Bangkok: Should I stay or should I go?

[wasabi]

Right now life is bearable in Bangkok. Grocery, Banks, Hospitals and 7/11 remain open and I can get a bit of exercise walking around. Personally I only need 7/11 but what if they take it a step further and lock these down? I would assume there is some way to get food in a total lockdown but I could see it become very onerous and risky. Social unrest is a concern since so many live paycheck to paycheck. It's strange to be considering these things but they must be considered. I wonder if Bangkok will reach the point of marital law. I wonder if other provinces are better? I previously posted that I plan to stay in BKK but seeing the cases double and suspecting counter measures will increase make me wonder what I should do. I have a lease in BKK but I could easily afford that while going somewhere else. But not sure if that is jumping out of frying pan into the fire. Anyone else planning on evacuating BKK but staying in Thailand? Pros and cons?

Edited March 22, 2020 by wasabi

[JHolmesJr]

Get some easy food options stocked up. Eggs, Freeze some bread loves. Baked beans. Cheese. Etc Etc.

Alcohol.

 

Just in case. 

 

Manila is in complete lockdown...close to martial law. I heard (firsthand report) that a house in an upmarket

gated community was burgled last night and 4 residents murdered. People cannot go out and earn money feed their kids. Desperate times over there.

 

Stay in Bkk if you cant flee back home. Other parts of thailand are pretty backward.

[bkk6060]

I would leave if you can.

It is the place with the most infections and has high lockdown potential.

A buddy of mine from there just rented a nice small house for the next 30 days about 25 minutes outside Chiang Mai

city. 8,000 b a month with plenty of 7-11 etc. around.

[moontang]

Pretty calm in North BKK..lighter traffic, but still heavy.  Fewer people in the building, like most holidays.  I cant see the point in going back to the us, at the moment.  Looking at flights in november through hong kong and chicago.  Wouldnt want to go that route now.

[ChouDoufu]

15 minutes ago, wasabi said:

I wonder if Bangkok will reach the point of marital law.

that would still be better than mother-in-law law!

 

as to your question, i would say the best course of action is to stay where you are.  thailand doesn't seem to be doing this nationally, so if you leave bangkok for an open province, you'll just be delaying the inevitable.  that province will eventually go into lockdown, and you'll be worse off.  you'll be stuck in a hotel with fewer options.  then what?  bug out to yet another province, if you can, and wait for them to lock down, too?

 

my thai gf and i are currently working in hainan, china.  when this started, we decided to wait it out here.  thought it would be more dangerous to risk infection in train stations and airport terminals, and assumed the virus would spread to other countries and we'd just be walking into it all over again.

 

we had our one-month lockdown with conditions similar to bangkok, although for us it included shut down of public transport.  no buses or taxis.  people followed the quarantine rules, and we've had no new cases in this province for one month.  this week, they began lifting restrictions.  shops and restaurants are open for business, buses and taxis are running.  high schools will reopen april 7, colleges and unis expected to open the end of april with students from the mainland undergoing 14 days mandatory quarantine.

 

things are starting to pick up.  seeing help wanted signs in some of the shops already.  dancing grannies (and their boomboxes) are returning to the city park next door.  starting to see more construction equipment (cranes, diggers) being transported.  friends on the mainland tell me factories are beginning to reopen as well.

[watthong]

Bangkokians, and Thais in general, in my experience are not used to lockdown. That concept is alien, this is a country that knows no wartime in not too ancient history. So just move with the flow, (except for the big flood in recent times when mother nature forced everybody to stay high and dry). Yes, I think BKK will give you more options to "survive" than in the provinces. My guess is you have to go a bit more "native" to find what you need if the goings at your local 7-11 get tough, ie exploring mom pop stores, fresh markets, etc. they might gouge you a bit but they won't bite.

 

It's certainly doable to me personally compared to my hometown in California at the moment. I just stepped out for a quick survey and found that ,except part of the mall going dark, business is usual in the soi, the talad sod carries on as nothing ever happened. When push comes to shove, as long as the noodles shops stay open, I'll live.

 

Addendum: sorry, I just realized that the noodles shops may stay open, but that doesn't mean that you can sit in... what a bummer!

Edited March 22, 2020 by watthong

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I would leave if you can.

It is the place with the most infections and has high lockdown potential.

A buddy of mine from there just rented a nice small house for the next 30 days about 25 minutes outside Chiang Mai

city. 8,000 b a month with plenty of 7-11 etc. around.

I agree,

I'm just outside Chiang Mai and it's all very calm, I just panic purchased a 45Kg sack of rice from the local shop 200m from my house. She was saying no need, plenty of stock and nothing will close her shop.  a dozen 7-11s and 3 Tesco Lotus within 1Km.

No crowds of people and surrounded by fields ......... if I gotta stay home, this is as good a place as any.

[Snow Leopard]

Tha Clash had the same question. 

 

[wasabi]

Thank you for the comments. My wife (From Laos) does not want to leave BKK. We both speak Thai well so needing to 'live like a Thai' isn't an issue. Her reasoning for staying is along the lines of the bird in hand. We both have lived in BKK a few years and know it well. If we were to leave I have friends who live an hour outside Hua Hin and suggested we go there but I have only briefly visited their town so it's a  a gamble to pack everything up and go to a place we've never lived. Feels like the Exodus in the Bible. The town he's in has a few government hospitals but no private hospitals. there'll be way less cases there but less ability to deal with the cases they do have. However I'm sure ALL the Bangkok hospitals will be full soon enough so it's a moot point. There is a part of me that doesn't want to do anything since there are so many unknown variables but there is a Watership Down side of me that could see myself wishing I left when people run out of money and food and the choice is made me for me to stay inside. I am much more worried about social unrest due to the inability to make money than the virus itself; though I am taking the virus very seriously. I expect cases to double for a while. 10,000 cases a day is a near certainty, but as long as the 7/11s are open I can handle it?

 

Edited March 22, 2020 by wasabi

[lamyai3]

19 minutes ago, Snow Leopard said:

Tha Clash had the same question. 

 

The lyrics of the song probably provide the answer to the OP's question:

"If I go, there will be trouble

And if I stay it will be double"

 

Interesting trivia - the train tracks on the Combat Rock album cover above are not far from Makkasan, photos were taken when the band was staying here back in 1982 at the Bangkok Palace Hotel.

[mike787]

Stay and support thailand.

[wasabi]

3 minutes ago, mike787 said:

Stay and support thailand.

I have and will continue to do plenty to support Thailand however risking my health is never going to be one of them.

 

But as I said in my original post at the moment I have NO interest in leaving Thailand. I am only considering going to another, less densely populated province near Hua Hin which is IN THAILAND.

[Nyezhov]

44 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

if I gotta stay home, this is as good a place as any.

Agreed. If I was still in BKK, Id get on up to CM/CR. I think the rural areas of any country and the smaller cities will be less hard hit. Less crowded etc.

 

I have been going back and forth in my confused and juvenile brain as to what to do and basically Im as safe here in Siem Reap as anyone else, unless I catch it, then I could die. But I think that it is less likely for me to catch it here.

[AussieBob18]

Mate - the reaction is worse than the virus IMO. I would be more worried about being able to live inside for 2-4 weeks if they do shut it all down.  If you decide to stay then go get some supplies - dont get heaps and hoard as others will need stuff too. Take a look around and decide what you would need for a few weeks locked up - get what the posters above said - critical is water and a big bag of rice and some cans and any other necessaries.  If there is a lockdown, then there will always be a few street vendors willing to sell things - wear a mask if you go outside and dont go out at night and not alone - only go out with the GF with you. 

[bbi1]

5 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

If there is a lockdown, then there will always be a few street vendors willing to sell things - wear a mask if you go outside and dont go out at night and not alone - only go out with the GF with you. 

Expecting us foreigners to be a target to potential violent crimes if/when Thais don't have any money for food for themselves & their families?

[khunpa]

Personally, I am staying because my life and family is here. I guess I would have left already, if that was not the case.

 

Anyway, things might look good now. But this is going to get much much worse. Italy will look like Disney Land compared to Thailand once this sets off. 

[baansgr]

14 minutes ago, wasabi said:

I have and will continue to do plenty to support Thailand however risking my health is never going to be one of them.

 

But as I said in my original post at the moment I have NO interest in leaving Thailand. I am only considering going to another, less densely populated province near Hua Hin which is IN THAILAND.

Where outside of Hua Hin, Cha am hospital has been extended the past few years, Petchaburi has good hospitols, Hua Hin itself has BKK hospitol and a good government one...plenty 7/11s Makro etc in all these places. 

[khunpa]

1 minute ago, baansgr said:

Where outside of Hua Hin, Cha am hospital has been extended the past few years, Petchaburi has good hospitols, Hua Hin itself has BKK hospitol and a good government one...plenty 7/11s Makro etc in all these places. 

With thousands of people infected in need of a hospital bed, even the best hospitals in Thailand will be brought to their knees and refuse patients. There is a very high chance of this becoming reality everywhere in Thailand... unfortunately ????

[wasabi]

7 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Where outside of Hua Hin, Cha am hospital has been extended the past few years, Petchaburi has good hospitols, Hua Hin itself has BKK hospitol and a good government one...plenty 7/11s Makro etc in all these places. 

Prachuap Kiri Khan. The best hospital there is on the Wing 5 Royal Airforce base.

[Rhys]

If it fits yes.  For your mental health and well being it might be good to get out of the CARE and CAUTION OVERABUNDANCE.  You see all the stressors, when you walk out the door, it can only contribute the the stress level. 

 

If you can swing it visit an area that is away from all the crazyiness, also an area where you can replishment your supplies.

Cheers Mate

 

 

[Curt1591]

1 hour ago, watthong said:

Addendum: sorry, I just realized that the noodles shops may stay open, but that doesn't mean that you can sit in... what a bummer!

We usually hit our local khao gaeng shop and pick up a half dozen entrees at a whack. We'll microwave them later and add our own rice.

We're also pretty well known at our local fresh market. Surprisingly, we often get better deals and better cuts of meat, when I accompany my wife! 

As far as Thailand dissolving into anarchy, I would have more fear of it happening back in Southern California. Most Thais don't feel so entitled. 

[Youlike]

43 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Agreed. If I was still in BKK, Id get on up to CM/CR. I think the rural areas of any country and the smaller cities will be less hard hit. Less crowded etc.

 

I have been going back and forth in my confused and juvenile brain as to what to do and basically Im as safe here in Siem Reap as anyone else, unless I catch it, then I could die. But I think that it is less likely for me to catch it here.

Oh come on now, stop confusing us...you booked the last flight to BKK...and now you changed again? Do you have boobies maybe? And blond hair?

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

Agreed. If I was still in BKK, Id get on up to CM/CR. I think the rural areas of any country and the smaller cities will be less hard hit. Less crowded etc.

Bangkok is about as uncrowded as it ever gets right now. Problem with CM and CR is the air pollution has been through the roof in the past week, back up in the hazardous 4-500 ranges. If anyone got sick these are horrible conditions in which to try and fight off a respiratory virus. 

[totally thaied up]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I agree,

I'm just outside Chiang Mai and it's all very calm, I just panic purchased a 45Kg sack of rice from the local shop 200m from my house. She was saying no need, plenty of stock and nothing will close her shop.  a dozen 7-11s and 3 Tesco Lotus within 1Km.

No crowds of people and surrounded by fields ......... if I gotta stay home, this is as good a place as any.

Same as me. Outside Chiang Mai and it is calm. All the locals are masked up. I bought a 45Kg bag a few days ago and did a stock run at BigC yesterday say for the next two weeks. Everything was quite at BigC. 7-11 is about 500 meters from my house. We have fresh markets nearby and will always be able to have eggs and chickens as we have our own.

 

I have stayed pretty much home except for the run to the BigC yesterday for the last week. If I got to sit it out, being away in the Country is not too bad. If SHTF in any big way, it will be the fact the private hospitals and public hospitals will just overload and it will be game on for anyone getting sick. Maybe need military aid. I went and got some cash this morning from local 7-11 and we had three young tattooed girls sharing a motorcycle. My wife knew one of the girls and she avoided them like the plague saying they 'work' in Bangkok and must have come home as business must be bad. My wife was worried about getting something off them,  would not go near them, so yes Thais are worried as well.

 

In reality, we all have to make a decision where to stay. Wherever you are most comfortable is most likely the best thing and social distancing is important. That is my main goal at the moment, staying away from people.

Edited March 22, 2020 by totally thaied up

[jacob29]

1 hour ago, khunpa said:

Anyway, things might look good now. But this is going to get much much worse. Italy will look like Disney Land compared to Thailand once this sets off. 

If it starts looking like that, Thailand can and presumably will execute a quarantine that is far more comprehensive than Italy. Quarantine enforcement is more critical than medical capacity, we know this as Italy has a decent healthcare system, better than many parts of China. They just fumbled the quarantine, read some of the early stories about how seriously the quarantine was taken.

 

There is no serious quarantine here, but if the death toll starts climbing in earnest, I expect pretty strict measures to be adopted.

Edited March 22, 2020 by jacob29

[AussieBob18]

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

Expecting us foreigners to be a target to potential violent crimes if/when Thais don't have any money for food for themselves & their families?

Only if things get seriously bad - then yes a lone 'farang' out at night could get into trouble with some young Thai males who have had a drink or two.  Only common sense - if it gets seriously bad - which I am hopeful it will not. 

[nakornt]

My home town is in Ratchaburi a medium province southward 100 km from Bangkok . Air con. bus takes about 1.45 hrs from 4.00 am to 8.00 p.m Train takes about 2 - 3 hrs. One regional state hospital and 2 private ones and numerous clinics and dentals. Foods and water supply are abundant Average home rental 4,000 to 10.000 bahts From here you can commute to Cha am and Hua Hin conveniently

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

Agreed. If I was still in BKK, Id get on up to CM/CR. I think the rural areas of any country and the smaller cities will be less hard hit. Less crowded etc.

Village of Kut Chap, 30 km west of Udon Thani city just had its first Covid-19 +ve test confirmed. The victim is a Bangkok-based cop who was supposed to self-quarantine after exposure at the Lumpini Boxing stadium. Decided to go home to Isaan by bus instead. Fell sick on the bus so went to local hospital but didn't reveal his true circumstances, got meds and went home. Attended a wedding, a chook fight and went back for more meds after feeling sick again. Then went rafting with friends before getting more sick and on his 3rd hospital visit, they sent him to Udon hospital where he tested +ve and the horrible truth came out.

 

The (bad) genie is out of the bottle.

 

https://www.thairath.co.th/news/local/northeast/1800986

[baansgr]

2 hours ago, wasabi said:

Prachuap Kiri Khan. The best hospital there is on the Wing 5 Royal Airforce base.

I'd prefer to be in Prachaup than BKK..not many foreigners there so how you would be received I don't know. Isn't the lockdown in BKK already extended?...so outer provinces may be a better choice

[wasabi]

15 minutes ago, baansgr said:

I'd prefer to be in Prachaup than BKK..not many foreigners there so how you would be received I don't know. Isn't the lockdown in BKK already extended?...so outer provinces may be a better choice

I'm hearing that Prachuap and other provinces now are instituting 14 day quarantines for those coming from Bangkok. If I could do this over I would've gone there at the beginning of this pandemic. If I knew the future and saw that things will become unbearable here I might tolerate a quarantine but the ease of relocating has just gotten higher. I do think things will get much worse but I live near an abundance of convenience stores, supermarkets and even a hospital can be reached with a reasonable walk so that is a plus in the Bangkok column. While it is certain Bangkok will be the hardest hit perhaps all of Thailand will be managing their own crisis. I just don't know.  Really this is something I'm going to have to evaluate day by day but for now I will stay.