Dodger (December 11th, 2021)
while not meaning to pick you out specifically Dodger, this response and others on this thread confuse me having just come from reading threads like "What a difference a week makes" where everyone was liking posts and encouraging visitors breaking SHA+ Test & Go requirements and visiting venues obviously operating beyond current license, SHA/SHA+ and Covid restrictions
the SHA and SHA+ requirements go far beyond just vaccination of staff, but the feeling here is obviously that circumventing this is all just part of the game of getting back to the fun we want to have
the operation of gay venues in Thailand has always only existed because of creative enforcement of the licensing and other laws, but with Covid how far do we need to draw back from our gay abandon of compliance with government restrictions? your first few paragraphs seem to be significantly at variance with many of the posts on this and other threads here - as residents and tourists here how Covid safe do we really want to be?
oh god, I feel like I am channeling Gaybutton on the Silom Soi 2 thread - I will just shut up and go away!
I can’t even be bothered to be apathetic these days!
As I see it we are all vaccinated.
The Thais also have had the opportunity of vaccines, including, it seems, mRNA boosters.
So that's as good as it's going to get for the foreseeable future and they should remove all restrictions and get on with it.
Of course, this should be a matter for the Thai people to decide, ideally via a democratically elected government. In practice, they have an imposed government and there is no logic to some of their repressive decisions. Chonburi has harsher restrictions than Bangkok, yet last time I saw data, Chonburi had the lower infection rate
Exactly, we are vaccinated! Life will likely not get better than now, and we have simple choice; to live or not live, there is no point in waiting, Most people here don't have luxury of time, we lost close to 2 years.
I got to Thailand Saturday morning, test in hotel came in negative; I'm staying for winter as always, and I intend to live.
Sad about Jomtien Complex news. Current Junta is very much like Taliban, nothing we can do about that, but there are always places in Pattaya and Bangkok to party.
I agree with you that we have to choose to live. However, it is up to us to find a place where this is possible. That comparison with the Taliban might be in poor taste for those who have really suffered their regime. But I do agree with you, time is ticking for all of us and I am not willing to sit at home either.
Enjoy your winter!
Dodger (December 12th, 2021), DoubleDutch (December 12th, 2021)
Current regime's disliking of foreigners is readily apparent, they don't even bother to hide it any more, we all remember Minister of Health's putting saying it out loud. I get that they don't like us, they tolerate us, but regime's attitude towards alcohol is truly bizarre, can't think of any country that relies on tourism income so heavily, yet works actively against tourism. Generals may not like happy foreigners, but their restrictive, puritan laws are doing most damage to locals, their own people, for us it is just mild inconvenience.
You say comparing them to Taliban is out of line, but what other regime in the world is so much against alcohol, bars and nightclubs? There are really only handful of such restrictive places, and they are all Islamist regimes.
I don't drink, unfortunately these laws affect everyone here, buzz and typical Thai liveliness is missing now.
Brad the Impala (December 12th, 2021), dab69 (December 15th, 2021)
FINALLY!
The news that open-air bars in Pattaya will be allowed to reopen tomorrow (Dec 16) is flooding the streets.
It would have been nice to see this covered in the news - but who's complaining.
Now the drum roll for Jomtien Complex bars begins. We should know the outcome 24 hours from now.
Fingers crossed!
DoubleDutch (December 15th, 2021), Ruthrieston (December 16th, 2021)