Dear Editor;

Regarding the one-way system on sois from Dolphin to Central Road, nope, I even passed a police motorcyclist going from Beach Road to 2nd Road on Soi 4. Is there any hope here? Apart from that example, nobody cares. Full stop. I love Thailand; have been coming for three months stay regularly. However, I believe that the TAT (or police) do not want tourists to enjoy that for which Pattaya in particular is loved. Do I have to mention 2 a.m. closing again? No, but what about sun loungers? I have found out that City Hall tells the deck chair vendors, “the police don’t want them!” Why? They haven’t spent good money to come and use them! So another spanking for coming here and spending money on the economy! Shame on us.

Oh, by the way, I put my credit card in an ATM on 2nd Road. I forgot my number sequence once, and guess what? It kept my card! The card is good, has plenty of credit, and was not stolen. So, frantic calls to Bangkok Bank (after weekend) of course. Again, not much help. Don’t speak English, try this number. No answer. Anyway I went to Bangkok Bank 2nd Road and after a long wait, one lady helps me. She cannot speak much English, but she cares. She directs me to an official, who looks down his nose and said to come back at 3 p.m. Why? Is my card still in the machine or what? I have no more info even now to date, Monday morning. If there were more people like the helpful lady, I would be happy and feel wanted as a visitor. Oh well.

England (Teacher)

Editor,

In a recent issue of the Pattaya Mail I read a long letter of explanation from the Banglamung Post Master in respect to missing mail. I was sent a letter from London on 24 November which was stamped on the back as being received in Banglamung 28/11; however, this letter was not delivered until 3 December.

Previous letters have been stamped with various dates arriving in Banglamung, anything from 4-7 days before delivery. One letter gave details about my brother’s funeral. A fax had been sent, but not received, so this letter was a great shock.

Editor,

There is probably no one who hasn’t stood on a street corner in Pattaya and marveled at the baht-taxi scene. It is simply unbelievable. There are whole caravans of these taxis plowing through the streets (at the last count there were approximately 800). They take on and discharge passengers any place, any time. They don’t have an established route to follow, and they make detours when they feel like it. They leave passengers stranded in the most unlikely spots and act in a belligerent way if their behavior is questioned.

It’s the tourist that suffers more than others because they don’t know what to expect and they have no knowledge of how the system works. They are left completely in the dark. There is no place where they can obtain information, no place to purchase tickets, and no place to lodge complaints. What it amounts to is a surreptitious system directed at the unwary. This extortion system is at its worst when the passenger approaches a taxi and asks a simple question concerning destination or price. The price automatically increases for the falang. It doesn’t make any difference whether the destination is on the driver’s route or not. And even though the tourist has supposedly hired a cab, the driver will stop and pick up other passengers. The tourist pays 3 or 4 times what the Thais pay. It’s unbelievable the amount of money extorted from the tourist.

I wouldn’t be so bold as to suggest ways to overhaul the system, but I would certainly suggest that the unruly driver be taken in hand, and that more information be supplied while a general overhaul is under consideration. This information could be supplied by the city to the hotels and given to the tourist:

1. General information about established routes and the pricing system.

2. A warning about carrying the exact change.

3. A reminder to passengers to take the taxi number.

4. Notice not to speak to the driver unless traveling off the beaten path.

5. Information about where to report a driver’s rude behavior or illegal demands.

This is the tourist season. Tourists should be kept as happy and carefree as possible. Pattaya should want tourists to come back again. Tourists may be loaded, but unless they are simple-minded, they don’t want to give away any more money than necessary. They should not be expected to pay more than Thais for the same ride.