Oblomov

Recently got back from 4 months on  Koh Samui and around Phuket amongst other places.

This is the devastation caused by the panicked and insane restrictions to travel sector and the auxiliary industries that are linked to it or reliant on it. Kids opening rubbish bags looking for things to sell. Starving dogs. Lamai beach was not only covered in congealed oil but filthy with rubbish. Chawaeng similarly covered in rubbish that is dumped in the closed down resorts.

To stimulate any significant investment in reviving these important employment hubs for the young and those that have lost their businesses and livelihoods, all entry restrictions will have to be removed apart from the vaccination proof. Also a consistent and coherent policy that is not implemented then revoked and that is realistic. Almost all forms of all viruses are in every nation on Earth, so to pretend otherwise with these futile reactions to the normal ebb and flow of flu-type virus infection borders on state insanity. 

If Thailand's 'leaders' continue to use this to attempt to put a cork in student protests, or any other discontent and legitimate  protest in this supposedly democratic country, then we all know where that will lead.

Like many others in many other posts, there are cleaner beach destinations with more pragmatic entry protocols. It's about managing risks rationally, as we all do each time we open out eyes in the morning. 

Removing test prior to departure but retaining test on arrival, with the obvious risk of enforced 'treatment'/isolation/quarantine is transparently stupid and can serve only one purpose. 

Thailand is jammed in that uncomfortable place of not knowing whether to fully open US/UK/European style or attempt the futile China model but without the reserves China has nor the monolithic state population control organs. That equals uncertainty. People won't travel in these circumstances and who can blame them.

On 2/8/2022 at 6:52 AM, Chosenfew said:

Time to get rid of the masks, by the way, if masks work, why don’t they?

Well said.????

1 hour ago, 1FinickyOne said:

I said that in the 1980s... 

 

love me some Goncharov.. 

Me too on both especially the Goncharov   : )

A mass movement to end the idiocy of the outdoor mask rule. It was so nice to be in Phuket and Koh Samui and beathe the air on breezy beaches.

Time for Thailand to catch up and reset to how we must move on from this, just as all with sense have been saying here for many months. 

4 hours ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

Guess you missed the fact that this is posted in the Cambodia forum.

Guess I did. 

But then state mandated daftness is hardly unique to the Cambodians in this region. I wasn't aware Cambodia was potentially getting those sorts of numbers.

30 minutes ago, calbts2 said:

The dominoes are falling all around Thailand. The Philippines just eliminated all quarantine and arrival tests for vaccinated travelers as they have come to their senses.

 

Watch what Vietnam does as that in my opinion will be key in forcing Thailand to get rid of all of these useless tests/quarantines/insurance as so much face will be lost. These other countries will get their tourist industries recovering faster while Thailand's reputation and self inflicted economic damage deteriorate further.

 

My prediction is by July(maybe sooner), Thailand's hand will be forced into opening up 100% which includes all land borders.

 

 

I think you're dead right - it's beyond silly as the only way forward is simply to reopen, spend the revenue wisely (that's a laugh but it would help) and accept our world as it now is, and not how we rather wistfully whish it was.

What is that supposed to tell anyone?  They invite larger numbers by the resumption of Test and (sort of ) Go, then warn of 'closures'  (closures of what?) if invited numbers do in fact arrive! More idiocy labelled as policy.

The Chinese hordes are not here nor are they likely to be for a year at least, so what induces this latest bout of panic before the event?

Either open or close ; most potential visitors  doubtless care little about Thailand at this point, but for Heaven's sake be consistent and stop panicking and sending out conflicting messages, and this idiotic resort to abrupt policy changes. 

On 1/28/2022 at 5:21 AM, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

I agree it is not worth leaving if you do not have too.

 

However, if you have obligations elsewhere and you do not have a choice it is not that difficult to leave or return.

 

I was in Thailand from May 2021 to September 2021 and had an vital, must attend meeting, forcing me to leave Thailand.

 

Left without any issues.

 

When I landed in the USA I had a text message the vital must attend meeting was canceled.  <deleted>

 

I rebooked my return trip for 3 weeks later (covid rules) and returned without any issues.

 

This month, I had to return again and there really was not any issues, besides a covid test 24 hours before I was to depart.

 

Most of the so called issues are not that difficult, if you are able to count to 10 and follow instructions.  LOL

You're right. Of course the occasional trip that goes awry gets in the news but the overwhelming majority get round the, admitted, inconveniences and silliness. 

Compared to Bali, where I mostly spent winters for many years, this country is a walk in the park, although the idiocy of wearing a mask, metres from anyone, in a breezy park, persists. Though masks off when all squeezed into food halls and eateries. Go figure.

21 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Hehe. You must've never had the change problem.

 

Back in the states, if the bill's like $140.36, we give $150.36 expecting to get 10 bucks in change.

 

Thais really don't get this. For a 346 baht bill, I give 1046 baht hoping to get back 700 baht. Nope. They count it wrong or something, and I get back like 600 baht, and the bunch of coins I was trying to avoid. Heh.

Yet they always get it 'wrong' on the side favorable to them and not say, 800 instead of 600. 

7 hours ago, riverhigh said:

I am so bored with the situation. Why bother trying to control a virus that is uncontrollable. In my opinion governemnts around the world should let Omicron do it's thing and let us get on with our lives. Many of the people who land up in hospital have only themselves to blame for making bad life choices. Overeating, too much sugar in their diets (diabetes), drinking excessive alcohol, drugs, etc, Their poblem not mine.  There is a small minority that have been dealt some bad cards in life but that should not mean the vast majority of healthy people being locked up. As to elderly group, which I belong to, I do not feel they have the right to deny the young people their youth. Elderly people have to accept that they are nearing the end of their life lease and stop making demands on healthy young people.

Best bit of good sense I've ever read here. I had to check that I hadn't posted that myself. If I had the good fortune to know you, I'd buy you a drink. 

1 hour ago, 3NUMBAS said:

more than a million in UK with long term covid of differing severity

Mostly those that like sitting around at home and getting paid for it 

12 hours ago, Airalee said:

One wonders what the health conditions and comorbidities were/are of those that suffer long term effects after Covid.  I know a few people who got Covid.  A couple are doing just fine afterwards (both were fit before contracting it and the effects both during and after were minimal.  One even ran a marathon shortly afterwards.  Even got a personal best if I remember correctly.  
 

Another was obese.  He had a tough time both during and for a while after his infection.  He has now decided to embark on a pretty serious fitness regimen and is doing much better now.

 

Could “long Covid” just be an extension of a persons general poor health.  Kind of a “straw that broke the camels back”?

Exactly -  I've counted 50+  friends and acquaintances who've had it and all had extremely minor symptoms, (certainly compared to the grave and genuinely life altering and life ending  illnesses that some unfortunately suffer, often more stoically) and apart from the possibly 10 or so that have significant other more serious conditions and varying degrees of obesity, none much in the way of post viral symptoms. 

As you rightly say, give yourself the best chance by being around the correct weight, eat a nutritious diet and exercise. Poor general health through lack of exercise, getting very fat and eating food devoid of nutrition will ensure much worse outcomes during any periods of illness. 

1 minute ago, jeanrem said:

Anyway... who did care about those numbers... most countries explain those numbers were fake...bumped or whatever you wanna call them. 

Fake is about right. Dishonest. Context omitted. 

43 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

So now we can concentrate on the bad driving and show road charts where the bad accidents take place. 

Or even get young Thais taugh better for the roads as they are now. It's truly sad to read of so many young Thais killed and maimed. 

A minor contributing factor most likely but with various other co-morbidity factors not to mention the old gal was 86!  What percentage even reach that remarkable age?

4 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Part reason why tallies are so high in the west. Go to hospital with something completely unrelated to covid, contract covid later on but die of the original condition within 28 days and you’re still added to the covid deaths. 

Perfectly said and add to that the significant obesity related complications and the fact that the aged would succumb to any similar flu/pneumonia or other respiratory ailment and some salient truths are shined onto to some decidedly misleading data

Adults in general react better to factual data, yet reading some posts here, that's not a universal maxim.