Thapraya Roadworks

[APMann]

Hello. I am a new member, though I regularly read the many interesting posts and topics on TV when I am in the UK, but please forgive me if I have misposted or duplicated other posts about this.

I arrived this week from the UK to spend Christmas in my Jomtien condo, and I was absolutely shocked to see the Thapraya Roadworks at about the same stage as earlier this year when I was last here in April. I am very annoyed about this.

I then read the excellent and - for Pattaya - forthright article written in Pattaya Today by a columnist Peter Lloyd, in the latest edition about these roadworks and the way other public works are carried out in the city. It is right on the money and I wonder if anyone has any other complaints about these or other works.

Here is the piece - it's a bit long but worth reading if you pay taxes and/or are affected by these or other of Pattaya's lengthy public works:

I have been delighted with reports that Pattaya’s (without a shred of a doubt) soon-to-be new mayor is not only well educated and speaks excellent English, but that he also has a business degree, and of course considerable local experience from shadowing the current mayor for a year. </B>

Given the state of Bangkok politics, it will be good to have a firm hand on the Pattaya tiller, and I suspect nobody will stand in his way when he wishes to see something get done, all of which should herald a positive and decisive administration.

He has already taken an admirable stand against

corruption in his address to a recent Expat meeting, and I would respectfully ask that he also considers the mess in the public works department.

To anyone blessed with the gift of sight - and a calendar - it is abundantly clear that the road widening works on Thappraya Road, Jomtien, are unacceptable. And that nobody in City Hall seems to be in control of the situation, or is taking responsibility for the works, or for explaining the delays to an increasingly frustrated public.

Of course this is usually true of any major public works project that is undertaken in the city (remember the years of Pattaya Beach Road work fiascos, and the mess of their execution – still unfinished by the way, unless house bricks were always part of the landscaping design at the Walking Street end of Beach Road, and that disgusting flaking concrete “dolphin” fountain at the junction of Beach Road and Central Road really was supposed to look that bad).

Anyway, just so everyone is absolutely clear, I am not saying that the Jomtien road widening works are in any way poorly executed, seemingly hopelessly project-managed, have taken far too long, or have been implemented in a hopelessly piecemeal way, causing massive disruption to vehicles, dangers to pedestrians and loss of business for roadside businesses, or anything like that. I just want you to be crystal clear on that.

But I can’t help wondering how the new mayor will deal with the following issues which must be as clear to him as they are to us. In fact it

would be interesting to ask both Mayoral candidates (in the interests of balance) the

following questions:

1. What are their views on City Hall’s public works

tendering and contract awarding departments? How will they improve things?

2. Will they, when elected, require only competent

contractors, with proven abilities to get the job done, to bid for and win public works contracts?

3. Will they be introducing a system of responsibility and accountability so that if works go as badly or as slowly as most of them do, that someone in city hall will be responsible to account to city hall and to explain to the local press what the problem is and who caused it?

4. Will they fire incompetent or corrupt city officials in the event that any are ever discovered in this fine city?

5.Will they begin to negotiate proper contracts

for public works with professional, competent contractors, whereby money is only released in stages when certain tasks are completed, the contractor has to complete the works in a given timeframe and must pay daily damages as a punishment if he does not? This is usual throughout the world. Why not in Pattaya?

6. Why not make City Hall officials insert standard

contracting terms such as the above into all public works contracts they are responsible for, and if they do not, they must make good any resulting loss from their own salaries or be sacked?

7. Will they require better monitoring of public works by their officials?

8. Will they require better standards of workmanship in public works?

9. Will they clamp down on corruption in the tendering processes?

10. Will they sue negligent or tardy contractors?

11. Will they clamp down on the use of sub-contractors by contractors who then do a bunk and not pay the subcontractors, leaving works half-finished?

It might just be that inexperienced or incompetent project managers don’t think of the evident problems which are likely to arise when starting out on major works, which are likely to delay completion – for example co-ordinating new electricity supply, water, sewage and lighting.

But these should be forseen at the outset and properly project managed on an ongoing basis (a new concept in Pattaya?) if the job is being done properly and quickly.

There is enough pork in the barrel for these major works to be done properly. There seems to be too much marketing going on of Pattaya abroad as an “international city” and not enough on the ground to make sure officials and contractors are doing their jobs properly on the basics, to ensure an “international” experience for visitors and tourists, unless we are international in the same way as, say, Kandahar or Basra are international cities.

Pattaya is not a hillbilly town any more and the quality of its public works and their oversight need to be dramatically improved. If anyone doubts that, just ask users, business owners, residents and tourists, Thai and foreign, who live on or who use Thappraya Road what they think.

[Chang_paarp]

Please tell me that the "soon to be Mayor" is not Kaman Po's son.

I have been delighted with reports that Pattaya’s (without a shred of a doubt) soon-to-be new mayor is not only well educated and speaks excellent English, but that he also has a business degree, and of course considerable local experience from shadowing the current mayor for a year

Cue sriracha John for more information on this family.

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

Can I add Sukhumvit road, where much more money seems to be spent on flowers, than on a solid and safe road surface. That nobody is controlling these jokers who are allowed to lay down so thin layers of asphalt that it breaks within weeks is amazing. The same complaint goes for most of the roads in the area actually.

Instead of paying huge amounts for "infinity portals" and cosmetics, do up the roads properly, put the drains at the side of the road, not in the road, and clear the pavements for people to walk on safely. Then, if there is money left over in the budget, put in some flowers. Or help the street kids instead perhaps? Or the wheel chair bound?

I wonder what the mayor thinks when he is out driving over these never ending potholes, or trying to negotiate the pavements. Does he think: "I am proud of what I have done for Pattaya"?

Go south towards Sattahip/Rayong, or north towards Bang Saen, and the road surface quality improves dramatically as you leave Pattaya. Go north or east, south or west in Thailand, you will be hard pressed to find such poor roads anywhere. I have never been to Isaan, so can not comment on the roads there.

Rant over!

[mikethevigoman]

Hello. I am a new member, though I regularly read the many interesting posts and topics on TV when I am in the UK, but please forgive me if I have misposted or duplicated other posts about this.

I arrived this week from the UK to spend Christmas in my Jomtien condo, and I was absolutely shocked to see the Thapraya Roadworks at about the same stage as earlier this year when I was last here in April. I am very annoyed about this.

I then read the excellent and - for Pattaya - forthright article written in Pattaya Today by a columnist Peter Lloyd, in the latest edition about these roadworks and the way other public works are carried out in the city. It is right on the money and I wonder if anyone has any other complaints about these or other works.

Here is the piece - it's a bit long but worth reading if you pay taxes and/or are affected by these or other of Pattaya's lengthy public works:

I have been delighted with reports that Pattaya's (without a shred of a doubt) soon-to-be new mayor is not only well educated and speaks excellent English, but that he also has a business degree, and of course considerable local experience from shadowing the current mayor for a year. </B>

Given the state of Bangkok politics, it will be good to have a firm hand on the Pattaya tiller, and I suspect nobody will stand in his way when he wishes to see something get done, all of which should herald a positive and decisive administration.

He has already taken an admirable stand against

corruption in his address to a recent Expat meeting, and I would respectfully ask that he also considers the mess in the public works department.

To anyone blessed with the gift of sight - and a calendar - it is abundantly clear that the road widening works on Thappraya Road, Jomtien, are unacceptable. And that nobody in City Hall seems to be in control of the situation, or is taking responsibility for the works, or for explaining the delays to an increasingly frustrated public.

Of course this is usually true of any major public works project that is undertaken in the city (remember the years of Pattaya Beach Road work fiascos, and the mess of their execution – still unfinished by the way, unless house bricks were always part of the landscaping design at the Walking Street end of Beach Road, and that disgusting flaking concrete "dolphin" fountain at the junction of Beach Road and Central Road really was supposed to look that bad).

Anyway, just so everyone is absolutely clear, I am not saying that the Jomtien road widening works are in any way poorly executed, seemingly hopelessly project-managed, have taken far too long, or have been implemented in a hopelessly piecemeal way, causing massive disruption to vehicles, dangers to pedestrians and loss of business for roadside businesses, or anything like that. I just want you to be crystal clear on that.

But I can't help wondering how the new mayor will deal with the following issues which must be as clear to him as they are to us. In fact it

would be interesting to ask both Mayoral candidates (in the interests of balance) the

following questions:

1. What are their views on City Hall's public works

tendering and contract awarding departments? How will they improve things?

2. Will they, when elected, require only competent

contractors, with proven abilities to get the job done, to bid for and win public works contracts?

3. Will they be introducing a system of responsibility and accountability so that if works go as badly or as slowly as most of them do, that someone in city hall will be responsible to account to city hall and to explain to the local press what the problem is and who caused it?

4. Will they fire incompetent or corrupt city officials in the event that any are ever discovered in this fine city?

5.Will they begin to negotiate proper contracts

for public works with professional, competent contractors, whereby money is only released in stages when certain tasks are completed, the contractor has to complete the works in a given timeframe and must pay daily damages as a punishment if he does not? This is usual throughout the world. Why not in Pattaya?

6. Why not make City Hall officials insert standard

contracting terms such as the above into all public works contracts they are responsible for, and if they do not, they must make good any resulting loss from their own salaries or be sacked?

7. Will they require better monitoring of public works by their officials?

8. Will they require better standards of workmanship in public works?

9. Will they clamp down on corruption in the tendering processes?

10. Will they sue negligent or tardy contractors?

11. Will they clamp down on the use of sub-contractors by contractors who then do a bunk and not pay the subcontractors, leaving works half-finished?

It might just be that inexperienced or incompetent project managers don't think of the evident problems which are likely to arise when starting out on major works, which are likely to delay completion – for example co-ordinating new electricity supply, water, sewage and lighting.

But these should be forseen at the outset and properly project managed on an ongoing basis (a new concept in Pattaya?) if the job is being done properly and quickly.

There is enough pork in the barrel for these major works to be done properly. There seems to be too much marketing going on of Pattaya abroad as an "international city" and not enough on the ground to make sure officials and contractors are doing their jobs properly on the basics, to ensure an "international" experience for visitors and tourists, unless we are international in the same way as, say, Kandahar or Basra are international cities.

Pattaya is not a hillbilly town any more and the quality of its public works and their oversight need to be dramatically improved. If anyone doubts that, just ask users, business owners, residents and tourists, Thai and foreign, who live on or who use Thappraya Road what they think.

pattaya is becoming like phnom penh !,. i live at the end of theppasit ( jom end ) and the roads around here are awful.also they took down the traffic lights at this junction ,why ? .it seems to me they work like the english/irish gypsy tarmac crowds that do a bit here and a bit there to make everyone think they are "on the case ",.but to be honest ive been coming to and living on and off in thailand for 18 years and the road from bkk to pattaya has never been finished,. i bought a 4x4 and a dirt bike and use the roads as they are, a mess,..as a note we moved from soi kao noi, that was awful, but now its worse !

[sriracha john]

Please tell me that the "soon to be Mayor" is not Kaman Po's son.

I have been delighted with reports that Pattaya’s (without a shred of a doubt) soon-to-be new mayor is not only well educated and speaks excellent English, but that he also has a business degree, and of course considerable local experience from shadowing the current mayor for a year

Cue sriracha John for more information on this family.

Fade in SJ....

A long-running thread on the many exploits of this illustrious family (including photos of the former Thai Rak Thai Party MP who resigned and will likely become Pattaya's new mayor, Ittipon):

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...c=46331&hl=

Sinking Lower The Lowest, Pattaya City News Breaks Record

another thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...c=95254&hl=

Kamnan Po's Family, moving in on Pattaya

which includes the rather ominous passage:

Mayor Niran [the current mayor and who is not seeking re-election] insisted that no pressures whatsoever had been brought to bear on him. Is he sure about that???

I feel bad that Sriracha has such a great mayor and Pattaya will have such a ............. mayor. It just doesn't seem fair somehow.

Fade out SJ....

[sharecropper]

Hello. I am a new member, though I regularly read the many interesting posts and topics on TV when I am in the UK, but please forgive me if I have misposted or duplicated other posts about this.

I arrived this week from the UK to spend Christmas in my Jomtien condo, and I was absolutely shocked to see the Thapraya Roadworks at about the same stage as earlier this year when I was last here in April. I am very annoyed about this.

I then read the excellent and - for Pattaya - forthright article written in Pattaya Today by a columnist Peter Lloyd, in the latest edition about these roadworks and the way other public works are carried out in the city. It is right on the money and I wonder if anyone has any other complaints about these or other works.

Here is the piece - it's a bit long but worth reading if you pay taxes and/or are affected by these or other of Pattaya's lengthy public works:

I have been delighted with reports that Pattaya's (without a shred of a doubt) soon-to-be new mayor is not only well educated and speaks excellent English, but that he also has a business degree, and of course considerable local experience from shadowing the current mayor for a year. </B>

Given the state of Bangkok politics, it will be good to have a firm hand on the Pattaya tiller, and I suspect nobody will stand in his way when he wishes to see something get done, all of which should herald a positive and decisive administration.

He has already taken an admirable stand against

corruption in his address to a recent Expat meeting, and I would respectfully ask that he also considers the mess in the public works department.

To anyone blessed with the gift of sight - and a calendar - it is abundantly clear that the road widening works on Thappraya Road, Jomtien, are unacceptable. And that nobody in City Hall seems to be in control of the situation, or is taking responsibility for the works, or for explaining the delays to an increasingly frustrated public.

Of course this is usually true of any major public works project that is undertaken in the city (remember the years of Pattaya Beach Road work fiascos, and the mess of their execution – still unfinished by the way, unless house bricks were always part of the landscaping design at the Walking Street end of Beach Road, and that disgusting flaking concrete "dolphin" fountain at the junction of Beach Road and Central Road really was supposed to look that bad).

Anyway, just so everyone is absolutely clear, I am not saying that the Jomtien road widening works are in any way poorly executed, seemingly hopelessly project-managed, have taken far too long, or have been implemented in a hopelessly piecemeal way, causing massive disruption to vehicles, dangers to pedestrians and loss of business for roadside businesses, or anything like that. I just want you to be crystal clear on that.

But I can't help wondering how the new mayor will deal with the following issues which must be as clear to him as they are to us. In fact it

would be interesting to ask both Mayoral candidates (in the interests of balance) the

following questions:

1. What are their views on City Hall's public works

tendering and contract awarding departments? How will they improve things?

2. Will they, when elected, require only competent

contractors, with proven abilities to get the job done, to bid for and win public works contracts?

3. Will they be introducing a system of responsibility and accountability so that if works go as badly or as slowly as most of them do, that someone in city hall will be responsible to account to city hall and to explain to the local press what the problem is and who caused it?

4. Will they fire incompetent or corrupt city officials in the event that any are ever discovered in this fine city?

5.Will they begin to negotiate proper contracts

for public works with professional, competent contractors, whereby money is only released in stages when certain tasks are completed, the contractor has to complete the works in a given timeframe and must pay daily damages as a punishment if he does not? This is usual throughout the world. Why not in Pattaya?

6. Why not make City Hall officials insert standard

contracting terms such as the above into all public works contracts they are responsible for, and if they do not, they must make good any resulting loss from their own salaries or be sacked?

7. Will they require better monitoring of public works by their officials?

8. Will they require better standards of workmanship in public works?

9. Will they clamp down on corruption in the tendering processes?

10. Will they sue negligent or tardy contractors?

11. Will they clamp down on the use of sub-contractors by contractors who then do a bunk and not pay the subcontractors, leaving works half-finished?

It might just be that inexperienced or incompetent project managers don't think of the evident problems which are likely to arise when starting out on major works, which are likely to delay completion – for example co-ordinating new electricity supply, water, sewage and lighting.

But these should be forseen at the outset and properly project managed on an ongoing basis (a new concept in Pattaya?) if the job is being done properly and quickly.

There is enough pork in the barrel for these major works to be done properly. There seems to be too much marketing going on of Pattaya abroad as an "international city" and not enough on the ground to make sure officials and contractors are doing their jobs properly on the basics, to ensure an "international" experience for visitors and tourists, unless we are international in the same way as, say, Kandahar or Basra are international cities.

Pattaya is not a hillbilly town any more and the quality of its public works and their oversight need to be dramatically improved. If anyone doubts that, just ask users, business owners, residents and tourists, Thai and foreign, who live on or who use Thappraya Road what they think.

pattaya is becoming like phnom penh !,. i live at the end of theppasit ( jom end ) and the roads around here are awful.also they took down the traffic lights at this junction ,why ? .it seems to me they work like the english/irish gypsy tarmac crowds that do a bit here and a bit there to make everyone think they are "on the case ",.but to be honest ive been coming to and living on and off in thailand for 18 years and the road from bkk to pattaya has never been finished,. i bought a 4x4 and a dirt bike and use the roads as they are, a mess,..as a note we moved from soi kao noi, that was awful, but now its worse !

I used to think Beach Road was the worst case of incompetently executed works, but when you think about it there are a lot to choose from.

One poster mentioned an excess of vegetation being planted on Sukhumvit. When I was driving down Beach Road today I saw a huge vehicle offloading hundreds of plants and thought "I bet someone in the administration has their fingers in a florist shop".

If the quality of the works here were acceptable, I am sure there would still be enough to "pay a private dividend out of the budget for services rendered". But what seems to happen is 99% of the budget disappears and the quality of the works is appalling.

Anyone seen the dreadful state of the Bali Hai pier recently? I bet the builder wasn't asked to give warranties on that mess either. The quality of pubic works here are shameful by almost any other international standards, including Cambodia's.

[PattayaParent]

I arrived this week from the UK to spend Christmas in my Jomtien condo, and I was absolutely shocked to see the Thapraya Roadworks at about the same stage as earlier this year when I was last here in April. I am very annoyed about this.

/quote]

I have to disagree. I moved into the area in February and the roadworks have progressed enormously since then. The road has been widened (although it cannot be used) and the drains have been placed and buried and the lamp posts have been moved back from what would be the middle of the road.

However, it has not progressed in the last 2 months and all work seems to have come to a halt since they removed the traffic lights from the junction of Thepprasit making the inerssection very dangerous, especially for motocy.

[Ungabunga]

You can see that they have almost reached Jomtien Beach Condominium (near soi 10) with the building of the new 2nd Rd. Whilst they're relatively quick to go forward and dig holes & add drains etc, it has to be said that they don't seem to work at the same speed when it comes to the remainder of works.

[mikethevigoman]

Hello. I am a new member, though I regularly read the many interesting posts and topics on TV when I am in the UK, but please forgive me if I have misposted or duplicated other posts about this.

I arrived this week from the UK to spend Christmas in my Jomtien condo, and I was absolutely shocked to see the Thapraya Roadworks at about the same stage as earlier this year when I was last here in April. I am very annoyed about this.

I then read the excellent and - for Pattaya - forthright article written in Pattaya Today by a columnist Peter Lloyd, in the latest edition about these roadworks and the way other public works are carried out in the city. It is right on the money and I wonder if anyone has any other complaints about these or other works.

Here is the piece - it's a bit long but worth reading if you pay taxes and/or are affected by these or other of Pattaya's lengthy public works:

I have been delighted with reports that Pattaya's (without a shred of a doubt) soon-to-be new mayor is not only well educated and speaks excellent English, but that he also has a business degree, and of course considerable local experience from shadowing the current mayor for a year. </B>

Given the state of Bangkok politics, it will be good to have a firm hand on the Pattaya tiller, and I suspect nobody will stand in his way when he wishes to see something get done, all of which should herald a positive and decisive administration.

He has already taken an admirable stand against

corruption in his address to a recent Expat meeting, and I would respectfully ask that he also considers the mess in the public works department.

To anyone blessed with the gift of sight - and a calendar - it is abundantly clear that the road widening works on Thappraya Road, Jomtien, are unacceptable. And that nobody in City Hall seems to be in control of the situation, or is taking responsibility for the works, or for explaining the delays to an increasingly frustrated public.

Of course this is usually true of any major public works project that is undertaken in the city (remember the years of Pattaya Beach Road work fiascos, and the mess of their execution – still unfinished by the way, unless house bricks were always part of the landscaping design at the Walking Street end of Beach Road, and that disgusting flaking concrete "dolphin" fountain at the junction of Beach Road and Central Road really was supposed to look that bad).

Anyway, just so everyone is absolutely clear, I am not saying that the Jomtien road widening works are in any way poorly executed, seemingly hopelessly project-managed, have taken far too long, or have been implemented in a hopelessly piecemeal way, causing massive disruption to vehicles, dangers to pedestrians and loss of business for roadside businesses, or anything like that. I just want you to be crystal clear on that.

But I can't help wondering how the new mayor will deal with the following issues which must be as clear to him as they are to us. In fact it

would be interesting to ask both Mayoral candidates (in the interests of balance) the

following questions:

1. What are their views on City Hall's public works

tendering and contract awarding departments? How will they improve things?

2. Will they, when elected, require only competent

contractors, with proven abilities to get the job done, to bid for and win public works contracts?

3. Will they be introducing a system of responsibility and accountability so that if works go as badly or as slowly as most of them do, that someone in city hall will be responsible to account to city hall and to explain to the local press what the problem is and who caused it?

4. Will they fire incompetent or corrupt city officials in the event that any are ever discovered in this fine city?

5.Will they begin to negotiate proper contracts

for public works with professional, competent contractors, whereby money is only released in stages when certain tasks are completed, the contractor has to complete the works in a given timeframe and must pay daily damages as a punishment if he does not? This is usual throughout the world. Why not in Pattaya?

6. Why not make City Hall officials insert standard

contracting terms such as the above into all public works contracts they are responsible for, and if they do not, they must make good any resulting loss from their own salaries or be sacked?

7. Will they require better monitoring of public works by their officials?

8. Will they require better standards of workmanship in public works?

9. Will they clamp down on corruption in the tendering processes?

10. Will they sue negligent or tardy contractors?

11. Will they clamp down on the use of sub-contractors by contractors who then do a bunk and not pay the subcontractors, leaving works half-finished?

It might just be that inexperienced or incompetent project managers don't think of the evident problems which are likely to arise when starting out on major works, which are likely to delay completion – for example co-ordinating new electricity supply, water, sewage and lighting.

But these should be forseen at the outset and properly project managed on an ongoing basis (a new concept in Pattaya?) if the job is being done properly and quickly.

There is enough pork in the barrel for these major works to be done properly. There seems to be too much marketing going on of Pattaya abroad as an "international city" and not enough on the ground to make sure officials and contractors are doing their jobs properly on the basics, to ensure an "international" experience for visitors and tourists, unless we are international in the same way as, say, Kandahar or Basra are international cities.

Pattaya is not a hillbilly town any more and the quality of its public works and their oversight need to be dramatically improved. If anyone doubts that, just ask users, business owners, residents and tourists, Thai and foreign, who live on or who use Thappraya Road what they think.

pattaya is becoming like phnom penh !,. i live at the end of theppasit ( jom end ) and the roads around here are awful.also they took down the traffic lights at this junction ,why ? .it seems to me they work like the english/irish gypsy tarmac crowds that do a bit here and a bit there to make everyone think they are "on the case ",.but to be honest ive been coming to and living on and off in thailand for 18 years and the road from bkk to pattaya has never been finished,. i bought a 4x4 and a dirt bike and use the roads as they are, a mess,..as a note we moved from soi kao noi, that was awful, but now its worse !

I used to think Beach Road was the worst case of incompetently executed works, but when you think about it there are a lot to choose from.

One poster mentioned an excess of vegetation being planted on Sukhumvit. When I was driving down Beach Road today I saw a huge vehicle offloading hundreds of plants and thought "I bet someone in the administration has their fingers in a florist shop".

If the quality of the works here were acceptable, I am sure there would still be enough to "pay a private dividend out of the budget for services rendered". But what seems to happen is 99% of the budget disappears and the quality of the works is appalling.

Anyone seen the dreadful state of the Bali Hai pier recently? I bet the builder wasn't asked to give warranties on that mess either. The quality of pubic works here are shameful by almost any other international standards, including Cambodia's.

Yes, its getting better there, (Cambodia ) its getting worse here !

[naka]

Would you stop copying the whole freaking OP ... We read it already

Naka.

[lawling]

I was happy to see this article but I do wonder if it will achieve anything.

Before I came back to the UK there was a water leak on the Thapraya road a hundred meters or so from the Thepprasit junction. It had been running for about a month when I heard on the Pattaya People radio that local people had met the authorities to point out the damage it was causing. Pattaya People seemed to have decided that they would make a point of highlighting the issue - they were pressing for an inspector to come out to look at the leak - so I naively assumed that their pressure would get the authorities moving and that the problem would be rectified within a day or two.

Some hope. A month later when I was leaving to come home the water was still running and the road surface continued to be eroded.

It amuses me when I hear the city fathers takling about turning the city into a high-class resort. I wonder if they have any idea what they are talking about and how they are going to go about transforming the city if they can't get a simple water leak fixed, let alone complete the long outstanding roadworks. Or even fix the traffic lights at the aforementioned junction.

Incidentally, as far as Beach Road is concerned, one of the main aims of the interminable work there was to remove all of the unsightly wiring and posts on both sides of the road and put all the cables underground.

I wonder if the authorities have taken the time recently to look at say the wiring outside Royal Garden Plaza - or indeed anywhere else along the road.

[Jingthing]

Pattaya is a town of first world hospitality and third world efficiency.

Yeah, the roads are bad!

Inspired Copied from President John F. Kennedy

"Washigton D.C. is a town of Northern hospitality and Southern efficiency. "

[mikethevigoman]

Would you stop copying the whole freaking OP ... We read it already

Naka.

ow do i do that

[Chang_paarp]

Would you stop copying the whole freaking OP ... We read it already

Naka.

ow do i do that

You have 2 ways,

1) After you click on the reply button at the bottom of the post you are replying to, the whole post is quoted, use the delete button on your keyboard, just make sure you have the same number of {quote ...] and {/quote] tags, then use the "preview post" button before you use the "Add Reply" button to make sure it makes sense. Please note; changing the content and meaning of the quoted post can cause some grief with the mods, if you want to shorten it note in the place that you have edited I use <snip> to indicate I have altered the content.

or

2) Use the Add Reply button at the bottom of the topic after all the posts on each page. It does not quote any posts.

Back on topic;

I was amused to see the city sending the high tech drain cleaning machine up 2nd Rd mid November. Most places would clean the storm water drains BEFORE the wet season not after it had all but finished. I suspect the machine was in use some place else at that time.

Just another case of "Amazing Thailand".

[APMann]

My own favourite is the disgracefully winding, narrow, over-barriered and badly built, useless Jomtien bypass road which was built a couple of years ago, which everyone initially thought would be excellent for relieving traffic congestion on Jomtien Beach Road.

An incredible amount of skilled and effective drainage works were carried out to dam and drain the Jomtien marshlands, then some fool in the works department built that two track - well, calling it a road would be an insult to a cow path, but it slithers and snakes uselessly and largely unused around the fields in Jomtien, presumably linking up vested interested parties' lands which now adjoin the road, instead of cutting through the fields in a straight line.

It should have been four lanes and straight, for a start. But if anyone ever does a thesis on pointless, expensive, badly designed and built, corrupt and over-barriered roads, that one will definitely take the biscuit!

I can feel the jet lag wearing off.....

[lawling]

My own favourite is the disgracefully winding, narrow, over-barriered and badly built, useless Jomtien bypass road which was built a couple of years ago, which everyone initially thought would be excellent for relieving traffic congestion on Jomtien Beach Road.

An incredible amount of skilled and effective drainage works were carried out to dam and drain the Jomtien marshlands, then some fool in the works department built that two track - well, calling it a road would be an insult to a cow path, but it slithers and snakes uselessly and largely unused around the fields in Jomtien, presumably linking up vested interested parties' lands which now adjoin the road, instead of cutting through the fields in a straight line.

It should have been four lanes and straight, for a start. But if anyone ever does a thesis on pointless, expensive, badly designed and built, corrupt and over-barriered roads, that one will definitely take the biscuit!

I can feel the jet lag wearing off.....

It's where I go on my bike - nice and quiet - hardly anyone else uses it!

I reckon you have hit the nail on the head about the vested interests. Interesting to see the developments which just happen to appear along its winding path!

[pattayamick]

The Reason behind the Thappraya Road mess, is an Indian gentleman, aka Red Beard, living right next to the Mini-Golf, opposite Mr. Mac.

He simply refused to sign over some of his front entrance to the City. Recently though, city hall had been able to at least start talking to him.

Then, on the morning of 10th December he was killed on his motorbike in a collission with a car on the Winding Road from Royal Cliff towards Pattaya.

KARMA.

[Basil B]

The Reason behind the Thappraya Road mess, is an Indian gentleman, aka Red Beard, living right next to the Mini-Golf, opposite Mr. Mac.

He simply refused to sign over some of his front entrance to the City. Recently though, city hall had been able to at least start talking to him.

Then, on the morning of 10th December he was killed on his motorbike in a collission with a car on the Winding Road from Royal Cliff towards Pattaya.

KARMA.

The car was not driven by an ex MI5 operative who was stationed in Paris disguised as a "paparazzi camera man" and now is working for city hall on a undisclosed assignment, by any chance?

BB

[chanman]

The Reason behind the Thappraya Road mess, is an Indian gentleman, aka Red Beard, living right next to the Mini-Golf, opposite Mr. Mac.

He simply refused to sign over some of his front entrance to the City. Recently though, city hall had been able to at least start talking to him.

Then, on the morning of 10th December he was killed on his motorbike in a collission with a car on the Winding Road from Royal Cliff towards Pattaya.

KARMA.

The car was not driven by an ex MI5 operative who was stationed in Paris disguised as a "paparazzi camera man" and now is working for city hall on a undisclosed assignment, by any chance?

BB

I understand there are still a couple of other plots that need to be aquired to allow this to be completed, Nirvana amongst others.