Heng

Most will get Sinopharm I think. Those who are connected and/or can afford it will get Pfizer. Although some like to think that times change.... one's ticket class still doesn't change just because the Titanic is sinking.

Nice market action this week. And yeah, who isn't backed up, 2FA'ed left and right, and spread out with multiple redundancies by now? As Alanis said: Everything's gonna be fine fine fine...

Anyone seen the registration links for these yet? (for children) How fast they handle that will determine the reopening of schools timeline.

ASQ is for when you return to Thailand. There is no quarantine here if you have a negative Covid test pre flight.

Guam loses in that category compared to the US mainland where there is much more to the accommodation spectrum. The baseline for AirBNB rentals is right at $2200 a month for a basic 1br/1ba and it goes up quickly if you want more space. (a local explained that that's around the amount that Uncle Sam gives our service members in housing stipends here so that is what most everyone charges). Hotels... $100 to $500+ a night. On the plus side, there are only 190,000 people living on the island and if you believe the numbers, they are more than 80% fully vaccinated and they've administered over 210,000 doses. So likely everyone has had at least one dose. Also there doesn't seem to be any of that "they can put a mask on my cold dead face" sentiment that still is a thing on the mainland.... so on the whole it seems like a great place (it's a tiny America... They stop at stop signs and don't try to run you down in the crosswalks like in Phuket or Pattaya... Denny's grand slam breakfasts and all that) to watch how Covid unfolds elsewhere. It's not completely Covid free.... There was an upshot in numbers a few days ago, 43 cases. Before that it was 0 a day, a bunch of 1-3 case days....

It's all relative, free vs. $200/$84 a head x however many family members is a few meals or a couple grocery runs. Again though, the paid version is convenient. Also good for older or wheelchair bound folks. Everyone's requirements are going to vary. For us, the kids are still attending Thai school classes online so that means around 11am to 3pm western Pacific time in Guam vs. 8pm to midnite central US time (if I were to go back to Texas). We might still head over to the mainland if Thailand is still in code clusterF in September. Have always wanted to drive across the country, maybe do Route 66 or the Lonliest highway, or some combination of other routes.

Nothing wrong with planning it now.... I've decided against waiting out Covid. Life has a time limit. If a place opens up with even moderate restrictions and hoop jumping, I'm booking it. Travel now from one aspect is better than pre Covid.... Far fewer people can accept the risks and additional burdens of Covid travel. It's like we're back in the glorious Pan Am clipper seaplane days (or what I imagine it to have been like... didn't get to live through it).

Flip flops on the ground in Guam: some may want to note that Guam Air V&V is the private clinic option here. Thus, it's not the free Covid19 vaccine and it's $42 a jab for Americans and $100 a jab for foreigners (so at least that should make the TV dual pricing crowd happy) .... Per dose so that's $200 per Pfizer/Moderna set. That said, the service is wonderful and the atmosphere is like Bamrungrad vs. Bangsue (so undoubtedly safer social distancing wise as well). Some folks are under the misconception that all Covid jabs are free stateside. If you want the free Covid 19 jabs here, you want to go through Vaccines.gov or the local Guam DPHSS website. Also easy, some family members opted for the free route.... The major difference being the wait time, jab applied by Guam National Guard medic, it was done in the more middle class Micronesia Mall instead of the Plaza Shopping Center and you have to fill at the forms yourself. (at the Air V&V one they type everything in for you).

Maybe one day. I'm currently still only around a 7 out of 10 on the Howard Hughes scale.

Agree that would be safer. However wanted to be more plug and play/ready to go when I get back. Also just in case I have to get someone else to do it for me, the fewer the steps the better.

Just took care of it. Went with PVC plug somewhat snug in place (1/2").

Um, thanks again, will pass on the boiling water thing. Checked for grease though and they seem well greased.

Will probably go with the bags + PVC end cap (presuming it's sulphuric acid that is concerned as Google says).

Thanks. Kind of concerned that that is fairly combustible though.

Disconnecting negative lead to prevent battery drain for medium term storage. Decided against using a battery tender as I didn't feel comfortable leaving something plugged in with the occasional brownouts and blackouts we have. Separating them so that they don't arc as per the Youtube recommendations. The separation is just a few centimetres though due to the lack of cable slack in that area. Wrapped two 7-11 store plastic bags and rubber banded them around the negative lead. Pretty sure there is no bag breakage and as mentioned, it's like wearing two condoms. I'll have a house keeper wiping the interior down every couple of weeks though to keep mold from growing on the leather interior. My OCD/paranoid section of my brain is concerned about arcing caused from slight movements to the car(s)/ car doors slamming, etc. Maybe a PVC end cap (as used in plumbing) over the battery post would be better? Will battery acid eat at that?

This is clearly a trick question.

curiously, why would it work with data on then? Does it somehow put me on the 'right' network?

Ach so. Well, thus not really a blanket rule. And the topic was this kind of issue when travelling. cheers.

No worries. And perhaps. The year, would have been my first time skiing in Sapporo so 2017, the network would have been NTT (but I do recall other carriers flashing up once in awhile as it does depending on where you are). The issue was getting K-Bank SMS's to do some unexpected banking errands. Internet banking, not app banking (don't know if it was even available yet). iPhone 6, and actually not sure on that one. Might have been on an iPhone 5. IR on. Data on (and by data plan I mean whatever they were charging... not a separate purchased plan). Was at first trying to do the transactions with data off to save some money to maybe buy some noodles instead. And no didn't call the network, I just accepted the data cost and went to a p*nk salon. Her name was Harumi.

Nope. Because I tested it on the spot multiple times. With data on (and I had a data plan), SMS's came through. Without it: no SMS. And yes, I know that SMS's are tied to the voice signal. Definitely not mistaken about my experience.

That was fast. We were at 5% just last week it seems.

If it's an employment at will situation, definitely legal. If you can fire someone for smoking in the office, you can certainly say vaccination is a requirement to work here.

I have definitely been in multiple situations without a data plan (but with a cell signal) and SMS's did not arrive. ...and after a quick Google, you'll note that many others have had issues as well. It's not a blanket rule.

Thanks for the info. And no doubt people aren't certain because sometimes you can't receive or send SMS without a data plan.... but you could call without a data plan. Thus a 'Wifi calling' app by name still might leave folks uncertain. Many of us are still cavemen using these magical devices.

Understandable that it's a sensitive topic for anyone whose livelihood is based in tourism here. Mine is not and thus IMO the country would be better off without mass tourism. Again in practical terms: less sweeping under the rug, and more in your face acknowledgment of the risks and history of criminal acts here. Put the rape and murder case summaries right in the Sawasdee in-flight magazine next to the duty free offerings.