John Drake

Hope this doesn't become a straw purchase. At this stage, I'd be reluctant to sell anything military to Thailand that may end up in Myanmar or even China.

Who are you exactly? There is no name I see attached to this first person essay.

Everywhere you look, China and Russia, and their allies, are already winning: 1. Myanmar 2. Syria 3. Iran/Iraq 4. South China Sea 5. China/India border 6. China/Nepal border 7. Cambodia 8. Laos 9. Kazakhstan 10. Libya 11. Ukraine 12. And don't forget Thailand and Afghanistan. In each case China/Russia has advanced its interests at the expense of the West. And there has been no pushback. Could probably put more countries on that list if looking close, such as Italy, Greece, and even places like the Solomons being bought out economically by China/Russia. Just about everywhere the West is in retreat.

Nato is toothless. It unilaterally disarmed, while Russia was investing in expensive new military technologies, all funded by Nato countries sending money hand over fist to Putin for "cheap" energy. Meanwhile, Germany and France even used the past decade to try and position themselves to profit, Germany economically, and France diplomatically. They're doing the same thing right now with China. It doesn't get any softer or weaker than that.

I think the Czechs, for one, have done this.

Depends on the reason the "tourists" are going somewhere.

No way the US can stop any of this going further. The US armed forces are soft and weakened, if not degenerate. And who knows how many foreign agents and saboteurs have come across the southern US border in the past year. The country is utterly vulnerable, not hardened physically, psychologically, fiscally, or intellectually. Could collapse like a popped balloon.

Of course, as a sort of tit for tat, the US could take over Russia's two assets in the Americas, Cuba and Venezuela.

Today of all days.

Who couuullld that be?

So, it looks like in a few days we'll be back to calling it "Kiev" again?

When did "Kiev" become "Kyiv?"

Probably right. Let's hope they incrementally return to the status quo ante.

How does their digital transformation compare with this one: "Last Friday, the Thai Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakhamanusorn appeared to resurrect plans first mooted by the military junta up to 2015, to install a national internet gateway in Thailand to control and restrict access to external online content as an issue of national security." https://aseannow.com/topic/1251112-minister-signals-a-move-to-resurrect-a-national-internet-gateway-and-stronger-online-controls/

Just put things back the way they were before the Covid restrictions.

Can't we just go back to the way things were, say, ten years ago, in 2012?

Or the other way around. Look who are the CEOs of Western tech companies such as Twitter, Google/Alphabet, Microsoft, IBM, and Adobe.

Just can't let the entire thing go, however, can they? Forget the testing. All of it, and the threat of quarantine. Scrap the insurance. All of it. If someone can't get insurance because of age or previous condition, it's not going to make a difference whether the policy is for $1 or $10 million. Just let it all go. Put things back to the way they were, and then maybe things will start to improve.

No worries about anything. I'm sure Gen. Milley is on top of it.

War coming because our oligarchs don't like their oligarchs.

You're very much right about this. It has always been Thailand's appeal: the ease of travel in and out on a whim, finding a place or an event you suddenly wanted to see. Now, you're stuck on a conveyor belt and need to reserve your place on it some significant time in advance.

Paywall. Can you summarize?

So, it's 2:15 pm. What happened?

Thailand Pass is simply a new name for a visa with more stringent requirements, especially insurance. Obviously, this is impractical for the numbers of people they expect from India, Malaysia, and China, so the government is developing "travel bubbles" with those countries that I would suspect will exempt them Thailand Pass, while keeping it in place for people from Europe and the Americas. Wonder if Russia will get a travel bubble too?

Could well be. The OP refers to "Indian travelers," not "travelers coming from India."