8
1 - 15 September 2013
www.pattayatoday.net
News Sports day for Pattaya schools
On your own At last Thai authorities are picking up on the fact that the hundreds of destitute farang in Thailand are reduced to begging in order to survive. The new factor is the dawning realization that it’s not simply a matter of these indigent foreigners appearing at their Bangkok embassies with begging bowls and being told, politely or not, to clear off. These days, all embassies only offer to telephone friends and relatives around the globe for cash. Those who have no one are left to their own devices. Intensive non-care Thailand’s public hospitals are also making a fuss, and understandably so, about farang unable to pay their hospital bills. The total cost could run as high as 200 million baht annually. The biggest problem is young men driving monster Thai motorbikes in the middle of the night and old men suffering strokes and heart attacks at any time of the day. Unless you have mega-insurance cover or vast cash reserves, avoid accidents and stay healthy. Hello inflation A check on the markets suggests that the price of food and luxury goods is certainly on the rise. Price tags on many wines have recently jumped by around 10 percent, and even popular fresh fruits are more expensive. We shall doubtless be told that the baht is now falling, thus pushing up the price of imported food, including cheese. OK, but nobody noticed falling prices when the baht surged a few months ago. More statistics In an attempt to show that street crime isn’t as bad as commonly supposed, “official” statistics at police stations now show that fewer tourists are complaining about scams, rip-offs and bag snatching. The question is whether the figures are a reflection of social reality. For example, it’s possible that victims of crime don’t always bother to report them as the word is out that a short written report is all you can expect. If such crimes are on the decline in Pattaya, then nobody has yet bothered to tell the online media. Lack of Chinese restaurants Although Chinese visitors to the Land of Smiles outnumber Indians visitor by about five to one, the reality in Pattaya is that there are around 40 Indian restaurants and hardly any Chinese eateries. The exceptions are very up-market Chinese restaurants or those specializing in take-away food much beloved by the British. There is surely a gap in the market here waiting to be filled by some enterprising man or woman who can offer good value meals just like you can get in Beijing. Or have we missed something? Driving licence myths Don’t believe anyone who tells you that you can obtain a Thai driving licence without visiting the motor vehicle centre in person. You can’t. Apart from anything else, you must have your embossed photo taken whilst you are there to implant on your new licence. In the old days there were ways of circumventing the bureaucracy through middle-men. Not so today. We recently heard of a farang who paid an agent 25,000 baht to obtain a new licence. He was given one all right–a stolen license belonging to another man. Living wills A reader asks: What is the point? A living will has nothing to do with what happens to your corpse or your belongings. It’s simply a personal statement that you don’t want to be kept artificially alive in an intensive care unit when your number is decidedly up. Of course you won’t be in an intensive care unit unless you are luxuriously insured or have accessible mega-cash. A Pattaya lawyer can arrange a living will for you or you can find the documentation on the internet by typing in the key words. Don’t forget to tell your relatives or friends where you are keeping the said document.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome opened the 2013 Sports Day for public sector schools which, this year, included many track and field events.
TAT aims to operate hotel-reservation bookings The Tourism and Sports Ministry wants to set up a hotel-reservation website run by theTourism Association of Thailand (TAT). But there will first need to be discussions with the Thai Hotels Association, which has similar plans, and the Technology Ministry which could have a support role in providing software.
The proposed portal will charge hotels a commission of five percent, of which about three percent will be given to TAT whilst the remainder will contribute to a development fund in the Tourist Ministry. The move is seen as an attempt to challenge on-line booking agencies such as Agoda,
which charge hotels up to 40 percent in the low season. It is claimed that on-line operators control the market at present, even though they have not made any investments to build hotels in Thailand and are taking the money out of the country through online credit-card bookings.
Eastern Region painting competition in final round ONYX Hospitality Group, led by Lisa Tomas, director of CSR, and DG Arts & Crafts Co., Ltd., led by Linda Anchuleeporn, assistant managing director organized the Fourth Annual Arts for the Planet Competition – Eastern Region at Amari Orchid Pattaya. More than 62 contestants entered. They were from Burapha University, Kasetsart University Sriracha Campus, Chonburi Vocational College, Silpakorn University, and Maryvit School. Twenty paintings were selected and added to another 40 paintings from the Southern and Central regions for the final round. Winners will be announced Sept. 3, by Richard Margo, resident manager of Amari Orchid Pattaya.
Foreigner dies on golf course
Man shot dead on motorbike
Mr. Blair indeed Most Brits in Pattaya seem to think that inviting Tony Blair to speak at a Thai assembly for reconciliation is rather optimistic. Having led Britain into at least one disastrous Middle East conflict after parroting the American line that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he then resigned to make a massive fortune in speaking fees touring the globe. It’s said that he expects up to 500,000 pounds for a public lecture, but he is happily coming to Thailand on a strictly expensesonly basis. Early Christmas We saw the first Christmas crib being displayed in a Pattaya Klang shopping centre the other day. It was being offered for sale for 3,000 baht as a desirable second-hand treasure which would delight any home in the month of September. There is just one problem. The tiny figures on display represent Ali Baba and the forty thieves rather than the holy infant and the three wise men. Better think it out again – there’s certainly lots of time before it becomes urgent.
The editor and management of Pattaya Today don’t necessarily share the views expressed in this column
John Antony Olcorn, 63, collapsed and died at Plutaluang Navy Golf Course after trying to use his putter and failing in the endeavor. Caddy Yoltika Kalek said that a group of four Austrians came to play at the course but it was obvious from the start that Olcorn was ill. Police said later that the deceased had suffered from heart disease for many years and that the hot sun and fatigue on the day in question may well have played a part.
Police are puzzling over the death of Niran Charnkit, 36, who was shot in the back as he drove his motorbike in South Pattaya. He was rushed to Pattaya Memorial Hospital where he died. Several bullet cartridges were found in the vicinity of the shooting. The police reportedly found methamphetamines on the victim’s body. Investigators theorize that Niran may have had enemies in the drugs business or was trying to cheat a big boss. Police were checking the dead man’s record to see what involvement, if any, he had in trading illegal substances or in the loan shark business.