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  HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 
 
Richness equals value?
 
Those who live in glass houses...
 
Wake up to lost bag
 
Won't be back to Pattaya
 
More debate on dual pricing

Advising not to buy a condo

Richness equals value?

Dear Editor,

It is noble of Michael Cox (Readers’ Letters February 12) to request the authorities to arrest more Pattaya farangs for running bars without a work permit. One result would be that he could then drink at home in the splendid isolation for which he seems ideally suited. Also his view that the wealthier you are, the more valuable you are as an expat, is not altogether borne out by recent court cases involving foreigners.

Michael says he has lived in Pattaya for eight years. Sad to think he has witnessed so much and learned so little about the city in which he has chosen to invest his cash and energies. On the other hand, it is reassuring to know there are farangs in our midst who have never broken Thai business law.

Yours faithfully,

Danny Hurst

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Those who live in glass houses...

Dear Sir,

Whilst I agree with Michael Cox that the requirement for those applying for a retirement visa to have a minimum of 800,00 baht in a local bank account is a reasonable one, I find his comments advising Thailand to "look for a better class of foreign resident" to be "rather sad". The proportion of bars run by foreigners in Pattaya is a relatively small one and the proportion of those bars actually making a profit rather than being subsidised by their foreign owners is even smaller...

Since he feels so strongly about foreigners running bars he should vote with his feet and take the little money he spends only to bars other than those run by foreigners. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Yours,

The Black Kettle

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Wake up to lost bag

Dear Editor,

I am a Swede who has been living in Thailand for many years. Last December I fell very ill. I was nearly unconscious when a big hospital in Pattaya took care of me. The doctor immediately ordered an operation, which was successful.

However, when I woke up later I unfortunately learned that my small bag containing my belongings was lost, and still is nearly two months later. It was a heavy loss.

The Banglamung police showed assistance and sympathy when I reported the loss. Also the Tourism Authority of Thailand will cooperate with the Tourist Police.

Thank you very much!

Jan Wall

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Won’t be back to Pattaya

Editor,

I have been reading on the internet about the conditions in Pattaya. Well, I made the terrible mistake of not believing every thing I read in the Pattaya Mail website. You have my deepest apology. You are correct. I have never seen such deterioration of a city in such a short time since I left about one year ago from my last trip to Pattaya.

My hotel had a terrible sewer smell in every room and they said its the sewers backed up in the city. Then take a look at Jomtien Beach. It has a new road behind the beach. Well at least they can get some use out of the beach area as the water is not fit to go swimming in.

I was shocked to see the condition of the entire area around the Day Night store. One thing has really improved - the pollution is getting much better - its going UP.

But I must say that because no motorbikes were available on New Years weekend I had to use the Baht Busses and they have really improved in attitude, as they take 5 Baht and do not argue. So the program to get the baht bus drivers to help the situation in Pattaya has improved.

It is really hard to see why the government has allowed this situation to exist. Maybe a little less corruption in Thailand and especially in Pattaya would help. The one really good thing about this trip to Thailand and Pattaya is that it will save me time and money in the future as it was my last try to see if it will ever improve. As someone told me at the airport, they should put up a sign as you leave Thailand that says, "Will the last tourist to leave please turn out the lights."

Sorry,

Ralph Revill,
Rio de Janeiro

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More debate on dual pricing

Dear Editor,

I am responding to the letter from "Frequent Farang" who doesn’t mind being charged higher prices than native Thais are charged. The writer insisted that this practice is not racist because it is based upon "citizenship."

Would this writer have us believe that he or she is being asked for his or her citizenship papers before being overcharged? How in the world can these merchants ascertain a customer’s citizenship?

Don’t kid yourself, Farang. You are being charged more based strictly upon the combination of your appearance, behavior, command of the Thai language and the degree to which you fit the stereotype of the native born Thai. And are you suggesting that discrimination based upon "citizenship" is any less reprehensible than racial discrimination?

Let’s not split hairs. Discrimination is discrimination, whether it is based upon one’s race, religion, sex, age, or citizenship. And enlightened people generally consider discrimination to be unjust and demeaning to the recipient of the discriminatory practice. If you think the product or service you are purchasing is worth more than that which the majority is being charged, feel free to pay the merchant whatever you believe is just. That’s called a tip, and it is strictly voluntary. But let’s not support injustice, nor attempt to legitimize an unjust practice by giving it a different name.

Michael Catalanello

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Advising not to buy a condo

Dear Sir,

Something I have been missing in the Pattaya Mail is a warning for farangs/expats not to buy condos or any other property at present. The visa situation has become so unstable and unpredictable that anyone would be ill advised to buy anything larger than he/she could squeeze into a suitcase to take out again in a hurry.

My personal plight should be a warning to the unwary. I bought a 2 room condo at Pattaya in 1997, November, thinking that I would now live happily ever after on my pension of appr. 40,000 baht per month. I did so exactly one year before visa regulations changed again. Now I have to show 800,000 baht in my bankbook. A steady income (pension) or even marriage to a Thai national do not count at all anymore.

Even if I managed to scrape up 800,000 baht somehow, I have to fear that in time the regulations will be changed again. (And certainly not for the better!)

Becker

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Copyright 1998 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Created by Andy Gombaz, assisted by Chinnaporn Sungwanlek.

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail will also be on our website.

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.