Sawadee krap Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn,
Firstly I would like to congratulate you on your
impressive achievements already taking shape since your recent appointment
as mayor of Pattaya - especially the improvements underway widening &
re-surfacing Sukhumvit Rd along with much delayed improvements to water
sewage in the sois off Sukhumvit.
However, as a British expat who is legally married to a
Thai wife & who has bought a home & lives here at Pattaya Green
Ville, Moo 6, Soi Siam Country Club, I feel obliged to write to you &
others to voice my official complaint regarding the noise pollution problem
that is ruining our quality of life.
I have spoken to several neighbours from our village of
approx 100 + homes who have also voiced their anger & frustration about
the 2 karaoke bars & 1 jukebox bar that have moved directly opposite our
village in the last 2 months - all 3 take it in turns to blast out
ridiculously loud, high volume Thai music & drunken wailing &
screeching purporting to be singing, from 9.30 a.m. continuously until 2 the
following morning - 7 days/nights a week.
I chose to live in this beautiful & spiritual country
to hopefully live a peaceful life, which I & others in my local area
were enjoying until these 3 music bars from hell suddenly arrived
unannounced [& unlicensed no doubt] to ruin that reality.
They all are open-air bars, i.e. they are not enclosed
like in the town centre, where the noise is contained for the most part, so
the noise just echoes around & can literally be heard from 1 kilometre
away in all directions.
I have spoken to the owners of said bars but they just
ignore my complaints & carry on regardless. My Thai wife& I have
complained to Banglamung Police twice now, on July 13th & 17th – to be
fair, after laughing at our problem, a policeman did come down both times
& the music volume was somewhat reduced, but the following day the
volume reverted back to unbearably loud as usual.
I believe the law states that a max penalty fine of 500
baht only applies, which is no deterrent at all. Just as a matter of
interest, there are as I speak 7 karaoke/music bars in the one & a half
kilometre stretch of Soi Siam Country Club from the junction of Sukhumvit Rd
to Pattaya Green Ville - the same can also be said of other sois east of
Sukhumvit Rd.
These are not entertainment areas – they are, or were,
purely residential.
I am a life member of Pattaya Ex-pats Club & have
been told by committee members that short of writing this letter I &
they can do nothing to solve this problem.
I do not see why I should be forced to consider selling
my home just because a few bar owners decide to open up with no permission,
right outside my home - put yourself in my position - what would you do Khun
Niran?
I am also writing, not just for myself but on behalf of
all those people, both Thai & farang, who are too scared to say anything
as “dark influences” will cause them retribution problems. I have spoken
to many business owners & residents across all areas of Pattaya &
they are all very concerned about this noise pollution problem indeed, but
once again say there is nothing they can do! For example, 1 farang
restaurant owner I know [who shall remain anonymous for his safety] told me
he & his Thai wife & family tried to move 2 times to other areas to
escape the noise problem in Central Pattaya but each time the noise
pollution was worse - so they have had to resort to living in their
restaurant/home again!
Noise pollution is becoming a serious problem throughout
Thailand – I believe the Phuket governor has had enough & is
instigating a zoning system next year - may I respectfully suggest Khun
Niran that you set the pace & do something - anything – now - about
this sad state of affairs in Pattaya [& indeed Thailand in general].
Excessive noise ruins lives - medical fact!
I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Deafened & Disillusioned from Pattaya
