Phuket to make foreigners pay for COVID test, Thais get it for free

[TigerandDog]

14 hours ago, Excel said:

Ignorance is bliss, you must be extremely blissful

 

As I said, if you can't see that an admission to an error equates to an apology then you're the one displaying ignorance. Also this toing and froing would never have occurred in the first place if you had read my original reply correctly. Just so you understand what it was all about, another TV member mentioned the matter of dual pricing in Oz and Medicare, under the OP's topic of dual pricing in Phuket, by stating that dual pricing also occurred in Oz and that Medicare was only available to locals. My reply to him was that his statement was incorrect and I pointed out everybody that was eligible for Medicare in Oz. You, because you didn't read the threads correctly, jumped in and stated this was about Phuket not the other places I mentioned for the benefit of the other TV member.  In replying top your totally irrelevant post, I realised afterwards, and before you came back with this ongoing nonsense, that I had made an error and posted a correction to that error, which you obviously did not read before your reply to the erroneous post. So I guess that makes you the one that is extremely blissful.

[richard_smith237]

9 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

If you can't afford 500B, you should probably go home and use your free healthcare system in your origin country. ????

 

Ah... the old ‘if you don’t like it go home’ reply paraphrased to ‘if you can’t afford it... 

 

...... the response to that is.. ‘if you don’t understand the principle of the discussion, don’t comment...’ but unfortunately, those who don’t know, don’t know they don’t know and miss the point. 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

On 4/22/2021 at 12:04 PM, wijipa said:

Most of you TV guys are unbelievable. 500bht, what the <deleted>. Obviously you spend your days looking for something to Thai bash about. I suspect none of you are in Thailand and quite possibly, you are amongst the banned Farang. 

 

An awesome example of how to completely miss a point and then make up some absolute rubbish. 

 

If you are suggesting that those who disagree with dual pricing are deliberately looking for a Thai Bash, don’t actually live here anyway or are banned from Thailand then you must really be out there on the fringes of the ‘irrational-whacky-nutter’ scale !!!  

 

 

Those who live here care for Thailand, it is primarily for this reason that when they see something unsavoury which damages the image of Thailand opinions are voiced. 

 

I would love for nothing more than to see Thailand thrive. In the current circumstances I would love to see Thailand limit the economic impact of covid and ease the burden it has placed on its people - thus, in establishing a ‘them and us’ situation whereby Thai’s do not pay for a Covid-19 test to enter Phuket and foreigners have to pay lends to distaste. This will naturally have an impact on those who may visit Phuket - it's not just about the 500b, many people also make decisions based on principle.

 

 

When a country / area is hurting for business any policy which lends to distaste is ultimately damaging. 

 

This is a situation whereby Thailand ‘could’ thrive instead of putting its foot in its mouth.

 

I have the same distaste of nations and cities which charge a ’tourism tax’ (i.e. in hotels etc).

 

IMO - Any form of dual pricing is simply wrong.

 

 

[4MyEgo]

10 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Vaccinations are a medical NEED, tests are a WANT (optional).

 

You also have to pay for EKG scans, etc. because they're OPTIONAL, depending on your medical condition.

 

Vaccinations are a medical necessity because it's the safest, fastest way to "herd immunity" and getting things back to normal.

 

Right. ????

 

OPTIONAL, to charge a farang and not charge Thai's for entering Phuket for holidays is as I said before, a bad business model, like dual pricing for entering National Parks, there are those of us that avoid anything that had dual pricing and there are those that take it on the chin, "up to you", but I will tell you this much, I reckon most of us know who loses out in dual pricing scams, not me ????

 

Who knows, we might see this decision reversed (good business sense) or we might see hotels coming out and saying they will pick up the tab, again (good business sense).

 

Ask yourself this, if you were sitting in a restaurant having a meal with your family and there were a lot of Thai's also eating and drinking at that restaurant, and you saw that the family next to your table with the exact amount of people on its table as yours ate and drank exactly the same as your table did, but there bill was 300-500 baht less because they were Thai's, would you eat at that restaurant again, I think not, otherwise you don't get my drift and I won't waste my time. 

[4MyEgo]

9 hours ago, RobMuir said:

The Thai government must pay for the test kit and staff.

Some people want everything for free paid for by the "government". 

 

500 is quite a reasonable fee for me to pay, i don't want to bludge off the Thais. Their taxes should be used on Thais, not farangs holidaying in Phuket.

 

If you are so well off as you claim, I am not sure why $20 for a test would worry you? It could save your life. Not worth cancelling a holiday over.

 

Phuket is quite a nice place, but it annoys the Cheap Charlies as it costs more. You were never going anyway so will never pay it.

 

plenty of really nice places for 30,000 per night in Phuket.

 

Never suggested I was well off, but am better off than most of the farangs I know and can maintain my living standards here till I die effortlessly, that said.

 

My holiday wasn't costing me 30,000 baht a night, it was for 7 nights, I am not stupid enough to throw my money away. Regardless of me going to Phuket or not, this would apply to any place that I was going to, i.e. charge me and not Thai's for you wanting me tested is a no no, it's not about the 500 baht, read my reply to a post above this one.

 

[RobMuir]

51 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Never suggested I was well off, but am better off than most of the farangs I know and can maintain my living standards here till I die effortlessly, that said.

 

My holiday wasn't costing me 30,000 baht a night, it was for 7 nights, I am not stupid enough to throw my money away. Regardless of me going to Phuket or not, this would apply to any place that I was going to, i.e. charge me and not Thai's for you wanting me tested is a no no, it's not about the 500 baht, read my reply to a post above this one.

 

If is up to you. If you think $20 for a covid test is not for you because you want other people to pay for your test and is too much for you then don't go.

 

Nobody is going to notice.

[4MyEgo]

16 minutes ago, RobMuir said:

If is up to you. If you think $20 for a covid test is not for you because you want other people to pay for your test and is too much for you then don't go.

 

Nobody is going to notice.

 

Sometimes people cannot see the carrot when they dangle it right in front of them.

 

Do you think the Thai government has a responsibility for it's citizens and other in Thailand under the current climate, e.g. allowing farangs who are not on long stay visas to extend themselves here further or do you think they should turn their backs on them and say, your not our problem, leave at the end of your visa ?

 

Regardless what you think, governments all around the world have a responsibility to keep people in their countries safe, regardless of whether they are citizens or not, my point being, again, they want to test us, then they should have to pay for it, the same way if they want to vaccinate us, they should have to pay for us, although my private health provider has already agreed to pay for me to get vaccinated at their cost.

 

Like I said before, some people just don't get it, they couldn't catch a ball as many times as you threw it at them because they won't take off their blind fold.

 

I will never take a test if the government wants me to take it, unless they pay for it, if I on the other-hand want to take a test, I will pay for it, it's that simple. 

[473geo]

Well you gotta give credit for persistence and creative thinking on the part of those who are throwing their toys out of the pram because another kid got a lolly

 

It is rather embarrassing that there appears to be farangs who will not spare 500 baht to alleviate costs to the Thai medical system, which is giving free tests to those less well off Thai people

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by 473geo

[Pasadena]

I heard in Koh Samui they charge 2.200 baht for foregneirs.

[kingofthemountain]

6 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

then let me be direct..

 

My principle is that I will pay for and take responsibility for myself

 

Your principle is that you should be entitled to a Thai govt entitlement program for Thai people..

That's not what i writed at all

but hey whatever float your boat

as it seems you are totally clueless about the big picture

and i have no time to try to explain to you all in details and even

if i had the time i doubt you will understand it, so better to stay with:

''have a nice day'' !

[pacovl46]

On 4/22/2021 at 8:51 AM, Fairynuff said:

Everyone pays tax in Thailand in the form of VAT whether working or not. Anyone who buys a home pays more tax in one hit than a low earning Thai person might pay in a lifetime. A massive percentage of Thai people never pay income tax. 

 VAT is not income tax nor is it a health insurance payment! I don’t understand why foreigners expect to get free tests just because they live there. Just because you paid taxes because you bought a condo or a house doesn’t mean that you get free tests or medical treatment in any country, so why should you in Thailand? 

[kingofthemountain]

14 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Vaccinations are a medical NEED, tests are a WANT (optional).

 

You also have to pay for EKG scans, etc. because they're OPTIONAL, depending on your medical condition.

 

Vaccinations are a medical necessity because it's the safest, fastest way to "herd immunity" and getting things back to normal.

 

Right. ????

If i am not mistaken this test to enter in Phuket is not optional at all

it's a mandatory test

 

vaccination is a medical necessity, i agree with you

do you know how advanced is the vaccination program in Thailand at the moment? Let me inform you that less than 1% of the Thai population has been vaccinated so far, with a vaccine having 50% efficiency against the virus

 

Concerning the famous ''herd immunity'' afaik there is no any country in the world  having reaching this point yet, and with the new strains of the virus it's not even sure this goal could be reached in the future

it's more than probable that things will never back to ''normal''

or at least for a very very long time

Edited April 23, 2021 by kingofthemountain

[richard_smith237]

59 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Well you gotta give credit for persistence and creative thinking on the part of those who are throwing their toys out of the pram because another kid got a lolly

 

It is rather embarrassing that there appears to be farangs who will not spare 500 baht to alleviate costs to the Thai medical system, which is giving free tests to those less well off Thai people

 

 

A lot of Thai’s I know are wealthier than I....   

 

The argument that we can afford it more than them, has always been flawed and still is in this case. 

 

The argument against this dual pricing has nothing to do with being able to spare 500 b and everything to do with principle. 

 

Would you be happy if domestic flights were 500B more expensive for foreigners under the promise of subsidising flights for Thai’s ????

 

Its dual pricing, its clumsy, it's somewhat xenophobic....

 

 

 

[spidermike007]

20 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Not sure why so many are surprised by this. It has been happening for as long as I have been here. One might have hoped, with the decimation of the tourism industry, and the Thai economy, in the past year, that the officials might have developed some humility, more balance, learned to be less racist and xenophobic, and decided that the ex-pat community was not quite the annoyance they thought we were. 

 

But, progress, growth, development, opening the mind to new possibilities, and moving in a forward direction does not seem likely, nor even possible for this sluggard administration, and it's woefully inexperienced and qualified ministers.  

I meant woefully  underqualified ministers. LOL. 

[Fairynuff]

13 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

 VAT is not income tax nor is it a health insurance payment! I don’t understand why foreigners expect to get free tests just because they live there. Just because you paid taxes because you bought a condo or a house doesn’t mean that you get free tests or medical treatment in any country, so why should you in Thailand? 

So as far as you’re concerned the only relevant tax is income tax. No point in engaging any further then.

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, 473geo said:

Well you gotta give credit for persistence and creative thinking on the part of those who are throwing their toys out of the pram because another kid got a lolly

 

It is rather embarrassing that there appears to be farangs who will not spare 500 baht to alleviate costs to the Thai medical system, which is giving free tests to those less well off Thai people

 

Dude I will give you the 500 to stop the lies about not sparing the 500 baht.  You just will never understand that It is not about the 500 Baht no matter how many more times it is said.  Give the 500 baht montage a rest.  It is the principle of the issue at hand.  You just can not see past your hand blocking your eyes from seeing it.  Enjoy your continual 500 baht, throwing the toys from the pram, didn't get a lolly montage as well.  Many on here know the true score unlike those with views who believe it is just about money like you seem to think of our principled view.

[473geo]

34 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

A lot of Thai’s I know are wealthier than I....   

 

The argument that we can afford it more than them, has always been flawed and still is in this case. 

 

The argument against this dual pricing has nothing to do with being able to spare 500 b and everything to do with principle. 

 

Would you be happy if domestic flights were 500B more expensive for foreigners under the promise of subsidising flights for Thai’s ????

 

Its dual pricing, its clumsy, it's somewhat xenophobic....

 

 

 

'A lot' Richard, you really should know better than that!!!

 

Lets start with the pensioners 500 baht a month who are possibly much more likely to require medical assistance than yourself........

[473geo]

11 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Dude I will give you the 500 to stop the lies about not sparing the 500 baht.  You just will never understand that It is not about the 500 Baht no matter how many more times it is said.  Give the 500 baht montage a rest.  It is the principle of the issue at hand.  You just can not see past your hand blocking your eyes from seeing it.  Enjoy your continual 500 baht, throwing the toys from the pram, didn't get a lolly montage as well.  Many on here know the true score unlike those with views who believe it is just about money like you seem to think of our principled view.

But given this glaring affront to your intelligence regarding the savage and uncontrolled milking of your purse, <deleted> are you doing in Thailand supporting this government

If you cannot let go of a principle over a 500 baht payment in order to save the Thai medical system a few baht, and cannot offset the benefits of Thailand against what I see as very occasional Thai opportunism, really why not just save yourself the incredible hassle Thailand appears to bring you?

 

[GregKeo]

On 4/21/2021 at 10:40 PM, Bkk Brian said:

Just about every statement you've made is so wrong its obvious you just don't get it so I'll not bother debating with you.

Debating the dual-pricing issue won't fix it.

 

It exists and won't change without a significant proposal to government by those with expertise in such things - and the will to pursue it.

 

Don't want to pay for the test? There are many other equally attractive places to visit here in Thailand that don't require the test. Simple.

[Bkk Brian]

4 minutes ago, 473geo said:

But given this glaring affront to your intelligence regarding the savage and uncontrolled milking of your purse, <deleted> are you doing in Thailand supporting this government

If you cannot let go of a principle over a 500 baht payment in order to save the Thai medical system a few baht, and cannot offset the benefits of Thailand against what I see as very occasional Thai opportunism, really why not just save yourself the incredible hassle Thailand appears to bring you?

 

Turning a blind eye eh? Do you know what the insinuates?

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, GregKeo said:

Debating the dual-pricing issue won't fix it.

 

It exists and won't change without a significant proposal to government by those with expertise in such things - and the will to pursue it.

 

Don't want to pay for the test? There are many other equally attractive places to visit here in Thailand that don't require the test. Simple.

aaaannd another...................I live in Phuket, I don't need to visit, don't let that put you off making assumptions though and missing the whole reason for my debate here.

[473geo]

2 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Turning a blind eye eh? Do you know what the insinuates?

Relaxed, flexible approach to life, not railroaded by the PC brigade, enjoying the differences in Thailand, not getting my knickers in twist over minor things that were present in Thailand before I arrived and may well remain after I've gone.

Not needing to great the illusion of championing 'principled thinking' while readily accepting other rather questionable Thai ethics?

 

Does that cover it?

[Fairynuff]

18 minutes ago, 473geo said:

But given this glaring affront to your intelligence regarding the savage and uncontrolled milking of your purse, <deleted> are you doing in Thailand supporting this government

If you cannot let go of a principle over a 500 baht payment in order to save the Thai medical system a few baht, and cannot offset the benefits of Thailand against what I see as very occasional Thai opportunism, really why not just save yourself the incredible hassle Thailand appears to bring you?

 

You don’t get it and never will, it’s like some kind of loop you’re on

[RobMuir]

2 hours ago, 473geo said:

Well you gotta give credit for persistence and creative thinking on the part of those who are throwing their toys out of the pram because another kid got a lolly

 

It is rather embarrassing that there appears to be farangs who will not spare 500 baht to alleviate costs to the Thai medical system, which is giving free tests to those less well off Thai people

 

If they left they would be doing everyone a favor, the Thais wouldn't have to put up with their sooking and sulking, happy expats would stop being embarrassed by them and they themselves could find happiness somewhere else.

 

Nobody wants them here. Go home.

Edited April 23, 2021 by RobMuir

[Fairynuff]

5 minutes ago, 473geo said:

the PC brigade,

That speaks more about you than anyone else.

[Bkk Brian]

4 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Relaxed, flexible approach to life, not railroaded by the PC brigade, enjoying the differences in Thailand, not getting my knickers in twist over minor things that were present in Thailand before I arrived and may well remain after I've gone.

Not needing to great the illusion of championing 'principled thinking' while readily accepting other rather questionable Thai ethics?

 

Does that cover it?

Ok so why get your knickers in a twist on this thread over such minor things? Live your life, relaxed, let us carry the banner for anti xenophobic behavior. Who knows you may benefit from it one day.

[Bkk Brian]

1 minute ago, RobMuir said:

 

 

Nobody wants them here. Go home.

Baiting at its finest, congratulations, are you really that proud of your ignorance?

[473geo]

1 minute ago, Bkk Brian said:

Baiting at its finest, congratulations, are you really that proud of your ignorance?

You must be a slow reader Brian I have lost count of the number of times moaners have come up with the excuse ' we are not wanted here' quoting 'double pricing' unfortunately they appear to think others are in the same situation.

[RobMuir]

1 minute ago, Bkk Brian said:

Baiting at its finest, congratulations, are you really that proud of your ignorance?

I think I explained it clearly. I hope you find happiness wherever you choose. Thailand isn't for everyone. Thais don't sweat the small stuff and people who complain incessantly are shunned socially.

 

Good luck.

[ThailandRyan]

19 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Turning a blind eye eh? Do you know what the insinuates?

He still thinks it is about saving the Thai people and their medical fund 500 thb.