Heng

Some just want to have you 'explain' / give a reason you're using a VPN as well, such as eTrade (at least when I first tried logging in through a VPN a couple of years ago). Immediate account lock with one of those 'please call customer service' messages. Once explained though they said it was okay to continue to use VPN to log in. One common/reasonable reason is that you need to log into your account via public wifi often while travelling and use VPN for security. IME banks are less touchy about customers using their mobile apps (as opposed to PC browser log ins) around the world.

As I said, none of the major establishments AFAIK in Bangkok have gone out of business. They weren't really legal before, having more rules just meant more zig zagging around law.

Not quite. The ONE major Bangkok establishment that has gone out of business (with the sale of property and land near Central Pinklao) was more of a retirement. Any of those with even minor connections are being run out of hotels and apartment blocks now. The fishbowl is now simply digital.

Seaside air for me, better for the lungs,.... But at least a weekend a month in BKK for my other body parts.

Can confirm he's a Thai farang. He even saves his plastic bottles and bags 'for later' (some dating from the Carrefour era).

No document check (not even a 'do you have a Thailand Pass') at Kastrup/CPH this morning. ????

Party time.

Sometimes you have to watch out for what your solutions evolve into. Have some friends who quit chewing tobacco but ended up as heavy smokers. I've quit watching p0rn but now have all kinds of other issues.

I know what this feels like. I got the first step down. I admit I have a problem. Not alcohol or drug related, but definitely an addiction. Now I'm kind of floating around with this problem for years now, occasionally still rationalizing that it's not a problem because I can afford it.

Anything can pass for art/decor nowadays.

This may not have come to light without 'intense interrogation.' Had a burglar we caught on cctv (albeit a bit blurry) sat there and denied it for four hours in the police station until the local police captain took him in the back room and hit him with the suspect's own flip flop for a short (depending on one's point of view) 10 minutes straight. No serious injuries and suddenly out came all the details.

Yeah, I'm definitely not touting the system. It's of course going to be skewed towards 'easy' for Thai applicants without the insurance requirement. ????

Thailand Pass in progress. No system crash on day one of rule change. +1 ???? Edit: just came through. 12 hours from application to approval.

Not sure. Only been here for a few days as a tourist. The EU Covid pass still exists, so IF you needed it, then for Danes it wouldn't be valid if as little as 5 months have passed since your 2nd dose (and assuming no booster shot). For most European countries, the norm seems to be 9 months. In cases where one would need a valid EU Covid pass to travel to another country (say in Asia or Africa), it could be an issue.

Currently the norm in many places. No covid regs here in Denmark but you're unvaccinated if your most recent dose was more than 150 days ago.... So you'd need another dose if you happen to want to use you Covid pass for anything.

Well the parking lot at BKK is certainly back to its packed norm this morning now that we don't have to do one of those minivan rides when we get back in country, but of course that isn't tourists.

It'll be extra fun no doubt in Thailand, but it's already getting a bit more complicated in many places. This is just across the Schengen area... (and of course vaccine validity sometimes only applies to entry or doesn't apply at all and in some cases only applies to going into restaurants/using public transport/etc.) Country Validity of Vaccine Certificates Accepted Vaccines for Entry Austria 270 days BioNTech/Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Covishield, Covaxin, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinovac, and Sinopharm Belgium 150 days Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford, Janssen, Covishield and R-Covi Bulgaria 365 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Covishield, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Sputnik V Croatia 270 days Pfizer, Moderna, AstaZeneca, Gamaleya, Sinopharm, Novavax, Covishield, Covaxin, and Sinovac Cyprus 270 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, Covishield, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Covaxin, Novavax Czech Republic 270 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, Covishield, Novavax Denmark 150 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, Novavax, Covishield, Covaxin, Sinovac, Sinopharm Estonia 270 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Sinovac Finland 365 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, Sinopharm, Covishield, Coronavac, Covaxin, Novavax France 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Covishield Germany 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Novavax Greece 210 days Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna, Astra Zeneca, Novavax, Janssen, Sinovac, Sputnik V, CanSinoBio, Sinopharm, Covaxin, Covishield Hungary 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Novavax, CanSinoBio, Sputnik V, Covishield, Sinopharm Iceland 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Covaxin, Novavax, Covovax Italy 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, AstraZeneca (including Covishield, R-CoVI/R-Pharm, Fiocruz Ireland 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Covaxin, Novavax Latvia 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Novavax Lithuania 210 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen Luxembourg 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, AstraZeneca (including Covishield, R-CoVI/R-Pharm, Fiocruz) Malta 90 days (only for its citizens) BioNTech/Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen Netherlands 270 days AstraZeneca (all types), Covaxin, Covovax, Novavax, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, Moderna, Sinopharm, Sinovac Norway 270 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, Moderna, Sinovac, Covishield, Novavax Poland 270 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, Moderna, Novavax Portugal 180 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, Moderna, Novavax Romania 270 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, Moderna Slovakia 270 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, Moderna, Covaxin, Sinopharm, Sinovac Slovenia 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sputnik V, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Covishield, Covaxin Spain 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Moderna, Covishield, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Covaxin, Novavax Sweden 180 days AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen, Covishield, Sinovac, Covaxin, Covovax, Novavax Switzerland 270 days Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Novavax, Covishield, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Covaxin

Plenty of future 'games' / considerations regarding what is considered fully vaccinated up ahead . If a booster shot makes you fully vaccinated for another 270 days.... but if you allow that first 270 days to expire you might considered unvaccinated in some places? There are going to be a lot of people who won't want to start over from scratch from dose one, fresh powder and apres ski not withstanding.

The Thailand Pass site says we can register on April 29 at 1201am under the new rules. Awesome possum! Now just hoping that the CCSA brain trust doesn't start thinking about what is considered fully vaccinated in terms of most recent 2nd dose. 270 days like much of Europe would be nice, 180 days like some countries means AQ. Not going to get boosted until October to cover next year's winter and spring holidays (and hopefully it won't even be a thing then).

They haven't thought of that yet. Give them a few minutes. I'll drop it in the suggestion box.

Simon Leviev light.

Knock on wood. We should know the fate of Test and Go after tomorrow's CCSA meeting.

Yes, I cannot speak for most Thais, I can only speak from my own experience and those of folks I know and how we access the local healthcare system... which I would say is the norm for the average person in the Thai middle class. Being somewhat insured. Diagnosis at private hospitals with transfers (being sent) by familiar doctors (and yes, even for specialists, we tend to see/request the same doctors) for treatment (generally just for the more costly treatments). A 90k appendectomy becomes a 30k Baht procedure for example, not exactly 'free' overall, but in relative terms 'free' in time/cost savings. Whether they are called GPs really is just semantics, the doctors you get your checkups with are essentially GPs (they're typically not specialists or are still working their way towards something), and if you choose the same doctors each time, they are your 'regular' doctor. Generally speaking, I think I'd much rather be seriously ill here than in America, but of course would prefer to have access to what Danes or Swedes have, it's all relative.

No assigned GP. GP simply as in the same/regular doctor you go to. I should clarify that the 'send' route I've typically seen is private to government (as often they are the same doctors working in both systems). If you go direct to the government system, the wait can be longer than is acceptable depending on what issue one is dealing with.

GP as to whoever you regularly go to for checkups or care. It's this doctor (and yes, it'll depend on his/her status as well as you have mentioned) who can 'send' you into the gov't system.