KhaoYai

My Thai home was broken into recently and amongst the items stolen was my HJC Punisher Helmet. These are not cheap and I haven't seen another in Thailand so if anyone gets offered the helmet, sees it or has any information, I would appreciate it if you could contact me via PM here. There is a reward for information that leads to an arrest. There is very little chance of catching the burglars but this helmet might just be their downfall. The one in the photos in a the MK 2 but looks wise, its very similar to my MK1.

Are you in Thailand? I can't ever remember wanting to drive in Thailand without aircon.

I've just had some money transfered to me by Dee Money and it was 1 day late. As far as I'm aware they guarantee a next working day transfer - they state: As such, if the transaction has been done on a working day in both countries (Thailand and the receiving country) and before 4 PM of the working day and the money was not received within the guaranteed time given, DeeMoney will offer an immediate refund of the transfer amount and service fee. The above is subject to conditions which is to be expected but as far as I can see, nothing they list as exceptions forms the reason for the late receipt. The sender phoned them to ask where the transfer had go to and was told "sorry, App update". I am not a Dee Money member so I don't know exactly how their service works but what I'd like to know is: when you make a transfer using Dee Money, is the default service 'Dee Next' (the guaranteed service) or is it a different service?

Probably very different fuel but I had to sort a BMW 325d that had been run on bio-diesel long term - until it eventually stopped after the owner started it following a 2 week hoilday and refused to start again. Everything in the fuel system, injectors, injection pump, fuel pump, pipes - even the tank, was gummed up and the only thing that would remove it without damage was petrol and a lot of hours. It may have been ex chip shop oil, no idea but that experience put me right off bio-diesel.

Whilst I totally agree that having paper copies with you is best, if you read the e-mail that comes with your Thailand Pass QR, it says that you can provide digital or paper copies.

He loves shooting things - especially people suspected of dealing drugs.

I'm not buying into anything but my Prime Minister already has - Thailand has also imposed bans and quarantine requirements. I won't be alone in the fact that if I am to get things done on time and at the right price, I have to book and pay for a pre-departure PCR test (Airline rules) and car parking. If things go wrong I'll lose out to some extent on things I've already paid for so it seems a little crazy to book more with the current situation. 22 cases in the UK already - Thailand banned flights from South Africa when they had just 59. At the current rate, the UK will pass that number in a few days. It might never happen - that doesn't make it any less worrying (or infuriating) - I'll be very happy if it turns out I'm worrying for nothing.

The number of tourists is a very debatable subject but as has previously been said, many will not be tourists at all - people visiting to see their wives, families, business etc. The TAT may have thought it a good idea to ask the reason for travel on the Thailand Pass application - there wasn't a place for visiting wives or family so I for example, just ticked travel. For the future, a lot will depend on Thailand's response to the Omicron variant. If they impose tighter restrictions, many will simply cancel. However, it's not entirely down to what Thailand does. My own government (UK) has started to impose restrictions and added to their Red List again. After more than 20 months away I'm booked to arrive on 30 December but as I've no doubt many other's will, I'll be watching the situation very closely. As well as the worry that Thailand may close up again, I have to consider the fact that even if Thailand remains open to tourists from the UK, if the situation in Thailand itself becomes more serious, they might be put on the UK's Red List. If I am allowed to fly and that happens whilst I'm away, I'll probably be given a couple of days notice to get myself home or face 10 days quarantine at a cost of £2285 (103,000 baht). This situation is absolutely crazy - over the last 20 months, I and thousands of others have been prevented from visiting our families and hundreds of thousands of Thai's have been thrown out of work due to the collapse of tourism. At first, although they were hard to live with, I supported restrictions and understood the need for them. However, time has moved on and its clear this virus is going to be with us for a long time. There will be countless new variants in the coming months and years. We have to learn to live with the virus. So many of our 'leaders' have said the same but as soon as a new variant comes along, its forgotten and the travel bans/restrictions begin again. Living with the virus means accepting that some people will be infected and sadly some will die but there is no such thing as living a 100% safe life. You could be run over and killed simply crossing a road or struck down with food poisoning and be sick for a while. The vaccines were supposed to let us 'learn to live with the virus' - we in the UK have been told from the very start that they were not 100% effective against all features but that they would offer a good level of protection, especially against severe illness and death. A new variant comes along and the 'learn to live with it' message seems to have been forgotten. Yes, this variant may be more infectious, it may be more resistant to the vaccines and the government may want a little time to study Omicron's capabilities but is this going to happen every time a new variant comes along? There is no way of forecasting when a new variant will appear and it is entirely possible that one may come along whilst Omicron is being studied. Are we to be in limbo forever? The UK's governments answer when they are questioned about the fairness of imposing quarantine charges on people returning home is that in light of the Pandemic, you should be prepared for things to change before you make the decision to travel. If we all start to do that, the airlines, hotels and tour companies + their support industries are doomed. Very few people are going to take the risk of being quarantined - imagine how much a family arriving back in the UK is going to have to pay? As an example, a husband and wife with one kid aged 11+ and one aged 5-11 will have to pay £5470 (246,000 baht) for their quarantine hotel. How many families can save up that amount + the cost of their holiday before travelling? Living with the virus?

You've actually become Thai. Maybe a little late though as the population seem to be slowly waking up to the buffalo jutt they've been fed for so many years.

Ahh 'Big Pharma' one of the conspiracy theorists biggest targets. I have no doubt that Pharmeceutical companies make billions, they also spend billions 'at risk'. Many of us on Asean Now wouldn't be here if it wasn't for drugs, vaccines and advances in the treatment of diseases in general - I certainly wouldn't. I have no doubt that there will be examples of sharp practice in the medical world, just as there are in all spheres but just remember this, no other industry is subject to the amount of scrutiny that they are and of course, they are also vulnerable to competition and illegal generic copies of their products. One scam that I do think exists is in Covid 19 testing. I'm sure there are greater extremes but in general a PCR test in the UK costs between £59 and £160 - its the same test, how can one be almost 3 times more expensive? Thailand is no different. Everyone it seems, has jumped on the bandwagon and become a Covid tester and as with any other 'in things' - there are more than the average amount of scammers and rip off merchants involved. In my opinion, any government that imposes a testing requirement should provide those tests themselves at a reasonable cost.

Did you include a cropped jpeg of the QR code in your application? I've done several applications for friends etc. recently and I've found that when I use the additional box that allows a crop of the QR code, those applications were approved immediatley. I can't swear to that but that's been the only difference from previous applications.

I don't think she's pushing back at all. She's simply describing her experiences so far, which have only been with fully vaccinated patients who to date have only presented with mild symptoms. She cannot comment on how this new variant will affect unvaccinated patients until she has some - that's what I took as her main point. The fact that she's only dealt with fully vaccinated patients suggests her medical facility is somewhere in the vicinity of the university that had a cluster of infections - The Tshwane University of Technology where I believe it is a requirement to be double vaccinated.

And your points are relevant to my post because.........? I said it would get in anyway as delta did. If you are classing me as one of those 'people who really have no idea how viruses work.' I never claimed I did and neither do I think the world is ending, my concerns are purely about being able to visit my wife and the world getting back to a 'new normal', which means learning to live with the virus. So I'm struggling to understand why you chose my post to quote from and neither issue is correct.

That's the interview I referred to earlier.

I have already explained that not everybody's personal circumstances allow them to travel when they want. If I could have dropped everything and gone to Thailand on 1 November, I would. I may well still be able to travel but I think its unlikely.

I would have thought that was bloody obvious - MY WIFE AND FAMILY ARE IN THAILAND! You can travel but having bought and paid for my planned trip and gone through a thoroughly ill constructed application process, its looking like I won't be abe to travel.

Agreed, I've never met one yet that is prepared to consider the science or look at genuine evidence. As soon as they are backed into a corner they call evidence 'propaganda'. For those, mandatory vaccination is the only way - can't see it happening in either the UK or Thailand though.

Having to be tested is nothing like being prevented from travelling.

A further point: How many of those already passed to visit Thailand who will now be required to quarantine for 14 days will actually travel? 14 days is a very popular duration to spend on a holiday - few genuine tourists will accept quarantine. How many that are genuine tourists and lose money as a result, will make Thailand their choice next year? Further damage to the Thai tourist industry - long term.

I am fully aware there are people worse off then me - I said there are kids growing up without seeing their fathers. Deal with it the best I can? For how long? At what point will those who say 'We have to learn to live with the virus" actually mean it? Some countries have made special provisions for those who need to travel on compassionate grounds - not mine or Thailand though. What's wrong with introducing such a policy if this situation is ongoing as it almost certainly is? You claim to have travelled in and out of Thailand many times since the pandemic began, clearly your personal circumstances allow that - most people cannot do that. Its very easy to say that other people's situations are 'sob stories' when nothing prevents you from travelling. I don't quite understand your point on having 42 covid tests, I'd have 142 if I could travel.

If they really want to arrest this man - just do a deal with the Saudis. He's present at just about every Formula 1 race - next in Saudi on 5 December. God knows who's passport he travels on but with his cash, that's not a problem.

And the next new variant? How long can this go on? I shouldn't need to remind you that its been almost 2 years already.

On that, I agree with you but it will never happen.

1. They've had more than enough time to get their act together with v accines, they messed it up and procrastinated from the start whilst announcing trips to the moon, buying submarines and planes that's they won't ever use in anger. 2. I wish I had your optimism - I think they'd still impose restrictions if 100% were vaccinated, they've been paranoid about this virus for ages and spread fear of foreigners amongst the population.

Pitfalls? I've been away for 20 months already - each time I try to get back I'm thwarted, either by my own government's rules, the Thai's or both. Even if I am allowed to travel in December, I'll be living in fear of the UK placing Thailand on their Red List all the time I'm away. I that happens, on return I'm placed in compulsory quarantine for 10 days at my own expense (£2285) even if there were no restrictions when I left. I have been required to home quarantine for 10 days, 4 times since the pandemic started and fully complied each time. There are kids growing up that haven't seen their fathers for almost 2 years! We simply have to get back to some form of normal.