A few days ago, I got new eyeglasses which were expensive and unsatisfactory.
Ever since the day I got my first eyeglasses due to myopia, I have never gone to see the optometrist on my own nor choose new eyeglasses on my own before. It was my first time to go on my own and I have sure learned a huge lesson alright.
This is also the first time I ever spent around 100,000 kyats (around $114) on a pair of eyeglasses. I had wanted a good quality frame, but I had a hard time choosing a pair that cost less than 60,000 kyats. The salesgirls weren’t really that much helpful and kept pushing me to buy the expensive one. I finally managed to choose a nerdy looking, light-weight plastic frame which cost 56,000 kyats (around $64). Even though it’s expensive for me, I was willing to pay for the frame. But I wasn’t willing to pay 42,000 kyats (around $47) for the lenses. I only knew about the cost of the lenses before making my final choice. If I had known earlier, I might have the courage to face the scowling staffs and walk out of the room. But it was too late and I couldn’t back out after I made the sale girls gather one frame after another from the showcase for 20 minutes. In total, I had to pay 98,000 kyats.
The reason I’m complaining about the price is because I never have to spend more than 40,000 kyats for a pair of glasses before. I shouldn’t have gotten lazy to go downtown and choose the eye care center near my work.
I got my glasses the next day, but I didn’t notice any problems until my tuition lesson started. I found that I couldn’t see the words in the textbook very clearly until I switched back to my old glasses.
When I first got the glasses and put them on, I felt a little dizzy because I now have -9.00 D. So, when the staff asked me to whether I can read short-sight with my glasses, I told them that I can read them. I thought that the reason the vision is a little blurry is because my eyes haven’t adjusted to the new glasses. Now that I think about it, none of the staffs including the optometrist’s assistant have asked me whether I can see clearly. They only asked me whether I can read. There is a difference between the two questions and I’m the one who is suffering from it now.
As I have already spend more than 100,000 kyats (including the optometrist fee), I don’t want to spend anymore money at the moment. It wasn’t even my money in the first place. I am living on my father’s salary as I still haven’t exchange my dollars yet. I will be going on a trip to Bangkok next month and I will be needing my dollars so I can’t do any exchanging now. My only solution so far is to keep both glasses on hand and use the new to see far and use the old one to read. Now, I distantly remember my last optometrist telling my mother that I had both nearsightedness and farsightedness. I wasn’t completely sure about it and I couldn’t find the old prescriptions at home so I only told the optometrist that I also use my glasses for reading. After all, isn’t it her job to prescribe the correct lenses.
So, in the end, I will have to go see another optometrist and have my glasses corrected. This time, I will go to Myanma Myat Hman eye care center in downtown. It may not have up-to-date machines but the prices are reasonable there.
One thing for sure though, I am never going back to that eye care center again. I have learned my lesson now. I will never trust those so-called quality controlled eye care centers again. In the mean time, I have started taking some traditional medicines to improve my sights. It was recommended by a friend whose eyesight got better after taking the medicine. I really hope my eyesight get better and the degrees of the lenses to drop.
