Pattaya The "garbage Tip And Construction Disaster Area"

[thaieagle67]

I have lived in and around Pattaya/Jomtien for more than 10 years and been coming to the place way before that but i just can't get my head around how the place has just gone to the dogs. I know i am shouting at a closed door and that this is a subject covered many times but i just needed to have rant.

I enjoy living in Thailand because of the chilled out atmosphere but do we (Expats and a large number of Thais) have to put up with the general state of the place. Unfinished projects everywhere, especially the joke that is the South Pattaya to Jomtien road system, the local officials should be bloody ashamed to present the place as a holiday destination with crap like that to negotiate everyday.

Christ knows how the local businesses feel having a new road laid about 2 to 3 ft below/above the level of their properties with no means of access apart from a wooden plank or a pile of old bricks. Coordination of the construction works (or lack of them) around the town is laughable, which just goes to say again, how on earth do they expect to get the tourists back. I have seen the businesses around the Hanuman (spelling!) corner near Jomtien and the front of their establishments are falling into the holes that have been created but where are the powers to be to demand the work is complete, not just have hot air meetings in their Ivory tower that is City Hall.

Finish a bloody job to completion before you award another and blacklist those that fail to deliver. The paltry fines and complete lack of follow up by the BiB just compound the issue, which plays into the hands of those who get these contracts and then just run off with the money and leave the place like a war zone.

In addition to this i am sick ( as i know many of us are) of the condition of the beaches (Koh Larn included). Why on earth do we rely on local schools, the military, etc, to clean up after the a**eholes who decided to use the place as there own personal rubbish tip. I regulary watch the mob from Bangkok and elsewhere come down, throwing rubbish from the back of their pickups as they go, then trash the beach and leave it all behind.......**** off and trash your own backyards not areas that are meant for people to relax and enjoy! In addition why on earth can't city hall have the beaches cleaned of shipping debris everyday, like the less money spinning areas like Bangsaen and Rayong? Deep pockets come to mind!

Land of Smiles maybe but land of beauty most certainly not if all this crap is not stamped on now. Locals and toursit alike, do not want to live in a construction site or refuge collection area, period. I bet the holiday brochures that the tourism ministry has spent millions on don't mention the state the place is in eh? And if i really wanted to go off on one, the rest of the country's so called tourist hot spots are as bad if not worse, with a few managing to keep their head above water. Be proud of your country and clean the bloody place up!

End of rant.........!

Sorry about that but as i say, i love the place for its way of life but do we really want our town looking the way it does, when it could be fixed by not issuing any new construction projects until all those current in progress/at a grinding halt are finished first and those that decide to use the place as a dustbin get hit with hefty fines (which would help the BiB pay for their Songkran bonus!!!)

Edited November 3, 2009 by thaieagle67

[NormanW]

Couldn't agree with you more.

And we have those greedy lying developers promoting the place like it's Monaco!!!!!!!!!

There aren't many pavements for those lovely (joking) Russian tourists to walk from Jomtien to Pattaya!!!!!!!

The roads also have more pot holes than ever before!

Rant over - and relax.

Still better than England!!

Enjoy, it will NEVER change.

Edited November 4, 2009 by raro
please do not quote OPs upon first reply ;)

[Asianrider]

When to Koh Larn on Sunday, and thought state of beach was great compared to Pattaya.

[PhilHarries]

When I'm in Pattaya for my R&R's I take a daily walk down beach road, through walking street, over Buddha hill, down to Jomtien beach and back so I see the whole gamut of cr@p in the town.

In any sane country Mr Mayor would not be seeking re-election but desperately trying to avoid doing jail time. The whole town is a complete <deleted> disgrace to Thailand and it's people, Thapprayaroad being a prime example of how NOT to execute a road improvement project. How some of the businesses along that road are surviving, and many are not, is beyond me and can only be a monument to human endurance and determination.

Other "world" class exhibits of utter incompetance:-

The drains ('nuff said).

Garbage collection.

The assault courses (aka sidewalks) in soi's 13/1 to 13/4.

Obstruction of the sidewalks by all manner of objects.

Cluttering of the roads by the police run motorbike rental gangs.

The world's only meter taxis without meters.

And then MR Mayor has the cheek to come out and say this is going to be a very high high season. I don't know what he's been taking but it must be bluddy strong, illegal and, for my next visit, can I have some?

[gerry53]

The road truly is a disgrace with no end in sight. You don't see major road jobs like this take years to complete that ruins tourism and the local business owners lives . I see no long term disruptive projects in Pattaya, Naklua or the Pratamnak areas. It seems like someones got it in for Jomtien in the government here and this has to be helping these other areas.

Even the completed section going down the hill towards the flyover from Jomtien has dust caked for hundreds of metres and is an irritant for motorbikes and baht bus passangers choking on the dust as the speed increases on the new surface.

You would never see long term mess this in Phuket, Hua Hin or Chang Mai but they find it acceptable to screw the people of Jomtien. My rant over.

Edited November 4, 2009 by gerry53

[gmac]

This may be a subject that has been done many times before but never so eloquently and succinctly put. Well done OP! What we need now is for the mayor, or maybe Governor of Chonburi Province to read it and actually DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

[PhilHarries]

This may be a subject that has been done many times before but never so eloquently and succinctly put. Well done OP! What we need now is for the mayor, or maybe Governor of Chonburi Province to read it and actually DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Don't hold your breath.

Looking at Thappraya road as gerry says they seem to be hel_l bent on making travel to Jomtien as unpleasant an experience as possible. What next, taxi drivers at Suvarnabhumi telling pax "Solly, Jomtien closed for special festival. I take you somewhere better"?

[Thaifan2]

No pain ,no gain .If you find it that bad ,go to Jomtien via Sukhumvit road .

[gmac]

This may be a subject that has been done many times before but never so eloquently and succinctly put. Well done OP! What we need now is for the mayor, or maybe Governor of Chonburi Province to read it and actually DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Don't hold your breath.

Looking at Thappraya road as gerry says they seem to be hel_l bent on making travel to Jomtien as unpleasant an experience as possible. What next, taxi drivers at Suvarnabhumi telling pax "Solly, Jomtien closed for special festival. I take you somewhere better"?

Can't argue with that and have personally voted with my feet by moving out of Jomtien to a more traffic friendly location on the other side of the Sukhumvit!

[lawling]

Since work on this 2 km stretch of Thappraya Road began almost 5 years ago, City Hall and those charged with carrying out the work, have treated road users - visitors and locals alike - with contempt. The project has been a total disgrace and all associated with it should be ashamed of themselves.

About 3 years ago, one of the local papers indicated that it would keep highlighting the shortcomings of the project until they were resolved. Since then it, and the rest of the local Press, have been noticeably silent. One wonders why?

[JimsKnight]

The road truly is a disgrace with no end in sight. You don't see major road jobs like this take years to complete that ruins tourism and the local business owners lives . I see no long term disruptive projects in Pattaya, Naklua or the Pratamnak areas. It seems like someones got it in for Jomtien in the government here and this has to be helping these other areas.

Even the completed section going down the hill towards the flyover from Jomtien has dust caked for hundreds of metres and is an irritant for motorbikes and baht bus passangers choking on the dust as the speed increases on the new surface.

You would never see long term mess this in Phuket, Hua Hin or Chang Mai but they find it acceptable to screw the people of Jomtien. My rant over.

Phuket has a bunch of thugs in tuk-tuks who make the pattaya motortaxi crew look like angels.

Hua Hin is a place that has none of the benefits of a small city and none of a fishing town. It doesn't even know what its own identity is.

Chiang Mai isn't too bad, but the morality police and repressive mindset hold it back. At about midnight the whole place shuts down.

[Bagwan]

Does anybody realise who the current Mayor's father is? And what station in political affairs his elder brother enjoys? Why the surprise then?

I was told by somebody whose ear is closer to the ground than mine that only 5 companies are authorised to tender for road works contracts within the ambit of Pattaya City Council. All were owned or controlled by a convicted fraudster and murderer on the run who, it seems, BiB are not looking very hard for.

BTW the fraud mentioned above was the selling of land that didn't belong to him to Pattaya City Council for very big bucks. The land was purchased to make a refuse dumping site but I think that the new motorway extension now takes up quite a lot of it.

Next time you peruse one of the local rags, (surely you don't buy it!) take a look at who is on the board of directors or acts as a consultant. This may well help you understand why the local Press is silent.

Protest same same as baying at the moon.

[JimsKnight]

Well I can tell you one of the reasons the work is taking so long is because they are running power and phone cables underneath the road. It will cut down on the messy looking spagetti factor of wires everywhere. This is a Thailand first I'm told...

That info is coming from a thai who lives in Pattaya and has an ear to the ground. I'm just passing on the message.