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A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand
- Thread starter Leongsam
- Start date
Just like Bruce Lee said , 简单是美
Big trucks face 20-hour ban in Bangkok
What with construction works and trucks, travelling on Bangkok's roads can be a nightmare.
The transport minister hopes to ease the problem by limiting the hours big trucks can be on the streets to midnight-4am.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob plans to ban big trucks from the streets of Bangkok from 4am to midnight - limiting their movement to only four hours each morning - to relieve traffic congestion in the capital.
Trucks carrying cement, fuel and perishable food would not be exempted from the ban, which should effectively improve traffic flow given that about 50,000 big trucks used Bangkok's roads each day, he said.
The boundary would include parts of Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan provinces.
In parts of adjacent provinces outside the boundary, big trucks would be able to operate nine hours a day, from 9pm to 6am. In other provinces, existing operating hours for big trucks would remain at between 10am and 4pm and between 9pm and 6am, Mr Saksayam said.
To prevent protests from truckers, the minister said he would prepare compensation measures.
Concerned organisations would have one month to prepare, and then he would propose the idea to the cabinet for approval.
Currently, trucks with 10 wheels or more are limited to entering the city between 9pm and 6am, and trailer trucks and those transporting dangerous goods from 10pm to 6am.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1731499/big-trucks-face-20-hour-ban-in-bangkok
The transport minister hopes to ease the problem by limiting the hours big trucks can be on the streets to midnight-4am.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob plans to ban big trucks from the streets of Bangkok from 4am to midnight - limiting their movement to only four hours each morning - to relieve traffic congestion in the capital.
Trucks carrying cement, fuel and perishable food would not be exempted from the ban, which should effectively improve traffic flow given that about 50,000 big trucks used Bangkok's roads each day, he said.
The boundary would include parts of Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan provinces.
In parts of adjacent provinces outside the boundary, big trucks would be able to operate nine hours a day, from 9pm to 6am. In other provinces, existing operating hours for big trucks would remain at between 10am and 4pm and between 9pm and 6am, Mr Saksayam said.
To prevent protests from truckers, the minister said he would prepare compensation measures.
Concerned organisations would have one month to prepare, and then he would propose the idea to the cabinet for approval.
Currently, trucks with 10 wheels or more are limited to entering the city between 9pm and 6am, and trailer trucks and those transporting dangerous goods from 10pm to 6am.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1731499/big-trucks-face-20-hour-ban-in-bangkok
Govt injecting Bt370 bn to achieve 3% growth
Econ
Aug 16. 2019
THE NATION
The Council of Economic Ministers approved an ambitious Bt370-billion stimulus package on August 16 with the aim of achieving a 3-per-cent economic growth in the second half of this year.
After the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana released the government’s long-anticipated stimulus plan at a press conference, explaining that the aim was to inject Bt370 billion in the economy to boost domestic spending and investment.
The package will be broken down into two categories: Bt100 billion will be earmarked for direct government spending, while Bt270 billion will come in the form of loans from state-run banks.
These plans will have to be proposed at the official Cabinet meeting before they can be implemented, the minister said.
In order to boost domestic spending, the government plans to introduce a new round of welfare benefits in August and September for state-welfare card holders, he said. Up to Bt20 billion has been put aside for this scheme, which will also include three major giveaways.
The first freebie is a Bt500 giveaway to all welfare card holders for two consecutive months. The aim for this is to reduce the cost of living and stimulate the Kingdom’s grassroots economy. The total budget for this measure stands at Bt14.6 billion and will reach about 14.6 million people, Uttama said.
The second freebie will target people above the age of 60, who will be given an additional Bt500 for two consecutive months. Around 5 million people will benefit from this policy and the required budget for this measure is Bt5 billion.
Finally, welfare card holders who are helping raise children aged between 0 and 6 will be given Bt300 for two consecutive months. This measure will benefit approximately 800,000 people and will require a budget of Bt500 million.
After these extra measures have been completed, welfare card holders will go back to receiving the usual Bt200 to Bt300 subsidy for cost of living, Bt500 for the elderly and Bt300 for child care from October onwards.
In a move to provide support to farmers affected by the drought, the interest on loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will be reduced and the debt-repayment period extended from August onwards.
Low-interest loans will also be provided for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and new measures will be taken to promote tourism within the country from October onwards.
Uttama said the government is confident that these measures will provide a buffer for the economy and will help achieve a 3 per cent growth in the second half of this year.
Econ
Aug 16. 2019
THE NATION
The Council of Economic Ministers approved an ambitious Bt370-billion stimulus package on August 16 with the aim of achieving a 3-per-cent economic growth in the second half of this year.
After the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana released the government’s long-anticipated stimulus plan at a press conference, explaining that the aim was to inject Bt370 billion in the economy to boost domestic spending and investment.
The package will be broken down into two categories: Bt100 billion will be earmarked for direct government spending, while Bt270 billion will come in the form of loans from state-run banks.
These plans will have to be proposed at the official Cabinet meeting before they can be implemented, the minister said.
In order to boost domestic spending, the government plans to introduce a new round of welfare benefits in August and September for state-welfare card holders, he said. Up to Bt20 billion has been put aside for this scheme, which will also include three major giveaways.
The first freebie is a Bt500 giveaway to all welfare card holders for two consecutive months. The aim for this is to reduce the cost of living and stimulate the Kingdom’s grassroots economy. The total budget for this measure stands at Bt14.6 billion and will reach about 14.6 million people, Uttama said.
The second freebie will target people above the age of 60, who will be given an additional Bt500 for two consecutive months. Around 5 million people will benefit from this policy and the required budget for this measure is Bt5 billion.
Finally, welfare card holders who are helping raise children aged between 0 and 6 will be given Bt300 for two consecutive months. This measure will benefit approximately 800,000 people and will require a budget of Bt500 million.
After these extra measures have been completed, welfare card holders will go back to receiving the usual Bt200 to Bt300 subsidy for cost of living, Bt500 for the elderly and Bt300 for child care from October onwards.
In a move to provide support to farmers affected by the drought, the interest on loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will be reduced and the debt-repayment period extended from August onwards.
Low-interest loans will also be provided for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and new measures will be taken to promote tourism within the country from October onwards.
Uttama said the government is confident that these measures will provide a buffer for the economy and will help achieve a 3 per cent growth in the second half of this year.
Spending a lazy weekend in Pattaya since Friday, its low season now so its quieter less tourists.
Stayed in this resort hotel before, right by the sea with nice beach but for those who prefers the pool there are many
Looking out of the room balcony
Nice landscaping
Pool connected to some rooms
Main pool
Lower level pools
3 main buildings
Lower level pools with slides
Relaxing by the pool
Lower level pools
Dining outdoor and indoor
The beach
Stayed in this resort hotel before, right by the sea with nice beach but for those who prefers the pool there are many
Looking out of the room balcony
Nice landscaping
Pool connected to some rooms
Main pool
Lower level pools
3 main buildings
Lower level pools with slides
Relaxing by the pool
Lower level pools
Dining outdoor and indoor
The beach
Beautiful sunset and dinner at Preecha Seafood restaurant in Sattahip beach - https://goo.gl/maps/vY1TkjmhKTyYF5fp6
Here's some pretty entertaining photos
Brought some visitors for a Pattaya transgender cabaret show yesterday, Alcazar, while waiting for them outside after the show some of the performers came out to have photos taken for 100 baht
Aren't they beautiful?
Glamorous
Cute
Have a great Sunday morning
Brought some visitors for a Pattaya transgender cabaret show yesterday, Alcazar, while waiting for them outside after the show some of the performers came out to have photos taken for 100 baht
Aren't they beautiful?
Glamorous
Cute
Have a great Sunday morning
Beautiful shots and I love these dishes
Breakfast today, southern Thai curry rice.
Spicy minced pork (khwa ging), braised egg and curry sauce. Khwa ging is normally very spicy but full of fresh herbs and spices, very fragrant and tasty. A must try dish if you are in Thailand next time.
Spicy minced pork (khwa ging), braised egg and curry sauce. Khwa ging is normally very spicy but full of fresh herbs and spices, very fragrant and tasty. A must try dish if you are in Thailand next time.
Pope expected to make Thailand visit in November
PUBLISHED : 20 AUG 2019 AT 06:46
WRITER: REUTERS
Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience at the Vatican on June 19, 2019. (Reuters photo)
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis is expected to make an official trip to Thailand in November ahead of an already announced visit to Japan, becoming the first pontiff in nearly four decades to go to either country, Vatican sources say.
The three sources said the trip would be announced soon.
The late Pope John Paul visited Japan in 1981 and Thailand in 1984.
Francis' trip to Japan, which he announced himself in January, will take him to Tokyo as well as the two cities hit by US atomic bombs at the end of World War Two - Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The trip to the two countries where Catholics are a tiny minority accounting for less than half of 1% of the population, is expected to last about seven days and start around Nov 20.
Thailand is predominantly Buddhist and Japan is mostly Buddhist and Shinto.
The trip is part of Francis' push to increase dialogue with other religions in order to promote world peace.
The stop in Thailand will coincide with the 350th anniversary of the founding of the "Mission de Siam" by Pope Clement IX to oversee missions in Siam, the former name of Thailand
PUBLISHED : 20 AUG 2019 AT 06:46
WRITER: REUTERS
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis is expected to make an official trip to Thailand in November ahead of an already announced visit to Japan, becoming the first pontiff in nearly four decades to go to either country, Vatican sources say.
The three sources said the trip would be announced soon.
The late Pope John Paul visited Japan in 1981 and Thailand in 1984.
Francis' trip to Japan, which he announced himself in January, will take him to Tokyo as well as the two cities hit by US atomic bombs at the end of World War Two - Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The trip to the two countries where Catholics are a tiny minority accounting for less than half of 1% of the population, is expected to last about seven days and start around Nov 20.
Thailand is predominantly Buddhist and Japan is mostly Buddhist and Shinto.
The trip is part of Francis' push to increase dialogue with other religions in order to promote world peace.
The stop in Thailand will coincide with the 350th anniversary of the founding of the "Mission de Siam" by Pope Clement IX to oversee missions in Siam, the former name of Thailand
Thailand's Cold War immigration tactics unnerve long-term foreigners
Draconian 24-hour reporting requirement inhibits freedom of movement
DOMINIC FAULDER, Associate editor, Nikkei Asian Review
August 21, 2019 12:02 JST
While the vast majority of foreign visitors enter Thailand on 30-day visas issued on arrival, most foreigners with longer visas must now report any address changes within 24 hours. © Getty Images
BANGKOK -- Thailand's Immigration Bureau is sending a chill through the foreign business community, long-term expatriates, students and retirees following the full application in recent months of an onerous immigration law dating from 1979.
"According to section 38 of the 1979 immigration act, house owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national," Thailand's immigration authorities recently advised.
Critics view the requirement as a Cold War relic dredged up from a bureaucratic silo, and compare it to some of the regulations in force in neighboring Myanmar (formerly Burma) that curtailed the movements of foreigners for decades after Gen. Ne Win seized power in 1962.
Immigration officials, meanwhile, play down problems and recite the mantra "the law is the law." National security, they say, is paramount.
Police Maj. Gen. Patipat Suban Na Ayudhya, commander of Immigration Division 1, linked the clampdown directly to terrorism. "A couple of years ago, many cases happened in Thailand," he said during a panel discussion last week at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand. "A lot of terrorists came here and did something not good to my country."
"Several things have been changing in Thailand and all over the world," Police Col. Thatchapong Sarwannangkul, an immigration superintendent, said at the same presentation. "Criminals are getting stronger each day, and that's why we have to make a balance between national security and [serving] you the best we can."
A Western security analyst based in Bangkok told the Nikkei Asian Review that the terrorist threat to Thailand has not noticeably increased, and that other factors are in play. "It's a cumulative sense that foreign criminality rather than terrorism has been running out of hand," he said. "This is a very conservative bureaucracy, and very typical that when confronted by new issues they go to a 40-year-old law -- they rush backwards to solve 2019 problems."
Thatchapong said compliance problems with the so-called TM30 rule are being exaggerated -- "Trust me, it's not that hard" -- but admitted that he has to work until 10 p.m. each night processing the paperwork.
While the vast majority of foreign visitors enter the kingdom on 30-day visas issued on arrival, most foreigners with longer visas must now report any changes in their address within 24 hours -- even for weekend trips out of town to private accommodation. They must also report their return.
This can be done by visiting an immigration office in person, sending an authorized intermediary, posting a registered letter, or by using an online system. Failure to comply results in compulsory fines ranging from 800 baht to 2,000 baht ($26 to $65).
Hoteliers have been required to submit the relevant TM30 foreign national notification forms to immigration authorities since the law's promulgation 40 years ago, using the standard forms filled in by guests upon arrival. The new requirement that private landlords -- some of whom own multiple properties -- must similarly notify the authorities of foreign nationals visiting or leasing their properties had been very spottily enforced in a few provinces, and not in Bangkok or other parts of the country, until recent months.
When the 1979 law was enacted, Thailand had well under 2 million tourist arrivals annually, but was experiencing major influxes of refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. This followed the fall of Indochina to communist forces in mid-1975, and the invasion of Cambodia by Vietnam at the end of 1978.
Today, immigration control is a much changed proposition. Forecasts for legal arrivals in 2019 exceed 39 million, including an expected 11 million from China and 2 million from India.
Although the TM30 form should be submitted by the landlord or property owner, foreigners seeking visa extensions will have to produce the required documentation or face a fine.
"It impacts the foreigners not the landlords, because it is the foreigners who actually pay the fines," said Penrurk Phetmani, an immigration lawyer with Tilleke and Gibbins International, Thailand's oldest law firm.
Long immigration queues at Thai airports were blamed on staff shortages before addtional TM30 reporting upped the Immigration Bureau's workload. (Photo by Richard Barrow)
To comply, foreigners must make sense of conflicting information from different law firms and immigration offices. A recent British arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand's main international gateway, who asked about TM30 requirements was met with polite but completely blank responses from immigration officers.
"We are not getting the correct information, and without correct information you cannot expect people to comply with what you require," said Christopher Bruton, the executive director of Dataconsult, which monitors business trends in the region. Bruton described the 24-hour reporting requirement as "extremely exacting" and suggested it be extended to something more manageable.
The turnaround on the registered post service takes over three weeks -- when it works -- in a country that operates an efficient postal service. And the online service falls far short of the aspirational "Thailand 4.0" status the country has been promoting to attract foreign investment by moving to "a value-based economy that is driven by innovation, technology and creativity."
Some applicants have been waiting over six weeks for online passwords that immigration officials say should be issued within seven days. Once accessed, applicants have encountered a poorly designed website that glitches frequently and is resistant to uploads.
The password delays appear to be down to processing times within immigration while officials attempt to check information before allowing approvals to go forward -- rather than using a retrospective system to speed matters up.
There have long been complaints that it can take longer to pass through immigration at Thai airports than to fly from neighboring countries because of staffing shortages. But senior immigration officials appear unsympathetic to their overloaded juniors.
"Our job is to make sure [officers] do the work properly," Police Col. Krissana Pattanacharoen, the Royal Thai Police spokesperson, told Khaosod English. "We are their supervisors. If they can't do it, there is no other option than handing down punishment."
Although he usually does not handle immigration processing for clients, Sebastian Brousseau, the French Canadian managing director of law firm Isaan Lawyers in Thailand's northeast, recently launched a website to draw attention to the problems caused by the new TM30 requirements. It attracted 5,000 signatures within 10 days.
"The law must be logical, rational, efficient," Brousseau said. "Foreigners, even if we are not citizens, have a voice, and we should have a dialogue with immigration to save some of our problems. Right now, I see a regression. I have clients who are leaving Thailand because they feel unwelcome."
Richard Barrow, an English expatriate, wrote on his widely followed blog: "Some have commented that it is like immigration swatting a mosquito with a sledgehammer. For some reason, they don't seem to care what damage this is causing."
Observers trace the toughening of Thailand's stance back to 2016, when a former immigration commissioner, Police Lt. Gen. Nathathorn Prousoontorn, coined the slogan, "Good guys in, bad guys out." His latest successor, Police Maj. Gen. Sompong Chingduang, 55, came to the job in May with a reputation for no-nonsense crime busting.
Chris Larkin, director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and a member of its advocacy subcommittee, is promoting the issuance of pink identification cards to long-term foreigners that are already being used successfully by some 2 million migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Larkin said that his chamber's 400 mostly medium sized members are "concerned but not yet worried" about the TM30 issue. "Most people who come to invest in Thailand know they are investing in a country where there are regulatory challenges, one way or another. It is annoying but it is not a deal-breaker. It's very easy to come to Thailand, but it's a lot harder to stay longer."
Draconian 24-hour reporting requirement inhibits freedom of movement
DOMINIC FAULDER, Associate editor, Nikkei Asian Review
August 21, 2019 12:02 JST
While the vast majority of foreign visitors enter Thailand on 30-day visas issued on arrival, most foreigners with longer visas must now report any address changes within 24 hours. © Getty Images
BANGKOK -- Thailand's Immigration Bureau is sending a chill through the foreign business community, long-term expatriates, students and retirees following the full application in recent months of an onerous immigration law dating from 1979.
"According to section 38 of the 1979 immigration act, house owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national," Thailand's immigration authorities recently advised.
Critics view the requirement as a Cold War relic dredged up from a bureaucratic silo, and compare it to some of the regulations in force in neighboring Myanmar (formerly Burma) that curtailed the movements of foreigners for decades after Gen. Ne Win seized power in 1962.
Immigration officials, meanwhile, play down problems and recite the mantra "the law is the law." National security, they say, is paramount.
Police Maj. Gen. Patipat Suban Na Ayudhya, commander of Immigration Division 1, linked the clampdown directly to terrorism. "A couple of years ago, many cases happened in Thailand," he said during a panel discussion last week at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand. "A lot of terrorists came here and did something not good to my country."
"Several things have been changing in Thailand and all over the world," Police Col. Thatchapong Sarwannangkul, an immigration superintendent, said at the same presentation. "Criminals are getting stronger each day, and that's why we have to make a balance between national security and [serving] you the best we can."
A Western security analyst based in Bangkok told the Nikkei Asian Review that the terrorist threat to Thailand has not noticeably increased, and that other factors are in play. "It's a cumulative sense that foreign criminality rather than terrorism has been running out of hand," he said. "This is a very conservative bureaucracy, and very typical that when confronted by new issues they go to a 40-year-old law -- they rush backwards to solve 2019 problems."
Thatchapong said compliance problems with the so-called TM30 rule are being exaggerated -- "Trust me, it's not that hard" -- but admitted that he has to work until 10 p.m. each night processing the paperwork.
While the vast majority of foreign visitors enter the kingdom on 30-day visas issued on arrival, most foreigners with longer visas must now report any changes in their address within 24 hours -- even for weekend trips out of town to private accommodation. They must also report their return.
This can be done by visiting an immigration office in person, sending an authorized intermediary, posting a registered letter, or by using an online system. Failure to comply results in compulsory fines ranging from 800 baht to 2,000 baht ($26 to $65).
Hoteliers have been required to submit the relevant TM30 foreign national notification forms to immigration authorities since the law's promulgation 40 years ago, using the standard forms filled in by guests upon arrival. The new requirement that private landlords -- some of whom own multiple properties -- must similarly notify the authorities of foreign nationals visiting or leasing their properties had been very spottily enforced in a few provinces, and not in Bangkok or other parts of the country, until recent months.
When the 1979 law was enacted, Thailand had well under 2 million tourist arrivals annually, but was experiencing major influxes of refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. This followed the fall of Indochina to communist forces in mid-1975, and the invasion of Cambodia by Vietnam at the end of 1978.
Today, immigration control is a much changed proposition. Forecasts for legal arrivals in 2019 exceed 39 million, including an expected 11 million from China and 2 million from India.
Although the TM30 form should be submitted by the landlord or property owner, foreigners seeking visa extensions will have to produce the required documentation or face a fine.
"It impacts the foreigners not the landlords, because it is the foreigners who actually pay the fines," said Penrurk Phetmani, an immigration lawyer with Tilleke and Gibbins International, Thailand's oldest law firm.
Long immigration queues at Thai airports were blamed on staff shortages before addtional TM30 reporting upped the Immigration Bureau's workload. (Photo by Richard Barrow)
To comply, foreigners must make sense of conflicting information from different law firms and immigration offices. A recent British arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand's main international gateway, who asked about TM30 requirements was met with polite but completely blank responses from immigration officers.
"We are not getting the correct information, and without correct information you cannot expect people to comply with what you require," said Christopher Bruton, the executive director of Dataconsult, which monitors business trends in the region. Bruton described the 24-hour reporting requirement as "extremely exacting" and suggested it be extended to something more manageable.
The turnaround on the registered post service takes over three weeks -- when it works -- in a country that operates an efficient postal service. And the online service falls far short of the aspirational "Thailand 4.0" status the country has been promoting to attract foreign investment by moving to "a value-based economy that is driven by innovation, technology and creativity."
Some applicants have been waiting over six weeks for online passwords that immigration officials say should be issued within seven days. Once accessed, applicants have encountered a poorly designed website that glitches frequently and is resistant to uploads.
The password delays appear to be down to processing times within immigration while officials attempt to check information before allowing approvals to go forward -- rather than using a retrospective system to speed matters up.
There have long been complaints that it can take longer to pass through immigration at Thai airports than to fly from neighboring countries because of staffing shortages. But senior immigration officials appear unsympathetic to their overloaded juniors.
"Our job is to make sure [officers] do the work properly," Police Col. Krissana Pattanacharoen, the Royal Thai Police spokesperson, told Khaosod English. "We are their supervisors. If they can't do it, there is no other option than handing down punishment."
Although he usually does not handle immigration processing for clients, Sebastian Brousseau, the French Canadian managing director of law firm Isaan Lawyers in Thailand's northeast, recently launched a website to draw attention to the problems caused by the new TM30 requirements. It attracted 5,000 signatures within 10 days.
"The law must be logical, rational, efficient," Brousseau said. "Foreigners, even if we are not citizens, have a voice, and we should have a dialogue with immigration to save some of our problems. Right now, I see a regression. I have clients who are leaving Thailand because they feel unwelcome."
Richard Barrow, an English expatriate, wrote on his widely followed blog: "Some have commented that it is like immigration swatting a mosquito with a sledgehammer. For some reason, they don't seem to care what damage this is causing."
Observers trace the toughening of Thailand's stance back to 2016, when a former immigration commissioner, Police Lt. Gen. Nathathorn Prousoontorn, coined the slogan, "Good guys in, bad guys out." His latest successor, Police Maj. Gen. Sompong Chingduang, 55, came to the job in May with a reputation for no-nonsense crime busting.
Chris Larkin, director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and a member of its advocacy subcommittee, is promoting the issuance of pink identification cards to long-term foreigners that are already being used successfully by some 2 million migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Larkin said that his chamber's 400 mostly medium sized members are "concerned but not yet worried" about the TM30 issue. "Most people who come to invest in Thailand know they are investing in a country where there are regulatory challenges, one way or another. It is annoying but it is not a deal-breaker. It's very easy to come to Thailand, but it's a lot harder to stay longer."
notmyrealname
New Member
Hi, may I know name of this hotel?Spending a lazy weekend in Pattaya since Friday, its low season now so its quieter less tourists.
Stayed in this resort hotel before, right by the sea with nice beach but for those who prefers the pool there are many
Looking out of the room balcony
Nice landscaping
Pool connected to some rooms
Main pool
Lower level pools
3 main buildings
Lower level pools with slides
Relaxing by the pool
Lower level pools
Dining outdoor and indoor
The beach
The Heritage Pattaya Beach Resort
หมู่ที่ 12 435 Phra Tam Nak 6 Alley, Muang Pattaya, Amphoe Bang Lamung, Chang Wat Chon Buri 20150
038 250 888
https://goo.gl/maps/tYop6xhU686d8Z189
Thought this was a good write up. Harsh reality on the big social divide in Thailand
Thailand’s roads are deadly. Especially if you’re poor
The rules of a highly unequal society extend even to the highways, where have-nots
are far more likely to be killed than haves
PUBLISHED : 20 AUG 2019 AT 15:41
WRITER: HANNAH BEECH, NEW YORK TIMES
A paramedic looks over a truck that rolled over in Bangkok on June 8 this year. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)
The woman was riding on a motorcycle on her way to work when a pickup truck sideswiped her on a rural stretch of asphalt in northeastern Thailand. The truck’s driver was an off-duty police officer. He was drunk. Orathai Chanhom, the motorcyclist, was catapulted off her bike and killed almost instantly in the crash.
The officer who struck her still has his police job. His driver’s licence was not taken away. A court declined to sentence him to prison.
In Thailand, one of the world’s most unequal societies, even its roads have a rigid hierarchy, with the poor far more likely to be killed in accidents than the well-off and well-connected.
And there are many deaths: Thailand had the world’s second-highest rate of road fatalities per capita, surpassed only by war-afflicted, lawless Libya, according to a 2015 report from the World Health Organization. When it comes to per-capita motorcycle deaths, the country is No.1.
"I never thought about road deaths until this happened to my mother," said Chularat Chanhom, Orathai’s adult daughter. "I had no idea it was such a big problem in Thailand."
The government vowed at a United Nations forum in 2015 to halve the number of road traffic deaths by 2020. With less than one year to go before the deadline, however, Thailand is a long way from fulfilling that promise, its roads still ranking among the world’s 10 most dangerous, with more than 20,000 preventable fatalities a year.
The country has seen a small dip in road deaths since 2015, and Thailand has in place many of the necessary laws to make its roads safer.
But what the government has not addressed is the country’s vast gap in wealth, which is the core issue that not only makes its roads so deadly, but has also split the country into two bitterly divided political camps: Thailand’s haves and have-nots. (continued below)
Police at the scene of a crash involving a drink driver in Chiang Mai on April 13 this year. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)
Inequality in life, and death
Thailand, named the most unequal country of the 40 major economies surveyed last year by Credit Suisse, has what might be the world’s most toxic combination for traffic safety.
Unlike poorer countries, its roads are well-paved and made for speed, and the cars driven by the rich and its growing middle-class tend to be new and fast.
But many families can only afford a single scooter or motorcycle, and high-quality helmets are a luxury for many, whatever the law says about them being mandatory to wear.
In accidents on the country’s crowded roads, it’s a devastating mismatch when an air-conditioned SUV collides with a two-wheeler, scattering the detritus of death across the asphalt. And the aftermath of such accidents are a common, macabre sight on thoroughfares: a shredded tyre, a mangled frame of steel, a bloody plastic flip-flop.
Motorcycle accidents can involve multiple fatalities. Because public transportation is limited outside the big cities, it’s not uncommon to see a couple of adults — and even a child or two crammed between them — balanced on a single bike.
Only 12% of Thailand’s road traffic deaths involved occupants of cars or other light vehicles, according to the 2018 WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety. Most of the dead were motorcyclists — or pedestrians.
In many towns, there are few wide, easily usable sidewalks because, critics say, they are not a priority for the rich and influential, who prefer not to walk in Thailand’s oppressive heat. When there are wide footpaths, they often overflow with street stalls and even motorcycle traffic, pushing people into the roads.
The country’s economic disparity is not the only reason road deaths are not distributed equally. Justice, too, is handed out unevenly.
For the superrich, or those in positions of authority, the rules of the road may not apply at all. They know they can speed with impunity and drink heavily before getting behind the wheel, with little fear of the consequences.
In 2012, a young man in a Ferrari — the heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune — ploughed into a policeman, dragging him to his death. The driver, Vorayuth Yoovidhaya, was intoxicated, according to a test. Seven years later, he has never been prosecuted.
"What is clear in Thailand is that the roads are not safe for all users," said Evelyn Murphy, who specialises in unintentional injury prevention at the WHO. "Whether it’s cars or motorcycles or pedestrians, the safety of all users of roads must be considered, regardless of income level." (continued below)
Police give breathalyser tests and book motorbike drivers at a checkpoint during Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, in Chiang Mai, on April 14 this year. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)
Thailand’s roads are deadly. Especially if you’re poor
The rules of a highly unequal society extend even to the highways, where have-nots
are far more likely to be killed than haves
PUBLISHED : 20 AUG 2019 AT 15:41
WRITER: HANNAH BEECH, NEW YORK TIMES
The woman was riding on a motorcycle on her way to work when a pickup truck sideswiped her on a rural stretch of asphalt in northeastern Thailand. The truck’s driver was an off-duty police officer. He was drunk. Orathai Chanhom, the motorcyclist, was catapulted off her bike and killed almost instantly in the crash.
The officer who struck her still has his police job. His driver’s licence was not taken away. A court declined to sentence him to prison.
In Thailand, one of the world’s most unequal societies, even its roads have a rigid hierarchy, with the poor far more likely to be killed in accidents than the well-off and well-connected.
And there are many deaths: Thailand had the world’s second-highest rate of road fatalities per capita, surpassed only by war-afflicted, lawless Libya, according to a 2015 report from the World Health Organization. When it comes to per-capita motorcycle deaths, the country is No.1.
"I never thought about road deaths until this happened to my mother," said Chularat Chanhom, Orathai’s adult daughter. "I had no idea it was such a big problem in Thailand."
The government vowed at a United Nations forum in 2015 to halve the number of road traffic deaths by 2020. With less than one year to go before the deadline, however, Thailand is a long way from fulfilling that promise, its roads still ranking among the world’s 10 most dangerous, with more than 20,000 preventable fatalities a year.
The country has seen a small dip in road deaths since 2015, and Thailand has in place many of the necessary laws to make its roads safer.
But what the government has not addressed is the country’s vast gap in wealth, which is the core issue that not only makes its roads so deadly, but has also split the country into two bitterly divided political camps: Thailand’s haves and have-nots. (continued below)
Police at the scene of a crash involving a drink driver in Chiang Mai on April 13 this year. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)
Inequality in life, and death
Thailand, named the most unequal country of the 40 major economies surveyed last year by Credit Suisse, has what might be the world’s most toxic combination for traffic safety.
Unlike poorer countries, its roads are well-paved and made for speed, and the cars driven by the rich and its growing middle-class tend to be new and fast.
But many families can only afford a single scooter or motorcycle, and high-quality helmets are a luxury for many, whatever the law says about them being mandatory to wear.
In accidents on the country’s crowded roads, it’s a devastating mismatch when an air-conditioned SUV collides with a two-wheeler, scattering the detritus of death across the asphalt. And the aftermath of such accidents are a common, macabre sight on thoroughfares: a shredded tyre, a mangled frame of steel, a bloody plastic flip-flop.
Motorcycle accidents can involve multiple fatalities. Because public transportation is limited outside the big cities, it’s not uncommon to see a couple of adults — and even a child or two crammed between them — balanced on a single bike.
Only 12% of Thailand’s road traffic deaths involved occupants of cars or other light vehicles, according to the 2018 WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety. Most of the dead were motorcyclists — or pedestrians.
In many towns, there are few wide, easily usable sidewalks because, critics say, they are not a priority for the rich and influential, who prefer not to walk in Thailand’s oppressive heat. When there are wide footpaths, they often overflow with street stalls and even motorcycle traffic, pushing people into the roads.
The country’s economic disparity is not the only reason road deaths are not distributed equally. Justice, too, is handed out unevenly.
For the superrich, or those in positions of authority, the rules of the road may not apply at all. They know they can speed with impunity and drink heavily before getting behind the wheel, with little fear of the consequences.
In 2012, a young man in a Ferrari — the heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune — ploughed into a policeman, dragging him to his death. The driver, Vorayuth Yoovidhaya, was intoxicated, according to a test. Seven years later, he has never been prosecuted.
"What is clear in Thailand is that the roads are not safe for all users," said Evelyn Murphy, who specialises in unintentional injury prevention at the WHO. "Whether it’s cars or motorcycles or pedestrians, the safety of all users of roads must be considered, regardless of income level." (continued below)
Police give breathalyser tests and book motorbike drivers at a checkpoint during Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, in Chiang Mai, on April 14 this year. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)
Continued...
Weak enforcement, compounded by corruption
Speeding, drunken driving and failing to wear proper helmets are the primary causes of traffic deaths in the country, officials said.
While the laws are there to combat each of those factors, enforcement is not.
Wearing helmets is required on two-wheelers, but fines are rarely dispensed, unless the police need to meet a specific quota during a crackdown period.
Unaccustomed to checkpoints or sirens, speeders or other rule-breakers may not even pull over when caught.
"It’s hard to convince people to stop for us when they are not used to stopping," said Maj Gen Jirasunt Kaewsaengeak, the deputy commissioner of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police.
Then, there is corruption. The rich or well-connected know a bribe can often see them on their way if they are nabbed breaking traffic laws.
Bangkok’s 3,000 traffic police make an average of 18,000 baht ($600) a month for working in broiling heat, monsoonal downpours and suffocating smog, which can make even small payoffs highly appealing, and effective.
Twice a year, during Songkran in April and the New Year in January, campaigns warn against drunken driving, complete with billboards of gory crashes. Arrests skyrocket during these periods, but then quickly fall off again.
"If you eat vegetables twice a year and only eat ice cream for the rest of the year, your doctor will think you are crazy," said Tairjing Siriphanich, the secretary-general of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation of Thailand. "But that’s what we are doing with road safety."
A ‘sabai sabai’ mindset
When asked why so many people die on Thai roads, officials here ascribe it to a sabai sabai culture.
Sabai sabai is one of those untranslatable phrases, but it denotes a kind of relaxed contentment. Sabai sabai is one reason Thailand is a great place for a beach holiday. But it’s not a helpful attitude when building national safety standards.
"If police enforce the law, rather than just give a verbal warning, then Thai people are unhappy, and they complain that it’s not sabai sabai," Maj Gen Jirasunt said.
A prime example of the effect of the sabai sabai way of life on traffic safety is the approach to helmets. Many motorcyclists simply don’t bother.
"People think air pollution is a threat, but they don’t think the same way about drunken driving or wearing helmets," said Dr Tairjing of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation. "We have failed to make people understand that they can save their own lives."
But the authorities can make a difference: In the districts where police are known to hand out fines, helmets are more common.
The government could also do more to educate people about helmets, which are often substandard or worn incorrectly.
"When you see someone who makes the effort to put on a helmet without actually strapping it on, it defeats the whole purpose of wearing it," said Ms Murphy of the WHO. "It shows a lack of understanding of basic safety mechanisms." (continued below)
A paramedic waits for an emergency call in Bangkok on April 19 this year. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)
Shifting the Blame
In 2016, 32.7 out of every 100,000 Thais died on the country’s roads, according to the most recent WHO estimates. By comparison, the road fatality rate in the United States was 12.4 that year. In Indonesia, a less developed Southeast Asian country with more potholed roads, the rate was 12.2. Across most of Europe, it was a single-digit number.
Since the government made its promise to halve road deaths, a vow other countries have also made, Thailand has barely inched upward, moving from the country with the next-to-worst per-capita death tally to the ninth-worst.
"No political party has made this an issue. No leader wants to do anything," Dr Tairjing said. "They just make promises to halve the number of road deaths even though they know it’s impossible. Maybe they think we’ll forget about the promises they made."
The question of who is at fault for Thailand’s lack of progress draws a lot of finger pointing by Thai officials.
Chayatan Phromsorn, the deputy director-general of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, the agency that pledged to the United Nations to halve the number of road deaths, said he was not familiar with the document that detailed Thailand’s promise. (That English-language document was never made available online in Thai script.)
The official who presented the paper to the United Nations in 2015 said she had done so only because her colleague was unable to attend the conference. In turn, that colleague, Usanisa Jikyong, said in an email that her office "is not responsible for a road safety initiative in the national level."
Ms Usanisa suggested that another government agency, the department of disaster prevention and mitigation at the Ministry of Interior, was in charge of such matters. But Chayabol Thitisak, the department’s director-general, shifted responsibility back to Ms Usanisa’s office.
Officials at both agencies said that the blame lay primarily with the police.
"The big factor is law enforcement," Mr Chayabol said. "We have to make people realise that by violating the law they will face severe consequences."
But the police refused to accept fault.
"As police, there are many things we cannot do," Maj Gen Jirasunt said. "We cannot build more roads and public transportation. We cannot change the number of cars on the road. We cannot change the attitudes of people so they have discipline."
The high human cost
The World Bank estimated in a 2018 study that Thailand could lift its per-capita gross domestic product by 22% by the year 2038 if it successfully halved its traffic fatalities.
Despite that economic upside, the government — led by a retired military general since a 2014 coup — has done little to address the wealth gap that’s at the core of Thailand’s problem with road deaths.
The country has made a few road-safety improvements. Schools have added road safety lessons to their curriculums, and there has been some progress in setting new vehicle safety standards.
The numbers do show a slight improvement: Road deaths were 7% lower in 2018, with 22,491 deaths compared with 24,237 in 2015.
While the enormous macroeconomic cost of all these road deaths can be measured, what can’t be given a dollar figure is the personal toll inflicted on individuals by the inequality and impunity that menaces Thailand’s roads.
The family of Orathai, the killed motorcyclist, has no lawyer to pursue a civil claim. It did not appeal the decision not to jail the officer. There is no further legal action to take.
"In Thailand, the law does not matter," said Ms Chularat, her daughter. "People like us, how can we change anything? Even if we die for no reason, our lives are worthless."
Weak enforcement, compounded by corruption
Speeding, drunken driving and failing to wear proper helmets are the primary causes of traffic deaths in the country, officials said.
While the laws are there to combat each of those factors, enforcement is not.
Wearing helmets is required on two-wheelers, but fines are rarely dispensed, unless the police need to meet a specific quota during a crackdown period.
Unaccustomed to checkpoints or sirens, speeders or other rule-breakers may not even pull over when caught.
"It’s hard to convince people to stop for us when they are not used to stopping," said Maj Gen Jirasunt Kaewsaengeak, the deputy commissioner of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police.
Then, there is corruption. The rich or well-connected know a bribe can often see them on their way if they are nabbed breaking traffic laws.
Bangkok’s 3,000 traffic police make an average of 18,000 baht ($600) a month for working in broiling heat, monsoonal downpours and suffocating smog, which can make even small payoffs highly appealing, and effective.
Twice a year, during Songkran in April and the New Year in January, campaigns warn against drunken driving, complete with billboards of gory crashes. Arrests skyrocket during these periods, but then quickly fall off again.
"If you eat vegetables twice a year and only eat ice cream for the rest of the year, your doctor will think you are crazy," said Tairjing Siriphanich, the secretary-general of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation of Thailand. "But that’s what we are doing with road safety."
A ‘sabai sabai’ mindset
When asked why so many people die on Thai roads, officials here ascribe it to a sabai sabai culture.
Sabai sabai is one of those untranslatable phrases, but it denotes a kind of relaxed contentment. Sabai sabai is one reason Thailand is a great place for a beach holiday. But it’s not a helpful attitude when building national safety standards.
"If police enforce the law, rather than just give a verbal warning, then Thai people are unhappy, and they complain that it’s not sabai sabai," Maj Gen Jirasunt said.
A prime example of the effect of the sabai sabai way of life on traffic safety is the approach to helmets. Many motorcyclists simply don’t bother.
"People think air pollution is a threat, but they don’t think the same way about drunken driving or wearing helmets," said Dr Tairjing of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation. "We have failed to make people understand that they can save their own lives."
But the authorities can make a difference: In the districts where police are known to hand out fines, helmets are more common.
The government could also do more to educate people about helmets, which are often substandard or worn incorrectly.
"When you see someone who makes the effort to put on a helmet without actually strapping it on, it defeats the whole purpose of wearing it," said Ms Murphy of the WHO. "It shows a lack of understanding of basic safety mechanisms." (continued below)
A paramedic waits for an emergency call in Bangkok on April 19 this year. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)
Shifting the Blame
In 2016, 32.7 out of every 100,000 Thais died on the country’s roads, according to the most recent WHO estimates. By comparison, the road fatality rate in the United States was 12.4 that year. In Indonesia, a less developed Southeast Asian country with more potholed roads, the rate was 12.2. Across most of Europe, it was a single-digit number.
Since the government made its promise to halve road deaths, a vow other countries have also made, Thailand has barely inched upward, moving from the country with the next-to-worst per-capita death tally to the ninth-worst.
"No political party has made this an issue. No leader wants to do anything," Dr Tairjing said. "They just make promises to halve the number of road deaths even though they know it’s impossible. Maybe they think we’ll forget about the promises they made."
The question of who is at fault for Thailand’s lack of progress draws a lot of finger pointing by Thai officials.
Chayatan Phromsorn, the deputy director-general of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, the agency that pledged to the United Nations to halve the number of road deaths, said he was not familiar with the document that detailed Thailand’s promise. (That English-language document was never made available online in Thai script.)
The official who presented the paper to the United Nations in 2015 said she had done so only because her colleague was unable to attend the conference. In turn, that colleague, Usanisa Jikyong, said in an email that her office "is not responsible for a road safety initiative in the national level."
Ms Usanisa suggested that another government agency, the department of disaster prevention and mitigation at the Ministry of Interior, was in charge of such matters. But Chayabol Thitisak, the department’s director-general, shifted responsibility back to Ms Usanisa’s office.
Officials at both agencies said that the blame lay primarily with the police.
"The big factor is law enforcement," Mr Chayabol said. "We have to make people realise that by violating the law they will face severe consequences."
But the police refused to accept fault.
"As police, there are many things we cannot do," Maj Gen Jirasunt said. "We cannot build more roads and public transportation. We cannot change the number of cars on the road. We cannot change the attitudes of people so they have discipline."
The high human cost
The World Bank estimated in a 2018 study that Thailand could lift its per-capita gross domestic product by 22% by the year 2038 if it successfully halved its traffic fatalities.
Despite that economic upside, the government — led by a retired military general since a 2014 coup — has done little to address the wealth gap that’s at the core of Thailand’s problem with road deaths.
The country has made a few road-safety improvements. Schools have added road safety lessons to their curriculums, and there has been some progress in setting new vehicle safety standards.
The numbers do show a slight improvement: Road deaths were 7% lower in 2018, with 22,491 deaths compared with 24,237 in 2015.
While the enormous macroeconomic cost of all these road deaths can be measured, what can’t be given a dollar figure is the personal toll inflicted on individuals by the inequality and impunity that menaces Thailand’s roads.
The family of Orathai, the killed motorcyclist, has no lawyer to pursue a civil claim. It did not appeal the decision not to jail the officer. There is no further legal action to take.
"In Thailand, the law does not matter," said Ms Chularat, her daughter. "People like us, how can we change anything? Even if we die for no reason, our lives are worthless."
Bangkok street sweeper carries pet to work
PUBLISHED : 28 AUG 2019 AT 18:04
WRITER: REUTERS
Street sweeper Thitirat Keowa-ram carries her 1-year old poodle-shih tzu mix breed as she works on a street
in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Reuters photos)
A street sweeper in Thailand has become an internet sensation after a picture of her carrying her dog on her back while sweeping the streets of the Thai capital went viral.
Mazda, a year-old Poodle-Shih Tzu mix is seen calmly hanging in a vest attached to the back of his owner like a backpack while she sweeps the street in a Bangkok suburb, not bothered by passers-by and the traffic.
"I asked my boyfriend to buy me a dog to keep me company," Mazda's owner, Thitirat Keowa-ram, 28, said.
"My boyfriend agreed under the condition that I bring it to work," she said.
Ms Thitirat has kept her promise and carried the fluffy black and white dog to work every day for a year now, not bothered by the almost 10kg of weight in the pooch pouch on her back.
A bring-your-dog-to-work trend has been gaining popularity in Thailand in recent years particularly in firms with irregular work hours that see the dog-friendly policy as a way to alleviate employee stress.
PUBLISHED : 28 AUG 2019 AT 18:04
WRITER: REUTERS
Street sweeper Thitirat Keowa-ram carries her 1-year old poodle-shih tzu mix breed as she works on a street
in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Reuters photos)
A street sweeper in Thailand has become an internet sensation after a picture of her carrying her dog on her back while sweeping the streets of the Thai capital went viral.
Mazda, a year-old Poodle-Shih Tzu mix is seen calmly hanging in a vest attached to the back of his owner like a backpack while she sweeps the street in a Bangkok suburb, not bothered by passers-by and the traffic.
"I asked my boyfriend to buy me a dog to keep me company," Mazda's owner, Thitirat Keowa-ram, 28, said.
"My boyfriend agreed under the condition that I bring it to work," she said.
Ms Thitirat has kept her promise and carried the fluffy black and white dog to work every day for a year now, not bothered by the almost 10kg of weight in the pooch pouch on her back.
A bring-your-dog-to-work trend has been gaining popularity in Thailand in recent years particularly in firms with irregular work hours that see the dog-friendly policy as a way to alleviate employee stress.
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