HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

This isn’t you…

Evangelists took me to task

Pattaya needs own airport desk

Real men don’t drink milk

Charity evening in Jomtien was exceptional

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Who benefits from the visa change?

This isn’t you…

Dear Editor;
Well I see the farang police volunteers are in the news again. I have just arrived back in Thailand from London. I have read your interesting newspaper for the last 3 years and seen many articles complaining about farang volunteer police. But now I wish to share my experience.
I am a 32-year-old lady and was stopped on Sukhumvit Road on a hired bike last year and asked for my license. I showed my international license, and was told by the policeman the license was false as the photo was nothing like me (it was only taken 7 days before). This so called policeman then demanded I give him my hotel and room number as this license problem will have to be checked on or he would arrest me. I refused. Then another policeman came over and told me to go and be careful.
I have visited Pattaya now 6 times and always enjoyed myself. But I think the top police officers should let their own country people do their police work. They are more qualified.
Thank you.
Wendy Summers

Evangelists took me to task

Dear Editor;
Two evangelists took me to task (Eric Bahrt and M. Nightingale 20/03/09) about my letter concerning milk. They are probably one and the same person as they both use cigarettes and coke as examples (neither of which are food, nor is arsenic Eric, nor claim to be nutritious). I never said milk was good OR bad, I merely pointed out that invaders and evangelists have been worried about milk for over 2,000 years and yet we have managed to multiply and fill the earth to the tune of six billion and counting.
Eric says that animal’s milk was not meant for human consumption. Who told him that? And what foods ARE meant for human consumption and if he gives examples, who told him they were meant for humans? I would like to remind both of these “experts” that the experts of the day used to blame potatoes for syphilis among other diseases and we are still waiting for “overwhelming evidence” of the same.
In conclusion a report just out in Britain suggests that colon/rectal cancer is more prevalent among vegetarians and that no doubt in time there will be “overwhelming evidence” that this is not so. I put forward my theory that it is probably from speaking out of the wrong orifice!
Remember that there is overwhelming evidence that human beings have two legs but the world average is a lot less than that!
Best regards,
Dick Turpin

Pattaya needs own airport desk

Editor;
I have just returned from another outstanding golf holiday based in Pattaya and it is encouraging to see that the city administration is becoming more involved in the use of Utapao Airport and other developments such as widening the city beach.
However, Pattaya’s administration needs to be much more pro-active if they are going to encourage tourists to return to the resort in the face of a world-wide recession. Especially as the Tourism Authority of Thailand is failing to give any advertising space to Pattaya in their world-wide advertising campaigns.
A major step forward would be the opening of a Pattaya Information Desk in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. A number of multi-lingual staff wearing Pattaya uniforms or sashes could be stationed at the few international arrival gates looking for arriving passengers visiting Pattaya, or looking for the nearest beach resort!
The information desk could arrange hotel reservations at hotels and condos in Pattaya and provide transfers. We have the ridiculous situation where people are able to buy a seat on a mini-bus to the airport, but not from the airport to Pattaya. A Pattaya Information Desk could sell seats on these empty mini-bus services, taxis and limos, and the commission paid from transfers and hotel bookings would help cover the operating costs of the airport desk. Apart from anything else, it would ensure that arriving tourists paid a fair price for their travel to the resort.
There is nothing new in this idea. Visit any major airport in the world and there will be a local information desk in the airport booking hotels and transfers to their resort. Pattaya City needs to take the lead, go out and sell its services!
From Robin Valentine
Grampian Golf Tours

Real men don’t drink milk

Dear Sir;
If I wanted to sit around and drink milk I’d stay home with my wife. She insists that I eat a banana, cereal and milk every morning ‘for my health’. I am returning to Pattaya alone for a month in April and can be seen having my usual breakfast of Singha. If I die, I die happy!
Mr. Jerry Sabaii

Charity evening in Jomtien was exceptional

Dear Editor,
In times of global financial crisis, it is perhaps the wrong time to organise a charity event, but last night’s charity appeal held in Jomtien to raise money to build a school for underprivileged children in the North of Thailand was exceptional.
This event was superb and I take my hat off to whoever organised this event and put it together. I have been a supporter and organiser for many years of various charity appeals both here and in Australia, so know only too well how difficult it is to raise funds, muster enough interest and get people to attend. This was successfully done by looking at the numbers of people in attendance.
For those who did not get the chance to attend last night’s charity, you missed a superb show. The band that performed, whoever they were, were perhaps the best I have seen here in Pattaya or Bangkok for that matter. They played music that you immediately recognised and could listen and dance too without a visit to the hearing clinic the next day (Jomtien had its own music festival last night).
So having said all that I hope the money raised was enough to help in their worthy cause. Good luck to you and the Thai children you are trying to help.
Brian longden-Smith

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Editor;
In keeping with the letter from Mickeyfin Burnley in the Mar. 20th Pattaya Mail, I wish to report something that happened this week. I was riding in the car with my wife and kids and we saw a chicken crossing the street in front of us. My daughter, who is nine years old, asked me why the chicken was crossing the street. (I know that she knew the standard answer from school because we covered the material a long time ago.) I thought about it for a moment and then answered as follows: “Because he’s trying to get as far as possible from KFC and he figures his odds are better crossing the street then going back in the direction he came from.”
Needless to say, my daughter just gave me a confused, disgusted look and the subject was dropped.
I do want to report though that the last two times I went to KFC, they actually had one original recipe chicken breast, so it is possible that someone from KFC, Thailand has been reading these letters.
And now to the real subject of this letter.
I decided to transfer some funds from my American bank to Thailand because I am beginning to fear for the value of the dollar. My American bank informed me that because I was not there, I could not use “Swift Transfer”. My only option was to transfer the money to the checking account and deposit a check in my account here. My bank here informed me that it would take 45 days for the check to clear. As you all know, the Thai baht is somewhat weak right now so I was nervous about that and decided to try another bank. Two more banks told me the same thing.
Can anyone out there explain to me why, in the electronic age, with telephones, fax machines, the Internet and other modern communication devices, it takes 45 days to clear a chick? Excuse me check?
We are constantly reminded by scientists and educators about how lucky we are to have all of this modern technology, yet they can take us to the moon faster than they can clear a check from one country to another and they can’t find a humane way to execute animals for consumption. What is wrong with this picture?
As we obviously were able to reach some chicken executives, maybe we can get some answers from some banking executives, although I doubt that because they are all probably down at some safe bank depositing their bonus checks.
John Arnone
Yasothon

Who benefits from the visa change?

Editor;
I read in you paper about the new visa exemption. I would like to know whom it is to benefit? It’s no good for the 1 month tourist, it is no good for the one year multiple entry visa applicant, and it’s low season. I don’t see any benefits to a tourist of any description. All I see is a gloss, how stupid are tourists? At first glance it looks like the Thai government is trying to do something to attract tourists. My advice is address the fees and the stupid 15 day visas. People don’t need the hassle, and are made more welcome elsewhere. Don’t forget money number one!
Fred O’Neil
Ed’s reply: We thought it was made clear that the visa fee waiver applies to citizens of countries that previously had to pay a fee for their visa on arrival. This is already free to citizens of most other countries, presumably such as yours. If you enter the kingdom through an airport, you automatically get stamped in for 30 days. This wasn’t true for citizens of some countries, but now that has changed.

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