Here’s what it is like to visit a shopping mall in Thailand during COVID-19

[Steve Vincent]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

 

For anyone who doesn’t have a smartphone, people could register by entering their name and telephone number on sheets of paper placed outside the entrance to the malls. 

Don’t bother me as long as they don’t ring me when back in the u.k as there will be no answer ! Next they will be giving us a rope measuring 2 meters apart ‘. Singles will be paired with security ????

[Stadtler]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

For anyone who doesn’t have a smartphone, people could register by entering their name and telephone number on sheets of paper placed outside the entrance to the malls. 

 

And what is done with this information?  When I venture out to the mall, I will take a photo of one of the sheets showing how well they protect our privacy.  It will have 20 or more names on it.

 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

The papers also asked for Thai ID number and/or passport number, but we noted that no one had written those down, instead just opting to give their name and phone number.

Did you see any Donald John Trump's on the list?

 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Food courts and restaurants were open and while there didn’t appear to be any screens separating diners, tables and chairs had been removed to ensure that social distancing could be properly enforced. 

I can't sit with my family?  Stupid.

 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

If you are going to visit a restaurant as part of a group of say more than 3 or 4 people, you can expect to be sat at different tables.

 

Great for the separate check crowd, but Stadtler is a big spender, he pays for his family too.

 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

In Bangkok, there were reports people were required to pass through thermal imaging scanners when entering a mall, while at another, people were having their feet sprayed with disinfectant.

Fantastic for the flipper wearers, I hear it does marvelous things for their nail fungus.

 

Stadtler doesn't have any nail fungus but he does have stinky feet.

[Mac98]

Thanks to lockdown I've never had so much loose cash lying about. With all these rules I think my stash will continue to grow. Local Thai markets and open-air restaurants and food carts will do just fine. Plus an occasional run to 7-Eleven for the necessities. Our condo pool is open, and the girls are a phone call away. It's still the LOS.

[Pancho]

 

So much pain and loss.  World wide.

 

Current conditions don’t paint a background of a holiday in paradise.

 

”They” say there is a happy ending .

Jubilee.

 

 

Fingers crossed.

[sungod]

4 hours ago, brucec64 said:

Buy a Huawei phone. Embedded tracing has always been a "feature"!

just to double ensure, install 'wechat' on it,

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, graemeaylward said:

I asked why, but she did not understand.  I asked if the table and pen had been cleaned with disinfectant (knowing they hadn't) and got another blank look.  Many Thais had already written their, or somebody else's name and phone number, on one of 4 paper lists and I did the same.  Apparently, I was supposed to do the same on leaving although I walked straight out and nobody stopped me. 

Absolutely brilliant. Sums up perfectly the way Thais organise things. Staff only half-trained if at all, nothing thought through, no proper enforcement.

[Brigand]

7 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

They've got your phone number, entering it is part of the check-in process, they can call you ????

 

Hahah yeah, and you'll have to repeatedly keep giving them your same phone number each time ... rather like immigration, who have had my same number for 20 years now but still insist on having it again each time, even though they have never called me.

[lensta]

7 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

They've got your phone number, entering it is part of the check-in process, they can call you ????

 

That's too much personal info for my liking

[chilli42]

Would rather have toothpicks shoved under my fingernails than visit a mall. Back in the day or now.  What a pathetic form of entertainment.  Confirms how little there is to do in Bangkok.

[samsensam]

1 minute ago, chilli42 said:

Would rather have toothpicks shoved under my fingernails than visit a mall. Back in the day or now.  What a pathetic form of entertainment.  Confirms how little there is to do in Bangkok.

 

so true, when dating i often ask a girl to take me somewhere interesting in bangkok, something a foreigner might never see, a favourite or special place. invariably all they want to do is go to a mall, thats the limit of their imagination, and to be honest they usually get dumped at that point, i simply cant bear wandering aimlessly round shopping malls......

[Krataiboy]

4 hours ago, AlQaholic said:

I can't believe some of the negative attitudes (not everyone) towards how it is done in Thailand. The only reason there was no rapid spread in Thailand (yet) was luck and that there were relatively few tourists coming in with the virus before serious tracing and tracking was put in place. I have been happy and thankful for the last one and a half month that these procedures have been in place at my local supermarkets and at work.

Wow! Your social credit score just jumped 12 points!

[metisdead]

Some inflammatory posts have been removed. 

[OneeyedJohn]

The "employees" ( they are just kids given a t-shirt ) enforcing all this QR nonsense and temp checks whatever have no comprehension of what they are doing or even why they are doing what they have been told to do.

They are scared to challenge a farang.

They don't enforce the entry /exit protocol.

 

So in my mind it is a complete <deleted> up.

 

I can buy all I need in the local market and friends who make stuff.

[tomauasia]

And if you don't have internet ??? This is silly. A phone number is sufficient

[mr mr]

1 hour ago, chilli42 said:

Would rather have toothpicks shoved under my fingernails than visit a mall. Back in the day or now.  What a pathetic form of entertainment.  Confirms how little there is to do in Bangkok.

only boring people say stupid things like that. you're way off about nothing to do in bkk. this city regardless of its faults is incredible. i constantly find new places and am amazed by new neighborhoods. how unique some of them are is wonderful. there is so little to do here in fact that it is in the top 5 cities in the world for tourism. 

 

so millions are wrong and internet guy is right. got it. 

 

 

[marshmentkc]

THe system is rubbish, leave the mall stop by Khlong Toey or ant market; shoulder to shoulder people buying food with no QR SCAN!

[Hubble]

9 hours ago, OnTheGround said:

When this become common knowledge, many will hesitate to visit any mall. At the entrance is expected, but also at all shops? Too much.

Requested to answer feedback when leave each store, and be nagged to give a good feedback. Way over the top.

No phone, requires passport to enter malls.

No phone, no passport, denied entry.

 

Will be interesting to see how (many) few visitors the malls will get.

 

This is certainly not true at all malls - I visited Central mall in Chon Buri this afternoon - no smart phone, no passport, no problem. I just signed in on the supplied sheet with my name and phone number, as did many others. No request for any feedback.

[Stadtler]

16 minutes ago, mr mr said:

in fact that it is in the top 5 cities in the world for tourism. 

How is that working out for you, lately?

 

[watthong]

5 hours ago, Susco said:

Here’s what it is like to visit a shopping mall in Thailand during COVID-19

 

Herd mentality (not to be confused with "herd immunity") at its best!

[watthong]

4 hours ago, baansgr said:

9 hours ago, kotsak said:

You mean my local pizza joint phone number I wrote down? ????

Wouldn't you be the idiot if in a few days time there was an outbreak from people visiting the mall and you were not contacted.....I take it you don't use FB, line WhatsApp, loyalty cards, email and wear a tin hat in bed

... and not naive enough to believe that Anutin would ever allow an "outbreak" at any mall.

[crobe]

For all those thinking they can just get by without using shopping malls - think again.

I went to a small restaurant in Ploenchit for lunch today (about 20 seats on the restaurant) and I was asked to use the Thai Chana on the way in and out.

So it looks like they are trying to get a lot of businesses to use this - not just shopping malls

There is a fundamental flaw though - unless this is absolutely ubiquitous it does not work.

After the lunch I had a coffee at the new Jim Hortons in Ploenchit centre (No QR code), walked to a meeting near Nana (no QR code at the office I went to), then back on the BTS (no QR code) and the airport link train (no QR code).

If I had COVID these people would not be informed.

But if I have managed to catch COVID from any of the places I have just been that do not have QR codes, then there is no way of knowing, but as soon as I test positive then the people in the small restaurant will be informed - even though I did not have it at the time.

Luckily we do not have many cases (I hope) because otherwise this system would snowball out of control.

 

 

[raccos21]

They copied the Chinese foot steps.

[rickudon]

My experience similar to Graemeaylward. At BigC, previously just temperature check and spray, all done inside. Now, you have to queue up OUTSIDE, no social distancing, because of the next check,  they ask for the QR code (which nobody has) and then write your name and telephone number down with the pen that everyone used. Temperature check, and a red sticky label given. Finally, now possibly infected, they give you a very minimal squirt  of alcohol spray and you are free to go in. Some shops had there own registration book, others didn't, and you could often walk past them anyway.

 

Overall not really an improvement. Unloaded the trolley in the car, needed a <deleted> and had to queue up again to get to the toilet inside ....

 

 

[samsensam]

17 minutes ago, crobe said:

For all those thinking they can just get by without using shopping malls - think again.

I went to a small restaurant in Ploenchit for lunch today (about 20 seats on the restaurant) and I was asked to use the Thai Chana on the way in and out.

So it looks like they are trying to get a lot of businesses to use this - not just shopping malls

There is a fundamental flaw though - unless this is absolutely ubiquitous it does not work.

After the lunch I had a coffee at the new Jim Hortons in Ploenchit centre (No QR code), walked to a meeting near Nana (no QR code at the office I went to), then back on the BTS (no QR code) and the airport link train (no QR code).

If I had COVID these people would not be informed.

But if I have managed to catch COVID from any of the places I have just been that do not have QR codes, then there is no way of knowing, but as soon as I test positive then the people in the small restaurant will be informed - even though I did not have it at the time.

Luckily we do not have many cases (I hope) because otherwise this system would snowball out of control.

 

 

 

why dont all phones with the app simply connect with each other when within a certain radius, no need for QR codes, names, addresses etc then if one person is infected they press a button that sends a message to the phones of all the people they have been near in the last X number of days, these people can go and get tested... or isolate or whatever, and have the data sent to analysts in a central place who can contact/follow up those concerned.

[Oldie]

1 hour ago, tomauasia said:

And if you don't have internet ??? This is silly. A phone number is sufficient

Some tourists might not even have a phone number. But I guess you can write there what you want anyway.

[connda]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

For anyone who doesn’t have a smartphone, people could register by entering their name and telephone number on sheets of paper placed outside the entrance to the malls. 

Saw this at a Big Box grocery today. 
"Where you phone." 
No have phone.
"Write name, phone here."
<scribbles cursive on one line; scribble some numbers on the other; ignore the rest of the lines>
Easy breezy
On the way out repeat.
"Where phone?"
No phone. Kien chue laew (wrote my name)
<hand wave to the door>
Easy breezy

 

Also ate lunch at a local village restaurant.  Nothing changed from the last time I ate there 2 months ago except the two gals running the place wore masks.  Had a nice sit down lunch.  Glad I ate before the Big Box store, because it was just pure stupidity.
The world has lost it's mind.  I'll spend more time in the village where it's normal and try to avoid Muang Stupidville.  Ya'll can keep the city life, I've no interest.  I'm pretty sure that this will end the local expat club's twice monthly lunch-bruches. Probably their monthly meeting too.  Mission Accomplished in destroying the social fabric of society.   

[peter48]

11 hours ago, OnTheGround said:

When this become common knowledge, many will hesitate to visit any mall. At the entrance is expected, but also at all shops? Too much.

Requested to answer feedback when leave each store, and be nagged to give a good feedback. Way over the top.

No phone, requires passport to enter malls.

No phone, no passport, denied entry.

 

Will be interesting to see how (many) few visitors the malls will get.

 

Your lucky in Europe especially stupid Johnson’s UK with high , far , far higher death rates it’s just queue if busy and the 2 meters apart. Remember you can be stuck in hospital for 7 wee

ks if you get it bad - with this very nasty virus which is rampant you can endure organ deterioration on your lungs, kidney , heart etc. Take care be Covid secure. Median age now circa 71-72 yrs but many in 50s and 60s . Wash hands frequently when out...take sanitizer avoid over crowded confined places. This virus is killing thousands and thousands people across the world and not forget it. Some inconvenience is to be expected in Europe we have been house bound for 7 to 8 weeks. 

 

[Peterphuket]

I don't need any mall anymore, all I order at Lazada.

[Stadtler]

6 hours ago, Susco said:

Here’s what it is like to visit a shopping mall in Thailand during COVID-19

 

Talk about having too much time one's hands, Old Stadtler has to laugh and wonder how long SUSCO waited in line just to take this picture.  Stadtler really wants to know, did you go looking for a Thai woman pleasuring herself like the one in Hong Kong or some other non-China Country?  Or did SUSCO go for the little balls .. what do they call them ... oh yes, Stadtler remembers, Smeadish Weatballs

[Susco]

1 minute ago, Stadtler said:

Talk about having too much time one's hands, Old Stadtler has to laugh and wonder how long SUSCO waited in line just to take this picture.

I would have thought that someone bragging about being an expert and having a truckload of Cisco certificates, would be smart enough to look at the image info, and discover that it was originally taken from an online source.