1 minute ago, RandolphGB said:

The highlight of the pandemic has been seeing bar owners suffer ????

I don't like seeing anyone suffer.

 

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Care to explain your comment? I do not for one believe it has anything to do with what you indicated, it is a way to destroy an industry this Government does not want Thailand to have as it remakes its "Family Friendly Destinations and New Chapters Tourism.....The Mormons, it appears, have been giving this Government their playbook.  Covid was not the beginning of closures and regulations.

True, I was in Bangkok last week, not Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy, but out and about, mostly daytime, and there was not a great difference in the amount of people around compared to the months leading up to the pandemic.

The illegal soldiers government has been chasing tourists away in their thousands way before the pandemic came.

19 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

There are plenty of prudish people in the world who won't go anywhere near Thailand, or even Asia, due to the sexpat reputation it has.

 

 

Those 'classy people' sound racist: "or even Asia". All these classy types are fully up to speed on Kabukicho, the Ginza, Roppongi, Wanchai, etc.? I had to live in Tokyo and Hong Kong to even know such places existed. I must be one of the prudes, or at least painfully naive. I'm sure glad there's none of that nasty stuff in the West, like NY, LA, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris; otherwise, I wouldn't go anywhere near those pure-as-the-driven-snow cities.

 

Actually, I take solace in realizing I could likely count the 'prudish' folks who would otherwise come to Thailand if not for the 'seedy' reputation on one hand.

 

In any event, even if there's more than one such person, his (or their) number is dwarfed by the # of folks actually drawn to visit because the nightlife exists---and these folks are like visitors to Las Vegas: they come with cash and likely go home with empty pockets.

I am still avoiding a trip to Thailand until I can feel safe enough to be flying for 20 hours without

catching any Variant of COVID. It may take up to 2 more years, but I am willing to wait.

  My plan B is a Mexican trip for this coming Winter, as I know a few places there that I can

enjoy, for a short time, and only have to fly for 9 hours, one way.

   I will keep watching to see just how much better the restrictions, and rules will be by October.

I may even go to Australia for the first time, for 3 weeks instead of the 2 months of Thailand.

 

3 hours ago, mania said:

All citizens of every country have a choice (In this case the Thai citizens of Thailand)

 

If they decide as you claim that they do not have a choice then as the saying goes,

"The people get the government they deserve "

So you think the ordinary Thai person deserves these soldiers playing at being politicians?

Thinking about it you may be right. Maybe the Thai people should have resisted the unelected general and his soldiers in 2014 and tried to take them on guns and all.

Thailand's history will show what could happen if the Thai people ever rise up against these soldiers.

A troll post and the related replies have been removed.

maybe they think they can teach the bargirls new skills like basket weaving?

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

So you think the ordinary Thai person deserves these soldiers playing at being politicians?

Thinking about it you may be right. Maybe the Thai people should have resisted the unelected general and his soldiers in 2014 and tried to take them on guns and all.

Thailand's history will show what could happen if the Thai people ever rise up against these soldiers.

the dinosaurs will eventually die out, maybe within 20 years, unless China has other plans and installs a puppet government in Thailand.

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Eventually, this led to an eight-month ban on alcohol at all restaurants until the government finally relented just before Christmas last year, but only partially.

The ban on alcohol in restaurants remains in place for Songkhla province, bonkers when you compare infection rates with other provinces where restrictions have been relaxed for months. That's not to say you can't get a beer with your meal here, but the lunacy involved is exemplified in the photo below from this weekend in Hat Yai.

 

4 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Thinking about it you may be right. Maybe the Thai people should have resisted the unelected general and his soldiers in 2014 and tried to take them on guns and all.

Maybe the Thai people did not consider resisting because Prayut was appointed as PM 24 August 2014 by the reigning monarch as per the then existing Thai Constitution.

6 hours ago, Stocky said:

The ban on alcohol in restaurants remains in place for Songkhla province, bonkers when you compare infection rates with other provinces where restrictions have been relaxed for months. That's not to say you can't get a beer with your meal here, but the lunacy involved is exemplified in the photo below from this weekend in Hat Yai.

 

Same is true in Yala and Narathiwat. No alcohol at all here, let alone in restaurants.

9 hours ago, possum1931 said:

So you think the ordinary Thai person deserves these soldiers playing at being politicians?

Thinking about it you may be right. Maybe the Thai people should have resisted the unelected general and his soldiers in 2014 and tried to take them on guns and all.

Thailand's history will show what could happen if the Thai people ever rise up against these soldiers.

It is inevitable that something's brewing among the Thai people. One only has to look at the country's history of coups and unrest.

When the S hits the fan and a new revolution happens, the blood of the martyrs will turn the Democracy Monument red.

15 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Whatever measures Thailand has taken to manage covid, it appears to have worked.

 

UK population 67 million

 

Thailand population 67 million

Do you have any evidence that it was purely measures that Thailand put in place that led to the difference in these figures?  It's quite a jump to assume "less numbers = better measures".

 

I believe there were many more factors involved than simply the measures each country put in place.

 

If you compare the climate and how people live in both countries, you will see that one is a lot more geared for a reduction in the spread of the virus than the other.

 

The age of the population is also a factor.  If Thai people don't make it to the same age as British people, there are obviously more people in the vulnerable age group.  Same would need to be checked for comorbidities; obesity, diabetes, etc..

 

It might be worth checking the rate of spread of the original virus in each countries and the spread of the delta variant.  Is it comparable, or is there evidence to suggest that people in Thailand (or SEA more generally) had some immunity to the original strain due to another virus that made the rounds previously?

On the plus (??) side, you don't read about many anti-gub'ment protests since they locked it all down.

 

Perhaps there's method to the madness?

 

 

14 hours ago, JimTripper said:

There are plenty of prudish people in the world who won't go anywhere near Thailand, or even Asia, due to the sexpat reputation it has.

 

Ditto, any nightlife location where you find skint customers. Sure, you may get some straggler wealthy people, but it's an exception.

 

If you want wealthy families and such, the reputation needs to be cleared so people with images to maintain don't get tarnished. That means getting rid of seedy venues.

 

Not saying it's right or wrong, just reality. If you disagree the stigma exists go back to your home country and tell everyone you have been sitting in a Thailand go-go and watch their responses. It's not for high class oriented people.

 

The high class orientation typically means wealthier in most cases, as they are gravitating to goods and services that set them apart from middle and lower classes. A lot of it is reputation and image.

If the sort of people you describe are the only ones who will be coming for holidays in Thailand, the TAT should revise the tourist numbers down to about 13 people per year...