George Bowman

The P-lok Bamboo Grapevine kept asking why a 'farang' was in the race...

I recently attended the town hall meeting put on by the US embassy and this is what I gathered and hopefully my memory is correct. Last year 1.2 million Americans visited Thailand. 500 births were reported and 500 Americans died. During this same time 150 fellow countrymen were arrested. There is around 85,000 Americans living in Thailand. The embassy is the biggest in the world and Uncle Sam rents the embassy grounds from Thailand for $100 a year. If an American is left destitute in the Land of Smiles, Uncle Sam will loan the money to get back to the states. If it is a medical emergency the same criteria applies, although it will cost about $30,000. When asked about SS checks to Thai wives when the spouse dies, basically it was above their pay grade. The embassy is working on getting a direct flight from here to the states. The stumbling block (besides profit) is the stringent safety requirements for an airline flying into America. The head lawyer for the visa section said that most Thai visas requesting to go to America are approved. So why did I attend? Basically for two reasons. First, it is because I’m nosy and wanted to see parts of the embassy I have never seen before. Secondly, in all of my 69 years, I have never attended a town hall meeting. Overall, it was informative and enjoyable. However, there was no Dr. Pepper…

They must be short of folks as I was invited to attend. My usual attire is a nice t-shirt, slacks and tennis shoes so hopefully I won't get turned away at the door. I wonder if phones are allowed or is it like going into the embassy itself with empty pockets? Do I say 'Excellency or hey dude'? Hopefully a cold Dr. Pepper will be offered.

Last weekend a Thai lady (& her extended family) showed up to my pizza joint with a guy in a wheelchair. The first thing she told my wife was that she had heard about American pizza on FB and came here for some help. This is when I got into the picture. Karl is 77 and from Maryland. He arrived in Thailand about four years ago and soon after arriving suffered a mild stroke. The wife says that he has steadily gotten worse and now she doesn’t know what to do. He can’t walk nor control any of his body functions. He can’t really talk other than single words, but he could shake his head (yes or no) (sometimes) to my questions. I asked if he needed my help and he said yes. I then asked if I could contact the embassy for him and once again he nodded yes. I could see the pain in his eyes as he struggled with communication. His wife said a couple years back he forgot his passwords to his email, phone and bank accounts, so she has been taking care of him. She doesn’t know much about his family if any back in the states. Karl has one main bank account here and he signed a form awhile back to withdraw money. The wife took the document to the Bangkok Bank and was told that the signatures did not match and refused to hand over any money. As of today, Karl is currently in the government hospital in Phitsanulok and is unable to pay for medical treatment. I contacted the US embassy and they said they would look into the matter. Any other suggestions?

As a long term resident of both the states and Thailand, my opinion is really meaningless in either country. Maybe that is a good thing as I am totally confused. America sends money that they don’t have and Thailand accepts money they don’t need. Funny old world.

The Bamboo Grapevine has been reporting that folks who receive SS retirement checks must now go to the bank in person for transactions. If this rumor is true, then Uncle Sam is going backwards. In the past that is what I had to do and every few months that meant a trip into town to the Bangkok Bank. Pain in the butt. Passport, signed copy of passport and numerous tellers going over all of the documents. But several years ago, the regulations were changed so I setup an account with the local KTB that offered both ATM and online services. The yearly ‘Dead or Alive’ letter process remained the same. Is this true or not and if so, who can I complain to? Now that it will do any good, but it will make me feel better.

This will probably happen even without Hollywood's help.

If they prescribe cannabis like they do antibiotics...

I'm assuming that the conversations were in English. The Ministry of Education should have a think about this.

April 2025?

Which came first? The chicken or the egg? It doesn't matter, the police were already there.

The solution is easy. Find a way to make a delicious monkey dish and the problem will soon be sorted out.

I saw the video and 'casually browsing' did not come to mind. I would have said 'casing the joint'.

Yes, the traffic should move out of the way for emergency vehicles. On the other hand, I am reminded of the boy who cried wolf as ambulances should not be using their lights and sirens to make a noodle run.

Years ago, we were up in Chiang Mai enjoying the sites. We had an early breakfast at one of the vendors on the side of the road and there happened to be a minibus driver at the same table. He said that he made the trip from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and then back to Chiang Mai almost every day during the high season.