Pattaya Mail — Letters
It is noticed that the letters herein in no way reflect the opinions of the editor or writers for Pattaya Mail, but are unsolicited letters from our readers, expressing their own opinions. No anonymous letters or those without genuine addresses are printed, and, whilst we do not object to the use of a nom de plume, preference will be given to those signed.
Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail will also be on our website .
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Yet another reason to rid Pattaya of Baht bus problem
Dear Editor:
We all know the answer to that hoary joke... But what about this question, which highlights a perennial problem in Pattaya: Why does a Pattaya baht bus driver assault innocent farang? Sadly, same answer: Because he can. Often in my nine years of living in Thailand I have read about the Pattaya baht bus driver problem, yet these weasels continue to rule the roads with impunity, attacking any farang whenever they feel like it. Every Pattaya resident has a catalogue of stories about them.
I was the victim of a totally unprovoked attack outside a hamburger stand on Sunday night, December 28. My "crime" was to believe that I could park my motorcycle on a public road. Unfortunately the baht bus drivers claim dominion over this stretch of road as they wait for customers from the nearby bars. Hardly had I taken off my helmet than one weasel began screaming in my face and another "king hit" me from behind, sending my glasses flying off into the distance. In shock and with my ears ringing, all I could do was stumble after my glasses and then move my motorcycle.
This nasty little incident will have a number of consequences. First, I will rethink my plan to buy a condo in Jomtien as a weekend retreat - I just can’t take the risk of being assaulted again, especially as my young daughter often accompanies me on my motorcycle. Second, as a senior journalist who is often asked his opinion of Thailand, I will have only more negative aspects to relate. Third, it can only widen the "them" and "us" divide between Thai and farang.
As to the question of why I didn’t go to the police, what would be the point? First, who do you think protects the drivers, and second, my assailant would have disappeared into the crowd the moment he suspected I was reporting his crime. All I can say is lesson learned and be more careful next time. My story won’t make an iota of difference to the baht bus problem, of course, because the local tourism authorities can always find new sources of gullible tourists. But I hope it serves as a warning to someone.
Name and address verified.
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New Visa regulations in Penang
Dear Editor:
New problems have surfaced in the Thai embassy in Penang. The "#@*%" in charge now selects at random applicants for an interview to get a visa. The reason for this is to stop some farangs who pay money for someone to go to Penang for them. You now must go personally to pick up your visa as they check your photo in your passport with you. If they do not match, your passport is confiscated and you are in deep trouble. You are declared an illegal in both countries as you have no passport. These new procedures were in effect as of my visa run on 23 12 97. All three of the Thai border crossings also now double check your face against your passport photo to stop the couriers from doing your run for you. Now you know what’s going on, so don’t try it again if you don’t want to be deported.
Ron Bennett
Sydney
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Dear Editor;
Winebibber’s promotion of Western Union’s money transfer facility was rather ill-timed considering the inability of Western Union’s Lardprao office to cash a genuine cheque for a Mr. Bernie Newson as described in a recent issue of the "Nation".Mr. Newson’s treatment by Western Union employees beggars belief.
Anyone can arrange electronic transfer of funds from abroad to a Thai bank account through any number of reputable banks.
Yours Faithfully,
Mike Breeze
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Dear Editor:
I was glad to see that ‘Sgt. Bomo’ continues to write for your paper. Aside from being a gentleman of discerning taste, his writing is informative and witty.
Promote him to Lieutenant!Sincerely.
An avid reader
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Dear Editor:
There is something that myself and many of my expat friends need an answer to: When you go to nice restaurants in Pattaya or anywhere in Thailand, when you are presented with the bill they have already added the 10% service charge and the VAT to the bill. In most countries, this means that the 10% service charge is for the tips to the servers. We were told by the servers that they never see any of the money, that the owners keep the service charge. They expect us to pay the tips on top of the service charge. We do not want to appear cheap so we have been paying additional tips to the servers, this amounts to a 25% additional cost to the food and beverage bill (10% service charge + 15% tips). What is the real story? What is the proper thing to do? I am sure that many people are wondering the same thing.Puzzled in Pattaya
PS. Keep up the good work, Pattaya Mail is looking better and better all the time! I rely on it heavily to find out what is going on in Pattaya.
Editor’s reply: This is not an easy question to answer, and I’ll turn it over to our readers who may wish to reply with a more definitive answer. However, every establishment differs, with some putting this "service charge" into a kitty to be divided amongst the staff at the end of each month in the form of a "bonus", while others may keep it to offset the cost of salaries for their service staff. Also, although most service staff now "expect" all customers to give them a tip at the end of their meal, in the true sense, tips are gifts of money presented as a thank you for good service rendered. Bad service does not deserve a tip, and although manners and etiquette columnists have set 15% as a guideline for tipping, I strongly believe that the size of the tip depends solely on the degree of service rendered. If the service is spot on perfect, perhaps 15% is not enough. The best wait-people never hint that they "expect" a tip. Unfortunately, the worse the service is, the more the server seems to expect in the form of a tip, and the worse they will make you feel if your tip does not conform to their expectations. In the end, it is up to the individual to decide how much to leave as a tip.
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Dear Editor,
Thank you very much for the good job you do with trying to clean up Pattaya-Jomtien, so we, as we hope, in the future can welcome tourists without their complaints and problems, as we get now. I hope you can use what I have written down in your great job to wake up the Pattaya important people.
In 1998 we (our company - name withheld) celebrate 10 years as company in the tourist-business in Thailand, and I will be 60 years old on the 22nd of May 1998, so that means I will celebrate double in 1998.
I would like to have it quiet, but hope my guests at this celebrating will enjoy Pattaya. In this case I will be very happy if you continue to clean up Pattaya. It must be a good idea if you take pictures of the vender who blocked the entrance into White House Hotel Resort Jomtien, and along the sidewalk with the sharp smelling Thai food which (I) do not enjoy, and the other vender who blocks the sidewalk so the tourists have to go in the street some 100 metres to the north-west.
Thank you very much.
Best regards,
Mr. Harald
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