- HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
-
Just another day in paradise?
-
Different side of Thai life
-
Carelessness at Care For Kids Fair
-
Pattaya - Out of Control?
|
Just another
day in paradise?
Dear Pattaya Mail,
I would like to commend and applaud our local
constabulary of “boys in brown” for the amount of people they are
writing tickets to for such crimes as no helmet on a motorcycle, raced up
motorcycles and the ‘new’ no seatbelt law they have just discovered and
started enforcing!
It makes me wonder what the penalties are for a child
with 3 of their school friends on a motorcycle riding home with no crash
helmets on. Just drive past the school near Wat Nong Yai on Sukhumvit Road
when it finishes, there are plenty to see, or what penalty is it for a
pickup truck loaded with people (usually construction workers but not
always) in the back, or the question that in my seven years here I have
never found the answer to, how old is the legal age of a person riding a
motorbike? I know they breed them small over here but I have witnessed
children who are at the oldest 9 driving without due care and attention!
After that rant I must say how for the last week I have
been lucky to have city water in abundance to my dwelling but upon returning
last night where the rains really did come in droves I am now without water?
So when it’s dry I get water, but when it rains I am cut off?
Most people reading this are saying “go home if you
don’t like it”. Fair enough at your opinion I say, as we are all
entitled to one, but when this city is looking for ever more foreign
investment, the developers and estate agents are looking to sell houses for
equivalent of $500,000 and the Thai government is trying to attract quality
foreign tourists and retirees, have a think where I am coming from because I
dare say you have had your own moments of moaning.
Have a nice day,
Mick
Different side of Thai life
Dear Sir,
My Thai wife and I have spent 3 or 4 years over the past
10 years living, or having extended holidays, in Pattaya. We have been
married for almost 11 years and have a 9 years old son. We had thought long
and hard over the past 5 years or so if we would/should move permanently
from the UK to live in Thailand - with the idea of giving our son the
benefit of becoming fluent in both languages and cultures.
This year we took a big step towards moving to Thailand
and purchased a lovely house approx. 10 kilo’s outside Pattaya. However,
having lived in our new house for a month or so I soon became aware of a
Thailand that I was unaware existed - and there was me thinking I knew
Thailand warts and all.
I found that there is a definite fear factor in the Thai
community when it comes to crime, police, local politicians and petty
bureaucrats. Because people have no faith in the police they obviously feel
fear-full for life and limb if they were to report local crimes, knowing
that the person they are reporting the crime to may well be connected to the
perpetrator. This allows locally elected or non-elected local officials and
policemen to effectively act as local mafia. I can’t see any solution to
this problem as corruption and nepotism are endemic; however, I do
understand my wife a lot better now, as for years I couldn’t truly
understand why she was so patient when dealing with the petty bureaucracy we
have had to endure over the years - her innate sense of fear. You see being
British allows us to say what we think to whomsoever without fear of being a
victim!
Yours truly,
James Banister
PS We are now living happily and safely in England with
our house in Thailand having been designated a holiday retreat.
Carelessness at Care For Kids Fair
Sirs;
The Jesters Children’s Fair was another huge success
this year. One big problem right at the end that I would like to bring to
everyone’s attention though.
During the dismantling of the stalls, I spotted my
9-year-old son playing in the middle of the grounds with a couple other kids
of the same age. They were kicking around an empty water bottle. My son
picked up the bottle and it literally exploded in his hands, causing
numbness and 3 separate cuts, not to mention shock.
This bottle apparently had ‘dry ice’ put in it with
some water, then the cap screwed back on. The reaction between the two
causes the ice to change back into C02 gas; it was the expanding gas which
caused the bottle to explode.
I would like to know the farang’s name (he was seen
playing with the kids moments before) who put together this little bomb, and
find out what goes on in a deranged mind like his to introduce something so
incredibly dangerous into an environment teeming with innocent children. My
son was lucky to have only some cuts to show for encounter, he could have
lost his eyes to the plastic shrapnel created by the explosion.
Matt Millar
Concerned Parent
Pattaya - Out of Control?
An open letter to the Mayor of Pattaya and his
accomplices;
There are a million things about Pattaya that drive
foreigners wild. The terrible state of the roads and pavements. The baht
taxis. Stray dogs not on leads. Motorcycle helmets – a real no-brainer in
every sense of the word. Kamikaze motorcyclists. Visa price rises. Traffic
lights that change less frequently than we see of Haley’s comet.
Unofficial speed humps every few yards in the side roads, etc., etc. The
absolutely pathetic state of the promenade on Beach Road in Pattaya. The
list of ludicrously silly problems grows every week.
The foreigners seem to write to newspapers to let off
steam in the hope or expectation that someone in authority will read their
letter and then do something to remedy all the problems.
Well, ask yourself this question dear reader. If the
local Thai political bureaucracy is bothered in the slightest about what
foreigners think. If they do take the time to read an English language
newspaper, they still wouldn’t do anything to improve even the very
obvious problems. If they did care, they would write a reply to the editor
and say something like - “We apologize for all the inconvenience to all
our visitors here on holiday and of course to our even more important local
Thai electorate. We have looked into the problem relating to Beach Road, and
yes it’s a disgrace. We intend to do … A B and C starting right now
today.”
If the local Thai political bureaucracy is bothered, it
may decide to go onto Beach Road and stop a few visitors and simply ask what
the visitors think about the state of Beach Road. Do they think … (A)
Beach Road is a wonderful place for a stroll? (B) Beach Road is a little
unsightly. (C) Is an absolute disgrace to Pattaya and those responsible. Oh
course this won’t happen.
May I suggest the following for starters? Ignore and or
delay the multi million baht projects. Go for basics first – those are the
projects that should be finished already, long, long ago!
Number 1 Water: guard and conserve what water you’ve
got - repair the leaks and cancel the Songkran nonsense this coming April.
That will save lives and water. Oh, also stop the water lorries from
stealing it from the water reservoirs. Oh, and investigate the water
officials who have their own water supply lorries, who are cashing in on the
water shortage.
Number 2: Make flat smooth roads to drive on without huge
ugly grids and holes. It’s not nuclear physics, it’s easy to do. If the
Thai companies don’t know what’s required the falangs will teach them.
Number 3: Flat smooth pavements about a metre wide so
people can walk in comfort.
Yours most sincerely,
I. M. Spartacus
|
|

News | Business | Features |
Columns | Mail Bag |
Sports | Auto Mania
Our Children | Travel |
Our Community | Dining Out & Entertainment
Social Scene | Classifieds |
Community Happenings | Books Music Movies
Clubs in Pattaya | Sports Round-Up
E-mail: [email protected]
Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
62/284-286 Thepprasit Road, (Between Soi 6 & 8) Moo 12, Pattaya City
T. Nongprue, A. Banglamung,
Chonburi 20150 Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596
Copyright © 2004 Pattaya Mail. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail are also 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.
|
|