HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Songkran again

Personal conclusions

Thank you for the help

What a pleasant event

Difficult time at airport and immigration

The end of the traditional tourist industry in Thailand?

Songkran again

Editor;
I have just been looking at the Pattaya Mail’s Songkran in pictures. I would advise all the farang residents of Pattaya to have a look at the pictures as well. There are plenty of people having a mass water throwing session. Not too many farangs though, at least in these pictures. What I am saying is, the majority of the Thai people love this festival, as out of hand as it might have gotten. You can see by the pictures of Sukhumvit Road, it certainly brings the tourists to town. Looking at the current exchange rate, the licensing laws in the supermarkets and bars, Pattaya is going to need all the help it can get, and remember, Thailand belongs to the Thais. You farang residents are guests, respect that.
Mickyfin Burnley

Personal conclusions

Editor;
I have thought long and hard on the Issue of the PAD, PPP and the article in “The Economist” and finally have come to some personal conclusions.
Everyone seems to feel that they have the answer regarding who is right and who is wrong. Some feel that whether it was morally correct or not, the PAD was wrong to try to unseat Thaksin and thus threaten the very substance of democracy. Some feel that Thaksin was so blatantly corrupt that votes or no, the PAD had a right and duty to try and unseat him.
The truth, as I see it, is that no one has ever seen a situation such as existed in this country at the time that the PM sold his shares to a Singaporean company and thus started the entire sequence of events. Thus, no one could possibly know for certain, except for Thaksin himself or the leader of the PAD, what their motivations were and are. Least of all someone from a country other than Thailand.
And even if it were possible to know, the fact of the matter is that what is going on internally in Thailand is no one’s business except for Thais.
What is it about Western freedom that makes Westerners feel that they are free to meddle in other people’s business? Were the London, Washington, New York and Los Angeles newspapers filled with letters from Pakistanis, Zimbabweans and Thais when President Bush, with Tony Blair’s support, led the West into the Iraqi quagmire by blatantly lying to the people of America and England? Do Japanese, Chinese and Thai expats living in America bombard the newspapers with letters condemning the president, Wall Street, the Fed, corporate CEOs and everyone else involved in the financial meltdown of the West?
Why do Westerners, who don’t really have a clue of what is going on beyond their soccer or football stadiums become such experts regarding foreign politics when they migrate?
But the most enigmatic question of all is why do people in responsible positions in the Western world, such as magazine editors and writers think they have a right to publicly speculate as to what the King of Thailand is thinking or possibly doing in regards to his own country and expound on their opinion as to why the people of Thailand love their King as much as they do? Such speculations coming from people who have no love of anything other than the dollar and pound and only display appreciation for someone who is rich, showy, disrespectful and “cool”, seems a little presumptuous to me.
I have watched the people and institutions of the Western world meddle in other people’s problems and attempt to tear down other people’s beliefs for most of my life. And all of this while their “heroes”, who are making millions and attempting to extract more from their fellow citizens through high priced “negotiators” and their love of money and things has been leading to the complete collapse of their financial institutions.
Yet they persist in their assurance that their way is the only way.
If there is truly one simple explanation for the vast majority of problems in the world, that explanation must be the constant meddling of Westerners in the lifestyles and beliefs of the remainder of the world.
So now, as meddling seems to be the order of the day, allow me to meddle and give some unsolicited advice to England and the United States. You have sufficient problems of your own. I suggest that you concentrate your efforts on cleaning up the mess you have made at home and be less concerned about what is going on in foreign countries. How a magazine with a title such as “The Economist”, can be speculating about what the King of any country can be thinking or doing when the area of its supposed “expertise” in its own country is completely awry is really a subject that the world and the staff of “The Economist” should be pondering. Not what the King of Thailand might be thinking or doing or why the people of his country love him as much as they do.
John Arnone
Yasothon

Thank you for the help

Editor;
We want to say a heartfelt thank you to the entire team at the Oasis in Diana-Estate. They were so helpful and friendly during our forced holiday extension, due the airport closure. They arranged rooms, made alternative travel arrangements and kept us up to date. They did this even for non customers! This is the kind of spirit we need to see much more in these troubled times for the Land of Smiles! Congratulations Oasis and staff!
“Your red wine Club” & Family

What a pleasant event

Dear Mailbag,
I just have to say how glad I was to have made the effort to come to Pattaya for the opening of the British consulate, by British Ambassador Quinton Quayle.
He turned out to be a thoroughly pleasant and amiable fellow, not at all the stuffed shirt I was expecting. He made the time to converse with everyone and pose for souvenir photographs. I was not expecting the champagne buffet lunch that was laid on, but it was much appreciated. Thank you.
From Jim & Lemon MacDonald
Rayong

Difficult time at airport and immigration

Editor;
I was completely disappointed at the actions taken by the protesters that closed down the international airport. I believe in free speech and the right to protest but to hurt the hand that feeds them (the tourist) it was wrong.
I could not confirm my flight with due to the amount of people trying to do the same thing. I thought I would do the right thing and go to Jomtien Immigration to explain I was going to be over my 30 days. I was treated with utter contempt and treated like a criminal. One officer had his voice raised with me simply because I could not tell him the telephone number of my place of stay (The Queen Vic Soi 6). I was passed around from department to department. I was ordered to pay 2,400 baht as it was all my fault.
The damage that has been done here will kick in during the low season. I have never overstayed in 15 years of coming to Thailand. It is about time the Thai authorities looked at changing the visa regulations for the very people who spend the money in Thailand. Maybe it is too late, as there are other destinations that will take my hard earned cash during this global recession. The Philippines spring to mind and Cambodia who show more decorum.
Yours sincerely,
Kenny Logue
A disillusioned visitor from Scotland

The end of the traditional tourist industry in Thailand?

Editor;
Today on Jomtien the sun is bright, the breeze is fresh and the beaches never looked cleaner. What is missing are the tourists, the lifeblood of our fair city. The tourist industry has been mercilessly devastated by a carefully orchestrated plan fully funded by a power hungry nucleus supported by possibly well meaning mums and dads and militarised by thuggish foot soldiers paid by the day. Having occupied and vandalised government house without real success they focussed on the airports which they took with ease capitalising on the weakness of the pathetic PPP government.
The result: chaos, stranded passengers, decaying perishables, stranded vital factory supplies. The list just goes on and on with the eventual cost being fantastic and will not be fully calculated for months to come. Every single person in Thailand will be affected, except of course the rich and powerful who cynically state “this is the price we have to pay”.
There will of course be huge layoffs, massive unemployment and possibly civil unrest and undoubtedly more crime.
The yellow shirt, previously worn with pride all over Thailand particularly on Mondays was the people’s symbol of their love for His Majesty The King. This is now reduced to the uniform of a group of radicals.
Then on the other side we have the red shirts. Again financially supported, this time by the ousted Thaksin. Here was a leader who could have been the greatest in Thai history had he just stuck to the mandate of serving the people. Being fabulously rich already it was hard to understand his need to make even more money, particularly by corrupt methods. Now he stands lonely and embittered, connecting from afar with his supporters through the big screen in a football field urging them on to confrontation.
Tourism is the single most important industry in Thailand, second only to general exports. As a hotelier I am saddened to report that we are in this month of December 45% down on last year and showing the same figures as deep down season July and we feel we are doing quite well. More importantly new bookings for February and March are hugely down indicating that although the airports are open people do not feel safe to come here in case there is further political strife, which is being widely reported in sensational newspaper columns such as Newsweek who use headlines suggesting we are “on the brink of civil war”!
In real terms in Pattaya we have lost the season and closures will be massive in the down season as businesses will have little reserve in order to survive. Every day that this uncertainty goes on the situation will just get worse. If the yellow and reds seriously love Thailand and His Majesty the King as they constantly suggest they do then have some humility, swallow your pride, forget just for once the ever present issue of loss of face and form a viable coalition government and get down to business. Follow for once the lead of His Majesty who has unselfishly dedicated his life to Thailand and the Thai people. Give His Majesty the peace of mind that his beloved people will not be further manipulated into conflict and possibly bloodshed. Yellow versus red, north versus south, rich versus poor, it can all be ended now and should be.
Only then can the healing start, only when it is clear that the country is stable will the tourists return. The damage is already so big it will take months even years to repair. There is no time left to waste.
Richard Franklin

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