HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Tramway a folly? May be not so

Why bother returning?

Tourism in the Kingdom

Let Thai police look after traffic

What about the Jomtien beach walkway?

Aren’t our traffic police wonderful

Embrace the nightlife...I’ll second that

Tramway a folly? May be not so

Editor;
Worldwide rankings of locations with the best quality of living, according to Mercer’s 2008 Quality of Living survey:
Three out of the top 10 cities, including ranks 1 & 2 are Swiss cities. Not bad for a country with a population of 7.8 million. http://www.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm? idContent=1307990
All these cities have tramways and are very much appreciated. For your information only, London is ranked 38th. And contrary to what you wrote, these cities have not reintroduced their tramlines. They have been here for many decades and have been improved. Improved just as the London, Paris, New York (or wherever) buses have also changed their fleet. Have you not changed your own car for 40 or 50 years? No difference.
Oh, and by the way, Switzerland is also ranked World First for Environment, as per experts in Yale and Columbia Universities. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22802081/
Switzerland is also ranked World First for Travel & Tourism Competitiveness in 2008 as per the World Economic Forum. http://www.weforum.org/pdf/TTCR08/Highlights% 20of%20the%20Travel%20&%2 0Tourism%
20Competitiveness%20Report%202008.pdf
You may as well check by yourselves, other top ranked cities as per the above various rankings. Most also have tramways. Agreed, their rankings are not only due to tramways. But saying tramways are the past is yet unproven. The folly is only in the head of those who are sure tramways are a folly.
Charles
Geneva, Switzerland

Why bother returning?

Editor;
Like many other letters to this newspaper and other Thai papers I have seen a re-occurring theme. The government holds national or local elections and all the entertainment venues are closed. The media release that tourism numbers are falling. The government states that closing hours will be enforced, most times very inconsistently. The media reports tourism numbers are falling. That overtly corrupt politicians have a hissy-fit among themselves, not for the nation but for themselves, and again the media report tourism numbers are down.
I could give many more examples but I think the message is that when politicians try to micro-manage peoples lives, that’s when tourism numbers fall.
Please do not tell me at the age of 48 what time I should go to bed and when I am allowed to drink. I have visited your nation for the past 12 years and have seen with my own eyes how much tourism has dropped.
As a visitor to your country I am there on holiday. I do not care about your politics but I do care if you restrict my time of enjoyment. Do not tell me I cannot have a glass of red wine with my steak just because you have an election that I cannot participate in.
Wake up Thailand, you have many wonderful reasons why I should continue to visit but like others, those reasons are falling fast.
Mike Stone,
Hobart, Australia

Tourism in the Kingdom

Editor;
I read the other day Tourism in the Kingdom is about 600 billion baht annually. That seems a worthwhile contribution to any economy. Therefore you would think the Thai government, immigration, police, golf clubs, hotels, baht bus, would be pleased to see us. (I exclude the Thai smile in this.) After 6 years here I generally do not feel that. Immigration in particular has been getting more difficult every year, with the latest being proof of where I am staying. Do you have a credit card? We need too copy it. My bank back home would be really pleased about that. The fact that a lot foreigners own property is never taken into consideration.
With tourism down, dare we think that our dollars/pounds/euros just might make them think we better start treating them a wee bit better? I have no doubts nothing will change.
Matt Jomtien

Let Thai police look after traffic

Editor;
When I was here 10 months ago I was stopped on a motorbike by farang volunteer police checking my bike license and hired bike registration, etc.
One volunteer policeman mentioned that he was sure the motorbike had been stolen and I must have stolen it and I will be in big trouble. I said that’s rubbish and I was going to the nearest police station to report this matter. He then said the police would believe him as he had many witnesses. He then gave me a lecture about Thailand’s traffic laws. I feel he was belittling me in front of the others. I did report it to a policeman at Pattaya police station but was told I must have heard it wrong. So I thought what’s the use and left it as that.
Since then I have read many letters in newspapers about others being treated the same way in Pattaya, only by falang volunteer police and would not be visiting Pattaya again. I understand that there must be farang volunteer tourist police but let the Thai police look after the traffic.
Thanking you for a great newspaper,
B.C. Brown

What about the Jomtien beach walkway?

To the Mayor or Governor,
You have done a nice job cleaning up and rearranging Pattaya Beach but what about Jomtien? This is a picture of the walkway down by Suttangrak. Please note, it is nearly impossible to get by the benches and tables on the sidewalk. Plus the sidewalk benches have signs on them that you have to pay to sit there. How can they infringe on public property like this?
Thank you for your concern.
Jomtien Resident

Aren’t our traffic police wonderful

Editor;
I recently started driving in Thailand, hoping to do as much on the road as possible during my short stay. I hired a 4X4 and set out with my Thai wife beside me, driving from Pattaya to Chaiyaphum on our first leg. A truly wonderful drive until our first stop by the traffic police. They casually stated that I was doing well over 100kph on a rather busy stretch of road just before the climb up the mountains. My wife casually asked the polite police officer how much our fine would be, the answer was 100 baht. Did we require a receipt? No, of course not officer. A beaming smile and a salute and we were off again.
Driving for another 40 or 50 km, lo and behold another police stop. And yes, I was stopped again and purported to be doing, yes, 100kph! This time, however, the fine was 200 baht as there were two police officers! Who are we to argue with the law? We paid our fine and off we went, and no we didn’t require a receipt.
About thirty km from Chaiyaphum, yes, you guessed correctly, we were stopped and this time we were only doing 95 kph. And yes another 100 baht.
I made up my mind that I would terminate my planned road trip, hand the car back and spend the rest of my holiday wallowing by the sea. Boring yes, but much much cheaper.
Has any other farang drivers had the same experience?
Beachcomber

Embrace the nightlife... I’ll second that

Editor;
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed reading Richy’s letter “Embrace the Nightlife” last week. (He is) a man after my own heart and someone who obviously has his feet firmly on the ground and doesn’t have his head in the clouds, as so many of the movers and shakers for this (once) vibrant place we call home seem to.
Embrace the nightlife; kinda says it all, doesn’t it? I do realise that Messers Thaksin and Purachai had a game plan when they started their social reform purge all those years ago but veered so badly off course (male and female Thai teenagers not allowed to share a photo booth ... d’you remember that one!) that now they are long gone it’s going to take a very big man to realise where a monumental amount of cash that kept Pattaya floating is missing from, and correct the problem. No-one is (openly!) advocating the return of some of the sleazier aspects of what brought some foreign travellers here, but surely there is huge argument for celebrating what brings (or brought!) most foreign travellers here!
It all just seems so incredibly hypocritical that in a country where polygamy was legally practised until only 70 years ago (and is still extremely widespread today, even though the “mia noy” will not have a certificate establishing the fact) and where almost every Thai organised and sponsored function will feature extremely scantily clad “coyote” (read: go-go) dancers, that the powers that be will totally destroy what for decades has brought a huge amount of revenue to this particular city, a huge number of smiles to visiting faces and a huge opportunity for whole families to get off the breadline.
Embrace the Nightlife. I’ll second that!
Martin

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
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