spidermike007

No. And this is a fantastic time to travel around Thailand. Been to Bangkok and Pattaya two months ago, Samui last month, and am in Bangkok now. Wonderful. Silly deals on hotels. Quieter than usual.

Paradise for domestic travel. Support the locals! 

Oh please. What would make Thailand infinitely sager, would be your immediate resignation, allowing them to find someone with experience in the field of health! 

There are so many variables here. Is it worth taking a small risk, so that the economy can recover, and the people can live? Of course it is. 

How about a simple plan? A non antigen test 72 hours before the flight. And Thailand ups their game, and invests in some modern technology, and provides on the spot antigen testing at Suvarnabhumi or elsewhere. It is easy. You pass two different tests, using two different methodologies, and you are covid free.
 
Welcome. No health insurance required. No groveling at a consulate. No quarantine. No crazy hoops to jump through, which will discourage all but a thousand tourists a month.

Welcome to Thailand. Have a great trip. And thanks so much for bringing a bundle of cash. Our people really need it. 
 
No panic. No fear mongering. Double testing. You are safe. We are safe. Life is good. 

Abbott has received FDA emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 antigen it is pricing at $5 that delivers results in 15 minutes. Other companies including BD and Quidel already sell antigen tests but Abbott’s scale led some analysts to identify its entry to the market as a potential game-changer. Abbott plans to ship 50 million kits a month starting in October, making mass testing more feasible.

Are we living in some sort of echo chamber. All the plans sound about the same. 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. First they need to figure out a way to attract tourism, WITHOUT quarantine. That is fairly simple. A very reliable lab based test in the home nation, with test results before you board the plane. Then a simple antigen test at the airport. It takes 15 minutes for results. Sure, Thailand would have to invest in the test kits. Some general would have to be willing to part with a few million dollars. Each test itself, only cost $5 with the new Abbott test, which is available now.

Then they could get on to reform. Sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.

The very first thing would be to repeal the anti farang 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 365%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here.

Thailand keeps droning on and on and on, about how they want wealthy tourists. Again, what sacrifices are you willing to make? 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. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

They will continue to get more Indian and Chinese tourists. But most will be lower income, and lower middle income tourists. Thailand just cannot attract higher income tourists anymore. Very few. 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.

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.

Great news. Since the majority of early voters are democrats. Trump is cascading toward a towering humiliation. 

He has failed at nearly everything he has touched. Nearly anything with his name on it, and his association with it, fails. And that will be even more so, after he loses the November 3rd election. His name will remain radioactive, the the rest of his life, and the mini empire will continue to dwindle. During the period from 1985 to 1989, three years of which were boom year in NY real estate, he somehow managed to lose $359 million. Between 1990 and 1991 he lost $517 million. And between 1992 and 1995 he again managed to lose $286 million. 
 
The real irony of his whole persona, is that he cannot negotiate his way out of a paper bag, much less negotiate a treaty with an adversary, which makes him very dangerous. 
 
There is a very good chance his tax returns will reveal massive bank fraud. And he could be facing prison time, once he is ingloriously ushered out of the White House in January (possible by US Marshalls, should he resist). 

I tend to agree. Not sure about #1, but a great Massaman is a spectacular dish. Far lighter than most Indian curries, and far more delicate than most Japanese curries.

Of course he does not like it. He deos not have a choice. A resounding defeat in this debate might be give him the tiniest chance of victory. 

The last debate simply reflected the chaos and panic taking place in the mind of Trump. 

 
Interruption is such a familiar form of disrespect. To be interrupted—in a meeting, in a casual conversation, on a presidential-debate stage—is to be told, with blunt efficiency, that your voice is not as important as the voice of the person who is talking over you. It is to be informed, through the prevention of the words you are trying to utter, that you matter just a little bit less.  

He is headed toward the greatest humiliation of his lifetime. Why? Just one of the reasons is that contrary to the self created myth, Trump can barely negotiate his way out of a paper bag. Just think of how many have gotten over on him, and taken advantage of his lack of skill and prowess, in the past few years. Putin, Xi, Kim, MBS, and countless others. Now, the leaked tax returns paint the rest of the sorry picture. 17 major business failures! Possibly a record. And financial losses for decades. Unless he is lying to the IRS too. Very possible. 

No. No. No. No. The market will drop significantly. 

No question it is worse. And few in a position of authority are facing the music. Courageous of BAM chairman Bunyong Visatemongkolchai to state the truth, about the Bangkok economy. The pain will be felt for many years to come. I anticipate condo prices to drop by half. A friend of mine recently moved to Pattaya. He looked at condos in Jomtien. He walked into one of the nicest towers, looked at a 36th floor unit with panoramic views, and when he was quoted 26,000 a month, he offered 10,000. They settled on 13,000. He said the agent more or less admitted the building was nearly empty, and they could not rent to sell anything, at this time. 
 
Demand is way down. The Chinese market is nearly gone, Russians and others are very hesitant to commit. And the long term tourists are gone too. So, who does that leave? Wealthy Thais, many of whom see the market collapsing, and would rather wait and see how all of this shakes out, and ex-pats, many of whom are smart enough to be shopping for bargains right now. 

Anyone interested in buying a condo right now, would be better off waiting awhile. Timing is on your side. Time is now your ally. The economy is going remain devastated here, for a very long time to come. And the longer this goes on, the more people are going to be affected by it, and the more desperate some will become. For the wealthy it barely matters. But, there are many middle class who have money invested, and there are alot of Chinese and Russians who bought, and cannot even visit Thailand. Some of them will want to unload their properties. Wait. The condo market is severely overbuilt. And demand is low, for all but the top buildings. 

Just a few days ago, during the town hall, while he was being ripped to shreds by the excellent moderator, he said how much he likes Fauci.

These are the words of an unhinged, juvenile schizo. They cannot be taken seriously. What he says, means less than zero. Now that Fauci is criticizing him again, he must strike back. It is all he knows. 

No worries, this toxic presence will be gone in a few months. He will be trounced on November 3rd!

If I were in his position, I would be concerned about alot more than flooding, at this point. It is time to step down. Get out now. The people are making their voices very clear. You have grossly over extended your welcome. 

This raised the ire of the environment minister who demanded action. 

Unbelievable nonsense. What have you done for Thailand's environment lately? What are you doing about the air quality? Diesel emissions? Badly maintained trucks? Sewage being pumped into the Gulf and the Andaman?

You have ALOT to answer for. How dare you lecture anyone! Your incompetence is a disgrace to the people. 

You are part of the reason why the youth is rising up. YOU! And your fellow incompetent ministers. All of you. 

A note to the dinosaurs, including Chairat. The exact opposite is true. The economy will stagnate if there are NOT protests. 

Change is desperately needed. Can't you see that by now? The stunning lack of leadership is costing the people dearly. The lack of courage from the small army men. Prayuth and his cronies must go. They must go now. The people are finally rising up. They are fed up. Enough. Get out. Get out now! Kudos to the youth! Keep fighting for the future of your country. Bravo! 

Thailand continues to be tone deaf, on the wrong side of history, and feeble, in its minor attempts to progress into this century. Anything this administration does is typically dumb, and unplanned. And the effects, ramifications and future are never considered. To call this heavy handed would be a gross understatement.

The reefs and sea life off Phangan and Samui have been devastated for decades, due to massive dumping of sewage and runoff. To blame these guys is just dumb and racist. 

Let the youth of Thailand speak. They are showing how people really feel. Change is a coming. 

Pipat is completely lost, and he has always been in over his head, well before Covid. He should have stuck with running the PTT stations. His $155 million fortune insures he is completely out of touch with the needs of the people. Appointed Prayuth style. With no credentials other than money and influence. 

No program will work, which requires quarantine. Period. End of story. 

Leaders lead. Cowards and men completely devoid of vision and solutions, cower in the corners, and come up with nothing. 

It is just a matter of time now. Finally, the people are speaking in a loud and clear voice. Kudos to them. Kudos to the youth! 

3 minutes ago, underthebridge said:

If positive then what? Spend even more money in quarantine or will this be covered by the insurance scheme?

Yes, of course. If positive you have to quarantine. A sensible approach. Far more sensible than asking healthy tourists to devote 14 days of their lives to prison, and thousand of dollars. While on vacation? What planet are these officials Iiving on? Planet Thailandia? The center of the known universe? 

Are these clowns serious? Or do they want to continue the sadism visited upon their people? 

 Very few tourists will be willing to jump over the onerous hoops this stunningly uncreative administration is putting forth. Perhaps a few thousand per year. Expats, yes. Tourists, no. Dumb and dumber. 

Any effective solution to the devastation of the tourism industry here, has to include a plan without the requirements of quarantine.

A simple plan. Require tourists to get a laboratory test in their home country, with negative results. Then, issue an antigen test here, upon arrival. A simple test, with results in 15 minutes. The new Abbott test system costs just $5 per test. Free testing upon arrival. You are negative. You have been subjected to two different tests, using two completely different systems. You are healthy. You are free to go, and please spend alot of money here, so you can help to revive our devastated economy, and put some people back to work. Thank you so much for coming!

Prayuth is obviously running very scared. His power is being threatened. We can always count on him to do the wrong thing, and be in the wrong side of history. That is just who he, and this heinous administration are. The people despise the army like never before. This will likely not stop. Where is it going to lead is anyone's guess, but the status quo was NOT WORKING. 

Banning the FFP was the beginning of the end for them, I believe. And now?