HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Totally missed the point

Songkran revellers outspend Cheap Charlies

Songkran yobbos spoil the tradition

Re: Motorists to pay fees for parking on Beach Road

Laughing about Songkran

Amazing

Colonel Bonafide greatest country on Earth

Treat her decently

Pattaya traffic problem

Totally missed the point

Dear Editor,
With regards to the Pattaya Gay Festival, which unfortunately I have never been able to attend, I think Frank Lee has missed the point a bit with regards to the purpose of such a festival: it’s not just about sex.
Fair enough, Pattaya is very well known for its sex industry, gay and straight; however, the idea of a pride parade as we may call it in the UK or a Mardi Gras, which essentially is what the Pattaya Gay Festival is, is about liberation, not promoting same sex relations.
Yes I can believe the Thai people may not have such a liberated view of sexuality as tourists may be led to believe. However, you still cannot take away the right of freedom of expression from the local gay community in Pattaya of which there are real participants, not just commercial.
Darren Pearson,
UK

Songkran revellers outspend Cheap Charlies

Editor;
With regards to Don Aleman, the retired visa holder, I think most bar owners would think the money spent by tourists enjoying Songkran far outweighs the deserved stingy reputation of the retired farang that lives in Pattaya. I think the name for them is Cheap Charlies.
Mickyfin
Burnley

Songkran yobbos spoil the tradition

Dear Editor,
With regard to the letter from Don Aleman, whilst I can understand his thoughts about the way this holiday has been hijacked by the yobbos, mostly ignorant farangs in their second childhood, I must dispute his sentiments about what is a beautiful Thai tradition. I was the subject of a small but beautiful ceremony whence the members of the family I have adopted each presented me with flowers whilst sprinkling me with drops of water whilst apologising to me for any indiscretions they have innocently subjected me to in the last year. What Mr. Aleman must realise is that he is in a country whose culture is completely different to that of ours in the west and a culture which I find charming away from the Pattaya area and the low class of many of the farang found there and who spoil such traditions.
SLF
Manchester, UK

Re: Motorists to pay fees for parking on Beach Road

Dear Editor,
Re Motorists to pay fees for parking on Beach Road: Motorists would not have to park illegally if the rental motorbikes and cars were not taking up most of the parking spots on Beach Road. In the past the police have promised to remove them, but there they are. People using the beach, shopping, dining out have to walk or take a baht bus. Please remind the police to do their job.
Fred B
Pattaya

Laughing about Songkran

Dear Pattaya Mail Editor;
Two articles have me laughing in your Friday the 11th Aprils edition.
1 - The headline ‘Motorists to pay fees for parking on beach road’ made one think parking meters were being installed. Instead there is a picture of a policeman issuing a fine for someone parked illegally on a yellow and white paint non-parking zone. I thought the red and white paint indicated an illegal parking zone, yellow and white paint I thought indicated that temporary parking was allowed for a short period if a driver was in the car!
With all the hullabaloo over the road widening from the fly over in Pattaya, through Jomtien and onto the blue horizon, if it is ever finished, which seems very doubtful, I wonder what is going to happen once the traffic hits Pattaya. The traffic outside the VC Hotel is already abysmal, not to say chaotic. How about the police enforcing no parking areas and moving on the numerous baht busses clogging up the road up to the South Pattaya / 2 Road intersection?
2 - Was ever funnier, page 2 ‘City ready for a safer Songkran’ but 1st prize goes to Water revellers on highways face prosecution during Songkran’. The flight of fancy goes on to say ‘Anyone throwing water on the primary and secondary roads during the Songkran holiday is likely to find themselves prosecuted. Pol. Maj Gen Pasin Noksakul said that the highways act of 1992 states that any behaviour on public roads that creates a potential danger to road users is punishable by one month’s imprisonment or a fine of 10,000 baht or both’. Oh really? I feel safer already.
Passing a law and actually enforcing it bear no resemblance one to the other in Thailand. If the highway acct of 1992 were to be rigorously applied, 99% of the motorbike riders, baht bus drivers and mini-van drivers would be imprisoned or fined. NO?
RW

Amazing

Editor;
Amazing. I read in Thursday’s Bangkok Post that the police have installed cameras at various busy intersections in Bangkok and a trial was conducted. The results were staggering: they found out that 2000 vehicles went through red lights. Next they will be telling us that vehicles drive on the wrong side of the road.
Matt Jomtien

Colonel Bonafide greatest country on Earth

Editor;
If Patrick Lane of Japan is going to refer to foreigners here in Thailand, he should not be using the word farang. Colonel Bonafide appreciates Mr. Lane’s letter to the editor as it illustrates the difference between almost all countries and the greatest country on Earth. I refer of course to the United States of America. In other countries most people are subjects, meaning that they hold an inferior position to that of the government. People who have only known subject citizenry have a much different understanding of the roles that citizens hold and their governments. In America, the citizen is the master and the government is the servant. Dutchie is welcome to visit any government servant dressed in what he deems as appropriate. Americans are the masters, we are not subjects nor inferior citizens. As a retired bird colonel I can tell you that we often salute civilians as a sign of respect, no matter how they are dressed.
The other countries of the world have much they can learn from America and Americans. God Bless you all.
Colonel Lloyd Bonafide
United States Marine Core, retired
Jomtien

Treat her decently

Editor;
Mr. Patrick Lane exactly gets the point; respect is not in the price of a t-shirt or suit. It is more in the way you treat people.
One of his other problems is that he is not able to read properly. In all the article I have never been talking about respect for me, just that my lady is not responsible for the things I do, so they can treat her decently.
I am also not here to compare countries, but if I want I can go for a new passport in my pajamas.
Dutchie
Jomtien

Pattaya traffic problem

Dear Pattaya Mail;
I have been reading your paper since 1995, and I can’t remember ever anyone trying to solve the pedestrian crossing problem on 2nd Road and 3rd Road. Why doesn’t the council propose building a pedestrian crossing bridge in several places, like the kind that they use in Bangkok? Why do we not all sign a petition and hand it to the authorities? The speed and traffic in Pattaya is very dangerous. They should follow the UK example where a motorist is heavily penalized for a driving/parking offence.
Tony Ham
Pattaya resident

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
are also published here.