cosceguinhas

Looks as if the tax on imported booze has gone up, but not by that much. https://www.reuters.com/article/thailand-taxes-idUSL4N1LX03R

Remember you need to go down to the lowest level and into the train station concourse. The exchange booths that give the best rate are between the ticket machines and the ticket barrier. The booths before the ramp leading down to the station are part of the airport cartel.

If you just want to monitor the current rate on the street, TT post their rates at start-of-business here https://ttexchange.com/ They don't update it through the day, so you wouldn't catch minor fluctuations, but it might be enough for those of us outside the country.

Is this what your wife was thinking of? https://phuket-go.com/phuket-news/islands/sea-horse-ferry-launches-blue-dolphin-service-between-sattahip-and-koh-samui/

Well, I was there at the time. We flew out of Suvarnabhumi six hours before the airport was shut down This was with Jet airways, so a transit in Mumbai. We left Mumbai four hours before the terrorist attack shut down the airport there.

In my experience (admittedly pushing three years old), the booths in the railway station concourse, past the ticket machines, will give you a rate similar to TT in Pattaya. I would guess that being in the railway station rather than the airport proper, they don't pay airport rents, and don't have to belong to the airport cartel.

Pre-Covid, one could go down to the basement in Suvarnabhumi and into the railway station concourse. Three booths (I think) were sited between the ticket machines and the ticked barriers. These offered a rate similar to the Pattaya TT rate. I assume that this was possible because they were in the railway station, not the airport, and did not have to belong to the airport cartel. Does anyone know if they are still open?

Without doing the maths, it seems to me that once the car was airborne, the gyroscopic effect of the spinning crankshaft/flywheel/gearbox etc and also of the spinning drive wheels would cause the car to twist in midair, so hitting the tree sideways would be qiite possible. As for believing it, I'd believe anything of a seventeen-year-old driving a fast car. It is indeed an absolute tragedy.

That's right - Glitterman. Pre-Covid, he could be seen ocasionally cycling around the Wimbledon/Merton area in South West London.

Or, for that matter, whether she had actually gone to a quarantine hotel or just vanished into a bed-sit sonewhere on the island. That's seriously slack. The interviewer suggested she contact the German embassy and the local consul-general. I wonder what will come of that. The family's story shows an extremely heavy handed approach, and I can see many cancellations once the story hits the western press. No family is going to risk being treated like that.

Exactly. The present system of registration is likely to create a permsnent pool of infection and generate new varianth because those who do get sick will try to tough it out at home. Worst case scenario, of course, but....

I can't see any of the undocumented/illegals coming forward for the vaccine, anyway, for fear of being identified, arrested and deported.

I've seen that somewhere - I think it's on the steps at the beach road end of Mike's Mall, outside the coffee shop.

There may well be a demand for woolly hats in a few months time when the temperature drops. I can remember a coach tour from Chiang Mai when at sunset the temperature in the coach dropped from impossibly hot to merely too hot, and the guide and driver both put on woolly sweaters, and there was a long-tail boat trip from Phuket where the thai companion on one of the other falangs was well wrapped up, including a woolly hat.

It looks as if the latest plan is one step further forward but still far from definite - it still has to get past fhe Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration and their policy seems to be No Risk under any circumstances. From Pattaya News (note the final sentence) https://thepattayanews.com/2021/03/26/thai-economic-committee-approves-in-principle-to-welcome-selected-vaccinated-foreign-tourists-to-visit-thailand-without-state-quarantine-piloting-in-phuket/ "Thai economic committee approves in principle to welcome selected vaccinated foreign tourists to visit Thailand without state quarantine, piloting in Phuket By Nop Meechukhun - Friday, 26 March 2021, 19:59 Bangkok – The Center for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) has agreed in principle with a reopening plan to allow selected vaccinated foreign tourists to visit the island of Phuket without state quarantine, starting in July. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), revealed this afternoon, March 26th, that the CESA has approved in principle a TAT plan to welcome vaccinated foreigners to visit Phuket island without mandatory quarantine upon arrival. According to TAT’s previous market survey, the plan is expected to draw at least 100,000 foreign tourists to the island province in the third quarter. The TAT also aims to formulate a tourism promotional plan to initially attract vaccinated tourists from Europe, the United Kingdom, Russia, United States, United Arab Emirates, and Scandinavian countries. However, not all of these countries may be allowed at first and restrictions could be placed on countries let in. The CESA has assigned the TAT to discuss the agenda with the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and related local authorities before summarizing and proposing the plan in detail next month for further approvals. Yuthasak continued that TAT also proposed a procedure to gradually reduce the quarantine period to seven days for vaccinated foreign tourists in the second quarter of 2021, prior to the arrival of non-quarantine tourists in July. The plan is planned to be firstly implemented in major tourist provinces, piloted in Phuket and respectively followed by Koh Samui, Krabi, Phang Nga, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai. However, this is only an initial plan that has to be further discussed and approved by the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). The Pattaya News notes that the plan is not finalized and needs multiple other levels of approval, including from the CCSA and Thai Cabinet and also depends on vaccination levels in Phuket."

From Britain's New Scientist magazine web-site: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-astrazeneca-vaccine-not-linked-to-blood-clots-says-who/ The above may be behind a paywall, so here's an extract from the article " Covid-19 news: AstraZeneca vaccine not linked to blood clots, says WHO The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic Health 12 March 2021 By Michael Le Page , Clare Wilson , Jessica Hamzelou , Sam Wong , Graham Lawton , Adam Vaughan , Conrad Quilty-Harper and Layal Liverpool New Scientist Default Image Latest coronavirus news as of 5pm on 12 March Countries should continue using Oxford/AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine, says WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is no evidence that the Oxford/AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine causes blood clots and is urging countries to continue using it. “It’s very important to understand that, yes, we should continue to be using the AstraZeneca vaccine,” said Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson, at a briefing on 12 March. The WHO’s global advisory committee on vaccine safety is reviewing reports of blood clots in some people who received the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. A number of countries, including Denmark, Norway and Iceland, have suspended its use as a precautionary measure, while Thailand has delayed its rollout of the vaccine, originally scheduled to begin on 12 March. There have been 30 cases of blood clots among the 5 million people in the European Union who have received the vaccine as of 11 March, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). More than 11 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the UK so far, said Phil Bryan, MHRA vaccines safety lead, in a statement, adding: “Reports of blood clots received so far are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the population.” The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said people in the UK should still go and get their covid-19 vaccine when asked to do so. “There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions,” the EMA said. Harris said WHO data shows that more than 268 million doses of covid-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide and no deaths have been found to have been caused by them. "

Apparently it takes ten to fourteen days for any real immunity to kick in, and four weeks to get the full effect. The unlucky victim must have been infected in the waiting period.

Seems to me that the only logical reason to buy drinks online would be to give a small subsidy to a favourite girl or bar in the hope that they will still be there when it is finally practical to return. In which case, it shouldn't matter whether the drink bought is top-shelf tequila or just tap water.

Goes to show that you *REALLY* need to know what you are doing when you ride a big bike in Thailand. Many years ago, I was an instructor on a motorcycle training scheme. We always tried to teach defensive driving, including the danger of the slippery surface of wet manhole covers. In Thailand, I've seen so many that were mis-aligned that I'm leery of even stepping on one.

The trouble is, It's all up in the air - the proposals change daily, which causes a lot of confusion, and there's no guarantee that the Prime Minister will accept them. The timetable for the latest I've seen (the "Phuket Model") seems to be: 1. Book flight and hotels in advance. 2. Arrange Covid-19 health insurance for Thailand. 3. Take Covid-19 test 72 hours before departure (for me, a deal-breaker - if positive, I would have to write off the prepaid cost of flight and hotel - my travel insurance doesn't cover this) 4. Another test on arrival. 5. 14 days quarantine confined to the grounds of the chosen resort (I know a few people who would go for this, but not many) 6. 7 days free to travel within Phuket. 7. Another Covid-19 test. If negative, free to travel around Thailand until your visa runs out. 8. Leave Thailand. 9. Repeat This model might be applied to Koh Samui, Chang Mai and other tourist areas, but Pattaya was not on the list. Some people might be able and willing to go for it, but IMHO very few.

That's great fun. Thankyou for that.

I don't usually bother with draught in Thailand. I've had the occasional one that was OK, and many that I didn't like. As for watering it down, well .... Many years ago, a few of us were chatting in the local after work and the conversation turned to a scandal about watering the beer. The guvnor took each of our half-finished pints, added about an inch of tap water and challenged us to tell the difference. We couldn't. Even with modern systems, the barman could easily put half an inch of water in the glass and then top up with beer. The other issue is with bottled beer. Can you be sure that the opened bottle contains what's on the label? I can only remember one place (now long gone) where the bottle was uncapped in front of me. I'm sure I've been served bottles of Heineken or San Miguel which had been topped up with Chang - I know what Chang tastes like and it's nothing like San Mig or Heineken. Ultimately, though, is it that big a deal? The apparent disrespect on the part of the management is annoying, but if I like the general ambience (not too crowded and interactive ladies) I might want to stay, and if I don't like it, I'll be on my way anyway. If I just want to get drunk, I can do it for much less in my room.

Just received this via my NextDoor Neighbourhood forum..... "SCAM NHS track and Trace call. BEWARE. This was just passed to me. Worth warning others and any elderly neighbours. And so it begins!......😡 ‘Good afternoon I'm calling from the NHS track and trace service. According to our system, you are likely to have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This means that you now need to self-isolate for 7 days and take a COVID-19 test.' ' OK. Can you tell me who that person was?' 'I'm not able to tell you that. That is confidential information.' 'Right. Um... so ....' 'But you do need to be tested within the next 72 hours. So can I just get the best mailing address so that we can send a kit to you?' 'Ok (gives address)' 'Thank you - and I just need to take a payment card so that we can finalize this and send the kit to you.' 'Sorry - a payment card? I thought this was all free?' 'No - I'm afraid not. There is a one-off fee of £50 for the kit and test results. Could you read off the long card number for me, please, when you're ready.' 'No - that's not right. This is part of the NHS so there's no charge.' 'I'm afraid there is. Can you give me the card number please - this is very important, and there are penalties for not complying.' Puts the phone down. This is how scammers work. And vulnerable people will fall for it.” Don't fall for it...! Please share. COPY and PASTE I'm in the UK, but they could try it on anywhere

You're right - that part of the Thames is tidal as far as Teddington Lock (Teddington=Tide End Town)