piewarmer

23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Tourism is not returning to Thailand anytime soon. If you think about it, the group that comprised perhaps 60% of all arrivals (lower to middle income Chinese and Indians) are the ones who have been hardest hit by this idiotic worldwide economic shutdown. Tourism in Thailand will never recover to even close to it's former levels, and that leaves millions out of work. Perhpaps many countries will still be required to have Covid letters, as the virus is still raging in many countries. And some countries will not issue that letter (impossible to get in the US). Plus, will the mandatory health insurance still be required? Will it be even stricter than before? And just what are people returning to, or coming to? How about nightlife?

 

Even prior to Covid, tourism here was declining. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti fareng wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 360%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. 

 

They will continue to get more Indian tourists. But, as with the vast majority of Chinese, it will be lower and middle income tourists. Thailand just cannot attract higher end tourists anymore. The focus on quantity over quality will continue to erode the nation on countless levels. More is rarely better. It just lowers the quality of life for nearly everyone, creates more congestion, more smog, more traffic, longer lines at immigration, and makes life difficult, especially in the big cities. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists, and go for quality over quantity. Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax. Instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying a new watch, or  a new handbag, while on vacation. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane. 

 

Quantity over quality is never a good thing, unless you are selling one dollar items at a swap meet. It just lowers the quality of the experience for all. There are so many unanswered questions, it boggles the mind. One thing is for certain. Thailand will be feeling the effects of this for a very, very long time. So will the rest of the world. 

 

Best thing I ever read on this forum, cheers mate

A man dies from a motorbike injuries and it's recorded as Covid19, that's the standard these days.

There is a lot, a real lot of dodgy Covid19 statistics.

Lets hope the Tuk Tuk and Jetski mafia go home and never come back.

In my youth car tyres were good for 20,000K's the V8 was less than 10,000

but my latest Mazda has done 35,000 and no sign of wear.

The life of modern rubber is way better if you keep the tyre pressures up

All the small booze shops around my area in east Chiang Mai have been closed for 2 weeks now

I was sure some would be trading quietly but no.

Today I passed Art in Paradise, workers stripping all the fittings

the big Love sign out the front is gone now, it was a landmark.

Billys

Masks don't help facial recognition software, that's a bonus

I miss going out to eat

Why has the USA had drug labs around the world working on germ warfare for 25 years now? (even in Wuhan)

Because they are doing things that are illegal and dangerous in America

Check out PEPFAR, they are a private company that gets huge funding but they wont ever allow audits

The people that head the Covid response also run PEPFAR (a very nasty business)

It's amazing how few people are orchestrating the whole response and their only focus is a vaccine, just a another day with corporate elites.

you will have to do isolation on arrival

The destination village are too paranoid, insisting on isolating visitors away from the village with daily doctor visits, trip cancelled.

On 4/17/2020 at 4:38 PM, Forza2002 said:

Zero logic on the ban. There are way more people mingling at the local markets, using the same inane logic they should close the markets..

 

How about all the people queuing up at food banks, social distancing not enforced. A good example was the photo of people lining up all around the moat in Chiang Mai. If the CV19 death toll numbers are to believed, it's sheer madness some of the restrictions currently in place...

Actually, the people lining up around the moat have been distancing very well, I see them every day

I'm so happy the military are suffering from this

Death bringer aircraft carriers are virus hotbeds, serves them right

if the world has to lock down, so should the war machine.

I would like to see this years Thai road statics for the last few weeks, anyone have a link... I'm sure it will be a good read

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

“Those who cannot provide evidence of being a local resident or having a workplace in Chiang Rai will be denied entry, as well as those who do not wear face masks or refuse to undergo the screening process.”

 

 

check and check, that's covered already. hopefully the BIB staff in the field don't make up the rules as they go along

thanks for the replies. Will post here next week if there's an unexpected outcome.

There's an illness in the family, it requires a drive to Chiang Kong via Chiang Mai 

Is this do-able or will there be nasty checkpoints and delays?

I see the gold shops open but they have empty display cases (In CM anyway)

too bad Thai rice isn't being planted as much due to drought

It's time to re-skill yourself in the art of mugging avoidance

That covers Songkran nicely

I haven't seen any helmet checks around the moat for a week now, no cash for the cops, no bars paying tea money too.

The fuzz must be at their wits end.

its 90 out of how many?