superal

OMG , Karon had 1 case and is joint bottom of the list , so really Karon is a covid safe place to stay , don't you agree ?

Really ? do you have a link

Depends if your covid conscious . Karon has no covid cases as there are very few people staying there but I did , got good food and several beers every evening but in reality most places are boarded up and the man making " for sale signs and for rent " is making good money .

I am not impressed by the medics / vaccine team in the main photo , who are sprawled out on the floor wearing their ppe which by the look of it is going to be kept on to treat more patients

You are correct , however I was really trying to say that on the day that the new Scottish vaccine passports come on to use is the same day as the UK government have their travel review , as below , gonna have to watch my grammar, Yes , starts in Scotland 1st October and ironically the same day as the UK panel sit down to discuss the latest traffic light colour for country by country . What are the odds of Thailand going AMBER agai

The majority of people double vaccinated with a western vaccine do not need a third booster jab according to Uk scientists , https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58507436

Many posts advocating proof of a double jab should suffice entry into Thailand / any country ? I agree if the jab certs were without doubt 100% authentic but what we have right now are fake vax certs which can be bought on the web . I think there has to be a simple finger <deleted> type blood test invented that could take place pre-check in at the airport . If all of the Thai population were vaccinated there would be no need for any quarantine by tourists who could prove they had the vax . We are going to have to adapt to new ways of living alongside the virus throughout the world and get used to modified vaccines as the virus mutates . Thailand government is desperate to attract tourists to areas that are totally dependent on tourism e.g. Phuket , Pattaya etc because the local Thai people have / are run out of money to pay bills and buy food . What happens when people get desperate and are pushed in a corner ? From the state of detox island ( Phuket ) , there must be many local Thais who have long gone to other parts of Thailand . Every cloud has a silver lining ? Well the company that makes " For Sale or For Rent " signs , must be doing a good business .

Yes , starts in Scotland 1st October and ironically the same day as the UK panel sit down to discuss the latest traffic light colour for country by country . What are the odds of Thailand going AMBER again ?

Maybe the UK embassy could set up a vaccination center and deal with the official vaccinations and registrations ( embassies are set up to help fellow countrymen ? ) The above statement was tongue in cheek really but could be so easily achieved and I think we would not be concerned if they made a little profit let alone kudos . They treat expats with contempt having taken taxes from them all their working lives . But if you are an illegal immigrant ?

why you say no potato and the next line say potato scone ? Also what is Damn beers and Beng Beng ?

Good point you have raised . In the eyes of the UK you are not vaccinated unless you had it in the UK , USA or Europe . So if you explain that you have had 2 or 3 jabs but they will not recognise them are they going to top you up again with another 3 shots ? Could blood tests prove you have been vaccinated ? For long term expats living in Thailand , it's the price you pay for being ex domicile . However the tourist type traveller has no alternative but to quarantine in the expensive UK hotels on their return . BTW , if you cannot afford to pay the hotel bill the Government will allow easy payments . So we have a catch 22 situation , take the Thai vaccine or not ? If I was unvaccinated I would get back to the UK asap , get the jab , get registered on the N.H.S. app which will allow you into most events and flights . Trouble is , if you then return to Thailand and after a few months need a booster jab , is that another flight back to the UK ? Maybe the UK embassy could set up a vaccination center and deal with the official vaccinations and registrations ( embassies are set up to help fellow countrymen ? )

What countries apart from the UK have Thailand on their red list ?

TAT must know this and nothing they can do about it except for the countries testing stats / reported cases and vaccine rollout to be believed by western governments . I am going to stick my neck out and forecast that the current covid trend continues in Thailand until next March when the hot weather and strong ultraviolet conditions prevail . The rainy weather and humidity are on the side of the virus .

These are desperate times for Thailand because the government were slow out of the blocks to procure the vaccines . Could it be that because Thailand performed so well with the initial pandemic having little or no affect on the country that the same outcome would follow for future episodes ? Thailand is not alone as the UK thought that covid would be another sars and took no mitigating actions until into the catch up mode . But Thailand is a different ball game with the island of Phuket having a population of around 500,00 and 90% dependent on tourism . Not difficult to see a looming disaster and understandable why the government are coming up with new ideas to try to encourage tourism on the island . The sandbox plan was doable if managed correctly but was doomed from the start when to qualify to work in Phuket the minimum requirement was 1 jab of sinovac . Now there are around 200 covid cases a day in Phuket and coupled with fake vaccine / test certs the sandbox plan is sadly going towards the end date .Tourism to the whole of Thailand is looking bleak and the government need to take steps to respond .

I would be interested to know , how many countries have Thailand on their red list ?

I reckon they know that the foreign tourists to Phuket has all but dried up after the initial surge from returning expats . The surviving hotels that would normally have 3-4-5-hundred foreign residents , now have a dozen or so , just enough to retain the hotel staff . When the expat tourism stops , like now , there is only one alternative i.e. cut the hotel rates and bring in the domestic Thais as an interim . No testing ? so is that the end of the sandbox ? As you intimate there will be a surge in Phuket's covid cases . Finally , why would Thais want to go to Phuket in the rainy season when there are no bars and very few restaurants . The place is a ghost town .

Tito ruled Yugoslavia and fought against Nazi occupation , Lee Yew who freed Singapore from British rule , Frances Rene took over the Seychelles after a coup . In modern times not too many who did good for their country . You could float the same question about leading prime ministers or presidents many of whom feathered their own nests .

Agree and that's the way many free democratic countries work but you are forgetting that Thailand is not a democracy and for that reason it is under the watch list of some western countries with human rights among some of the issues . Why should free countries give trade to uncivilized countries ? You may be aware that consumers are looking at the source of many imported products where some countries have such cheap labour it is bordering on slavery . Some of these products end up with expensive price tags in upmarket shops but these retailers are now being exposed by the media and are now dropping the cheap slave labour manufacturers in favour of companies who pay a fair wage . Competitive trading can be achieved by improved production techniques or by a country with lower standards of living ( at a reasonable level ) . The far eastern cheap manufacturing is coming to an end because of an unlevel playing field and lower quality of products as opposed to some western countries ( German engineering as an example ) .The rise and rise of China has slowed and will continue to do so . Back to the baht and as things stand there is only one way that the baht is going in the medium to long term , unless there is political change . In my opinion .

Not sure about that but one fact is that the U.S. is trillions of dollars in debt but is not concerned , it appears . However the dollar remains the dominant world currency . Thailand is losing some foreign investment to other Asian countries , e.g. Cambodia , Vietnam . The baht can only be at its current level for a little longer , I feel .

Oh , It was an open vote for all to see and not a secret cross in a ballot box vote ? So we will know who was for and against and the people will know how their man voted but not that it really matters as the elected officers are outnumbered by the unelected , what a strange political system , neither democratic or communist politics nor military . Maybe dictatorship ? which need not be a bad thing as long as the dictator has good intentions for the populus , not corrupt , has open book politics and is trying to reunite the country towards an uninterrupted spell of governance when elected by way of a democratic vote by the people . How is the outside word reacting to Thai politics of today as it has been said the some nations were keeping a close eye on both Thailand's political agenda and currency values. U.S.A. for one .

Actually like it or not the UK needs immigrants as since finalizing Brexit there is a dearth of skilled and manual workers . As of now as an example , up to 100,000 HGV drivers short and its having quite an effect on everyday life , especially deliveries of foods to supermarkets where panic buying / hoarding is happening . As for the immigrants , they are processed by government officials who consider if they are true asylum seekers or economic immigrants . At the same time if the potential immigrant has certain skills that are needed by the UK , that is a benefit to the country he or she has a decent chance of immigration . One more need by the UK is to have a good level of working people to pay taxes , in order to maintain the social system and above all service the massive state pension pot . On a similar parallel , Thailand invites foreign labour often at cheap rates . All of the above have an influence on the countries economy and F.D.I. ( foreign direct investment ) . Now Thailand is still attracting multi billion dollar F.D.I. from Japan , China , Hong Kong , Singapore etc especially in the electronics industry and so the Thai baht remains buoyant . Not forgetting that Thailand does not have to pay out large sums of pensions or social securities etc to its population which helps . Up till now the covid pandemic has not affected the Baht because most countries are in the same boat but if The Thai government mess up anymore with the vaccine rollout ( especially if a new virus variant emerges ) then I can see a collapse of the baht . Not forgetting that a strong currency is no good for a countries exports , so a slightly weaker Baht will draw in further investment but where do all the in country profits go ?

There are certain areas of Thailand that rely heavily on tourism , Phuket being one . Without tourism Phuket folks are in big trouble money wise . There is little if any government welfare support . Now that the initial sandbox phase has gone , coupled with the UK red zone on Thailand , plus the widely criticised vaccine rollout , the future for Phuket is looking bleak . Could it be that by forecasting reasonable levels of tourism to the island , it will appease the local population ? However , what will happen when reality happens in the coming months ?

Do you really think that the Thai figure of household debt is accurate ? Gathering the data in the UK is doable but in Thailand where the majority of the population do not pay taxes on earnings , have next to no government connections and are off the radar , seems hard to believe . Maybe for those who are contactable , yes .

Sinovac does not have a regular price it is sold by the Chinese at the highest price they think they can get which varies country by country , sold in Thailand at $4-5 a dose , China $60 Singapore £19 etc https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1384867/sinovac-jabs-varying-prices-raise-alarm is my sourse , go and argue with them

Currency valuations are normally influenced by the countries stability and demand for the currency which is dependent on interest rates with high interest rates attracting investment . That is not the case at the moment and who would be putting investment into Thailand at the moment ? Could it be that a certain country is supporting the Baht ?