- HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
-
Boats to Koh Larn ignoring safety ropes
-
Response to motorcycle madness
-
Traffic woes
-
What a sad situation
-
Destroying Pattaya’s nightlife
-
A quick and easy solution
-
Double pricing in UK
|
Boats to Koh Larn ignoring safety ropes
Dear Sirs,
I am writing once again on the subject of Koh Larn, one of my favourite
destinations for many years. Having sorted out the swimming areas with lovely
new rope and buoys, etc., now they need to police the boats.
I
was there on 18th February and to my amazement one of the big speed boats
just drove across the rope and straight into the swimming area, ignoring
swimmers.
I attach a photo proving this.
Like having drinking and driving laws which are designed to save peoples
lives, there is no point in having the swimming areas when they are ignored.
I noticed last week that [a large hotel’s] boat also did exactly the same
thing, and brought their tender straight over the ropes into the swimming
area. Is the management of the [hotel] aware of this being standard
practice? It was not a one off!
So, again I ask, can sanity return and the boat area stay as the boat area
and the swimming area keep swimmers safe?
I hope this reaches the right authorities. It would be a shame if there had
to be yet another death before action was taken. Pattaya needs favourable
publicity not obituaries!
Thanks,
David Mead
Response to motorcycle madness
Dear Editor;
I am writing this in response to a letter from Carlos Fasteneda (Vol. XIV
No. 5) regarding “a criminal menace loose on the streets of Pattaya”.
There is no shortage of names he has for the riders of motorcycles in
general, “criminals”, “madmen” and “menace” he manages to put in the first
sentences of his letter.
Of course I am not making excuses for the behavior of those men he writes
about, but to say that every biker is a criminal menace that should be
stopped and get his bike confiscated is just plain stupid.
If that is the way to do things, then the best solution for eliminating the
accidents on the roads of Thailand is to ban all motor traffic, or we could
also put a law in effect that whenever a car is involved in a traffic
violation then the driver of that car will get his car confiscated and if he
breaks the law again then of course he should be thrown out of Thailand
(lose the privilege of living in Thailand) even if he is a Thai citizen.
Of course this is not the first time that bikers have been called criminals;
it seams to me that it is enough to own a bike to get those names attached
to us, but usually it comes from ignorant people who have no idea what they
are talking about.
Best wishes,
Thordur G. Sigfridsson
Traffic woes
Sir:
I have lived in Pattaya for the last 19 years. During this time I have been
witness to many changes to this wonderful tourist destination.
One of these changes is the lack of response by the city fathers to address
the growing traffic problems.
After being gone for 3 months in my new job I returned to Pattaya to close
my house and move my personal belongings to my new home outside of Thailand.
The new traffic restriction devices (traffic lights) on Sukhumvit Road are
simply unacceptable. They are not timed properly and lead to congestion that
would rival anything in any city of 15 million.
More traffic lights is not the answer to your problem. Making all persons in
Pattaya obey the traffic laws would be a great start, though. With
everything from motorcycles going the wrong way on every street in Pattaya,
including Sukhumvit, to people double and triple parking everywhere except
the intersections, the traffic is now unbearable.
And please, no more feasibility studies. They are a waste of taxpayers’
money if you don’t get experts to compile the data.
My family was going to spend all of my month off in Pattaya, but now, after
all my complaining, they want to go to the River Kwai. I want to go to
Mission Hills in China. At least there are reasons for the traffic in China.
In Pattaya there is no good reason for the traffic problems.
Dr. Doom
What a sad situation
Editor;
What a sad situation: a small beautiful forested area on Soi Wat Boon Jomtien
has now become an unofficial rubbish tip. The rubbish is now smouldering, and I
can see it one day setting alight the small forest around it. Please mayor take
notice, you could have a forest fire soon, threatening property.
This is not a Thai thing, everywhere in the world lazy uncaring folk dump their
rubbish, with no-regard of the consequence.
If this continues, the old blue planet will become the dirty old smelly planet.
Should keep the aliens from visiting us.
Matt Anderson
Destroying Pattaya’s nightlife
Editor,
It is apparent to all that Pattaya is booming. There is a great deal of new
construction taking place and this indicates heavy inward investment.
Pattaya’s reputation as an international holiday and entertainment centre is
being rapidly enhanced and this is greatly to the benefit of local people
and the Thai economy in general.
It is, of course, the ‘nightlife scene’ that underpins Pattaya’s
attractiveness to foreign tourists. During the past year there has been
heavy investment, both on and off Walking Street, in new bars and
entertainment venues as well as in the refurbishment of existing
establishments. All this is now under serious threat as a result of
seemingly arbitrary police action.
Recently (Friday 10th February – Saturday 11th February) plain clothes
police raided Walking Street bars from quite early in the evening and, at 1
a.m., they enforced the closure of all bars. This follows the enforcement of
2 a.m. closure three weeks ago (previously, it was 3 a.m.).
It is clear that Walking Street will find it difficult to continue to
operate as a leading international entertainment centre if this kind of
harassment continues and early closure is enforced. However, it is national
government policy to enforce 12 midnight bar closure. This may well be the
next step the police will take in Walking Street. If so, this will be the
death knell for Pattaya as a major international tourist destination.
One assumes that the police are acting on instructions from national
government level – while still exercising a fair amount of discretion on the
ground. In the recent past Walking Street has been given concessions on
closure times which have not applied elsewhere. These concessions are now
being progressively withdrawn. The likely consequences for the local economy
seem to be obvious enough. Expats will move on to Cambodia and other places
and the international tourist influx will inevitably tumble.
The Thai tourist industry can survive the tsunami, SARS, bird flu and other
natural calamities – but it will not prevail against the massive own goal
that is being visited on it by politicians at the present time.
Expat Resident
South Pattaya
A quick and easy solution
Editor;
It seems to me that the easiest solution to manage the never-ending issue
with the Pattaya/Jomtien baht bus pricing debate is to simply require them
to install a coin drop. This would be the only way to ensure the drivers
don’t try to “adjust” their rates depending on their customer’s apparent
wealth or citizenship. Just as Bangkok required the meters installed in the
taxis there, the Pattaya municipal authority should seek a similar solution.
It removes the baht-bus consortium’s ability to argue, it removes the
baht-bus driver’s ability to scam, and it protects all patrons of the
baht-bus transports despite any color, race, or religious difference from
what is in fact a form of racial extortion.
I agree with the charging of higher prices to tourists for entry into
national parks, or other government serviced or owned venues. But I disagree
with the overcharging of foreigners as policy of private businesses such as
baht-buses, etc. I am a foreign resident, I work for a company incorporated
in the Kingdom of Thailand, and I am paid on a Thai pay scale. I’m here
because I like Thailand and Thai people. Why should I be required to pay
more than any other Thai?
I would also like to see the Pattaya and Chonburi governments begin
developing or rather supporting the re-invention of Pattaya as a business
location. There are no true office buildings or enterprises in Pattaya.
The entire local economy is based around support of tourism. That’s putting
all the eggs in one basket. There needs to be something capable of
supporting the economy if tourism dries up the way the reservoirs are.
I would also like to see the traffic police move out to some of the greater
Pattaya area and begin penalizing the 9 to 14 year old boys who think the
roads are their personal race-track. They aren’t allowed to have licenses at
that age, and they aren’t wearing helmets as they go racing past the
policeman standing on the side of the road. Why isn’t someone doing
something about these young children who are recklessly endangering their
lives and those of the other people on the roads? Impound those motorbikes
and make the parents pay substantial penalties to get them back. Without a
substantial penalty there is no deterrent to continued abuse.
Until the Pattaya government can resolve these issues, and show the ability
to complete their various civic improvement projects with any sense of
urgency and quality (such as the Beach Road project to place all overhead
power lines underground - note the wires are still up there), and complete
one before starting on another half-effort grandiose idea, no one will ever
take Pattaya seriously as other than a night time entertainment spot.
Best regards,
Resident Taxpayer
Double pricing in UK
Sir;
Well I never, where in Scotland does Colin Jamieson buy his bottles of beer?
THB70 is a little over £1, so I need to move north fast!
Seriously, I have lived abroad, and every tourist area I have been to has
had places where they have tried to overcharge me. They take advantage of a
tourist’s unfamiliarity with the local currency and charge way over what the
published prices are. In many tourist areas of the UK they have inflated
prices for tourists, yet charge a different rate for locals. At least in
Thailand everyone knows farangs are charged more.
This doesn’t make it right, but at least it is honest.
Yours faithfully,
R. Thompson
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|