Expats’ anger and dismay at dual pricing for rapid COVID test in Phuket

[joecoolfrog]

On 4/23/2021 at 6:37 AM, KarenBravo said:

 

Residents don't use taxis. They use their own vehicles.

Drinks are NOT 4 x more expensive than the rest of the country. That is just <deleted>.

No, the Thai locals don't dislike us. I have extensive dealings with them.

Maybe they just dislike you.

I used to wonder about the Phuket haters on here .Now I think the majority are simply too skint to afford anywhere but the mom n pop shop in their Isaan village.

The island is not as wonderful as it was 20 years ago true , its been overdeveloped and is now too crowded , but its still far more attractive than Pattaya for example.

I would wager that many on here have seen little of Phuket other than Patong . They found Bangla rd to be slightly more expensive than Soi Bukheuw and have been whining ever since.

Edited April 26, 2021 by joecoolfrog

[MarcIssan]

On 4/23/2021 at 11:49 AM, Pattaya Spotter said:

I can see both sides of this argument...and no one is forced to come to Phuket.

Covid is a public health crisis due in part to how well the Thai government responded to and is currently responding to it.  I think the city or provincial, or national governments need to step up to whatever it takes to keep the population safe.  We didn't cause the crisis any more than individual Thai's have but I guess the concept of 'fairness' doesn't exist here.  If Phuket wants people to be tested upon entry, they should be willing to pay for it in the interest of public safety.  Covid shots protect others too not just the ones being vaccinated and the government should pay the cost of that as well...for everyone who chooses to live here. ..in the interest of public safety. 

 

The ex-pat contribution to the Thai economy is substantial enough for them to give us two $20 jabs I think.  Maybe I fail to appreciate the simple-minded approach that seems to rampant here where farangs must pay extra for everything.  We are first-class when it comes to attracting us to their country but we are last-class when it comes to any benefit we might expect as a result of our contribution to their economy.

 

"An adviser to Thailand’s Deputy PM, says he aims to bring in 1 million retirees or pensioners over the next few years. He says expats could collectively contribute as much as 1.2 trillion baht to the economy each year. " Thaiger April 13, 2021.

 

But bilking us at every corner isn't the way to do it.

[hioctane]

On 4/23/2021 at 8:52 PM, digibum said:

 

 

I think the Thai government should have done waaaay more to help Thai people and businesses, but via organized programs like loans, subsidies to keep employers from laying off workers, etc. 

 

I do not think Phuket's tourism is so strategic to the national interests of the country that they need to take precedence in getting vaccine doses that they should the people who at the highest risk.  I also don't think that the country should take serioulsy most of Phuket's return to tourism proposals that are guaranteed to result in another outbreak. 

 

There are different allotments of vaccines for higher risk people so this is not taking it away from them. This is for a test stratey of allowing vaccinated tourists to mingle with vaccinated locals on an island. If successful, they can apply it to other tourist areas.

 

On 4/23/2021 at 9:43 PM, digibum said:

 

Actually, no, I don't think it's all about the money.  I think it's mostly a disgusting level of entitlement. 

 

 

What migrants?  Nobody is coming in from Myanmar right now.  This isn't a permanent policy.  It'll likely last no more than a few weeks while the country battles back the third wave.  Any migrants that are needed for work on the island are already on the island. 

 

Remember, Phuket was hosting raging parties just a couple of weeks ago.  They're staffed up for the amount of tourism they're expected to receive in the next few weeks. 

 

Plus unemployment on the island is high enough that if any hotels need extra staff, there are plenty of people who can cover it for a few weeks until things normalize. 

 

 

See, here comes the entitlement.  You're a guest in the country.  The only thing your visa entitles you to is permission to stay.  It doesn't entitle you to being treated the same as Thai people or to get free stuff that the Thai government is paying for. 

 

A large number of Thais need to cross into Phuket frequently for work (delivery drivers, Kerry Express, hotel workers, etc).  The vast, vast majority of foreigners going to Phuket in the next few weeks while this policy is in place are people with enough money to be traveling for tourism.

 

Maybe it's based on principle for the Thais too.  All these farangs constantly bragging about how valuable they are to the economy because of all of the money they spend, why can't they at least pay for their own covid test?  ????

 

 

I'm trying to imagine the mental gymnastics it required to make this about migrant workers in order to justify a farang from a first-world country avoiding a $16 covid test to enter Phuket. 

 

It's hard to believe that you intended this to be about migrant workers when you felt compelled to throw in the fact this is about principle.  Principle has nothing to do with migrant workers.  Migrant workers simply can't afford it.  It's only a matter of principle for people who can easily afford it but don't feel they should have to pay. 

 

Nobody is saying migrants from Myanmar are coming legally. Since they share a land border, it is easy for them to sneak across for various reasons besides work such as to run away from the huge Covid problem there (inadvertently bringing Covid with them).

[hioctane]

On 4/23/2021 at 10:44 PM, digibum said:

 

This is probably the biggest thing I would criticize them for.  The Thai government (and often businesses) seem to have permanent tone deafness. 

 

A company like Apple can get a room full of nerds screaming and crying like high school girls in 1964 seeing the Beatles because they made a phone in a new color, yet Thailand can't seem to craft a message in the English language that doesn't end up pissing off their target audience. 

 

Literally, they could announce they were handing out 1,000,000 baht free to every farang and they would find some way to make it sound insulting. 

Can’t really blame them for that. I think all their press releases are in Thai. The farang press misinterprets the Thai language sometimes.