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Driving and the police

Thank you Pattaya Mail

A different breed than the average bargirl

Re Twaddle

Clean streets of Pattaya

Structured sterilization programmed needed

Driving and the police

Editor;
Quite often I see letters submitted by people who are frustrated driving throughout Thailand, claiming to be plagued by corrupt highway police who scam them for money even though they were doing nothing wrong.
I take exception to that. I have been living and driving in Thailand for nearly six years and have driven throughout the country many times. I have been stopped on occasion by the highway police. In most cases they simply wave me on.
There have been times when I was fined and I knew the money was going directly into their pockets, but the fact was that I was driving incorrectly and I’d rather put a couple hundred baht into their pockets than be forced to seek out the local police station, go there and have my trip delayed by at least an hour or two to pay the fine, and then have to find the police officer who had stopped me in order to retrieve my driving license, which they confiscate until the fine has been paid.
I just completed a tour of Issan and did close to 1500 km of driving. I was stopped once at a speed trap. The officer claimed I was driving 113km/hr in a 90km/hr zone. I have no idea how he could have known that. I saw no radar or any other kind of speed clocking equipment. But I had no dispute. I was actually doing 120km/hr! The fine was 200 baht.
I was also stopped twice more at other road checks. At one the police officer said something I couldn’t understand, but he waved me on through. At the other the police officer asked to see my driving license. Upon producing it he gave me a broad smile, told me to have a good journey, and waved me through.
I cannot say that others who complain are exaggerating, embellishing, or even lying. I wasn’t there. I can only speak for myself and I can honestly say that I have never had a problem with the Thai highway police and the only times I have ever been fined was when I was doing something wrong. I think people who are afraid to drive in Thailand because of letters they see submitted here are needlessly being put off from driving. I see no reason to be afraid to drive and I have never encountered anything to cause me to believe people are harassed and fined simply because they are foreigners.
B.L.

Thank you Pattaya Mail

Dear Peter, friends and members of Pattaya Mail;
As you may have heard the 6th Cross Bay Swim has been hailed by many, including many visitors, Rotarians, Simon Simms (the founder and mentor for many years) and last year’s event manager Jan Abbink, as the “best Cross Bay Swim ever”.
On behalf of Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya I wish to thank all of you for the outstanding cover and publicity you have given our club over the years. The Cross Bay Swim would not be the success it is without your consistent support. This year was no exception; your cover of the event was just fantastic as was your pre-event publicity.
Past President Brendan Kelly,
Event manager of the 6th Cross Bay Swim

A different breed than the average bargirl

Editor;
I have been reading a lot of letters recently regarding “bargirls”. It might be time for someone to establish the fact that there are different types of bargirls in Thailand and it is not doing justice to some to group them together.
Many of the girls (probably a majority) are simply in the bars serving alcohol. Granted, a lot of them do bar fines just like the go-go girls, but they are not go-go girls and they, in most cases, do not have the mindset of go-go girls. What is the “mindset” I am referring to? It’s the “get as much out of him, giving as little as you can and doing it in the least amount of time as possible mindset.”
Please try to remember that in the vast majority of Thailand, Thai women are extremely modest about their apparel and about showing their bodies. If one sees a girl dressed sexy in a town such as Ubon or here in Yasothon, there is no doubt that she is just visiting home for the weekend from you know where and that her specific job is you know what. Because of Western television this is slowly changing in Bangkok and in Pattaya the necessity for “advertising” has long since changed it, but not so in Thailand as a whole. So what does that tell you about the select group who will come from the provinces to take a job in Bangkok or Pattaya and then take their clothes off in front of a rabid pack of dog-men? It tells you that they are a different breed than the average bargirl and yet, the term “bargirl” is utilized without any distinction of what function the worker may have in the bar.
I am sorry to have to label go-go girls specifically as being the source of the horror stories told by farangs in the newspapers and in casual conversation, but the fact is that with a few exceptions this is generally the case. More unfair than my accusation is to blame all girls that are employed by bars as predators. Most are simply seeking foreign companions or husbands and make perfectly good mates.
If you think I am wrong then fine, but I would love to have a bookie joint where it would be mandatory for all foreigners to report to me when they take up with a “bargirl”. I then would lay odds, depending on her position at the bar, as to whether or not the specific foreigner was going to become “financially impaired”. Sorry, but if the lady in question were a go-go girl, those wanting to bet on the go-go girl skinning the farang would have to lay astronomical odds. I would offer two to one in favor of the remaining “bargirls”.
Of course I have only observed these happenings and have no personal knowledge of them.
John Arnone
Yasothon

Re Twaddle

Editor;
First of all, Bob Grimshaw, my sincere apologies, my Thai wife has informed me that Mrs Clare (who was British and married to a Thai gentlemen) was in fact the person in charge of the visa section and was not the ambassador at the time who was Mr Tomkin and she (Mrs Clare) personally interviewed me and my wife separately to see if our background info checked out.
As far as a successful marriage is concerned, you must read my previous letter stating that you are correct, and love can happen at first sight, and me and my wife married out of love, and not one’s personal background. She didn’t know mine and I didn’t know hers when we first met 23 years ago. I have been very lucky to meet such a nice person and have 22 years of wonderful marriage and a 16 year old daughter.
I was only quoting percentage divorce rates locally, usually because of either age or cultural differences and I applaud your wife’s efforts in learning English and I hope your marriage lasts as long as ours and is as happy like ours. Your wife is taking the right steps in sorting out the ones that are no good for her (maybe the ones that do divorce their husbands for money) and she should only keep the really good girls close. The ones that want to go to casinos and nightclubs are not good girls. I have been so fortunate that my wife has been in my company working with me for the last 22 years and has not had any time to be associated with nightclub, gambling bar girls that haven’t changed their ways.
I actually wish you and your wife a very happy and long marriage and I hope she keeps up the good work learning English. She sounds as if she has started to master it and even though she didn’t go to school in Thailand, that doesn’t make a person stupid. In fact it can be just the opposite and everybody in this world deserves a chance at life and learning, good luck to her.
John Rigg

Clean streets of Pattaya

Editor;
I recently heard that the city planned a major street cleaning project on Beach Road ahead of the OSEAN meeting and the upcoming high tourist season. I’ve got a question. If the city is so concerned with the image and cleanliness of Pattaya, why are the sidewalks not graded in a manner to allow the water to run off into the drainage systems, rather than sit for days allowing mosquitoes to grow? The water has soaked into my shoes, and rather than squish walk around and shop, supporting the local economy, I opt to head home at this time. This never happens on the same side of the street of either Royal Garden or Central Shopping Centers, as those were built to higher standards than pedestrian sidewalks on the beach side of the road. I’ve also ruined many a pair of nice shoes over the years walking into unseen blocks of cement while walking where the lighting is bad.
Want to be seen as a world class location? Then start having the infrastructure and standards that go along in those places. Pity, pity, pity...
Win

Structured sterilization programmed needed

Editor;
As a volunteer veterinary assistant, I visited the animal shelter outside of Pattaya earlier this year to offer my assistance. What I encountered was overwhelming. There were so many dogs at that time (approximately 1500) that most were neglected in some way or another.
The sheer number of pups on the premises was an indication that a sterilization programmed was not in effect. What little information I could gather from the local staff confirmed that fact.
Since then, I understand that the number of animals has dropped considerably. That is not surprising, and I have to say that this reduction is a painful necessity. It is impossible to sustain a healthy population of animals in this number under these conditions.
No reasonable amount of kindly intentions will make this problem go away unless a structured sterilization programmed is put into effect, and at least one full-time veterinarian is available on the premises every day to make timely, critical decisions about medical care. Only then does this so-called “shelter” stand a chance of actually helping these poor animals, instead of inhumanely prolonging their suffering.
Marie Cusenza

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are also published here.