One of the many things that I like about Barry Kenyon’s new book, Honorary Consul Pattaya, is its conversational tone. You really feel that you are listening to anecdotes of his fourteen years as the British honorary consul in the sin city of Pattaya in Thailand, perhaps over a cappuccino, or a glass of wine. He talks of the good, bad and plain unlucky Brits who have received assistance from Our Man in Pattaya, and he describes in un-judgemental terms what scrapes they got into whether on fast motor bikes, in dodgy business deals, with non-gender-specific partners, or when just plain dumb, bad luck strikes a holiday of a lifetime.
That is not to say that the book is short on depth. Mr Kenyon writes from the inside on what the cuts in embassy representation mean for Brits abroad. He describes a creaking and archaic system that relies on the kindness (and self-esteem) of honorary volunteers with little training other than the injunction not to ‘over-service’ Brits in need. Mr Kenyon writes of a kinder time, when he could buy a destitute Brit a pair of shorts, a sandwich and get the luckless Brit’s passport out of a good time girl’s smalls for a tenner without getting mired in paperwork. He lasted fourteen years; his successors flew by night.
As a frequent visitor and for many years long-term resident of Thailand, I found his potted history of Pattaya interesting and informative, and his predictions for the future of the city ring true. The Russians (and Chinese) are coming!
But what drives Mr Kenyon’s narrative are the stories of our fellow countrymen (and an Irishman or two) behaving badly – if only by local standards. If you want the skinny behind Jeffrey Archer’s perjury case, you need look no further; remember Michael Stacpoole? Want to know how Adolf Hitler featured in a fried chicken ad? Or, if you really ache to understand what makes Thai body snatchers do what they do (scrape up road accident victims) read on.
Chapter eleven of this book describes the sorry tale of Frank, a young man who danced with a Thai girl in a disco and spent months in jail as a result. It should be required reading for any single (or semi-single) male coming to the Land of Smiles. Seriously.
Honorary Consul Pattaya was a non-stop read for me. Don’t miss out.
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Top reviews from other countries
Mr Michael J Trestrail
Be careful!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2014Talking Toby meerkat
Brits in the s***
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2014Amazon Customer
What an awful read dull boring only Barry Kenyon could turn pattaya into a
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2015Robert Brett
1st class product & service
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2018