Mr Friend Has A Book By An Author Who Is In Thai Jail.

[GuestHouse]

I say good luck to anyone who reads or has brought into Thailand any book that is banned whether declared at customs or not.

Such a law banning books that dont fit into someone in powers ideals is nothing short of a national disgrace ...... would you agree?

Yes I would agree, but I would follow the law and not bring a book into Thailand that I knew was banned. I'm here to work and make money, I get paid a hardship posting allowance that covers such inconveniences as not being able to read a book I might not read anyway.

[bangkokrick]

I say good luck to anyone who reads or has brought into Thailand any book that is banned whether declared at customs or not.

Such a law banning books that dont fit into someone in powers ideals is nothing short of a national disgrace ...... would you agree?

Yes I would agree, but I would follow the law and not bring a book into Thailand that I knew was banned. I'm here to work and make money, I get paid a hardship posting allowance that covers such inconveniences as not being able to read a book I might not read anyway.

Hi Guesthouse, I am a little confused here, I thought that you were in Saudi Arabia? I guess that the laws there can also be very restrictive when discussing certain topics. I agree that we should follow the laws here as best we can, although many laws seem to be open to interpretation depending on the situation.

Just a point if you were/are in Saudi how did you get your visa? I could not get one in Bangkok due to the wonderful relationship between the 2 counties.

Cheers, Rick

[GuestHouse]

Nope, I'm not in Saudi Arabia anymore, I've been re-assigned to Thailand.

I got my Visa in the UK..... A holiday in God's own country while it was all sorted out.

[OldenAtwoody]

No need to tell you the name of the book, however on grounds of lese-majeste the author got into serious trouble in Thailand. I believe he is currently in Thai prison awaiting trial.

My friend has a copy of this person's book, I do not know where he got it from. It is a serious long shot that anyone will ever discover the book in my friend's house, however, as a hypothetical question, could he get arrested (or whatever) for owning/possessing it?

Cheers

Not sure, but I'll trade you a copy of "The King and I" on DVD!

[petedk]

Thanks for the replies. Yes it was written by an Ozzie author.

I have read the first 7 chapters and it is sh*t. There are grammatical and spelling mistakes and the conversation between the characters is severely amateurish at best. I think this book sold 7 copies in Thailand... so I guess that there are at least another 6 people who can't see what all the fuss was about!

The day the Thai police come into people's houses to check for illicit belongings will be the day I skidaddle to Myannmar to live... but the comments about keeping the book under one's hat is a very good idea... thanks.

Well one of the copies is in the national Museum. I have seen a photocopy of it with government stamp on it as well. So someone copied it there and sent it into circulation.

[bangkokrick]

Nope, I'm not in Saudi Arabia anymore, I've been re-assigned to Thailand.

I got my Visa in the UK..... A holiday in God's own country while it was all sorted out.

A belated welcome back. I had to do the same to get the visa otherwise I would have lost the contract. Nice to go home for a while though and see the family. Good reading and keep it legal lol.

Cheers, Rick

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Just finished reading the book. IMO the worst book I've ever read relating to Thailand and with so many factual and grammatical errors in it, the guy is lucky to be out of prison... should have thrown away the key!!!

I'm 'firing up the barbie' as I type this :-)

[GuestHouse]

Ah ..... Burning books. We should draw the line somewhere Jim.

[meadish_sweetball]

If this book is as sh!t as you say it is, I would go ahead and use it to fire up the barby; then you've got nothing to worry about!

Burning books, even those void of any literary or informative merit or those with in some way objectionable content, is a very silly thing to do in my opinion.

[KhaoNiaw]

There is a copy of the King and I in he big Video shop in CM. The owner says it is niot banned here.

"The King and I" is not banned and freely available

A lot of websites say otherwise, including Time.com

The first time I ever saw 'The King and I' was on UBC (possibly in the days before it was UBC).

[thaihome]

...on UBC (possibly in the days before it was UBC).

Was orginally IBC, merged with UTV to form UBC in 1998, but now it is True Visions.

True Vison

TH