HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Death and its finality

Overwhelmed with warm friendly people

Dogs in Pattaya live cruel, suffering lives

Protect your valuables at all times

An atrocity in Pattaya

Retirement visa a doddle once you know the form/s

Unworthy of true Thai values

Tsunami

Death and its finality

Editor;

Today, I find myself in the worse case sense of mixed emotions. Once again, I’ve lost a good friend. After two weeks of what to do about his condition at local vet shops, my daughter, Jenny, drove him to Bangkok for the best possible treatment and left him in good capable hands. The prognosis was poor, but the staff assured my kid that he had a “fightin’” chance, cause he was so strong physically. She came back to Pattaya and we felt as if we’d done everything we could to help him.

However, our relief was short lived, as he had given up the good fight and thrown in the towel an hour later. Emotionally, we are drained; but for me, at least, this is where the mixed emotions thing comes in. I did mention “fightin’”, that’s all this guy knew how to do, jump on everything that came down the street past his little corner of the block. It didn’t matter whether there was one, two, or five; big ones, or little ones, my boy thought he had to defend his turf. How many times I found myself in harms way tryin’ to pull him off another mongrel. Ridding the neighborhood of undesirables was one thing, but jumpin’ on some guy’s pedigree animal is another. I can’t remember how many times I’ve been to the doc, because of him and his antics.

He was great with customers in the restaurant, but what they didn’t know was his dark side. He was a true Dr. Jeckal and Mr. Hyde. I’ve been on his dark side way too many times. People have bad mouthed me cause he either locked on to their prized animal or took a dump on their property. Yes, I felt bad and ashamed of my boy for bein’ so crude. I often wondered how long I would have to suffer this friendship. Like most people, you find that no matter how you try not to get emotionally involved with your dog, inevitably, the years go by and the bond thickens. This relationship lasted only six years, but I’ve heard that Boxers don’t have a long life expectancy. I shoulda known, his Daddy had died at 7, he would’ve been 7 in June.

Oh well, as mean and cruel as he was to other animals (he killed five cats in the guesthouse) there was a sweet side to his character which was hard for anyone to refuse. Weighin’ in at 80-plus pounds, he looked vicious, and was stronger than any 3 men. I miss him most, ridin’ shotgun in my truck, or takin’ up more than his side of the bed at night.

But the truth is, I’m more relaxed in the restaurant downstairs today than in the past 6 years. However, like anyone would, I loved him, even with his bad attitude toward anything with four legs, can you dig it? He was truly one experience I wouldn’t have wanted to miss in this life. Who knows, maybe in the next life I’ll be the one to come back as the dog with a master that owns a restaurant on the beach.

Take care, Buster, my friend. R.I.P.
BJ

Overwhelmed with warm friendly people

Dear folks,

On my recent visit to Pattaya and Jomtien from Dec 25 to Jan 8 I was overwhelmed with the warm friendly people and their willingness to serve and help.

I spent 2 weeks (not near enough time) in Jomtien where the staff, the bungalow and the food was outstanding.

I also feel for all of the victims in the recent disaster. The best I could do was to give 3000 baht out of my budget. I met a couple involved and I’m sure there will be someone we all know around the world with a loved one missing. Please extend my heartfelt thanks to the King and the people of Thailand.

God bless all those suffering.
My best regards,
Mr. A. Stones
Derbyshire England

Dogs in Pattaya live cruel, suffering lives

Editor;

It was once said (was it Plato?) that the determining factor that makes a nation great is how it treats the vulnerable members of its population: the young and elderly. I would like to add a third category: animals. In particular, dogs. (That would make it Pluto.)

My first six months living in Thailand has brought with it many new experiences, not the least of which is contending with packs of wild dogs. They are on the streets and in the shops. They chase me while jogging, and can apparently drive motorcycles. Pattaya dogs often spend more time sleeping on the beach than the tourists.

Lately, their frequent night-time party sessions with their barking and howling have awoken me at all hours of the early morning. What can I do about it? Is there some sort of agency I can call to deal with them? I don’t blame the animals: to be honest they are some of the roughest looking creatures I have ever seen. I feel pity for them, not anger. No one cares or I wouldn’t see dead dogs littering the side of the highway each day. I believe it is the responsibility of strong citizens and nations to care for those weaker than them. The majority of the dogs in Pattaya live cruel, suffering lives. Shame on the city that allows it to happen.

Mr. Chad D. Martin

Protect your valuables at all times

Editor;
Beware of a woman on a baht-bus during rush hours, operating with a child about 7 years old. While talking and fussing about in the car, the women stole my wallet. (There were) 3 or 4 women, all about 25 years old; one of them was pregnant.
Regards,
Arne

An atrocity in Pattaya

Dear Editor:
Would the Pattaya Mail and citizens of the city please take a look at what is happening on the other side of the Dusit Hotel from Pattaya Beach? I wonder if you agree that what you see there is an atrocity perpetrated upon nature and the people of Pattaya by our own mayor and local government.

This formerly beautiful, mostly natural section of beach has been destroyed by the very officials who are supposed to be managing and protecting it. Having gone to city hall just a few weeks ago and asked for help of the city in clearing litter in that area, now the very area I had asked to be beautified has been destroyed.

My questions about this horrible happening would be:
1. Why was it done?
2. Who is responsible?
3. Where were the public hearings?
4. Where was the Environmental Impact Statement or E.I.S.?
5. How is the destruction of this beautiful beach area (Palm Beach) going to help tourism in Pattaya?
6. Why doesn’t the city government do something positive for the people and environment by cleaning up the stinky, smelly sewer system in the city? How about a safe/humane public transport system? Wouldn’t better streets, sidewalks and public parks be better than massive environmental destruction?

Mr. Mayor, it is time to answer these questions. Time for the people of Pattaya to say, “Stop, we’ve had enough!”
Sincerely,
Jonathan Hewitt

Retirement visa a doddle once you know the form/s

Dear Editor,
How I look forward to Fridays and the Pattaya Mail to reliably inform me what’s going on and what’s not going on around this part of the world. Is there anywhere else I sometimes ask myself?

It would seem the new Immigration Supremo has managed to stamp out much of the blatant corruption. “Big Bertha” or “Something For Me” as we used to call her, seems to have retired, probably living blissfully happy in her palatial villa on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, bless her.

There is one small niggle. The list of what is required to obtain the one year retirement visa obtained from the Immigration Office is not exactly accurate.

Any missing documents, annoyingly, have to be retrieved from home, but the required duplicates can be easily obtained from the conveniently situated shop next door to the Immigration office. Only problem being the lad speaks no English, or any language, I would suspect, perhaps the poor person is deaf, so “One copy of each please” is ignored, two copies is the minimum, plus every page of the passport and bankbook, minimum charge 250/300/400 baht.

Immigration officers laugh when the farang returns with all the necessary copies but guess who the shop belongs to? You’ve got it!

Anyhow, this is what is really needed for a hassle free one year retirement visa:

2 filled in application forms
It’s easier to have a visiting card stapled to the forms for your address
2 passport photographs
2 copies of passport and visa
2 copies of letter from bank saying you have at least 800,000 baht deposited with them or confirmation of pension, etc.
2 copies of current page of bankbook
Bankbook
2 copies of health certificate from hospital or clinic
1900 baht
A smile!
Go early in the morning and usually you can collect by 3pm same day!
Happy retirement in paradise,
RW
View Talay Jomtien

Unworthy of true Thai values

Editor;
Having read the many recent “baht bus letters”, I would like to opine in some respects. First of all I think we should thank “Ptyrider” because he made a serious and admirable contribution with a lot of good illuminations on this matter. The baht bus scandal - or better: the organised cheating of westerners in the public local transport business - is a disgusting provocation against tourists and immigrants that is unworthy of Thailand and true Thai values. It is probably the tip of an iceberg which conceals a structure of corruption, selfishness, greed and a massive amount of low morals that Pattaya would do best to leave behind her.
Opinionist

Tsunami

2004 was the year on the 26th day of December
In which the whole world will mourn and remember
That Tsunami came violently ashore
To bring havoc and destruction to Southeast Asia’s door

Oh! What a frightened and shocking sight
To see human life snuffed out, left and right
Bodies scattered about in the aftermath
Of what some might say, was God’s vengeful wrath

And at the village of Ranong, came a massive tidal wave
While the drowning people tried hard their lives to save
But hundreds were drowned, their houses swept away
While others looked on, stricken with dismay

At one point, the water reached 50 feet high
While in pitiful accents the drowning people did cry
Again people were swept away
And blotted out like a child’s toy house of clay

And among the sad scenes to be witnessed there
Was a man and wife in great despair
Who had found the cradle of their child
But, their little one was gone, which almost drove them wild

And as for Tsunami’s carnage, few other catastrophes could surpass
As it had left a trail of corpses in a confused mass
And the lifeless bodies could be seen in the debris,
While many people were seen praying on their knees.
B. Phillip Webb Jr.

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