Pattaya is changing, of that there is no doubt, but so does every place. Nothing stays the same. When I first came here in 1989 Pattaya was a small town, a very small town as was most small towns in Thailand. Pattaya was however a very special town for the visitors and for the locals or those who called Pattaya their home from home from the villages and small towns up-country.
Now townification or could we call it cityfication is well under way and Pattaya although it still has a large number of bars and go-go bars is set to become Bangkok by the sea.
Will this change the bar scene? of course it will but bear in mind that Bangkok has it's Nana Plaza, Patpong and Soi Cowboy as well as numerous bars and massage parlours that cater mainly to the native Thai pleasure seeker.
One of the thinggs that drove me out of Bangkok, I lived there for 12 years, was the traffic and traffic jams with the inevitable air pollution. Will I stay here and suffer the same coughing fits and time wasted getting from A to B? I think not. But I am not ready to leave just yet. How about you?
Whoops - some bright spark just managed to destroy a 3 million Baht Speedboat. No it didn't sink. No it wasn't rammed. It was set on fire by a stray spark from a welders torch.
Pattaya Police, Fire Trucks, Rescue vehicles and medics rushed to the scene - NPSK Marine Company based on the Sukhumvit Road where a 33 foot twin engined speedboat was engulfed in flames.
A friend of the boatyard's owner Khun Soranon aged 57 had agreed to take care of the boat which belonged to a friend.
Fire officials examined a building that was under construction on the enjoining plot and found evidence that may indicate that sparks had been produced in the roof of the structure and that was It seems that sparks were blown over the boatyard causing the canvas cover on the speedboat to set on fire.
He enrolled some staff to help to pull out of the yard but they were forced back by the fierce flames that had now engulfed the multi-million Baht Speedboat. It took firefighters 30 minutes to put out the blaze. There is no news at the moment if the welder who caused the fire has been fired.
Chonburi Police Officers from Donhuaroh police station and rescue units rushed to the scene of a serious road traffic accident Suhkprayuun Road in Ampher Phanatnikhom. At the scene they found a Honda motorcycle that had crashed at high speed into a pick-up truck.
The rider of the motorcycle Khun Jakratrit aged 19 had sustained massive head and facial injuries in the crash and despite the efforts of medics to give CPR he died shortly after. Also on scene was Khun Buaphit the 40 year old mother of the deceased who was obviously in a distraught state.
The driver of the Nissan Pick-up Khun Pichit aged 45 said that he was driving to his home in Nongthamsung District and was making a u-turn when the crash occurred. The police detained Khun Pichet subject to further investigations at the accident scene.
The body of Khun Jakratrit was taken to hospital for a full post mortem to be carried out.
An accident on Sukhumvit Road in Sattahip District last week sparked a manhunt for the driver of a Mazda that collided with a Honda Scoopy motorcycle. The rider of the motorcycle Suwit Rungroj a military officer was killed instantly in the collision.
This week Marine Sergeant Wuttichai Baramee aged 30 surrendered to police and confessed to being the driver that killed one of his fellow military officers.
Khun Wuttichai told the police that on the night in question he was on sentry duty at the special operations base that evening and had left his post and driven off base to buy some food.
He had driven about 1Km when on a dark stretch of road he encountered the motorcycle which he hadn't seen in time and the accident occurred. In panic he turned around and returned to his post leaving his dead colleague laying in the road.
Sattahip Police have charged Khun Wuttichai with reckless driving and unlawfully causing the death of Khun Suwit.
I can't for the life of me work out if the pluaral of hippopotamus is hippopotamuses or hippopotami.
Whatever Khaow Kheow open Zoo near Pattaya are happy to announce that their family of pygmy hippopotamuses has just increased by the number of one after the successful birth of a baby pygmy hippopotamus.
The new born was checked over careful by veterinary staff and mother and babe declared healthy before being released for suckling to it's mother.
Pygmy hippopotamuses are a popular attraction at the Zoo where thousands of visitors are attracted to the prospect of getting up close and personal with these miniature mammals. After all who in their right mind are up for an up close personal encounter with a full size hippo.
So if pygmies in Pattaya turn you on and you feel the urge to pet one then get yourself down to Khaow Kheow open Zoo they are open from 08.30-18.00 for more information call 038-318444 or visit the Khaow Kheow open Zoo web site www.kkopenzoo.com
It is difficult to miss the fact that it is the rainy season here in Pattaya. Newcomers welcome the cooler temperatures and refreshing downpours and can be seen wading knee deep with their shoes in their hands and a big smile on their faces. They would not have such broad grins on their faces if they also knew that other creatures here in the land of smiles also relish the rainy season.
Snakes, Big snakes, small snakes, long snakes and short snakes some venomous and some non venomous use the pooling waters to get out and about and do slithering things that snakes are apt to do.
The snake experts the Reptile Rescue Squad from the Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation were called on to do their stuff when a 3 metre long python was spotted slithering along a soi in front of an apartment block in Naklua North Pattaya.
Sirens blaring the snake busters arrived on scene armed with their high tech equipment. A bamboo pole with a hook on the end and a fertiliser bag. The snake was soon bagged and bagged in the fertiliser bag to be taken away and relocated far from the naked toes of any naive foreigners.
Pattaya Police and a unit of The Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation were alerted by radio from The Thappraya 2310 Foundation of a road accident in North Pattaya involving a car and a motorcycle and resulting in one injury.
At the scene at a crossroads on Third Road in North Pattaya they found a Toyota Camry vehicle stood at the traffic lights and a wrecked Honda motorcycle laying in the road at the rear of the car. Also laying in the road was the rider Khun Paisarn who was suffering from head wounds that he had sustained when he impacted the Toyota. As is too often the case with accidents that occur in the wee hours of the morning in Pattaya. Khun Paisarn appeared to have had a drink or two more than is legal or wise enough to operate a mechanical form of transport.
The driver of the Toyota Khun Nichaiya had little to say apart from stting the facts. She was stationary waitiing for the lights to turn green. The first thing she knew was when the bike crashed into her rear end.
Khun Paisarn was treated at the scene by medics before being transported to a local hospital for further emergency treatment.
Banglamung Police received notification from the Thappraya 2310 Foundation of a serious road accident in their jurisdiction. A team was immediately sent to investigate the incident. A rescue unit from The Sawang Boriboon Tharmma Satharn Rescue Foundation was also diespatched to provide assistance.
At the scene on the Sukhumvit road in Na Kluea, North Pattaya they found a Ford Ranger pick-up truck laying on it's side
The driver of the Bankok plated pick-up Khun Phurithat aged 29 had suffered an injury to his left arm but was lucky to have escaped so lightly considering the high speed crash that he had just escaped from. He had sustained a fairly minor injury to his left arm and was treated at the scene by medics before being transported to Banglamung Hospital for further treatment. The police noted that he smelt of alcohol and seemed to be in an inebriated state.
The police questioned a nearby noodle vendor who witnessed the incident she told the police that she saw the pick-up truck being driven at high speed. The driver lost control hit a concrete island causing the vehicle to become airborne before landing on its side and slide about 300 metres before crashing into a concrete column and coming to halt in the opposite carriageway.
It was a miracle that there were no vehicles around at the time and that no one else was injured. It will also be a miracle if the driver escapes drunken driving charges.
Pattaya Police from Dongtan sub station in Jomtien were called in to conduct an investigation after the body of a new born baby was discovered nearby. At the scene they found the baby wrapped in a T-shirt and placed in a black garbage bag then abandoned in underground opposite The Pattaya Provincial Court on Thappraya Road between Pattaya and Jomtien.
The baby boy was newborn and appeared to have been dead for about one hour. The baby still had the umbilical cord attached along with the placenta.
Police questioned a refuse collector, Khun Pisit aged 37, who made the startling discovery.
Police also took statements from a witness who had seen a tall man on a motorcycle pull up near the scene on his motorbike and throw a bag into the undergrowth.
The Police are appealing for the mother of the baby to come forward as she may require urgent medical treatment. Police are waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination which will hopefully determine if death took place before, during or after birth before they consider pressing criminal charges.
A 23 year old Danish woman was subjected to a sexual assault and robbed in Huay Yai. The young lady had just finished work in Na Jomtien and went to a nearby ATM where she withdrew 23,000 Baht from the machine and waited at the side of the road for a Baht bus ride back to her home in Naklua.
A Thai man aged around 25 to 30 drove up on a motorbike and claimed to be a Motorbike Taxi Driver. She negotiated a price for the journey and climbed on the bike. She was soon aware that something was amiss as the bike was going the wrong direction. The driver refused to stop and she was unable to jump off as the bike was going too fast.
The driver took her to an isolated cassava field in Huay Yai district where he raped her under threats to her life and stole the cash that she had just withdrawn from the ATM.
He then took her back the same route to where he had picked her up. She managed to jump off near a group of people and the attacker rode off at high speed. The police were called and a good Samaritan drove her to hospital.
The police have issued a photo fit picture of the attacker and have evidence including CCTV images from the area and a black T-shirt that is thought to contain DNA and hair samples that was discarded by the attacker at the crime scene.
Police officers from several police forces have joined together to track down this man. There as been several high profile crimes against foreigners in recent weeks and are eager to show that they are willing and able to solve these crimes.
