HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Traffic misunderstandings

No left turn on red

Four dead in Ohio

Early start-early finish

Another Beach Road casualty

Globalization and sans script

Water shortage?

Drive, Stay Alive

Traffic misunderstandings

Dear Editor;
I have to say that there are a lot of misunderstandings about the turn left at traffic lights in Pattaya. There are some traffic lights that have stop signs and there are others that have blue turn left signs and there are some with nothing but the red stop light.

If the law in Thailand is that you can’t turn left then why do the traffic police tell me when I stop on the white line to go left?

The same problem happens on the highway at traffic lights; do I stop at the white line and wait for the right filter light to change before I turn right or do I do the same as all the Pattaya drivers and fight for a place over the white line?

I also don’t understand why a lot of drivers and baht bus drivers use the left lane for turning left only too cheat and go straight on, then try to cut your nose off with the traffic police inside there box doing nothing about it.

If the traffic police were to enforce all the traffic laws when they see (all wrongdoings) and not just (fine people) having no helmet, the amount of fine money that Pattaya city hall would have could be used to buy more, and clearer, traffic signs for people to see and understand, including speed limit signs. Also there would be enough money to buy speed cameras for use on the highway and in city limits to stop all the races that come into Pattaya limits at speeds over 100 km.

The bad driving in Chonburi is not the fault of the drivers, it’s the traffic police and local government who will not enforce the laws. If you stop the drivers all the time when they break the law and fine them and give them the penalty points on their licence then you will reduce the bad driving in Chonburi. They better start soon as there is going to be an explosion of new cars coming onto the roads in the next 5 years. Then what will they do? Probably nothing as usual.
Alan

No left turn on red

Editor;
Eric Hosick is absolutely correct in his statement about the police catching drivers turning left from Second Road onto Central Road. There isn’t a “No Left Turn” sign displayed simply because the police want to catch you turning left.

Throughout most of Pattaya, turning left on a red light is acceptable, except on this corner, which has police officers there to catch you, but no one there to put up a sign noting that turning left is not allowed at that particular intersection for the purposes of safety. The police want it that way.

The purpose is to catch tourists renting motorcycles, as the majority of long-termers already know about the policemen’s game.
Derek Sharron

Four dead in Ohio

Dear Sir / Ma’am,
“Four dead in Ohio!” That maybe means nothing to a lot of your readers, except for Crutch of the Bangkok Post, or Dan D. of the Pattaya Mail. There were student movements in the late sixties, in America. Campuses were hotbeds of revolution. Right or wrong, you can argue all you want. But! Out of this came a voice.

Today I just bought Neil Young’s Greatest hits, which included “Four Dead in Ohio”. These were four activists who were gunned down in Ohio USA. Neil Young brought attention to this infringement of justice.

Now here in Thailand we see all the time these movie stars, models, singers on the TV. As far as I see, they are into what they can get. But ... Could they not put their services and pull power into better use, in trying to get involved in some peace process for the South? They obviously have the younger generation at their fingertips, be it style and attitude, but surely the government can utilise these top stars. Or maybe they have seen this already and are only thinking of vote pulling.

“Four dead in Ohio.” Chicken feed compared to Thailand.
Billy Sheal

Early start-early finish

Dear Editor,
As I now have to be tucked up in bed by 1 a.m. I decided to start a bit earlier for an evening’s entertainment down Walking Street. Arriving late afternoon I proceeded to my usual spot and for 2 hours solid before the Tourist Police start work I was plagued by vendors trying to sell me all sorts!

Now I for one am no way against people trying to earn a living but these vendors were aggressive and very rude. One guy, without me noticing, even cleaned one of my shoes whilst crouching down behind me and out of my view. He then proceeded to hassle me for money and caused a scene for everyone around to watch. I was then a victim of a witch hunt by the shoe cleaner and his gang with stares and insults being thrown in my direction. By the time I had finished and was ready to go it was a case of looking over both shoulders in case the shoe cleaner or any of his gang wanted their revenge. Thankfully I am okay and live to drink another day.

What with all this reported violence and certainly a down turn in tourism this year I do understand that those hoping to scratch a living are hungry in Pattaya but at the same time I am wondering why places like Walking Street are not policed during the day, especially as the Tourist Police and their volunteers like to grab these persistent offenders of a night time!
Regards,
Micky Griller

Another Beach Road casualty

Dear Editor
Over the last 17 years, I’m happy to have made many friends in Pattaya, who know me for my cartoons exhibited in various establishments, and even published here in Pattaya Mail. The theme of those published, does, of recent times, often reflect the danger all of us face daily, not in the sea, physical attack or illness, but that ever lurking danger, the ‘automobile’, and last night at around 7:45 p.m. it became my turn to become another casualty of that danger.

Hailing a baht bus on Beach Road to take me from North to South Pattaya, something I would not usually do, feeling quite capable at age 67, to comfortably walk that distance had the walkway (something else recently highlighted in a cartoon) not been turn up without some form of pedestrian route being temporarily organized, leaving the baht bus as the ‘safest’ alternative.

The bus swerved to a halt and no sooner had I mounted the rear step, accelerated away, causing me to lose balance. Helping hands reached out from within, but too late to save me from an undignified fall from the step, which, perhaps in shock, or not wishing to be left floundering in the road at the mercy of the following traffic, which in Pattaya, never appears to be prepared for any emergency, I grabbed hold of and was literally dragged many yards down the road, until mercifully, the passengers alerted the ‘unaware’ driver to stop.

No! no! no! he screamed back at my suggestion that he ought not proceed until he’d observed his passengers safely seated, roaring off, leaving me to limp, knee bleeding and trouser torn, back home, thankfully still alive.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I wanted to yell back at him and the authorities that still continue to allow this screaming mass of cars, buses and motorbikes to career around this circuit to ‘nowhere’, scaring the daylights out of hundreds of pedestrians every day.

What small percentage of the 150 million baht to be spent on the new structure at city hall where issues such as this might merely be hinted at, could be used to for pedestrian bridges as in other parts of Thailand? Why do policemen chase poor hawkers off the beaches, when just two with hand held speed cameras could hand out instant fines to potential killers, and those that do not stop at zebra crossings (another cartoon last year), like the one outside Royal Garden which leads into a small hedge?

Yes – you have detected it! I’m still trembling and distressed after last night’s incident, and accordingly have written yet another letter from a reader only to be read by readers whose first language is English?

Has anyone seen an English language newspaper lying about in city hall? And if someone has? I wonder if ...?

Still trembling,
Yours,
Dorian Farmer

Globalization and sans script

Sir,
This is in response to the mailbag letter titled “Language skills and globalization”.

The author of this article mistakes globalization with a form of westernization. I do not disagree with this anonymous author’s views of Thailand and its increased dependence on other countries (i.e., globalization). He/she, however, is misinformed about how this relates to culture and language.

To start off, there are several Asian countries, namely China, S. Korea and Japan, who have fully embraced globalization and maintained their traditional scripture-based writing. In fact, Japan has one of the highest English literacy rates of any Asian country. Furthermore, any Thai teacher can tell you, students learn the Roman alphabet (and their related sounds) from the earliest stages of their academic career. By the time they reach M3 and above most students have a strong ability to read Roman characters and sound out English words.

Forcing a change from sans script to a Roman character system, like Vietnam, would only create massive amounts of confusion without increasing English literacy rates. The PM has already stated that Thailand will become a multilingual state by 2008 and we are already well on track.

In addition, there are logistical problems with converting Thai to Roman characters. Anyone who has tried to use an English-Thai translation book can tell you how difficult it is to accurately produce Thai sounds in a Roman format. By your own argument, this would be a difficult task to accomplish. Some sounds in Thai simply do not have a Roman alphabet equivalent.

I, however, do agree with the author on one point, regarding the standardization of written Roman translations. How many different ways can “Si Racha” be spelled. Standardizing English translations is good but moving from sans script to Roman characters is unnecessary.
Matthew Fong

Water shortage?

Dear Sir,
I understand that Pattaya, like other parts of Thailand, is experiencing a water shortage. Well not in Soi Khao Talo where there is water running down the soi 24/7 and has been for the last month or more!
Yours sincerely,
Nigel

Drive, Stay Alive

If you are on the highway now
Please do remember this
It is no place to gaze around
Or have an extra kiss

Please keep your eyes upon the road
Your hands upon the wheel
And do remember that this life
Is very, very real

Let not your mind imagine that
You merely roll along
That driving is a simple thing
As easy as a song

Remember that the other guy
Is dangerous as you
Each accident must be the blame
Of either one or two

And do not ever take a drink
Before you start to drive
You may become the one who has
No chance to stay alive.

B. Phillip Webb Jr.

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