chang1

Many variants will be around that doesn't matter if the vaccines stop people dying. With vaccines we can live with Delta, without many will die. Here in the UK we have opened up and living with Delta. The difference to being in paranoid Thailand last week is huge - not just a little better.

Depends on your definition of long term. For anti vaxers it means a dozen generations. They will keep moving the goal posts everytime their worries are proved groundless.

It will be the same people just with more to protest about now than when they were subdued last year.

As soon as there was a hint of how bad things were in Wuhan the UK should have sealed all travel routes. I said this right at the beginning but we believed China and the WHO until it was too late. This could have been done better but after that the UK on the whole did a good, not perfect, job at great expense. Thailand started good then money took priority so didn't even try to get vaccines except for the well off. This is not a case of could have done better, they didn't even try to do better so there is no way they could do better. Only now are they trying but unfortunately it is too late. Delta will have gone through the population before people are vaccinated.

Young people without complications are at almost no risk from covid but can spread it. Not sure what you mean by mobbing as any such demonstration could be a mob. As for violence, that is never acceptable but you also have to look at the tactics used against them. I doubt those arrested get an easy time. Joe Ferrari exposed the type of thing that goes on as normal behaviour.

Because you have an easy escape route. What if you were stuck in Thailand without any financial backup? Even China could be OK but would I want to be an average Chinese - not for 1 minute.

A lot higher if they put the resources into acquiring vaccines. They were lucky in the first wave and became complacent. They thought they could save/make money by waiting for home grown vaccines. Unfortunately vaccines are hard to make and the Indian variant has caught them out. Do you think they pulled out all the stops to get vaccines?

At what point would you say they should protest? If they used force to get into power? If they remove all viable opposition? If they vaccinated themselves and left everyone else to the mercy of covid? If they allowed rampant corruption to continue? If they turned a blind eye to corrupt police and immigration? If they rigged elections in their favour? Or if they refused to have an election and just held onto power? Obviously none of this is likely to happen but if it did would you be happy to sit at home and do nothing?

Covid is going to be around for a while. If 100% of the population are vaccinated then there are very few deaths, ie. much better. Covid cases don't matter - deaths and long covid do.

Yep, much better for everyone to stay at home and pretend all is well. In fact why not tell the media to only show good news and ban people from telling the truth on social media? Block foreign websites like Google and Facebook so no bad news reaches the people at all. Add in a few lies so that any problems can be blamed on the west. Are elections really needed? I think there could be other countries nearby to look at to get an idea of how this could work.

This sentence explains why all the other things you talk about are happening. Also things would be a lot better not just a little.

There will be an election sooner or later. The problem is will there be any meaningful opponents? The longer they stay the more time they have to suppress other parties and change the rules to suit themselves. What worries me is that someone who uses force to gain power, is much more likely to use it to stay in power.

All? Nothing to do with migrant workers, songkran and any of the other clusters found?

Maybe it shows how desperate they are for change. Covid is probably one of the smaller risks they are taking. At least they are doing something, you want change but have you done anything to help at all? Easy to criticise, much harder to actually do something. Why not show some support instead of nit picking?

Start at the top and work down. Unfortunately Thais can't see beyond tomorrow so, to them, it is never worth starting.

And I'll go to Spain.

Anyone who comes to Thailand for a resort that is a reproduction of what they have much closer to home needs their head read! I come here to get away from that kind of <deleted>. Give me Thailand of 20 (or more) years ago and I will keep returning but if it's the same as Spain I needn't bother.

This ain't the UK. I guess you didn't bother to read the last sentence. Like most countries, Thai Road laws are very similar to the UK highway code although certainly not the same.

Some will stop but you never which type is heading your way.

I doubt nationality makes much difference here.

Is that correct? In the UK I was taught not to proceed until the pedestrian was off the road. The reasoning is that they may decide to turn around at anytime. Of course the Thai rules may differ.

I don't believe it's a lack of education, training or courtesy. Everyone who saw this news will know exactly why the Aussie was upset and that the car driver was driving illegally and it won't be the first time they have been "taught" this. Thais are super courtias (spell checker failed me) outside cars. Your last point is spot on. Roads become their chance to be kings so anyone more vulnerable is fair game. If anybody tries to show more power than they have they have to be put in their place. Hands, feet, knives and even guns will be used to save face even if it is only in his mind. So don't make excuses for them, they are dangerous @@holes plain and simple.

Is that because of foreign tourists? I thought that is a national policy that applies to all tourists. When we arrived in Phuket, Thais could go there much more easily than us. I think they only needed 1 vaccination. You can not compare pre sandbox to how it is now due to all the new restrictions brought in to kerb the Delta variant. The main reason the sandbox is failing is the excessive paperwork and testing. Then there is the problem of onward travel which is going to stop all the genuine tourists seeing rural Isaan. We managed to get there and have been given another 2 week home quarantine. Lazada is my friend so I can still get some jobs done.

How was domestic tourism affected by the sandbox? I don't see foreign tourists have any advantages over locals, although after jumping through all the hoops and checks we should.

If a vehicle can't do a U turn without staying in the U turn lane, it shouldn't be allowed to do it. A couple of days ago I was in a mini bus inwhich the driver had to brake hard due to an HGV doing a U turn from the other carriage way blocking all 3 lanes on our side. Even though fast moving vehicles were approaching he didn't wait for a gap. Luckily our driver and those around us were paying attention. No point blaming either driver for the deaths, blame the law that allowed it to happen. Drivers will never concentrate all the time. We all glance away from the road regularly even if it is just to check the speedo and we go over the limit at times. That is why road design and rules have to allow for that. Both drivers could have been driving within the law and this could still happen. If the lorry was banned from making the U turn (as it should be), either it would not have happened or it would be clear the lorry driver was at fault and could be prosecuted. As we move to self driving vehicles, the old way of forcing drivers to avoid other vehicles doing legal unexpected manoeuvres like this has to change to every vehicles actions being easily predictable. Blaming a driver for something that many drivers do every day will not stop this reoccurring, changing the law and enforcing it, could make a big difference.