Highlandman

It matters because it's anti social, makes you feel strange and unwelcoming. I literally have to think about whether I want to visit people at a certain company we've dealt with because of their strange Covid obsession. I'm certainly not going to go through the whole testing and mask wearing ritual just to visit them. Instead, I'll insist on meeting them at a nearby coffee shop where I'm sure they'll be happy to take off their masks, something that they're not allowed to do in their workplace.

Very unusual. Of all the hospitals and clinics I've passed by in recent months, mask wearing among both staff and visitors has always been 100% ever since early 2020, with the exception of very young children (although some parents mask their babies as young as 4 months old from what I've seen). The one exception might be private hospitals popular with foreigners such as Bumrungrad, where there are lots of foreign patients who simply don't wear masks. Arabs were among the first to stop wearing masks in July 2022, when all restrictions related to mask wearing were scrapped. My guess is you live in a very rural area, because as soon as you go to a larger town, whether it's Surin, Sri Saket, even Prasat in Surin province, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, literally anywhere in the country, mask wearing jumps to high levels in certain settings, with hospitals being at the top. You're right though, you will sometimes see strange things like Thais wearing a mask at Lotus, but not outdoors when it's dusty or in this case, a clinic. I'm just surprised, because I'm fairly sure nearly all clinics and hospitals still have mask signs up requesting (even if not absolutely requiring) masks be worn by all visitors and this is almost universally complied with from what I can tell, not only in Bangkok but most parts of the country.

Yawn. The semantics is getting boring. Off topic BTW. It's the mask wearing in general, particularly indoors, that makes zero sense. Show me how much diesel dust there is inside a Central Shopping mall with air filters and all.

It's not being nosey as just noticing how weird it is. I'm not one to tell people what to do. However, it is curious that ONLY Thai people are still masked, which was clearly NOT the case, prior to January 2020. When I travel to Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, China etc. I now see more or less the same amount of mask wearing as pre Covid. Maybe slightly more, but not by much. At most 20% of the general population is still masked in Vietnam and this includes all the motorcycle riders who ONLY wear masks while riding and take them off immediately upon disembarking. I was in Vietnam again last week for work and I didn't see even one Vietnamese person sit at a table in a restaurant wearing a mask. In Laos, 5% of the population wears a mask....in Vientiane. In the countryside its maybe 1%. If you count more than this, it's among motorcycle riders only (as dust protection). In Myanmar, essentially no masks are worn by anyone. In China, no one is masked outside of maybe 10% of train riders and hospitals. The only country where I've had meetings with recently where people have been wearing masks during the meeting was in Thailand. In Vietnam, it's unthinkable to do this these days. Ditto for China, Laos etc.

That's because they're indoctrinated. If they wear masks because they're sick, that's one thing and while I don't think they're helpful in such cases, I don't judge. However, it's totally anti-social and abnormal to wear masks when you're perfectly healthy, for no good reason. Wrong - Thais wearing masks have a huge issue with those not wearing masks in certain circumstances. During Covid, if you didn't wear a mask, you were an outcast and shunned by society. Even now, some circumstances dictate mask wearing. As a retiree, you might not be subjected to these situations, but visitors to certain companies MUST wear masks as a condition of entry. Masks MUST be worn at certain schools and during certain ceremonies. This won't ever change.

You said diesel dust. Same thing. All comes from diesel exhausts. Anything else you'd like to say, Einstein? I'm not saying you can't wear a mask while riding your motorcycle, provided you also wear a helmet (the Vietnamese do that). Up to you as they say. Thais aren't wearing masks while seated at restaurants to prevent diesel fumes or diesel dust from being inhaled. They're doing this because they've been successfully indoctrinated into what is a cult. A strange cult known as muzzle wearing. Most locals don't even know why they're wearing masks anymore but I continue to see tons of locals always wear their mask, unless eating or drinking. This is clearly permanent. We won't see any changes even in 2025 or 2027. I predict only 10% less mask wearing than at present, come October 2024.

No I haven't. Not many Thais wore masks then and there were no mandates. You're boring. 2 years ago, there was a mask mandate in place, unlike now. What's boring is seeing Thais continue to live in fear when everything is normal everywhere outside the country. What is clear is that Thais live in a strange world filled with fear and that we should be having a conversation with them asking them WHY? Why are you still afraid? For a country that relies so much on tourism and is supposed to be the "land of smiles" this behavior is odd. It's clear Thais have been greatly brainwashed and indoctrinated by their government since early 2020. No other Asian country has experienced this insane level of brainwashing. Not even China. The Chinese have moved on and are back to living normal lives without disgusting and useless masks that only serve to perpetuate fear and keep people under control.

Thais seem to be much more conformist than their neighbors in China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and even Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. I wonder why that is? I've been to all these countries post Covid, some of them, multiple times. I've been to Laos 5 times already this year. Cambodia twice (technically, 4 times if you count the fact I made 4 separate entries to Cambodia, two times on the way to and from Vietnam), Vietnam 4 times and Malaysia twice. The others, so far once each. What I've noticed is that the only country out of these still absolutely obsessed with masks and Covid, is Thailand. In all the others, I feel free and that the people have moved on. Thailand refuses to move on and I just don't understand why. Granted, things are much better in Phuket, other island areas and very rural parts of the country, but there is still more mask wearing in Phuket than anywhere in Laos, Cambodia, China or Myanmar.

Correct and this only applies to Thai employers. They'll never remove the mandate. I've been to 7-11s all over the country, from Chiang Saen in the north to Hat Yai in the south in recent months and always, without exception, all employees are masked. I've also noticed this at CP owned 7-11 stores in Cambodia. However, go to any any other corporate owned business in Cambodia and no masks are worn. At 7-11 in Malaysia, employees haven't been wearing masks (unless they chose to) since my first post Covid visit in December 2022 and it was the same in July 2023, no masks worn and this was in Penang. In Vientiane, Thailand owned Rimping (which has 2 supermarkets there) also require all their employees to wear masks. However, at Chinese owned supermarkets, no masks are worn by staff. At Parkson mall, some employees wear masks (or did, back in July) while no one at BCEL bank is masked. Meanwhile, the vast majority (though not all) bank staff at any bank in Thailand are masked. So it's definitely a power and control thing and seems to be very much Thai. Of course masks are still occasionally worn at some retailers in other Asian countries, but the policy is not nearly as universal and consistently applied like it is here. Case in point is Vietnam - circle K employees wear masks in some locations but not others. Ditto for 7-11 and Family Mart.

No, they didn't. I think you need to refresh your memory. Firstly, each Asian country is different and this includes their mask wearing habits. Your generalization is inaccurate and offensive. 0.5% of Thais wore masks before Covid, meaning they only wore them if they were sick, working in a hospital or if the conditions were really dusty. Vietnamese only ever wore them while riding motorcycles in the cities. Never did you have mask mandates before 2020 in Thailand and never did you see the ridiculous situation of seeing an entire Thai family walking through a mall while masked, in October 2023, well over a year following the end of the mask mandate and keeping their masks on while seated at a restaurant and holding meetings where everyone is masked up! That's not normal but Thais do this, because they've been brainwashed. I can assure you that other Asians do NOT do this. In China, where I was recently, almost no one wears a mask anymore. Even stores inside malls don't have mask wearing employees, except for McDonald's and the odd tea shop for some reason. You didn't even see Chinese company executives wearing masks during meetings DURING Covid. I know, given my Chinese colleagues held plenty of meetings during Covid and always without a mask. In Thailand, they're still requiring masks to be worn at many companies. I experienced this last week during a meeting.

The masks that are worn here don't protect you from diesel fumes and its not just diesel that's dangerous, gasoline fumes shouldn't be inhaled either.

I've not noticed Thais taking their masks off to talk to one another or necessarily, quickly put them back on when a foreigner comes by. Yes, that did happen in 2020, 2021 and early 2022, but not much anymore. When Thais do that these days, they do it to everyone. Basically, in customer facing roles, they might remove their masks if there is no one to serve and quickly put the mask back on when a customer arrives. Nowadays, you still see Thais diligently masking while sitting alone at a restaurant or Cafe, only removing their masks when the food comes around and then putting them back on as soon as they're done. Mask wearing in general seems to be around 50%, but can be higher. It remained stubbornly high at 80%+ except in very rural areas, as recently as July. I don't visit hospitals, but from all accounts, mask wearing is near 100% there, except among children under 2. I'd be very very surprised if mask wearing at clinics or hospitals were below 99% anywhere except medical tourism hospitals full of foreign patients such as Bumrungrad. In fact, I recently drove past a clinic in Nong Bua Lamphu and noticed 100% of patients waiting there wearing masks. By contrast, in Savannakhet, Laos, I saw no one wearing a mask in the hospital grounds there. I also saw no one wearing a mask at the Siem Reap hospital in Cambodia and this was in November 2022! It's really only Thais wearing masks these days. Their neighbors have largely moved on from this strange obsession. I recently visited several Thai companies for business purposes. Some of them still had "no mask no entry" signs, though fortunately, this wasn't enforced on visitors. However, we did have people wearing masks while talking to us (they were masked before we came) at 4 of these companies. One of them, a Japanese company, even required we submit Covid antigen tests before arrival AND we wear masks during the meeting. This is October 2023 and they're still doing this with no end in sight. I think it's permanent now, they only lifted the mandates due to tourism but privately, many Thai companies maintain mandates and so do many schools and other settings.

There are plenty of yards in Thai homes but most aren't very big compared with back home.

Why on God's green Earth did you agree to lend him the truck??? I would NEVER lend my truck to any Thai. Not least because I always need it but even if I'm abroad I still won't allow it.

Yep, got it. I just corrected my post prior to you sending this one. Clearly you were his patient Yeah so the doctor trying to practice his English or try to make himself look good. Aha so you gave her some of her own medicine. Lol.

I think I got it now. It was the slight spelling mistake you made. The doctor said he doesn't consider you to be Thai, as you weren't born in the country. A ridiculous thing to say, but apparently he said it.

Yeah a joke only you can understand . Funny. Haha. Isn't it a bit early to be drinking? Or did you just fall off your bar stool?

I would have told her off. Chinese and farang getting Thai nationality - same thing. Yeah the mask wearing ethnic Chinese ones, I know the type. Lol. BTW can you explain the context of why the doctor said that? Are you a business owner or something where the doctor came in and made that remark?

Sounds like you have just arrived in the country as I'm the one giving you correct and useful advice.

You just say "tem tang" (which means full tank) or a numerical amount (such as 100 or 200 Baht). No one ever tells a gas station attendant to put in a particular quantity of gas into their vehicle. That's too complicated for the attendants to work out. It's always a numerical value - for cars you might say diesel, 1000 Baht. That's it. Diesel = diesel in both Thai and English. In the past, "sola" was often used but that term is now almost extinct

Considering he's a Thai citizen (even if naturalized) I find it strange that he wouldn't be understood but because we're talking gas station attendants here's the reason: He's speaking Thai to foreigners, who themselves aren't good at Thai. The vast majority of gas station attendants are Burmese or Cambodian, as Thais don't like to do that kind of work.

What?? Of course Thai language is mandatory at Thai schools. This is a point of contention in the 3 southernmost provinces, where the majority of the population would prefer their children were educated in Pattani-Malay or Yawi, rather than Thai. Thai is so dominant nowadays that minority dialects and languages are being wiped out. It's English that isn't necessarily compulsory at every school. Nearly every Thai parent sends their child(ren) to school. Education is considered to be mandatory from the ages of 6 or 7 (different sources are conflicted on which age) but homeschooling is a legal pathway that can be taken as an alternative. Very, very few Thais choose this path, though it's slowly growing in popularity. Quite a few rural Thais end up leaving school early, but very very few have never attended school (unlike in Laos, where most of the rural population has never been to school). Your comment shows a complete lack of understanding of the Thai education system.

Lol, England again. I've never even been to England. Also, how many British people say "gas station"? You Brits use another word altogether. It's called "petrol". I don't have time to have conversations with menial workers ive never met before. I tell them what I want and that's it. You'll be the one people hate (mostly Thais) if you hold up the queue at a gas station by having a pointless conversation with someone who's employed to serve you and move you along as quickly as possible.

I'm offended when that happens given I'm fluent in the language. In the past due to my lack of Thai, it was the opposite - I wanted people to speak English with me, because I didn't know enough Thai. The issue is not that Thais don't want to speak in their language (they do) but there's a mental block, that they have to overcome because they're not used to foreigners speaking Thai (although it is getting more common). The other aspect is - how good one's Thai is. If one's accent is really strong (such as is often the case with American speakers of Thai) that might cause a Thai who speaks reasonable English to switch to English. The only types who can get quite arrogant and even racist and who you may struggle to speak Thai to are the educated elite, often university professors, doctors and the like, who quite often aren't that good at English, or not as good as they think they are.

I don't waste my time with beggars. I just ignore them like Thais do.