HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Warning about bleachers

Troubles with Siam Country Club

More on the postal system

Smoking

Driving standards (lack of)

Warning about bleachers

Aloha;
Warning - If you plan on attending the Pattaya International Beach Football Cup at the Jomtien Beach Football Stadium from March 16 to 23, don’t sit in the bleachers. They are rusted out to the point that they could collapse at any given time. It looks like an accident waiting to happen, and if you put people on them, the odds are even greater that they will collapse.
I have taken pictures to show the papers just how bad and dangerous these bleachers are, and I hope they put this to print. I’m just looking out for my fellow humans and I don’t know how else to warn the public. Once there is a crowd there, one might not see how unsafe the bleachers are. They need to be removed and replaced.
I could be wrong, and I hope that I am.
“The life of the people is in the land.” May health and happiness be with us all.
Koto, Keeper of the ocean

Troubles with Siam Country Club

Editor;
As a long time member of Siam Country Club golf course I have to say I feel very deceived. About 2 years ago the owner/management of the course closed down the existing course for much needed renovations and at the same time announced their plan to build a new 27 hole course adjacent to the existing course. Members were robbed of a year or so of golf, had the prospect of paying higher annual fees all with the promise of a better club with the old course being reserved for the members.
The club was re-branded as the “Old Course” and reopened around March/April 2007 and without a doubt the course is truly spectacular. Members dutifully paid their higher fees and waited in expectation of this truly becoming a premium club to be member. Initially things went well although some golfing traditionalists baulked at the idea of compulsory carts at the weekends and the ever growing green fees.
However, shortly after things were running well the course was again closed for the LPGA Honda Classic and members were sidelined. Meanwhile the new course being constructed adjacent to the “Old Course” had its opening rescheduled to 2008.
The reopening of the course coincided with ‘peak season’ and the massive influx of Korean golf groups. Members now found themselves unable to get bookings or experiencing frustratingly slow games heading towards the 5-6 hour levels. This was especially true at weekends when on top of all this the management embarked on inviting VIP guests by the bus loads on an already overloaded course.
Last month the new “Plantation Course” opened and members thought that at last they may get value for their membership, but alas no. Instead all fees have been increased and you effectively must be a Japanese citizen to get a booking on a weekend. Talks of making the “Old Course” exclusive to members have been scrapped and ultimately being a member of the club offers you no privileges whatsoever. In fact I believe it would be true to say the owners/management would prefer to have no members at all since we are not a valuable source of income from them and having loyal/regular players at the course has absolutely no meaning.
Thank god there are many other courses in the area for golfers to choose from, because I for one have had my fill of Siam Country Club and for sure they will not care.
Frustrated Golfer

More on the postal system

Dear Sirs,
I hope you publish the following in line with some earlier comments that went to print: The Thai postal system is disgraceful and steps should be taken to bring it in line with the more efficient systems of ‘lesser’ neighbours.
First, I sent a box of Christmas gifts to an 87 year old aunt, living alone in the UK, by registered mail, despatched November. By January it had not been received so I followed up and after a month my parcel sent from Big C in Sukhumvit was found in Naklua Post Office. Despite it being registered I had received no notification of its whereabouts. It had been opened and most of the contents were gone. I was told it had been returned from the UK as no one was at home when delivery took place. A total fabrication. My aunt never leaves her home, and despite the local post office keeping records of foreign mail and delivery, there was no mention of the parcel when steps were taken to check with them.
I am 65 now, due for a UK pension and I completed all the documentation relevant to this and despatched in Pattaya, with assurance it would take about 7 days. 30 days later it has not arrived in the UK. Another letter sent to a former employer, has, again not arrived.
This is not an impressive record for Thailand!
As a former resident of Singapore, Philippines and Japan, I am used to an efficient, trustworthy service. What was interesting is that when the documents from the British Government arrived at my home for completion, the envelope had been slit open, then resealed with tape.
Yours,
Dr John Ronald

Smoking

Dear Sir,
I am in complete agreement with Mr Aleman (14th) regarding the control of vehicular pollution and would add a number of proposals myself such as the subsidising of public transport and fiscal disincentives to private motoring.
However, it is mainly particulate matter in vehicle exhaust that is pernicious; not the carbon monoxide which is invisible, odourless and fairly harmless in small amounts. It is true that five minutes of undiluted carbon monoxide is fatal, but so would five or six minutes of pure air without oxygen be!
To invaginate the question of vehicle exhaust into a discussion on smoking is not only invalid but dangerously misleading. In the hour that a person might take to read this paper, almost five hundred people will have died as a result of smoking. The dangers of smoking have been proven beyond any doubt whatsoever and this should not be demeaned by trying to shelve the blame on something else.
The argument about loss of jobs and revenue is a no brainer: the same thing could be said of wars, drugs, prostitution and other unsavoury activities. Besides, nobody in his wildest dreams would imagine that smoking would cease overnight, or even in a decade, but the slow demise of this filthy habit would reduce these problems by attrition. If tobacco plantations were given over to food production, for example, people would still be employed and more food would be available. Similar factors would operate within other aspects of the industry.
Yes, pensions would have to look elsewhere for money as more people would be living longer, but when trillions of dollars can be found to fight a pointless war there shouldn’t be much difficulty in financing pensions!
Dr M.

Driving standards (lack of)

Dear Sir:
I am writing to you about the driving standards in Pattaya. This is my 4th visit to your city, and the second where I have had my own transport (motor-bike). I am sure you and your readers are aware that there appears to be absolutely NO road rules at all.
I am absolutely appalled at the antics of most drivers here, be they car, truck, bus, motor-bike, or baht-bus. There are no “Give way” rules. It appears to me the norm is to just push in, and hope somebody stops (most do... fortunately). The car manufacturers could save a fortune by producing cars with no indicators because NO-ONE uses them, or, if they do, it’s a “last moment” decision. Double parking, stopping in the middle of the road, left-hand turns from the right side of the road, and vice-versa, running red lights in the face of on-coming traffic... the list goes on and on. On a daily basis, I see every road rule known to man, not just broken, but totally ignored.
I come from Australia where we spend, annually, hundreds of millions of dollars trying to stop people killing themselves on the roads. We have nationally, just over 1000 people killed each year, and the State and Federal Govts are appalled at this carnage. I read on the internet a couple of years ago that 32,000 people are killed on Thailand’s road annually. With what I’ve seen, I’m surprised if this figure is understated! The sad part about it is, no-one seems to care, or if they do, there seems to be very little being done about it... except to pull over farangs on motor-bikes who aren’t wearing helmets when they are surrounded by Thai people doing the same.
I was speaking to an English bar owner about the lack of road sense, and said I was having a bit of difficulty understanding the road rules, to which he replied, “There are none! Put 500 baht on the counter and a licence is yours!” How sad is that?
In conclusion, all I can say is, if you drive on these roads you WILL have and accident. That is another certainty of life (along with death and taxes), and I for one do not wish to spend any time in a Thai hospital (or get a free ticket back home in a body bag).
So could somebody, anybody, try to do something about this shocking situation?
Thanks.
Lindsay Read
Perth, Australia

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