Dear Hillary,
I am trying to make a constructive criticism here. I am a regular visitor to Pattaya and it beats me how the streets and footpaths and vacant lots and even the beaches are just so filthy. The majority of the public toilets, except in the most expensive hotels, are indescribably putrid and filthy. How can they stand it? Don’t they care about health and sanitation or even the tourist dollar. Don’t they have any National pride? Isn’t there anyone assigned to clean up the place or doesn’t anyone care?
Jim
Dear Jim,
You’re throwing a bit of muck at us, aren’t you! And a little unfairly, too. The beach vendors do clean their area of the beach every morning. The council workers do clean the streets and pick up the garbage here. Certainly, nobody cares much about the rubbish lying around in vacant lots – the locals just don’t see it. Thais have a different mind set to farangs and deliberately ignore anything unpleasant they do not want to see. And yes the Asian loos do take a little getting used to. However if everything was legislated out of existence and sparkling clean just like your home is supposed to be, exotic tropical Thailand would lose a lot of its appeal and you wouldn’t want to holiday here so often. Part of our attraction is the fact that you can experience a freedom here, that the over-legislated western countries do not allow you to do. Have you ever thought of that?
