Bangkok Hard Time by Jon Cole
Published by Monsoon Books
The surreal true story of how a Western teenager came of age in 1960s Bangkok, turned international drug smuggler and walked the prison yards of Thailand’s notorious “Bangkok Hilton”
Buy at Amazon.com or on Monsoon.com.sg
Jon Cole, wearing glasses, with his brothers and sister in Bangkok
It is 1967 Bangkok, the Summer of Love, and for teenager Jon Cole, son of a US Green Beret colonel serving in the Vietnam War, life as a young Westerner in the City of Angels is sweeter than mangoes on sticky rice with coconut milk … until he is introduced to the infamous House of Lek. Drawn to the underbelly of Bangkok, the International School Bangkok pupil soon discovers ganja, opium and the two-dollar bordellos. What follows is a surreal but true story of one Westerner’s relationship with Thailand spanning four decades. A drug habit picked up at the House of Lek with schoolmates and GIs on R&R from Vietnam leads to a career as a drug smuggler, a nasty smack habit and, ultimately, a long stretch inside Bangkok’s notorious prison, the “Bangkok Hilton”. At the heart of Jon’s account of his misspent youth in Thailand and his subsequent life inside Klong Prem prison is a Thai-style acceptance of the consequences of his own karma and a desire to expose the fallacy that Westerners are mistreated in Thai prisons.
Jon Cole, far left, with other prisoners in Klong Prem Prison
“Bangkok Hard Time” is not your usual prison book written by a foreigner in a strange land. Jon Cole was for a time a student at the International School of Bangkok in the 1960′s. He knew the culture and some of the language too. When he was arrested some years later and sent to prison, he already had an idea of what to expect and how to keep out of trouble. Not once in the book does Jon seek your sympathy. Nor does he try to dramatize prison conditions. In fact, he has a go at fellow inmate Warren Fellows who is the author of the bestselling book “4,000 Days: My Life and Survival in a Bangkok Prison”. Jon Cole describes Warren’s book as “a whiny, mendacious account of Thai prison life, in which he claimed to have been beaten by guards and forced to eat cockroaches and rats in order to survive”. If you want a more realistic look at life in prison during that time, then you should read Jon Cole’s “Bangkok Hard Time” book instead.
Jon Cole with a friend at an airport in the USA on their last smuggling run
COMPETITION: We have two copies of the book “Bangkok Hard Time” to give away. To enter is very simple. All you have to do is come up with a question that you would like to ask Jon if you met him today. Maybe ask him about his life as a teenager in 1960′s Bangkok. Or something about his time in prison. The two people who ask the most interesting question will each be sent a copy of “Bangkok Hard Time”. We will then ask Jon to answer your questions in an upcoming interview that will be posted here.
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. The winners were: Mona Salce and Trudy van der Hoeven.
Thanks for the chance to win this book. My question to Jon is “Would you like to ever go back to Thailand?”
I have and will again at every oppotunity
OPPORTUNITY
As an expatriate in Bangkok with 4 children in an international school, what advice would you give parents on how to keep our teenagers safe?
As an ex-pat,ex-con.ex-junkie and parent of two adult children i would advise you to try to impress upon them that a fool learns from their own mistakes and that a wise person learns from the mistakes of others…share the experiences of your own faults and short commings with them..finally. when they leave the house always remind them to never smoke dope when they are high
My question is: if you have the opportunity to be back in time, and meet yourself in the 60′s, what will be your advice to young Jon?
buy stock in Wal-Mart,Sony and Apple
What if anything would you change that happened in the late 60′s – do you think you would let yourself go through it all again?
the list is too long…still however, it is best to live with no regrets..
What advise would u give to non thai nationals serving in thai prison now? (Except from advising them to read your book ;b).
that is a long list…first learn Thai and Thai ways and respect them… drop your sense of superiority and acknowledge the fact that you are being treated better than they treat their own people.. realise you are a guest even though an unwanted guest…understand that you, not the Thais, put yourself in this siuation..be glad you are not doing time in your own country..smile.keep your hands to yourself,don’t think too much and accept the consequences of your own karma …there is more …it is all in the book
If not for the Vietnam War were the G.I.,s came to Bangkok on R&R to enjoy the many vices and most everybody turned a blind eye to what was going on could you do what you did now?
if it was not for the war in Nam then i would never have been there to begin with
Jon, what was worse, spending all that time in a Bangkok prison, or being locked up in a different prison if lies, drug addiction and a life of crime?
NAVIN…it is all the same my friend…jon
I was wondering if your american background and the 60ies with flower power, acid tests, grateful dead and the summer of love had anything to do with you ending up in this drug related mess in bangkok? if not, did it influence you in any way in bangkok/prison in the sixties/early seventies?
I was in the Chonburi-Prison in 1982 for 2 months…
I’ve been living in Thailand from 78 to 83 Can remember the hard time in Thailand…. But now I’m retired and stay 3 years allready in Thailand again.
I guess you were lucky you weren’t blacklisted. Most cannot come back.
just 2 and a half year overstay…not persona non grata, had a young son with a thai woman…. Yes, 2 days in Penang and I was back in Pattaya for 6 months more…
But still today I can remember my 2 months in this old Chonburi-Prison with Kao daeng everyday…Brown rice
Which I believe they changed to white rice just for the foreigners. That is one thing that Jon touches on in this book, how much better foreign prisoners were treated compared to Thai. Would you agree?
Yes, I agree, 40 Baht Coupon everydas, Thai’s 20 Baht, Farang not have to work, Farang can sleep in the “hospital” and can use the toilet from the guards…but no white rice those days nearly 30 years ago…and nearly all the inmates an guards frindly with me, sory, my English, I’m a Swiss
Were there any Thai women (probably bar girls?) doing the drug smuggling along with you and were they sent to prison, too? Or was it just a “man’s world?”
“no” to the first question…and “no” to the second question
Jon Cole has given us a Novel of epic proportions! It is not one to be picked apart and judged, for we are all just one mistake away from “Hard Times” ourselves aren’t we? As a teenager, the word, “Consequences” was not in my vocabulary. Thank you Mr. Cole for giving the world a book that I perceive as entertaining, educational, and most of all a cleansing of your mind, soul, body, and Spirit. In closing, the question I have is: In writing and reliving the past, did this book provide you with a portal to slay your demons and finally give you peace?
yes
Love to have a copy of this book, as I have over 30 years of experiences with the Thai people. First as a young Airman at Ubon RTAFB. Then many years living with a Thai lady.
Well, to enter the competition you need to ask Jon a question.
who were 3 of the most interesting people you’ve met, and why?
the answer to this question requires an essay
Jon, yours is one of several books written about the Thai prison system by Western prisoners. From the reviews, however, it would seem that your “prison reality” differs greatly from that of other authors. Why should we believe your story rather than theirs?
Laura…Damn good question which is answered in the book..i am looking forward to your personal review after you have read it..jon
What experience or personal quality allowed you to remain objective about your treatment while others ended up being so critical of the Thai system?
understanding Thai and Thai ways combined with acceptance of the fact that i,not the Thai people,had put myself in that situation kept my whining to a minimun
Jon – Looking forward to reading your first-hand account of what life was like for you during this period of time – can you explain why you felt compelled to be drawn into the drug courier trade, knowing the ultimate consequences of these actions if caught by the authorities?
pure greed
From your experience, can you tell whether the U.S. government had a consistent policy regarding American citizens arrested and imprisoned under Thai law? Did they try to help out? Pull strings? Intervene? Or did they just leave you (and other American prisoners) at the mercy of the Thai system?
Karl…consistent policy? pretty much..try to help? yes..pull strings? sure…intervene? seldom….the US embassy seemed to have two primary functions regarding citizen prisoners #1 monitor the treatment and well being of Americans..#2 count heads to make sure we were still there..
Apart from the stupidity and futility of crime, did you learn anything of great lasting value in prison?
Khun Don…to me this is the best question…i learned to not dwell on the experience …but that is easier said than done
How would you describe the freedom in the jail? And don’t you feel in jail while being outside?
Jon, if you could rewind your life back to 1 significant point and do something different, when and what would it be?
I would not have married my first wife
OH Jon! You still make me laugh!
You started the story as a “western teenager” but I suspect you ended it behaving and speaking more like a native Thai person (although I may be wrong about that?)
Now you are free of the restrictions of Thai prison do you have any thoughts about being more “Thai” than “American” and are there different areas of your life that are more one than the other?
Rachel…i can never be more “Thai” than “American”….and yes i have embraced many of the personally percieved superior aspects of some of Thai culture
Hi Jon, looking forward to reading your book. I believe there are quite a few international kids in Bangkok nowadays who are also involved with drugs. Some of them think that as they are expats and their parents have money they will be protected from being sentenced to prison. My question is: when you started making the wrong choices as a teenager, did you think you were immune to the consequences because of your expat status?
yes..and at the time it was pretty much the case
Jon, with your experience of the Thai prison system, do you think it actually reduces the crime rate? Would you say there are fewer repeat offenders in Thai prisons compared to western countries?
“yes” to first question…”i do not know” to the second
Do you feel you would be alive now had you not been caught and sentenced?
no
Many thanks for all your great questions. It was difficult to pick just two, so what I did was to enter all of the names into a “list randomizer”.
And the two names that came out at the top were:
Mona Salce and Trudy van der Hoeven.
Congratulations. I have sent you an email requesting your street address. The competition is now over. However, feel free to continue posting questions here if you like. I’ll be doing an interview with Jon soon and I will be including some of your great questions.
By the way, there will be another book give-away here next week for yet another prison book. This time “Escape: The Past”. More on that soon.
Richard…thank you for your kind and understanding patronage…”Escape” and the subseguent prequel “Escape: The Past” written by my fellow inmate and kindred spirit David McMillan are both gripping accounts. As a fairly accurate description of Thai prison life you will notice that he never claims to have been beaten by guards or forced to eat cockroachs and rats in order to survive..David is not a whiner
Jon-simply put I have read Warren Fellows book(the damage done) finding it to be embellished somewhat. Although a reflection of his experience. Is the jail hell or could sanity remain within the soul for the duration of sentence. Also is some of your inmate acquaintances still incarcerated now? Everyone understands that the Thai system is harsh and certain offenders would be still if alive and not dead from illness in Thai jails for more than 20 years?
ive read the damage done by warren fellows and that book can put you off thailand for life, is most of the book blown out of proportion
Any chance the book can be translated and published in Thai?
I knew from page one that Warren’s book was exaggerated and unreliable. I don’t believe half of it. So I look forward to reading yours instead.
But Jon, Thailand in the 1960s and 70s must have been a great place, with the few farangs who were there treated like royalty.
Jon,
Would you agree the overcrowding and apparent inhumane conditions are a sign that the Thai government and its people just don’t care to change it. Surely the government has funds enough but obviously prioritises it in other ways. In any Western country these conditions would be considered outrageous, driving huge public protest and government official/minister would be called to accountability and take actions and heads would roll. Apparently the Thai do not mind. They may think offenders deserve what comes to them, Karma thinking. I am really interested in the why, myself living happily in Thailand for a number of years now.
Use to go to ISB and was good friends with your brother. Do you have an email address I can correspond