Banglamung Hospital - leading the way

The Banglamung Hospital is leading the way in medical technology on the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand.

It is an unfortunate fact that government hospitals were usually unable to treat all patients due to a shortage of beds and equipment. But due to the technological and communications revolution, hospitals in Thailand are now able to ‘keep in touch’ with the latest in medical developments around the world. The latest in surgical techniques and equipment are now available. Physical therapy units in Thailand are renowned.

Banglamung Hospital - leading the way.

Thai physicians have always been known for their consummate skill. Evidence of this was seen with the ‘Jarvik’ or first artificial heart transplant in the United States. The patient’s cardiologist was a Thai doctor born and raised in Thailand. This was a great source of pride to the nation. Working alongside surgeon Dr. DeVries, Dr. Boonchuay raised the prestige of Thai physicians on the international scene.

Banglamung Hospital in Chonburi was founded in 1967 and has constantly kept up with each new development in medical and pharmaceutical research. From a First Class Government Clinic, the institution’s status was raised to that of a Class One Hospital. The Banglamung Hospital is considered to be equal, if not superior to ‘name’ private hospitals. The hospital has become well known for its meticulous care of patients and high standards.

Dr. Prasit Jitiwatanaphon took member of the media on a tour of the hospital, explaining each treatment facility in language comprehensible to non-physicians. An impressive feature was the hospital’s cleanliness and open and airy atmosphere.

Dr. Prasit told reporters that it was hospital policy to give all patients equal treatment.

The hospital has recently remodeled its ‘ordinary’ rooms (for indigents) which are now ‘group’ rooms. The special rooms have been improved and are now referred to as VIP rooms. These rooms resemble hotel suites rather than hospital rooms.

All VIP rooms are air-conditioned with TV (all channels) and IBC. There is a satellite dish and cable TV service 24 hours a day.

Due to the Banglamung Hospital’s policy of being ‘up to date’, it has become the most well known medical establishment on the Eastern Seaboard.

Dr. Prasit said the hospital has a database which receives news of all new medical ‘breakthroughs’ as they happen and the hospital implements all of them as soon as possible.

The Banglamung Hospital is a never-ending success story.

Travel with an arsonist in the winter of 1950

by Dolf Riks

Some time ago I wrote about my first voyage as an apprentice mate on the M.V. Dalerdijk, a ship belonging to the Holland America line. The mandatory year I spent on the ship was necessary to continue my studies for my third mate’s diploma. It consisted of three voyages to the West Coast of the USA. I described the first voyage when my cap blew into the Atlantic and the captain accused me of doing it on purpose, but what I did not tell you was that I also was employed as a nurse for a sailor who had fallen into the number two hold. He had a serious brain concussion but the ship’s doctor brought him back to life and when we got back to Rotterdam he was as good as new.

The second voyage was just as interesting for a different reason. We apprentices were cheap labour. We did not get overtime so we could be used for all kinds of jobs, which were often of little or no importance for our apprenticeship. We earned less than regular ordinary sailors did and because of this we were often taken advantage of. In port we were, for instance, used as watchmen and I recall sitting in an empty cargo hold for 12 or 14 hours to prevent pilferage and fire. Sometimes we were completely forgotten at lunch or dinnertime but we were also forbidden to leave our post.

On this second voyage our last port of call in Europe was London and from there we sailed through the channel passed Land’s End and the Scillies. With the Azores on our starboard bow the weather had become balmy. That is when we had the first fire. It was in one of the passenger’s cabins. Fires on board of ships are even more frightening than ashore as you are unable to get away from it, short of lowering the lifeboats or jumping into the ocean. There was no explanation for the fire and nobody came forward to take the blame.

We had about fifty passengers on board that trip. People whom we knew little about. We youngsters were not immediately employed as fire watch but when the chief Engineer’s bed was set ablaze a day or two later (there was some talk of course) we, the two apprentices, were ordered to patrol the ship and to look for anybody who behaved suspiciously. A third fire in the officer’s mess brought things to a head. All these conflagrations were extinguished in time but people panicked and an American lady of British ancestry became the main suspect in the drama.

She was in her forties and had embarked in London. At first she behaved normally but when the weather became warmer she showed signs of being mentally unstable. We found her standing on her head one morning, she talked incoherently and behaved in other weird ways. One night, in the passenger bar she produced a bottle of ether, of which she said was very useful to start fires with. When questioned further, she told the other passengers that she once, as a little girl, set her father’s house on fire. This was enough proof to incarcerate her in a cabin on the officers deck, two doors from our own cabin, and we were told to bring her food and drink and escort her to the bathroom when necessary. The ship was approaching the Panama Canal at that point and she was indeed out of her mind. Once she shredded her thin brown plastic raincoat - they were popular at the time - and put the strips in all nooks and crannies because she said that there were hundreds of bedbugs crawling about.

The American authorities in the Canal Zone refused to take her from board so we carried her further up the Pacific Coast to Los Angeles. The weather became colder again as it was wintertime and the woman regained her sanity. When she was taken off the ship in Wilmington, a port of Los Angeles, she appeared completely normal. We were quite relieved to say the least but what happened further to the poor woman I have never been able to ascertain.

I was not particularly happy on this ship and never before or afterwards did I have such totally bigoted table companions. These were the junior officers, mostly born in Rotterdam but also two fourth officers who came from Indonesia like me. We had our own mess hall as the captain, the Chief engineer, the Chief officer, the purser and the doctor always dined with the passengers.

Our mess featured two square tables for the second officer and some of the more senior engineers, and a long one for us small fry, consisting of the third mate, two fourth mates, two apprentices and a bevy of junior engineers, all seated according to seniority. At the very end of the table sat the ship’s clerk, the lowest of the lowest, probably the only real human of the lot. He was on contract for every voyage and did not care about protocol at all, which was an embarrassment for everybody and an example of bad naval etiquette.

The Dalerdijk was a passenger ship and our food was exceptionally good, especially for ship’s fare, which can be pretty dreary on long voyages. It was then that I learned to eat sweet breads, broccoli, iceberg lettuce, artichokes and other delicacies, which are nowadays, if available at all, priced way out of the market. We further had calf’s kidneys, brains, liver, oxtail, etc, etc. But none of these would please my table companions. Their comments were not what somebody expects from people who a few years before experienced starvation during the German occupation.

They did not like ox tongue because it had been in somebody’s mouth. They could not eat oxtail because it came from the wrong end of the cow. Artichokes were inedible and iceberg lettuce was not as good as the lettuce they were used to. Sweet breads - the thymus glands of young mammals - provoked the rudest remarks and kidneys or brains were treated with horror. Liver was out and broccoli unknown and consequently no good. Real jeering started when somebody had the nerve to ask for the tomato ketchup and anybody who ate ice cream was a pansy. There was a lot more they would not eat for some silly reason, but I have blissfully forgotten.

I did love the West Coast. It was the time of Nat King Cole, Rosemary Cloony and Patty Page. Whiskey sodas were called highballs and we consumed malted milkshakes. McCarthy was driving his evil campaign and people campaigned for Eisenhower as President. The ladies in the shops called me "Honey". Through courtesy of the ship’s doctor, I made some very wealthy friends who lived in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. They had houses with swimming pools and black and white television sets. Los Angeles smelled of oil and popcorn and public transportation was scarce. One particular friend of mine was called Elsie Ornstein whose son was with United Artists and married to the daughter of Mary Pickford. She was not rich but popular. All these people bestowed their hospitality on me and when I left, they gave me bundles of used but perfectly good clothing to distribute in impoverished Holland. Those were the days my friends!

Who will become mayor when Pattaya’s status changes?

by Kittisak Khamthong

The promulgation of the new constitution caused many changes, especially in the governing of local and provincial areas. The local governments are now allowed to make decisions for themselves. They are allowed to be separate entities of a whole.

Pattaya’s Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat (left) and former Mayor Anuphong Udomratanakulchai (right) will likely be the front running candidates for mayor when the political status of Pattaya City changes.

But Pattaya is considered a ‘special’ city, and the people have been calling for similar treatment as other local areas for many years. This did not happen until the new constitution was put into effect. All the members of the Pattaya City Council will be elected by the people. The mayor will be elected by the people. This is very gratifying to the residents of Pattaya who have been dissatisfied with the form of government for a long time. The people believe this is the reason for Pattaya’s failure to become a successful city since its founding 20 years ago.

The type of government desired by the people of Pattaya would be similar to that of Bangkok with the mayor elected independently from the city council, as well as a fully elected city council. The populace now feels that Pattaya is a ‘drone’ city controlled by outside forces.

Now that the political arena is open, many with political leanings are slavering to ‘serve the people’.

These people are ever ready to serve the city which is in the top 10 tourist destinations in the country and one of the potential world ‘top 10’ in the future.

There are three individuals who have shown a strong desire to enter the political arena; Pairat Suthithamrongsawat, present mayor of Pattaya, Anuphong Udomratanakulachai, former mayor of Pattaya and Suchai Ruayrin, also a former mayor of Pattaya.

Pairat Suthithamrongsawat cites the public improvements done under his administration as his recommendation. He is especially proud of the 1,800 million baht waste water treatment plant and his consciousness raising campaign concerning the environment. Pairat and his team speak of continuing these projects and making the city’s utilities a model for the rest of the country. His platform includes public works galore. Improving Beach Road, building majestic city gates, direction signs, street lights and a host of other improvements.

This year, Pattaya has a development budget of 4,936,000 baht from the city and 59,120,000 baht from the central government. This does not include the budget from last year.

Nobody knows how the city will really change, but as change will come, politicians are campaigning with a vengeance.

Anuphong Udomratanakulachai, mayor of Pattaya in 1994-6, is now resting from his grueling term as mayor of the city. He said he will wait and see what the city’s new administrative system is like before making any firm decisions whether to enter the political arena. When asked if he would enter the fray if pleased with the system, Mr. Anuphong said he was ready at any time. He cited his experience, qualifications and monetary readiness to campaign. He is not in debt and has no personal problems that could be a disadvantage to his campaign or the city. He is enjoying conducting his own business at the moment. Mr. Anuphong said his view of Pattaya was an international one. When asked about conflicts with his personal business he said he felt that he could run his businesses and at the same time sacrifice the rest of his free time for the good of the city. He is now waiting to see exactly what the new administering policy will be.

He believes, as 80-90% of Pattaya’s income comes from tourism, the city should open a ‘window on the world’. He said that the tourism industry should be supported by the city in all ways possible. This should not be left to the Tourism Authority of Thailand or the private sector.

Mr. Anuphong said he felt that there was an "every man for himself" attitude concerning tourism in Pattaya and there should be more cooperation. "After all," he said, "Tourism is the heart of Pattaya."

He said that the city would improve by step. First, the foul waste water would disappear and become so clean one could bathe a baby in it.

Then the utilities would become ‘world-standard’ and offer service unknown in other parts of the country. Crime would vanish and everyone’s lives and property would be safe. This is especially because business people like having their money and valuables safe. One would see the foreign Mafia in Pattaya evaporate.

Mr. Anuphong also feels that media coverage by the government, the local media and in the foreign media is very important. This is because the media has a very important role in getting news out to the people. He said that news about Pattaya would spread throughout the entire world. Tourists would hear about the ‘new’ Pattaya regularly. They would know about the city’s varied and iridescent tapestry of activities and possibilities second to no other city of its kind in the world. He also said the visit by the FCCT on August 7-9 would be a wonderful opportunity to promote Pattaya on a worldwide level. They would hear about how the city is solving her problems.

The last in our trinity of public servants is Suchai Ruayrin, mayor of Pattaya from 1990-94. Mr. Suchai left politics for one administration before coming back and taking a seat on the city council. Mr. Suchai said that he felt Pattaya should be administered by Pattaya natives. He did not want any ‘carpetbaggers’ coming in and pushing the ‘people of the soil’ out of their rightful place.

Mr. Suchai said that whatever form the new government takes, his desire is to serve the people as mayor. Feeling ultimately qualified for this job, he cites his many successes when formerly at the helm of the city. He did add that whether he was elected was, of course, the will of the people. When asked if he felt the present administration was in line with the desires of the populace, Mr. Suchai gave a rather circuitous answer. "Well, it is as the media and people see it now." He said he would rather not comment on this subject. He did say that the appointed members of the city council did good work. He felt the next election would be more ‘fun’ than any in the past and couldn’t wait to see it.

Comparing these three potential candidates, Pairat Suthithamrongsawat, the present mayor, believes he has the faith of the people even though his popularity did suffer during the economic crash. The crash resulted in the budget not stretching far enough to accomplish all that he wished. But his encouraging people to deal with the situation in the old Thai fashion of "Help each other solve the problem," the mayor received many points.

As for Anuphong Udomratanakulchai and Suchai Ruayrin, their credibility is a bit poor. Seldom seen doing any ‘public’ work, the people wonder about their true commitment level to the city’s welfare and development. Mr. Anuphong spends almost all of his time doing business and has helped the community very little. He is mostly seen as an ‘honored guest’ at parties. He also makes it known that he does not wish to talk with the media unless he feels it is necessary.

But if Mr. Anuphong should decide to enter the political arena, everyone will be on guard. It is well known that Mr. Anuphong is extremely wealthy, and mounting a spectacular and sparkly ‘Las Vegas’ style campaign will not strain his resources.

One of these three men will probably become mayor of Pattaya. It is therefore the public’s duty to watch and consider each person’s strengths, weaknesses and commitment to the city. This will be under the new constitution and once elected, we will have one of these three men in office for 2 years.

That is unless a brave fourth party should decide to enter the race.