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sydneyjed
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Posts posted by sydneyjed
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On 5/15/2021 at 3:18 PM, TheFreqFlyer said:
What are these jokers smoking? 3.5 million tourists, from where? Australia's borders are likely to remain closed until mid-2022 aside from travel to New Zealand (which opened last month) and a few other "low risk" countries. These could include Singapore, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and possibly Taiwan and later, Vietnam. Thailand has not been mentioned in the first phase and thus we can probably assume it won't be part of any Australian travel bubble this year.
Secondly, in a country that is proving itself to be one of the most totalitarian in the world, what with Buri Ram forcing vaccines on it's residents, Phuket fining and threatening foreigners with deportation for hosting a friend over for a beer in their OWN homes, Surat Thani fining anyone who drinks alcohol at home, and every province issuing fines of 1000-20000 Baht for not wearing a face muzzle, what makes them think tourists will put up with this nonsense?
Even those willing to be vaccinated, are not going to put up with this. Isn't the vaccine supposed to allow all our freedoms to return? If tourists are still going to be required to be muzzled in public, including on a Phuket beach, despite being vaccinated, then Thailand can hammer the final nail in the tourism coffin.
At this point in time, there is more liberty in China than in Thailand. I can't imagine the Chinese would be interested in coming to a country where there are no casinos, where the fun police nitpick every thing you do and can potentially deport you for not wearing a face mask. It's happening in Cambodia (Chinese nationals have been deported for not wearing masks or breaking lockdown orders), Bali is doing it and Thailand isn't far behind.
China has tropical beaches too (in Hainan). Aside from Phuket being warm all year-round (whereas Sanya is a little cool between December and February), there is no reason for Chinese to want to come to Thailand.
Fiji not 'low risk' unfortunately..they have a quite substantial outbreak there with lockdown in place and Singapore has another cluster..this isn't going away anytime soon .UK and North America are gearing up to get their economies and population up and running by vaccinating themselves out of this and Brits heading to Portugal by the thousands when Boris gives the thumbs up..The Portugese won't know what's hit them when that happens!
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22 hours ago, connda said:
The government nationally and regionally seriously needs to hire farang advisors to serve on planning boards which can inform Thai mayors, governors, and ministers when their short-sighted visions have a high probability of careening off the run-way and bursting into flames before becoming airborne.
In the meanwhile from the "we told you so" department:
????????????????????
I only read on Thursday that there actually is somebody representing all the resorts and hotels(Bill Barnett group C9 Hotelworks)..Anthoney Lark(Phuket Hotels Association) has already met with Australia's Ambassador to Thailand Allan McKinnon and the Australian Consul-General Matthew Barclay to try and get something going.It is happening but Australians just won't be travelling till next year now due to such a slow roll out of the vaccine and uptake!
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47 minutes ago, Wiggy said:Have you ever thought it’s not about the number of people dying but the infrastructure not being able to cope with thousands upon thousands of people needing hospital treatment at the same time? Healthcare systems can’t cope logistically nor financially with this scenario, hence the need to stop the disease running rampant.
Exactly..those unlucky enough to suffer full blown symptoms will require 24 hour care/7 days a week..1500 cases a day(we know of)and next week?Nurses and physicians are not robots..ventilator's are not a dime a dozen(unless you are Hi So and can afford)so there is no shadow of a doubt thousands will miss out on critical/specialist care.The very thought of already seeing victims families in Brazil fighting over oxygen tanks to treat victims at home sends shivers through the body.Stay Safe!
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9 hours ago, Rocking Robert said:
Are you comparing the UK’s response to Kovic 19 with 127,000 dead to Thailand response with 97 deaths
No using it as an example of what can happen if you don't take this seriously and treat it with the respect it deserves..As I stated the UK found out the hard way what needed to be done all too late of course but is now coming out the other side with it's vaccine rollout.Thailand I'm afraid maybe just entering the tunnel and needs to act quickly in order to stop going down this same path.The Thai hierarchy can either move on this quickly and decisively or the consequences are there for all to see.Stay Safe!
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5 minutes ago, mike1967 said:
I totally agree. By now, we can only guess at the real figures. We all know it's about saving face. Covid, not us. It was only last week I posted that Thailand needed a lockdown but was called ridiculous by some members. Do they still feel the same? There's only one way out of this, lockdown AND vaccination then ongoing vaccinations against newer variants. None of which is happening. Thailand you are so far off the ball it's ridiculous.
Well it seems the UK learnt this the hard way and that was exactly what they had to do in order to get their lives back..Has Thailand got the leadership and the people the mental resolve for such a prolonged self imposed lockdown?Testing times ahead I fear..Stay Safe!
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33 minutes ago, mike1967 said:
The simple fact is, the Thais won't get tested because they don't want to be put in hospital. Don't shoot the messenger. This is direct from the horses mouth.
Well especially this week of all weeks..the ones who have it will be now sitting around with massive extended families and friends they need to catch up with.What could possibly happen after the biggest holiday of the year?One can only hope I suppose but par the course where this has been repeated around the world it hasn't exactly ended happily I 'm afraid to say!The testing and tracking will be of no use when it explodes into the thousands a day which means they'll have to go into mass lockdowns in order to control the spread!
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14 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:They did do the lockdown here last year as well, it seems they are no longer giving a rats this time for fear of public backlash not realising that generally the public usually support such measures.Who knows what they think or what they are doing or for what reasons.The inconsistency is rather mind boggling but it seems to be the part of the old normal that failed to be updated to the new normal.
Yes one year on and we can all see how different countries have managed Covid such as the UK,US and Australia for example.Ironically even though the UK and US haven't exactly managed the pandemic infection rates they have come out the other end with their efficient coordinated vaccine roll out.Both are opening up their economies by June and the question then beggars 'Where does this leave other countries such as Thailand'?I think we all agree that regardless of who dropped the ball on this one that unless this new wave is managed and contained quickly the predictions of 25000 cases a day could well be an understatement.What ramifications that has on the economy is then anyone's guess as I have grave doubts this government has the foggiest of how to deal with this now!
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36 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:
Just informed that a second infection was found in my condo complex and was escorted to the hospital this morning. The stairwells where the trash cans are is now being sanitized as well. 46 floors worth of double stairs. Wonder if there will be a request for all of us in the condo to be tested. That would surely be an astronomical feat, and a true PITA.
I know it won't happen but last year in Melbourne they locked down not one but three apartment blocks in one part of town ..FOR TWO WEEKS..nearly 2000 people!Only way to stop this outbreak now is by containment only..which means putting whole communities in infectious areas into lockdown..otherwise you have no chance of stopping this now!
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On 4/12/2021 at 4:06 PM, jmccarty said:
Could it be that the tests are running short because of a significant increase in testing running up to the holiday? That could be why the shortage?
More testing, more cases too?
Tests would be running short due to the sudden upsurge in cases and then all the close contacts of the infected people then close contacts of the close contacts being required to have a test.Doesn't take much for this to put pressure on an already stretched system when cases surge like this unfortunately.
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16 hours ago, Kerryd said:I would have thought most of the discussion would have been about the proposal to allow foreigners to "own land".
"In order to do this, it is proposed that foreigners will be allowed to purchase and own outright a house located on a development valued from 10 million baht, with a land size of not more than 1 Rai."
(my bolding and underlining)
Now it would depend on the actual wording of the law, but to me, what that says is that you would be able to buy a house (land) in a "development" (i.e. a housing estate) so long as the estate itself was valued at over 10 million baht and your land size was 1 Rai or less.
But that would hinge on the definition of a "development". Condos are mentioned separately so that's not what they are talking about in the passage above.
To me, it means that if, for example, the new "development" being built on Soi Khao Noi (Chokchai 9 or something I think ?) was valued at over 10 million baht, you (as a foreigner) would be able to buy a house in that development so long as the land size didn't exceed 1 Rai.
Otherwise the passage would have been worded "a house valued from 10 million baht,...." and wouldn't have mentioned "located on a development".
The significance of allowing foreigners to own up to 80% of a condo development would also be significant as well. The current rule (of no more than 49% foreign ownership) is meant to prevent foreigners from (technically) owning the land the condo project sits on, as the foreigners would (in theory) never be able to make up the majority of a condo's "board".
Changing that rule would mean foreigners could make up the majority of the board and therefore "control" the land. It would also allow them to control things like the maintenance fees and other aspects (including approving/disapproving new owners I think ?).
One has to wonder though, if these changes are aimed at a specific demographic - and I can guarantee you that it isn't "old white guys" from the West. They may be beneficiaries of such changes if they go through, but you'd better believe the gov't isn't even thinking about them at all when they do stuff like this.
I suspect that with all the money China has been pouring into the country, or is planning to in the near future, the powers that be are making changes to keep them happy.
(Remember not too long ago there was an article about a Chinese company that was planning on spending something like 4-5 billion on a new condo building to be built near Immigration in Jomtien. That's one example. Then there's the high speed train project that is supposed to link Thailand and China. The submarine deal with China. And so on and so on.)
You can bet that there are Chinese language forums similar to TV where they probably discuss a lot of the same things we do. We don't see them of course, but I can imagine that they'd discuss things like "90 Day Reports" and not being able to own land as well.
I can also imagine that it would be really hard (and awkward) for Thailand to try and pass a law that allowed one set of people to do something while excluding a different set, so some of us may get "lucky" if they do make the changes suggested in the OP.
Not going to hold my breath on it though. So much can change between now and when (if) it happens and so much can depend on the different interpretations of a single word.
Like "development".
I think you are onto something here as now China is for want of a better word 'on the nose' with many other countries at the moment(Australia included)so needs to park its money somewhere .Just hope that the same outcome we are seeing in Cambodia now with mass property developments strangling large parts of the country don't happen in Thailand but I fear this may well be exactly what happens when Chinese money is thrown around like confetti.
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18 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:
i hope they don't throw the current retirees under a bus to accomodate the new (richer) batch they expect will be bashing down the door to get in..
only for the new batch to look at the hoops and say <deleted> that..
devils in the details lads and based on recent history this mob only considers their wish list
still here's hoping!
You can see the dollar signs flashing in their eyes right now..Every unscrupulous character will be plonking their money here in order to launder it in Real Estate away from the taxman and anyone else regardless of how it was accumulated..and the detail will be magically missing.Any regulated requirements will only include a minimum amount..the more the better!
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On 4/9/2021 at 9:46 AM, Dialemco said:
What a shame premature opening entertainment venues and encouraging travel over extended Songkran holidays before vaccination roll out big mistake. Would have been far better for controlled opening International Tourism who would have at least been fully vaccinated and had Covid Free certificates before entering Thailand
Being fully vaccinated does not mean that person is 'Covid free' ..far from it all it means is that individual is inoculated with said vaccine to minimise their condition becoming serious when/if they themselves catch it.Unfortunately until Thailand can confidently roll out a vaccination program that offers accessibility to the wider population that can offer them protection..nothing will change as this latest outbreak looks to have spread now and will be hard to control I fear!
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21 hours ago, KhaoYai said:
Sorry, I don't follow you on that - how is it possible to know that 91% are negative if they are not tested?
When a big enough sample is tested, it gives an indication as to the greater population within that area. However, with Covid, 9% can very quickly become 18%, 36% .........................
Exactly..if you don't have nationwide testing on a daily basis accessible to everyone you can only hazard a guess,hence an educated calculated guess still isn't an accurate indicator.Take Papua New Guinea for example..Australian medical aid doctors were shocked to find 1 in 2 locals tested were positive to covid!
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On 3/26/2021 at 4:21 PM, BritManToo said:
I'm not exactly god's gift (old, bald, fat), yet I'm beating them off with a poopy stick.
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9 hours ago, KhaoYai said:9%!!! Given the rate at which the virus has spread in other countries, that's a very worrying figure.
Saw the BBC news..UK been averaging just over 3000 cases daily in the past few weeks and 20 deaths.Just on 30 million vaccinated(once)6 million had their 2nd one, outdoor drinking from next Monday,then gyms and hairdressers open.This will be interesting to compare when people get out again over there and mix..Will cases skyrocket again or will the vaccine have done its job?Dare I say it..could the numbers even be higher than 9% overall in Thailand as there are no mass testing in other parts of the country on a daily basis.As for Songkran..hate to think!
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Joking apart..anyone in that front passenger seat could have so easily worn that pole and I hate to think of the outcome..Lucky overall!
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On 3/13/2021 at 4:34 AM, KhaoNiaw said:
Book Cyprus then. Thailand's going to be slow getting vaccinations done and then waiting to see all the implications before they open up properly. You might need booster vaccinations by the autumn. No-one really knows what the situation's going to look like by then. Thailand definitely won't be leading the way though.
My hunch is that Thailand will just let other countries do all the hard work and vaccinate their people..then of course all they have to do is check them at the airport to for proof..which of course the airlines will have done for them anyway at the other end!You can see where this is going as only the Hi So's will make sure they get it first so they can travel themselves overseas..the rest will probably never see a vaccine jab unless they pay for it!
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12 hours ago, madmen said:
By the end of the year all first world will be vaccinated and the world mostly open so a ton of holiday choices. You said Mexico because it's one of the few open right now. Next time say what you mean to avoid confusion
The way they are going about it here in Australia right now I highly doubt it..Predicted to have 4 million vaccinated by the end of April is a 'pipe dream' to say the least.Problems with overseas supply,logistics,geographical location and now with questionable local production of Astro' with reports some 450,000 viles were not upto standard.The Government here is winging it!
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It's sad to see the decline when one casts their mind back some 10/15 years ..I think the ruling government has a lot to answer for with a lot more pain to come in the coming year or so!
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Yes and reports that Cyprus is the first country to allow Brits' in from May 23rd who can prove vaccination..Let the flood gates open I suspect from then when everybody else wants a piece of the almighty tourist dollar!
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On 3/3/2021 at 4:44 PM, ukrules said:
Had I been back in the UK I would have been vaccinated in mid February, the paperwork was mailed to the house I use over there.
But I'm not in the UK, so no vaccine for me.
I have two sisters over there..both them and their husbands have had their first shots..A mate in London also who was offered it because others had refused it so he seized the moment as he wasn't due to get it till April.He told me a lot of ethnics were refusing to have the vaccine so spare slots were available practically every day at his local GP.I seriously doubt Thailand will have its act together anytime soon given the corruptible culture of how everything 'operates' here.They are basically going to stand back and let the rest of the world get the vaccine then just open the borders again and let everyone in as quick as possible when they have their vaccine certificate.UK are talking about International tourism by the end of June..so should be an interesting few months listening to the <deleted> that will no doubt come out of TAT's mouths!
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19 hours ago, scorecard said:
And not joining the modern world with a digital system/certificate which would be valuable/quickly verifiable when arriving in other countries.
Further, is this his own idea or does it interface with the instruction from the PM to do broad research on the subject of vaccine passports/certificates?
It may get you the green light to exit Thailand but I doubt very much that it will get you entry into ANY of the countries that will have the new joint digital airline vaccine passport that Qantas and Emirates are introducing.Nothing against this booklet but it is old hat and open to forgery looking at it..these were used after the war into the eighties for polio and other diseases that were prevalent .I had a vaccine card to allow me into Australia..Small Pox I think!
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1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:True that. The real fat cats avoid Thailand for three dozen reasons. I remember a friend of mine telling me about this friend who flew into Samui on his private jet. He was able to land at the airport, but he was told in advance, that he would not be able to park his jet there, so it had to be flown to, and kept at Surat Thani airport, perhaps 90km away, until he was ready to depart, then the pilot could fly back, and pick him up.
Saw an article recently by the TAT, that was stating they were hoping to attract rich foreigners who were willing to spent 3,000 baht a day while here. That is presumably their version of a rich tourist. That is a decent lunch, for a rich tourist. The fat cats spent 30,000 to 100,000 baht a day, or more. To say these tourism clowns do not have a clue, would be quite an understatement.
I honestly believe that TAT is just a cozy posting for well heeled/well connected family members from the Thai Government hierarchy..There just seems to be no common sense or accountability in anything they do or say..Thai 'logic' yes..and we all know how stupid that is!
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2 hours ago, rioD said:Since when did Indians and Russian become big spenders. Do they know the average wages in those countries are on par with their own in Thailand. I've dated several Russian girls over there on vacay or 2 who worked there as RE agents. All were very low income. As for Indians ba ha ha ha !! get real !
Was in town at Nana one night and up there in Spanky's and THREE Indian guys next to me in there sharing ONE beer..
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The grand re-opening? Just 20 American tourists to arrive in Phuket on July 9
in Phuket News
Posted
Stage Managed?The bill footed by TAT?.Hand picked and most likely American Embassy connections or Elite Card Holders?I'm betting there will be more Thai TV and press there than actual tourists!!