Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.

[Dodger]

Rarely do I start a day without a visit to the boat docks in Bang Saray, and yesterday was no exception. It was 5:30 AM and the sun was just thinking about rising when I arrived. The first thing I spotted was a lone tour boat lashed to a jetty at the end of the pier with several Thai deck hands busy performing tasks. With the lockdown in place and no customers to service, this provides plenty of time for the fishermen and tour boat operators to do some cleaning and general maintenance with the hopes that they’ll be in operation sooner rather than later.

I sat on my motorbike sipping my Ice coffee enjoying the serenity on the bay, as well as the view across the bay to the shores of Pattaya. Having this clear of a view across the bay before the pandemic hit was extremely rare. The air quality has improved so much over the past 18 months that I can now see Pattaya as clear as a bell (day or night).

I sat there gazing at the skyscrapers dotting Pattaya’s shoreline for a long time, as my mind tried to envision what Pattaya must have been like back when it was just another sleepy fishing village, surrounded by rice paddies and small bamboo shacks - getting its name from a late king for its strong south-westerly winds. Then came the stampede of people with their lust for money and sex, who built skyscrapers to replace the small bamboo shacks, and pushed the fishermen out of the bay to make room for a host of sparky new speed boats and expensive floating fortresses. Nothing would go unchanged.

Then, nature has its way...and the wind carries with it small molecules so powerful that they can force the encroachers to leave as fast as they came...leaving behind a thousand hollow skyscrapers left to fend for themselves. Everything that’s been constructed along it shores seems out-of-place right now against a landscape that appears to be transforming back into itself. Really strange.

Before I left the boat docks I spotted what appeared to be a lone fisherman in a small boat fishing off the point near Pattaya Park which put a lump in my throat. I wondered if maybe he was one of the original natives who’s been patiently biding his time until he could once again cast his net unprovoked in clear water again.

I’m hoping one day that the two can coexist again, as long as the environment is respected in the process. I miss “Pattaya”, but only if I can see it.

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[latintopxxx]

you need to stop drinking ...alcohol that is...

[arsenal]

Were I to be pushed I would day that the restaurant st the far end of Bang Saray is probably my favourite in the whole world. Not just because of the great food but as Dodger has said, the wonderful view right across the bay as far as Wong Amat. Plus the knowledge that the night will bring with it treasures a plenty both known and those waiting to be discovered. The meandering journey back to Pattaya, usually punctuated by a stop for a latte and the gambol along Jomtien Beach Road.


The Delta virus is moving through China but it's exhausted and lacks the verve it had earlier. It's spent 18 months circumnavigating the globe and it's pretty much shot. It knows it's time is coming to an emd. Like an elephant and a salmon it's come home to die.

[Dodger]

you need to stop drinking ...alcohol that is...

It's the ice coffee.

If I drink it too fast it makes me melancholy.

[goji]

The Delta variant was discovered in India about 8 months ago.
The virus that emerged from the market/lab in Wuhan was an ancestor (if that's the correct terminology for viruses?).

[Dodger]

The Delta variant was discovered in India about 8 months ago.
The virus that emerged from the market/lab in Wuhan was an ancestor (if that's the correct terminology for viruses?).

I'm not sure what point your drawing?

The Delta variant (first discovered in India) took over the Alpha variant as the dominant strain in Thailand several months ago, accounting for over half of the infections. This is the problem we're faced with now.

Because it's so much more contagious than the initial (alpha) strain, it's moving like wildfire.

Not being prepared with a supply of the vaccine has left the Kingdom vulnerable - and no one is going to know how many victims it's going to claim, or when Thailand will be able to reopen again, until the numbers start dropping and the majority of the population gets vaccinated. Many, including myself, project this may happen in later 2022 - early 2023...God willing and the creek don't rise.

Everyone gets to throw their own dart, but right now it's a moving target.

[goji]

I'm not sure what point your drawing?

I was replying to a post which stated the delta variant is coming home to China after 18 months.
The delta variant originated in India ~8 months ago.

Apologies for not quoting the piece I was replying to.

Like most other members, I'm aware of the increased transmisibility of the delta variant. The Junta do not seem to be aware of this.