Stories tagged with pattaya
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French Visitor Becomes Demented over Missing Thai Girlfriend
A French man reported became demented as he searched for his Thai girlfriend in the streets of the Thai resort of Pattaya. When he found a woman who looked like his girlfriend, and she eventually derailed his fantasy, he slit his wrist and ended up in a local hospital in the early morning hours of 27 June.
An investigator with the Pattaya Police, Wittaya Yeunyong, was informed that a foreigner had slit his wrist in a room he had rented in central Pattaya. Police rushed to the hotel to find Mr Stephane Verraes, a 35-year-old French national, lying in bed with blood pouring out of numerous wounds on his right wrist.
Mr Verraes was not coherent but police and rescue personnel transported him to Banglamung Hospital.
Mrs Aom, the woman Verraes had mistaken to be his girlfriend, told the police that earlier in the evening she had met him on the beach. He told her that she looked like his missing girlfriend and asked her if he could go back to her room with her. She agreed.
He began a manic search of her room, allegedly looking for his missing girlfriend.
By this time, Mrs Aom had become impatient, she told the police. When she became angry and attempted to force him to leave her room, Mr Verraes reportedly went berserk. He grabbed her razor, slashed his wrist five times and fled the scene to his own room. Mrs Aom and her husband then called the authorities.
Posted by: Andrew on 03 Jul 2008, 21:16 -
UK Tourist Dies in Pattaya Flood
Life in the popular coastal resort of Pattaya, located in Chonburi province on Thailand's eastern seaboard, is returning to normal, but officials from the British consulate are still investigating the circumstances around the death of a tourist from the UK who was killed last week from receiving an electric shock.
Incessant rain that has plagued the region recently triggered flooding in areas of low-lying south Pattaya, making street impassable and causing extensive damage to houses and shops.
The British tourist died as the result of an electric shock, in a seemingly freak accident, when he was wading through the flooded streets to return to his hotel room.
Sukhumvit Road, in the south end of Pattaya, was flooded by over one metre of water last Thursday morning, making it impossible for smaller vehicles to navigate, and obviously dangerous for pedestrians. Some houses and shops in this part of town were hit by flood waters up to two metres deep.
Officials mobilized resources to pump the flood waters out of the area, diverting them into the Gulf of Thailand. Local sources reported garb garbage-clogged drainage ditches and pipes contributed to the severity of the flooding.
Posted by: Andrew on 26 Jun 2008, 21:41 -
New Condo Rules Offer Better Buyer Protection
Condominium buyers in Pattaya and throughout Thailand are set to have better legal protection from an amendment to the condominium act under which penalties are imposed on developers who do not deliver as advertised.
The amendment becomes effective on 4 July and will punish those developers who engage in misleading advertising in order to boost their sales. “If they don’t deliver what they advertise, the land department is empowered to charge them with giving false information,” explained a department spokesman.
Complaints from buyers who found that the units they purchased did not include what was promised led to the new amendment. Most had purchased condominium units before they had been completed.
From 4 July developers will be required to submit their advertising plans at the same time they submit their construction proposals. On completion of the construction, the land department will inspect the units to determine if everything has been completed as advertised.
Most complaints about condos purchased in Pattaya generally deal with smaller items, such as the construction not finished on schedule, disputes about the common areas and charges for general condominium services. Under the new provisions, condo owners will be required to show all of the promotional material they received when making a complaint.
Posted by: Andrew on 19 Jun 2008, 10:46 -
Despite Protests in Bangkok Foreign Investment Remains Strong in Pattaya
The Thai Government is making an effort to reassure foreign investors that the current wave of political protests will not impact long-term stability in the country. On 3 June 2008, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama felt it necessary to reassure the British business community that protests in Bangkok were symptomatic of the democratic process and not indicative of political instability.
A recent report documents that Asian tourists are staying clear of Thailand due to the political protests. The governments of Malaysia and Indonesia have issued travel warnings dissuading their citizens from Thai holidays at the present time.
The popular mass protest seen recently in Bangkok doesn’t seem to have deterred Russian and Scandinavian tourists and investors from visiting Pattaya however. In 2007, nearly 900,000 Russians visited Pattaya, a more than 84% increase over the previous year, making Russian tourists the leading market for this resort destination. Russians and Scandinavians have displaced Germans and Brits as the main investors in Pattaya condominium units. Although Russians have been coming to Pattaya for holidays over the past 10 years, it's only been since 2006 that they have become property investors. Raimon Land reports that property purchases by Russians in 2007 accounted for 22% of condominiums sales in their upscale developments.
Posted by: Andrew on 11 Jun 2008, 20:00 -
Burmese man found dead in Pattaya
A young Burmese immigrant was found dead in his apartment in Pattaya yesterday, with no signs of foul play. 19-year old Mr. Joy had been employed by a deckchair and umbrella company on Jomtien Beach and when he didn’t show up for two days, one of the owners of the business went around to his flat to investigate. 41-year old Wilailuck Aramwong found his employee dead in his room, with no clear signs of assault, but noted that his mobile phone was missing,
Local Police investigator Captain Prapat Bpumalee received the call from Mr. Aramwong mid-afternoon yesterday, and arrived at the four-storey complex to find people crowding around the entrance to see what was going on.
The death comes as a surprise to many, as Joy’s chaaracter has never been in question and he had been until-then held in good stead by his employers. The mysterious death can only be attributed to theft at this point according to police, but an investigation into the incident is underway.
Posted by: DaveB on 05 Jun 2008, 19:41 -
Pattaya man has car destroyed
It seems driving a souped-up car in Pattaya can be hazardous to its health. Or so a local man found out recently, after his car was shot multiple ties and scratched severely when he refused the offer of a teenage gang to have a race.
The man refused to meet their challenge of a car race and entered a pub to meet his friends, only to find after his exit the car had been seriously damaged by the offended gang. Local police received a call early in the morning of May 24th that a car had been shot up and scratched in a car park outside the Noir Pub. Colonel Prateep Thongdee arrived at the scene where the car’s owner, 37-year old Tas Insee was waiting beside the vehicle. Police report 11 gunshot holes in the car, and slugs from a nine-millimeter pistol were found nearby.
There were no witnesses at the scene, and the police plan to conduct a thorough investigation in order to find those responsible for the vandalism.
Posted by: DaveB on 26 May 2008, 19:58 -
Pattaya hotel owners protest expansion
With the sizeable number of new hotels being built in Pattaya, many hotel owners are feeling the pinch as residency becomes more spread out over the various new properties. A complaint on behalf of the Eastern Chapter of the Thai Hotels Association has been issued to the government claiming not enough restrictions on new growth have been placed on the hotels in Pattaya, driving prices below those of neighbouring countries Malaysia and Vietnam.
While tourist numbers remain constant if not raised, Pattaya hotel owners feel more like there is a drop in visitor numbers due to the new properties. President of the THA Chatchawan Supachayanont says, “The government should study the number of five-star and other levels of hotels in the country to see if they have rooms corresponding to the number of tourists. They should not only support new investments. They should study the control of rooms in Malaysia and Vietnam. Their governments achieved this, and it resulted in their room rates being different when compared with Thai entrepreneurs.?
Pattaya hotel list
Posted by: Andrew on 22 May 2008, 16:18 -
European prostitutes arrested in Pattaya
Sex workers plying their trade on Pattaya’s Walking Street were arrested last week, and it was determined that they were part of a growing number of prostitutes in Thailand from Uzbekistan and the countries formerly part of the Soviet Union and the Russian Republic. 12 women in all were taken into custody by Pattaya Police, with all of them confessing to working as prostitutes. They said that their services earned them anywhere form 2,500 to 3,000 baht. The girls will appear in court soon, and if they are found guilty of prostitution, which is certainly likely, they will be deported form the kingdom.
Investigations show that women from the CIS countries are using the high profit margin paid for sexual favours not only in Thailand, but also Bahrian, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and the big daddy of them all, Dubai. Officials in Thailand say that if these women are deported, chances are they will turn up in one of the above mentioned countries.
More on Pattaya nightlife
Posted by: Andrew on 22 May 2008, 16:15 -
Retired navy boys go feng shui
A peculiar sight can be seen these days on Sattahip Naval Beach in Thailand, as retired officers have taken to a feng shui technique of burying themselves in sand. A number of retired Naval officers in the area come to the beach each morning to perform the therapy that is said to aid in spinal disorders, paralysis and beriberi. Specifics of the therapy are that the patient should bury themselves in sand with their heads facing north, preferably with a mountain behind them and their feet pointed south.
Pattaya Daily News reporters say that practitioners have seen improvements in their physical ailments after the therapy, and the naval commanders were quick to point out that there was no damage to the beach because of their practices. The retired seamen expect to see more and more people flocking to the special geography of the beach to try the treatment for themselves as the summer moves on.
Posted by: DaveB on 21 May 2008, 20:00 -
German fugitive apprehended in Pattaya
A Hamburg native was picked up by Pattaya Police after it was found that he was on the lam from authorities in Germany for multiple accounts of credit card fraud. His arrest followed a coordinated investigation between Thai authorities, the German Embassy in Bangkok and the Hamburg Prosecutor’s Office.
40-year old Dirk Michelmann fled Europe after an arrest warrant was issued on September 14th, 2007. He gained entry to Thailand in January with a false passport and has been hiding out in a Pattaya guesthouse ever since. Police found Michelmann sitting in a beer bar adjacent to his accommodation last week and he was arrested in connection with 62 cases of credit card fraud, evading arrest in Europe and overstaying an already invalid visa in Thailand. Monies in excess of 6 million baht have been estimated to have been accrued through Michelmann’s illegal activities, and he now faces charges in Germany aside from his being blacklisted from Thailand under the 1979 Immigration Act.
Posted by: DaveB on 08 May 2008, 11:35 -
Pattaya Beach vendors ignore imposed deadline
http://www.pattayamail.com
The recent controversy over allotted space for vendors on Pattaya, Koh Larn and Jomtien beaches is still ongoing, with vendors ignoring the April 20th deadline set by the municipal government and demanding an extension of two or three months. Past visitors to any of the three beaches would no doubt have noticed the bric-a-brac of vendors selling space for tourists to take shade under umbrellas and such, but it seems the Pattaya City Council’s effort to clean thing sup a little and give vendors one allotted square each has so far failed.
A group of vendors, two days before the deadline, submitted a complaint to the city council claiming the selections were not impartial and called for a revision. Chonburi’s deputy Governor arrived on the day of the deadline to see for himself if vendors would acquiesce, but he saw clearly that they had not.
The impasse is set to carry on for some time, as the vendors are standing their ground as they profess their rights are being violated with the new policy. This is the second move by local office to make Pattaya’s beachfront more orderly, after a new parking scheme was initiated last month.
Posted by: DaveB on 03 May 2008, 11:22 -
Killer crossings on Thai railways
It’s just as well the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has just the one main line running up and down the length of the country as the amount of accidents at its level crossings of late is staggering.
The main reason being that many crossings have been built illegally by local people who are too lazy to cross at designated crossings. According to the railway traffic manager, Siripong Pruetiphan, the SRT ‘can do nothing to stop this kind of encroachment.’
Accident figures released by the SRT for 2006 numbered 185 involving trains and vehicles at railway crossings, with 53 deaths and 190 injuries. In 2007, the number of accidents almost doubled to 327.
Trains hitting animals and vehicles running into level crossings cause even further delays.
These startling figures - not unlike those of rural India - not only cause needless loss of life but add to the misery of passengers through hefty delays and cost the SRT in fuel.
According to Mr Siripong there are 2,443 crossings nationwide, of which just 1,908 were built with SRT permission. The other 535 were built illegally by local administrators mostly in remote areas.
The upshot of all these extra crossings is delays and extra costs for the SRT. Train drivers need to slow down when they approach a crossing and the effort to regain speed uses more fuel.
Tourists traveling by train, especially in rural areas, should allow plenty of extra time at the destination end to allow for any delays.
More on Rail travel in Thailand
Posted by: Andrew on 29 Apr 2008, 09:56 -
Irishman suspected of torching Pattaya house
When a local Thai woman returned to er bungalow after a dinner date with a new beau, she found her home had sustained considerable fire damage. She immediately suspected her former lover, an Irishman, to have set the house ablaze. Her former lover is still her current husband, and 29-year old Uraiwan Busba has no doubt it was a jealous rage that left her bedroom burned out with a total of 300,000 baht in damages.
Fire fighters arrived at the Moo Baan Pattaya Park Hill 2 condo with 10 fire engines shortly after 01:00 yesterday and it took 10 minutes to fully extinguish the flames. The fire had been started in the bedroom, and the girl’s three relatives who were in the house at the time managed to escape safely. Busaba told police that her Irish husband had bought the house for her, but they were having troubles and they were going through a separation process.
Posted by: DaveB on 27 Apr 2008, 19:39 -
Holidays That Costa Lot
British tourists would be better off traveling to Thailand for a holiday as opposed to the Costa del Sol, owing to the weaker pound and rising euro.
Sterling has lost 19 per cent of its value over the euro in the past year meaning holidaymakers get much less bang for their buck.
The Post Office surveyed 16 popular holidaying countries around the world and purchased 10 common items, with Australia topping the lot and Thailand the cheapest.
The basic purchases included a coffee from a cafe, an English newspaper, a bottle of mineral water from a supermarket, insect repellent and an evening meal for two.
The cost of these items in Thailand worked out at £28.58 and was easily the cheapest of the 16 countries surveyed. These same items in Spain, traditionally a cheap continental holiday destination, worked out at £59.24, while in France they were £68.97.
Italy was the most expensive place in Europe at £73.40, while a three-course meal for two with wine would cost around £42 - just £17.64 in Thailand. The same 10 purchases in Australia, however, was a staggering £88.97.
The US is one destination where the pound stretches further due to the weak dollar of late, but to travel on the continent is costing so much more.
British holidaymakers have already been putting off traveling to the continent as a result of the strong euro and worldwide ‘credit crunch’, while many have been looking at destinations farther afield with Thailand fitting the bill for a growing number of people.
Even Thailand has become more expensive, though, owing to a combination of a stronger baht and the removal of the onshore rate reserve, more expensive rice, and higher oil prices.
Posted by: Andrew on 25 Apr 2008, 18:08 -
Baht onshore/offshore rates equalize
The Thai baht onshore and offshore rates have now equalized following the lifting of the reserve on March 3, said Bank of Thailand (BoT) governor Tarisa Watanagase.
The 30 per cent withholding measure was imposed in 2006 to stem the baht’s speculation due to the gloomy economic outlook back then, and was a bonus for foreigners bringing in currency and utilizing the higher onshore rates.
Khun Watanagase said that the baht had equalized automatically, ‘without intervention’, following the reserve lift and that the economy had improved.
Onshore traded baht is now a lot closer to offshore traded baht since the measure was scrapped, with onshore and offshore dollar transactions at about 31.41 and 31.42 respectively.
Previous figures at the offshore rate of 31.42 baht to the dollar would have seen an onshore rate at roughly 34!
Thailand’s international reserves have also risen sharply in the last couple of years - at US$108 billion today compared with $67 billion at the end of 2006.
Posted by: Andrew on 24 Apr 2008, 20:54 -
Pattaya cashes in from Songkran
The popular party city of Pattaya, a short journey southeast from Bangkok, has reportedly lined its coffers with more than 500 million baht after its celebrations of the Songkran festival this year. The Tourism Authority of Thailand reports that 500,000 people visited Pattaya during the three day celebration of the Thai New Year.
Pattaya stands as the centre of activity as far as tourism goes in Chonburi Province, and the TAT reports that 2007 recorded an upswing in tourists visiting the province, and that 2008 is shaping up to do even better. TAT says 6.62 million people visited Pattaya and Chonburi last year, an 8 percent increase from 2006.
As TAT figures show an increase in visitors, a marked distinction is coming from hotel owners, to whom it seems numbers are dropping. This is due to the fact that another big trend in Pattaya is hotel construction, spreading patronage out over more properties. Between 700 and 800 hotel rooms are expected to open over the next two years, including chain brands like the Hilton and the Holiday Inn.
Posted by: DaveB on 24 Apr 2008, 19:35 -
Pattaya promises no summer water shortage
The Chonburi Irrigation Department has promised residents that there will be no shortage of water available this summer, despite worries of a shortage. The head of water allocation at the department, Sombun Yutithampinyo, reported to the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association that recent surveys and studies had confirmed there would be plenty of water for the summer and traditional drought season.
City officials had been concerned that a water shortage during the summer months would adversely affect the region’s tourism numbers. Yutithampinyo reported, “When compared to the quantity of water in 2005, Chonburi had less water then. There was only 44.863 million cubic meters. However, this year we have 26 million cubic meters extra. The quantity of untreated water is therefore enough to meet the demand.?
Even if the rainy season does not deliver adequate levels of water, other reservoirs can be tapped, assuring a successful tourist season and beyond in Pattaya.
Posted by: DaveB on 24 Apr 2008, 18:15 -
Suvarnabhumi to keep on growing
Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi airport has been given the go ahead with the second-phase of expansion to include a third runway and a new domestic terminal.
A total of 10 new projects worth in excess of 73 billion baht will be undertaken by the Transport Ministry.
Two of the 10 projects will be implemented this year, including the construction of the third runway. Future projects will include an automated people-mover, a new car park, as well as the ongoing reduction of noise pollution over five years.
The creation of the new domestic terminal will relieve congestion at the main terminal and will cost in the region of six billion baht.
Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont originally put the airport expansion plans on hold and re-opened up Don Mueang airport to save money.
Don Mueang made way for the new Suvarnabhumi in late September 2006 but was reopened for domestic flights.
Since then Suvarnabhumi Airport has been beset by construction flaws, including cracks in the main runway, as well as corruption scandals.
The new expansion scheme would run from 2008 to 2013 and when finished would enable Suvarnabhumi to serve 60 million passengers a year; an extra 15 million passengers over its current 45 million.
It is also likely that the new work would signal a closure of Don Mueang airport by the government.
AoT have earned more than 10 billion baht from the management of Suvarnabhumi airport and would be footing the bill.
As part of the runway expansion, the third runway will feature an auto-landing system allowing aircraft to land even in low visibility conditions.
Suvarnabhumi may then receive a safety measure of three, with Category 3 being the safest. In comparison, regional airports have a category rating of 1, with Don Mueang being Category 2 rated.
Plots of land on the eastern side of the airport will also be surveyed for the project.
Posted by: Andrew on 23 Apr 2008, 10:31 -
Fines charged for illegal Beach Road parking
Pattaya’s Beach Road is one of the city’s main thoroughfares, and as the street continues to grow in congestion, local authorities have implemented a system of parking fines for those parking outside designated areas on Beach Road. Plans to build paid-parking facilities for cars and motorcycles are in the works, after a survey among local police and politicians acknowledged that traffic congestion along the seaside road was becoming unbearable.
With no fees in place, cars tend to sit on the street for long periods of time, and visitors to the beach have no option but to park a considerable distance form the seaside. Street vendors also cause problems as they stake out areas of parking space for their booths and mobile restaurant stalls.
When the paid-parking scheme comes into place, designated parking areas will be visible with painted lines on the street, and cars will be charged 10 baht for the first hour and 20 baht for each additional hour. For motorcycles, each hour of parking will cost 10 baht.
Posted by: DaveB on 17 Apr 2008, 18:51 -
Pattaya vendor allotments still not resolved
April 13th was the deadline for an agreement to be reached concerning the umbrella vendors on Pattaya Beach, but with a consensus outstanding the deadline has been pushed up. The local government had organized 108 lots where vendors could ply their trade, along with 266 plots on Jomtien Beach and 20 for the beach at Wong Amat. This apparently wasn’t enough for some vendors, many operating illegally and effectively pushed off their perceived turf with the new lines literally drawn in the sand.
There have been protests outside city hall, and when the mayor failed to show up for the meeting where the allotments and vendors would be announced, further confusion was laid on the subject. More trouble arose as the law came from a provincial level, and many opponents to the new rules say only the mayor can pass such a law. The situation stands as of now unresolved.
Visitors to Pattaya’s beaches will most likely still be able to procure a rented umbrella on the beach, be it from a legal merchant or an illegal one.
Posted by: DaveB on 17 Apr 2008, 18:14