Highlandman

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.

No, you can apply literally as you're standing in front of immigration if you want.

You're getting boring. I forgot about the part where he said the incident unfolded. It's not relevant. I'm talking about the Thai being used, which me and him understand but you clearly don't as all you speak is bar girl Thai. I'm saying that guy must have been the first Thai person in Thailand to call a white person a "kon piu kao" (lit: person skin white) rather than a "farang", which is what 99.9% of Thais use. Now "kon piu kao" is 100% correct, but as a term, it hasn't caught on very much in Thailand. It is generally used by Thais only in the context of differentiating between whites and non-whites in western countries.

Oh, but you do. Teenage gangs roam high schools in bad neighborhoods in many US cities. Bullying is a huge problem in schools and it could be due to something as minor as being white in a majority "minority" school. I remember the time I was stared at and nearly attacked for being a white dude (my Thai wife, then girlfriend) was with me as well by several angry looking Hispanic males just behind Thaitown in Los Angeles. There is a ton of crime in New York, most of it isn't going to make the news. Yes, there is a bit of Thai on Thai crime here and there (much of which DOES make the Thai news or at least social media).

Possibly. Unless you're wearing a mask. Masks are a sort of "get out of jail free" card in Thailand and Anutin can't accuse you of being a "dirty farang" if you're wearing one.