calmichael

On 6/13/2021 at 2:09 PM, hotchilli said:

Most parents of children in my neighbourhood have all said they don't want kids going back to school yet.

They've not been vaccinated, the kids have had nothing and the majority or local teachers are still waiting.

Exactly!

On 2/18/2021 at 2:58 PM, wasabi said:

I know some will be skeptical of what I am going to tell you and I am not even sure of it but here goes:

 

In March of 2019 (Yes many months before Covid-19 was known and possibly even existed) My wife and I flew from Bangkok back to California. We flew on a Chinese airline and transited in a Chinese international airport. We didn't wear any masks on any flights because Covid was not a thing at that time and few people wore them. About 3 days after landing in California I got quite ill. I had a fever and cough with lots of phlegm. I know people say they have a dry cough but I always have an issue with phlegm every time I'm sick. Over about a week I gradually got better. 2 days after I came down with it my wife got sick. Her illness was much more severe than mine. She had trouble breathing and a few times we considered going to an emergency room, but didn't. Remember this is before Covid was a known thing. Then she slowly lost her entire sense of smell. Either she could not smell or everything smelled like burnt coffee or sickeningly sweet when in fact it did not. For the next six months she had trouble breathing and it took a full year for her smell to return. We went to many Dr's but no one knew why she lost her smell. I am type O+ and she is B+ if it was Covid then O+ tends to have less severe symptoms. To this day she still has some issues with coughing that she never had before but she largely is recovered. We are both in our 40s and otherwise healthy.

 

My theory is this could have been a very early strain of Covid-19. Since then it mutated and become more and more deadly though recent headlines indicate it is now getting less virulent. So if this is correct the virus in some form was around as much as 6 months before what is currently reported as the earliest known case.

Same exact story here. I haven’t left Pattaya for several years, but was frequently around tourists and I was in the same malls, restaurants etc. In April of 2019 I became extremely ill and exhibited the same symptoms as you, including extreme fatigue, cough, sleeplessness, and a brain fog that pretty much put an end to life as normal. I went from lifting weights 3 or 4 times a week, to having difficulty climbing a flight of stairs. I have never been ill with anything remotely resembling this illness. 
About 6 months later, at the supposed beginning of covid, I went to my normally calm and rational Dr. and inquired if maybe I had caught an early version or covid, or something similar, and that I am now what is know as a covid long-hauler. (The virus goes away but many of the symptoms remain).  He disagreed and excitedly told me that taking a test didn’t make sense, and he called me ‘irresponsible’. 
So, here I am, almost 2 years later, living life at about 60%. I’ve had just about every medical test known to my many recently acquired medical specialists, and they all say that I’m very fit. Except for these terrible symptoms.

So, I agree with you that this virus or one of it’s cousins made it’s appearance months before the authorities believe it did.

cheers!

 

On 4/27/2020 at 11:07 AM, newnative said:

    Agree.  Pattaya, itself, has been evolving for a number of years now into a resort that caters much more to regular tourists rather than the mongers.  Look at all the new development--and there's been a ton of it.  It's mostly not in the Walking Street area.  It's in Jomtien.  And, Pratamnuk/Cosy Beach.  And Wong Amat/Naklua.  And central and north Pattaya.  Terminal 21 didn't go in by Walking Street.  It was built about as far away as you can get from Walking Street and still be in the Pattaya Beach area.

   Same for the new hotels.  Where's the new Brighton Hotel?  The new Ozo Hotel? The new Amari wing? The new Grande Centre Point?  The new Mytt Hotel?  The new Grand Palazzo? The new LK Emerald Beach and the new Cosi Hotel, among lots of smaller others.  Where?  Not anywhere near Walking Street.   Same for new condos.  Few by Walking Street and many far, far away from Walking Street.

    Many tourists coming to Pattaya can have a very nice beach vacation and never set foot on Walking Street.  Like all resorts world-wide dependent on foreign tourists arriving by air, Pattaya is in for some slow times ahead, as are all the others. Maybe for several years.  But, once the virus is finally sorted, Pattaya will once again attract the tourists it was getting pre-virus.  Geography will not change and Pattaya is sitting a relatively short plane ride away from the two most populous countries on Earth.

Well said.

Very good post. Of course not everyone will agree with all of your points. But, you raise several issues that can't be disputed.

Well done!

I bought my girl a pair of headphones that plug into the headphone jack on the TV. With the Headphones plugged in, the TV speakers shut off. She can listen to the TV as loud as she likes, and I don't hear a thing!

I am really sorry to see Carrefour go. I am noticing that some of my favorite items are no longer stocked. And, after having really bad luck with phones that I purchased from Tuk-Com and BigC, I made all of my electronics purchases at CF and had very good luck and service.

Never mind, they will come around eventually. There are plenty of formerly powerful news organizations in the West also trying to figure out how to claw back the omnipotent control over news and information they once had. Happily, the boat has already sailed and the mass general public are all on board. Bon voyage

too true its nice to see the likes of the murdoch clan trying to extort money by charging for on line news........ but far too late.... as you say the boat has truely

left port without them

Remember televisions with 'rabbit ears' antennas? Now look at your T.V. See that cable? We now pay for content that we previously received for free. Now look at the Bangkok Post article that you are reading online. Soon, we will have to pay a bit for the privilege of getting that content delivered to our desktop. And rightly so.

Providing content is expensive. The days of using anothers hard earned work product for free will have to come to a close. Many blogging sites like this are not non-profit organizations. If you want to use someone else's work product you will have to pay for it. If the print media is going to survive in any way shape or form, they must adapt. This is an early indicator of that new paradigm. We are in the habit of getting our newspapers and magazines for free on the internet. I believe that those days are numbered.

I completely agree with the original post, it annoys me too. With a waitress I usually just tell her I need a minute and she'll get the hint. In stores I just tell them I don't need anything. If it comes to it I'll tell them to go away.

They're bothersome, but they're just trying to help. And people generally want to think that they're actually useful and that their job isn't totally useless, so I try to be polite unless they're super annoying. It's seriously gotta be boring standing in an aisle in Big C trying to sell irons or microwaves all day. And some Thai people do actually make use of them. I was at Tesco a few months ago with a girl buying a new fan, she made the clerk take her fan out of the box, assemble it, plug it to make sure it works, and then take it apart and put it back in the box.

I've bought several electronics items from Carre-Four(sp) like DVD players, fans, personal electronics, and phones. They always take the items out of the box to test them for me. Nice touch in my opinion. I know the product is working when I leave the store with it. I especially like buying phones for C.F. None of the nonsense that I get at Tuk-Com. Issues like used/missing/broken items in the box - or my favorite... taking things out of the original box and trying to sell them to me separately.

Thankfully the mechanic phoned and said he needed to see me about my car.

Was the repair cost within the estimate?

How does it run now?

Keep the car if it runs well.

Trade the girl.

Well, well well, another one.

As one who commenced his Far East and Sth East Asian 'Tour' in 1970 at the tender age of 16, let me just provide you with a few clues as to why you find yourself in this predicament.

I was married in Bangkok in 1985, I have a 100% 34 YO Thai Step Daughter and a 22 YO Ha Sip/Ha Sip son. My wife really doesn't want to return to Thailand permanently either. In fact a few years ago she vowed that she didn't care if she never came back at all, ever. Although she has softened that stance and has returned a couple of times for short visits/holidays. She finally renewed her Thai ID Card after more than 20 years of having niether a Thai Passport nor ID Card. She has been a fully fledged Australian Citizen since 1988. A very easy process all round. No discrimination whatsoever, no fees or charges, even given a present on behalf of the government at her Citizenship Ceremony.

Australia has afforded her things she could only have dreamed of in the Kingdom of Thailand. She is 50 years old now and in her day things we a little bit different than they are now. She had only 4 years of formal schooling in her life - All up. The remainder of her large family are mostly Uni Educated and are doing OK with very good jobs etc. but these offspring came along alot later than my wife did, when things were changing and the family moved to Bangkok and became somewhat 'affluent'.

We are successful Thai Restaurant Owners in OZ - The family owns 3 of them in the Melbourne area, we have been in Business, successfully, since '94 and still going well. My wife has a nice new car, nice house, good money and unlimited access to slot machines and casinos! She speaks English well and enjoys the freedoms, non discriminatory policies of our culture and government and receives reward for effort. She is looked up to within the local Thai Community in Australia and is the Defacto 'Yai' for many young Thais visiting or coming to live in Australia. She has status, experience and brains. She does not drink or smoke and never has. Our daughter, whose future in Thailand would not have been great in these days, has also done well for herself, Uni Educated in Aust, again with nice possessions, an affluent lifestyle and a good business.

My wife's recent return to Thailand, where the family renewed the house paper and where she obtained a new Thai ID Card was a 'nightmare'. Talk about a hard time and given the runaround. And looked down upon and treated with contempt by a large number of Thai Officials at various Government Departments. You see, she is now considered a defacto farang. She even has a farang 'accent' now, and that didn't go down well either. One Thai Female Government Officer even accused her of being a Burmese Refugee!!!!!! And was extremely rude to her mother - much her senior in years. Not very Thai you might say. Many Thais seem to resent those who 'fled' the country to make a better life for themselves and their children, and did, but this is only because of jealousy and envy. Decidely un-buddhist too.

I could go on. But you probably get the picture. In Australia my wife has 'Status', noone wants to know about her educational qualifications and she gets treated the same as i do, as a 5th Gen Australian.

Australia is accused often of being a 'racist' country. But you will get away with saying that about most countries really, much of it due to mere parochialism. You will always find pockets of racism and examples if you go looking hard enough. But on the whole my wife knows which side her bread is buttered on. A return to Thailand would see her revert to a 2nd Class Citizen in her own country. Another pleasing aspect is that she does not have to pay double or extra for anything in Oz, unlike us farangs do everyday in the LOS, she pays the same amount as anyone born in Australia.

Anyway - It didn't stop me moving here. I live here on a (Semi) Permanent basis and my wife now regualry visits for 'holidays' - when she is not busy being wheeling and dealing in Melbourne. We are good mates, the family, whilst dysfunctional to a degree, is intact. i live with my Mother In law and everyone is happy.

As an Ex Sailor, we have an old saying - You can take the boy from the navy, but you can't take the navy out of the boy. it is the same with many Thais. Deep down my wife is a Thai at heart and one day, when she is to old to keep up the frantic pace she lives at in Australia, she may just apply for a retirement Visa, like me, and return to see out her final years. But we shall wait and see.

Chok dee krab.

Thank you for that very nice post. It it very affirming.

My partner has just been to one of the banks branches - apparently they have told her that we have to wait to access the account until we are at the bank we opened the account in. So ALL we can do today is cancel the account? <deleted>

She was also told that if someone took the money then they cant give us the money back.

I guess the only thing I can do is get a picture copy of the culprit, and put up some reward posters in our local area??

I am out of the country, if anyone has a contact number for Ayyudhya bank in Phuket would really be appreciated.

cheers

" I am out of the country..."

Sorry to say, but that's a big red flag to me mate. You have a joint account and it's a male that withdrew the money. hmmmm my suspicious nature is aroused.

Speak for yourself, sassienie, some of us old coffin dodgers are enjoying ourselves just fine thank you. You'll be a coffin dodger yourself some day soon.

Amen to that Ian

I'm always a little suspiciouis of "Up to 50 %", so will wait and see what the actual offers are. If return flights originating from Thailand get the same discounts, then great news

I am surprised that they have not raised their prices again. Isn't that they way to do it when less income is coming in...lol

Tourist locations such as Phuket are going to be hard-hit. I did the rounds of Patong 4 days ago and again last night. 4 days ago I counted several bars which had already closed. Last night, the number of tourists was akin to a low-season evening. More bars had closed and in Soi Easy (about 20 bars) I counted just one solitary customer.

Maybe you say 'great if these cheap and cheerful bars close'. But that's one reason why many tourists come to Phuket. Take away the bustling Patong nightlife and the tourists won't come. Of course, Phuket also has it's 5-star tourists and resorts. I doubt that that sector will escape unscathed from these problems.

My (ex's) airport hotel is almost fully booked until 3rd January. After that, the bookings fall off a cliff. No-one is booking, even though it is peak season. Usually if people do not book at our transit hotel, it means that they are not booking their 1 or 2-week holidays at the beach resort hotels.

It's akin to Rome burning whilst Nero plays his violin, except that Rome is Phuket, Samui, Bangkok and Pattaya and Nero are the combined idiots of PAD, the weak government, the army, the airport authorities, the police and anyone else that you care to name who has only had their own interests at heart.

Simon

I agree with what you say. I just got back from Koh Samet yesterday. It was practically empty. I would be shocked if the hotels were at 20% occupancy rate. Restaurants - mostly empty. We took a day cruise around the islands - I was the only farang in the boat. The nice lady that rented a little bungalow to me and my teerak said that the island should be packed this time of year. Stand by for more pain.

Quite agree. Could never understand why any country does not have "back to back" visa regulations...

It's about allowing third world people into first world countries. They don't leave, and become a burden on the social services of the country that let them in.

OTE: Please keep this thread civil. No discussion about politics or off topics, please.

Off topic posts will be deleted.

Gee, not to get off topic, and with all due respect to the ThaiVisa folks... but isn't EVERYTHING about Visas political??

I hope I don't get deleted.

Well, darkness has fallen with no progress and prime-time TV is in full swing...

PM Somchai to Lt Col Police Kitty: Free the airport immediately ! (khrap)

Lt Col Police Kitty to PM Somchai:

Very good! Best laugh of the day!!

cheers!

Best suggestion on this topic so far is to "tape it" thats exaclty what I would do facing this situation..buy yourself a little voice activated dictaphone..use it at home..in the car..out for meals with friends.if any bad mouthing relating to you is translated from it...out em...!!

Froggs

Yes . I have to second that. Tape it. Learning the language takes years. Even then, if they don't want you to understand what they are saying, they can switch to one of the many dialects that are used here. Follow your gut. I usually find that my first impression of what is happening is most often the correct one. At the very least, they sound rude. Are these the kind of folks you want to spend the rest of your life with???

My friend was having a passionate relationship with a nurse for 2 years.

Last week he went for a test and was diagnosed positive for FIRST AIDS.

And what was her Test Results ?

I hope that yet another Farang hasn't given HIV to an unsuspecting Thai.

Maigo6 ... not the sharpest tool in the shed.

If I was earning 5,000 Baht per month and had the opportunity to sell a sample for 850 Baht, would I do it, would you do it ?

I know I would.

actually.. no.

All sounds like good news to me, maybe they'll start offering those 2 for 1 business class seats like they did last time around.

I'll be looking forward to the 2 for 1 BG specials! lol

Best #1 : The climate, meaning that I can go out in little more than a tee shirt and pair of shorts and not be freezing my nuts off.

Best #2 : The easy going attitude of the people with their mai pben rai, live and let live, outlook (except for those in worst #2)

Worst #1 : The way the mind numbing corrupt system serves up third rate facilities to it's citizens and visitors alike and everyone just accepts it.

Worst #2 : Bigoted, hypocritical, narrow minded farangs (but these only seem to exist in cyber space seldom venturing into the real world).

From Phil: Worst #2 : Bigoted, hypocritical, narrow minded farangs (but these only seem to exist in cyber space seldom venturing into the real world).

Hope that you see the irony there, Phil. lol

Good move in light of the economy.

But.... what's to stop them from changing their minds if/when the economy recovers?

Something I am sure investors will consider given the past...

Exactly...

It takes a lot more than 3 fancy paragraphs to convince a potential foreign investor that they should invest in Thailand instead of Malaysia, Philippines or even China.

This is one of many desperate attempts to soften the impact of the global economy crisis that has yet to hit South East Asia with full impact.

I agree 100%. I believe that emerging nations like Thailand will get hit very very hard next year. They don't have quite the economic momentum needed to make it through a recession unscathed. At this (pre-worldwide recession) time, there is absolutely no compelling reason to invest in Thailand over any of the other Asian economies. There are many better places to invest than Thailand. That is - of course -unless you want to establish yourself permanently here. Then, it's more of a lifestyle choice than an economic one.

Does anyone know what the tourist hotel occupancy (booking) rates are looking like for the upcoming high season?