Phuket Sandbox expectations: reality bites

[StevieWonders]

An amazingly sensible commentary from a TAT official about expectations for the Phuket Sandbox. He must have been reading my posts on SGT:

Mr Yuthasak said the TAT acknowledges there is growing concern and discontent among the private sector about the additional measures for tourist destinations to reopen, which could discourage visitors in the initial stages. He insisted the tighter screening measures are necessary, as the Public Health Ministry stressed no tourist should be infected while roaming the island. "We should accept an influx of tourists is unlikely in the third quarter. This sandbox scheme was established as a test run, which means it is a gradual process where we determine the best practices to allow other destinations to follow suit," said Mr Yuthasak. "It is better to be selective in the beginning rather than risk losing our reputation if tourists acquire the virus while here or at their origin country."
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2131143/lower-hopes-for-phuket

[arsenal]

"He must have been reading my posts on SGT:"

Which is more than most of the membership who've put you on ignore.

Hahahahahahaha.

[StevieWonders]

"He must have been reading my posts on SGT:"

Which is more than most of the membership who've put you on ignore.As someone who holds himself out as proficient in the English language - even inflicting yourself on the unsuspecting Chinese middle class - you should be aware that all of the membership who’ve put me on ignore are not reading my posts - that is the purpose of the {Ignore} feature. Those poor Chinese are wasting their money - except that the money they pay for you to “teach” their daughters returns to the family because you’re paying their sons. It’s known in economics as a “circular economy”.

Learning some punctuation skills may help.

[gerefan2]

[QUOTE=StevieWonders;279407

Learning some punctuation skills may help.[/QUOTE]

Nope.

Judging by the number of likes he is getting I think we all got the message LOUD AND CLEAR

[StevieWonders]

There will be no quarantine for foreign visitors under the Phuket Sandbox scheme and their two-week confinement to the island will suffice, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) chief said yesterday.

The TAT is involved in reviewing the Tourism Sandbox scheme ahead of the island reopening to foreign tourists on July 1.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2131375/no-quarantine-under-phuket-sandbox-tat

In-other-words: "We fucked up, and it ain't gonna happen yet"...LOL

Case closed.

[StevieWonders]

The Prime Minister makes it (almost) official.


Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has confirmed that Phuket will be the first destination in Thailand to reopen to vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine requirements from 1 July, 2021, under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ project.

In his Facebook post last night, General Prayut stressed that the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ project was initiated in line with his guidelines to slowly reopen the country to vaccinated foreign tourists to revive tourism.

https://www.tatnews.org/2021/06/thai-pm-prayut-chan-o-cha-confirms-phuket-sandbox-starting-1-july-2021/

[StevieWonders]

The TAT has added to the list of SHA-certified businesses on Phuket

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/300-tourism-businesses-given-sha-plus-certification-in-phuket

[StevieWonders]

Some numbers of people intending to use the Phuket Sandbox scheme have been released along with the information that “over 50 per cent of 29,700 foreigners who had confirmed they would come to Phuket had cancelled their plans after the CESA revised” the number of days needed to stay on Phuket from 7 to 14

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001966

[StevieWonders]

A big one is getting to Phuket. Will the major airlines be flexible enough to allow entry via HKT and return from BKK without a silly mark-ups?Easily answered via cheapflights.com - Emirates are offering exactly that combination for EUR611 for flights on 1/31 August (one of three possible fares on that airline)

[arsenal]

If I could go to Phuket for 10-12 days without quarantine in November I'd go. Not as many boys but great motorbike rides and some lovely restaurants I'm sure. The problem for me is likely to be China.They were the first or one of them to close their borders and I suspect they'll be one of the last to reopen. Even if one has been vaccinated with their own vaccine.

[goji]

If I could go to Phuket for 10-12 days without quarantine in November I'd go. Not as many boys but great motorbike rides and some lovely restaurants I'm sure. The problem for me is likely to be China.They were the first or one of them to close their borders and I suspect they'll be one of the last to reopen. Even if one has been vaccinated with their own vaccine.

I suspect you are right.
Whilst China is letting it's students out (& maybe others), my understanding is they all need to do hotel quarantine upon returning home.
Those Chinese students who are abroad seem to be in no hurry to return home.

Also, if China is vaccinating it's population with some not very effective vaccines, they will hardly be wanting to import virus mutations.

[Blueskytoday]

I for one see NO true information coming out of China...i.e. actual cases daily etc....would not believe anything they put out anyway...

[StevieWonders]

Phuket on Tuesday stepped up preparations for the July 1 launch of its "Sandbox" scheme.

The tourist province began rehearsing immigration and Covid-19 control measures to be implemented at its international airport, three seaports and security checkpoints on the road leading to the island.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2132879/phuket-readies-for-sandbox


Anyone who booked a flight to Phuket under the current circumstances has to be willing to accept the consequences of their decisions.

I imagine most, if not all potential tourists, have already scratched this trip off their calendars.

[StevieWonders]

It’s a low tech solution to tracking where tourists go on Phuket - a wristband:

https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/location-tracking-wristbands-and-punishments-for-escapees-phuket-gets-ready-to-welcome-vaccinated-tourists

The TAT has launched a new Phuket-centric marketing campaign - https://www.tatnews.org/2021/06/tat-launches-phuket-is-now-open-marketing-campaign/

[StevieWonders]

When will 70% of the population of Phuket be vaccinated? Just re-definite what you mean by “the population of Phuket” in order to get the answer you want. It seems the government has already achieved 74% vaccinated by this statistical sleight of hand - https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/officials-tinker-with-definition-of-population-find-over-70-of-phuket-is-vaccinated

Orwell said it best in Animal Farm when the rulers changed the mantra “Four legs good” to “Four legs good, two legs better”.

[cdnmatt]

From: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1220758-phuket-sandbox-all-tourists-to-wear-location-tracking-wristbands/?utm_source=newsletter-20210617-1315&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news


Visitors to Phuket under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ scheme will be required to wear a wristband that will track their location, officials confirmed on Tuesday. The GPS enabled wristband will be able to inform the authorities of the exact location of each tourist on the island.


Thai news site Manager reported on some of the security protocols that will be put in place, which include security checkpoints on the main road leading to the island screening everyone arriving or trying to leave. The checkpoints will feature facial recognition cameras that will be able to detect any tourist who tries to leave Phuket before the 14 day mandatory quarantine period.

Well, now doesn't that sound like an absolutely lovely vacation? Three tests, 24x7 GPS monitoring via wristband, and police with facial recognition technology to boot to ensure you don't stray outside of the designated safe area.

Oh well, a few beers would probably calm those negativities down. Oh wait, there's no bars or clubs going to be open either...

Fuck yeah, sign me up!

[christianpfc]

The wristbands leaves the question if the technology already exists and can be procured in the remaining time in the required number. I would be curious about details, do the wristbands have GPS or a SIM-card or work on WiFi?

[gerefan2]

When will 70% of the population of Phuket be vaccinated?

That is not the point. The vaccine does not give protection until 3 to 4 weeks after the jab.
So they have missed the slot already, today being the 17 th ...

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/?utm_campaign=coronavirus_grants&utm_medium=paid_searchl&utm_source=google&utm_content=keyword&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9HUM7YXmOBXvSxrXukz 5iahnBdugrIfliy1rfu2dpQiTuZWYME3n0QaApY4EALw_wcB

[cdnmatt]

The wristbands leaves the question if the technology already exists and can be procured in the remaining time in the required number. I would be curious about details, do the wristbands have GPS or a SIM-card or work on WiFi?

The article says GPS enabled, so I'm assuming it means just that. No SIM card or wifi, just direct signals to the GPS sattelites.

I'm pretty sure what happened here is they fucked up on development of their mobile tracking app, didn't have time to develop a new app, so decided to go with plan B, which is scramble around and try to procure enough GPS enabled wristbands to cover everyone that shows up.

They better be careful, because they might end up shooting themselves in the foot here. I'm pretty sure TAT doesn't want a bunch of Youtube videos going viral from people saying they were treated more like a prisoner than a tourist.

[Mancs]

Wouldn't the Mor Chana app do the job of tracking? Maybe users have to submit location info. I wonder if the GPS wristband likes showers and swimming? From Bangkok Post:

"According to the Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Straits Interactive, the Mor Chana and Thai Chana contact tracing apps, endorsed by the government to stop the spread of Covid-19, contain excessive user permissions and have terms and conditions lacking transparency. A report by the Data Protection Excellence Network (DPEX) conducted by Straits Interactive showed the Mor Chana app asked for more permissions from users than any other contact tracing app in Asean, while Singapore's TraceTogether app and Vietnam's Blue Zone app had the least. Mor Chana is an app designed to help medical professionals, government agencies and the public trace Covid-19 infections. Users can submit information to the app about their health status and location to assist the government and doctors trace the spread of the virus. The app was developed in collaboration with state organisations and private developers to provide data to the Department of Disease Control. Countries around the world are developing similar apps to fight the pandemic, while privacy advocates are raising concerns that these tracing apps could be abused by the government and used to monitor citizens for purposes other than Covid-19 prevention."

[StevieWonders]

Wouldn't the Mor Chana app do the job of tracking? Maybe users have to submit location info. I wonder if the GPS wristband likes showers and swimming?It might work for Android but Apple devices have Settings for location services that can disable location or make it “approximate” rather than absolute. It’s also possible to carry the phone around in “aircraft” mode which would have the value of appearing to comply. Experience of such tracking Apps in some countries on iPhones has also demonstrated that when the screen is locked the tracking App is disabled. Australia’s tracking App has proven a dismal failure in that regard. I’d be surprised if a Thai-developed App would be much different.

[gerefan2]

If prisoners can be let out early with electronic tags why not give those daft enough to go half way around the world, to an island with no booze, the same tags?
They know they work.

[StevieWonders]

If prisoners can be let out early with electronic tags why not give those daft enough to go half way around the world, to an island with no booze, the same tags? They know they work.Says the man who paid 60,000 baht to have himself locked in solitary confinement in a hotel room for two weeks and claimed in several posts that it was money well spent.

[gerefan2]

Says the man who paid 60,000 baht to have himself locked in solitary confinement in a hotel room for two weeks..

As I have told you time and time again it was free. I don’t need to explain the maths to you yet again do I?
And.....it was to Bangkok, a city, which at the time, was full of booze and prostitutes, as you well know.
Do you miss it all?

[arsenal]

Lockdown is taking it's toll on little stevie's mental well-being gerefan2. Be kind.

[gerefan2]

Lockdown is taking it's toll on little stevie's mental well-being gerefan2. Be kind.

Lockdown?? He should have been “Locked Up” years ago!

Sorry feeding again! So easy.

[cdnmatt]

What I find funny is how everyone views GPS wristbands as this massive over reach, but an app on a smart phone is perfectly ok for some reason.

Perceptions are everything I guess...

[StevieWonders]

. As I have told you time and time again it was free. I don’t need to explain the maths to you yet again do I? And.....it was to Bangkok, a city, which at the time, was full of booze and prostitutes, as you well know.
Do you miss it all?What you attempted to demonstrate in your own way was that, although you had actually paid 60,000 baht to the hotel, if it was seen as being amortised over the entire length of the trip it was so negligible an amount as to be perceived as "free". It's the sort of self-serving spin people despise in politicians.

How is what you claim to have done any different to another sex tourist who spends the same amount of time on Phuket before, like you, heading to Pattaya?

[StevieWonders]

Lockdown is taking it's toll on little stevie's mental well-being gerefan2. Be kind.Have those Chinese parents not yet realised how you’re ripping them off? It’s “its toll” not “it’s toll”.

[gerefan2]

What you attempted to demonstrate in your own way was that, although you had actually paid 60,000 baht to the hotel, if it was seen as being amortised over the entire length of the trip it was so negligible an amount as to be perceived as "free".



Right I will explain one last time.

The hotel was indeed 60,000 Bt and I was inside for 15 days.
Cost 60,000/15 days = 2000b bt per day. Normal spending for 15 days. Therefore no additional cost.

Pleaseeee don’t ask me to explain this again for the umpteenth time.

The lack of booze and tarts really are having an effect eh??!

[StevieWonders]

Right I will explain one last time.

The hotel was indeed 60,000 Bt and I was inside for 15 days.
Cost 60,000/15 days = 2000b bt per day!Quite so - except sadly 60,000 baht over 15 days is actually 4,000 per day

[gerefan2]

yes normal spending 2000 per day for accommodation and feeding and 2000 boys and booze.

The 2000 for boys and booze is obviously saved.

Net spending same same .

[StevieWonders]

yes normal spending 2000 per day for accommodation and feeding and 2000 boys and booze.

The 2000 for boys and booze is obviously saved.

Net spending same same .
And that’s different to you as a sex tourist spending time and money on Phuket and then going to Pattaya how, exactly?

[arsenal]

If you GENUINELY don't understand gerefan2's point then you're a linguistic moron.

[cdnmatt]

Ladies.... any more of this, and I'm shortening next Tuesday's bingo game to only 30 mins, and no pudding after dinner tomorrow.

[StevieWonders]

Ladies.... any more of this, and I'm shortening next Tuesday's bingo game to only 30 mins, and no pudding after dinner tomorrow.Everyone needs a hobby, Matt.

[arsenal]

What's for pudding?

[StevieWonders]

What's for pudding?
Stands the Church clock at ten to three?
And is there honey still for tea?

Rupert Brooke, The Old Vicarage, Grantchester

Brooke, as he later described himself, was one-half outright heterosexual, one-quarter outright homosexual and one-quarter sentimental homosexual (i.e. his idealized homoerotic longing for young men is a longing for his own youth at public school)

https://closetprofessor.com/2014/03/26/rupert-brookes-first-time-with-a-man/

[arsenal]

"If you make a deal with a fool, don't be surprised when they act foolishly."
Jeffrey Archer.
The Old Vicarage, Grantchester.

Fool. Fruit and custard. Is that the pudding?

[StevieWonders]

"If you make a deal with a fool, don't be surprised when they act foolishly."
Jeffrey Archer.How long was dear old Jeff locked up? Kerb crawling was it? He’d fit right in to Pattaya.

[Brad the Impala]

"If you make a deal with a fool, don't be surprised when they act foolishly."
Jeffrey Archer.
The Old Vicarage, Grantchester.

Fool. Fruit and custard. Is that the pudding?

This board has sunk to a new low when members are reduced to quoting Jeffrey Archer!

[Brad the Impala]

yes normal spending 2000 per day for accommodation and feeding and 2000 boys and booze.

The 2000 for boys and booze is obviously saved.

Net spending same same .

So you spent the same as you normally would, except you were isolated in your room without the boys and the bars and the booze. I think that you are flogging a dead horse in representing that as being somehow equivalent to your normal trips. Although flogging a dead horse may have been what you were doing in your room.

[Mancs]

What I find funny is how everyone views GPS wristbands as this massive over reach, but an app on a smart phone is perfectly ok for some reason.

Perceptions are everything I guess...

I take the point, Matt, but I would sure be arsed off with paying 20,000 baht for a wristband, in addition to $1,000 for tests and insurance when I'm fully vaccinated.

[StevieWonders]

So you spent the same as you normally would, except you were isolated in your room without the boys and the bars and the booze. I think that you are flogging a dead horse in representing that as being somehow equivalent to your normal trips. Although flogging a dead horse may have been what you were doing in your room.On the basis that paying the hotel in Bangkok 2,000 baht per day is actually saving 2,000 baht per day because it’s not being spent on prostitutes, I’m proposing that gerefan2 deposit 2,000 baht per day (as a fortnightly lump sum) into a Kasikorn Bank account that I shall nominate for every day he’s not paying prostitutes (and therefore saving the money) while he’s in the UK. Seems fair?

[gerefan2]

Stop hallucinating Steven the alcohol and the boys will be flowing again soon.