edwardandtubs

Personally, I'm happy to let the bus conductor roll her eyes, which is all that's happened to me in 3 months of non-mask wearing in Thailand.

True, but 20,000 people die each year on Thai roads and a lot of that is due to inconsiderate drivers. Clearly more lives would be save by doing something about these inconsiderate drivers than by harrassing supposedly inconsiderate non-mask wearers.

It's a kind of dust.

Do some research. PM2.5 goes straight through and around the edges of the mask and into the respiratory system.

The only problem with that argument is that the cotton masks and surgical masks that most people are wearing are not effective against air pollution. The only masks that are effective are tight-fitting N95 masks, which very few people are wearing. Yes, you see a few N95 masks but they're usually too loose to be effective against pollution.

Thais don't hate me. For three months nobody mentioned it, nobody avoided sitting or standing next to me on public transport, everyone was happy to work with me, chat with me and serve me, even kiss me (and more). If Thais hate anyone it's miserable old farts who think they're entitled to tell other people what to wear.

I don't doubt it but we all have our own perceptions of who the dunces are in this situation, which is why the wearing of masks has now been made voluntary.

So if I tell you to wear a dunce hat and then offer you a free one if you refuse, is that courtesy?

I doubt the bus conductor will be in the pub and there were only a couple of other passengers on the bus (public holiday) who appeared to be more interested in their mobile phones, so I'm sure you can safely go down the pub if you really want to.

Actually they fell last week but so what? Cases will be rising and falling for the rest of our lives as covid is now endemic. The rest of the world has moved on in that it has recognised that fact and is getting on with life. Relax, go down the pub, grab a beer and watch the world cup. How many masks can you see. That's what the rest of the world are doing.

I think it's a little bit oversensitive to consider the term 'low level bureaucrat' to be an attack. The point is, he isn't the final word on the subject for a start and we don't even know that 'mandatory' is the correct translation of what he said. Three months back in Thailand and today was the first time anyone said anything to me about masks, even though I use public transport every day. Don't you think that indicates this bus conductor just made a mistake?

Isn't that exactly what I said earlier?

I certainly do give a hoot and can see that a lot of people are suffering unnecessary anxiety while the rest of the world has moved on.

There was debate on this forum on that at the time. Just because some low-level bureaucrat is reported as saying that, doesn't make it so. Look at the articles from June, it's very clear that all mask-wearing rules were abolished. https://www.thaipbsworld.com/wearing-face-masks-is-now-voluntary-in-thailand/

They certainly could not as the law is very clear that mask wearing on public transport is voluntary. IMHO I did set a good example by politely declining to be bossed around by someone making up their own rules without any authority.

Having said that, individual bank branches are free to serve or not serve whoever they want for whatever reason they want.

It seems to be a bit of a trend after the viral video of the uncle on the sky train. A bus conductor told me to wear a mask today so I said 'mai mee' so she went away, came back and gave me one, to which I replied 'mai aow'. She rolled her eyes at another passenger but then left me alone. It's definitely not the law so i assume there's a little online movement to try to get these filthy farangs into line. Best just to ignore them if you can. The law is on your side.

Obviously I'm not confused by the currency conversion process but by the logic of quoting in USD for flights that have nothing to do with America.

That doesn't make much sense. Nok Air and Thai Air Asia both set their prices in baht. A domestic flight under 1000 baht would be considered a good price while a flight to a nearby country under 2000 baht would be considered a bargain right now. Faffing about with foreign currencies just creates unnecessary confusion when we're talking about flights departing from and returning to Thailand.

Reminds me of a song by Green Day...

But the topic is visa runs so everyone interested would be staying in Thailand long term. Surely, then it would make more sense to quote in baht.

Why is everyone quoting prices in USD?

A lot of people are in such a rush they can't even spend one night outside of Thailand. I think they must be working on a tourist visa and can't get a day off work. I just did a quick in-out to Laos but as the cost of the visa was $40, it would have been cheaper to fly to Hat Yai then take public transport to Malaysia and spend the night there before returning. Next time I'll spend a few days in Penang. Why are some people so desperate to rush back to Thailand?

Yes, definitely not running. Instead I had a bone crunching tuk tuk ride which left me with a splitting headache, slipped disc in my spine and acid reflux. Never again.

I saw these 20 baht new busses last time I was in Udon Thani but that was pre-covid. https://udona2z.com/2019/11/28/udonthani-city-bus-20-baht/ Are they running now?