HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

The rising tides

A fight for justice

Trying to stimulate tourism

Stray dogs move in to attack

The rising tides

Dear Editor,

I’m writing again in an effort to prevent my family from drowning during this and forthcoming rainy seasons. In 2007 (and again in 2008 - I was withered by it all in 2009 but here I am again rejuvenated) I wrote to your paper requesting information on how to proceed after a new hotel development (Big Developer) completely blocked off the water drainage from our housing area in Moo 5, Soi 12, Naklua.

City hall were contacted and they informed the issue was under investigation. Later they informed they were in the process of obtaining funding. Some time later again they informed they had the funds and were waiting their release. And in the end they informed... they knew nothing about the situation! Walt Disney would be proud of this one.

Three years later and we’re still under water. The scenic night shot gives a good idea of what’s happened. The situation has become progressively worse over the last 3 years to the extent that most houses now have raised concrete barriers at their entrance in an attempt to battle the rising tide but this fails since it backs up into people’s houses via the internal drains. The oriental fragrance that surrounds the area is pretty impressive too. Along with the mosquitoes.

A fire engine is now dispatched every so often to clear the water once levels reach the point where cars can no longer get past the bottom corner in view in the photo. Obviously at this point motorcycles also cannot pass and people must wade through the stench to get to their houses.

I became interested and excited a few weeks ago to see our esteemed Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome flipping the switch on a new 56 million baht lighting project that illuminates the wondrous spectacle that is Pattaya Beach. Added to my excitement was the additional 400 million plus baht that is destined for other projects that will certainly add to the exotic allure that is Pattaya.

I was certain that there would be a few million available to ease the pain of the Moo 5 residents in Soi 12, Naklua. Maybe not to be though.

It leaves me wondering if this incident happened in another particular upmarket area of Soi 12, Naklua, would the response be as muted from the Mayor and City Hall?

Sign me,
Patrick Duffy - The Man from Atlantis

A fight for justice

Editor;

There are well over 500,000 British ex-pat pensioners (I’ll call them BEPPs for brevity), who are being deprived of their entitlement to annual increases to their state old-age pensions!

As an individual, I have written to most of the national newspapers in Britain, in an attempt to get the government to realise that they are, in effect, stealing from us! We all worked for 40 years or so, paying our weekly NI stamps, in order to receive an indexed pension to enable us to enjoy a comfortable retirement but our pensions have been frozen, simply because of where we chose to spend our final few years!

There are several countries where the BEPPs are in the same financial position as ourselves here in Thailand; the 3 main ones being Australia, South Africa and Canada. The BEPPs in these countries have all formed groups, continually fighting for justice (in vain so far)! There is just a small number of us fighting in Thailand and our aim is to drum up more support for the cause! There must be thousands of us here?

We are planning 2 meetings in Pattaya, on Thursday 19th and Sunday 22nd August 2010, both starting at 12.30 p.m. Obviously, we can’t decide on a location until we get an idea of how many people want to attend, so, if you are in the same boat as ourselves, you are more than welcome to come and join us.

I know that many of you have simply accepted the fact that your pension has been frozen by the government and that the government is too big an organisation to fight! That’s not the case. The MPs that we voted into power and the civil servants (what an oxymoron!) who run the country are simply ordinary human beings, like you and me.

Perhaps the Chancellor of the Exchequer thinks our “fighting days” are over because of our age? Let’s prove him wrong!

My letters to the British national press so far seem to have fallen on stony ground, maybe because I’ve been writing as an individual. If there were hundreds of us, all voicing the same opinion of the way we’re being unjustly treated by the British Government, perhaps they will sit up and take notice!

I’ve been reliably informed that the cost of giving us our rightly earned annual increase would amount to only 1% of the annual state pension bill!

So, if you want to help us fight for justice, come to one of our meetings in Pattaya but e-mail me in the first instance on [email protected] showing your commitment and then, as I said earlier, we can arrange a suitable venue!
Des Gillet

Trying to stimulate tourism

Editor;

I read in last week’s Pattaya Mail where the city of Pattaya is planning on spending a lot of money to stimulate tourism. Needless to say we have all been reading similar reports from the Thailand Tourism Authorities. Obviously everyone wants to recoup the losses suffered since the recent unrest in Thailand. That’s all good and well; however, there is one little problem with the plan.

My sister and granddaughter are planning, or maybe I should say were planning on visiting me in Thailand in December. My sister wanted to purchase her airline ticket now to be certain she had no problems, but there was a hitch. China Airlines, which is traditionally the cheapest airline to fly here from Los Angeles, and which charged me a little over 800 dollars to fly to L.A. and back this past January informed her that the best they could do was 1700 dollars and change for an economy seat.

Now let me get this straight. Last year, when oil was a hundred dollars a barrel, the price went from 550 to 600 to over 800 which is understandable. But now, when the price of oil is nowhere near 100 dollars a barrel, and at a time when Thailand is trying desperately to get some tourists they want 1700 dollars. I must assume that if China Airlines is doing it on that route, it is universal throughout the airline industry. And by the way, I also checked the prices for like tickets for the period from now to December and they varied only slightly from week to week, so we know it isn’t because Catholics are flocking to Thailand in December for Christmas.

I think if the tourism people in this country want to really start at the roots of the situation, they need to do some communicating with the airline industry.

I told my sister that I would try to book again in September but if the prices were like or higher, that she should just forget it. I have to wonder how many other people are doing the same thing.
John Arnone
Yasothon

Stray dogs move in to attack

Dear Editor,

It happened again. A few days ago a friend of mine walking in the morning along Jomtien Beach Road was attacked by a stray dog and bit in the leg. He hurried to hospital, got an anti rabies injection with a booster of 5 days, got an anti tetanus shot, paid a lot of money, plus anger, worrying and waste of time.

This is a recurring theme. A few months ago another friend was bit in a leg when riding a bicycle on the same road. Same hospital, same treatment. I wonder how many times that happens in a month. It should be interesting to get information from Pattaya hospitals. It’s hard to understand the total absence of local authorities on this matter, but is clearly understandable that they do not care about it, because the city is not responsible for the episodes. Can you believe it? Guilty is the farang or the local citizen walking in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In short, my friend is unhappy and clearly upset. The happy ones are the hospital that made an extra income, and the authorities that never will be accused of carelessness. Probably also the dog that shows its strong aggressiveness to the herd.

Should I add more comments? Rather than announce the multimillions of financing to improve tourism and Pattaya’s image, the local authorities should be committed to getting rid of the many problems they have never faced up to. And the stray dogs.

Kind Regards,
Concerned Farang

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