SOURCE: Pattaya Mail: Friday August 31st 2007 Edition

From Mailbag:

Lost mail

Editor;

I have recently sent two birthday cards to friends in Bangkok and Pattaya from UK and neither of these were received by the birthday people. I use printed address labels so that I don’t make mistakes with the difficult Thai addresses and also include my own address on the label. I suspect that the cards are stolen in the mistaken belief that they contain money. Do I have to use DHL for such items in the future? Do the Thai authorities do anything to sort out such problems?

Nigel

London UK

Although, I have been lucky with my mail in Pattaya over the past 6+ years, I know only too well that many friends and aquaintances have suffered from undelivered mail.A (complaining) visit to Banglamung Post Office sometimes works wonders, as does a small cash payment to the postie for good deliverence. However I feel the time has come for Pattaya residents to combine with one voice and insist that postal delivery improves. A.S.A.P.

I've had only a 50% success rate of having mail sent from Australia to various parts of Thailand, delivered.

Any letter with a foreign postage stamp could contain money or other valuables.....so thinks the postman. ...or maybe he'd rather be fishing for the day, so he dumps the contents of his mail bag into some hole in the ground.

I learned my lesson a long time ago. Don't bother sending mail. It's a waste of time and money.....unless it's registered as priority mail and insured. That way it is supposed to be traceable.

I've had only a 50% success rate of having mail sent from Australia to various parts of Thailand, delivered.

Any letter with a foreign postage stamp could contain money or other valuables.....so thinks the postman. ...or maybe he'd rather be fishing for the day, so he dumps the contents of his mail bag into some hole in the ground.

I learned my lesson a long time ago. Don't bother sending mail. It's a waste of time and money.....unless it's registered as priority mail and insured. That way it is supposed to be traceable.

How is your experience sending mail out of Thailand? I had one bad experience, I posted 15 picture postcards in a post box. None arrived. I expect someone soaked the stamps off for cash.

Otherwise in Pattaya my outgoing mail, which I take to Soi Post Office seems to get away O.K.

I've had only a 50% success rate of having mail sent from Australia to various parts of Thailand, delivered.

Any letter with a foreign postage stamp could contain money or other valuables.....so thinks the postman. ...or maybe he'd rather be fishing for the day, so he dumps the contents of his mail bag into some hole in the ground.

I learned my lesson a long time ago. Don't bother sending mail. It's a waste of time and money.....unless it's registered as priority mail and insured. That way it is supposed to be traceable.

A few years ago I sent a registered envelope from the UK.

When it never turned up I had the PO in the UK run a trace on it.

After two weeks all they were able to tell me was that the letter had arrived in Thailand but then the trail ran cold.

I've had only a 50% success rate of having mail sent from Australia to various parts of Thailand, delivered.

Any letter with a foreign postage stamp could contain money or other valuables.....so thinks the postman. ...or maybe he'd rather be fishing for the day, so he dumps the contents of his mail bag into some hole in the ground.

I learned my lesson a long time ago. Don't bother sending mail. It's a waste of time and money.....unless it's registered as priority mail and insured. That way it is supposed to be traceable.

50% eh, thats good!

How is your experience sending mail out of Thailand?

Back in the good old days when post cards were all the rage, I had no problem posting from Thailand to Australia. All were delivered. These days emails have taken over.

50% eh, thats good!