Highlandman

You're still in full on panic mode. You've had your shots but still don't feel protected. Whoever told you that mask wearing should be permanent? I've seen neighbors wear their masks inside their own homes - not because I'm curious but because I couldn't not see it. They get out of their cars and continue wearing the mask while in their driveway. I've also seen the odd neighbor come out of their house wearing a mask. None of Thailand's neighbors think this way - mask wearing in Cambodia is below 10% right now and in Laos it's at maybe 20%. In Myanmar next to no one wears a mask. Why can they move on but not Thais? I'm sure they're not dying of Covid either. They're simply embracing life as they should be.

Can't really do that anymore as Singaporean and Hong Kong nationals get to use the e-gates, so no stamps will appear in their passports. Eventually, this will be the case for other nationals too. Front page should be enough, immigration should be able to pull up the information just from that.

I've always had a trouble free visit to Savannakhet too. My only concern is your mention of "hundreds" of Russians. Why are they all getting their tourist visas there? Normally, whenever I've been to Savannakhet, I've never had to wait in line long. When I go there again later this year, I hope I won't have to wait in line for 2 hours.

Since about a month or two, Prayuth and many other politicians are no longer wearing masks. I think this is a subtle indication to get Thais to stop masking. Another one is the relative lack of Covid news since probably around February. Once the initial hysteria over the Chinese coming was over, Thais actually started removing their masks quite quickly, up to a point anyway. Most are still wearing them of course (especially in the cities) but I'm seeing a noticeable decrease in downtown Bangkok malls, where it's down to perhaps 75% among Thais. Central pattaya is down to perhaps 30-40% mask wearing among customers; 2 months ago it was still 50-60%. I'm including everyone in this statistic, Thais and foreigners alike. Among Thais only, 75% were wearing masks at Central Pattaya a couple of months back, whereas now it's maybe 50-60%.

Thais will still be wearing their masks once the rain arrives. In fact, people have told me - a Thai friend asked a gardener why he's still wearing a mask and the reply was "because I don't want to get fined" (believing there was still a mandate in place). This was maybe 2 months ago. A bus conductor who kicked off a Thai for refusing to wear a mask in Pathum Thani (part of greater Bangkok) back in December claimed he didn't know that there was no more mask mandate.

Huh? I think it's the exact opposite. When I was in Hua Hin recently, you could spot who was from Bangkok - it was the family who all masked up (including toddlers under 2) while seated at a seafood restaurant and continued wearing their masks until the food arrived. Then, as soon as dinner was finished, they'd all put their masks back on and walk back to their cars. They'd also wear masks on the beach. Locals generally wouldn't be wearing masks at all, except in the malls and supermarkets and of course school children. In rural Isarn, I saw relatively few masks on a recent trip, but you're right, go to Terminal 21 Nakorn Ratchasima and it's 95% mask wearing inside. At Central Udon Thani, most of the maskless shoppers are Laotians visiting from Vientiane. The Thais are all masked up. It's so strange seeing how differently Thais behave compared with Laotians. In Thailand so many masks, cross the Mekong and it's so few.

I agree. At this point it's envy, not fear or giving a stink eye because you don't conform.

No, that's not what anyone here is saying. Some have made comments that Thais need to be told (or are waiting to be told) when to remove their masks. That's silly because it will NEVER happen. I also don't think it should happen. Let people make their own decisions. Anutin, in a speech from July 2022 stated that "we the government will never tell Thais when to stop wearing masks". Mask wearing was made voluntary a couple of weeks before he gave that speech AND in recent months not only him but even Prayuth and other politicians have stopped wearing them, which should be a subtle sign for the population at large to stop. What I believe should be encouraged is being able to think for yourself and only wearing a mask if you're sick (better yet, stay home) or a high quality mask when there's outdoor pollution in your area, which is considered to be in the unhealthy range or worse. I barely wore a mask at all during Covid or now, but I have enough sense to put one on for the few minutes I'm working in a dusty environment as that's what they're designed for. A Thai on the other hand, pre-Covid at least, would hardly ever wear a mask in such a situation but for Covid, they're wearing them all day and never seem to take them off. I think if only say 10 or 20% of the population were still wearing masks we could put the whole mask wearing thing to bed, as is the case if you're describing the situation in Cambodia. Hardly anyone is still complaining about mask wearing in Cambodia, because hardly anyone has been wearing one since perhaps mid 2022. It's similar in Laos, except among government workers and those catching the Lao-China railway, where mask wearing, though no longer mandatory, is still the norm among locals and Asian tourists (particularly Thais), but only there. As soon as Laotians leave the railway station, they remove their masks. When it comes to helmets though - these should be enforced because they are proven to be effective in lessening the impact of head injuries in the event of an accident, particularly a low speed collision.

Actually, they should be, but if they want to continue wearing one it's up to them. In other words - I wouldn't tell someone to stop wearing a mask, but I think I am entitled to criticize it as it doesn't make any sense. It's a sign someone can't think for themselves, is jittery and easy to scare. The single exception would be wearing an appropriate gas mask up in Mae Sai or Chiang Rai - that would be a sensible thing to do right now. Wearing a mask inside a mall? Pointless. During the mandate, far more people were being criticized for not wearing one than those who are being criticized now for still wearing one.

Are you Anutin's advisor?

How could you tell? I avoid trying to read the facial expressions from people wearing masks as you can't read their facial cues as they have none. You succumbed to the pressure of everyone else around you masking. I don't think anyone gave you the "stinkeye" - maybe if you were talking about back in July or August, but as of 2023, most Thais don't bat an eyelid anymore, even if they can't stop the habit themselves.

I don't think any hotels still have a mask policy. Maybe some still continued with this prior to the end of the state of emergency that ended on September 30, but I can't imagine any still doing so now. I've stayed at countless hotels (and also came just for the breakfast buffet for others), mainly since October and not one cares about mask wearing anymore. Even Thai guests are now generally no longer putting on masks to grab breakfast, especially at beachside locations such as Trat, Krabi or Hua Hin. No one else around them is either and quite often even the staff aren't wearing them at these locations. Sizzler removed their old mask signs months ago and now it's not just the touristy locations where people go up and grab salad from the buffet without a mask. Even at suburban malls with few tourists and only small numbers of expats such as Central Bang Na and Mega Bang Na, you see the occasional Thai diner (usually male) go up to the salar bar without wearing a mask.

Tell me sir, why do Thais wear masks indoors, to the tune of 95% in most parts of the country? Why is it there was no transition between Covid and the pollution crisis? Why is it that ironically...I'm seeing somewhat fewer Thais wearing masks outdoors over the past 3-4 weeks, but the same percentage indoors? Is it that they're wearing them because everyone else is? Because some are still afraid of Covid but not afraid of pollution? oh that's right of course it is. Thais barely wore masks due to pollution pre-Covid and most are only wearing useless surgical or cloth masks. You'd need a gas mask to survive in Mae Sai or Pai right now, yet I'm sure fewer Thais are wearing masks there than in Bangkok, where the air is a lot cleaner.

Very easy to determine for yourself. Look around you and you'll get an idea. If you count 100 people and only 5 aren't wearing a mask, that means 95% are. The 20% of Hong Kongers removing their masks is based upon news articles that were released on the day the mandate ended. That was day 1. I have a strong suspicion they're now down to maybe 50% mask wearing, but I can't verify that as I haven't been there post-Covid. I can however tell you about what I've seen in Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam, all countries I've visited over the past few months. I don't even need to mention Europe and Australia - particularly the former, where you count the number of mask wearers using just two hands and that was 6 months ago!

On the bus from the airport to Pattaya absolutely no one wears a mask. I've driven past this bus too many times to count over past months (and also the one to Hua Hin) - it's the one to catch if you don't want to wear a mask! If you want to feel uncomfortable, you catch a minivan or bus on a routing only Thais take, but if you want to feel like things are back to normal, any bus between Bangkok and Pattaya qualifies. Sometimes even the driver isn't masked.

Cross the border to nearby Tha Khaek in Laos and the % of mask wearing drops down to less than 10%!

Exactly right. They never stopped wearing them. Air pollution has only been an issue for the past 2 months and it has now improved in Bangkok. Ironically, despite the air quality in Bangkok being bad 2-3 weeks ago, I've noticed an uptick in Thais taking off their masks outdoors, but there has been little change in mask wearing habits indoors. Pre-Covid, only 1% of Thais ever wore masks. I doubt it was anywhere remotely close to 5%, except briefly, when the government encouraged it in Bangkok in October 2019. If Thais were concerned only about outdoor air quality, then they'd wear either an N95 mask, or better yet, a gas mask and then only outdoors and only during times of bad air in the 100-150 US AQI range or above (which means for the past 2 months up north, but no longer in Bangkok). At the same time, they'd stop wearing masks indoors, as it's just silly. At this point though, I can't see how any Thai is still looking at another Thai who isn't wearing a mask and thinking "bad citizen". Perhaps back in July or August, but we're now approaching April 2023. It's almost comical now, because Indians, Middle Eastern tourists, Singaporeans, Malaysians, Vietnamese and even the Chinese are largely not wearing masks, either in their own country or while they're visiting or living in Thailand. So it's not an Asian thing, it's a strange ingrained Thai habit. I can understand, in a country like that Thailand that it might take a few days or weeks to change, but it's been more than 9 months and we still see 75-80% of Thais masking up in downtown Bangkok malls and 90-95% in suburban areas. By comparison, 20% of Hong Kongers removed their masks the day the mandate was scrapped on March 1. Why is it that they could do that but not Thais? Another strange peculiarity I've noticed are Thai habits abroad. A university lecturer I know is down in Penang at present. She's basically the only one making a presentation or giving a lecture while masked. I'm 100% certain she wore a mask on the flight down. Another Thai I know now studies in Brisbane, Australia. I saw a photo of her wearing a mask at the airport for a flight back to Thailand a couple of months back.

It's a bit ironic that a society which pays scant attention to safety (burning garbage, agricultural waste and forests causing toxic air pollution, dangerous driving, poor maintenance inspections) could lecture anyone on "safety". I think the mask has an almost superstitious association with it. I mean, Singapore, which at one time was very strict with mask wearing has now largely abandoned the habit now that it's voluntary. Singapore is also a society that can be taken seriously, because they're consistent. They are careful drivers. They don't throw their garbage out the window and they certainly don't burn it.

That's not true. Banks no longer care about masks anymore.

Exactly, it's so strange. I just don't get it, that this is still happening at this late stage, 9 months after the end of the mask mandate. In nearby Asian countries, the masks gradually came off between 6-12 months ago and it took them days or a few weeks to move on. I don't understand why Thailand is so different.

That can't be it, since there is more mask wearing indoors than outdoors. Also, the air quality in Bangkok isn't that bad right now, yet up north, where it's downright hazardous, fewer people are wearing masks. So I think it's still mostly about social conformity.

There's a certain level of indoctrination Thais can't get over. Just the other day I went to a coffee shop and steakhouse with my son for lunch after going for a swim at a nearby waterfall. None of the proprietors wore masks. The whole family was inside the shop as it's school holidays for the children now. I saw a middle aged couple put on their masks the second they finished chewing their food. They got up and went back to their car. The male came back because he had forgotten his plastic mug inside. I see this all the time - it wasn't even this bad in 2020. Many Thais don't remove their masks until the food arrives and put them back on the second they're done eating. Not long ago, I saw a masked mother and her young daughter at the beach. Almost no one else, whether Thai or foreigner, was masked. Around New Year, I saw a number of Thais come down to that same beach and splash in the waves, while wearing masks. Online advertising of a music school for toddlers shows masked 2 year olds! Thailand is the only country in the world where news anchors wore masks while delivering the news inside the studio. They've normalized mask wearing to the point it's become a religion. It's worthy of ridicule but right now my basic response is just to feel sorry for how Thais have by and large been duped into believing mask wearing should be a permanent change in how they live their lives. Nearly all other countries have moved on. Brunei - mask wearing is at 10%. This compared with 80% in Bangkok and 90% indoors. Laos - mask wearing overall at 20%, perhaps 1 in 3 is wearing a mask in Vientiane but barely 5% are wearing one in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. If anything, it might be an idea to wear a gas mask in Luang Prabang, given the foul and extremely toxic air there at the moment, though almost no local does. I noticed around 40% of customers and 90% of staff at a bank in Pakse were wearing masks, but by the time I went to a nearby local supermarket no customers were wearing masks except for one Thai male of course. At most other businesses, no masks were worn by staff, let alone customers. Cambodia - mask wearing down to 10% and this was in November. Perhaps 25% in Phnom Penh. Malaysia - mask wearing outdoors at almost zero everywhere except Kuala Lumpur (where it's about 20%). Indoors, such as at malls, perhaps 50%. Thailand is like the Japan on SE Asia when it comes to mask wearing.