What the hell did you do all day...? Or were these just your sleeping quarters....the heat and the stench must have been unimaginable!!!

Fauxie said:

Cuddles said:

looks like you had one of the better spots

Yeah, it was after sleeping down the middle for 4 months, often alongside 2 others. My old space was in the middle there in front of the door alongside a chubby guy and a properly fat guy. I was spared sleeping in the box on account of my height and started out initially sleeping down the middle just outside the toilet.

Did you eat in there too? Did they let you out for any reason?

Cuddles said:

Fauxie said:

Yeah, it was after sleeping down the middle for 4 months, often alongside 2 others. My old space was in the middle there in front of the door alongside a chubby guy and a properly fat guy. I was spared sleeping in the box on account of my height and started out initially sleeping down the middle just outside the toilet.

Did you eat in there too? Did they let you out for any reason?

We were let out just after 7am to go shower and get our free breakfast. We'd then go to our work areas, wait for visitors to come, maybe order food for the afternoon (to add to and improve the free 2pm meal), or just take our chances going for a wander. I liked this last option, going to different work areas to sit and work with friends and chat, or going to the library. I was officially an English teacher but I usually hung around in the paper bag folding area with my buddies the young Muslims. After afternoon showers and meals we'd go back up to the cells after 3pm and would eat in the cell again around 7pm, but usually just the pastries, donuts, cakes and sweet crap they allowed in the cells. Our 'house' started smuggling up (well, I did, in my plastic bag - along with cigarettes, lighters, and even a cut-throat razor lol) 'real' food in the form of noodles or rice dishes.

imago said:

That is the most frightening Windows 8 product installation description I have ever read.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

What the hell did you do all day...? Or were these just your sleeping quarters....the heat and the stench must have been unimaginable!!!

Just sleeping quarters, from around 3:30pm until 7am. The heat was terrible in summer, but it could be freezing in winter (showering outside at 7am when the air temp is 18 C. Sounds warm but it's bloody cold!). Especially during the flooding rhe smell wasn't great at times. There were no showers allowed to be taken in the cells, though ppl risked getting a beating and tried to take sneaky ones, with mixed success. During the floods they had us showering with (and drinking!) flood water with chlorine in! Bloody criminal.

.

[Edited 2/28/13 10:22am]

Fauxie said:

Cuddles said:

Did you eat in there too? Did they let you out for any reason?

We were let out just after 7am to go shower and get our free breakfast. We'd then go to our work areas, wait for visitors to come, maybe order food for the afternoon (to add to and improve the free 2pm meal), or just take our chances going for a wander. I liked this last option, going to different work areas to sit and work with friends and chat, or going to the library. I was officially an English teacher but I usually hung around in the paper bag folding area with my buddies the young Muslims. After afternoon showers and meals we'd go back up to the cells after 3pm and would eat in the cell again around 7pm, but usually just the pastries, donuts, cakes and sweet crap they allowed in the cells. Our 'house' started smuggling up (well, I did, in my plastic bag - along with cigarettes, lighters, and even a cut-throat razor lol) 'real' food in the form of noodles or rice dishes.

what was there reasoning behind putting everyone cramped in a cell like that? could you ever get a good rest?

good lord, the diagram and pic show how rather inhumane the thai prison system is

Cuddles said:

Fauxie said:

We were let out just after 7am to go shower and get our free breakfast. We'd then go to our work areas, wait for visitors to come, maybe order food for the afternoon (to add to and improve the free 2pm meal), or just take our chances going for a wander. I liked this last option, going to different work areas to sit and work with friends and chat, or going to the library. I was officially an English teacher but I usually hung around in the paper bag folding area with my buddies the young Muslims. After afternoon showers and meals we'd go back up to the cells after 3pm and would eat in the cell again around 7pm, but usually just the pastries, donuts, cakes and sweet crap they allowed in the cells. Our 'house' started smuggling up (well, I did, in my plastic bag - along with cigarettes, lighters, and even a cut-throat razor lol) 'real' food in the form of noodles or rice dishes.

what was there reasoning behind putting everyone cramped in a cell like that? could you ever get a good rest?

Just too many ppl in prison in Thailand. There are laws for how many metres squared each person should have but the reality was we had far less than we our allocation. Our beds were typically about 1.8m long by about 0.5m. There are over 400,000 ppl in prison in Thailand. Sleeping was tough at times, sure. We had a TV in the cell showing mostly Thai and Korean soap operas (now THAT is fucking inhumane ) and that went off at 9pm and we were expected to be sleeping by about 10pm. You'd wake up several times during the night though. I used to wake up every day before 5am for a smoke and a shit and then to do some ab exercises on my bed, so I had to try to get to sleep as early as I could. I was tired for 14 months.

cborgman said:

good lord, the diagram and pic show how rather inhumane the thai prison system is

Yet there were things that seemed lenient or decent or nice. The grounds in my particular compound (number 5 of 6 in the prison) had flowers and trees and were quite pleasant over in the education and gallery area. Had a new library there too. Quite different from most of our compound where the bulk of people worked, in the main building which was dirty and crowded, but it was a small slice of normal (nice, even), ya know? Funny thing is, I was part of the education area but aside from going to the library I tried to sneak back to the main building nearly every day just to have more ppl to talk to. More banter and more life. The learning area was good when you really wanted more space though. Meaning no-one closer than 5m away if you're lucky enough that no-one comes to bother you. The problem with Thai prison is not loneliness but lack of privacy. You are never alone. That ain't right. Try doing everything in the presence of other people for a year. It's weird and unnerving.

Fauxie said:

cborgman said:

good lord, the diagram and pic show how rather inhumane the thai prison system is

Yet there were things that seemed lenient or decent or nice. The grounds in my particular compound (number 5 of 6 in the prison) had flowers and trees and were quite pleasant over in the education and gallery area. Had a new library there too. Quite different from most of our compound where the bulk of people worked, in the main building which was dirty and crowded, but it was a small slice of normal (nice, even), ya know? Funny thing is, I was part of the education area but aside from going to the library I tried to sneak back to the main building nearly every day just to have more ppl to talk to. More banter and more life. The learning area was good when you really wanted more space though. Meaning no-one closer than 5m away if you're lucky enough that no-one comes to bother you. The problem with Thai prison is not loneliness but lack of privacy. You are never alone. That ain't right. Try doing everything in the presence of other people for a year. It's weird and unnerving.

i dont think i would have handled it as deftly as you did

Fauxie said:

TheFreakerFantastic said:

What the hell did you do all day...? Or were these just your sleeping quarters....the heat and the stench must have been unimaginable!!!

Just sleeping quarters, from around 3:30pm until 7am. The heat was terrible in summer, but it could be freezing in winter (showering outside at 7am when the air temp is 18 C. Sounds warm but it's bloody cold!). Especially during the flooding rhe smell wasn't great at times. There were no showers allowed to be taken in the cells, though ppl risked getting a beating and tried to take sneaky ones, with mixed success. During the floods they had us showering with (and drinking!) flood water with chlorine in! Bloody criminal.

.

[Edited 2/28/13 10:22am]

Wow....prisons here sounds like luxury hotels in comparisons to there!

I remember the cold showers and early starts on the Vipassana meditation retreat I did over there...sounds like small fry in comparison though!

Interesting, it must have been a real psychological trial.....i bet you must have been overjoyed on release.

I don't know if I asked you before but why did it ever get to the level of prison? Couldn't the Embassy have intervened...did u have a lawyer?!

Yes i can believe that. It seems that Thais hate being alone, they always seemed surprised when I wasn't scared being alone in an apartment. I think its also partly because they are very family oriented and are used to living among each other....and also slightly due to superstition re: fear of spirits and ghosts which seems to be ingrained in the culture.

I think being around ppl all the time and the lack of privacy would be the bit that would have done me in, I'm sure I'd find solitary confinement easier....

Fauxie said:

The problem with Thai prison is not loneliness but lack of privacy. You are never alone. That ain't right. Try doing everything in the presence of other people for a year. It's weird and unnerving.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Fauxie said:

Just sleeping quarters, from around 3:30pm until 7am. The heat was terrible in summer, but it could be freezing in winter (showering outside at 7am when the air temp is 18 C. Sounds warm but it's bloody cold!). Especially during the flooding rhe smell wasn't great at times. There were no showers allowed to be taken in the cells, though ppl risked getting a beating and tried to take sneaky ones, with mixed success. During the floods they had us showering with (and drinking!) flood water with chlorine in! Bloody criminal.

.

[Edited 2/28/13 10:22am]

Wow....prisons here sounds like luxury hotels in comparisons to there!

I remember the cold showers and early starts on the Vipassana meditation retreat I did over there...sounds like small fry in comparison though!

Interesting, it must have been a real psychological trial.....i bet you must have been overjoyed on release.

I don't know if I asked you before but why did it ever get to the level of prison? Couldn't the Embassy have intervened...did u have a lawyer?!

My release was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I hate myself for putting my family through so much worry, but that feeling on release day is one I'm glad I got to experience.

You see, the police were supposed to come to the prison to collect me upon my release and take me to the station to do some paperwork and then to IDC (Immigration Detention Centre) to be deported and blacklisted from entering Thailand for typically 3-5 years. For months I'd been aware of this procedure and had accepted how things were going to go down. My wife was released 12 days before me and she and our family would be able to see me at the police station, at IDC, and then have brief hugs at the airport before I left. So come release day I was happy to be getting out, to be going anywhere new even if I wouldn't really be free yet, but I wasn't exactly jumping for joy. I hadn't seen or hugged my wife in 10 months, since the last day we'd been to court. It was 14 months since we'd been together properly. Now I was about to see her briefly before having to part again. This would suck, I knew, but I was telling myself (and my wife) that it'd be ok.

So... the day I got released they opened the final giant gate and about 10 of us being released on that day were told to go home, to clear off. I looked around and nobody was waiting for me. We were all holding these little cards that had the details of our prison books, our accounts that held any money as credit we could spend in the prison shop. Everyone funneled towards the visitor area where they also had the appropriate desk to claim any cash we had in our books. I just automatically went with the others as I tried to gather my thoughts. There was 100 baht ($3) in my book, but more importantly, where were the police? The other guys started queueing up to get their money, but I asked a lady working there for the exit. She pointed the way and I cut through the mass of waiting visitors and headed for the door. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. Fuck! My heart sank but when I turned round it was just a fellow prisoner who thought I'd got lost telling me I had to hand in my card and get my money. I told him to take it, that I didn't want it, and that I was going home!

Outside I found the path that would wind its way out of the pretty substantial outer grounds of the prison. I was really power walking and as I'd thought I was being picked up by the police I hadn't bothered to buy new 'unmarked' clothes to wear outside. Instead I was wearing stuff screen-printed with the prison name and all kinds of shit, and ppl I passed were looking at me like they were thinking maybe I'd just escaped. The thing is, it felt just like I had! I kept looking around me, scared the cops would pull up or that someone would shout out to me at any moment, but also I felt the most incredible joy, just pure elation. I couldn't believe this was happening. Whatever was to happen that night or tomorrow or whenever, I was about to go home and it was really happening. I had no money on me whatsoever but I got out on to the main road and hailed a taxi, jumped in and headed for home. When I got there I asked the driver to wait a while for me to go get some money and went into the house. My brother in law looked shocked and my mother in law cried and wouldn't stop hugging me. My wife heard my voice and came downstairs with a face showing total disbelief like she was looking at a ghost (before bursting into tears lol). We didn't call anyone until about 10pm, scared we'd lose the time we had (and not knowing how long we'd have or what was going to happen). In the end I got to spend 6 days at home with my wife and family and with the Embassy's help I turned myself in to immigration, paid a fine and got deported just on visa overstay, not to do with the drug charge (which immigration apparently don't know about). Those 6 days were beautiful and so important for us.

As I wrote on the last page of my diary...

'... we never thought we'd have this time together. It's been beautiful, wonderful, just what we needed to get everything 'right' before I go. Chatting, hugging, making love, looking into each others' eyes, and not being rushed or having bars between us. Perfect. It's put us in a positive frame of mind for the time we're apart... This has been better than we could've ever hoped for. I love my wife so much. Thx to her for her strength on this journey, and to both our families for their love and support. Time to wrap up this diary and let a new chapter of our lives begin. Looking forward to everything!'

To answer your other questions, why would the Embassy intervene? We were guilty of the charges against us (though the police kindly helped us out with some free pills too). They visited and brought books, stamps and stuff. We had a lawyer and they fucked us over. It's a long story but we should've done 8 or 9 months tops. Someone in our hometown (the motorbike taxi guy we used every day - what a cunt) helped police in order to get their son off a drug rap and as such the previously sypathetic police changed their tune and stuck it to us. The lawyer just did everything they could to prolong the case in order to get the most money out of us. Oh well.

Only thing bugging me is the police hanging around near our house, still. I'm scared they're going to try to set me up and extort money from me. When I get back I'm going to have a little camera with me at all times, ready to shoot video if anything dodgy happens.

Shit, too many stories. All this came from the DEA in the US too. Through CSD in Thailand and finally to local cops (once it became clear we weren't the huge company making and selling massive quantities of drugs they thought we were!). CSD asked for 600k baht to make it all go away, and then harassed my wife's family when we didn't pay.

That's enough for now though. Long-ass post.

.

[Edited 2/28/13 14:24pm]

^ Wow thanks for that Fauxie, fascinating. I would definitely commit to paper or if you're not ready to 'process' it yet perhaps just put all your notes and records in a safe place until you are. I'm sure there are some magazines etc / newpaper features that would like to pay for an account of your experience.

Is your wife coming here or are you planning to return?

TheFreakerFantastic said:

^ Wow thanks for that Fauxie, fascinating. I would definitely commit to paper or if you're not ready to 'process' it yet perhaps just put all your notes and records in a safe place until you are. I'm sure there are some magazines etc / newpaper features that would like to pay for an account of your experience.

Is your wife coming here or are you planning to return?

Depends on what work I find here and how her biz is doing there. I'd like to return by July but we may wait and she'll come over for Xmas. Just have to wait and see.

^Yes i know the feeling, the employment situation / trying to find work here is a nightmare at the mo...but on the bright side at least you are safe and can now have valuable time with your parents/family...

[Edited 2/28/13 14:40pm]

Fauxie said:

So there where it says 'box' you find the very newest prisoners, and prisoners who've been inside a few months but are from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and occasionally Vietnam. The ppl sleeping down the centre of the room have it next toughest, and they would typically be new-ish prisoners or ppl without the money or means to make a 'bed' (out of many blankets on top of each other and stitched together). If you get along with ppl ok, and have the money (or a friend to help) to make a bed, you should find yourself sleeping in your own regular space down the sides of the cell within 5 or 6 months, assuming some ppl get released, moved to other cells, buildings or prisons so that you can sufficiently move up in the queue. In the diagram the stick men are all lying with their legs stretched out fully (though not those in the box). In reality, unless you're short or it's a rare period where you've under 40 ppl in your cell so there are only 1 or 2 ppl sleeping side by side down the middle of the cell, you have to sleep on your side with your legs bent. Sometimes during hot season a lot of us would turn around to sleep with our heads in the centre of the room so that we'd be under the ceiling fans. Often half would be one way and half the other, which made a night-time trip to the toilet a lot of fun.

[Edited 2/28/13 9:27am]

Bloody hell, Fauxie...

TheFreakerFantastic said:

What the hell did you do all day...? Or were these just your sleeping quarters....the heat and the stench must have been unimaginable!!!

They were having filthy, homoerotic anal sex all day. I thought you might have guessed!

^ Oh yes Dave I bet u've been fantasizing about that haven't u!

Not mentioning names but I guess this situation is one that some 'gay' orgers would dream about!!! LOL

[Edited 3/1/13 10:03am]

that was wonderful to read, fauxie!

keep em coming.

Fauxie said:

Fauxie my hope for you is that the rest of 2013 is as normal as hell.

No more adventures in jail

Get a job

Fulfill Mon's every whim with a 'Yes Dear'

Enjoy good meals with beer

Post on the org