Visiting the doctor in Hong Kong is quite an experience. I tend to avoid going unless I think it’s something serious, but my wife was brought up to believe that the doctor can help even if you’ve just got the common cold (or “flu” as it mysteriously seems to be known by most people).
Patients apparently feel cheated if the doctor doesn’t give them a selection of pills and potions, so you almost invariably walk away with several small plastic bags containing paracetamol, Vitamin C, cough syrup, etc., etc., plus a bill for HK$150 – HK$300 for the consultation and the medicine.
Of course, since all I have is a common cold, the medicine just relieves the symptoms. In the UK I would feel embarassed at wasting the doctor’s time, but here you pay for his services and they seem happy to indulge their patients. At least they have stopped handing out antibiotics quite so freely, something that was very common in Hong Kong until recently.
Ordinary Gweilo 
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