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Khon Thai vs Khon
Farang
Editor;
The whining of farangs about the 2-tier pricing will
continue as long as the only response to their justified criticism is like
the one from “Khon Thai” (Bangkok Post, June 3rd) and others in both
the Bangkok Post and Pattaya Mail.
This Mr. Thailand (or is it Mrs.? - I do not wish to
discriminate...) and supporters do not seem to understand the real issues.
1) Thailand is very dependent on tourist income,
whereas the western countries that are referred to in price comparisons
are not. The Thai authorities are keen on promoting further tourism and
are outraged when international magazines write that Thailand is just a
country for sex and golf. TAT claim that there is so much more to see and
do in Amazing Thailand. However, all we see a year later is that sex and
golf are still cheap in Thailand and that foreigners have to pay
ridiculous prices to see the acclaimed beauty and culture of Thailand. If
a western country should wish to boost such tourism they would actually
lower the price for tourists.
2) There is a significant difference between price
differentiation (which is justified by economic reasons) and price
discrimination.
Agreed, tourist attractions and theme parks are
expensive in other countries, but the attractions are by far superior to
those offered in Thailand. In addition, the better level of maintenance,
security, etc., also comes at a higher cost. Based on price
differentiation it is indeed justified to charge more for an attraction
that requires a lot of maintenance or where special attractions are
provided. But it is not correct to charge an outrageous fee to see a
waterfall just because it is in a so-called national park.
3) The main reason for the building anger and disgust
amongst tourists and in particular foreigners living in Thailand about the
two-tier pricing is the fact that it is a racist policy. I quite agree
with comments that younger Thais and poor people should not be discouraged
from learning about their country and should be charged a lower price. In
Europe this is also the case. Students get discounts, the elderly as well.
I don’t think any foreigner would object to seeing a bus full of school
kids allowed in for free at a theme park but I doubt whether the greedy
owners would ever consider doing that.
Several tourist publications are starting to blacklist
Thailand and are adding the 2-tier policy to their lists of other scams.
This will not do the country good.
Finally Khon Thai is hinting that if we are discussing
racist issues we should perhaps look as far back as to the colonial era.
All I can say about that is, having also witnessed part of that era in
this region, that the modern day exploitation of the “natives” (“Khon
Thai’s” word, not mine) by the “Poo Yai” is far worse than I have
ever seen in those days.
I am sad to conclude that, whereas we have learned our
lessons, in the Asian countries the majority of influential people have
only embraced all the bad things that colonialism and capitalism brought
to the world. Just like “Khon Thai” they refuse to accept that we are
not only whining for selfish reasons. On many occasions the staff of these
parks will be verbally abused by upset foreigners. However, because of the
“mai pen rai” and “krieng jai” attitudes of such staff the
managers and owners will never hear about these problems. So the only way
that our voices can be heard is through publications.
As a “Khon Farang” living in Thailand I would like
to be proud of this country instead of being ashamed.
With best regards,
Mr. Jan Abbink
Naklua
A forced picture?
Editor;
The recent picture of the elderly Brit and the young
boy only serves to demonstrate how unprofessional and untrained the
Pattaya Police are.
Given the reputation for extortion that the local
authorities have, the posed picture suggests that both the boy and the man
were forced to pose for these pictures and that further court proceedings
have been jeopardized.
A good attorney loves incompetence and the lack of good
judgement in showing these pictures will surely lead to the boy being
embarrassed and disappearing.
It is too bad that the real issue in these cases is
overlooked: the boy is hungry, has no home, no clothes, no schooling, no
love at home, and if put in an orphanage, is abused by others within the
system.
Until there is mandatory schooling and social services
in place to deal with the children and their problems, the children will
look for someone to care for them... even if it is in a short term
arrangement.
Kevin W.
Stray dogs
Dear Sir,
As a long time visitor/resident of Pattaya I’ve always
been annoyed by the large number of stray dogs. In particular there was one
rather large, fierce dog who would appear from time to time in Soi Yamato
and cause distress to bar owners and customers alike. My way of dealing with
this unpleasant canine was to abuse it and threaten it with a large stick
but it did not take the hint and continued his unwelcome presence. I decided
to try a different tactic and started giving it a few scraps to eat and a
bowl of water to cool it down. From this show of kindness he now sits down
contentedly all day causing no nuisance whatsoever. Maybe there is a lesson
to be learnt by this?
Sincerely yours,
Derek Adams
Soi Yamato
At a loss of what
to think
Dear Editor,
After reading R.M. Girvan (secretary, Diana Estate
Condominium Complex) comments about disco’s and bowls I am at a loss of
what to think.
Really this has to be the only person living in the Diana
Estate who must be waiting for the poor old lawns man to fire up his
lawnmower, as most of the people who I have seen inhabit the complex at 5
a.m. would either be comatose from copious amounts of Singha and Sangthip or
cuddled up to their girlfriends/boyfriends after just returning from their
favourite hangouts like similar ones above.
There is always a price to pay for living along somewhere
that I can say only reminds me of the A40 in West London, and that is
traffic, either human or motor. This person really has to realise that.
Another simple solution is to move.
Let’s see if this petty person can organise his/her
life and stop growth in this town, as Pattaya is the same as the rest of the
world and growing to make things better.
Regards,
Mick
Will the paedophile
serve time?
Sir,
Yet again the Pattaya Mail (June 8th) reports a
paedophile being caught committing a sexual offence against a 12 year old boy.
The police entered the accused’s room and witnessed the act, have photographic
and other evidence. In view of this evidence, can we now expect to see the
accused Philip Thompson receive a prison sentence that will act as a deterrent
to others? Highly unlikely in view of the other recent cases where offenders
have been released either without charges being brought before a court or
quietly released by the court without explanation.
The local boys in brown have in the past made a few of these
high profile arrests and for a few weeks it has looked hopeful that the
offenders would pay the price of their crime by being incarcerated. Instead it
appears from past cases that all Mr Thompson will have to do is to pay the going
price to the local authorities to either have the case papers conveniently go
astray or for the parents to receive a payment to state that Mr Thompson was
simply ‘caring for the child by sodomising him’.
As long term British farang residents of South Pattaya both
myself and my family know the boy involved, his family and his background, so it
will be with a special interest that we follow the progress of this case to see
what excuses the authorities put forward for any failure to prosecute the
offender to the fullest.
May we hope that the Pattaya Mail will take an ongoing
interest in following the progress of this case so that Mail readers can
either see that at last the authorities are prepared to prosecute to the fullest
these paedophiles (and pass a substantial sentence) or that things are going to
remain the same whereby any paedophile can visit the city and sexually abuse
young children on the proviso that he is willing to pay the usual bribes to both
the police and the judiciary for the privilege.
It is little wonder that the world sees the Thai and
especially the Pattaya legal system as a total sham and nothing more than a
joke.
Adam Vickery
(South Pattaya resident)
Didn’t see a
thing
Editor;
On Thursday June 7, I was running some errands, and my first
stop was Wattana computers across the street from Foodland (they had called me
to pick up a hard drive for my computer which they had repaired/or changed under
warranty). I parked about ten meters up the street in front of a food shop and
right behind a pickup which was selling coffee and drinks. I neglected to lock
my car and was in Wattana less than five minutes; during that time someone
opened my car door, stole my briefcase, closed the door and would you believe
the food shop owner said he had went to the back and the lady on the drink
pickup saw nothing? She could have spit on my car. Fortunately, I didn’t have
much of value inside, i.e., Zippo lighter from the Kitty Hawk, prescription
glasses, a couple of pens, a notebook with some papers and info about the
Pattaya Sports Club, and a few cigars.
Ken Crow
Botched flyover job
Dear Sir,
The new flyover near Pattaya, where Route 36 branches off
from Route 3 to Rayong, will certainly help reduce the congestion at this
junction, particularly at weekends and holidays.
However, I hope that whoever is footing the bill for the
flyover will conduct a thorough examination of the construction before handing
over the final payment.
To achieve maximum strength, reinforced concrete needs to be
poured as one operation for each of the slabs that make up the flyover. This is
clearly not the case here. A visual inspection of the road surface of the
flyover shows that it is a patchwork of repairs, even before the project is
finished. It is a botched job that may well render the whole flyover unsafe.
Yours faithfully,
Alan E Smith
Updated every Friday
Copyright 2001 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]
Updated by
Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.
E-Mail: [email protected]
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