Hellfire

By 21 many of them have a rich experience with selling their body for money. Richer than you can imagine.

If they want your money - the Thais will learn any language of your choice. If you do not have money to offer to them - you could speak the best Thai possible - none of the Thais will be interested in you (they have enough of their own beggars speaking perfect Thai). So better spend your time earning money than learning the exotic local language.

For the most part, a new language is best learned out of necessity. That’s why many foreigners lack sufficient motivation to learn this language, which is quite difficult for any Westerner.

Usually, these are worn-out, life-hardened prostitutes who’ve already spent some time living in the West with their client-turned-husband.

She is the stupidest of them all

Agree. One Thai person is more than enough.

Not behind your back

Are you aware that most Eastern Europeans (by origin) in US vote Trump? Why so much hatred in almost every post? Is that something personal for you?

I’ve noticed that my Thai wife starts using the word farang in conversations with her mother when we’re having an argument or when she’s very upset with me. So for me, there’s no doubt: very often it’s a generalizing and derogatory word in the mouths of Thais (though of course, not always).

Are you a "Gazan father"? What exactly is "unhinged" in my words? 90% of Gazans are terrorism-producing medieval creatures sponsored by the bloody oil money.

Gazan mother? One of those who teaches her sons hatred the moment they begin to understand her words? Then, they go on to blow themselves up among innocent civilians. A pure case of evil. My wish is for the world to become a more humane place—here and everywhere. You, on the other hand, seem to prefer taking care of the mythical "Gazan" mother—the one that exists only in your imagination.

Although I don’t consider myself to be a tough, hardened man (for example, I avoided military service), the point of my post is not to complain or seek sympathy. Rather, it’s to warn others and, more importantly, to draw attention to the inhumanity of the supervisory structures we’ve created, such as the police and all kind of secret services, and the dangers associated with them. We are human beings, not sheep, who have no option but to silently endure humiliation.

As I sat there that night, I thought to myself—if they catch a serial killer, they would place him in exactly the same room I was in. Me, drinking 10-20 grams of alcohol in excess, and him—killing dozens of people. It seemed like, for the system, there’s no difference. It’s either a 1 (violated the law) or a 0 (did not violate the law). Do you think such an approach should be accepted in the 21st century? With all our knowledge of history, our technological superiority, and other so-called "civilizational achievements"? Are we really civilized, or are we just pretending to be?

This definitely doesn’t apply to someone who drove a car after drinking a glass of vodka.

No. In Russian prisons, there are beds. The conditions in a Thai prison can be loosely compared to the conditions in which Russian prisons place inmates who violate the rules within the prison itself. One important point I want to emphasize: As seen from my main post, all of my cellmates, who were Asians, seemed to be quite comfortable in this prison. For most Thais, sleeping on a bare floor is not a problem. This is nothing more than cultural and civilizational differences. While that night was torture for me, for the 15 people in my cell, it was more like staying in a 2-star hotel. My only complaint is with that "bad person" who, fully understanding everything I’ve mentioned above, sent me behind bars for the night and even tried to extract compromising information about me from someone close to me.

Well, how exactly do you define "a place to sleep"? Is a stone floor such a place? I don’t think it is for at least 95% of the people in the civilized world. For me personally, it was almost like being in torturous conditions. In fact, I was deprived of the ability to sleep. Did I do something to deserve being subjected to such conditions?

I am more focused on the part where the officer sent me to a cell and then interrogated my wife. This behavior mirrors the tactics used by secret police forces around the world, including the NKVD and the KGB. Many of you Westerners don’t seem to see the fine line between enforcing the law and violating basic human rights. It's easy to overlook this because you’re used to living in a free society. However, this is a dangerous trend, one that I’ve personally witnessed more and more lately.

I don’t claim to be innocent. Still, I believe I was treated unfairly. Which, in turn, is something anyone who violates the law should expect, especially in a country like Thailand. And with this post, I want to warn other foreigners in Thailand. Personally, you have no sympathy from me since you don’t seem to have any empathy for others yourself.

Yes, of course. Maybe they should subject all the arrested individuals and their companions to interrogation with electric shock. Your views are on the level of a guard at a Stalin's gulag camp. I wonder how people like you slipped into the 21st century—it's a mystery!

Yes, that is my point - if the fine was less than 10000, how could anybody expect me to leave the country? A classic example of abuse of power. (No, I did not pay 20k).

They have beds and water in US and Europe prisons. Believe me - that is a huge difference. Another thing - did the police officer had a right to interrogate my wife about me, to shout at her and threaten her? After all - I did not sell drugs or killed anybody! And, by the way, I was told just yesterday by some Thai driving instructor that the allowed limit for driving drunk is 50 milligram percent. Probably - this limit is for the Thais only.

We've all read and seen films about Thai prisons. We all know it's not the most pleasant place to spend your time. And yet, nothing compares to personal experience—what you go through yourself... From the very start, I'll admit that I fully recognize my guilt for the violations I committed. First, I drank about 70-80 grams of Thai 35% whiskey and got behind the wheel. Second, I drove without having either Thai or international driver's licenses. Did I deserve the punishment I received? According to many grumpy, old men from this forum—yes, I deserved to be quartered. From my point of view, however, I was treated unfairly and even in a dirty way. That day, my Thai wife was with me. We went for a short drive around the city, and during it, I had a little whiskey. A police patrol stopped us when we were about 200 meters from our condo. It was around 11 PM. I should mention that I felt 100% sober at that moment, and I'm sure I looked that way too. I didn't refuse to blow into the breathalyzer. The result was 27 "milligrams percent"… As the young officer explained, it was a full 7 points above the legal limit. About 15 minutes later, a young Thai man breathed into the same device, and his result was 120 "milligrams percent". He looked, by the way, quite respectable. They kept us there for about an hour and a half, right where we were stopped. All this time, through my wife, the police explained that they would process us at the station, we'd pay a 20,000 baht bail, and most likely, we'd be in court the next day. At the station, they kept us for at least another hour (together with the 120%-Thai). There's no need to explain the discomfort of being in a police station: various rude, ignorant men of different ages take pleasure in making you feel small, desperately exaggerating their importance. If there's anywhere that the meaninglessness of human nature fully reveals itself—it's during close interaction with police officers (or "dogs," as they're commonly called in Russia). Just when it seemed that the cheap spectacle was about to end, a higher-ranking officer (which means the most immoral of them all) declared that I could escape the country, and the 20,000 baht bail wasn’t a guarantee for such a horrible criminal as me. The conclusion—I'd spend the night in jail. I didn't argue, handed my personal belongings to my wife, and, together with the 120%-Thai, walked into the police cell. There were about 15 other Thai prisoners already in the cell (although among them were also Burmese and some other Asians). The surprising thing was that they were all fast asleep. Another surprising part was that they were sleeping on the completely bare stone floor. It finally hit me where I was. The room smelled strongly from the toilet located within the cell. The floor, on which the prisoners were sleeping, was not just stone, but also quite dirty. I sat in a corner and immediately realized I wouldn’t be able to sleep here. My Thai companion also sat in a corner, and initially, it seemed like he, too, wouldn't sleep (by the way, he was sent to jail only because he didn’t have the money for bail). However, I was wrong. Half an hour later, he dozed off while sitting, and an hour later, he comfortably stretched out on the dirty floor and began snoring. And here I was, alone in this terrifying room, surrounded by 15 sleeping Asians. Just a few hours ago, I had been expecting a very different end to my evening. I noticed a small window near the ceiling of the cell. Now, it became my main point of reference for the coming hours. I had to wait for dawn. I won’t go into the details of my thought process. Naturally, it was a tough night for me—both physically and mentally. What I didn’t know was that at the same time the officer who sent me behind bars was interrogating my wife. He asked her about me, how I earned a living, whether I had broken the law before... When he saw my wife’s reluctance to turn me in, he started yelling at her, reminding her that I was a foreigner and that by defending me, she was betraying her country and her people. In the end, he promised her that I’d be deported. Such a nice guy, a true son of a land of smile. Meanwhile, I kept changing positions: I sat when my back hurt, then stood, then walked. I did this all night. The thing that bothered me the most was the fear that they wouldn’t let me go in the morning and would keep me for another day or two. The fifteen Asians peacefully and soundly slept on the floor the whole time. Finally, it started to get light. The birds began singing. My cellmates started to wake up. They treated me quite amicably, but without any excess. I should mention that aside from the stone floor, another problem was drinking water. They gave me a small bottle when I entered, but only after my wife insisted. I stretched it out throughout the night. Surprisingly, my Thai neighbors didn’t seem too bothered by the lack of water—they drank very little. However, when they brought some kind of food (rice and something wrapped in paper), everyone sat down happily and ate with gusto. From this, I concluded that, after a night on the stone floor, everyone’s mood was surprisingly good. Around noon, they loaded us into a van and took us to court. Dirty and unwashed. I was fined 10,000 baht. Did my attitude towards Thailand change after all this? Definitely. Be careful—you really don't want to end up in jail here, even for just one day. And don't forget, we're all guests here (in the worst sense of the word).

This is a deeply feudal society. Either accept it, or find your way out.

I wish I could shake your hand in person—it would truly be an honor.