Guderian

Good luck with that, she's working there just one day a month at the moment.

Selling land to the Chinese is not treasonous - it's economic sense: Prayuth The PM should say what he really means so we all know where we stand in this matter.

I'm suprised that Sinovac isn't on sale in the 7-eleven's given the Thai businessperson involved in the company manufacturing it. :rolleyes:

Not a big deal, the Chinese ain't coming and, for farangs, the high season doesn't really kick-off in Pattaya until well into November. If you remove the Chinese from the equation, then the high season for Western tourists has really been from December to February for quite a few years now, the days of it lasting from mid-October until after Songkran in April are long gone.

Please don't spread misinformation. Currently, only 21.7% of the population has received both doses, and some of them will have had Sinovac so will require a third dose. At the moment, 41.7% of the population has received one dose of any vaccine. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/

I wonder how much the Chearavanont family donated to the PM's retirement fund to achieve this outcome?

Why not just let patients lick a drop of vaccine off a doctor's finger, that would stretch it even further, and think of all the money saved by doing away with syringes!

Is this the same nutter who, a few years back, claimed that farangs already own 30% of the land Thailand? When you checked his numbers, it turned out he was also claiming that farangs owned 150% of the land in Phuket! Please, turn him off somebody, lol.

People should avoid getting boosters at the moment, but not because the benefits are unknown as the article implies, it's because it would be a very selfish thing to do if you've already had two shots while many people here have not even had one yet. It's far better that as many people as possible receive at least one dose of vaccine than that a select few get three doses (although I realise that the likes of Prayut and Anutin will already have their names down for a booster, lol).

No big flakes of meat, so it's not cod. The flesh looks more like pangasius to me, a farmed catfish also known (romantically, lol) as Pacific Dory, and very cheap and easy to find here in Thailand. Nothing wrong with it either, I often eat it. If you want to eat really good fish, though, Friendship in Pattaya (I know, not easy to get to from CM) has a range of top quality imported deep sea fish from New Zealand. They're not cheap, but the fish is wonderful. Maybe you can find them in a local farang-oriented supermarket in CM?

Yep, I have to agree with you there. The woman on the phone wouldn't even let me ask my question, as soon as I mentioned 'vaccine' that was it, she must have stuffed some wax plus in her ears as she didn't want to know what my problem was and just kept saying that no, we cannot, cannot. Subtext: sod off, you stupid farang! I was actually phoning to make an appointment to see the dermatologist I've been using there for the last 12 years, Dr. Anna, but I was told that she's decided to only work on one day this entire month. Really, combined with their nasty, racist attempt to make sure that farangs were the last to register for Moderna a few months ago, the only reason I'm still using them is that PIH and Memorial seem to be just as corrupt and money-grubbing.

Try the stationery/school & office supplies department upstairs in Friendship, it's surprising what they've got up there.

What official openings? This is Thailand, the magic place where plans either change every 30 minutes, or else they never existed in the first place, lol.

That's a lot more information than they gave me, but at least it confirms the location will still be the hospital (though another part of it, I think, weren't we in Building B last time?) and not at the SCB place.

I haven't bothered installing the Mor Prom app yet so the change came as a total surpise to me when I asked them about changing the jab location. This is what they sent me: ...we would like to inform that as per our recent hospital announcement, the appointment for the second dose of AstraZeneca has been moved to 28th September 2021 instead of October 14, 2021 What recent hospital announcement? Did anyone see it? I suggest that everyone who has a second appointment in mid-October should check if it's been changed. It's basically good news so I'm not complaining, but it would have been a minor disaster if I'd just turned up at Phyathai2 in October, as originally planned, and missed the second shot.

Yeah, thanks, I've got their contact number and they're pretty good at answering queries in my experience so far.

Fair point. You mentioned something about them not giving the second jabs at the hosptial anymore, but at an SCB office. No mention was made of that in the reply I got from onestop@phyathai. They already changed the date to bring it forward 16 days without asking me, you'd have thought they'd let me know if I was supposed to go elsewhere.

My second AZ jab is due in Phyathai2 hospital in Bangkok at the end of the month. After hearing that people in Hua Hin who had their first jab in Bangkok can now get the second one at a local hospital in Hua Hin, I thought I’d ask Phyathai2 if something similar is possible for people living in Pattaya. This is what they told me: “We would like to inform that Phyathai 2 Hospital is unable to transfer your vaccine allocation to another facility; nonetheless, please note that you can receive the second dose of your vaccine at any facility that is more convenient for you without the permission from our hospital. However, since we are unable to recommend a specific vaccination site, you will need to find a vaccination facility that can accommodate your request for the second dose.” I called my current least-favourite private hospital in Pattaya, BHP, as I know they’re giving AZ shots, and asked them if it was possible and was given a clear reply: “cannot”. OK, so where in Pattaya or its environs can I get a second dose of AZ, instead of having to travel all the way to Bangkok, any ideas?

Last week, the guy from the Thai travel agents association said he expects that 80% of people visiting the country after they relax restrictions will have family, property or business interests here. I guess the other 20% will mostly be snowbirds wanting to be somewhere warm during the northern winter. So, for the most part, it doesn't really make much difference if the nightlife reopens or not, most people coming here, at least initially, won't be doing it for the bars and clubs. It would be nice for everyone if they did reopen, but I doubt if it will be seen by the authorities in Bangkok as essential to the success of the scheme in its early stages.

What's the big deal with being 75? One of my friends just celebrated his 83rd birthday here in Pattaya, and he's more interested in his first beer of the day, and what wine to have with his dinner, than he is with breakfast tea! And as for having The Times delivered every day, I get the digital edition delivered to my PC, phone and tablet every day for just £9.99 a month. Printed newspapers are so yesterday and contribute to global warming. I also get the digital editions of The Economist and New Scientist every week, so I've got more than enough to read while the teelac giggles inanely at the lakorn on her phone, lol. Adopt, adapt, survive!

And at what number of new cases per day, hospital admissions per day, number of people being intubated in ICU wards, and number of daily deaths, will this plan be abandoned and the country re-enter lockdown? Best to have a well-formulated back-up plan, as you're likely to need it this winter.

And the only people in Cambodia with enough money to afford a ticket to get into the stadium are Chinese and their Khmer business and political associates!

I remember when I was a kid that somebody climbed to the top of the local TV transmission mast at St. Hilary. I can't remember why he did it, maybe protesting about something or else temporarily mentally unhinged, but the news at the time did mention that the TV programme transmissions had continued and as a result the radiation had probably sterilised the guy permanently. I don't suppose the microwave-length signals used by 4G are as much of a danger, but the guy might still want to get a sperm count done, lol.

It's interesting to note that the daily new case numbers and excess deaths have been following a similar sharp decline to Thailand in both Malaysia and Indonesia, while they are roughly stable in Vietnam but are still increasing in the Philippines. There seems to be a loose regional correlation in the way the waves of covid ebb and flow, and not just in SE Asia. This is odd given the different restrictions imposed at varying times by the governments, and the near-absence of travel between the countries. It's pretty clear, though, from the excess death figures that things changed for the better regionally last month. (Graphic taken from the latest Economist)

It's good to see some flexibility at last, I just hope they extend this scheme to the likes of Pattaya. It would be much safer and easier for everyone if I could drive myself to get the second shot locally rather than having to take a taxi to central Bangkok.