How dire is the situation on the ground in Pattaya among Thai boys/men?

[colmx]

The last message I received (yesterday) was "I am nearly dead" which I presume is a rather dramatic overstatement. Nonetheless it is concerning and troubling. He is from Udon Thani and says he would like to return home to his family but that there is no transport(yet)that is possible. Is that true? There are no Isaan buses running yet?

I also have a Udon Thani friend that claimed he was going to kill himself (in messages to my BF) over the last few days as the bars were still closed, he wanted to go home and he couldn't survive another month of closures. I think this suicidal tendency was caused more by boredom than anything else.

Others have posted that the interprovincial buses are running, but I am not sure that is the case. You have to have a valid reason to move between provinces and "no money or farang in pattaya" is not a valid reason. It needs to be death of a relative or imminent death or similar necessary journeys.

e.g. My BFs sister has been unable to go back to Buriram to see her 7 month old Son for the last 3 months and is beside herself with worry, similarly neither BF nor any of his family were able to travel to Buriram to attend a favourite uncles recent funeral

[billyhouston]

The situation for the, mostly Shan, migrants in Chiang Mai is dire. Without jobs, and thus income, there is rent to be found and money needed for food. When there are food handouts, Thais get bottles of oil, rice and so on whereas migrants get a noodle pot and three bottles of water. My Shan partner tells me that they are unable to return home where they might have some sort of suport system but, in reality, they are generally the support system for those back 'home'. I guess this is pretty much the same elsewhere and for Cambodian and Lao guys. It would be a great kindness to help some of these people out, where appropriate.

[dinagam]

Nirish _to have died just yet - and before I hear "ohhh you're going to risk that?" after many years I dont think I've EVER heard of any Thai guy I know dying from actual starvation - maybe not having enough for whisky with his friends later or running out of cigaretttes etc perhaps or not being able to afford the new phone that he '

This is a fair comment.

In Pattaya there are about 10,000 people (Thais) registered and eligible for a token financial help from the authorities, however the number of needy foreigners (including unemployed bar workers) are unaccounted for. These are the people who are desperate to stretch whatever cash they have and whatever items on them that can be redeemed for cash. That is why one keeps on seeing long lines of people queuing for free food and meagre charitable handouts like 5kg bags of rice and a tray of eggs. There's so much uncertainty in their present circumstances.

[Manforallseasons]

Others have posted that the interprovincial buses are running, but I am not sure that is the case. You have to have a valid reason to move between provinces and "no money or farang in pattaya" is not a valid reason. It needs to be death of a relative or imminent death or similar necessary journeys.

e.g. My BFs sister has been unable to go back to Buriram to see her 7 month old Son for the last 3 months and is beside herself with worry, similarly neither BF nor any of his family were able to travel to Buriram to attend a favourite uncles recent funeral

All travel restrictions within the Kingdom have been lifted.

[Dodger]

All travel restrictions within the Kingdom have been lifted.

Not really.

There's still a mandatory 14 day quarantine (or isolation) restriction in place for those who are traveling from one province to another.

I've been in Buriram for 3 months now waiting for this restriction to be lifted so I can return to my primary residence in Bang Saray for this very reason.

Yes, the girl who colmx is referring to could travel to Buriram to visit her child, although would be forced to isolate inside her residence for 14 days.

According to a recent article in the Bangkok Post, there are approximately 200,000 unemployed prostitutes upset right now because they don't qualify for the 5,000 baht government handout, nor will the government even acknowledge their existence.

The majority of working boys I've known over the years always sent a portion of their earnings home to Mom, and I'm sure that they would have room and board covered if they simply returned home until this nightmare is over.

There is a lot more eye candy up here in Isaan right now because of this. None of them appear to be starving.

[Manforallseasons]

Travel from Petchaburi, Pattaya and elsewhere to and from Bangkok is unimpeded.
Dodger I took this photo yesterday morning at Bang Saray:

[Dodger]

Travel from Petchaburi, Pattaya and elsewhere to and from Bangkok is unimpeded.
Dodger I took this photo yesterday morning at Bang Saray:

That's the lowest low tide I've ever seen - but it still makes me homesick.

[christianpfc]

A friend who worked in a hotel in Pattaya has been to Bangkok and Surin and back to Pattaya and is going to Surin again soon for a funeral of a relative.

Coming from Pattaya or Bangkok, you go through Buriram province before reaching Surin. Is there police who check people who want to get off bus or train in Buriram? Most buses have two doors, but for trains, each carriage has four doors and you would need someone at each door to control passengers leaving train.

[cdnmatt]

Whether one can travel to other countries such as Laos, I don't know for sure.

Laos border is still closed to non-citizens. At least I don't believe Thais can enter Laos, as it may be different due to ASEAN, but don't think so as Laos took a pretty hard stance regarding Kovid-19. For example, if you're a Laos citizen working in Vientiance, you haven't been able to go back to your village and see your parents / family for months now. Villages are still all barricaded off, nobody allowed in, not even family members.

[dab69]

From the last video call I got the barbers are not open.

That's all I can say for certainty. Friend was messaging about "wanting to eat MK". (KFC)
I had just picked up Subway foot long/$5 and sent him a picture. He sent back a crying emoji.
Just a friend of a friend but I sent him $50.