Getting
there:
From Banglampoo Pier (Khao San) take the big whistling boat going
upstream (to the right). It costs 6 Baht to Nonthaburi and takes 40 minutes. Nonthaburi
is the last stop and you will recognize it by the white clock tower by the pier
and the AMPM convenience store. Jump off the boat and walk straight on - ignore
the touts! Take the 1st left and walk about 250 meters. You will see Bang Kwang
prison on the right. You will need to go to the registration area on the leftÂ
Dress:
Guys must wear long trousers. Dress respectfully,
whatever your sex. It really pisses the guards off girls wearing tiny shorts and
vest-tops. Please dress properly because there are rumors the prisoners' visits
will stop because of backpackers. Make sure you know exactly who you will call
out as well - it annoys the guards when people ask for names they don't know.
If you want names you can call the relevant embassies: UK Embassy - 02 305 8333
- ask for Maureen, Kate or Anita. They will not give prisoners' names over the
phone though so you will have to go down to the embassy in person to meet them.
American Embassy and others may give names over the telephone - I'm not really
sure.
Food:
If you bring food from outside put it in a large
clear bag. You can buy bags at the registration area cafe for 2 Baht. Write the
name of the prisoner you are visiting on the bag. After you have visited the prisoner,
you have to hand the food in at the counter (where 100 people or so hang around!).
You hand in the original form and your passport. Wait for your passport to come
back (usually takes 10 minutes) and off you go.
Books, etc.:
If you want to bring mags, books or papers hand, them into the Foreign Affairs
office on the right as you go into the prison area. Leave the prisoner's name
and building number on the cover and they'll get themÂ
Don't bring magazines with
too many naked pictures in them though - they won't get through. Other info: Please
be aware that the prisoners sometimes have family or friends visiting. Look in
the registration book to see if someone has already called out the prisoner you
are visiting. It's very frustrating for prisoners when they have people they know
over and someone randomly chooses to visit them! Beware that in August and December
this may occur more often because that's when contact visits take place and families
come overÂ
Be very careful at these times. Very few women get visitors and have
to rely on missionaries.
To write to a prisoner:
Address
an envelope as follows -
Final thoughts:
If you are not really up to this, don't goÂ
time wasters won't help anyone.
Be sensitive to the prisoners' situation - if you say you will do something for
them, such as send an email for them or something, then please do it - imagine
their frustration if you don't. It's also handy to take a pen and paper in. Just
chat normally. If they want to tell you their story, they will. But they've probably
told their story 1,000 times so they may want to talk about other stuff!
Footnote
from KSR.com
For more information about this you can take a look at
the Internet and find a number of sites. It's not our intention to link to any
of these sites because some of them are critical and make what we regard as slanderous
remarks about Thailand. We can't support those sorts of sites, but visit them
if you want to. However, be aware of what you are reading - there are far fewer
victims around than you might think! Most people know what they are getting into...
Here's
one site we can link to http://www.correct.go.th/brief.htm
We
offered an apology to the British Embassy for misinformation we printed on this
page. Click here.
More information on British
Prisoners in Thailand here.
Check out these other
items related to prison visits:
Prisoner
Visits : A
Prison Visit
