Good Guys Doing GREAT Things
By day they stand in front of eager, young Thais, imparting their knowledge of their mother tongue, educating Thailand's leaders of tomorrow. By night, these two middle-aged foreigners linger in a dark Thai soi, waiting for the call that will see
them race around the streets of Bangkok at breakneck speed. What they do is dirty, and at times dangerous, but they love it and pursue it with a passion. It's what drives them and nothing else makes them feel more alive. They are the two
white faces in the Ruamkatanyu Foundation's rescue service.
The Ruamkatanyu Foundation started 60 years ago as a charitable organisation that collected the dead and transported them to the nearest facility. The problem was that sometimes they discovered that the person they had been called to collect didn't
happen to be dead after all! It is from those days that the foundation's rescue teams and ambulance service was born.
The foundation has 7,000 volunteers nationwide and along with the larger Poh Teck Tung Foundation, is one of the two largest rescue services in the country.
40-year old Kiwi Marko Cunningham is an English teacher by day and a rescue volunteer by night, trading in his pressed shirt and necktie for the rescue workers overalls. Marko has been a resident of Bangkok for more than 10 years and became involved with
Ruamkatanyu after accompanying a girlfriend to donate food and clothing for victims of flooding in Saraburi province. He was so impressed with what the foundation was doing that he wanted to get involved. An EMT, an intermediate emergency
medical technician, he is studying to be a full-blown paramedic.
Dean James, known to his mates as James, is a 50-year old Scot from a medical family as he describes it and has medical experience back in the UK where he was often the company's primary first aid officer. A relative newbie to the foundation, he
has been with them for 7 months.
Marko and Dean are the only foreign rescue workers with Ruamkatanyu although there are said to be a few other foreigners doing similar work around the country.
The hours can be long and there was a time when Marko, a full-time English teacher, used to work every second night. He would be out with the rescue team until 7 AM at when would dash home, shower, and head straight for the classroom! At the end of his
teaching shift he would go home, go straight to bed, sleep, wake up the next morning and so the cycle would repeat itself.
Those days are behind him and like most of the volunteers, he heads home around midnight. This is voluntary work and the volunteers have to report for the regular job the next day.
Rescue vehicles can be seen parked up all over Bangkok. Marko's team waits in a quiet soi opposite Major at Ekamai, and covers a section of Sukhumvit that runs about a kilometre either side of their position, as well as the sub sois and part of the
busy Rama 4 Road.
James, also an English teacher, works with a team across town. His patch is the area from The Mall Bangkapi to Central Lad Prao and over to Rachayothin and all the sois in between, including half of Rachada, some of Rama 9.
With their trucks parked up, the rescue teams monitor the airwaves for accidents and incidents in their patch. They have multiple receivers covering the police channel, the Ruamkatanyu foundation's channel,
other foundations' channels as well as the red radio network, so called because of the colour of the handsets. The red radio network is a volunteer network with members all over Bangkok who are the eyes
and ears of the city. In the case of an accident, a fire or any incident, the red radios are on to it, notifying the relevant authorities. Red radio members include some motorbike taxi riders, rescue foundation members
and other community-minded figures.
Rescue workers are almost always the first to the scene of an accident. Marko is famous for being the first rescue worker to attend the scene of the accident when Moo Ham, the young Thai punk who came to infamy
for ramming his car into a crowd of people at a bus stop on Sukhumvit Road a couple of years back.
With just 2 days of training, but in some cases many years of experience, the rescue workers aren't the highly qualified professionals you might expect to arrive if you called the emergency services in the West. And the vehicles that the average
rescue worker runs aren't what you would call ambulances, more makeshift pick up trucks or wagons with limited resources.
But according to Marko the volunteers work extremely hard with the limited resources available to them, all of which they pay for themselves. From their uniforms, to the insignia of the foundation they wear with pride to the vehicles they ride in to the
petrol that powers the vehicle, even through to the bandages they apply to the injured, EVERYTHING is financed out of their own pockets!
Marko is the only rescue worker in all of Thailand whose rescue vehicle has a defibrillator, which was kindly purchased by a sponsor at a cost of 80,000 baht.
In addition to the foundation's volunteers, Ruamkatanyu has 13 ambulances in Bangkok. In a city the size of Bangkok they might be an awfully long way from where they are needed, or even if they are close by, Bangkok's notorious traffic might
prevent them from getting to the accident scene quickly, hence the importance of the rescue services. Unlike the rescue teams, the ambulances are staffed with paid members, doing good work for a mere 6,000 baht a month.
Those riding in the ambulances have more resources and more training, having completed a 160-hour training course.
In the case of an emergency in Thailand, where medical assistance is required, you have a number of choices. You could put the sick / injured into the nearest car / taxi and take them to the nearest medical facility. You could call 1669, the Erawan foundation,
basically the closest Thailand has to an ambulance service in the West. An ambulance would be dispatched from the nearest hospital. Due to the traffic in Bangkok, it's a lottery as to when they will turn up. Or you could
call or wait for a rescue team to arrive.
In accidents attended by highly trained paramedics in the West, barring critical injuries or an advanced condition, you have a very high chance of survival. In Marko's native New Zealand, a paramedic might work on a patient at the scene for an hour
or more. They have the drugs, equipment and expertise to treat patients and stabilize them before transporting them to hospital. Patients can receive hospital-quality treatment at the scene of the accident.
Here it is more likely that the rescue services will concentrate on stopping any bleeding and hurrying the injured to the nearest medical facility. Fortunately in Bangkok there are hospitals everywhere so even in the cases of serious injury or illness
a medical facility shouldn't be too far away.
Stories abound in expat circles of accident victims being thrown into the back of a tuktuk which speeds away at break neck speed and delivers the injured to the nearest hospital, all with little or no due care taken for the patient who might have, amongst
other things, spinal injuries. It's not quite like that says Marko, explaining that all ambulances and rescue team puck up trucks must have a spine board – a hard stretcher used for those with spinal injuries.
A paramedic from New Zealand accompanied him one day and witnessed members of the foundation performing an extrication – where a full spinal suit is applied to the victim and they are removed sideways from
a vehicle – and the paramedic from Kiwiland was suitably impressed.
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Being injured in a road accident in Thailand is an expat's worst nightmare, and many times I've talked with mates about where we'd like to be taken in a worst case scenario. Most mention the big 4 hospitals – Bumrungrad, Bangkok,
BNH and Samitiwej. But Marko explains that these big "farang" hospitals get a relatively small number of trauma patients whereas government hospitals, like Chulalongkorn Hospital, receive trauma patients
all day long, every day. As Marko says with a cheeky grin, you might elect to go to Bumrungrad for a face lift, but for trauma, Chulalongkorn is where he would want to be taken. Different hospitals, he explains,
are good for different things.
80% of what the rescue teams deal with is motorcycle accidents, and often it is the young punks with their girlfriend riding pillion on the back. And at night-time, 80% of the accidents are alcohol-related.
But it's not just motorcycle accidents they deal with, but car versus car, sick people, pregnant ladies, collecting dead bodies, poor people in slum communities and so on. They are called out to catch wild animals, including snakes and occasionally
crocodiles, and have frequent dealings with rabid dogs. Via the red radio network, they have also helped the boys in brown to catch thieves.
Marko notices that I am staring at the bandage on his wrist and smiles. His team attended a fire where the owner of the building pleaded with them to get the pool table out as he did not have any insurance. The pool table was the man's livelihood
and without it he would have no means to make money. Helping to haul the pool table out of the burning building resulted in him damaging the tendons in his wrist. “You wouldn't believe
how heavy those things are”, he says!
The rescue teams help direct traffics in the city's snarling traffic jams, assist with broken down vehicles and being based on Sukhumvit, where so many foreigners live, work and play,
Marko has provided translation assistance between foreigners who have been the victims of thefts by transsexuals in the Asoke area, something we both agree is on the rise.
Despite being foreigners in a country which is becoming increasingly xenophobic, the work of Marko and James is very well-received by Thais. As James points out, when you have been involved in an accident and require assistance, you don't really
concern yourself too much about who is providing that assistance!
Riding on a bus one day, the conductor started giving Marko funny looks. It turned out that he had attended an accident and helped the conductor – and the conductor refused to accept payment for the bus journey.
Yep despite the amazingly good work they do, there are few fringe benefits. James points out that when he wears the foundation's overalls, he receive positive gestures and words from Thais, and has also had a number of free bus rides.
Marko's patch is Sukhumvit, and while he can often be found milling around in the area of Major Ekamai, waiting to attend the next incident, his area actually runs all the
way from Sukhumvit soi 1 in the west, to Prakanong in the east. All of the Sukhumvit bar areas popular with foreigners are part of his patch, which includes parts of Rama 4 Road
and the many sois off the main Sukhumvit Road.
What is perhaps scary is that while the foundation has 13 fully equipped ambulances in Bangkok, the closest to Marko's patch is stationed at Wat Hualumpong – where Rama 4 and Phyathai roads meet. That's quite some distance away, perhaps a 12-minute
drive in the middle of the night when there is no traffic but as much as 2 hours at rush hour! The next closest ambulance is down the other end of Pattanakarn Road, out towards the airport!
With the area home to many wealthy Thais, from time to time Mark tends to a patient who despite being in distress wants to practice their English, and in some cases show off their English with the foreign medic!
Home to many of the city's expats, it's no surprise that as many as 5% of accidents he attends to involve foreigners. A Westerner he assisted who had been drunk and who he saw was delivered home in one piece happened to the friend of a friend.
So what happens in the case of an accident on the streets of Bangkok? If Ruamkatanyu are first on the scene, as they often are, what can you expect to happen?
If you are in a critical i.e. life-threatening condition, you will be taken to the nearest medical facility. Marko says proudly that while the level of care from the rescue teams might not always be quite what one might expect in the West, things do work
well and it is only in the most critical cases where someone might not make it.
If you are not critical and are lucid, you will be assessed as to which medical facility / hospital you will be taken to. If you have insurance and / or a credit card, you will be taken to the hospital of your choice. If you are Thai and eligible to use
the 30-baht healthcare scheme, you will be taken to the designated hospital. If you have no insurance and are not covered by medical insurance then you will be taken to either Chulalongkorn Hospital or another government hospital.
Don't fret too much at the thought of ending up in a government hospital, in Bangkok at least. Marko relays the story of a patient who was delivered to one of the big 4 hospitals where the requisite specialist wasn't on duty and that patient
was subsequently sent to Chulalongkorn Hospital. Being a medical school may have seen the patient seen to by 3 or even 4 doctors, a mix of resident doctors and trainees.
Marko makes every effort to attend the scene of dead foreigners. He knows the protocol on both sides and can help liaise with any foreigners who may be colleagues, friends or family of the deceased. He often finds himself called by family abroad who are
keen to understand the situation better.
The work is not without its challenges for the two foreigners. It takes some time to be accepted by members of the team, most of who are just regular Thais from the middle class, or lower. It is the foreigners who have to adapt to the Thai way of doing
things. But once you are accepted, you're family and very much considered one of them.
James relays the story of his team attending the aftermath of a nasty brawl at Songkran. He was treating a guy whose face had been split open and was kneeling down beside the guy on the road when a bunch of hooligans appeared out of nowhere with one idiot
launching a brutal kick at the head of the guy he was treating, opening up the wound he had just closed, and missing James' head by inches. They had to repel the gang, pausing treatment and then get the patient quickly on a stretcher
and into the ambulance and out of the area as fast as they could, resuming treatment at high speed in the ambulance!
There are some sois where, despite the life and death urgency to deliver their patient to a medical facility, the rescue team have to turn off the vehicle's sirens while passing the home of a grumpy senior government official who does not appreciate
sirens!
Traffic is the biggest obstacle and Marko admits that his driving has become somewhat Thai. "When in Rome", he jokes!
His sense of balance has improved immensely, as he has had to get used to working on a patient in the cramped confines of the back of a pick up truck racing through Bangkok traffic, sirens screaming, lights flashing, trying not to waste a single second
to get the patient the medical care they desperately need at the nearest medical hospital.
The work is not without danger. Marko's best friend was attending an accident when a police truck driving past knocked him down, killing him. 3 of his friends have been killed while carrying out work for the foundation over the 10 years in which
he has been involved.
Some hospitals in Bangkok pay money to smaller foundations who deliver patients to them, the commissions ranging from 200 to a maximum of 500 baht – and tend to be at the lower end of the scale. Deliver 5 patients in a day and there could make 1,000 baht
or so. Peanuts. But for some smaller foundations which appear to have something of a Wild West mentality, every effort is made to be first to the accident scene so they can retrieve the injured, haul them into their pick up and
deliver them to the nearest hospital which pays a commission. Some go to extreme lengths to get there first and have even been known to open fire on other rescue teams, with real guns and real bullets! Some smaller foundations
have caused major problems with vehicles being rammed, foundation members stabbed and shot. There was an incident not so long ago where the entire side of a Ruamkatanyu foundation vehicle was peppered with bullets from an Uzi by
a rival foundation! Turf wars are a problem. Ruamkatanyu does not accept payment for delivering patients to any medical facility.
There are serious consequences for one's social life. They work every second day, leaving little time for themselves. While the rest of us are out boozing it up or chasing the local lasses, they're waiting near their pick up trucks for news
of an accident, ready to help those in need. I ask about girlfriends and get a frank response. “Most volunteers don't have girlfriends, or don't have them for very long!” James adds that the girls can be
mightily impressed initially with what you do, but when you're not there for them on Friday night that attitude soon changes!
They both miss having a girlfriend, but the satisfaction of being in a foreign country and working with the locals doing good things is immensely satisfying. Marko gushes that he is proud to have many Thai male friends from a modest background, people
who really care for him because of who he is and what he does, and not because of money.
Speaking with some of the Thai volunteers who have been involved for years, they insist that as bad as things may be, they are much better now than they used to be. They reckon there was a turning point about 5 years ago, when there was increased enforcement
of and improved attitudes towards drink driving. It's still a massive problem, but better now than it used to be. They joke that if petrol continues to rise in price they won't have to volunteer any more, and
all within ear shot burst into sarcastic laughter! And they implore anyone getting on a motorbike, even for the shortest journey, to put on a helmet.
I ask Marko why he does it, why he spends all of his free time and most of his money volunteering. He has no girlfriend and no retirement fund. For many of us, Bangkok is more about our mates and having fun, than about a career, or helping others. So
why does he, and why do the volunteers do it? Ever modest, he pushes the spotlight away from himself and answers on behalf of his mates on the team. “They run their pick ups and their ambulances out of love.
These people die for what they do. These people are the real heroes of Thailand as far as I am concerned.”
* In the past Marko ran a pick up for the foundation at a personal cost of around 15,000 baht a month – a hell of lot of money for a modestly paid teacher. He has since sold the pick up.
Marko is keen to buy a fully equipped ambulance that he will run in the Sukhumvit / Ekamai / Rama 4 Road. He is trying to raise 600,000 baht to buy it. You can help! Over the years a lot of readers have offered to donate money to me as gratitude for the enjoyment they have gained from this site. I have always turned these donations down. I would like to say to anyone who would like to donate to this site, please consider instead making a donation to Marko's ambulance fund. It is totally transparent and all donations will be listed on his website. There are a variety of means of donating including bank transfers to an account in Thailand, a bank account in New Zealand where he has a registered charity or via Pay Pal. For more info, you can check out Marko's site at BKKFreeAmbulance.
Please do consider donating to this most worthy cause!
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Last week's photo |
Where was this photo taken? |
Last week's photo was taken outside the infamous Eden Club in Sukhumvit soi 7/1. Many people got it right, but almost as many thought it was Dirty Den's, in Pattaya. The first person to email me with the correct location of the photo wins a
500 baht credit at Oh My Cod, the British fish and chips restaurant. The second person to get it correct wins a 500 baht voucher from one of
the best farang food venues in Bangkok, and the home of Bangkok's best burger, in my humble opinion, Duke's Express. Duke's is conveniently located
in the Emporium shopping centre in central Bangkok. For readers in Phuket, we now have a new prize provider in Patong Beach. Bliss Lounge on Bangla Road is
offering a 500 baht drink credit and with some great imported beers from Belgium, Germany and Holland, they're unique for a venue on Bangla Road.
Terms and conditions: The Duke's Express voucher MUST be redeemed by June 2012. The Oh My Cod prize MUST be claimed within 14 days. The Bliss Lounge prize must be claimed
within 3 months. Prizes are only available to readers in Thailand at the time of entering and are not transferable. Prize winners cannot claim more than one prize per calendar month. You only have one guess per week! If you wish to claim a
prize, you must state a preference for the prize you prefer, or list the prizes you would like in order of preference – failure to do so results in the prize going to the next person to get the
photo right.
FROM STICK'S INBOX (These are emails from readers and what is written here was not written by Stick.) Preference may be given to emails which refer to the previous week's column.
EMAIL OF THE WEEK – Variety is the spice of life.
My issue with Soi Cowboy is that it's all the same. There's no variety, just row after row of stunning half naked Isaan girls grinding away. I was sat outside my usual watering hole on Soi 4 last night between 7 and 9, and was struck – almost
as if it's the first time I've noticed it – by the parade of humanity that were making their way down towards Sukhumvit to sell their time. 6-foot tall transsexuals strutting and pouting away like supermodels.
Uzbek women in their early 30s dressed up like extras from an infant school version of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves". Middle-aged Nigerian women wandering about, looking like they genuinely have no idea what country they are in.
Overweight Thai ladies in their early 50s, plastered in makeup, still at it after all these years. Rainbow 3 girls looking like Tokyo university students, shyly running past etc. There is also the thrill of running the gauntlet past Casanova
and their famous wandering hands when you go up the stairs at the back. Add to that the abundance of great normal pubs on the soi itself, and Nana wins hands down.
2 sides of the same coin.
It never bothered me about girls who prefer a certain nationality of customer. I always figured they were doing me a favour. Two way street and all – I don't find the vast majority of black girls attractive, so even if she was offering a super discount,
I'd pass. Why shouldn't a girl have the same right? I'd always get a laugh out of the west Asians in Dubai, how they'd complain so bitterly that the CIS girls wouldn't go with them then in the next sentence, how they
were so annoyed by the Chinese girls who wouldn't leave them alone, but who they would NEVER stoop to take! Most just couldn't see the 2 sides of the same coin.
Because you're a foreigner.
How many times have you gotten away with murder because you were a foreigner. It works both ways! We are discriminated AGAINST because we are foreigners, and we are discriminated for the same reason. I could cite dozens of stories where I got an advantage
over a Thai just for being foreign. Foreigners are hired (as well as fired) for being foreign, foreigners are paid more for the same job because they are foreign…the list goes on.
The sucker's fee.
To reinforce the notion that sin sot is for suckers, when I married I agreed to place x,xxx,xxx baht on a plate for the sake of the ceremony so that my bride and family gained face. Immediately after there was a "council"
that worked out exactly what the costs of the wedding were, previously loosely agreed by me (and not much, approx 100k baht), and the balance was immediately returned to me with receipts. I didn't have to demand it. The family seemed
to place great pride in being totally honest with me and have never asked anything of me ever. These are country folk that are not rich but get by on hard work, pride and mutual support. They have never asked for anything, nor have I offered.
I am doing well enough and in good time they will be well taken care of as I am generous with those I love and trust – so long as they don't ask.
Korat's Western populace going down-market.
Korat has gone to hell over the past five years. I remember the good old days when Korat was once Thailand's best kept secret. In the past five years, several freaks have decided to move here, many from Bangkok and Pattaya. It makes you wonder, why?!
I've also noticed more people here in Korat riding on tourist visas, dodgy credentials etc. Several bars have gone belly up and the owners have become English teachers. I don't understand what the attraction is to Korat as it is
one of the most boring places to live. There really isn't much to do here – hang out at the Mall, or listen to the American VFW guy talk about their war stories from Vietnam like a broken record over and over!
Whatever you do, don't trip!
I used to laugh at my Thai wife's fear of fire, the 'bolt without question' attitude. That is, until I saw a documentary on London's Kings Cross fire a number of years ago and how people were rather lackadaisical about a little smoke,
until the fire flashed over. Now, I've vowed to take a Thai attitude towards fire. Without a doubt, Nana Plaza would be a firetrap if a fire should break out. But with the bars of Soi Cowboy encroaching more and more into the soi, a few
people trip and fall during a rush, and it's almost the same. Yes, 2 directions to go there, but if you've picked the wrong one… I've been caught in a mob, and the only thing to do is go with the flow and not trip.
ATM scams.
Concerning the woman making videos of ATM pin numbers with her IPhone, a recent news program here in the U.S. showed a new device that can record the info from magnetic card strips from a close distance. The reporter doing the story would walk next to
people and record the info without ever seeing or touching their card. A cloned card could be created in minutes from a blank. All you need is the PIN to gain access. If the lady taking the videos was within a couple of feet of the person
using the ATM there is a very good chance that she is using a new skimmer as well. The crooks are getting smarter all the time. For the most part I use traveler's cheques and avoid ATM transactions.
No more mai pen rai!
The cat's away so the mice can play, but I don't why I just can't be bothered to face the usual assault course of Thai beggars – you buy me one cola, you pay toilet…you pay bar! The next time a Thai asks you if you can speak Thai, ask
him if he can. Just went to try and purchase my bread, "No powder". Yes, at 7:30 AM this had me scratching my head. Out of rat poison and other insect delicacies they leave around? No, of course what she meant to say was, for your
specific variety of of bread we have forgotten to order more flour. My mai pen rai days are long behind me. I asked her how would she manage with no rice for the rest of the week.
Doug from Bourbon Street was confident that the new (replacement) branch of Bourbon Street was going to open some time around now, but anyone walking along Soi Ekamai who has noticed the ongoing renovations of the multi-storey shophouse a couple of hundred
metres down on the left hand side can see that work is progressing very, very slowly. I
don't like to speculate on construction projects
in these parts but the way it looks at the moment the new branch won't be ready for quite some time, read many months!
Speaking of relocating farang restaurants, I see the progress on the new Tenderloins, which will be in the spot Music Station had on Sukhumvit soi 33, next door to Livingstone's, is progressing quickly.
Is a perfect storm forming over Bangkok's gogo bar industry? Pessimists are concerned at what might be on the horizon and whether in a little over 18 months time Bangkok's famous gogo bars will be a thing of the past. For many, Patpong has been
off the map for a long time with too much hassle, too many scams, too few interesting bars and awful attitudes turning the city's oldest bar area into nothing more than a once or twice a year visit for those keen to relive old times. There
is a chance that the master lease on Nana Plaza won't be renewed at the end of next year and that could be it for the plaza. It could become history. And finally, with a certain unpopular character buying up properties large in Cowboy, the
soi might become less fun and have fewer venues worth visiting. It's a totally pessimistic outlook but not one based on fantasy. Pattaya gogo bars will be rubbing their hands in glee, in the knowledge that should things go pear-shaped in
Bangkok, the masses will head down to Sin City where it's business as usual.
I give The Arab a hard time in this column but to bring some balance into the equation, I spent some time in Kiss Bar this week, one of The Arab's bars, and I was impressed. The bar is as pretty on the inside as his bars are on the outside and there
were a few cuties inside too. The service staff were
friendly and for anyone who wished to be a naughty boy, it was dead – with
all of 3 customers the whole time I was there with 30+ girls fighting for the few customers' attention. Yep, that is one of the positives about his bars – you don't have to compete with half of Bangkok to get a girl's attention!
There really didn't seem to be much happening around the bar areas this week. I did the rounds and saw little going on. I didn't even hear any unusual anecdotes, hence the very, very light bar news this week. Trade did seem to be rather off
this week and the bars seemed much quieter than they were just last week. This week felt more like the traditional post Songkran period when business really drops off. Or maybe it has something to do with school restarting and with school teachers
required to turn up for duty not much after 7:30 AM, they have stopped frequenting the bars for the time being?!
I note that Hangover 2 is released later this week. Much of the movie was filmed in Bangkok and it is set in Bangkok and other places in Thailand. Will it result in a small flood of new visitors to Bangkok?
Home Run, the baseball-themed American bar and grill has some good specials at the moment. They are running 2 for 1 burgers on Monday and 2 for 1 steaks on Wednesday. I have commented on their pricing a couple of times, which I felt was rather steep by
Bangkok standards notwithstanding the high
quality of what is on offer, but this 2 for 1 makes it a much more attractive
deal.
There was another red shirt rally in central Bangkok this week, one I wasn't aware of or I would not have found myself in that part of town when the masses in red were ranting about the ills and illegitimacy of the current government. Anyway, I ducked
into a nearby 7 Eleven and while I was in there overheard a brief exchange between one of the staff and a red shirt. The red shirt was asked what this particular rally was all about, and his answer said it all to me – "Mai roo"
which if you don't speak Thai means "I don't know" but the tone of the response suggested a more accurate translation might have been, "I don't have a clue!"
If you can't find a blend of coffee you like in Bangkok, get in touch with the friendly young American, Nick, who runs California Gold, a company which produces coffee in Bangkok.
Nick is a bit of a character and worth dropping an email to. He sells coffee and is also interesting in setting up people who wish to market it – so if you have a Thai girlfriend keen to make some money on the side, drop Nick an email and see
what can be arranged.
Quote of the week, "Whenever I get a good blowjob in Thailand I worry I was just with a katoey!"
Reader's story of the week comes from Mr. Anonymous, "Rumours And Visas in Thailand".
A good, accurate article titled Why Thailand's Sexpat Community Hates Taksin upset many this
week, probably because it cut a bit too close to the bone for some!
The Thai police's reputation takes another hit after the latest shenanigans in Phuket.
Time magazine says that a year after the protests, Thailand remains divided.
Thailand has ambitions to become an international trading hub.
Two Australians and a New Zealander have been arrested after a raid on a suspected brothel in the Philippines.
Authorities down south plan to crack down on the Phuket bar mafia, which is run by foreigners, of course!
Ask Sunbelt Legal
Sunbelt Asia's legal department is here to answer your questions relating to legal issues and the law in Thailand. Send any legal questions you may have to me and I will pass them on to Sunbelt Legal and their response will run in a future column.
You can contact Sunbelt's legal department directly for all of your legal needs.
Question 1: My Thai wife passed away a number of years ago leaving me with a daughter here in the UK. My daughter was born in the UK and has a UK passport plus an expired Thai passport
(expired 3 years ago) which states her nationality as Thai with an endorsement stating she is a Thai national born in the UK whose birth was registered at the Royal Thai Embassy in London. Her name does not appear on any house registration books
in Thailand nor do we have any Thai relatives who we would trust to add her to their Ta Bien Baan. Although my daughter is still of school age she might want to live and work in Thailand some time in the future and if this is the case
I would like to make it as easy as possible for her. Would this be possible without a Thai ID card and her name entered on a Ta Bien Baan? Is there something I should be doing here in the UK which would make the process easier for her
in later life?
Sunbelt Legal responds: Your daughter can apply for a new passport in the UK without needing a Thai ID card or tabien ban if her old passport is an e-passport. If she should choose to live in Thailand as an adult simply enter the country on her valid Thai passport and apply for an ID card and tabien ban when she lives there.
If she cannot get a new passport from the Thai Embassy in the UK then when she wants to live in Thailand she will have to fly into the country (apparently you can enter on an expired passport but cannot leave on one but it would be safer to ask the embassy to issue an emergency travel document), apply for an ID card, get registered on a tabien ban (she will have to find someone that will allow it) and then apply for a new passport.
Question 2: It looks like some bad decisions are coming home to roost and I am looking at being asked to pay up a lot of money here in Thailand, more than I have. I am not sure the
best way to handle this. I have a wife and a daughter and don't want to go back to my own country. We can live a comfortable life on very little. Is there bankruptcy law in Thailand and if there is, how does it apply to us outsiders? Can
we be declared bankrupt here and if we are, what are the downsides of it?
Sunbelt Legal responds: Personal bankruptcy begins when the debtor files in either the Bangkok Bankruptcy Court or an Area Bankruptcy Court and the petitioning creditors can verify the debtors insolvency. If there are no reasons the debtor should not be judged a bankrupt then the court will issue and order of receivership. This automatically begins the official receiver's tracking and collection of the debtor's assets.
Before declaring bankruptcy the debtor is given the chance to work out an agreement with the creditors, but if the creditors and debtor cannot agree then the Court will declare the debtor bankrupt.
A person can come out of bankruptcy by negotiating with creditors after the bankruptcy is filed. Additionally bankruptcy can be ended if no creditor helps the receiver in the collection, or the debts have been paid in full or if, during a 10 year period, the receiver is unable to collect any further assets of the debtor.
Downsides would be an inability to obtain credit for a mortgage or loan and the fact that the receiver has 10 years to obtain assets from you in order to satisfy the debts.
I can't help but feel that Bangkok's pulse has stepped up a few beats and that we're going through an exciting period of change. The pulse of the city is as vibrant as ever, as the vibe is changing – in a positive way. The
city looks different with more skyscrapers, it's more cosmopolitan and even the people look different! There seems to me to be a lot of optimism despite the omnipresent political problems. Exciting times. This place is going to be hard to
leave…
Your Bangkok commentator,
Stick
