Sir Arthur de la Mare's valedictory despatch on the "indolent ... feckless ... vain ... charming ... irritating ... frustrating and endearing" people of Thailand
Readers may be interested in the 1973 valedictory despatch from Bangkok by British Ambassador Sir Arthur James de la Mare, who painted a vivid picture of the city, noting issues such as: 'decayed garbage left for months on the side of the roads; stagnant canals serving both as cesspools and dumping grounds for dead dogs; buses belching clouds of diesel fumes; scarcely a pavement without potholes and open manholes to break the legs of the unwary; prostitution on a scale astonishing even in Asia; and no proper drainage, so large areas remain flooded for weeks in the rainy season.' Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!
parts of de la Mare's dispatch was quoted in Bangkok Post comments this morning, with no accreditation to you having reported it
That’s interesting! Where can I find it online?
in Bkk Post comments, it was an article ystrdy about floods
i will look later and see if i can find the article wherein the comment was made
found it! turns out it wasn't about flooding, it was about garbage at Mor Chit (oops lol) https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2884457/piles-of-bus-garbage-anger-suriya
here's the comment, by a user named Mescalero:
Readers may be interested in the 1973 valedictory despatch from Bangkok by British Ambassador Sir Arthur James de la Mare, who painted a vivid picture of the city, noting issues such as: 'decayed garbage left for months on the side of the roads; stagnant canals serving both as cesspools and dumping grounds for dead dogs; buses belching clouds of diesel fumes; scarcely a pavement without potholes and open manholes to break the legs of the unwary; prostitution on a scale astonishing even in Asia; and no proper drainage, so large areas remain flooded for weeks in the rainy season.' Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!