JonnyF

It's the new buzzword. Even Thai colleagues have been telling me how Thailand's new found 'soft power' is so great, and that people will aspire to be Thai just as Thais aspire to be Korean (and worship everything about Korea from K-Pop to Korean fashion to the Korean series on Netflix). I gave up telling them what the world really thinks of Thailand years ago. It's a bit like being released from the Matrix, once they reach a certain age it's too dangerous ????.

The PM doesn't give a toss about the people. There were countless decisions made during the early stages of the pandemic that proved that (refusing donated vaccines, widespread use of SinoVac, disallowing hospitals from privately sourcing their own vaccines etc.). All they cared about was profiting from the vaccines, not distributing them quickly. Good to see he's looking so old and haggard though. Maybe he has a conscience after all, although I doubt it.

I watched the game live on Saturday night. Arsenal were very average yet still won 3-1. Ten Hag has a huge job ahead of him, especially competing against two of the greatest sides in Premier League history in Liverpool and Man City. The main issue I see with Utd is the attitude of certain players. The likes of Pogba, Lingard etc. really don't seem to care. Then you have players like Matic and Mata who are clearly past it. Then the likes of Maguire, Dalot and Wan-Bissaka who just aren't good enough. Seems like they need to replace most of the starting 11. I think 6th place flatters them to be honest. It will be interesting to see how much time Ten Hag gets to turn it around. He needs a minimum of 3 years to even compete for the title IMO, that's if he gets the money and spends it well.

Looks like the post Covid explosion in case numbers isn't happening. Great news. Now drop the restrictions further please. It's over. We have a new 'flu'. It's Endemic. Time to put this sorry saga behind us and move on.

So are they expecting tourists who have weaned themselves off the more harmful traditional cigarettes and onto vaping to revert back to the more harmful traditional cigarettes for the length of their stay? Can't wait to see the headlines and viral social media posts when tourists start getting banged up for a few days for the heinous crime of Vaping.

Missing the point. I am sure it would have been a little more than an annoyance had the result been positive.

Thailand always misunderstands what people want. They don't want silly events. They don't want to be preached (lies) about how great Thailand is. They don't want to be educated (lied to) about Thai culture and history. They want a cheap holiday with no hassle, a few encounters with cute Thai chicks, a clean beach, cold beer, friendly faces, decent food. Like it was 20 years ago. It's not complicated.

The people love this girl. She's pretty, talented and charismatic. She casts Thailand in a good light on the global stage. Prayut on the other hand? Yeah not so much. At least he's acknowledged this is a battle he cannot win.

Variant schmariant. Some people can't let go.

I think it will be a huge help. I'm off to Sydney for work in June and it's a real weight off the shoulders to know I won't face a test and possible quarantine upon return. This also confirms my plans to visit family in the UK in August. I can live with Thailand pass, it's a form on the internet. Unnecessary but not a deal breaker like the test on arrival was.

Actually you are wrong. Farang means Caucasian but it's more of an informal word - it is inoffensive slang/a nickname like Whitey/Whiteboy/Honky or whatever. Thais do not call Chinese people or Indian people Farang because they are not Caucasian. I don't find it particularly offensive but I am not particularly easily offended. I do find it strange when white people are fine with the word but at the same time would frown if someone used a term like Slope or Wop. It's a double standard, especially when we are expected to creep around our language with other races, for example "People of colour" is fine but "Coloured people" is not. So I have to be OK with the word Farang but I can't say coloured people? Not exactly consistent is it? Personally, I jokingly use nicknames for other races, for example I tease my girlfiend about her "cute chinky eyes" so I am in no position to object to the word Farang (if used in a nice way or jokingly).

I didn't abuse him. I simply showed him the same amount of respect that he had shown me. It's a simple rule I follow that serves me well.

Exactly. I remember a Phuket taxi driver yelling at me "Hey, Farang" pretty aggressively as I walked past him to get my attention. I shouted back "Hey, Asian" with a similar tone and he didn't like it at all. So much so that had he had his mates with him I reckon he'd have attacked me. When Thai friends use it nicely/jokingly I don't mind at all.

I have no problem with the word Farang. As long as I am also allowed to use similar words to classify other broad racial groups/ethnicities then I'm all good. Fair's fair.

They're obviously rushed off their feet down at the Embassy.

As has already been stated, being a farang relates to your ethnicity, your race. It doesn't matter what citizenship you hold, what passport is in your pocket - you are still a Farang. Heinecke is talking a lot of sense. Hence he will be ignored.

Oh dear. Big loss of face. One suspects that the coffee shop owner might be becoming acquainted with the inside of a plastic bag in the not too distant future.

This is Biden we are talking about. He can't remember what the nurses fed him for breakfast, let alone what happened in Thailand in 2014.

Actually "Ancient History" is generally classified as the period from 3000 BC to 500 AD. I'm not the least surprised you wouldn't know that though. It's deeply disrespectful to say you don't care about WW2, a period that saw some horrifying atrocities. I'm not old either (under 50) but that doesn't mean I have to be ignorant about such a significant and disturbing period in history. As for the cold caller, just hang up. Especially if he's one of those 'nasty' Brits that you hate so much.

No chance there will be any siginificant numbers. China isn't going to jeapardize it's precious zero Covid policy by letting it's citizens come to a Covid hotbed like Thailand without very serious quarantine on return. I'm guessing minimum 3 weeks. More likely 4.

I wonder if all those Sinovac jabs administered a year ago have lost their effectiveness? I seem to recall their effectiveness is much more short lived than other well known vaccines. It wouldn't surprise me. And now people have experienced queuing up in the temple for hours in the soaring heat (followed by being sick for a few days) and are reluctant to get boosted? Maybe they should have provided decent vaccines while everyone was desperate to receive them?

Nothing about being jaded, it is absolutely related to charging a foreigner more. Many of the restaurants have 2 menus. The English menu has the higher prices. I'm surprised you don't know this, I discovered it in my first 2 weeks living there (I lived there for around 2 years between 2006-2008 before moving to BKK). Some of the owners of the places I went to regularly joked with me about how they gave me the Thai price because I was so nice and polite (for a foreigner!). Likewise markets, mom and pop shops etc. nearly always charge foreigners more unless they know you. Which is why I ended up going to Tesco for everything or giving the money to my Thai gf and letting her buy it. Add in the taxis, TukTuk mafia, motorbike repair shops etc. and you'll see there are ripoffs everywhere in Phuket. Even the gas station in Patong would put in a weird amount like 93 Baht in the scooter and then claim the tank was full but they had no change from a 100 Baht note. It became really draining dealing with the pettiness of it all. I instantly noticed the positive difference when I came to BKK.

Whilst I wouldn't go out of my way to catch it, I'm certainly not going to make huge sacrafices to avoid it. I've have enough of my time wasted with this thing, it's time to move on. If I get it, I get it. A week off work catching up on Netflix and finishing a couple of Playstation games (plus the extra future protection of having caught it) is not the worst thing in the world.

My sister was thinking about a trip to Samui later this year with her husband and 2 other couples. Just forwarded her this article. Hopefully they drop this 'test on arrival' nonsense ASAP. You're more likely to catch it here than bring it with you.

Just been informed by HR that one of my staff tested positive yesterday. I'd imagine the numbers will start to spike this week as factories etc. test their workers on their return to work. Everyone in my office is being tested at 9am ????.