superal

Think I may upset a few readers with the following . Like it or not , most of us are seeing this horrid event from our own perspective . That is from a non- Buddhist reasoning . One of the main Buddhist beliefs is not to take life from a living creature and that life is a recurring act served by reincarnation . Difficult to get your head round for most of us non Buddhists . Maybe a compromise could be to round up all strays and keep in a compound and carry out some neutering , especially with the growing threat of rabies . However other countries in Asia with Buddhism as the main religion do not seem to have the same problems e.g.Cambodia . However I do not understand how the farming of live stock is excluded . Finally , it was not too long ago that a round-up of strays was made on regular occasions but that appears to have stopped .

I agree partly , why ? double vaxxed ? do you include sinovac and sinopharm that have been proved worthless against the virus ? However if a Pfizer or Moderna booster have been given , that apparently does work , no matter what the first 2 jabs were . . A PCR test on departure can miss detection of omicron in the early stages of the virus but it will mean that those on the flight are less likely to get the infection . A day 5 test would pick up the virus but in reality it would men a 5 day quarantine to make any sense ( as opposed to what the new testngo rules are ) . I do agree on opening up globally for travel but the amount of fake vaccination certs make it less than a perfect solution . It seems that many countries have conceded that the virus cannot be controlled and thus they are opening up to protect their economies . Also there are new covid anti viral medicines that are proving to be effective in the treatment of the covid virus and lessening the burden on the hospitals.

My flight was Gatwick-Bangkok direct ( some passengers did not disembark ) - then onward to Singapore . As you say , great value , have a couple of drinks before departure and have a sleep in flight and time passes quickly with a big money saving flight . I normally fly to/from Heathrow which is easier for me to get to and I always take a taxi , however the taxi fare is only another tenner by using Gatwick . BTW Gatwick South terminal is closed , every flight was using the north terminal .

I last flew with Thai Air in December 2021 on a one way to the UK at £600 ish . No alternative for a direct flight and I did not want a middle east stop over because of the covid risk . I have since returned to Thailand beginning of January this year and took a chance with a budget airline named Scoot Air who are owned by Singapore Air . Only differences are they fly out of Gatwick , they are a budget airline , meaning if you want to eat or drink you must pay extra which I did when booking and that was about £9.40 for a small curry . Drinks ordered by way of their download app . The total cost for a return trip / direct flights on fairly new 787 aircraft was £361 . So for the budget conscious this could be a good bet , however they do not start flying the London/Thailand route again until March 22 ND this year but please check for sure and updates .

Does it mean the tyre is not serviceable ? also bald tyres screech too

Is that why my Isuzu pickup used to screech when doing u turns , despite there being plenty of tread ?

Lets face it , Thai road users have little if any respect for the driving laws in Thailand . I highlighted road users as I wanted to include the motor cyclists who seem to think they are exempt from any laws. I believe there is a Highway Patrol unit in Thailand but they are rarely seen . Every time I drive either in town or country , I witness the driving laws being broken , there is an act of driving dangerously , without consideration to other road users , apathy or pure stupidity . There is also apathy from the government who know full well that their country has the worse road fatality rate in the world , are aware of the western driving ways yet choose to ignore them . The buck stops at the top . In a parallel , if the loss of life occurred say within industry the directors would be held accountable for manslaughter .

Good food at the Brick house especially the English breakfast , also good for watching footy in the evening as they have many televisions . I have also had good meals in the Pannarai , nice hotel . I preferred UT over Pattaya when pre covid days 2 or 3 years ago .

I have heard that fake pcr negative test certs and fake vaccination certs can be bought , some countries easier than others . In both cases the majority of certs come by way of a person employed within the countries health system . The certs can be traced for validity and will be found in the register as compliant . I have also read that the omicron virus is not so easy to detect in the early stages , compared with the delta virus and can be misinterpreted as negative . It is possible for someone to take a pcr test just prior to boarding a flight then test again on arrival and results say negative when the reality is really positive . This probably happened with the previous Testngo , hence the second 5 day test .

Maintenance is not in the Thai dictionary it seems . Only when buying a new vehicle is there maintenance and servicing which is mandatory and of course a money maker .

I would normally fly Thai or Eva direct from Heathrow ( British Airways at a push ) but this time I took a chance and flew direct with the no frills Scoot Air who I believe are owned by Singapore Air . Scoot fly out of Gatwick but are not flying this route again until 26th March 2022 . The aircraft was a 787 and looked new . Very few passengers , about 90 (mostly Thai ) with a 220 capacity . Have to pre-order food which was small at around £9 40 and if you want a drink on board you have to download their app and order . I could not download the app but was served 2 small tiger beers and paid on arrival when I could download OK . Plenty of legroom and because of lack of passengers I was able to lay out across 3 seats and got some sleep . The total cost for a return trip was £361 which is a huge saving .

Chinese are regular visitors to Thailand . Special conditions set up for Chinese business men . Further more , I think that Thailand will be open to all , including land borders , within 6 weeks because the new covid variants are not so potent as the original delta . Same goes for most other countries with the possible exceptions of China , New Zealand and Australia . The virus has wrecked many countries economies and still is and now with the cost of living spiralling globally there has to be a return to normality with a new proviso on awareness and safety protection against the viruses . Can future international travel return to pre- pandemic levels ? The main problem is the fake vaccination certs or certs issued without tests conducted by legitimate insiders .Until a new test is made e.g. a finger <deleted> blood test at departure and arrivals , there will always be too much red tape unless the current regulations are abandoned .

An exodus of farangs is what a certain Thai V.I.P. has stated 2 or 3 years ago , wanting the country to revert to its previous state of 50 years ago and thus very few foreigners living in Thailand . One might say that a subtle plan is underway .

It is set up to favour the Thai authorities to gather farang money after the day 5 testing positive . A further 14 day quarantine with more pcr tests totalling in excess of 100,000 baht has already happened. If you are fully vaccinated a 7 day quarantine in Bangkok ( that is what I have just done ) or the Phuket sandbox deals are a better bet IMO . The Phuket deal , I would stay somewhere out of the way to avoid the virus which is being reported in bigger resorts e.g. Patong

Ref; the above . In my home country (UK) if the police suspect you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs a road side test will be given i.e for alcohol it is a breathalyser and drugs , a saliva swab is taken . Is it the same here in Thailand ?

Buriram would be great but sadly no international airport or enough hotels to welcome the many fans .Logistically Bangkok would be the place and maybe a brand new circuit on the outskirts could be purpose built . Thailand and F1 would be a major attraction and BIG money maker

You say that when you are on holiday you like to have a drink and I reckon the majority of folks are the same but right now with Thailand's yo--yo alcohol restrictions plus the religious days and of course election days alcohol bans , you have to plan your Thailand holiday using a Thai calendar that shows the no alcohol days and be aware of current covid draconian restrictions . Once I arrived in Bangkok after a long haul flight , thought I will go out for a few beers , only to find that alcohol ban for 2 days . Small towns not so much of a problem but big cities have many police . I will never understand why it is that non voting falangs are not allowed a drink on election days , come to that why not Thai people also ?

About 14 years ago I crossed on a zebra crossing that took me across two dual carriageways with a small halfway pavement that was wide enough for 4 people . I had looked before crossing and traffic was a good 200 yards away but it seems like they accelerated to try and scare me . Herein lies the problem , because a westerner on holiday may take it for granted that Thai drivers react to zebra crossings the same way as is done in developed countries . There is little if any respect for the driving laws in Thailand , hence their high fatality rate on road accidents . Tourists coming to Thailand ( there will not be many ) should be forewarned / inducted on the dangers of Thai roads and driver behaviour .

So you are off to Phuket and Koh Samui , do not let your guard drop cos the "Ripoff the farang mobs " are scattered throughout Thailand and right now are desperate for money because of the lack of tourists .

Tis surprising the amount of sports stars ( healthy & fit ) who die early or retire early and cease their exercise routine and turn obese and then hit problems . I worked hard all my life in mechanical engineering , enjoyed football , rowing and golf . Now I am a lazy so & so and my weight has gone up by 10 kg . Dont like it cos many of my clothes no longer fit . I have thought about exercise but thats as far as it gets , mainly because it gets too hot over here , plus the gyms do not have qualified instructors . Also the pools are not supervised ( saw a guy drown in a Pattaya hotel pool because no trained first aid personnel ) .I believe you have to be careful if you are out of shape and want to start exercising again and over here it is not the same as developed countries with health & safety awareness .

WOW , if you watch this informative video , you will probably never eat salmon , cod or any fish that has been farmed in Norway or from the Baltic sea . Whilst most meats that we eat e.g. chicken , beef , pork etc , comes under some form of control and regulation , it seems that the fish industry is under a mafia type corrupt control and with little if any regulation . Indeed the Norwegian fisheries minister , along with others who have a vested interest in the fishery industry , need to be investigated as they are knowingly promoting the sales of carcinogenic food . Scientist stated that to eat the Baltic fish no more than 1 time a month , if at all . Safest fish are small non farmed fish such as Pacific sardines . It seems that the only good and safe salmon to eat are those from Alaska and wild caught by way of a well managed sustainable environment that is overseen by biologists . They will be expensive .

Never tried it myself cos you have to know where to get it but have known some guys who have quit the booze in favour of the weed , some for medicinal reasons and some for the high/relaxation . Have you made the change from drink to weed ? what price for say 1 months smoking . Have a friend who was given the oil at a government hospital , to treat his insomnia and he now has a good nights sleep

Not sure what a typical Thai restaurant looks like in Thailand but where I come from ( UK ) they mostly have a theme of Thai decor and a modified menu to suit the western pallet , plus of course not all of the usual ingredients are available . The UK has decent hygiene laws for restaurants along with unannounced hygiene inspections that can close a business if the hygiene standards are not met . Its a different story here in Thailand mostly , ( although some hotels are very good ) because the Thai people seem to have stronger stomachs than westerners . Hygiene and Thai street food dont mix ( wearing an apron and hat is good enough it seems ) . Hence , I do not eat Thai street food ( twice had food poisoning )

I am even sceptical about the so called fresh mackerel sold in places like Makro . They are laid in , or on top of loose ice and the fish are not frozen . Up here in Issan we are many miles from the coasts , so I would think that the fish must have been frozen at some stage for transportation in this country with a hot climate . Maybe a better bet to buy frozen fish from the deep freezer compartments as I believe that the factory fishing boats freeze the fish as soon as they are caught and processed and thus have not been thawed out at any stage .

Can you please share with us the I Phone model that you use and the cost ?