Hi All, Well I guess this is another of those "am I getting ripped off?" threads. Can those of you kind expats who are in Pattaya now please shed some light on the current situation there for out-of-work Thai boys/men? Being away from Thailand during this crisis makes it hard to evaluate reality there.
So here goes, I am receiving increasing desperate sounding messages from two of my "regulars" there. Both are kind people who I have known for years, who have never deceived me (to the best of my knowledge) and are not the type to make financial demands.
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 know the food lines are long there (YouTube videos are revealing). Are people getting sufficiently fed? If a guy there is out of work are they usually finding friends there who will provide shelter?
I certainly would never turn down a valid request from anyone in desperate need of help, much less a Thai friend, but neither do I want to feel like he is unable to fend for himself during this crisis in a reasonable way.
Your thoughts?
Thanks! Mahalo! Kawp koon krub!