LETTERS
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Noise pollution is becoming unbearable

Immigration should be in the forefront of honesty and service

No real difference between locked doors or a wall of motorcycles (or parked cars)

Thai accepts all?

Farangs duped by Thai wives

American Citizen Services to visit Pattaya August 19

Noise pollution is becoming unbearable

Sawadee krap Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn,

Firstly I would like to congratulate you on your impressive achievements already taking shape since your recent appointment as mayor of Pattaya - especially the improvements underway widening & re-surfacing Sukhumvit Rd along with much delayed improvements to water sewage in the sois off Sukhumvit.

However, as a British expat who is legally married to a Thai wife & who has bought a home & lives here at Pattaya Green Ville, Moo 6, Soi Siam Country Club, I feel obliged to write to you & others to voice my official complaint regarding the noise pollution problem that is ruining our quality of life.

I have spoken to several neighbours from our village of approx 100 + homes who have also voiced their anger & frustration about the 2 karaoke bars & 1 jukebox bar that have moved directly opposite our village in the last 2 months - all 3 take it in turns to blast out ridiculously loud, high volume Thai music & drunken wailing & screeching purporting to be singing, from 9.30 a.m. continuously until 2 the following morning - 7 days/nights a week.

I chose to live in this beautiful & spiritual country to hopefully live a peaceful life, which I & others in my local area were enjoying until these 3 music bars from hell suddenly arrived unannounced [& unlicensed no doubt] to ruin that reality.

They all are open-air bars, i.e. they are not enclosed like in the town centre, where the noise is contained for the most part, so the noise just echoes around & can literally be heard from 1 kilometre away in all directions.

I have spoken to the owners of said bars but they just ignore my complaints & carry on regardless. My Thai wife& I have complained to Banglamung Police twice now, on July 13th & 17th – to be fair, after laughing at our problem, a policeman did come down both times & the music volume was somewhat reduced, but the following day the volume reverted back to unbearably loud as usual.

I believe the law states that a max penalty fine of 500 baht only applies, which is no deterrent at all. Just as a matter of interest, there are as I speak 7 karaoke/music bars in the one & a half kilometre stretch of Soi Siam Country Club from the junction of Sukhumvit Rd to Pattaya Green Ville - the same can also be said of other sois east of Sukhumvit Rd.

These are not entertainment areas – they are, or were, purely residential.

I am a life member of Pattaya Ex-pats Club & have been told by committee members that short of writing this letter I & they can do nothing to solve this problem.

I do not see why I should be forced to consider selling my home just because a few bar owners decide to open up with no permission, right outside my home - put yourself in my position - what would you do Khun Niran?

I am also writing, not just for myself but on behalf of all those people, both Thai & farang, who are too scared to say anything as “dark influences” will cause them retribution problems. I have spoken to many business owners & residents across all areas of Pattaya & they are all very concerned about this noise pollution problem indeed, but once again say there is nothing they can do! For example, 1 farang restaurant owner I know [who shall remain anonymous for his safety] told me he & his Thai wife & family tried to move 2 times to other areas to escape the noise problem in Central Pattaya but each time the noise pollution was worse - so they have had to resort to living in their restaurant/home again!

Noise pollution is becoming a serious problem throughout Thailand – I believe the Phuket governor has had enough & is instigating a zoning system next year - may I respectfully suggest Khun Niran that you set the pace & do something - anything – now - about this sad state of affairs in Pattaya [& indeed Thailand in general].

Excessive noise ruins lives - medical fact!

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,
Deafened & Disillusioned from Pattaya


Immigration should be in the forefront of honesty and service

Editor;
I fail to see why a retiree with a one-year visa has to report to Pattaya Immigration every 90 days. Somebody will have to convince me that it serves a useful purpose. It’s a visit that’s easy to overlook and if one forgets there is a hefty fine amounting to as much as 2000 B. (Take your American Express Card with you. Try a doctor’s excuse for Alzheimer.)

If the 90 day business isn’t enough we now have the gratuity to contend with. The suggestions from Immigration are now presented up-front. It now seems to be part of the regular business procedure. It’s big business. Perhaps immigration employees are overworked and under paid. (They shouldn’t be. There was a four-fold increase in visa fees, etc. just recently.)

If employees are indeed underpaid and overworked I wouldn’t waste a minute. I would shove it to them. If they are not strapped for cash a committee should be formed to find out what this rip-off is all about. Immigration should be in the forefront of honesty and service. It creates a bad impression indeed when it comes through as just another corrupt arm of the government.
Spider Man


No real difference between locked doors or a wall of motorcycles (or parked cars)

Editor;
In its inspections of various sois in the city the council officers concerned have visited three or four times during the day and night to see that no barricades were positioned in the sois, nor tables and chairs on the road area.

A spokesperson said that without the barricades positioned in front of the hotels and guest houses’ exit doors, which also double as fire doors, we now finish up with a motorcycle (or car) parking area from one end of the soi to the other.

Hotels are required by law to have fire hoses and extinguishers located on each floor, smoke alarms in all rooms, all passageways and stairwells, fire alarms and warning bells; exit signs to fire escape stairs and ladders; signs on the inside of all room doors as to “What to do in case of fire” etc. All really just plain common sense requirements knowing what happened in the past at Royal Jomtien Hotel and other establishments in Thailand in the case of fires.

The spokesperson went on to say that they could see no real difference in any end effect between locked doors or a wall of motorcycles (or parked cars) impeding the guests and staff escaping to the sois in the case of a fire.

Assuming a major fire, the ex-implosion can be horrific and fire can quickly spread throughout the building, up and down the stairwells to floors above and below. Guests and staff on the ground floor can immediately leave the area via the numerous fire exits, but only if there is a clear area outside the exits can they quickly and safely disperse what could be a quite panicky crowd.
Allan Sherratt


Thai accepts all?

Dear Editor,
I feel I must reply to a letter by Kh. Sommkit Sowan, July 23-29, Vol XII, No 30 - He does not say where he is ‘privileged’ to be living outside of Thailand, but wherever it may be, he is exactly that: ‘privileged’.

He talks about Thailand being a ‘free’ country, and ‘welcomes’ all with open arms no matter where they come from. Wake up Kh Sommkit, answer these few easy questions please: When you take a taxi, do you pay the same as locals? When you bought a car did you need special permission papers? Or indeed when you bought somewhere to live did you need to open a company first? And get ripped off by the lawyers? If you need hospital treatment do you have to put money down first? Do you have to go to the immigration every 1 or 3 months for a visa stamp? And have to show bank statements for that visa? When you need help, is there always somewhere you can get it free?

Should I go on ? No of course you didn’t. You my friend are the one who is ‘welcomed’ with open arms. Thailand and its people only open one thing at the sight of a farang, that is its kappow satang (wallet).

By now you should know the difference regards ‘freedom’ and the word ‘welcome’.
Ex Thai resident


Farangs duped by Thai wives

Dear Sirs,
Has any individual or organization ever taken any action to protect farangs from being duped by Thai wives or girlfriends? I would have thought that this should be a high priority since I am very concerned that others might have been taken in as I was myself. I would think that there could be a support group with someone (an ex-patriot) having Thai and English fluent language skills and legal knowledge to advise gullible farangs. The group could even charge fees, creating a job for a competent person.

Personally, I was unaccustomed to being lied to face to face by someone who I loved dearly. For four years, I was bled of cash and more painfully, feelings. After my wife admitted the scam, I was devastated. She had stolen four years of my life along with millions of baht. I have tried to get some legal action, but I am advised by a good friend in Bangkok that I would be throwing good money after bad. The divorce laws in Thailand are biased toward the Thai wife, so the farang always loses. The Thai lawyers at the law firm which I contacted in Bangkok are incompetent and slow to act.

A support group could publicize the vulnerabilities of such unions and try to foster some support in the legal and law enforcement cooperation in bringing justice. They could also recommend detectives and attorneys who have proved their worth. As it is now, I feel that the Thai legal system and the Thai police adopt an attitude of ‘Farang against Thai’, rather than in any interest in the pursuit of justice.

Best regards,
Michael J. Bowens


American Citizen Services to visit Pattaya August 19

Dear Pattaya Area American Citizens,
The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok is pleased to inform you of an upcoming Embassy consular visit in Pattaya. Consular staff will be available to provide consular services on Thursday, August 19, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya (429 Pattaya Beach Road, Central Pattaya). Consular services will be held in the “Albert Room”, first floor, spa building (next to the hotel’s swimming pool.)

The following consular services will be available:
* Passport renewal applications (US $55 or baht 2,200
for adult passports)
* Additional passport pages (no charge)
* Notarial services (US $30 or baht 1,200 for the
first notarial; US $20 or baht 800 for each additional)
* Embassy registration and/or address change

* Absentee ballot application and voting abroad
information
* Social security, VA or other federal benefits questions
** We ask that you bring correct change
If you have any questions, please e-mail acsbkk @state.gov or call the American Citizen Services Unit at 02-205-4049.
We look forward to seeing you on August 19th.
Sincerely,
American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy Bangkok


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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.