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Mr Pattaya was the first really true farang environmentalist

To be stupid is not smart…

Re: Anti farang

Mr Pattaya was the first really true farang environmentalist

The Editor:
In reply to the letter “Farangs should know better” in the July 27th issue: Firstly, in response to Mr. Koto’s opening statement, I am a non smoker. I regarded the targeting of cigarette butts as unrealistic as their presence on the shoreline is limited compared with the other garbage, such as plastic and styrofoam. For the most part the discarded butts are mostly beyond the high water mark on the beach and as such are more readily dealt with in regard to disposal by the beach vendors and the city clean up workers.

Mr Pattaya,
Louis X Fassbind.
Secondly, I do not understand why I must use the “spell check” and read all of his posters. In my letter of the July 20th issue I quoted only a portion of one of the posters as at that point in time I considered it to be impolite or inconsiderate towards Mr. Koto to quote the entire text as in… “and we here at pollution solution, along with all living thving things thank you, there are trillions of cigartts smoked every year…” However, as he brought it to my attention, and I would also like to point out that it is his text not mine. Did he confuse a spell check with a lexicon per chance?
Mr. Koto’s letter is also a contradiction of his letter of June 29th whereby he stated “I am ashamed of all of the farangs that live and visit Thailand. I now understand why they are changing the visa rules. You bring in baht, but you also bring your garbage and bad habits with you.” I sometimes wonder if the village and the people who he is threatening to wake up are not in fact educating him.
Thirdly, Mr. Koto posed the question “Roger? What have you done?” In response I would like to say that I like so many other people also pick up litter in the Pattaya beach area, which is where I reside. In my case I have been doing so over the past thirty years. I concur that it is an ongoing and seemingly endless task. Unlike Mr. Koto we do not devote the amount of time to it as he has over the past five years as we have other interests. However, that is his choice, and I for one do most certainly commend him for his devotion, but the difference between us and Mr. Koto is that we do not seek recognition or strive to promote ourselves because of it, we simply just do it as a normal reaction in an attempt to keep the environment alive.
To digress slightly, this seems to be an appropriate opportunity to recall a person who was perhaps Pattaya’s first really true farang environmentalist, namely Louis X Fassbind, the past executive vice president of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, and also known, and quite rightly so as “Mr. Pattaya”. As well as being an avid environmentalist he was also a great philanthropist and visionary, who tirelessly promoted Pattaya as a tourist venue, and attracting events of all categories to Pattaya, and was without doubt an integral part of the development of the city. He was also a great benefactor, using his own personal funds to establish the medical center at the Banglamung Home for the Elderly, and making provision for its continuance in his last will and testament. “Charity” should have been his middle name.
I recall when we used to pick up along the beach and sometimes with much difficulty traverse the rocky outlet at the point (where the lighthouse is now situated) and deposit our garbage bags in the bins at the Royal Cliff, and then sneaking (as in trespass, and avoiding the security staff) through the complex making our way to the outside baht bus area, and invariably to be greeted in the lobby by a smiling waitress with a welcome tray of cold drinks “compliments of the manager”.
His interests in the environment was far reaching too the extent that he “adopted” Koh Pai (Bamboo Island). Guests of the Royal Cliff would be transported there as a part of a day trip, and be greeted upon arrival with a glass of champagne, presented with a garbage bag, and invited to assist in cleaning the beach.
I took the time to digress as an opportunity of remembrance as he was unexpectedly taken from us nine years ago today, Friday August 3rd. He left behind a lifetime legacy as a truly genuine person, who did not “talk the talk, but always walked the walk”, and as such is entitled to command much respect as a true pioneer of Pattaya.
Roger Realm.

To be stupid is not smart…

Editor;
After 90,000 km in my car here in Thailand, I think I have seen almost every kind of accident, but the latest (please observe that I did not use the word “last” here) could be what we these days may be called “The Mother of all accidents”.
The reason is that this one had all the classic ingredients: She was a very young school girl, maybe even too young, crash helmet in the basket, no lights and going with too much speed. He was a young man, helmet in the basket, no lights and speeding! I could see him in my mirror 200 yards behind me doing those sweeping long curves, crossing the “double yellow” to pass cars.
He passed me and the car in front of me and coming in over the double yellow, he decided to pass the girl on the inside (left), but in that same moment she made a left turn into a soi without giving any signal (why should she, she knew where she would like to go).
Afterwards we had “One man down” as they say in the movies. She was jumping around on one leg and the scar on the other one would remind her later in life that she had come very close to meeting “The Ferryman” and thereafter being reborn as a soi-dog.
The “funny” part was 2 helmets on the street and in the middle a broken water melon, maybe the part of the company with most brains.
All these accidents have a very strange and I guess for many readers an unknown implication. In all western countries and in Thailand the numbers of boys born are 105 compared to 100 girls. In the western part of the world that number stays more or less up to the age of 65 and then the ladies take the lead. However, in Thailand the population estimate for 2007 shows that around 800,000 men are missing in the age between 15 and 65. The numbers from 0-14 are normal. (When you see how the men here drive motor bikes that is not a very big surprise, even if not all of those 800,000 do the “big leap” in motorbike accidents).
Could any kind of education help? Of course not! Remember that all babies in this country start learning how not to behave in traffic two days after birth when brought home on a motorbike from the hospital and for the next 14 years they are daily on motorbikes being imprinted with all the bad habits.
In my opinion only one thing could help: Make a list with the 5 worst offences. That could be running a red light, driving without a helmet, no lights after dark, driving in the wrong direction and crossing double yellow in order to pass normal traffic.
And what is the penalty? Simple, the motor bike is impounded for 3 months! And who is going to pay for having the bike stacked up some place? Simple again, the owner pays all expenses when the bike is released. In addition, with repeated offences, the number of months is doubled every time.
Do not tell me this cannot be done. Any quick thinking person could have that system up and running in no time.
“Tired of stupid people”

Re: Anti farang

Editor;
Hi - firstly I love your paper and read it every Friday - it brightens my week especially in the cold and dark of Norway’s winter period.
With regard to Anti Farang’s banking charge of 50 baht a month on an account of 700 baht. The originator is leaving Thailand over a 50 baht a month bank charge - is this serious? If you want to see bank charges then come to Norway. Actually charges apply in most European countries so why the big surprise in Thailand? 50 baht a month for overheads and administering a regular account in Thailand seems very fair to me.
With regard to the small print Thai language difficulty - many international banks have web sites in both Thai and English but I doubt (without meaning any offence) that any serious international bank would even have opened an account for 700 baht, they are, after all, a business and have costs to pay the same as the rest of us.
Mr Pragmatic

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