ChrisKC

Well, yesterday, Tuesday, I think I experienced the coldest day in 19 years - which was actually all day, I was cold and wore a jumper for the entire time.

it has always been a bit cold overnight and early morning for a couple of months of December and January but always warmed up to my liking around 27 to over 30C

Today, was almost the same but in late afternoon there was a clear blue sky but not sunny long enough to take off the cold of the day!

I don't like the cold!

Can't easily buy a heater round here but if could, the sun would notice and tell me I didn't need it!

4 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

I have been driving and riding here for 15 years and never had an accident, but no one will ever change my mind on this.

Thai people in the vast majority are very honest, decent and unconfrontational, and apart from them jumping in front of me in a queue, have never had any problems with them.

But when the majority of them get behind a steering wheel or handlebars, they just do not have much common sense at all, also, the roads are full of motorbike riders wearing masks but no crash helmet, it is just pure stupidity.

1 minute ago, Pilotman said:

you have been very lucky. 

6 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

I have been driving and riding here for 15 years and never had an accident, but no one will ever change my mind on this.

Thai people in the vast majority are very honest, decent and unconfrontational, and apart from them jumping in front of me in a queue, have never had any problems with them.

But when the majority of them get behind a steering wheel or handlebars, they just do not have much common sense at all, also, the roads are full of motorbike riders wearing masks but no crash helmet, it is just pure stupidity.

I agree with you. It seems to me that the awful attitude towards other road users and the law by the great majority of Thai driving is cultural! It needs to change. It could have changed in the generation I have lived here. There are children and teenagers riding motorbikes and driving cars that were not even born when I first arrived with exactly the same mind set as all those before them.

We both know the reasons for this -  disgraceful and irresponsible parents and just about no law enforcement. It is a serious indictment on Thai society!

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

"driving my car and riding my bike,"  Are you saying you get very little problems doing this?? Do you really drive and ride?? However, apart from the "government", I agree with the rest of your post.

I only tell the truth.

I have been driving my car here for 18 years and riding my bike (about 70,000 kms in 12 years) and never been involved in a single incident of any kind. In fact I saw my first accident actually happen (not involving me, except that I saw it) only two weeks ago! Yes, I see just about every day Thai driving and accidents that have already happened and thousands of accidents waiting to happen.

Have I been lucky - yes a bit but I prefer to say I haven't been unlucky.

Just now, Kaopad999 said:

I agree, it's certainly a matter of perspective. Yes, there are of course things here that bother me, which other people  experience i'm sure.  But for me, the positives of living here heavily outweigh the negatives.  

Yes, Kao Pad, But the negatives are mostly outside of our control. When I am unable to change that, there is only one thing I can do, and that is to control and manage my personal perspective of it. Not allow it too much personal importance - accept it and move on!

I understand that some have a passion for wanting some things to be very different but there is no way they can do anything to change it so why waste time on it (making no progress) at the expense of something else that could advance their situation?

9 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

Sadly, many of those people are not coming back. They are dead. Covid has hit the Walking street  people the hardest - Over age 65, obese, smoker, pre-existing diseases of heart, kidney diabetes, lung.

Pattaya will become the convention capital of SE Asia once the redevelopment and clean up is finished.

 

Should I care because I do not. Let's be honest- anyone who was collecting  barfine from a  lady was in practice a pimp.  Some of the beer bars were holes- nothing more than filthy places with uncomfortable seats and dirty tables. Having a pillow soiled with years of sweat didn't make it more comfortable to sit.

 

Many of the bars and clubs had monkey business going on and many customer had a bad outcome. Some of the bars were run by criminal types from Australia, Denmark, UK, Sweden. And the employees? Did not trust any I saw.  I have been to Pattaya for events. When you stay at Hilton or Meridien,  everything is safe, clean proper, but it is nothing special.

 

 

Sometimes the outcome is merited. 

 

That is your soul, but it isn't mine.

This is heartbreaking!

Where is your soul, people?

3 hours ago, Rancid said:

Dr. Gilbert Berdine, associate professor of medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, writes that he has yet to find a medical colleague who is willing to be among the first to take the experimental vaccine. Most say they want to review the safety data after a year or so of use before they’ll consider getting it.

“These colleagues are concerned about possible autoimmune side effects that may not appear for months after vaccination.”

 

Lets recall that COVID-19 mortality is extremely low outside of nursing homes, 99.7% of people recover. Those who actually understand what these rushed vaccines are about are not charging in to get jabbed, that honor goes to the ill informed that actually believe what the media tells them. The problem is that we are being assured by bureaucrats that the vaccines are safe, however with the limited testing done there is no possible way to know that. We are all rolling the dice.

If we are not to believe the bureaucrats, the media and obviously, China, WHO and the Thai government who shall we believe? My answer is simple, I read all of this and the experts on this forum and I am left with a distinct, "I don't know" - and I don't pretend to know!

4 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Perhaps we need another vaccine for driving?

Should it be one to inject common sense and spatial awareness?

Attitude adjustment and proper parental guidance are other important ingredients

6 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

Has anyone stopped to try and figure how a "pandemic" that has supposedly killed 0.00009% of Thailand's population has managed to bring the country to a crushing halt ? The Black plague was in the region of 50%,  a difference factor of 555,000 to one !

No, nobody has thought of that. You are the first one!

LOCKDOWN 2 The Sequel

Coming soon to a Province near You

7 hours ago, ChrisKC said:

I agree with you Barry, but I would like to add that after an entire year, there appears not to be a single country that can claim success in controlling this virus over a sustained period and there's no telling how much worse or better the situation may develop into.

 

There are thousands of real qualified experts worldwide that have spent much time seeking a one-time solution that could be reliably followed by everyone else. As yet, they haven't found one. The vaccines now available, appear to suggest that an end could be in sight, but who knows how long that tunnel is?

it is my opinion too, that 2022 is a more likely time scale before the basic scenario has some level of resolution but I wouldn't be surprised if the repercussions, however they may play out, will be around until 2110

I have just realised that I don't mean 2110 (I added 10 years to 2100 instead of 2020). Should read 2030

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

This isn't going to end for a long time, if at all. Too much ignorance around, and in the modern world social media can spread it like wildfire. There is far too much of how people want things to be rather than how they are. You can't wish away a pandemic or end it by closing pubs at 10 instead of midnight.

 

At the beginning of 2020, I told someone it had a nice ring to it, and then stuff happened. Now we go into a new year arguably in an even worse situation, the only positive being that vaccines have been produced in record time.

 

I said a few months ago that I believed we are only at the beginning of this, and the mutations and surges seem to support that. Meanwhile, there are countless cases of people ignoring the rules, governments dithering, constant U-turns being made by many of those in charge, something like 50 per-cent of people saying they will not accept the vaccine.

 

Let's not fool ourselves, saying it'll all work out in the end. We still have a very, very long way to go and we haven't even started to make an impact against the virus yet. All we've done is try to control it, and that has been unsuccessful. At the very best, we've managed to contain it for a short period. Overcoming it is still a long way off, and might be impossible unless more people take it seriously.

 

I see that the New Year in London began with police having to move in on anti-lockdown protesters. Just before that, I saw medical staff on the news saying they no longer have enough staff to deal with the number of Covid patients, field hospitals being set up don't have the staff to operate them and a medical expert saying the virus is now out of control.

 

Gloomy, isn't it. And Thailand shows no sign of having enough of the vaccine, especially remembering that everyone also needs a booster, so I think we can forget anyone being allowed in without quarantine until at least 2022. 

 

I agree with you Barry, but I would like to add that after an entire year, there appears not to be a single country that can claim success in controlling this virus over a sustained period and there's no telling how much worse or better the situation may develop into.

There are thousands of real qualified experts worldwide that have spent much time seeking a one-time solution that could be reliably followed by everyone else. As yet, they haven't found one. The vaccines now available, appear to suggest that an end could be in sight, but who knows how long that tunnel is?

it is my opinion too, that 2022 is a more likely time scale before the basic scenario has some level of resolution but I wouldn't be surprised if the repercussions, however they may play out, will be around until 2110

On 1/2/2021 at 8:02 AM, UKresonant said:

 

Less replacements (from UK/EU view) will be the trend, thinking about a few issues ;-

Less stable requirements and attitudes seem to be getting reported and experienced for Visa and insurance from first half of 2019 anyway. In addition the not so useful insurance requirements for certain visa classes. Declining exchange rate, which managed to leave a slightly "getting to expensive" taste in relative newbies opinions (They said). Though the exchange rate was about 35 the first time  I visited Thailand.

There will be a couple of years discontinuity of new customers visiting probably, to experience Thailand's great first impression, that may trigger ex-pat ambitions.

The current requirements are to much of a financial, time, and insurance cover gamble, likely deters many at first glance. 

I may of been an "Ex-pat" by now, but after being there substantially over an almost two years, I never formed a feeling that I could ever feel secure, wearing that badge. Anyway the can has been kicked down the road, at least until the Son completes High School in the UK. ( we left Thailand a couple of days after the"state of Emergency back in March.

COV-2 Shall certainly impact replacements;-

% adversely affected by Covid direct earnings, therefore will not travel there.

% of Pension plans that have been stalled by "no overtime" no spare money, unemployment etc

% Deterred by "Foreigners associated with Cov-2" negative statements..

Generally;-

% that may be deterred by the Thai insurance criteria, which is viewed as an extension of the Visa/Extension fee in some cases.

%The number of immigration issues that require interaction with the holding of a Thai Bank Account, but Newbies get told at the bank you must have a work permit, and I presume a big chunk of EX-pats are not Employed in Thailand.

 

Balancing that I would  think;-

If you are Employed in  Thailand with a reasonable Salary, the exchange rate is probably quite helpful if you still have commitments in Home Country..

and....

 

Oh, look at the time, Bedtime, perhaps someone else shall list more positives for Ex-pat..

 

Goodnight.

 

Oh, look at the time, Bedtime, perhaps someone else shall list more positives for Ex-pat..

It looks like you posted at 5.16 am - have you been on the night shift? Though I think you are at present in the UK. Which bit of my comment is wrong?

18 hours ago, jackinthebox said:

Probably studied somewhere outside Thailand. I wonder if there is any Thai who can speak good English without having lived in the west for a while.

I can't think of a single Thai person (nearly all Professionals - but sadly, no English Language teachers among them) who speaks extremely good English that didn't spend time abroad - no, I don't mean just a holiday. But to be fair I have only actually met about 20 such people in 18 years

3 minutes ago, jackdd said:

I'm riding nearly only motorbike, the chance to get stopped is of course exponentially higher compared to a car.

It does of course depend a lot on where you live and where you drive/ride. My record here in Chiang Mai is 4 times in one day.

But I don't only drive around where I live. In any event, if you get stopped near where you live so often - don't they recognise you by now? But to be fair, I have never ridden a motorbike at any time in my entire life

22 hours ago, jackdd said:

After being stopped at checkpoints in Thailand for probably several hundred times, only once was I accused of something which I didn't do. After explaining to him why he is wrong he waved me on.

So in more than 99% (based on my personal experience) cases if everything is in order they don't bother people.

5 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

 

My experience as well.  Hundreds of stops over the past few years, never a problem, never more than 30 seconds taken. Simply not a problem unless you are in violation of the laws.

You have actually been stopped several hundred times? Do you ave a sign on your car that says, "I am a rich farang"?

I have been here 18 years and been stopped maybe 6 times (always waved through)  and apart from only 2 single occasions (last year) the other times was when I had Thai people in my car.

3 hours ago, Ventenio said:

they should close all the roads, lockdown.

 

if it saves just one life, it's worth it...... unless others can make money, then it's not

 

pollution, i think, puts TENS of millions of people in the hospital around the world, but fires and factories still burn.

 

;ldjflsk;jslf;jdlkfjdfkl;sf  will do as much good as me rambling about solutions.  

Ah yes, but how will our beer get delivered?

15 hours ago, Stev Lam said:

Happy New Year Greetings. 

Sad to hear these road accidents during the holidays season....the number of road accident casualties are shockingly higher than COVID-19 deaths....:-((

You forgot all those dying of heart disease, diabetes, cancer... much of it caused by poor diet. What is the point of continuing to compare road deaths with covid or anything else? - it is irrelevant.

13 hours ago, n00dle said:

Better yet, illegal cock fighting has to close as well.

Forever - disgusting cruel practice that encourages gambling as well!

Don't Reporters ask the Authorities this obvious question, so they can tell us?

Yes, it is a difficult time for many and I am not surprised you have raised this important issue.

But I have some suggestions to make that I hope will help you.

When any matters are outside of your control, you are left with trying to manage yourself in any way that reduces the impact, involving anxiety and some feelings of negativity.

Firstly, as it relates to the Corona virus, there is much confusion worldwide, even among the experts. There are few countries that can claim success over a long period, including Thailand, that has seen a sudden increase in cases after being praised for doing such a good job.

My first suggestion is for you to attempt to learn more about the total situation that will allow you to understand better what has happened and what might happen in the months to come. This isn't easy to do from all the conflicting advice and conspiracy theories, misinformation you will find but the idea is that you try to find a reasonable balance that enables you to perceive it differently and hopefully help you to accept and come to terms with it.

Secondly, you could use distraction as a means of diluting the negative aspects of the situation and your feelings about them. On YouTube, there are thousands of relaxing type videos; choose some and allow yourself the time to absorb the comfort they can bring.

As well, I recommend you try (not really meditation) but a few minutes at a time of personal relaxation. You say to yourself, I will sit down in a quiet place, do nothing, think nothing, say nothing, try to be completely calm. Practice this a couple of times a day when you feel a little anxious. It's good for me, maybe good for you!

Look for a group online that have similar feelings to yourself; maybe chatting with people, anywhere around the world you don't know (there are millions of them), may be more helpful than friends or relatives.

Being positive isn't pretending something is good when it is obviously bad.  It is about recognising and accepting the negatives but seeing what remains as something to work with.

Feelings are in your head, they can be adjusted by how you think. Your thoughts may change for the better when you are actually doing something to make it happen.

Good luck and in the meantime, I wish for you a New Year of outer calm and inner peace.

Chris

11 hours ago, fruitman said:

Stricter measures for a 'pandemic' which happened to be just a flue? Locking up the people gives far more damage and deads.

 

In Thailand 65 people die every day in traffic, but nobody cares at all.....and for the flue they will lockdown the whole country?

Stop writing complete rubbish, nothing to do with the traffic accidents

And it is not a flue, it is a flu. A very dangerous one, as is instanced worldwide.

20 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I have a simple question? Why was so much effort made to keep foreigners from entering the country, and so little effort made in keeping migrant workers from entering? 

Migrant workers are mainly foreigners, aren't they? Other foreigners don't cross the river or plough through the jungle to attain illegal entry. Much easier to assess them  in airports and other official borders.