Beach bench operators have
lined the beach side of the promenade with sandbags in an attempt to
keep their businesses from washing away.
Warunya Thongrod
Pattaya beach chair vendors are sick of waiting for city
officials to solve Pattaya’s flooding problem and have begun blocking
off the beach themselves to prevent erosion.
Sandbags line the sidewalk on Beach Road from Mike Shopping Mall to the
Dusit Curve in hopes of blocking street flooding from flowing onto the
sand and gouging deep holes where the vendors make their livings.
While understandable, the appropriation of public property is illegal.
It’s also short-sighted in a couple of ways. For starters, vendors left
gaps in the sandbags to let tourists cross, but also lets water through.
Second, the sandbags block the natural route for flood water to return
to the sea and only worsen flood damage for those on the other side of
the sandbags.
Some vendors, however, don’t seem to care.
“The sandbags you see along the entire length of the beach are not from
city hall, but the beach chair vendors who cannot stand seeing their
retail area become so eroded that they cannot open for business,” said
central Pattaya beach chair vendor Jaew Changmai. “We found a way to
protect ourselves because we told city hall that it has taken too long
for anything to be done.”
“We have to eat,” Jaew continued. “We don’t want to do this because it’s
not a pretty sight. I hope Pattaya will find a way to solve the problem,
otherwise water will continue eroding the beach.”