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Fire Danger Alert
Editor;
I send this information to you in the hope that you will contact the responsible government office, so that appropriate action can be taken.
Four Men House Apartment on Soi 17, South Pattaya has all it’s fire exits padlocked. In case of fire these doors cannot be used for escape. Surely this
must be contrary to all fire regulations and common sense.
Another disaster waiting to happen? Pattaya and Thailand is full of these potential disasters, but nothing is done. What about your civic responsibility?
Locked in
Late night bar opening
Sir;
I don’t think that the bars should be closed at a specific time. What they need is to allow the publican to decide when they want to close. But Pattaya
does need some kind of zoning for this. It seems crazy to me to have bars booming out loud music at all hours that are adjacent to a hotel. But why build a hotel slap bang in
the middle of the entertainment area anyway? If you check in there, whose fault is it?
I stayed at the Fire House Hotel in S. Pattaya on a number of occasions; it’s a very good centrally located hotel, and I never had any complaints. Until
on one visit I was given a room above Soi 14. Unfortunately there was a karaoke bar opposite my room, which seemed to start operation around 2 a.m. and closed about 6 a.m.
Needless to say, I have not stayed there since. I don’t blame the bar, or the licensing laws. I feel that if I want to have a good night’s kip, I shouldn’t be trying to
do it in the middle of the nightly entertainment zone. I now book into hotels a little further away. Baht buses don’t cost that much after all, even though some people seem
to object to paying more than 5 baht. 5 baht for goodness sake, what moaners. Is 10 baht, or even 20 baht too much to pay for a short trip? How much would you pay back home
for a similar service!
OK, I can understand the point of residents complaining about the noise near their home, and that is justified. That’s why zoning is required. As for the
view that bars should close even earlier than they currently do...well hey, Pattaya was born from tourism. People choose to go there on holiday to let their hair down and
enjoy themselves. Isn’t it strange that farangs move to the area and try to make it just like their homeland? Why don’t they return there, that’s what I want to know.
And quit complaining about everything. TIT, as Bernard Trink says (this is Thailand). I go there because its different from my homeland...I don’t want it to be even
remotely like my homeland.
Signed,
Fed up with moaners
Thanks Khai Khem
Dear Khai Khem and Pattaya Mail,
Thanks for providing your paper on the net. I love the style and content and always learn something interesting. I look forward to getting a hard copy this
summer too!
But I am behind reading and just read Don’s comments on the murderous American children.
I don’t even need to go back to read the article cause I remember how much I laughed (and cringed being a Yankee) at it. Khai Khem, you didn’t miss a
trick and I thought that your obtuse assessment captured how baseless life can feel in the states. I take the situation very personally, but not your words. I suppose Don is
the opposite; the problems in America are not his personal problem but your words are! Well truth doesn’t hurt me. And I believe the truth of the US situation was meshed in
brilliantly with your lampooning. I assume the piece was originally twice as long.
And finally, KK, your response was a gem as well. Such poise and passion in a response to a letter would be unheard of in my town anyway.
Thanks to all there for your efforts.
John Roehsler
Wilmington Delaware
Daidomon Scam
Dear Editors:
Re: Doidoman at Airport Plaza in Chiang Mai. Without asking the waitress will bring you (depending on how many in your party) glasses of coca-cola. You may
get the idea that this is free. You will find it added on to your bill. Several people have complained of this but the management appears to ignore. Another scam!
Robert Johnson
Serious Concern
Dear Editor;
I hope that you would be prepared to print my concerns in your next issues... that with the revelations in the press about Jimmy Lumsden and Gordon May - are
they even fit to be associated with the Pattaya Gay Festival Fund? Who knows if they have embezzled money from that cause, as they seem to have been on a trail of descent,
corruption, murder and more...serious questions should be asked!
I know that many of the gay community are horrified to hear this information - and will boycott Ambiance and Boyz, Boyz, Boyz because of this.
I feel sorry for the Thai boys who work there, who are obviously going to get dragged into this circus and their livelihoods are at risk - even there lives if
they speak out.
Yours sincerely,
Mike Bishop
Thai PM’s Comments About Thai Airways International
Editor;
I write to express my concern at Thailand’s prime minister’s remarks about Thai Airways made and reported in the Thai press. I have travelled extensively on
Thai over twenty years, as well as other Star Alliance partners. Thai Airways International service is excellent; it’s a great airline. I am a Gold ROP member, and have
experienced superior service from Thai’s committed and dedicated staff, both on the ground and in the air. I reflect the feelings of many passengers when I say Thai Airways staff
make great effort to assist customers and are hard working. Thai Airways staff need support. The prime minister’s comments, from my experience in flying Thai, are not justified.
Thai Airways is a great airline - keep up the great work!
Brian Noad
Surry Hills NSW Australia
Visa for Thailand
Sir,
It seems there has been a change of ruling again. Now age does not matter so much it appears. The requirement for a visa changes every once in a while (all the
time, really) making it hard for the average expat to follow up. Very unjust are the laws concerning people married to Thai nationals. Someone should tell the people responsible
for the visa restrictions that in all Europe Thais upon marriage to people of Europe would be given a 5-year or even a lifetime visa good for most countries in Europe. They are
also given a work permit. And, of course they can buy a car or house! (Worth mentioning perhaps, that a Thai does not have to pay more for a taxi ride or a visit to a museum than a
native of Europe only because he/she is Thai.)
We are several people married to Thai nationals who come together once in a while for eating together, speaking together, and having fun together. We will in a
few days write to a newspaper in Berlin and London about the racial discrimination we (people of Europe) find in Thailand. We hope this is also to be of the interest to all people
downtrodden by the so-called ‘influential people’ who run Thailand.
Married to a Thai
Re: Bowls in Order
Dear Sir;
I have just read (last) week’s edition of Pattaya Mail and ‘Winebibber’s column in particular. I have to say this is the first column I read but I was
disgusted with the statement finale, ‘You can’t please everyone’. I am not aware as to whether you are aware of the full facts regarding my complaint about the lawnmower
noise so here is the truth.
When the X-Zyte disco finished around 03.30 - 04.00 it is hoped that the residents nearby can catch a few hours uninterrupted sleep. Unfortunately not! The
grounds man at the Bowling Green decides the best time for him to cut the grass is 05.00 hours and this activity carries on for over 90 minutes to 120 minutes. Would you like to be
kept awake by the noise of a lawnmower sounding like a B52 Bomber at 5.00 a.m.! I think not! I know sensationalism sells newspapers but what happened to the truth?
I should be grateful if you would indicate in your next column the actual reason for my complaint which was made on behalf of those residents whose apartments
actually overlook the Green. One such contains a young family with a six-year old girl and a one-year old boy.
I did write to the owners and expressed concern and hoped for a compromise but I see to no avail. As for your veiled, but not written, statement, that the
lawnmower noise fades into insignificance in comparison with the multitude of bars, karaoke lounges and motor bikes along Soi Buakhoa, let me add in conclusion that the
bars/karaoke lounges noise has diminished considerably since the police patrols came into effect.
In conclusion, my apartment is just around the corner from the Bowling Green and I have been affected by the mowing activity on more than one occasion.
R. M. Girvan
Secretary Diana Estate Condominium Complex
Hello from Ireland
Dear Sir,
Just a short note to say thank you for a very informative paper. I have visited Pattaya many times and look forward to my next trip very much. It is great to be
able to follow all the events in your beautiful city as they occur. We await eagerly for the Pattaya Mail, online version, every Friday.
Again many thanks.
Your loyal readers in Ireland
Discos, closing times and related matters
Dear Sirs,
I am a regular reader of your weekly and I do assume that you have very good relations with the Pattaya police department. I have also appreciated that, through
your newspaper, many messages are conveyed to the “not so good” crowd. No doubt, in agreement with the rules laid out by the authorities.
Perhaps your good relations with the Pattaya police may clarify the reason why Hollywood disco is permitted to operate well beyond the “official” closing
time at 2:00 a.m. Sometimes as late (or early ?) as 6:00 a.m.?
Mind you, I have no qualms for the establishments to operate, if they so wish and are permitted, 24 hours a day, 366 days a year (in case of leaps).
However, unlike the recently opened competitor, Hollywood has a highly disturbing peculiarity : The building has a number - I believe 8 or so - of hot air
exhausts in the roof (you know, the onion-dome thinggies that rotate when the hot air reaches up and then sucks it out).
These exhausts extract not only the hot air and - presumably - the smoke from various substances, but the sound as well.
As a result, the neighbouring dwellings at the same or higher level as the disco’s roof enjoy - free of charge - the distorted and yet very powerful music
extracted by the exhaust “thinggies”.
Do you have any friends living at Center Condo, 5th floor and up? If so, have a check at about 4:00 a.m., any day. Later on week-ends or eves of public holidays.
How many yardsticks do we have for this kind of establishment? I don’t mind their business, but may I quietly sleep in my own house at the hours I choose to,
or do I have to go to Hollywood as the only alternative, until they close and then go home to sleep?
Thanks,
Sleepless in South Pattaya
Updated every Friday
Copyright 2001 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by
Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.
E-Mail: [email protected]
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noticed that the letters herein in no way reflect the opinions of the editor or writers
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