The conversation buzzing over Fatima Rashid Al-Hemaidi sounds like a meeting of ambassadors -- her daughter speaking Arabic, the doctor Thai and English, and the translator a mix of all three.
Beneath it all, Al-Hemaidi is smiling patiently from a nest of blankets in a blue hospital gown and black headscarf.
"OK mama," the doctor says to her in English as she pulls away the stethoscope.
On her third trip from Qatar to Bangkok's Bumrungrad Hospital Al-Hemaidi is familiar with the routine, just as hospitals here are becoming more familiar with clients who, like her, come from the Middle East for medical treatment.
The number of Middle Eastern visitors to Thailand has been rising steadily in recent years, especially since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US when Arab tourists found the West less than welcoming.
Last year Thailand received 453,000 visitors from the Middle East, up nearly 12 percent from 2006, with a significant number coming not for beach holidays but for the hospitals.
Bumrungrad alone treated 90,000 patients from the Middle East, up nine-fold compared to the year 2000, making them a fast-growing segment in the hospital's lucrative international practice.
"This is a win-win situation," said Tares Krassanairawiwong, an official from the Thai Ministry of Public Health. "People (from the Middle East) can have good quality care and we can gain more revenue."
Thailand markets its hospitals as offering lower prices for their services than in the US, but of a higher quality than countries such as India.
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