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The Pattaya Otter comments on recent happenings in and around Pattaya
Cable TV Improvements
Local Elections
Opening Hours - An Update
Bernard Trink (B.T.)
Medicinal Warning
Cable TV ‘Improvements’.
A few weeks ago, the local cable TV company that I subscribe to announced that they were making ‘improvements’ to their service, and as part of these ‘improvements’ they were removing two of the channels they broadcast, one of which was BBC World.
This raised the thought in my mind that if these ‘improvements’ were carried to their logical conclusion; we would end up with the most wonderful cable service, with unfortunately no channels.
The reason given from the removal of these channels was due to copyright restrictions (something that has not bothered people here much in the past) and I noticed that at the same time my Satellite TV supplier, UBC television, was broadcasting a notice informing its viewers that it had the exclusive rights to these and many other channels and anyone re-broadcasting these would be prosecuted.
The reason I subscribe to both services is that although the cable service is a lot less expensive (less than a quarter of the price), its channels are much more limited and also the picture quality by the time the cable reaches all the way to my apartment ranges from poor to awful.
So why have it at all? Well because UBC due to its license is not allowed to advertise (one of the reasons for its high subscription price) which you might think would make programs more enjoyable but in fact is very much the opposite. Incoming programs from external channels such as BBC World carry embedded advertisements and these are also blocked by the simple process of UBC replacing each advertisement with a static caption of its own (usually in Thai), accompanied by the most appalling music (I can hardly bear to accredit that term to it) imaginable.
And not only do they do this to any obvious advertisement, they also often mistakenly do it to something they assume to be an advertisement, e.g. a news or business item about a company that uses a piece of film to illustrate it. All of a sudden in the middle of this item, the picture and sound is cut off and replaced by said caption and ‘music’, and often this remains on screen well past the end of the item, resulting in the next part of the news bulletin or other item I am watching being missed.
To say this is extremely irritating is to put it mildly, but unfortunately with the removal of BBC World from my cable service (they replaced it with a Chinese News Channel), I am driven back to it in order to catch up with news from the outside world.
Local Elections
It’s election time here in Pattaya, for both Mayor and City Council. Now we non citizens are of course quite rightly excluded from voting, but nevertheless the outcome may well have a considerable effect on us.
It would not be appropriate for me to endorse or comment on the capabilities of any candidate (in fact I understand it may well be illegal), but seeing as how our outgoing Mayor, Khun Pairat Suttithamrongsawat, does not at the time of writing appear to be standing for re-election, I think it entirely in order to not let his passing take place without some note of the exceptional service he has given over his nearly 10 years in office.
Although a relative newcomer to this city, I soon became aware of just how active a mayor Khun Pairat was, for at just about every civic event or major (and indeed sometimes minor) festival – there he was. And not just being driven up in his limousine, performing the opening ceremony and then disappearing like many civic dignitaries do. No he usually stayed on and actively took part in whatever was taking place. I remember at Chinese New Year last year seeing him trying (quite successfully) to walk on the stilted poles the Chinese acrobats had been performing on and at the recent Water Festival, there he was, trying his hand, actually on the water performing on a Wake Board.
He also always seemed a most approachable person always willing to walk and talk amongst the people, an impression confirmed by people who know him a lot better than me, not the least stand-offish or officious, and quite willing, often literally, to get his hands dirty in sorting out some city matter such as garbage disposal or street vendors blocking people’s access.
So as his time expires and his successor is chosen, let me just say thank you to Khun Pairat for just the short time I have been grateful to have him as Mayor of the city I have chosen to live in and to wish him well in whatever he now decides to do.
Any may his successor, whoever he (or she, for there are a couple of lady candidates) may be, be as willing and hard working in their service to the people of Pattaya.
Opening Hours – An Update
As predicted in my article last month, the government did have something of a rethink about its proposed draconian opening and closing times for entertainment venues, but the resultant legislation just about to come into force, is a mishmash of total confusion.
If you recollect, the original proposal was that all entertainment venues, bars, restaurants, discos, karaoke bars, go-go bars, massage parlours etc. would be required to shut their doors at midnight, and many not allowed to open before 6 PM.
Some ministers realised this was too drastic and would seriously impact on the economy, so as usually happens; a committee was formed to reconsider the whole matter and come up with fresh proposals.
However the result was that this committee firstly decided to split venues into a multitude of categories. In addition to the ones I have listed above, venues would further be divided into those offering live music, those offering recorded music, those just serving drink, those just serving food, those serving food and drink with or without the aforesaid entertainment etc. etc.
If this wasn’t confusing enough, they then decided that cities and towns be divided into entertainment and non entertainment zones.
Each of these business categories and each zone was then allocated specific opening and closing hours, so that for instance, if your business was in category A and you were inside an entertainment zone, then your operating hours would be say 6 PM to 2 AM but if you were the same business but outside the entertainment zone, then your hours would be 6 PM to midnight. However if you were in category B, then inside the zone you could operate from 6 PM to 1 AM but outside, only from 4 PM to midnight, and so on.
Are you with me so far? Good – then you’re doing better than most. Most businesses I have spoken to, even with the new rules just about to come into force, have no idea which category they fall into, and also some of the zones announced are quite nonsensical, e.g. one bar area of Bangkok is inside the zone, but another equally popular area is outside.
So the general view here in Pattaya is that most places will carry on as before until someone tells them otherwise.
And of course, confusion over the law is an open invitation for lets say a little ‘tea money’ to change hands in order to keep the authorities on your side, after all as B.T. was often heard to say T.I.T (This is Thailand).
Speaking of whom…..
Bernard Trink (B.T.)
I recently felt like a sailor rushing to catch his ship, only to find it has sailed without him, and there he was left, bereft on the dock.
As usual on a Friday I hurried to the shop to buy my Bangkok Post and eagerly as I had done for many years turned straight to the ‘Real Time’ section in order to read Bernard Trink’s ‘Nite Owl’ column.
But no such column could I find. I scanned through the whole section, even checking the page numbers in case some were missing, but no – no ‘Nite Owl’ and no mention of its absence.
Maybe he’s on holiday, I thought, but on subsequent weeks the same, and then on commenting about this to a colleague, he told me Bernard had retired or more precisely ‘had been retired’, and apparently there had been a small announcement (a very small announcement) a few weeks previously stating this, but with no tribute to his years of service to the paper.
For me, Trink, as he was popularly known was Mr. Bangkok. From the earliest days I visited that fair city back in the mid 80’s, there he was, firstly in Bangkok World and later when that paper folded, The Bangkok Post, dispensing words of wisdom about the city’s nightlife.
Ok, there were other publications giving tourist information, but these were mostly just advertising blurb – often when visiting a recommended establishment I would find it nothing like that stated in that paper.
Trink told it like it was. He told you where to go, and probably more important for a relative greenhorn in the big bad city, he told you where not to go.
He publicised bars and venues with special events, e.g. a bar owner’s anniversary special night, and he warned about ‘upstairs venues’ that as he euphemistically put it ‘charged for entertainment as well as drink’.
And all done with his inimitable style and ready wit.
He was also a consummate journalist when the chance arose, and with an almost unique approach – he liked to tell the truth.
I once had the pleasure of meeting him – I don’t suppose for one moment he would remember, it was just a lazy afternoon many years ago in Jools Bar, and there he was giving vent to one of his pet hates – so called journalists from the ‘popular’ Western press (e.g. News of the World) who came to Thailand in pursuit of the latest sensationalist gossip, who then called upon him to check their information, but when, as was usual, they found from him that the truth was much less salacious, still went ahead and printed their original story. So much so that he gave up talking to them.
Like I said, Trink told it like it was, and continued to do so for all these many years.
So, Bernard, wherever you may be, my heartfelt thanks for all the years I have enjoyed reading you, and also very probably for keeping me out of trouble, and if you ever have an irresistible urge to write again, my journal would be proud to have you as a contributor (unfortunately unpaid).
And shame on you Bangkok Post for not giving one of your most loyal servants the send off he so richly deserved.
If you want to read more about the life of this most interesting man, I can recommend ‘But I don’t give a Hoot’ (his signature sign-off quip) by Jennifer Bliss, published rather ironically by ‘Post Books’.
Medicinal Warning.
Seen on a bottle of Children’s Cough Syrup – Do not drive or operate machinery after taking this medicine.
And that’s the end of Otter’s Tail for this time.
To view any of the above photos in full size, just click on it.
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