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2 hours ago, mogandave said:

Dual pricing is routine in the US. 

It is, but as the Thais would say, “same same but different”.  
 

The way dual pricing works at State and National Parks in the US. and other locations such as ski resorts, amusement parks and some other attractions is that there is a set base price of admission which everybody, foreignor or not, pays. The tiered pricing comes in to play at a discount for senior citizens, children and disabled regardless of the status of their citizenship. U.S. military veterans and students with proper identification also pay a discounted entry fee. 

15 hours ago, secondtime said:

Xi recently watched a program about Thailand and said:  "90% of Thais are not wearing masks. This is the reason their country is being infected all around.  Many of them dress dirty and don’t shower."

 

There's no way Xi will let dirty Thai tourists into China. 

I wonder if Xi’s seen the videos of his fellow Chinese at Thai seafood buffets or the photo of the Chinese tourist taking his evening growler on the street in plain view of diners in Thailand. ????

12 hours ago, mike1967 said:

Does this include a ten day holiday in prison, sorry hospital?

Both my girlfriend and I tested positive, first via ATK test, then PCR test at San Sai Hispital.  They wanted to put the “grabbus” on me, but since my symptoms were mild, I refused. I signed an AMA waiver and bailed out with the medications they provided me.  I’ve been at home since then and will be free to leave self-quarantine on the 11th. 
 

A friend of mine was not so lucky. He decided to check out Hua Hin before flying back to the U.S.  Prior to his flight home he took a PCR test.  That’s when he found out he had the crud. Since he’s a tourist with no residence in Thailand, he’ll be spending ten days in a hospitel setting before he’s released to go home. 

2 hours ago, Trip Hop said:

Spoke to a mate earlier who arrived on Samui yesterday and he said it’s dead?

I’m not sure which part of Samui your friend is referring to, but it’s not dead. I’ve been here a year now and started noticing an increase in tourism beginning in October. Here in Lamai where I live, restaurants, bars - some with live music - massage shops and gyms are open. Some bars are open until 2:00 am and these places aren’t even trying to pretend they’re restaurants. Even the police make the random appearance on foot patrol, smile, take a few selfies and move on the next soi. Not every place is open, but it’s far from dead. 

On 12/10/2021 at 5:38 PM, bdenner said:

I use quality masks BUT now we are approaching the cooler season my glasses are fogged up.

Although I have not flown for 2 years I'm sure it could be a problem.

What's the solution?

 

With or without the valve, none of the surgical masks or the typical masks you typically see people wearing, with the exception of something like a filtered respirator type mask is going to keep a person’s breath from exiting the seal between the wearer’s face and mask unfiltered. The restriction on valves masks is nothing more than an example of some official trying to “outstupid” some other other official for yet another useless feel-good measure. 
 

As for keeping your glasses from digging up, if you wear your mask so that the top edge of the mask rests between your face and the bottom frame of your glasses, your breath which escapes your mask will act like a defroster, keeping the fog off your lenses. Keeping your lenses clean also helps.
 

You could also switch to contact lenses or if your vision is not that bad, just don’t wear your glasses unless you really need to.  Luckily for me, my vision is not that bad so I don’t wear glasses while I wear the mask. 

At one point I became the unofficial half owner of my girlfriend’s bar in Chiang Mai. She already owned it when I met her. She was fortunate enough to sell it a few months before the Controlla Virus lockdown. 
 

As the months passed and various alcohol restrictions and varying degrees of enforcement came and went, the thing I noticed about the bars was that all the tourist / falang bars had to close, whereas it seemed that the jungle bars were operating more freely. All the tourist bars in the area where she owned hers are now gone. 
 

Even before the lockdown, I saw the business for falang / tourist bars declining because of decreasing numbers in tourism. The Jungle bars didn’t have that problem because their sales numbers are not dependent on tourism, but the local

population. 
 

It’s no secret that if a Thai has a thousand baht in his / her pocket, it will be spent before the night is over. Add to that, difficult times and most people for that matter will spend what they can to make themselves feel good if even for a few hours. 
 

Even now that restrictions are easing a bit, the jungle bars are still going strong with their Thai customer base and the tourist bars Thad managed to survive to this point are slowly showing signs of life. Unfortunately there are not a lot of tourists to bring back the money the bar owners in enjoyed. 
 

If we were to open another bar it would be a jungle bar. Definitely. 

On 11/17/2021 at 11:21 AM, huangnon said:

Obviously not the ones owned / protected by his own minions, or the RTP.

-Will be a nice little Christmas  / New Year bonus for them, I imagine.

 

Probably extending the ban to Chinese New Year, to be announced mid January

Interesting you mention Chinese New Year. I agree with you, but something tells me that if China were to allow its people to travel internationally, we’d start to see these restrictions truly be lifted. 

9 hours ago, SheungWan said:

Just confirming. Only applies to Thai PayPal accounts? Accounts registered in UK and elsewhere unaffected. Yes? Or will Ppal block the use of these if currently staying in Thailand?

I have a US PayPal account. A few months ago a friend shipped a few things to me and I reimbursed him via PayPal. My transaction went through but when I tried using PayPal to buy something on eBay, my PayPal was temporarily locked for what was deemed “suspicious fraudulent activity”. I had to answer questions regarding my previous transactions and essentially reset my account. After jumping through those hoops I again tried using PayPal and again, it was locked. Once more I jumped through the hoops and reset the account only to have it locked again when I tried to use it again. The last email I received from PayPal informed me that I could withdraw my money and transfer it to my bank account but not make any purchases until I jump through yet more hoops and reset my account yet again. I’ve withdrawn my money and pretty much written off PayPal. 

18 hours ago, fulhamster said:

Any indication of prices ??

 

Here’s a link to the website but I don’t see prices specific to the new course in question unless I missed it. 
 

https://siamcountryclub.com

Heinecke has a valid point and although he might directly represent hotels in Bangkok, he also points to other hotels that are part of SHA+ and restaurants which should be allowed to sell alcohol. It makes sense. Unfortunately I don’t think the Thai government is going to pay much attention to him. 
 

I’ve had friends and family back in the US ask me about whether or not they should book flights to Thailand. When I explain the obstacles they have to deal with and the current state of prohibition, they would rather go somewhere else. I can’t say that I blame them. 

8 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Does that also mean they stop driving if a person die in traffic? Do they stop walk in stairs if someone falls down?

 

Ridiculous, rapes and murders happens in all countries. People just don´t stop go out eating because of that.

You’d be surprised. I retired from law enforcement and it wasn’t uncommon for me to have someone ask me if it was safe for them to carry on with their lives after they heard of some terrible crime that happened nowhere near where they lived. 

16 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

And yet the baht hardly moves.

It is a mystery for sure.

I’m not one of these argumentative a$$hats looking to poop all over everybody’s post but I just checked the exchange rate for the US Dollar. At the moment it’s trading at 32.93 Baht. Here’s a look at what the exchange rate has been over the last year. The £, € and Dollars of Canada, Australia and New Zealand all appear to be doing better now as well when looking at their values over the course of the last year.  Maybe it’s not a lot of movement for some but the exchange rate is moving more to the favor of Westerners here in Thailand. 
 

15 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Can anyone recommend a country to visit from Thailand for holiday and vaccine.

AU passport.

Serious question. I'm over this rubbish.

I was going to fly back to the US to visit family, handle personal matters and get vaccinated. Unfortunately my flight was cancelled by the airline and I will need to find another flight. In any event, there are many locations throughout the US where you can receive your vaccination of choice without the need for an appointment. Here is a link to the CDC website. Select the second link for information regarding available locations for vaccination. https://www.cdc.gov
 

Here’s a link for the US State Department where you should be able to find information regarding travel to the US. Quarantine restrictions will vary from

one state to the next, but for the most part, not required as of when I was planning on going. Things may have changed by now. https://www.state.gov
 

I hope this helps. 

36 minutes ago, Keesters said:

 

So money becomes the excuse for getting a vaccination before others. 

Money is the excuse for getting just about anything before others. 

I’ll be going back to the US later this month to visit family and take care of some personal matters. While I’m there I’ll have my choice of facilities within a five mile radius of where I’m staying to be vaccinated with the vaccine of my choice, incurring no out of pocket expense for said vaccination. Something tells me that when I return two months later, many people here in Thailand - Thai and falang alike - will still be dealing with trying to get vaccinated and a bunch of excuses and unanswered questions as to when they’ll be able to receive a vaccine. 

7 hours ago, clivebaxter said:

Will those with Mor Prom appts need to re register, or will those still be OK when we turn up?

That depends on which of the “official” announcements you choose to believe. I’ve seen it previously written where registrations made on the Mor Prom app will be honored and then again I’ve seen written where the Mor Prom registrations are going to be disregarded. 

I spent my whole career working for local government back in the US and one thing I learned was not to rely on the government to take care of anybody or anything other than itself. 

This happened in Lamai. My girlfriend and I were having dinner at Pizza Del Sol, which is about a block away from Hundred Bar when I saw two police officers ride past on their motorbike with a Police pickup truck following behind. As they slowed down I knew some people were in store for a quick end to their night out. About twenty to thirty minutes later the pickup truck drove away with those arrested in the truck bed. 

15 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So if all one happens to have a lifetime Pension that pays a tidy sum  monthly and has nothing in savings then they are not able to retire in Thailand, or other countries, is that the gist of the article?  Or lets see, only having a savings of 1 million USD, but no pension, then they can afford to retire in Thailand as well as elsewhere?  So confused.  Everyone's life style is different and what one wants to buy and eat for their meals, and just like where they choose to live differs, Each individual should learn to live within their means.  I know a few who live in Thailand on just their SS from the US and they are happy as can be.  I also know a few who can afford to live the hi-life and do so but are not happy because they do not have enough in their view.  We all made our beds a long time ago and you either enjoy what you have or you don't, no use crying over spilled milk.

I think the article is mainly talking about savings. I didn’t see anything referencing pensions unless I overlooked it. In 2018 I retired at the age of 50 with 29 years’ credit for my pension. I had nowhere near the amount of savings mentioned in the article at the time of my retirement. My pension allows me to live comfortably here in Thailand without having to worry about finances. 

10 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Sheesh. If the current government were popularly elected, and enacted such a scheme (was it even authorized by Parliament?) the minions would be shutting down Bangkok with their whistles and clappers.

 

As it is. Meh. Just another day in the Kingdom. Nothing to see here.

 

"Corruption? In Thailand? I'm shocked."

 

Next you'll be telling me there's illegal gambling.

 

 

 

 

...and prostitution. 

When I was back in the US in January I purchased a full face, SHOEI RF-1200 helmet for about $485.00 and brought it back with me to Chiang Mai.  It's both SNELL approved and DOT rated.  Compared to the REAL helmet I bought in Chiang Mai and was using up to that time, there is no comparison.  I don't remember exactly what I paid for the REAL helmet but I believe it was less than Bt 2000.00, or about $60.00.  

If you're in Chiang Mai, Chang Moto sells legitimate SNELL rated and DOT approved helmets.  I bought my girlfriend a HJC CL-17 full face helmet for Bt 4200.00 or about $134.00.  That same helmet is also SNELL rated and DOT approved and costs the same back in the US at Cycle Gear.  

Believe me.  Trying to talk my Thai girlfriend into getting a good helmet was an uphill battle.  Finally I had to take her to Chang Moto without her realizing where we were going until it was too late.  And then there was the comical arguing we were having in the shop as she was refusing to get one.  I told her we weren't leaving until she agreed on a helmet which I would gladly pay for.  

Here are photos of my SHOEI and the REAL helmet side by side for a comparison.  The thickness in padding is quite noticeable and although not visible in the photos, the REAL helmet has a ratcheting chin strap, which I'm not too impressed with. 

The bottom line for me is that safety and quality should not be compromised when talking about a helmet.  Even if your Thai helmet looks cool, you're going to want something that is going to protect you and prevent you from turning your head into a canoe if the unthinkable happens while you're on your bike.