Cool change needed
I have noticed that the air conditioning on the MRT is wholly inadequate.
Apart from the fact that extended peak times when queueing to get onto a train has become the norm, with passengers sometimes having to wait for three trains or more at busy stations, it's become like a combination of sauna and steam bath on some days. That's unlike the BTS where the air conditioning is excellent even when the carriage is full and despite the fact that the doors open to the outside climate at every station.
In MRT stations where the airflow from the vents has always been poor from day one, and only just adequate in an empty station, I notice now that the air temperature from those vents appears barely chilled, and the flow is so minimal that there is only a very limited spot where you can stand to actually feel it.
At the same time the station is packed with hundreds of very warm people having just descended from the world above. Once in a packed carriage I can detect only very minimal chilled air flow from the vents, and then only if standing directly in under them. About 90% of that environment is packed, hot and sweaty, and very uncomfortable.
On another subject I notice that the station monitors that indicate the predicted arrival time of the train are somewhat unreliable these days. Last week one display said the next train would take four minutes to arrive, but the train arrived in one minute, and yesterday I noticed after a train arrival that the monitor still indicated one minute … and sometimes there is no indication at all.
I am beginning to suspect that the MRT systems are suffering from a distinct lack of maintenance. I challenge any manager responsible for the MRT to join me on a peak hour train to experience what it has become, and to not be suitably ashamed.
JC
Are they asking for it?
The front-page picture on the Sept 26 edition of the Bangkok Post, titled "Not a care in the world" says a lot about the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan.
It shows scantily clad young women drinking from what appears to be buckets of alcohol. The accompanying story says that a sleeping area was designated for those too inebriated to make their way back to their accommodation. Officials said this was designed to boost their safety after a number of reported rapes recently. Separately, it was announced that scores of drug officials had been assigned to the island.
My comment will not be met with universal approval, but if ever there was a case of "they were asking for it", this is it. Do we really need this sort of drunken and possibly drug-fuelled revelry as a tourist attraction?
Martin R
No misery here
Is that man in Dubai correct in saying that Thailand is worse off (PostBag, Sept 24)?
Perhaps, the letter writer and that man could reconcile that contention with Bloomberg's Misery Index published in 2018 that for both the years 2017 and 2018, Thailand has come out as No.1 for being the least miserable country in the world followed by Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, Iceland, Taiwan, Israel, and Denmark (tied) Hong Kong.
Being mentioned among those premier countries is pleasing, but being above them is truly heartening.
There must be something right about our economy and rate of unemployment.
We are only tainted by being short of democracy, which one can only hope is temporary.
Songdej Praditsmanont
Kudos to the cops
I apologise to the police for the comments in my Sept 25 letter, "Police not in control".
The police did in fact do a good job in apprehending the murderers of the British millionaire and his wife -- and in almost record time.
I cannot but help wonder if this same police efficiency could not be applied elsewhere, or, if this particular police unit is blessed with good investigative powers.
If it is indeed so, this unit should be an example of good police investigative work and this unit should teach the rest of the force how accurate results are achieved.
Mango in Control
Contact: Bangkok Post Building 136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110 fax: +02 6164000 Email:
postbag@bangkokpost.co.th
All letter writers must provide full name and address.
All published correspondence is subject to editing at our discretion.
