Pattaya Mail - Pattaya's First English Language Newspaper

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:: Thank you Sophon Cable; Use caution when visiting temporary fairs; What is the safest way to get to the other side of Second Road?; Larn Casino should have Western gambling concept

Thank you Sophon Cable

Dear Sir,
Just to confuse all those who think I spend my entire life moaning and complaining, I thought you would be interested to see a copy of the letter I have just sent to Khun Chanyut Hengtrakul who is the owner/head honcho of Sophon Cable here in Pattaya.

“Dear Khun Chanyut,

It is very good to be able to watch BBC TV on Sophon Cable without all the picture and sound problems which we have been experiencing for such a long time. I hope that the setting for BBC that your engineers have found is a permanent fix for the problem, and that we shall continue to receive good, clear pictures.

Please congratulate your engineers on my behalf, and request them to continue with the good work.”

I know that it is tempting fate to make such remarks, but what the heck - life’s a gamble. If Sophon maintains the current good transmission of BBC, my phone bill will be reduced by a large amount! I am a great believer in the power of complain, but I also think that gratitude is never out of place.

Yours faithfully,

Oliver Minto

Use caution when visiting temporary fairs

Editor;
On the evening of Saturday the 10th I took my two sons and their cousins to a temporary fun fair located near the junction of Sukhumvit and Soi Khow Noi.

We were enjoying the evening and the kids were having a great time on the roundabouts and sideshows. One particular ‘ride’ was a fairly slow moving train, circumnavigating the show ground on double rails raised some 8-10 inches above floor level.

I was carrying my youngest nephew in my arms when I saw another youngster (not one of ours) step inside the rails. I looked around, waved to the train driver and reached in and plucked the little one out.

As I lowered him to the ground I was struck from behind by the train and dragged along the ground for some 6 meters or so before I managed to pull myself clear.

The driver saw what was happening, grinned at me and drove on.

I am badly bruised from the waist down, I have lacerations to my legs and arms and my clothes are ruined. One could say it was my fault for not checking that the train was going to stop or at least slow down, but there was no time.

My warning is to take extreme care when visiting these attractions or avoid them altogether as they can be a serious health hazard and IT HURTS!

It is up to you of course, but people should be made aware that these shows have absolutely no safety features or procedures. If you do publish it, I would rather not have my name mentioned. I feel stupid enough already.

Home Boy

What is the safest way to get to the other side of Second Road?

Editor,

My seven week holiday in Pattaya has ended and I arrived home in Australia in one piece. This statement is not so extraordinary except for the fact that my hotel was on Second Road and at numerous times each day I was challenged by speeding, kamikaze style lunatics posing as motor cycle riders.

My last encounter with a maniac on two wheels was when I nearly lost my toes trying to cross from one side of the road to the other. He was riding helmetless, against the one way on coming traffic with a female sitting side saddle behind him. She was carrying a large basket full of dirty washing and a child was balanced precariously on the handle bars. The cycle came from behind me and I was forced to employ my best rugby side step in order to avoid becoming another Second Road statistic. I yelled at the rider as he sped past me but he would not have been able to hear me, as he was totally absorbed in a mobile telephone conversation at the time.

What made this incident all the more frustrating was the fact that a motor cycle policeman who was riding with the oncoming traffic, saw the offender but took no action.

There are a number of marked crossings on second road that are supposed to be safety zones for pedestrians. For the unwary tourist these crossings give a false sense of security. For the experienced Pattaya traveller, the crossings provide an ideal setting should one be considering committing suicide.

I am quite convinced that the safest way to get to the other side of Second Road is to be born there.

A prolonged and committed police enforcement program is well overdue.

Mighty Mouse

OK for us but not for you

I read your recent article regarding proposed gambling on Larn Island. It sounds like people are getting serious about it.

I was particularly interested in the proposed restrictions regarding who would be allowed to gamble there as it noted that the gambling would be for foreigners or Thais with a bank account of 200,000 baht or over. This would tend to suggest that a very large proportion of the prospective gamblers would be farangs.

I sincerely hope that should the city fathers manage to actually push this through and it becomes a reality, that they plan the gaming not only for Thais but also for farangs.

I have gambled in both Phnom Penh and Macau and very frankly, for a farang it is a waste of time. There are no games that we recognize and a minimum amount of slot machines.

Both Las Vegas and Monte Carlo gambling is directed towards Europeans and Americans and includes traditional farang games such as Craps, Blackjack and Roulette. For most western casinos Craps is the backbone of their gambling revenue, yet you will not find it in Asian casinos.

If the basic gambling concept is implemented, I would sincerely hope that these thoughts are considered. If they aren’t, I can assure you that you will not attract Farang gamblers.

John Arnone

A loyal Las Vegas gambler now living in Yasothon

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
are also on our website.

It is noticed that the letters herein in no way reflect the opinions of the editor or writers for Pattaya Mail, but are unsolicited letters from our readers, expressing their own opinions. No anonymous letters or those without genuine addresses are printed, and, whilst we do not object to the use of a nom de plume, preference will be given to those signed.

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