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Repeated complaints never solved
Sir;
Certain themes come up in the “Letters to the editor” page again and
again. Some of them for many years now, as there are: Prices for things and
services according to the colour of the skin. The public transport in
Pattaya (or rather the lack of it). The general high level of noise in
Pattaya, day and night time. The emission of smoke and stink without anybody
being able to stop the culprit(s). The increase of “grab and drive”
actions by young motorcycle hoodlums. The never-ending chaos at the
beachfront / the so-called footpaths.
Remarkably - not one of these problems, mostly concerning
everyone in Pattaya, has to my knowledge ‘city hall’ been able to solve.
They will probably stay with us forever and ever.
Is there possibly a reason why this is so? It can not be
a lack of money. Most of above does not need money to be solved. Is it
simply a “mai pen rai” attitude? I wonder!
Yours,
J. Thomas W. Eihle
Hanover, Germany
Latin script is not global standard
Dear Sir:
While I do recognize the benevolent character of the letter “Language
skills and globalization” by Someone who cares (Pattaya Mail Vol
XII No. 49) with regards that Thailand should adopt the “English
alphabet” so her people can cope better on a “global language” scale,
the contribution did contain errors and inaccuracies that I would like to
point out.
Firstly, there is no “English alphabet”. What the
writer refers to is, in fact, the “Latin alphabet”. Yes, even the
English language is written in the Latin alphabet thanks to some nice Roman
fellow called Julius Caesar and his cohorts.
Then it is untrue that Thailand “is one of the few
countries in the region not to use the English alphabet in writing down its
own language.” How about Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and, to a farther extent,
China, Korea and Japan? Even India largely uses scripts other than the
English … er … Latin alphabet, namely Hindi, Tamil, Singhalese, Urdu,
etc. The Vietnamese language, while essentially using Latin script, has
devised a large number of extra symbols to reflect its overall complexity
and to indicate correct pronunciation. This is exactly the problem that
would hit Thailand as well if she should adopt the Latin alphabet. The
language comprises many unusual tones that are difficult to transcribe in
Latin letters. Apart from that, Thai is a one-syllabic, tone-based language.
An adoption of the Latin script would probably lead to the development of a
similar writing system like that in Vietnam.
The writer also forgets that even Europeans read
“their” Latin alphabets differently. While the Thai expression for
“before we go” might be spelled by an English person as “kawn tee rao
ja pai”, a German speaker might be totally content with “gohn ti rau
dscha pai”. The only solution would be for the Thai government to
establish fixed rules how the native written language is to be Romanized.
Whether this would help Someone who cares to pronounce Thai street names
correctly must remain in doubt at this point. He’d have to immerse himself
in these potentially elaborate rules first.
It is also mere speculation whether the adoption of Latin
script would assist Thai students in learning foreign languages (in this
case the writer probably meant English) more comfortably. I have always
opined that it is the quality of foreign language classes and their tutors
that may ensure success. As long as a majority of Thailand’s English
teachers are barely able to express themselves in English, how can we expect
that this situation can be remedied by the introduction of Latin script
alone? Instead, bilingualism would be the way to go, but I think the writer
has pointed this out correctly.
The writer has obviously also overlooked that the Latin
alphabet is by no means of any standard throughout the world. We have the
Greek alphabet, most of the Slavic countries write in Cyrillic, the Arabs
read their newspapers in their own script, and so on.
And to bring this letter to a slightly sarcastic end:
Let’s be honest that there are more than a few English speakers who
don’t even know how to write their own language, with misspellings and
grammatical errors so ubiquitous that it makes their literary outpourings
indeed the “butt of jokes”.
Thomas Schmid
Bangkok
Beach becoming dangerous place for quiet stroll
Sir
I was very interested to read R. Bodkin’s comments regarding Beach Road (Pattaya
Mail 3/12/04), sadly they are true and mirror my experience.
Notwithstanding the continual digging up, the beach front
is becoming a dangerous place to attempt a quiet stroll. We were staying in
the Montien Hotel, and looked forward to enjoying a stroll along the
beachfront. As soon as we crossed to the beach, we were descended upon by
gangs of people trying to sell boat trips and jet-ski rides. A polite “no
thank you” was met with “why not, why you come to beach” and continued
waving and pointing. We decided against our stroll and returned to the
safety of the hotel pool, much to the dismay of the deckchair girls who must
see this happen every day.
Are these boat people licensed, and why doesn’t the
council move them to the underused Bali Hai pier? This has better facilities
and the coach-loads of tourists who want to use the speedboats could do so
safely, leaving the beach for families to relax without continual pestering
from the boat owners to take expensive rides.
We shall certainly return to Pattaya, but will not
consider the beach as part of our holiday unless something is done to ensure
that it will be a peaceful visit.
Yours Faithfully
David Young
London UK
It’s paradise
here, but...
Editor;
As I sat and mused, sad and lonely (for 30 seconds) on Dongtan Beach, a
voice came to me from out of the gloom saying, “Cheer up things could be
worse”, so I cheered up, and sure enough things got worse.
Another voice came to me from out of the gloom, this time
via newly installed loudspeakers, accompanied by very strange and annoying
music and, intermittently, a female babbling on endlessly about goodness
knows what! Think she was speaking in Thai, but not even the Thais could
decipher the muffled utterings!
Reminded me of a long ago Brit TV Soap called “The
Prisoner” but that was TV and one could switch it orft, this is reality,
and the speakers are too high to sabotage, so far!
Please, who’s idea was it to inflict this form of
torture on us poor Dongtan beach lovers? After all we are here to enjoy
ourselves and spend, spend, spend. Why try to drive us away with yet another
thorn in the flesh?
I have managed to get the telephone number of the Dongtan
Police Box from whence the annoyance emanates, perhaps if enough protest
phone calls are received the din might cease.
Please feel free to phone 038 231 062 the moment the din
starts, usually around 3.15pm.
Hope springs eternal! Please phone.
I read the governor of Phuket overruled the powers that
be with regard to the ridiculous closing hour, his prerogative apparently,
AND has promised to phase out the dreaded jet-skis. Why can’t the governor
of Pattaya, if we have one, do the same?
Perhaps he lacks the courage of his counterpart in Phuket
and ain’t about to risk losing his cushy job by actually doing anything
positive, along with his partners in city hall.
Love wonderful, amazing Thailand, and don’t really want
to appear another winger, because I fled Zimbabwe. Now there is a place to
really, really feel sad in. Here is paradise, regardless of stupid closing
hours, the loudspeakers on Dongtan Beach and the noisy, dangerous, bloody
jet-skis!
RW
View Talay Condo
Beach lovers enjoy sand, not concrete
Dear Editor
The owner & residents of our condo were shocked this week to find out
that there are plans and construction are underway to build a concrete walk
right along Wong Amat Beach, starting from Dusit Resort.
This is nothing short of criminal. So the authorities
have no idea when selling Pattaya as a “Beach Resort” what people want
and expect.
They want clean sea, so they can swim in it. They want
clean beaches with reasonable toilet facilities. They want to be able to use
the beach in safety and peace, not constantly disturbed by traders.
Wong Amat Beach used to be one of the best unspoiled
beaches, but the only time it was cleaned was by occasional volunteers.
People want to enjoy sand on a beach, walk, sit and play
on the sand, not on concrete. The authorities should spend their money on
clean sea and beaches.
Wong Amat beach lovers
Strange goings-on on Second Road
Editor;
Did anyone else notice the recent curious activity on Second Road just north
of South Pattaya Road?
First, a large hole was dug in the road. Then a
reinforced concrete structure appeared, protruding above road level. Next,
the structure was extended to a couple of metres above ground level. Shortly
after, the whole thing was bulldozed, and the hole filled in.
Maybe the whole thing was a mistake. Did they get the
wrong location, or was someone reading the plans upside-down?
Can anyone enlighten me?
Ted Maddock
Pattaya
Anonymous generosity - the purest form
of charity
Editor;
It would seem that Jesus eavesdrops. I was recently discussing my ideas to
raise money to install 3 air conditioners in the “My Home” project at
Phu Luang (Rayong) so that the girls in the self-help program there can get
some relief from the heat, and be even more productive, but just as
important, to protect the materials from mould and deterioration from heat.
My plan was to raffle some of the girls’ own beautiful quilts to get the
funds for this purpose. A few days after this discussion, a crate containing
a brand new Mitsubishi air-conditioner was delivered to my doorstep with at
a note attached - “... from Jesus”. Wow!
We at “Our Home” would like to thank “Jesus”,
whoever you are, for your much appreciated contribution to our project.
With utmost gratitude,
Tiew
“Our Home”
PS - For anyone not familiar with our story, and would like to know more,
please contact us at 133 M.4 Tumbon Makhamkoo, Ging Amphur Nikhompatana,
Rayong 21180.
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