A couple of American friends and I were recently talking about mail from Thailand to the US and why it is so slow. That’s because, in the last couple of years we have noticed a huge increase in the amount of time a letter from Thailand to the US takes — up from an average of six days just a few years ago to nowadays up to three weeks or more.
So why is mail from Thailand to the US so slow?
The Thai Post Office is Not to Blame
Let me just say, it is not the fault of the Thai post office.
The last three pieces of mail from Thailand to the US that I sent were to my parents. All three were sent by registered mail with a tracking number so I could watch where they were, and see first-hand why the delay was taking so long.
Needless to say, the results were quite surprising. Particularly when it’s obvious this massive delay in mail delivery with mail from Thailand to the US is due to the US postal service (or should we now say “The NSA”, as that’s what I’m wondering is causing the hold ups?).
Tracking mail from Thailand to the US with a tracking number
The last letter I sent to my Dad was nothing more than a piece of paper and a CD-Rom in a small brown envelope. I sent it registered mail on August 21st. I then watched it online as it winged its way from Thailand to America, arriving in the US at JFK Airport on August 25th.
So when was it delivered to my Dad?
It hasn’t been yet. It’s now 3 weeks and three days later and that letter sent from Thailand to the US via registered mail is lost somewhere in the US postal service’s system.
Related: How to mail packages from Thailand to the United States?
Coincidentally, on the same day, August 21st, my Dad sent me a letter that included my new ATM card as my old one was due to expire.
That letter was delivered to me in Bangkok yesterday — September 13th — three weeks and two days after it was mailed. Pathetic doesn’t even describe the US postal service.
The NSA tracking all American mail?
Of course, America’s National Security Agency (the NSA) has already admitted most of the mail sent in or sent to the US is now scanned or opened and checked for ‘threats’ – threats which almost anyone with half a brain knows rarely exist, but instead are just an excuse for the NSA’s spying on a now-grand scale.
So, that is likely one big reason why mail from Thailand, or anywhere else, to the US is taking so darned long.
My solution? Just don’t send any mail from Thailand via US mail. Use Fed Ex or UPS instead, as even if the NSA is tracking those services, at least the services themselves are a lot faster.
Or, if you do not need to send a physical copy of something, use an email service.
Related: How do you mail a letter or parcel in Thailand? — Quick post office tips
A non-American email service, of course, as American services like Yahoo, G-mail and Bing are all now monitored by the NSA. So make sure your recipient’s email service is non-American as well.
At least that way you are guaranteed to get the information you are sending to the recipient in a reasonable period of time as the US postal service, whether it is because of pathetically slow service, or NSA spying, obviously cannot be trusted anymore.