[tuszit]

On National Geographic Channel's show "Gross Jobs" they did a spotlight this week on body collectors in Bangkok that clear bodies from crime scenes to aid in the overstretched police/emergency services and also to help gain merit themselves. It was a very interesting show... does anyone know more about these groups?

[KukkoDrukko]

No, but I saw it on TV here a few days before my first trip to Thailand.

[tuszit]

Wasn't it interesting? And how they described that the collecting 'agencies' would compete to get to the crime scene the fastest. And there was a celebrity that did it, too? Very interesting stuff....although, maybe not what you want to see just before you go to Thailand!

...although, actually, I think it is pretty comforting that in an over congested city people might be racing to save/collect you.

[ireleda]

There is a station not far from my house up by the hyway where they wait for a call.
But it is not a fast service, they will also come to your house and transport to the hospital for autopsy and such, they are paid by the body count, but sometimes it is a long wait for them as they have to find the address or site of the pickup,No street names or numbers, and it is hard to get there sometimes, even for an ambulance with siren and lights because there might be a party set up plugging the street and they will have to find another way in and traffic on the roads never pays any attn. to emergency vehicles.

Most times we just load em in the back of our own pickups and haul em to the hospital. Coarse at bad wrecks on the hyways it is them that scrapes up the parts.

Emergency services in this country are almost non existent.

[Dominick Yo]

I'll be writing up a blog soon on 'more of Thailand's greatest rivalries, and by chance the body collection firms will be in it.

Basically, there are two big firms in Bangkok which compete with each other for the dead bodies! Why? They belong to charities which make a lot of money from donations (for coffins).

There was a classic story from a few months back when the rival firms arrived at the dead body scene at the same time and there ended up with a huge punch up!

Then another time, a group of volunteers were photographed by a Thai language newspaper sat around drinking whiskey outside the foundation's building after they received a few bottles for free for bringing in a dead body! Make merit the Thai way, and get paid for it!

[tuszit]

That should be a great blog, Steve, let us know when it's up!

[ireleda]

Looks like we gonna have to have em over here tonite, My wife father is real bad and They are just setting around crying waiting for him to die tonite and then the body snatchers will pobly have to come and take him down to the govt hospital for autopsy, I think they are the ones that do it.

[SpecialOFFER]

You're welcome. Ariyo foundation.
Emergency Support.
Help the victim and pick a corpse.



http://ariyobanmi.is.in.th/

[Wachearex]

dead bodies. man the things that ppl have to put up with.
i can take touching, even kissing the hands of dead relatives(mainly my aunt who died 3 days after major heart surgery when her organs shut down), but dead bodies on the streets? ug, no thanks.

ps

i do miss my aunt a whole lot. she died at age 42. she had a rare heart disease that we think runs in the family.

[Wachearex]

There is a station not far from my house up by the hyway where they wait for a call.
But it is not a fast service, they will also come to your house and transport to the hospital for autopsy and such, they are paid by the body count, but sometimes it is a long wait for them as they have to find the address or site of the pickup,No street names or numbers, and it is hard to get there sometimes, even for an ambulance with siren and lights because there might be a party set up plugging the street and they will have to find another way in and traffic on the roads never pays any attn. to emergency vehicles.

Most times we just load em in the back of our own pickups and haul em to the hospital. Coarse at bad wrecks on the hyways it is them that scrapes up the parts.

Emergency services in this country are almost non existent.

wow. here in usa, u have to pull to the side of the road whenever an emergency vehicle is coming.
i think if u dont, u get fined, or imprisoned or something. not sure. will have to look that up.

[ireleda]

Yes, I know how it is in the USA, very serious offense for not yielding right of way to an emergency vehicle, any vehicle with flashing lights, here they are completely ignored no matter the direction in which they are traveling.

[Wachearex]

Yes, I know how it is in the USA, very serious offense for not yielding right of way to an emergency vehicle, any vehicle with flashing lights, here they are completely ignored no matter the direction in which they are traveling.

seriously thats not cool.
what they should do is make lanes that r exclusively for emergency vehicles and fine anyone who goes into them. if ppl r gonna ignore the emergency vehicles altogether and not care if there is an emergency, i think that building dedicated emergency lanes is the way to go.

[ireleda]

seriously thats not cool.
what they should do is make lanes that r exclusively for emergency vehicles and fine anyone who goes into them. if ppl r gonna ignore the emergency vehicles altogether and not care if there is an emergency, i think that building dedicated emergency lanes is the way to go.

It seems from what you say that you have never been to Thailand.
There is also lane dividers between traffic lanes going in different directions,[divided hiways] which are not observed, they drive either way on either side of the dividers, cut thru safety zones right in front of police boxes and in general just do anything they want.
Pay no attn. to solid lane markings and pass when ever they want to, There is some traffic law enforcement on the tollways but none on the open hiways, if you are driving on a roadway there is traffic coming at you from the traffic lane on your right and also on the shoulder of the road, both motorbikes and cars/pickups, even trucks.

so without any form of traffic law enforcement you actually have no laws.

No one has ever taught the Thai people to drive, so you can not really blame them for their "water buffalo mentality" when in a motor vehicle.

[KukkoDrukko]

No one has ever taught the Thai people to drive...

So thats the problem. Maybe that can be your next project...

Actually, I didn't find the driving as crazy as I expected. I didn't see anything as nutty as what you describe. I've been a lot more scared in China.

The people I was with seemed to be able to drive quite competently. Maybe they were being nice to me. Of course, they still do that thing of using the middle of a two-lane road as a passing lane, but I've got used to that, and the opposing traffic expects it and moves over... It's not particularly safe, but it's a lot safer than if you did it here, where it would cause mayhem...

[ireleda]

well Mike, just come and spend a few days with me next trip, you will soon see what it is really like, maybe in the middle of august when i make my yearly trip to CM. thats a real trip, last year we rented a van and I sat in back and read a book the whole trip, so wasn't so scary, but the driver we had who was so good is now dead as he was passing someone and a truck hit him headon.. maybe get another driver this year.

[Wachearex]

omg!! not cool!!
here u gotta pass ur drivers test in order to drive. still, there r crazy drivers here too.

[Wachearex]

from what i have been told, and from what i have seen when i had eyesight, the roads here in the usa r hell. sometimes i wish i could drive because it is much more convenient, but other times i dont because i hear so much about ppl being killed by drunk drivers and such.

[ireleda]

Here you have to pass a test too, sometimes if you do not know the answers a hundred baht will fix that,
And even tho you have a drivers license does not mean that you know, or understand the written law or will even try to do what the law states as there is no law enforcement so that means that there is no laws.

[Wachearex]

wow. thats like bribery or something.
100 baht is not that much money though

[ireleda]

well if you are blind, you might do alright here.
But if you are, then how do you read and type the posts??

Not to be offensive, just nosy..555