Land Office Observations

[parrot]

I had the 'pleasure' of spending a few hours in the Land Office today (กรมที่ดิน). The last time I was in there was 14 years ago....so some things have changed.....others not. The following are merely observations, not meant to be critical......just the way things are:

Before the big boss and the deputy big boss come to their desks early in the morning, assistants arrange their desks with the required bureaucratic tools like stamps and stapler, then once the boss is seated, nearly everyone else will pass by and give a formal wai, not just the palms up to the face, but a half bow with palms up to the face. Almost immediately after being seated, a university intern will deliver a drink (probably coffee/tea) in a covered cup to another office worker who will then deliver the drinks to the two bosses.

If you pine for days of old, a short visit to the land office will reacquaint your ears to the sound of typewriters clacking away. If you're under 30 and have never seen one in action, you'll get to see not only typewriters, but carbon paper in use as well. There are lots of computers as well...and it appears that the office is computerizing their system......but there continue to be mounds and mounds of paperwork delivered to each workers desk on a regular basis by the university interns.

If you want to get in and out of the land office as quickly as possible, and if you're not one of the 'special' customers that gets delivered directly to the big bosses desk, then arrive before 8AM. If you arrive at 9 or later, expect a looooong wait. We got there at 8:05 and were out at 10:20.

If you want to find a quiet spot devoid of other foreigners (westerners), the land office is a good place to go.

The office is a good place to see people from all walks of life in Thailand, very rich very poor, very young and very old. If the grand-yai has her signature on the land papers and the youngun's expect to get a piece of the pie before she dies, everyone has to go to the land office to sign over the papers.

One particular yai came in with her daughter. After sitting down, the daughter whipped out her smart phone and started tapping away at messages. The yai, who sat next to me, inserted a pair of earphone plugs that she pulled out from her bag, dialed up a number, and proceeded to talk a good 20 minutes....about what? God only knows......but she appeared to be contented with her modern technology.

All in all......mission accomplished. We completed a necessary land transaction and I got to see some of life inside Thai society up close and personal.

[jackspratt]

All in all......mission accomplished. We completed a necessary land transaction and I got to see some of life inside Thai society up close and personal.

Were you lucky enough to observe any social graces while you were there?

[Laan Yaa Mo]

555+ Yes, I was wondering the same thing.

[parrot]

Social graces? Well, I did observe one of the ubiquitous lottery sellers just outside the front door walk up to a small boy who was playing in the parking lot while his mom yakked on her phone. The vendor put her deck of tickets in front of the boy and urged him to point to a ticket. The boy did. The vendor then discussed the likely winning outcome with the boy's mother.....who plucked out a few hundred baht for several of the tickets. Just like that, the vendor make some sales while the other vendors waited for customers to approach them. And it does give the young boy a leg up on the competition amongst his friends who don't know how to pick lucky numbers at such a young age.
Does that count?

Like I said, merely observations........not much else you can do at the land office while you wait your turn.

[rick]

Loooong wait - yes, went today, wife said leave at 8 and wasn't ready until after 10.00am; 25 in front in the queue and advised to come back after 1pm (which we did). Actually seen at 3:30pm..... Ever tried to keep a one year old amused for that long?