After my toe operation, the doctor told me to come in two days later to have my dressings changed. So that Friday I made the trip back to the Foreigner section of the Huashan hospital and had another doctor cut off the bandages, look at my toes, rebandage them, and tell me that I would have to come in every day for a week.

Well... not only was he very clumsy and caused a lot of pain in the process, he also used a razor blade to cut the bandages off of the toes instad of scissors, knicking my foot in the process. And come into the hospital every day??? That's a couple hours that I don't have to make the trip all the way out to the Huashan area. To add insult to injury—semi-literally—the visit to do a simple re-dressing cost RMB 200; that's about USD 25!

When I complained about the cost to the head nurse, she suggested I go to a local hospital. So this Wednesday I hopped on the 136 bus just outside my apartment and hit up the Putuo District hospital in the Caoyang neighborhood, about 10 minutes from my house.

Not only is the Putuo Hospital incredibly efficient, from the nice nurse who guided me through the registration process to the swipe cards used to identify patients and keep track of records, but I was only charged RMB 30 (about USD 4.25) for the whole thing: 10 for the visit, 10 for the left toe, and 10 for the right toe. Plus, the hospital building is super-modern, looks more like a bank than a hospital, with a huge multi-story marble lobby and cashier-like windows for registration, check-in, and payment.

I'll get some pictures next time I go in.