Bangkok: Should I stay or should I go?

[Nyezhov]

3 hours ago, Youlike said:

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?

I got manboobs but havent booked a flight to BKK since I been here. So you are confusing yourself.

[worrab]

20 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

Manila is in complete lockdown...close to martial law.

Face Talking with a friend of mine living there as he cannot get back to UK, there is a curfew from 20.00 until 05.30. Strictly enforced.

[Nanaplaza666]

19 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:

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. 

Only go out with th GF with you ???????????? meaning the GF's have bigger b.lls then most of the posters 5555555 , nice going AussieBob .

[justin case]

20 hours ago, wasabi said:

Personally I only need 7/11 but what if they take it a step further and lock these down?

they don't sell food in 7/11

 

it is FOOD LIKE chum with chemicals / fake chemical flavors / msg / ...

[Proboscis]

Not even Italy has closed grocery stores! Why would anyone do this except if they wanted the population to starve to death!

[shackleton]

Where I stay in Bangkok except for the closure of bars beauty salons ect life goes on 

I am still out in the evenings for my daily walking exercise there are others as well not as many which is just as well

Hopefully no major lock down in the future

[Taco]

Koh Phangan real nice about now if you can handle some heat.  We got all the big box shops a million 7-11's and whats better when your bored then buzzing around the island on your scooter

[cmarshall]

18 hours ago, jacob29 said:

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.

This is the point exactly.  You don't want to escape quarantine; you want to be in it.  Supply of food and water could become a problem, but it's hard to see if that would be more likely in BKK than elsewhere.

[cmarshall]

1 hour ago, Proboscis said:

Not even Italy has closed grocery stores! Why would anyone do this except if they wanted the population to starve to death!

Italy screwed up big time.  First by failing to take prompt action like S. Korea and then by failing to impose a mandatory, rather than voluntary, quarantine on infected persons.  They never did contact tracing.

 

You wonder why they didn't ask the Chinese or Koreans for advice.

 

The outcome in the US will be worse than Italy.

Edited March 23, 2020 by cmarshall

[jacob29]

1 hour ago, justin case said:

they don't sell food in 7/11

 

it is FOOD LIKE chum with chemicals / fake chemical flavors / msg / ...

Compared to what's available in Indonesian mini-marts, the Thai 7/11 food selection is amazing. Banana, yoghurt and one of those 40thb chicken fillets, a basic meal more food like than many restaurants.

[wasabi]

3 minutes ago, jacob29 said:

Compared to what's available in Indonesian mini-marts, the Thai 7/11 food selection is amazing. Banana, yoghurt and one of those 40thb chicken fillets, a basic meal more food like than many restaurants.

The EzGO brand in 7/11 that is chilled but not frozen is surprisingly good. I'm not saying you should base your whole diet on this but in situations like we find ourselves it's a welcome way to get some grub.

[expat_4_life]

22 hours ago, wasabi said:

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?

I don't see any great risk of social unrest.

 

I'm in BKK and staying put. Yes I've thought about going elsewhere but for me staying in my familiar surroundings makes more sense.  Fresh market and 7-11 both around the corner. Grab and Food Panda aren't going away and food supplies are not going to shut down. 

 

A large percentage of city folks still have a family home in the countryside.  The exodus has already begun. Once the full financial repercussions have settled in, there likely will be many more returning to their provincial homes to wait it out.  Many Thais can easily go back to free rent and subsistence living.

 

As to possible health care availability or other unforeseen consequences of the pandemic, if you've been here through the crash back in 98 or floods or any other crisis, Bangkok always gets what some call preferential treatment.

 

Bangkok is not a bad place to ride out the pandemic.

 

 

[farangkinok]

 

[Caldera]

I see no reason to leave Bangkok. That said, if I had wanted to leave, I would have done so at least two weeks ago - not now.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

I agree with the lest few comments.  I'm staying put.  I can still walk to work where I'm doing online teaching; if that has stop I can do it from home too.  It's nice and quiet and the supermarkets are well stocked.  Street-food and fastfood is still available.  I'd much rather be here than in the UK.  

[JHolmesJr]

3 hours ago, cmarshall said:

Italy screwed up big time.  First by failing to take prompt action like S. Korea and then by failing to impose a mandatory, rather than voluntary, quarantine on infected persons.  They never did contact tracing.

 

Don't forget their massively woke and ill-timed "hug a Chinese and post it on instagram" initiative.

None of the pics I saw had anyone wearing a mask.

Man...they really showed all those racists!

[AussieBob18]

5 hours ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

Only go out with th GF with you ???????????? meaning the GF's have bigger b.lls then most of the posters 5555555 , nice going AussieBob .

Think.  It is not about that. It is less likely that 'troubled' young male Thais will start trouble if you are with a Thai girl. Common sense really. You should try to get some - may save you trouble one day.  As they say - only fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

[mrloy99]

Not to worry about 7/11 closing down.. They are recruiting for 20,000 home delivery drivers

[WhereIsMyRyeBread]

On 3/22/2020 at 2:23 PM, AussieBob18 said:

the reaction is worse than the virus IMO.

As I understand Covid19 leads to pneumonia and then ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) when the lungs getting more and more inflamed.

The difference is with Covid19, ARDS seems to happen overnight. Doctors reporting patients gasping for air with pink frothy secretions coming out of the ventilator tube and out of the patients’ mouth.

The pink froth secretion is blood cells that are leaking into their airways.

The patients feel like the ventilator is chocking them so they want to tear it off but they're not choking, they're drowning in their own blood.

 

I could be wrong but initial reports suggest you can't exactly sweat it out with a slab of VB in the sauna.

[SiSePuede419]

Yes.

 

Seriously, go...where?

 

Where do you want to be alone and isolated for the next few weeks or even months?

 

This is a WORLDWIDE epidemic.  Where do you think you will escape this?

 

Go to some remote island in Indonesia.  What would you do after your money runs out and it's impossible to get off the island to get to an ATM?

 

Cmon.  Get real.

[Scott]

Inflammatory post removed.

[moojar]

13 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:

Think.  It is not about that. It is less likely that 'troubled' young male Thais will start trouble if you are with a Thai girl. Common sense really. You should try to get some - may save you trouble one day.  As they say - only fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

I think it more likely you will paint a target on yourself if with a Thai girl.  Fear, anger and all that repressed resentment at the "rich" old farang taking Thai women... 

 

Is this where I should add some passive-aggressive insult to finish my post?  Nah, couldn't be arsed.

[fhickson]

see that guy on the corner? he's selling thai food. no, thats a 7-11, sorry. you starve.

[moontang]

_{Maybe, we should be thankful for the beer duopoly, foe once.  Otherwise, I wouldnt put it past them to ban alcohol sales....}

[AussieBob18]

9 hours ago, moojar said:

I think it more likely you will paint a target on yourself if with a Thai girl.  Fear, anger and all that repressed resentment at the "rich" old farang taking Thai women... 

Is this where I should add some passive-aggressive insult to finish my post?  Nah, couldn't be arsed.

Good decision - unsults not needed - only good advice.

[bestie]

On 3/22/2020 at 2:38 PM, wasabi said:

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

This Hospital stands on a military base. This area is already closed. This hospital is only reserved for the military not open for the public or for foreigners.

Edited March 24, 2020 by bestie