TallGuyJohninBKK

In the last couple of days, I've been starting to see increased posting on Thai social media of videos and photos that look very much like Thais at some type of night club type venues drinking what looks to be booze. As with so many things in Thailand, what the laws say and the announced policies are don't necessarily match what's happening in real life, where, in these instances, there's probably substantial incentive for the plod to look the other way at times.

I've read some on that topic lately... And one of the advantages that the current better vaccines have over post infection immunity is the vaccines are broadly effective against the various different strains of COVID.... Whereas, if someone who's unvaccinated has previously contracted COVID and recovered, whatever post infection immunity they have would only be for the particular variant they had before, and not all the various others... So say the medical experts.

I wonder what they're asking you (the couple) to consent to?

I guess we're rather fortunate that the better vaccines with proven track records of success (Moderna, Pfizer, AZ) do a very good job at preventing "breakthrough infections" -- even though on average a very small share of breakthroughs do occur. Nothing works 100% of the time. "How common are breakthrough cases of COVID? A study in Washington state gathered data from over 4 million fully vaccinated people. The data showed a rate of about 1 in 5,000 experienced a breakthrough infection between January 17 and August 21, 2021. More recently, some populations have shown breakthrough infection rates of approximately 1 in 100 fully vaccinated people." AND "Is coronavirus after vaccination dangerous? Breakthrough coronavirus infections can cause mild or moderate illness, but the chances of serious COVID-19 are very low, especially for people who are not living with a chronic health condition. The COVID-19 vaccines are very effective in keeping you from having to go to the hospital, being put on a ventilator or dying due to severe coronavirus disease, including COVID caused by the delta coronavirus variant." https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/breakthrough-infections-coronavirus-after-vaccination

Also, Singapore has one of the highest per capita COVID testing rates of any country in the world (it's in the top 10 among countries on per capita testing), whereas Thailand is near the bottom among countries based on testing. Singapore is actually out actively seeking out COVID cases, unlike Thailand, which seems to be doing its best to avoid finding and having to report them. Link: Our World in Data

Not quite..... Did you read the full news report? "No pubs and bars in Thailand can reopen at this time."

Has anyone lately encountered the situation with a mixed married couple (1 foreign and 1 Thai) arriving together on an international flight from one of the 46 low-risk countries...under the current rules? Specifically, other than the testing requirements listed above, once you get to the SHA+ or AQ hotel, are they going to require two separate rooms while you wait for the PCR test results, OR, they'll let a mixed married couple stay together in the same QUARANTINE ( ???? ) room?

Eagle, with the way you're generating your data / charts, would it be non-burdensome to perhaps add a first column showing the numeric ranking for each province for that day / chart? Obviously, people can count down on their own to see where any given province falls on the highest to lowest cases per population spectrum. But it would be nice to have that built in, if possible?

Just came across your thread... Want to say, REALLY good work and much appreciation for you doing it. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Thai govt. (MoPH, CCSA, etc.) have regularly reported tons of data (whether accurate or not is a different issue). But almost none of what the Thai government reports on COVID is ever reported on a per capita basis -- which really is probably the best/better means at looking at how things are going from place to place. So, it's great that you stepped in to fill that void!

Another plan to "bring happiness back to the people" bites the dust... When will it ever end??? ????

No, it's generally the Asoke area... However, the jurisdiction area of the Thong Lor police station extends well beyond the specific neighborhood known as Thong Lor.

So you're expecting that somehow the service/website should be operating and performing its services for free to everyone, with no means of paying for their support staff, tech expenses, etc???

Similar story for me with ThaiFriendly. That site just served as the initial means for us to know about each other. Courted in person for months. Then lived together for two years. And now married for 8 years and counting beyond that. My wife was working as a school librarian at the time, and was and is as real and legitimate as anyone's going to find. There are success stories out there. And were it not for the dating site, we most certainly never would have met, as we were living in different cities and traveling in entirely different circles at the time. So I'm a satisfied ex-customer.

Stat, you mentioned above planning to use a credit card (cc) above as opposed to a debit card. So, just be aware and for others reading here, the 220b Thai ATM fee and the prospect of your home card issuer charging a foreign currency conversion fee on the use of your card abroad aren't the only fees to be aware of. When you plan to use a home country credit card in Thailand for a so-called "counter withdrawal," people also need to be aware that a lot of credit card companies also have a separate so-called "cash advance" fee charged against the credit card anytime you use it anywhere (domestic or internationally) to obtain a cash advance. (That type of fee, by comparison, doesn't typically apply to debit card use, because it's your own funds you're withdrawing in those instances). For a lot of U.S. credit cards, the typical cash advance fees (whether using the credit card to withdraw funds from an ATM or do a so-called bank counter withdrawal) often can be even higher than the typical foreign currency conversion charges. Lately, I've seen credit card cash advance fees of up to $10 minimum (for any amount) or 5% of the advance, whichever is greater. And a 5% surcharge on a credit card cash advance would make it a pretty darned expensive advance. So, when treading into such waters, it's always good to be cognizant of all the different kinds of fees that can come into play. Some credit cards may not have either a foreign currency fee OR any cash advance fees on their use. I have some of those. But I'd say that vast majority of credit cards, at least among those issued in the U.S., have one or the other or both, especially those issued by the various mega banks/finance companies.

There's some good photos and background on her here: https://thesmartlocal.com/thailand/miss-universe-thailand-2021/

Personally, I was more intrigued by this runner-up, who as usual here, had no identifying caption info on the photo posted with the OP Thai news report... ????

I'd agree the OP photo of her isn't particularly flattering, at least to my eye... But there are some other photos and videos of her out there that look better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjRqlhFgukQ https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianHalves/comments/pm4ohz/anchilee_scottkemmis/

I've been a big buyer of cauliflower and broccoli in Thailand in recent years for personal consumption at home in BKK, so I can offer some personal data points. At the high end, Central Food Hall was selling imported Aussie broccoli lately for about 300b per kilo. At the low end, I've seen Foodland selling imported broccoli from China for around 100b per kilo, and Thai grown cauliflower for somewhat less than that. For me personally, because of pesticide residues and related issues, I pretty much avoid vegetables imported from China and am pretty careful in any Thai veggies I buy, mainly sticking to a few that don't typically have a lot of pesticide residues, according to past testing here, like cucumbers. For broccoli and cauliflower, I was buying frozen 500g bags of Waitrose brand of both veggies imported from the UK that Central typically was selling for between 129 and 159b. But then Central ran into COVID related supply chain issues, the Waitrose cauliflower disappeared, and they ended up finding a decent replacement for the frozen broccoli florets with a brand imported from Spain. Yes, the frozen prices are high, but that's offset somewhat by the fact the contents are exclusively florets, so there's no waste, stems, leaves, etc. Hopefully, the Waitrose and Spanish brands Central are selling are a better health bet than the China imported and locally Thai produced versions.

Let's see... which sounds more risky from a COVID perspective? 10-12+ hours on a long-haul interprovincial bus trip with Thais who probably have not for the most part been fully vaccinated or even tested (because most of Thailand thus far still has not been fully vaccinated -- less than 40% overall nationwide at this point)? vs One hour on a domestic flight with Thais who, by virtue of their economic position (being able to fly) probably are somewhat more likely as a group overall to have been vaccinated, and will have been required to show vaccination status and/or COVID test results at a lot of the outbound destination cities? (See the ThaiAir domestic flight COVID testing and vaccinations rules graphic posted above by @lucky2008) PS - the jets also supposedly have HEPA air filtration systems for cabin air, unlike the buses, though I'm not sure how much difference that's going to make if an infected person is sitting next to you, or very close by. But it's certainly better than nothing.

But do Thai bank customers know the score? In my home country, there is a national law that provides very clear and comprehensive protection against bank card fraud and theft. And the card holder is NOT presumed responsible, as long as the fraud/theft is reported to the bank in a timely manner. And even VISA and MC in some countries, including mine, advertise "zero fraud liability" for cardholders as card network policies. In Thailand, in the past with individual bank card fraud/theft cases, Thai banks have often taken the position (as cited in past threads here) that card holders are responsible for any fraud or theft that occurs prior to the cardholder reporting the issue to their bank. Bank reps also have responded to reported theft claims by blaming the cardholder's spouse or other family members as being responsible. And AFAIK, the advertised VISA and MC "zero fraud liability" policies have never applied for Thailand-issued bank cards. If Thailand has any clear national consumer protection law that requires Thai banks to timely reimburse customers in the case of reported bank card fraud or theft, I've never seen it or heard of it.

The government's Deposit Protection law is designed to protect depositors up to the specific limit in the event a Thai commercial bank totally fails/goes out of business. However, the DPA scheme does absolutely nothing and provides zero protection for anything to do with financial theft, fraud, etc., regardless of who the stealing/thieving party might be.

Thanks for that! FWIW, my wife has an incoming domestic flight to BKK at the end of this month via Nok Air... After reading the news report here, I've been bugging her to check with the airline about what they will or won't require both upon check-in and also upon her ultimate arrival to Don Mueang. This week, the airline called her to reschedule the time of her flight, and my wife said she checked with them then about the COVID rules. She says Nok Air told her no COVID testing or vaccination proof required from her flight originating in the Northeast and arriving to Bangkok. So... what the heck gives with the original OP news report in this thread???

Here's a link to my BKK CW retirement extension trip report thread from last month for 2021: fyi, AFAIK, the original 3 misc add-on forms have been in use at BKK CW for some years.... they're not new. But the fourth added form is a relatively recent addition.

AFAIK, that place is basically a nightclub kind of place that serves Korean food. But the Sukhumvit Plaza building (little Koreatown) where XOXO is located is hardly Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy...

This is the main local Koreatown complex there. Don't see any farang faces in the photo accompany the OP... And I'd guess, given the location, there likely weren't any or many farangs there for this one. BTW, that's NOT any kind of "red light district" location.