BOOK: Bangkok Hard Time

In the opening chapters, Cole explains why he was in Bangkok as a young teenager, and reputes himself as being observant of the Thai culture.  He shows disdain for those Americans who looked down on the Thais, and points out that the Thai culture is 700 years older than the American one.

He tells of his early teenage years in Bangkok where he meets up with the illicit drug culture through one of the many opium dens in Bangkok, a meeting that he does not have the maturity to deal with.  And inadequate parental supervision ensures that the drug taking becomes a habit.

It is that same lack of maturity that finally sees Cole as a full-blown heroin addict, for whom the major fear in life was that he would have no heroin and get withdrawals, a situation that he would do anything to avoid.

I found it interesting to find that the US government deposits $100 per month in an American prisoner’s bank account.  One wonders at the advisability of this largesse.

Author Cole admits that the foreign prisoners were treated better than the Thai prisoners, and even their allocated food was superior.  This food, in turn, was bartered with the Thai prisoners in exchange for services, such as completing the foreigner’s days work duties.  Cigarettes were also exchanged for services.

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