No place to bring up a child

The purpose of the latest visit was to let my daughter get to know her Thai side of the family, since we spend most of our time in the UK. However, we experienced something ugly and embarrassing to the whole nation. I got lost driving around the city and ended up on the Bang Na-Chon Buri expressway. I arrived at the toll station and was stopped by a police officer, who informed me I had been speeding and had to pay a fine of Bt2,000. He said that, unless I paid right away, he would take my licence and add penalty points to it. I knew this was a complete lie, so I asked him for a receipt, which he told me would take 40 minutes to arrive. I was pressed for time and my child was in need of attention, so this was not an option.

This kind of blatant corruption is something I have only ever witnessed in unsavoury places in Africa. In Thailand it shocked me. I have decided that it is probably better not to let my child spend any time in such a country and will therefore not be coming back again.

Goodbye Thailand, and good luck. You need it.

Ian Shore