HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

A wonderful milestone - ten years of service

Best Wishes

Some of your readers just don't get it

Don't be careless

Rain fade will happen everywhere

Help with geography

Opting to go where there is no two-tier pricing

Well done

Another marathon success

Legend of Suriyothai should be seen by more

Best Wishes

A wonderful milestone - ten years of service

Pattaya Mail;

Congratulations to the Pattaya Mail, its editors, its owners, its staff its loyal advertisers and its many contributors.  I look forward to reading the Pattaya Mail every Saturday - (on the Web) - no matter where I am in the world.

I have enjoyed many wonderful holidays at Pattaya and hope to enjoy many more.  I cannot separate the relatively new resort, the Dusit Pattaya, from the time tested and proven the Royal Cliffs.  Both represent the finest 5 star accommodation, attentive friendly service and elegant dining/cuisine.

I am fortunate to have many friends resident in the Pattaya and Chonburi region and I look forward to reading about them and their welfare each week.  I hope the local airport is soon restored to civil air services.  This is more important than importing a casino - premises guaranteed to bring out the worst in the population.  Casinos destroy lives and breed corruption (on a scale hitherto unseen), rather than creating new jobs.

Keep up the excellent work, Pattaya Mail, your worldwide audience of loyal weekly readers and buyers of the many goods and services, you so most effectively advertise online, need you.

Mabuhay and ciao,

Dr. John X. Berlin

Maclean

via Sydney 2463 NSW - Australia

Best Wishes

Dear Pattaya Mail,

After coming on my first holiday to Pattaya six years ago, I now read the Pattaya Mail every week on the internet when at home or always purchase it as soon as I arrive on holiday.  I find the news and the features so interesting and well written so keep up the good work and best wishes for the next ten years.

Regards,

Tony Blaydes

Some of your readers just don't get it

Mailbag;
Well we had "Maurice" the week before and last week it was "Eddy" with retorts to Freddie Clarke's letter on racism in Thailand. You guys two just don't get it.
Mr. Clarke is trying to point out how bad racism is here in Thailand in regards to the many tourist attractions here and all he gets is replies regarding the many Thai's drive fancy cars from Maurice and last week a long winded response from Eddy detailing Thai acts of kindness to him over the years and his willingness to overpay baht bus drivers. This has nothing to do with what Mr. Clarke is trying to point out. Over the years Mr. Clarke is tired if being over charged in Thailand strictly based on his race. Please stop trying to justify this!
There are poor people in all countries of the world and many kind people as well. This hardly justifies me paying over twice as much to go to Water World or ten times as Thai's to get into a National Park because I am a white farang.
Personally I have always thought the Pattaya Mail whose readers are mainly farangs and rely on farang readership to keep them going should provide a service to them regarding the various tourist spots around Pattaya.
Devote a small corner of your fine newspaper to these tourist destinations listing the Thai and farang prices for admission. Make this a permanent part of your weekly to let the farang s in town aware of these price differences. They can then decide before they head out to one of these places whether or not they feel it is OK to be charged double, triple, or more what the locals pay to get in. It may also result in less farangs being upset when they get to the window of one of these places and realize he is being ripped off, oops, I mean having his admission adjusted because he is not a local. The mountains of letters regarding this subject should also decrease, as like I said, the prices will be posted in your newspaper.
Scott Benson
Pattaya

Don't be careless

Dear Sir,
Mugging is, alas, a well-recognised, nighttime danger in many holiday resorts. May I bring to your readers' notice a slightly new variant which they might well keep in mind.
I had the misfortune to be mugged last Tuesday night about nine p.m. when returning home alone through the empty market place between Pattaya Tai and Soi 17 (near Sunee Plaza). A young Thai man was walking in front of me, and when I was in the middle of the market place a group of about four youths came up behind me. I did not anticipate any danger, however, because they all seemed to be in good humour, and were joking amongst themselves. They spoke to the young man in front and there was nothing threatening.
Then, alas, one slipped up behind me and knocked me unconscious. When I came to (a few minutes later) found I had been robbed. A policeman was standing in front of me, but on seeing me struggle to my feet he walked off without saying a word. Fortunately, I was able to stagger out to Pattaya Tai and get a taxi home.
It seems to me that people who frequent Sunee Plaza should be aware that the empty market is a danger spot; and they should be particularly careful about groups of youths in that area, even though their demeanour may seem pleasant.
Yours faithfully,
"Careless"

Rain fade will happen everywhere

Sawadee Krup;
I have just had a read of the current Pattaya Mail, letters to the editor section of the web site edition of the paper and I refer to the item below.
Rain fade will happen with most satellite installations. Reception during rain is dependent on the size of your receiving dish and strength of the transmitted signal.
So if you want to reduce rain fade then get a bigger dish, with a low noise LNB to suit.
Oh, and I do believe that Thailand is in the northern hemisphere. Have a look at your UBC Satellite dish, it's pointing in a southerly direction. Geostationary satellites are parked over the equator.
Regards,
Colin Thompson
Sydney Australia

Help with geography

Dear Editor,
Matt Anderson wrote a letter last week, puzzled as to why rain fade causes him to lose TV reception. He went on to ask why it happens in Pattaya, but not in the Northern Hemisphere (Scotland), where he is from. I cannot help you with the rain fade, but maybe I can offer some help on your geography. Thailand is entirely in the Northern hemisphere also. Maybe that is the real reason he signed his letter as "perplexed"?
V/R
Dave Sleipness 

Opting to go where there is no two-tier pricing

Dear Editor;
With much surprise did I read the letter in which it was said that the Underwater World will charge 180 baht entrance fee for owners of a Thai passport and 380 baht for someone who does not have a Thai passport but as in our case a Polish passport.
I am a teacher in a Polish township, have 2 children and we have saved up 3 years to have a holiday in Thailand. When I hear stories of this kind, about such vile discrimination, I have lost my interest to see a country like this. Instead now we will all go to Tunisia for our holiday.
I can tell that in my country a thing like this that a visitor be charged double for anything at all, only because he is a visitor or guest to my country, the government quickly put an end to this.
The one doing it may go to jail for racism. Something that we saw 50 years ago what it can lead to.
I do not understand why the government of Thailand condones something like this. We do not want to spend our family holiday in a country like this.
Jerzy Krawuttski
Warsawa PL 

Well done

Pattaya Mail;
Keep up the good work. Myself and my Thai wife enjoy reading you every week. See you at Xmas.
Thank you,
Peter

Another marathon success

To Whom It May Concern;
Well folks, once again there was happiness and joy in the streets of Pattaya. Of course you already know I'm speaking of the marathon.
I arrived about 5:30 a.m. and the half and full (real) marathon runners had already left. Lot's of people near Soi 4 but it didn't seem to be as large this year, I hope I'm wrong.
As usual I saw young Thai teams in their matching gear, more children this year, fathers with their son's and daughters. Just more Thai's that were young and healthy looking. It turns out that the run appeared to move along at a faster pace. Of course this has nothing to do with my age! All The water stops were in a good place but the last stop ran out of cups ... mai kao jai?
I only saw a few of the Hashers but I'm sure the young guys were running half and full marathons. Jack (Rambo WW2) Shook is a young age of 74 and is my idol. He's there once again with all smiles and ready to go. Other Hashers seen were Hannibal Lecter, Flying Frog. Yes, these are real people and good runners too!
The only problem I saw was one of a safety, traffic anxiety between Third Road and Second Road on Pattaya Central. The police had the roads blocked off and marked properly but some of the drivers were getting a little anxious and wanted to make their turns anyway. The police were waving to them as if to say "You can't turn here, stop!", but some of the drivers just crept into the runners lane. This is not good! If I may be so humble to suggest that next year the planners and organizers of this event block off all traffic on Central and not just on one side of the street.
Another great event and probably Pattaya's best effort each year. Thanks to all those involved, keep up the good work. "I'll be back".
Sincerely,
Jess Salazar

Legend of Suriyothai should be seen by more

Att: Entertainment Ed.
Thanks for replying to my letter regarding Legend of Suriyothai. I found out about this movie when I went to the Thai Embassy in New York and there was a small notice at the free literature desk regarding things to do and see in Thailand.
The movie has been out for about 6 weeks. There has been no advertisements in the papers. So it seems that the popularity of the movie is through the Thai population and word of mouth. I don't know how much historical accuracy the movie portrays, but putting that aside, it's a shame that the producers along with the Thai government let this movie slip thru. At a time when Thailand is seeking an identity and much is being promoted worldwide about Thailand the "country and Products" here I believe would have been an excellent way of showing country and its rich cultural background to a world-wide audience.
Regards,
Ron Fleitman

Best Wishes

Pattaya Mail;
Congratulations on your fine publication. Having lived in Bangkok for 5 years and making many weekend trips to Pattaya give me fond memories of your hospitable city. I faithfully read your newspaper via internet (since I returned to my home) and enjoy its well written articles. Keep up the good work and I wish you many more years of success.
Chok Dee Khrup
Stephen Rebetsky
USA

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