HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

I’m a prisoner no more

Congratulations Thappraya Road construction crew

House over flowing with butts

Smoking is repulsive

Open letter to Ray Standiford

Jomtien is going to the dogs

I’m a prisoner no more

Dear Editor,
It may seem to defy the bounds of logic that anyone could get trapped in Jomtien for 9 weeks, but it’s happened to me. Now I may be the dumbest farang on the Eastern Seaboard but for more years than I care to remember and am too embarrassed to state here, I’ve always thought that a two level price system operated on baht bus taxis: Thai price and farang price. I’d heard vague rumours that you could use them as hop on, hop off buses for 20 baht but I’d never seen it written in black and white. And I’d always been charged a minimum 100 baht to go between Jomtien and Pattaya even when other people were on the bus. Due to disabilities I can’t ride a motor bike.

Latterly it’s become a matter of principle for me not to pay ‘farang price’ on a baht bus to Pattaya (about 4 kilometres) and so I’ve been stuck in Jomtien for the last 9 weeks, getting almost suicidally depressed. Today (Sunday) I knew that if I didn’t break out of Jomtien I’d crack up, so resigned to my fate of being ripped off I went down to Beach Rd to hail a baht bus.

When one stopped I did what I usually do, I told the driver where I wanted to go and expected to hear ‘100 baht’ or even ‘150’. My mouth dropped open in amazement when he said ’20 baht’ (I was going to Mike’s Shopping Mall). There were other passengers on the bus.

Suddenly I felt elated that I was finally getting out of Jomtien and going off on a little adventure. I’ve been seeing a lot of news reports about shootings, stabbings and robberies in Pattaya lately, and items about prostitutes and other nuisances lurking behind every tree on Pattaya’s Beach Road just waiting to waylay unsuspecting tourists, so I was a bit disappointed that nobody bothered me today. In fact I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Pattaya today, the atmosphere felt okay and they actually have flower beds on the Beach Road!

I’d like to have stayed long enough to catch the advertised parade of dragon and lion dancers along Walking St at 6 p.m., as part of the Chinese New Year festivities, but I can’t see very well once the daylight begins to fade and getting across Pattaya’s busy roads is a daunting task even for able bodied people, so I missed out on that treat. I even got back to Jomtien for 20 baht.

The rule seems to be that if you don’t want to go to a specific offroad destination (like Tesco Lotus for instance), with you the only passenger, you can flag a baht bus down and ride for 20 baht. Is this what they’re legally supposed to do? But unscrupulous drivers still dupe gullible farangs like me when the opportunity arises? I’d willingly pay 30 baht each way as a standard fare if it would stop this kind of ‘Thai price, farang price’ carry on.
Luthor M. Kingsley

Congratulations Thappraya Road construction crew

Dear Editor:
On behalf of the residents of Royal Hill, Chateau Dale, and View Talay 1 condos, I want to congratulate the road construction companies that are in the process of widening Thappraya Road on successfully carrying out their mission: To bring as much misery to as many people for as long as possible.

For three years now you have endeared yourselves to us with dust, gridlock traffic, dust, potholes, dust, holes, and, did I say it before, dust. Let’s look at some of the highlights we have endured:

1. Taking down the traffic light at Thappraya and Thepprasit Roads 2 years ago which resulted in snarled traffic and caused many accidents until it was replaced 6 months later. And 2 years later any road construction in that area has still, of course, not yet begun.

2. I can’t remember if it is the fourth or fifth time you’ve dug ditches in front of our residences. Right now there are 3 large holes surrounding the entrances to View Talay 1 and Chateau Dale that have been there nearly 3 months. We have no idea what they are for this time, but it does keep us on our toes. And of course the construction in front of Royal Hill for such a long period of time is just a stroke of genius!

3. After enduring the road from hell that broke the most firm shock absorber to get one side of the road ready for paving, you then embark on the concrete medians. Refusing to pave any part of the road was just a stroke of genius. I’m sure you can “run out of money” before beginning any paving begins. Brilliant!

4. Did I mention dust? At times it looks like a dust storm in the Sahara desert which drifts over the landscape covering all cars, motorbikes, buildings, and parking lots. The real joy is when it rains and the resulting mud covers balcony rails, floors, and furniture. Such a delight!

It will be interesting to see what the street will look like in another 3 years. Is there any chance that you can meet any contractual schedules? Meanwhile, we will keep wondering what new torture you have in store for us. Again, congratulations for keeping us in such misery for so long!
Matt Christian

House over flowing with butts

Editor;
Dear John, I have no wish to harangue you; if your house is overflowing with butts, good for you. I have no desire to see, smell, or otherwise deal with said butts. Your letter gives me the impression you think smoking is good for you, promotes health, right up there with broccoli. Good for you, smoke all you want. Please don’t make me breathe your, good for you smoke, cause it stinks really bad.
Al Collinge

Smoking is repulsive

Dear Sir,
I find it hard to believe that Mr Arnone (19th Feb) doesn’t realise that smoking, both active and passive, is the underlying cause of death from a multitude of diseases where the proximate cause is respiratory or heart failure. Unlike snake venom or cyanide, for example, where death is within a short time, smoking may take forty years or more. Hence it is never possible to say with certainty that in a particular case smoking was the cause of the disease.

However, we do know from hundreds of meticulous, independent studies over more than half a century the proportion of such deaths which are the result of smoking.

Mr. Arnone may still be alive and he may eventually die from something unrelated to his addiction. It can be said with certainty that he is undermining his health as well as that of others, and his life expectancy has been reduced by a decade or more.

Apart from any health considerations, smoking is a habit contrary to nature and is repulsive to most ‘normal’ people. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to request that smoking is banned from public areas and that access to tobacco is made increasingly difficult for children to obtain, since 70% of all smokers started their habit as juveniles.
Michael Nightingale

Open letter to Ray Standiford

Editor;
On Feb 19, Ray Standiford replied to a letter from Patty mocking him and he asked who is this “Patty”? Ray, I hope this letter clears that matter up for you.

In recent weeks we have see letters from Tony Crossley, reported to have aka’s of TC, Patty (a sex cartoon character), Jack Tighe, Rory and heaven knows who else. The letters are almost always about people Tony and his AKA’s call whiners. This complaining (whining) about other people whining could be summed up in TC’s own words in a letter, “Tendency to whining and complaining is the surest sign of a small soul and inferior intellect.” ~ Lord Jeffrey. TC and all the AKA’s have been whining about other people whining for years and in one letter one aka, Jack Tighe, even whined about “Koto” and his improper use of English, just as an English teacher would. TC and company seem to be the self appointed news editor who points out (whines) when people are whining about nothing.

Tony Crossley also had once stated, “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when a person continually displays arrogance by asserting that anyone who holds a different view to him is wrong,” and that statement fits the TC and the aka’s just perfect. They do not agree with you, then they whine about you.

Then the aka Jack Tighe stated in a letter, “Louise Emery has opened a possibly edifying debate. Despite, that is, she appearing to criticize someone else’s opinion and then criticizing others for doing it. Please remind me, what is that called?” Hmmmm, just what is that called? If the shoe fits, wear it.

AKA Patty, for a short time had a column in another newspaper as if the cartoon character was a real person. When a prominent member of a local expat club took exception to some of the sarcastic writings of the cartoon and the fact that she is a cartoon character in the real writer’s books, he was quickly attacked by aka Jack Tighe in a letter for daring to question “Patty” and what that writer said. It turns out that Tony Crossley was the writer using the aka of “Patty”, which matches up to the prior letters from “Ed” and “Amused” etc. How many people have been discouraged from speaking their opinion in the local newspapers for fear of being called a “whiner”?

One other local newspaper seems to have discontinued printing letters of opinion, maybe to just end all the whining from the self appointed editors of whining.

I hope this answers your question as to just who “Patty” really is and also verified in the past by Tony Crossley himself.
Bob, Pattaya

Jomtien is going to the dogs

Editor;
The recent rabies death (February 14th) of a shop owner in Bangkok has stirred up their City Council to the point where some 400,000 pets are now receiving rabies shots and un-owned pests are being eliminated.

Yet Pattaya has done nothing to cut down on the wild packs of dogs that are roaming the streets of Jomtien.

People have complained to the police and the City Council about the dog packs on the north end of Jomtien Soi 9 and on the back lots of Soi 8/6. Other packs can be seen roaming Soi Wat-Boon about 200 meters in from the beach and others can be observed along Beach Road proper where several people have been bitten (I know of two cases myself). These packs have been here on and off for years and are multiplying on a monthly rate and yet nothing has been done to cut down their numbers.

Do we too have to have a rabies outbreak before the authorities wake up and rid us of these pests that no one owns or wants?
“Concerned Resident”
Ed’s note: The authorities are actually doing something about this problem, as can be seen on page 2 this week.

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