In these turbulent times around the globe you wonder why anyone would aspire to be a prime minister, president, dictator, despot, tyrant or whatever. Even in Amazing Thailand it can't be much fun being the PM. Just imagine waking up every morning and realising you are responsible for 71 million Thai citizens, all probably with some kind of grievance. Most of us have enough problems looking just after ourselves … and maybe the dog.
Almost every day there's assorted insoluble problems the PM will have to deal with. If a tuk-tuk stalls at a major intersection creating traffic mayhem the PM will probably get the blame. Worst of all, if you are the premier you can't have holes in your socks or soup stains on your shirt. That would rule me out for a start.
Thailand's new prime minister, Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is the 31st in the kingdom's history and the 23rd I have witnessed since the days of Thanom Kittikachorn. That might seem a lot but in Britain there were 14 premiers over the same period.
One day in 1975 I unexpectedly came face-to-face with the 13th prime minister, MR Kukrit Pramoj, on the steps of the Scala cinema in Bangkok. I was going up the steps and he was walking down. He was by himself without any guard or entourage. I recall thinking how wonderful it was to be in a country where the prime minister could go to the movies on his own, just like anyone else.
MR Kukrit was a man of many talents and a great film buff. He even proved to be an accomplished actor in the 1963 film The Ugly American partly shot in Bangkok, starring Marlon Brando who praised MR Kukrit's acting. According to Time magazine the temperamental American actor was "genuinely overwhelmed by the gentle Thai people".
Big Mango greets Nixon
Brando was not the only famous American to appreciate Thai hospitality. Another great fan of the kingdom was US president Richard Nixon who enjoyed a state visit 55 years ago.
The Nixons arrived in Bangkok on July 28, 1969 on their way to embattled South Vietnam. Although he was just beginning to feel a backlash from the deteriorating situation in Vietnam his image had been enhanced by the successful Apollo 11 Moon landing just a week earlier. Despite the constant drizzle in Bangkok he was greeted by large crowds and chants of "We want Nixon".
Nixon later commented that Thai people "have a verve and mystique not to be found anywhere on Earth". He also rated Bangkok as one of his favourite cities, having visited three times before. He once called Bangkok a "perfect place", but remember he was talking about the Bangkok of the 1950s and 1960s.
Lurking lizards
Thailand also had a visit from President Barack Obama in 2012. There was an entertaining incident before Mr Obama's arrival when the advance team of the US Secret Service were carrying out a security sweep in Bangkok. At Government House they expressed alarm at seeing giant lizards prowling around the grounds. It turned out they had mistaken them for the carnivorous komodo dragons found in parts of Indonesia.
Thai officials calmed them down, explaining that while the Thai monitor lizards might not win any beauty competitions, they are relatively harmless. Nonetheless the lizards noticeably kept their heads down during Mr Obama's visit.
Hot seat
Most important news of the week featured the unfortunate Samut Prakan gentleman, Tanat Tangtewanon, sitting on his toilet only to be bitten in a most sensitive area by a python which had taken up residence in his toilet bowl. Not quite the start to the day he was expecting. However he was alert enough to fight off the snake by bashing it with a toilet brush, an unorthodox but effective weapon. Rather a messy ending but it could have been a lot worse.
Mr Tanat's experience made the newspapers around the world including British national newspaper the Daily Mirror which eloquently headlined it "Python bites bloke's balls".
Slither dither
Anyone who has lived in Thailand will probably have had some kind of unscheduled meeting with a snake. I've experienced a few close encounters with the slithery things over the years and have not exactly covered myself in glory. Snakes are best left to their own devices, as far away as possible.
Alert readers may recall that in the April 28th column this year there was an item about a cobra (ngoo hao) suddenly appearing from under my couch while I was having breakfast. Suffice to say I was rescued by a combination of the dog and Uncle Noi who looks after the house.
Safety first
At a previous residence we experienced a big black snake in the toilet bowl. Fortunately, unlike Mr Tanat's case the snake was spotted before anyone used the bathroom. I was all for leaving the snake alone and let it slip away in its own time. However the maid said it was bad luck having a snake in the house and we couldn't use the toilet. Thankfully the creature slithered out of the bathroom sending us all scampering for safety.
If you enjoy silly snake stories and encounters with other exotic creatures there are plenty of such tales in my book Beyond Nowhere available at AsiaBooks; www.dco.co.th and Amazon.
Contact PostScript via email at oldcrutch@hotmail.com