Dear Sirs,

As a regular visitor from the UK to Jomtien where I also have a condo, may I congratulate the authorities in the vast improvements on my return last week to the beach area, with the new walkway and rest areas. Don’t stop now, continue and complete and bring up to European standards. This will improve the area no end.

Dear Editor,

Who from the Highways Department laid down the white line ‘dog legs’ on the Sukhumvit Rd at the junctions of Central and South roads to facilitate U-turns? Adhering to road white line markings, or any other colour come to that, is not at the top of the list of priorities in Thailand, and for one who has tried to do so is to flirt with danger, as I have experienced on several occasions. For my sins, I now do as the ‘Romans’ do and ignore them. As they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

And with respect to the Rotarians, the same thing applies to the Dolphin roundabout. I would have thought that if recognition of that charitable organisation is needed then the money/crystals, donated by one of their members, could have been better spent on some charitable project which would be more appropriate. They are not into Thai boxing where the sponsors have to be seen to be donating. Anyway, keep up the good work Rotarians. Many people are grateful to you.

Sattahip

Dear Editor,

Just a timely reminder: if you are a UBC subscriber, you need to exchange your smart card before the end of the year. The old ones won’t work from January 1. Although UBC has told some customers that a man will call round to do the switch, it’s a chancy option some would say.

You can visit personally the UBC regional office in Ban Saen, just before Chonburi on Sukhumvit Highway, or you can phone the Pattaya agent on 038 425992. You need to take along a signed copy of your passport (if you are a farang) and the old smart card. Importantly, you also need to write down the 16/17 digit serial number which is probably on the bottom of your decoder box.

When you get your new smart card home, it may not work for a couple of hours. Be patient and the screen message telling you your card is invalid will disappear. This assumes, of course, you have remembered to put it in the slot.

Dear Pattaya Mail:

I chuckle every time I hear some farang warning Pattaya officials about how one thing or another is going to badly affect tourism. What a joke. Pattaya has made monumental strides in updating and modernizing itself (personally, I liked it better 13 years ago). And tourism has steadily increased every year since.

Personally, I don’t see anything ever affecting tourism except the fear for one’s personal safety. Pattaya does seem more dangerous today than it did years ago, but if you apply common sense, and not wear tons of expensive jewelry around your neck and fingers, you should be okay.

Pattaya is a great place to escape the worries of the modern world. It’s not perfect, nor should it be. If the current powers want to close bars at 2:00 a.m. - who cares? If I wanted to party after 2:00 a.m., I’d simply buy a couple bottles of Mekong and invite some of the natives to come over to my hotel. (I have done this many times and had a blast - and it was much cheaper and more fun than any of the bars!)

To all you whining farangs, be grateful for one thing: the bars are still open. When and if Thailand closes all its go-go bars - then you are going to see a MAJOR drop in tourism.