wasabi

1 hour ago, Toany said:

It is the Thai Government and their outdated quarantine that is scaring tourists away.  The news of people losing the Test and Go gamble on a negative test and losing is spreading.

It reminds me of a recent Thai headline that stated Hotels in dire straights because foreigners fail to come. Shifting the blame to people not coming when they made it all but impossible to come to Thailand.

15 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It's been in countless publications for at least a week that it isn't, and is much more like a flu virus as it doesn't get into the lungs. It shows no sign of being as deadly as Delta and requires far less hospitalisation. It merely spreads much faster as it is estimated to be 70% more contagious.

True but mass hysteria and paranoia are now taken for fact while governments play out the political theater and measures to control what can't and doesn't need to be controlled any longer.

3 minutes ago, tomyami said:

Report in the Guardian saying that many scientists think the U.K. has already peaked. If that is the case, then the downward slide will be pretty rapid, as it was in South Africa.

Hopefully they're going to need a recycling plant for all those stupid temperature machines once this hysteria abates.

They truly want to kill off everything that brings in tourists and replace it with a fantasy Thailand where high rollers forgo Monaco, Dubai and Miami instead rerouting their private jets straight to old Siam where they can breathe the sooted air and catch listeria from Som Tam vendors far and wide.

4 minutes ago, kimamey said:

I won't be flying back to Thailand until probably late January or more likely February so things can change by then. Possibly better or maybe worse.

Not being there I don't keep up with all the domestic restrictions but I assume that 'maximum watch' is less restricted than 'controlled'. I know some of my family came up from Bangkok to Mahasarakham and then went to visit friends in Mukdahan with my wife and mother in law. Then without my MiL they went first to Khon Kaen which I think may have been work related for my wife and then back down to Bangkok which was for work for my wife and of course home for the rest of the family. The wife never mentioned any problems with this.

Getting here was the usual moving labyrinth of requirements, but I've been pleasantly surprised how lax it has been since being sprung from Test and Go 1 day prison. Even in BKK they are getting tired of even doing the Temperature checks.

I wish the currency Gods would at least reward us dirty farangs with better THB exchange rates every time a backward immigration policy is layered atop the already huge pile of buffoonery.

Thailand = Blockbuster video. Something everyone liked until the rules became onerous and a better option (Netflix) stole their thunder. All along the way Blockbuster had numerous chances to stop the rising Netflix but their arrogance and ignorance made any hope of salvation come too late. 

Thailand has had a Golden Goose with digital nomads. There are small cottage industries that cater to them, particularly in Chiang Mai, but even with this new visa there still is no viable solution to truly attract them in mass which is needed now more than ever. Thai immigration just DOESN'T GET IT. Meanwhile other countries have digital nomad visas with multi-year - hassle free - options available. Why Nickel, dime and generally hassle these people when they bring talent and plenty of money which is spent in Thailand. Even taxing them isn't a good idea given how much money they would bring in if left to their own devices. Anyone seen a functioning Thai website lately? Why not invite tech talent into Thailand to stop such silliness? What do they gain by all of these half measures other than retaining their xenophobic comfort and pride? Well as they say TiT This is Thailand.

9 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

So, who thinks this will work ?

It won't work because:

1) Low education and lack of ambition of the population

2) Lack of quality natural resources

3) Lack of quality engineering

4) Rampant air and water pollution.

Most cities today are not if you build it they will come. It is we are already rich and getting richer. That said they certainly can improve it some.

Not sure if this is common knowledge but my wife and I got Moderna booster shots at Bangkok Hospital today. This is 6 months after our 2nd Pfizer vaccine was administered in the USA. The process involved purchasing coupons on the official Bangkok Hospital subsite on Shoppee. Cost was 1650 THB per person.

I found this a bit odd but that is how it works. After purchasing the coupons I was sent an SMS to my Thai phone number that allowed me to download the coupons. I then registered on Bangkok Hospital's website where I was asked for various information including my coupon number.

They had many time slots available so I picked the one which was to the day 6 months after I had my 2nd Pfizer vaccine. There were many signs and people to help you find the vaccine location in building R. They scanned our coupons, printed out our appointments and we were taken to a large room. They checked my passport and CDC Covid vaccine card. At first they were hesitant to give me the vaccine because in the USA dates are written mm/dd/yyyy instead of dd/mm/yyyy like they do in Thailand. The person thought my last vaccine was in August but after I explained the difference they gave me the shot.

They gave me an official looking document (upon request) that said I'd had the 3rd vaccine. I think this can be registered on Mor Phrom but I'm hoping I don't need to take any additional steps so I haven't done that yet. Now at home waiting to see if I have any minor side effects. The 2nd Pfizer jab made me ill for about a day but it was a minor problem. 

I was planning to go to either Bumrungrad or Bang Sue to try to get my booster but I learned about this option from Richard Barrow's twitter feed. Process was smooth and for me well worth the cost.