Everytime I hear "world-class tourism image." and Pattaya in the same sentence, I have to laugh. People come to Pattaya for one reason only, the night life.
I was living in Thailand in 2011. The worst flooding I ever saw. I was living on a higher piece of ground so it never reached me, but getting around was a bitch.
When I was a monk at a temple in Lopburi, we monks lived in simple concrete one room huts with a bath attached at the rear. The abbot and his right hand man lived in beautiful dwellings with at least 3 rooms. Tile floors and even a kitchenette, I always thought that was a little much..
Yes, there should be some kind of competency test. but unfortunately temples will take almost anyone, mainly because when they ordain, there's normally a huge party thrown by the relatives that bring in mucho money for the temple.