Smiler

Now that stirs a few memories from the wank bank😏

Unfortunately I don't think we can rule out another "big lockdown" in Thailand. The government took its eye off the ball and got distracted with what we can't talk about on here. Resources were redeployed, the borders became porus again and Covid took advantage. Who knows what will happen but from where I am sitting it seems an overreaction is more than possible.

At Udon airport waiting for my girl

It's here in Udon, again traced back to the fish market. Of course I can't help but compare the way the situation is handled here to how it was/is in UK. The Thais don't mess about, young smiler was only getting a couple of days school holiday over new year. In the last hour it's been announced all schools will now shutdown tomorrow and reopen 04/01/21. Don't want to get into a "FFS they are massively overreacting" thing, there is no point. They are doing what they are doing and that is that.

RIP John Fitzpatrick Now that guy could put a tackle in. First time my old man took me to watch United he picked up the ball for a throw in about a foot away from where we squashed against the fence.

Just returned from taking my girl to Udon airport so she can go back to Uni in Bangkok. Stopped off at 7 and picked up some freshly made croissants, I am very pleasantly surprised, they really are quite good.

Breaking news https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2020/12/19/thailand-reports-record-breaking-500-new-virus-cases/?fbclid=IwAR1GcCz8cNGw8PtMvDXjB-clNhVp8PUMkF1HnN35Swurw2EPIOCBazV0aSA Kin ell, I wasn't expecting this. Caveat: Wasn't so long ago a drug bust of "tons" of ketamine was announced, then reduced to less than a couple of grams.....

True dat But, and I quote that bloke off the radio: "anyonene who is sick enough to troll another member to the extent that they can narrow down his home address, with photos and make wanton threats needs mental help not posting rights." I mean over a difference of opinion about politics FFS. That type of behaviour goes a bit further than overstepping the mark in my book. Could understand if it was over football or wearing a mask 😬

Yeah it was or rather is frustrating. I have a letter of apology which Thai Smile accepted at Swampy for my flight up to Udon, however supervisors were called and I was stuck at check-in for 10-15 mins while ALL of my paperwork was checked including boarding passes from my original flights.

Part 3 It's all about quarantine. The 02 hotel is paired with Chularat Hospital. On arrival you are met by nurses from there who take your temperature, blood pressure and ask about any medication you use. I take BP tablets daily and this was noted. Strictly speaking you're not supposed to keep any pain killers or stuff to help you sleep etc but my personal medicine cabinet remained with me. You are given a thermometer and told to record temperature twice a day, report via line. Some lads I spoke to said they couldn't be arsed and would cheat by sending photos they took the previous day, I didn't because I couldn't see the point. On day 5 I got the first Covid test. Was escorted from my room to another on the same floor for the swab test, just the one nostril invaded unlike both in the UK. Was a nice change to have some interaction all be it with people in full hazmat suits. Spent the next 24 hours trying not to but inevitably stressing about the result. I knew I had been super, ultra extra careful at Heathrow and Dubai, I felt absolutely fine but.... Next day I opened my door to an absolutely lovely lady who gave me an envelope with the test results and a lanyard, " you ok, can exercise on loof". Yay, I did a little dance 😀. When I got the second test results I nearly cried with relief 😂. Overall I was impressed with the way the whole quarantine thing was ran. Talking to others nobody had a bad word to say. It was professional and I did feel safe during my time at the 02. Checked out at 5:45 am on day 16 feeling over the moon, then.. "Solly sir, no have certificate but email soon". Upon completion of quarantine you should get a letter to confirm you have in fact done it. Even though they knew 3 of us would check out early, the letters weren't ready. Is this important? Well it could be if you needed to go to immigration for visa stuff as my new mate Jay did. There could also be an issue if you had to get an internal flight. I did and yes they asked for the letter when I checked in at Swampy 45 mins later. 6 days later I am still waiting for confirmation that I completed ASQ. I wasn't going to let anything spoil my first week back with the family, however if I still haven't received anything on Monday then the kee will hit the fan 👀😬

Yeah I agree. This thread is interesting though: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1196886-facebook-post-by-medical-staffer-ruffles-police-feathers/

Food is subjective of course. I read a number of reports, even asked someone I know who stayed at the O2. Concensus of opinion was that it was "alright". However, I thought the quality of the rice for instance, was really low grade. Has to be said as well that I am a fussy eater 👀

^^^^^^°°^°° Part 2 Alcohol is strictly prohibited during quarantine. Most people I talked to smuggled a bottle of wine or whatever in. Some bags are scanned going through customs (mine wasn't) but if you are under the limits then.. I have read reports where booze was confiscated at the hotels on arrival, even cleaners grassing up people in quarantine. I had a couple of miniature Lafroigs and 2 1 glass Merlots which lasted 3 nights! Not a problem for me but yeah it certainly can be for others. There was a German guy who really suffered, he was a total mess after his vodka ran out and I mean a real mess. He reckoned it was the first time in 25 years he had gone a week without drinking. Not that he was an alkie or anything you understand 😏 My last night was eventful. A new arrival in the room opposite me was quite obviously pissed and loud with it. The manager and security were called, not sure exactly what happened. I guess the last thing the Thais want is drunken farangs losing it during quarantine.

First lesson learned: Any hotel that has "luxury" as part of it's name probably is not luxurious at all 😏 Arrived mid day 27/11 feeling elated to be back in Thailand and exhausted from the stress of long distance travel in these messed up times. That said both flights from London and Dubai were great with a whole row to stretch out on. I decided fresh air and a balcony were at the top of my list of priorities for quarantine. The O2 did not disappoint. It's out of town about 20mins from Swampy. Having a balcony was an absolute god send, the room only got an hour of early morning sun and I had the doors open all day. The room was around 45 square metres, spotlessly clean and for the vast majority of the time I was there, very quiet. Internet was fast and reliable, no worries running my firestick, lappy and phone at the same time. On day 7 after a negative Covid test I was able to use the roof area. Met some good lads up here which made my incarceration that much easier to deal with. You are only supposed to go up once a day for an hour but it wasn't policed at all, so a group of us would meet up 2 or 3 times a day. Lots of laughs and interesting people/stories. On the downside: I did not enjoy the food. For me it was at best 3 out of 10, I am only giving it that because of the fruit 😬. You get to choose from a menu for the next day. Only 1 guy I met said the food was ok. So pleased I brought a cheese board, bickies, anti-pasta and chocolate with me. You could order from a limited 7-11 menu though. I am not afraid to say the quarantine thing was mentally tougher than I thought it would be. Staying in a hotel room for 2 weeks, how fucking hard can it be?? Well first off you really can't leave the room and I felt the walls closing in a few times. The stress of knowing all could turn to shit if you tested positive or inconclusive really can't be underestimated either. Once I had finished the food I brought with me, I found my day was centered around the meals, if they were shite (most of them were) then that affected my mood. Part 2 coming soon...

From what I see on the FB groups there has been a big change over the last 2 or 3 days. Apparently a 30 day on arrival can be extended in Thailand but of course it's breaking news and nobody has actually done it yet. As always though the place to check is the RTE not some gobshite on the internet 👀. Met a few guys on the last few days of my quarantine who had all but given up hope of getting back. Then all of a sudden it's game on.... f**k site easier to sort out from home country rather than stuck in Saudi or Afghanistan. For what it's worth I think quarantine will be in place for at least another 3 months, probably 6. I will do that review I promised in my other thread, honest 😏. It's my third night home and still settling in ...

I booked a flight today from Swampy to Udon, leaving Saturday morning. Had a call from the hotel duty manager just now who said my travel plans would be confirmed either tonight or in the morning. Eh? How did he know I'd bought a ticket? Well it turns out that big brother really is watching you in Thailand during these times or maybe this is what effective track and trace is all about. I had to give my onward travel details as part of the entry process. Didn't realize how closely the authorities would be monitoring people though. I am guessing I was flagged up when I made the reservation with Thai Smile.

Been up on the roof talking to fellow prisoners 👀 couple of Brits, bloke from Esco land and a German. Fritz was an absolute basket case a couple of days ago because he had ran out of booze. Was funny listening to the Dutch guy ripping him a new arsehole about his alcohol addiction. Fare play to Fritz he (eventually) held his hands up and admitted his weakness. I could murder a nice cold beer now though 😜

Unfortunately mate I can well believe everything you've posted 😕 Mrs smiler was telling me only last week that a couple of lads in the village have problems and its common knowledge who they buy from. Years ago Thaksin attracted huge criticism for his solution, my brother in law (RIP) told me how it worked. The village headmen would give a few private warnings to users who were causing shit. If they didn't listen, clean up their act or f**k off somewhere else then they got a visit. I think it resulted in over 3000 killed. Of course it was abused, old scores settled etc etc BUT it sorted a situation that was getting out of hand... I am not suggesting for 1 second this is the ideal solution. I wish I knew what was.

Seen some disturbing reports and footage of a yabaa crazed man in Udon. Two dead and three others seriously injured apparently. It happened in the soi behind the prison, locally known as Food Street. Shit we lived near there, used to visit and buy stuff most evenings. Sad state of affairs. One of these days Thailand really has to tackle it's drug problem. I've been saying it for years but....

I saw that on the beeb website, really quite surprised it wasn't geo blocked here in Thailand.

Mrs smiler told me she really liked 60s band the Monkees. I thought she was telling lies, thought she had never heard them. So as a test I played one of their songs, then I saw her face...

Just been talking to the guy in the room next door out on the balcony. He asked me to stop singing Wonderwall, I said maybe...

In quarantine and the urge to start singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight is just a whim away, a whim away a whim away a whim away..

Tennis, snooker, show jumping, women's football/rugby and Grand Prix