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The untimely death of a good man

Your children or your shopping?

Why Pattaya is getting better and better

The untimely death of a good man

My dear Editor,

If you’ve lived any place outside your own country for a period of time you know that when you get upset your political power is reduced to venting your anger in letters to your local newspaper. Lately I’ve had a lot to say and for this I apologize but I’ve also had some important issues recently that could be of help to many of you and I feel this is worth your time.

A countryman and good friend of mine was 60 year old Steven Morgan Fauth. Originally from Santa Barbara, California Steve didn’t know a lot of people in Pattaya but the few people he did know thought a great deal of him. Over the years Steve had visited Pattaya often but only lived in our fair city for the past couple years and then just two weeks ago Steve moved to Kanchanaburi. Steve was semi-retired from his business in the states and had started a trading company here selling handicraft items from Thailand to the rest of the world through his Internet e-bay account.

It seams Steve’s death was caused when he slipped in his shower last Friday. His girlfriend helped him to bed but he complained about his ribs hurting so she called the local hospital. They sent an ambulance but it took nearly 45-minutes to get there with a driver, one male untrained attendant and what we’d call in the states, a “Candy Striper” in attendance. The ambulance gurney was made in Japan for Asians and too small for Steve to use so they half-walked half-carried Steve to the ambulance, all the while he was in extreme pain and gasping for air.

Steve was a little over 185 cm and 105 kilograms, big but not that big for a healthy farang man but Steve’s problems only continued when he got to the hospital. First they tried to put him in a wheelchair but it was too small. Then they tried to lay him on a gurney but his head hung over one end while his feet touched the floor at the other. Finally they had him sitting-up in a chair until he started spiting-up blood.

Steve waited another 30 to 40 minutes to see a doctor. After a short examination Steve was given a bed in what was called the ICU. While in ICU they took his blood pressure but gave him no injections, nor medication of any kind and certainly none of the modern medicines for heart attack victims. When he complained he couldn’t breathe instead of oxygen the nurse gave him tiger bam. Once Steve pushed the nurse’s hand away because she wanted to put a wet cloth on his face but he couldn’t breathe. With this she became aggravated and stormed off not to return again for some time until she’d regained her composure.

Maybe I’m missing something here but I would have thought they’d have better care for standard heart attack victims both Thai & Farang but I guess I’m wrong. What I’ve learned from Steve’s death is that if you’re living in Thailand for any extended period of time you should consider all aspects before moving from a major populated area. This also tells us that maybe it’s best for farangs to stay in the major cities and resort areas only.

Steve’s friends have had his body moved to Pattaya for ceremonies at the Wat in South Pattaya. His cremation was scheduled for Monday but the final insult came to this good man’s needless death when the foundation that brought Steve from Kanchanaburi to Pattaya forgo to bring the death certificate with the body. One of Steve’s friends had to travel to Kanchanaburi and back to bring the right documents before Steve could be cremated under Thai law.

Please friends don’t forget, no matter how wonderful the treatment or how great the service, especially one as visually pleasing as Thailand, make your emergency arrangements in advance because believe it or not, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Sincerely,

Gary T. Bruton

Your children or your shopping?

Dear Editor,

Yesterday I went to Carrefour to buy some groceries. As I was parking my car, a black Zafira pulled up beside me, and a woman walked out and proceeded to the entrance of the mall. Before I left my car I noticed that there were two children in her car. I went over and saw two girls aged about 7-8 years playing in the back seat with the doors locked. I touched the front hood and the engine was running.

I went over to the nearest security guard who was giving out tickets to the incoming cars and gave him the car registration number and the spot that the car was parked. I asked him to send over someone to monitor the children until the woman came back and to inform the authorities to warn her of the danger.

He thanked me and promised he would get someone to attend to the matter. Unsure of the response, I went back to the car and waited until the woman came back. (The security officer never came.) She knocked on the window for the children to open the door for her. I asked her if she had the car keys, she said “Of course”. However, the keys were still in the ignition.

I told her very briefly that there had been many cases like this that had ended unpleasantly, and for her to please not leave the children locked up in the car with a running engine again. She looked at me as if I was crazy but thanked me anyway.

I was not as upset at her (pure ignorance) as much as I was upset with the security of Carrefour for not taking the matter seriously, even though informed that children in a car unsupervised, with the motor running, are at high risk of heat injury, suffocation or abduction, not to mention that the kids may try to operate some of the car’s equipment, and even play “driver”.

I would like to see the management do more about safety matters on their premises than just have security handing out parking tickets and whistling their lungs out.

Coming back to child safety, it is difficult to think of anything more tragic than the needless preventable death of a child.

Sign me,
Concerned Sue

Why Pattaya is getting better and better

Hello,

I have been visiting Pattaya for now on 11 years and seen the many ups and downs as well as the current transformation of this incredible city. Part of this transformation of Pattaya is due to the change in mix of visitors. I see a lot of letters complaining about how Pattaya’s nightlife and its “early” closure will mean that tourists will go elsewhere, Pattaya will decline and Thailand and its people will suffer as a result due to the loss of these tourists’ dollars.

The truth is that these letters and complaints are overwhelmingly from tourists from Europe whose numbers have indeed declined (except from tourists from Britain whose love affair with Pattaya and Thailand just keeps getting stronger and stronger) but has made absolutely no difference to the boom and increase in tourists to Pattaya.

The transformation and growth of Pattaya are being driven by the needs to offer facilities and entertainment for the new generation of tourists who are swelling Pattaya; i.e., tourists from China, India, Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Korea whose year on year growth, depending on country, is either over 50% or 100%.

Most of these tourists are overwhelmingly couples and given that Pattaya has also become popular once again with Thai tourists from Bangkok who now make up 40% of all visitors, the growth and transformation will continue as Pattaya repositions itself as a popular beach resort destination for Asians.

Hence, where on Second Road, a few years ago, opposite Lek Hotel, there was a bunch of beer bars, they are now building a shopping and entertainment complex called “The Avenue”.

MTV Asia hosted a music festival at Bali Hai Pier, Royal Garden Plaza is being extended with a Thai market pavilion and a famous Chinese restaurant has opened right next to it.

High end beauty spas and massage places are getting coach loads of visitors every day and karaoke bars are doing a roaring trade.

When people say that the bars in Walking Street are quieter this year compared to before, they fail to see that the busiest bar in Walking Street, where seats are difficult to find, is the Marine boxing bar since it is always packed with Asian tourists.

So while Pattaya is still paradise for single male tourists and going through a strong and still growing love affair with Britain, it is also seeing the rise of the tourist dollar from the rising Asian economies as well as the Thai middle class, changing the mix, creating the transformation and leading its development.

Regards,
Billy Basu
Hong Kong and Leeds

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