From advertising to waste (2)
The Tuk-Tuk continued to intrigue me. I couldn't get annoyed with it, it's too cute for that. And besides, complaining and whining won't solve anything. As with so many things: It is talked about endlessly, 'no one can do anything about it', it gets from bad to worse.
Not that I now felt called to roll up my sleeves to clean up other people's messes - I'm self-sufficient - but limiting the activities to just shouting alas and woes also repelled me.
I could probably look up whether that hotel still existed at all. Just googling and although a number of sites still mention Soi Buakhao as the location, it soon became clear that they moved into a completely renovated building in Soi Yamoto in 2014. Then the Tuk-Tukje will also have been thrown into the fray.
My clog broke when I visited the site of the Blue Haven Beach Guest House – as it is officially called – myself: A site in German and the company is owned by the German Stephan and his wife Pha! So that damned Tuk-Tuk was not left to his fate by an uneducated, ignorant, uncomprehending and unwilling Thai, but by one of our eastern neighbors, who have a solid reputation when it comes to Sauberkeit…. Even waste is not what it seems in Thailand!
I read my own story again. It seemed as simple as one plus one equals two, and then you're dead wrong. My last sentence, in which I actually give up in advance trying to make the owner of the Tuk-Tuk understand that his advertising object has a counterproductive effect, might also be a misjudgment of reality, and now I was still developing activities instead of sitting back agitated, this was also possible.
The email address was quickly found and I ventured a message:
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Dear Madam / Sir,
When I am on holiday in Pattaya, I regularly drink a beer in Wonderful 2 Bar, Soi 13.
From there I had a look at your Tuk-Tuk located at Second Road. Probably it's there for promotional reasons.
However, the Tuk-Tuk looks like a garbage dump. This will definitely NOT attract people to your hotel. It suggests that your rooms will be as dirty and bad serviced as the Tuk-Tuk.
I would urgently advise you to clean and service the Tuk-Tuk as soon as possible, or to remove it, before it goes viral on the social media.
Photo attached.
Kind regards,
Fransamsterdam
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Less than two hours later I received an email from Stephan, in which he thanked me for the tip and announced that he would remove the vehicle within a few days and perhaps want to sell it.
It's not that far yet, but there is hope and I'll keep an eye on it.
Boy, Frans Amsterdam who turns out to be an environmental activist in Pattaya. It shouldn't get any crazier…
Hi French,
Very nice story, and I hope you succeed in restoring or removing the tuk tuk, then you have achieved something, and who knows, a small first step towards a cleaner Thailand.
Greetings,
Rob
Go French!
Tukje in itself still looks reasonable, ok has empty tires.
Will be more. I think it would be fun to take such a nap with a Hayabusha block!
That's unexpected, the medal has 2 sides, so you see again, Thailand, or should I say Germany, in Optima Forma. Great initiative, we will probably hear more, keep it up.
Nico B
Frans will soon be the real mayor of Pattaya. I always had the impression that he was one of the night mayors, but now he continues to use his mail to change things that are very noticeable in daylight. Pattaya is not yet clean, but all small first steps are a start. I'm curious about Frans' next action. And no, I'm not being sarcastic, but I hope that through all kinds of small steps, something big will eventually be achieved. The first activists in the elephant event and tiger stamp story also had no chance, but now we can see it changing.