I have printed a 100 year old family photo as Christmas gifts for family members. It shows my great-grandfather and the bunch. Actually my great-great is in it too.
I went to the post office desk in Silom Complex to mail the photos. When I got there the Thai guy looked like he was about to go home.
- Are you closed? I asked.
- Yes close, said the Thai guy.
I looked at my watch. It was 19.37.
- You are supposed to stay open till 8pm, I said and pointed a sign on the desk. “Close 20.00” it said.
The Thai guy looked at the sign as if he had never seen it before.
- 20.00 is for center, said the Thai guy.
Liar. Silom Complex is open till 9pm. And the sign on his desk was hand-written and for his own business, not for the whole complex.
- You come back tomorrow, said the Thai guy.
I left. The next day I didn’t feel like seeing the liar again so I went to Central Rama 3, where I thought I had seen a similar post office desk. It wasn’t there anymore, if it ever had been. I swallowed my pride, pondered if I should call him liar to his face, and went back to Silom Complex. He had closed and left.
Don’t rock the boat. Never cross a Thai. So they say. I wonder if I should bother to write a letter to his boss to complain about this lazy no good SOB who goes home too early.
December 17th, 2007 at 6:18 am
There is a real post office in Suriwong, near Patpong, in one of those small dead-end sois on the left going towards Naratiwat. The Silom Complex office has a habit of losing mail….
December 17th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Do you really think it would do any good to write?
December 17th, 2007 at 11:07 am
SF, if we complained about every lazy Thai clerk who doesn’t give us good service, we would run out of paper.
December 17th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
There is a mailing service in the row of mini-shops to the left of Watsons that are in the little soi that goes from Silom then turns left into Thaniya soi.
December 17th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I had problems with that Silom Complex office too, mail sent 4 months latter. Others tell me the same.
The best post office I know of is on Soi Suanphlu next to Immigrations. It on the second floor, has air and a counter number system. Seldom busy.
The one behind the Bankok Bank on Silom is too busy, no air and too small.
December 22nd, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Why don’t you use the post office to the side of the Bangkok Bank HQ in Silom it is on Soi Phi Phat. Easy to find and you can use real stamps that some people think makes receiving a letter a little more special.