Donbanpho

We’re just leaving after 7 weeks here in Bangkok Buriram and Hua Hin many things closed. Had our beer bottles put on the floor to hide from police and everything closes after 9 PM. As much as I love Thailand if it wasnt for visiting family I would say Thailand isn’t really ready for tourist. Feels like they don't want tourist here but commercially everyone miss the money. I came in the original test and go before many stories of people testing positive, I would not return here with the revised test and go (now three tests to pass, before arrive day 1 and now day 5) just as omicron starts to take a hold I think a big chance of testing positive whilst everything remains closed or slow running there isn’t much fun to be had. Friend in Koh Chang said they had to eat in the hotel everyday as nothing open where they were. Let’s hope it’s all recovered for next high season. That said.  for those still planning to visit I do understand nowhere like amazing Thailand - but remember I told you many things closed and you might be the only person in your hotel. 

I was scheduled to travel to Thailand 2nd July. I have now rebooked for 5th December, I will be heading directly to Buriram (normally Pattaya first) to see the wife’s family and then final destination Hua Hin for golf with my buddies. We always go to Pattaya for 10-14 days during our trip but not this year or any year until we have a vaccine. We like to drink in the soi’s until 24.00 and then into walking street. Neither of these places can you manage social distancing and with the broad range of nationalities from so many countries visiting it would be impossible to know if your safe with any certainty. There are several strains and the mutated version which is much more contagious and deadly which hit Italy, Britain the states has not yet arrived in Asia. There is so much unknown still, such as immunity and how long it might last and for which strain. With the risk of the 12 hour flight plus Pattaya being an international hub and then the current exchange rate (40 today) I would think western tourist will be in short supply for many years. There is so much fear in the U.K. right now, we are waiting for Boris to brief the country on Sunday but the headlines are that there will be very little easing of the stay at home message, over 30,000 people have died everyone knows someone who died. Pattaya could get Asian tourists from Korea, China maybe some Indians But I think this will be it and for 3 years or more and here is why - Warren Buffett last week sold all of his shares in the top four US airlines, losing $40BN, he said these companies will chew through money and not recover for years, here in U.K. Virgin announced 3000 redundancies and BA 12,000. Ba are saying it will be 3-5 years before they recover to pre covid flight numbers. 

I thought it was a good interview I didn’t know the embassy  was still there or their phased approach to move nor did I know how many expats live here or the number of U.K. tourist and I certainly had not thought about the broad range of responsibilities the Embassy got involved in. I would like to see more of these types of interviews with a regular update in what the embassy is doing working with the Thai government.