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LETTERS

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Melted chocolate at Chonburi PO

No protection from robbery for Thai workers?

Christmas only in Pattaya

If I were the mayor...

Open diatribe to the mayor of Pattaya

Melted chocolate at Chonburi PO

Editor;

As a shareholder of a Swiss insurance company, every year I get a calendar from them. And just for Christmas my personal financial planning consultant sends me some of the famous Swiss praline.

Last year the postman delivered both of them to my home address and without any charge. But this year I had to collect them at the post office in Chonburi! In addition to the distance I had to travel (Pattaya Tai - Chonburi) and the time I wasted to get these things, I had to pay 7 baht for each. On the parcel of the Swiss pralines there were stamps for sFr. 30. - (about baht 750!) and the address mentioned clearly my home address and not c/o Post office Chonburi!

All this taken in consideration (especially the post tax) I think the costumer has the right to get parcels delivered to his own door and without any extra charge. Or, shall we refuse in the future to get parcels to avoid these inconveniences? (By the way, the access to the post office in Chonburi is, if somebody is handicapped, not very convenient at all).

Sincerely yours

Johnd

P.S. Because I had to get over the flu, the pralines melted away during the time being stocked at the post office...

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No protection from robbery for Thai workers?

Editor;

Recently I spent my holidays in “Amazing Thailand” where I had a very nice time. However, when visiting a friend in Pattaya some dark clouds appeared. After a meal at a major Pattaya hotel, I asked for the bill, and while checking it, made a joke about the 10% service charge to the waiter by saying: “Such an amount should double your salary, no?” and noticed that he seemed embarrassed. “I wouldn’t mind, sir,” he said. “Well, if it doesn’t double your salary, at least you must make some extra money from it?” I added. Shaking his head, he went away with a smile that only Thai people can muster in such circumstances.

My friend confirmed that some hotels in Thailand keep the service charge because Thai workers have few tools of defence, and are therefore left on their own. This shocked me, but it appears that not all hotels are following this practice of ‘robbing’ their workers. In fact, at another hotel the waitress confirmed that all employees receive an amount from the hotel’s service charge every month, and they also receive a very good year-end bonus. Thank God, not all hotel owners display the same behaviour!

I’m asking your newspaper to investigate this unfair practice and denounce it for the benefit of the workers. And how many working under such circumstances? I’m quite sure that you will be surprised to find that millions of baht are kept away from the workers’ pockets, and also from the hotel guests! Amazing Thailand! I will be very happy if this letter could help somehow. I’m sure you can do something, because if there is a will there is a way.

My best regards,

Mathew Baird

Potts Point
Sydney - Australia

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Christmas only in Pattaya

Dear Editor;

On Christmas day I was invited to join my friends at the famous Tahitian Queen where I was told that they indeed have snow occurring only on this particular holiday.

Upon arriving I was amazed to see the whole bar area filled to waist level with Styrofoam balls - zillions of them. As could be imagined everyone was having a great time and the rowdy but playful crowd was busy burying people in the “snow” and consuming adult beverages. After losing my shoes in the frolicking I searched for about an hour unsuccessfully. Finally I offered a 500-baht reward and one of the more playful playmates promptly found them. Realizing I had had more than enough I asked for my check bin.

About fifteen minuets later the manager informed me that the waitress had been bumped by a patron and lost my credit card in the “snow”. Realizing it was not his fault and there was seemingly no way to recover it until the snow removing detail arrived at 2:00 a.m., I proceeded to pay cash and now being without cash or a credit card I went home and reflected on the day’s festivity. I received a call from the manager at 10:00 a.m. the next morning saying they had found my credit card and my worst fears were laid to rest. When I returned to claim the card they even had remarkable pictures of the big hunt for the shoes.

My experience will only lead me to be more careful next time but certainly not to miss the festivities.

Fred Huff

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If I were the mayor...

Editor;

Here is a suggestion for a regular column or feature on your letters page. Why don’t you start a series called something like: “If I were the mayor of Pattaya”? Although our seaside city has improved in many ways in the past decade or so, there is still much that could be done (without huge cost or inconvenience) that might make it a better place for everyone, residents and visitors alike.

May I start the ball rolling with the following? If I were the mayor of Pattaya I would ban (or at least strictly control) all advertising trucks and vans. These noisy, traffic-obstructing, unnecessary and intrusive-to-the-quiet-life vehicles seem to have multiplied a hundredfold recently. At the moment many are plugging political candidates and so (unless the Thai election mimics the Florida fiasco) they should be off the roads very soon, but the others touting discos, opticians, shops, films, etc., will be with us, I fear, for ever and a day.

I am especially bothered by their unpleasant cacophony because many of them park on Third Road near my house and then the drivers wander off to answer nature’s call or enjoy a cigarette or a snack or have a natter with their friends or re-read “War and Peace” or something. During their absence from the vehicles, which can be for up to half an hour, they leave the speakers switched on. It is possible, I suppose, that I am the only person who notices the noise and is bothered by it. In that case, surely the whole point of the advertising exercise is a complete waste of money!

Another subject of Mr Mayor to look into could be noisy motorbikes. The police are obviously powerless to do anything about them!

If you take up my idea you might think of forwarding the best suggestions to our hard-working and caring city chief for his comments.

Yours faithfully,

Oliver W. Minto
(AKA “Momus”)

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Open diatribe to the mayor of Pattaya

Dear Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat,

When you receive this letter, we will have left Pattaya forever, though we have stayed here for a long time, and I can tell you we do this with pain in our hearts, because we were very happy here. I have spoken to many of my friends and they will also leave Pattaya and now live in Phuket or Chiang Mai.

Maybe I can tell you why many farangs living here for a long time now go away. At the moment Pattaya is no longer the same as before, but it is instead a dirty, smelly city. Look at the streets; you never see families walking with children as before. The town is now only for sex, drugs and East European hookers. You can read all of this in the newspapers of Europe and Australia. If you walk on the Beach Road, you cannot cross the road everywhere. You break your neck for parking or renting motorbikes. Same on South Pattaya Road and then in the afternoon with many people who sell food on the walking way, sometimes the police come but 5 minutes later they are back again. In the evening you must walk through many kathoeys on Beach Road. One time I kicked them, because they tried to steal money out of my pocket. When I go to the police they told me we go look later, but the same kathoeys are still walking on Beach Road, so for steal money the police do nothing. There are more farangs that tell me the same. Everywhere you walk in Pattaya or Jomtien the towns are full of people who sell flowers, shirts, and watches. They take you by your arms for buy something or wake you up when you are sleeping on Jomtien. It is very comic sometimes - the police come, 5 minutes later they are back again. It’s the same for many little children selling chewing gum and lighters.

In the evening many farangs look angry, people want to make photos of you with all types of animals; same, why the police do nothing?

At some bars, you can buy drugs of every type, and Thai boys take you by your arms for massage or sex-shows. Some of my friends walking with their lady were very angry police do nothing. Same, you can by porno CDs. Same bars you can find many hookers from East European countries, the police know that but do nothing. In the evening the Walking Street is closed till 2 o’clock, but there are still many motorbikes that cross the street and you must jump away. After closing time the people go away, because Walking Street is one smoking, dirty and black street from cars and baht taxis. How is this possible? There is not one town in the world where you can find this. Forget the name Golden Mile, my friends call it the Black Mile.

Where I live, walking streets are walking streets, only for walking. Everybody who comes here for the first time can’t believe this when they see these smelly streets. Why don’t people walk to 2nd Road for a taxi? You can believe for not one farang is this a problem.

In the newspaper, we have read many discussions about closing time 2 or 3. Forget this, many bars have owners as police or regional authority people, so the closing time will never be at this time. Some of my friends, for example in Center Condotel, wake up in the morning because of loud music or people fighting, at 5 or 6 o’clock, and police do nothing because they receive money or are the owners. That the police receive money for everything, we have seen on TV big money from the Arabic mafia or same they ask money of truck drivers, also we have seen on TV.

In the Pattaya Mail 24 November, we read that a policeman asked a farang who did nothing wrong for 1000 baht, later he gives him 300 baht. Other policemen sell drugs. Don’t forget farangs read everything and know when you give money the police do everything for you.

If you read all of this you know it is true, maybe you think every year more people come to Pattaya, but I have spoken to many and for most it was the first and last time. Sure, for people who came here with children. Many of the people who came back to live here a long time now leave Pattaya forever.

I hope you can and do change many things because everywhere in the world the newspapers are not positive about Pattaya and only speak don’t go there, it is a town only for drugs, sex, robbery and European hookers.

Greetings,

Harry Wilkins

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