Highlandman

I've lived in the USA Being white in a black neighborhood is asking to be beaten up. Same with Thailand then. I've never seen a shooting or any major crime unfold here; only happens on the news. I maintain the FACT Thailand is safer. You're safer in terms of NOT getting robbed. You're safer in terms of not getting randomly beaten up. Crime is far more common in the USA. Period.

But you'll need a mask and a neck brace to qualify.

You must be the only person in Laos still wearing a mask. There's a term in the industry we use for people like you: a virtue signaler.

As it turns out, masks are STILL mandatory in a very small number of settings in Thailand, though obviously none of them single out foreigners as such. Some companies still require their staff wear masks, though not customers. Tops is one example and of course countless restaurants and convenience stores. In October 2023, my boss and I visited a Japanese manufacturing company just outside Bangkok for a business meeting and both masks and a self-administered antigen test were a requirement to get in to the building. There was also the hand temperature scanner, though only employees were required to use that. Once in the meeting room, there were partitions between us and the Japanese manager we spoke with. His mask was so tightly sewn to his face, I think it's been permanently attached since January 2020. I'm almost certain they're still requiring all this now, in April 2024. Yet I came in drinking coffee and they offered us bottles of water! Why then, all the Covid nonsense then? The Chinese visa application centers in Bangkok and Chiang Mai still require masks. You'll get in with a mask on your chin but no mask at all = no entry. I hear some immigration offices would prefer you to wear a mask, though none of them currently require you to anymore so no issues there. However, they stopped late. I hear masks still being a requirement as late as mid 2023 at some offices! As previously pointed out, some schools and even nurseries continue to require students to wear masks. The brainwashing starts early in Thailand. I'm sure there are more examples than this. Your average tourist or expat will generally not be asked to put on a mask anymore as they won't be visiting such settings, but in some instances, it could still be a thing for certain groups of locals and foreigners.

Even during a pandemic declaration, which we've now experienced, they can't possibly impose a mask mandate only on foreigners. That would never work. Then again, Thais love wearing masks no matter what. Doesn't take much to get a Thai to mask up. I still see neighbors wearing masks at home. Yes, at home. In 2024.

If an Asian can't distinguish between a Korean and a Thai, they're not really Asian. I'm not Thai but I can instantly tell who's Japanese or Korean.

Ok, that's good to know! Still a great majority but if even doctors are moving on that's good news. I did read a story about an Englishman up in Chiang Mai who was kicked out of a hospital for refusing to mask up maybe a month or two ago by a double masked doctor who told him "masks at hospitals are here to stay, permanently". Of course I don't believe that claim, just that I was expecting there be even higher mask compliance. That being said, with all the foreign patients at the international, private hospitals in Bangkok, you'd expect mask wearing to be way down as most foreigners won't be wearing them. In fact, I think Arab tourists, who were among the first to return to Thailand post mandates/post quarantines, didn't wear masks at all and they're the main clientele at Bumrungrad and various other hospitals in the area.

You did mention that. Fair point.

Any farang would then just claim to be Russian then.

Are you sure they're not ethnic Chinese-Thais? The vast majority of Chinese I see, both inside and outside of Thailand do not wear masks. Although 1/3 Chinese did wear masks on board trains and train stations as well as airports back in December 2023, I attribute that to the cold weather and the flu scare at the time. Even with all that, there was far less mask wearing than in Thailand without any additional fear mongering.

It's almost believable though given it's Thailand. Don't you live in Laos now? If so, why the interest in Thailand? Isn't there a Lao version of AseanNow? Besides, even during Covid, Laotians weren't very keen maskers. The footage of unmasked Laotians splashing water during both the 2021 and 2022 Pii Mai Lao (aka Songkran in Thailand) events in Luang Prabang were absolutely unthinkable in authoritarian Thailand at the time. Does make you think doesn't it? Not only were Thailand's restrictions far more draconian than those of Laos but also much more strictly enforced and adhered to. If there's ever another "pandemic" I'll sit it out in Laos, where I won't have to wear a mask.

That's not quite true. While there were jurisdictions that kept mask mandates going for longer, officially, Thailand had one of the world's longest mask mandates, running from March 26, 2020 through to June 23, 2022. While Hong Kong continued until February 28, 2023 with its own mask mandate, funnily enough Hong Kongers moved on from masks much more quickly than Thais. Thais still believe masks work, which makes me wonder why they don't think "why are we the only ones still masking up?"

That surprises me because most hospitals in Thailand still have nearly 100% of visitors/patients in outpatient settings wearing a mask and this includes children.

100%. I noticed this years before Covid, and yet Thailand is less ethnically homogeneous than Cambodia and Vietnam, for example.

even if this story were real, I wouldn't follow the rules anyway. I didn't do so during Covid either. My freedom and my human rights are what matters. I don't comply with tyrannical rules that serve only to oppress the common man.

The Chinese themselves wear masks far less frequently than Thais. Go to China and see for yourself.

I think you missed the significance of today's date or my comment, which clearly states that Thailand's neighbors stopped masking nearly 2 years ago. Even during the restrictions phase of Covid, 50% of Laotian mall goers in Vientiane never wore masks!!

No, it's definitely you (and many Thais). Wearing a mask inside a van while with co-workers is the behavior of sheep.

True, but Laotians, Burmese and Cambodians seem to be able to think for themselves more readily than Thais. Residents of these countries were largely mask-free as early as July 2022, even in the cities. The whole mask wearing to a restaurant and keeping the mask on until the food arrives ritual never really took off outside of Thailand.

Masks don't work. I never even wore one during Covid. I would happily explain to a Thai why (and I did last year, at the Chinese visa application center). Problem is Thais, especially the middle and upper classes, are heavily indoctrinated and will not take easily to someone telling them their "hero" doctors lied to them, or at minimum, scared them to death. Many people have told me that Thai parents, place pressure on school administrators to retain mask mandates at some public and private schools going long after the government scrapped them. This explains why some schools still enforce mask wearing; if not at all times anymore then in certain situations, such as morning assembly or during exams (a prestigious Bangkok private school did exactly this for its entrance exam 2 or 3 weeks ago). Of course it was the opposite at international schools, where mask mandates were lifted the minute the government gave the all clear, back in 2022. Note that this strange behavior is specific to Thailand. While a few other Asian countries also have a mask fetish, especially Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, these countries are finally moving on to a degree. Thailand isn't, somehow fear of Covid and mask wearing have become the national religion. I recently watched a Thai YouTube channel on the new intercity expressways and while the presenter has stopped putting on a mask as soon as she interviews someone (something she used to do until like 6 months ago), she continues to wear her mask while riding inside the van with her film crew. How can she still be so afraid of her OWN co-workers? Where I'm from, I'd be offended by such behavior as I'd take it as a personal insult.

Don't worry. Thais never removed their masks. Just go for a walk in any mall. Tops staff still required to wear one, 75-80% of Thai customers voluntarily wearing one or they never got the message that mask wearing was made voluntary 2 years ago.

Are you saying a foreign account can't be used for the funds? That's not what I've heard. While I do hold 2 Thai bank accounts, I don't have any intention of transferring the funds over to either of them. I intend to show the funds in my overseas savings account, which so far, I've been led to believe is no issue. Simply has to be over 400,000 Baht equivalent.

I tried updating my Bangkok Bank card at a Pattaya mall branch but they told me to go back to the branch I opened my account at, which was in Bangkok. So I did that. Wasn't a big problem not having my old passport with me. Whereas with SCB, I could get my new card from any branch I wanted to. Besides, the branch I opened my account with no longer exists and so they transferred my account to a new branch nearby. I chose to go into a mall I'm more familiar with and no issues whatsever getting a new bank card. 2 banks with a totally different policy.

If you didn't see any crime in the States it means you had blinkers on. There's far more crime than you could ever imagine and it occurs daily. I wouldn't even dare to step into a majority black or Hispanic lower socio-economic neighborhood for fear of being attacked or robbed. At the very least I can expect to be called a "cracker" and racially abused by blacks 'from the hood'. Don't know why Thailand makes you feel so unsafe. I'm pretty sure it's a case of you watching too much news. To be fair, it's not completely safe, but it's rather safe, especially if you mind your own business and avoid the nightlife scene, which I do. Similarly, I'd avoid slums, especially at night, but relative to many other countries, Thai slums are quite safe (though no reason to be there, especially as a relatively wealthy westerner).

While I fully agree with your point, I don't think any locals relied on handouts of food from foreigners during Covid, except in tourist areas such as Samui, Phuket and Pattaya. Also, I recall most foreigners being told to stop food handouts as it was considered as "work" so such actions couldn't have sustained a Thai for very long, given Covid shutdowns including effective border closures lasted for well over 2 years. The ones asking how foreigners can own land and/or businesses are either ignorant of reality (I can see this when Thais on Facebook make up facts to suit their narrative, such as going on a rant about there being "too many" Laotian vehicles coming over and claiming it's "way more difficult" for Thais to drive into Laos or other neighbors, which isn't true at all, but facts don't matter to a triggered Thai) or they weren't the ones selling land to foreigners to begin with. Middle class Bangkok locals with way too much time on their hands and who've never dealt with a foreigner in any capacity before don't have the slightest clue of how things work for us here or what the law is like. They're good at generating online drama though. See the Swiss kicking incident for example. Way overblown.