in hisory. Beauiful buildings surround he massive grass square and a huge 330f-high flag pole flies he naional flag as i has done since Augus 31, 1957 when he counry gained independence from Briain visi a nigh ime, i s quie special. Moving on from Kuala Lumpur, i s back o he airpor for a shor fligh o Penang jus off he wes coas of mainland Malaysia. There s one final sop jus a couple of miles before he airpor, Sepang Formula 1 circui. I s closed and I can go in bu I press my nose up o he wire fence and imagine race day. If I remember correcly, Hamilon won here in 2014. Penang is differen; flying in gave me an overview. Two long bridges link i o he mainland, heavily buil up around he capial, George Town, green and lush in he cenre. From he airpor, as I near George Town, he raffic builds up. I s he evening rush hour and he roads are buzzing wih housands of moorbikes and mopeds. They all seemed o be based around he Honda 50s ha I remember from he Sixies his is one design hey go righ he firs ime. I don doub ha he newer models are improvemens on he originals, bu so hey should be hey ve made more han 60 million of hem. Time for dinner. Seafood is big here and here is also a hriving sree food scene, bu for me lobser wins he day. Nex morning i s ime for sighseeing. Buddhism is srong on he island and here are some fabulous emples o visi all open o he public. The Thai Medical ourism is big business here. The governmen suppors he indusry and even has a recepion office a he airpor o make sure visiors ge well looked afer Buddhis Temple is amazing i houses he fourh larges Buddha in he world: he 108f-long Phra Buddha. Jus as specacular is he Burmese Buddhis Temple jus across he road, wih gold gil everywhere simply sunning. Ou of own here s he 2400f Penang Hill. Don ry o walk up; i s prey seep and he funicular railway will save your legs. Wach ou for he monkeys a he base of he hill hey are definiely on he cheeky side of well-behaved. A he oher end of he island is a war museum spread over 20 acres. Once a Briish forress, i was aken over by he Japanese in 1941 and earned a repuaion as a cenre for deah and orure. The visi is cerainly sobering and, for added eeriness, you can ake he our a nigh. I s wooded and lush here so i s worh having a squir wih he mossie spray before he our. I like Penang. Srolling along he waerfron is special, wih local anglers rying heir luck, ships and ferries cruising pas, wading birds picking over he scraps a he waer s edge. The Clan Jey, wih homes buil on sils over he waer, is fascinaing, he hisoric Blue Mansion, enchaning. I s a grea place for food, culure, relaxaion and geing a bi of warmh hrough your bones. 38 39
Malaysian medicine If Malaysia sounds like a good place for recuperaion, here s a look a some of he hospials and clinics in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Penang faciliies may have a price advanage over Kuala Lumpur bu need an exra fligh or longer land ransfers Golden Horses Healh Sancuary, Kuala Lumpar Websie: (www.ghhs.com.my) Offers a full healh-screening programme wih emphasis on prevenaive reamen. All faciliies on sie. Go here for a plan o change your lifesyle for a longer healhier life. Tradiional Chinese Medicine is available. Imperial Denal Specialis Cenre, Kuala Lumpur Websie: (www.imperialdsc.com) Dr How leads he eam he specialised in orhodonics in London in 1993. Implans normally require wo visis, bu a a lile over 1000 per implan, he prices are abou one hird of hose in he UK. If you are planning a full mouh rehabiliaion or several implans, he prices sar o make sense. Gleneagles, Kuala Lumpur Websie: (www.gleneagleskl.com.my) A large, modern, well-equipped hospial wih 163 consulans covering almos every specialiy. The specialis Gamma Knife equipmen can desroy brain umours wihou invasive surgery and allows physicians o ackle brain lesions ha were considered inoperable. Orhopaedics is a huge deparmen. Airpor ranspor is arranged and liaison wih he paien s own docor is normal: impressive. Loh Guan Lye Specialis Cenre, Penang Websie: (www.lohguanlye.com) A large hospial in he cenre of George Town, 30 minues from he airpor and 20 minues from he beaches of Bau Ferringhi, i has is own Inernaional Desk in he lobby o welcome in overseas visiors. Prices are reasonable and you can even say in is Presidenial Suie for abou 300 a nigh. All he laes diagnosic scanning equipmen is on sie and i even has a specialis feriliy cenre. Beverley Wilshire, Kuala Lumpur Websie: (www.beverlywilshiremedical.com) Specialiss in all forms of cosmeic surgery including denal, facelifs, ummy ucks, liposucion, hair ransplans, breas lifs, Boox, denal implans, whiening, crowns and veneers. Ge wo or hree procedures done a he same visi and he rip o Malaysia becomes well worh he long fligh. A facelif here will cos around 4000. Island Hospial, Penang Websie: (www.islandhospial.com) The former chief execuive and hugely charismaic ambassador for he hospial, Dr Chan (now 82 and semi-reired), sared he hospial 18 years ago. When he says i s no all abou he money we make friends here he really means i. He loves Briain and he Briish and spreads his ehos hroughou he hospial. The hospial is equipped wih he bes echnology and saffed by people who care. Overseas paiens are charged he same as locals. I reas everyhing you would expec from a major hospial, including spors rehab. Orhopaedic surgeon Dr Aaron Lim rained wih he consulan o Liverpool fooball eam from 1987-94. Advenis Hospial, Penang Websie: (www.pah.com.my) Housed in he only Japanese building consruced in he Second World War, i is a heriage asse. God heals, we help is he cachphrase for his major hospial. Known as a leading hear cenre, i akes a lo of overseas paiens including 400 o 500 from he UK each year. Wih 80 specialiss and 25 specialisaions, here s no much ha hey can ake on here. This is a no-for-profi hospial ha was esablished 90 years ago so here s pleny of experience. Find ou more n Malaysia Healhcare Travel Council, el: 603 272 68 688, websie: (www.mhc.org.my), email: (callcenre@mhc.org.my) n Facebook: (/mhcmalaysia) n Twier: (/mhcmalaysia) n YouTube: (/mhcmalaysia) n Medical ourism, websie: (www.medicalourism.com.my). 40 41