kimamey

I think you'll find there is a lot of scientific research showing that vaccines help lessen the risk of serious illness, deaths and transmission. If you want to take no notice of that fine. Keep believing if its giving you a good feeling.

I never had to do it so I couldn't comment on what it was like. It was expensive to start with and then it got worse but I don't know why. I've stayed in loads of hotels but mostly for 1 or 2 nights. I'm not sure how I'd cope for a longer period plus not being able to go out at all. I suspect the rooms would be pretty small in the UK. I've just done the Thailand Pass day 1 Hotel stay and that was OK. I arrived at 9am so after arriving at the hotel before 10 and having the test it was the rest of the day and overnight. Not bad at all but then sleeping was my main focus.

Yes it was expensive but I don't think it applies now. I think now you can quarantine at home which would be free. Or maybe you need to isolate at all.

A genuine question. What do you mean by 'good stuff'? Is it THC?

It all depends on how they are made and what's in them. Criticising sausages because you don't know what's in them is ridiculous for that very reason. Some years ago I used to work for a butcher doing deliveries and sometimes I had to mix the ingredients for the sausages so I knew what was in them. It definitely wasn't sweepings off the floor.

Well there are times when the government is who I voted for or at least someone close to my vote although there will always be areas where I disagree. It's more often the government of a country that we have issues with rather than most of the people in that country. That goes for Russia, China and even Thailand although not to the same extent of course.

I was thinking more of non military Russians. It seems even with the military most of the lower ranks weren't aware of where they were going and why. Those in the military are probably better placed to see what's actually going on than normal citizens back in Russia who seem to be given facts that follow a strict Kremlin narrative. I've heard reports of Russian soldiers surrendering who are totally against what's going on. There also protests in Russia against the war but I think we have to be aware of how much of a grip Putin has over the country and how vulnerable anyone who goes against him is. Even those Russians outside the country are vulnerable to assassination including by chemical means and most people have family to think of as well. Fortunately there are those brave enough to speek out. How many of us would do the same if we were in the same position. Clearly Putin hasn't got that much support or he wouldn't need to take the measures he has against those who oppose him although there will be many who do back him. Is worth remembering that China has a similar attitude to dissent as well.

Is nothing like that at all. Early on there might have been the thought that he was ok and he did seem pretty western friendly but it changed some time ago. He's invaded countries more than once. He's used chemical weapons in other countries. He's assassinated people in our country. He used chemical agents in our country killing a British citizen. Maybe not doing anything to provoke him to much was the right thing to do and maybe it is now. Ultimately Putin has done this but by not standing up to him well he just keep pushing further and if he does will we continue with the same strategy?

Maybe some of them do. I don't know any so I couldn't say. If they don't there may be reasons. Perhaps they have family or other connections in Russia which could be put at risk if they say the wrong things. Its not a normal democratic country unfortunately.

I doubt there's much the average Russian can do as they don't seem to have democratic elections anymore and even if they did you can still end up a government you didn't vote for. I'm in that situation in the UK. Western governments are also to blame for empowering Putin by not standing up to him earlier.

Watch out for tax officials checking out and probing their assets.

Apparently it's still per day. I asked my wife who works in the Department for Skill Development which is part of the Ministry of Labour and she says you could agree a price with them for whatever you want done. If they say for example they can do the job in less than a day so 200 baht is what they charge then that should be fine unless anyone knows any different. I always find that what I'm quoted is cheap enough anyway so I often just give a bit more.

I booked through Agoda with no problems. It included airport transfer and the PCR test at the hotel. Because the rules were changing on 1st March and I was arriving on the 9th and I wasn't sure how long it took for approval I did as suggested here and applied in February so I would have the Thailand Pass with the two tests and hotel stay on days 1 and 5 knowing I could cancel the day 5 if needed. Then at 5pm 0n the 28th February in the UK (midnight in Thailand) I applied again using just the booking for day 1. In both cases I got approval very quickly. The receipt showed I'd paid in full and that it was a quarantine package.

Mine was a hotel SUV with a screen between the driver and me.

Same for me except the test was done at the hotel.

As far as I know the death penalty hasn't been used for some time although some are sentenced to death. I don't know if that includes sex offenders as well. Probably if there is murder involved as well.

This was always one of the problems with the minimum wage. It's the Thai thing of taking something that works well elsewhere and changing it so it's a mess. It's normal to set a minimum wage by the hour not the day. That way if you want someone for 4 hours you don't have to pay them for a whole day. The other problem was and I assume still is that there was an attempt to appeal to nationalists and racists by only applying it to Thais. Sounds great if you don't like foreigners getting jobs but of course it just means migrants are cheaper to employ. When the Yingluck government brought in the 300 baht minimum for Thais some companies opened factories close to borders to take advantage of the migrant labour. The other example of adding Thainess to a perfectly good idea was the tax refund on new vehicles. It was done elsewhere including in the UK where if you gave up an old inefficient vehicle when buying a new more fuel efficient and less polluting one you got a reduction in price paid for by the government. That meant that it caused no increase in vehicle numbers just better vehicles. In Thailand that was changed to first vehicles which caused an increase as there would be no vehicle to take off the road. Of course there were also pickups bought by old people who had never owned a vehicle and couldn't drive but their children or grandchildren could instead. I can still remember all the SUVs and pickups coming towards me in the middle of the narrow road to the market with panicked faces behind the wheel.

If it was down to me I'd just let them have them. I think they need the money more than me.

My mother in law seeks is to an old woman who comes round. At least she did when I was here last.

Will we have to have a QR code on our members and present them at immigration? I'm imagining myself in a bar chatting to some girl and telling her "No I don't have a QR code, I've got a barcode. A very long one. Do you want to 'scan' it?" Sorry got to go the wife wants to know what I'm grinning at and by the look on her face I don't think she'll see the funny side.

As others have said neither chemical nor surgical castration completely remove the ability for sexual activity or crime of a sexual nature but based on power and domination.

Actually that's not entirely true with either chemical or physical castration (removal of testicles) and there is still some re offending. There is also the suggestion that some of those who volunteer for chemical castration and accept the hormonal effects in return for a lesser sentence so so because they value their freedom over the hormonal effects. Also in countries where voluntary chemical castration is available a proportion of those opting for the procedure will be those who don't want to offend and want something to reduce and control the desire. This is much the same as those dealing with drug, alcohol and gambling addiction although it often seems that is more easily accepted by the public.

It can help in some circumstances and should be offered as an option but as you say its not always a sexual urge.

I've had a look at my insurance and I can't find what the plan is. There seems to be a Super Lite which is cheaper. Just looking at the page with the options it looks as if they are all suitable for Thailand Pass. I do know that I paid 2276 baht for 30 days and the nearest to that seems to be Lite. That was to cover for $50,000 at the time I think. At the time I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay so just booked a flight with a return date after 30 days so the insurance would cover the duration of my visit. Gulf Air were offering free date changes so it's not a problem. I will be staying longer than 30 days but I still don't know how long. I think any of the plans should cover you and it looks as if the Lite plan was what I went for and that was OK. How much it will be will depend on how long you're staying. I've not been keeping up with the latest requirements but assuming the Thailand Pass is still the same it wasn't too bad to get through. One issue I did have and from searching it's a common problem is trying to input QR codes for vaccination. I saw several possible solutions but for me it seemed the issue was with contrast on the QR jpg. I increased the contrast quite a bit and it worked. I did also increase the brightness a little as well but I don't know if that was necessary. I used Gimp on my laptop which is free but I would think there are other simple programs that can do the same thing. Good luck

I was merely stating a fact. Is it really how they like it? If it is why does the government and various other Thai bodies and institutions always claim they want to do something about it? They seem to have the same objective as westerners and others who don't like the road deaths they just don't have the ability to do anything about it. Why aren't they applauding the fact that the high road deaths in Thailand are what they want? My Thai family certainly don't want it this way and I know others with the same view.