DivineMadman

Presumably - and this is just a "presumably" not a prediction - customers will not have to wear masks at bars or restaurants, but the staff will. This means I will not be able to use my standard line, "You have the cutest smile in Bangkok." I doubt that anyone officially knows what will happen to dancers/entertainers when the bars and entertainment venues can open. At barber shops, I believe the customer doesn't have to wear a mask for all the right practical reasons, but the barber does. If the "legit" massage shops are at first limited to foot massage only, then I would expect the customers will have to wear masks. Personally, I do not expect them to require customers to wear masks for full massages when that blessed day arrives. But, again, the masseurs will. Prime was operating under this sort of set up before the lockdown. It was fine. Somewhere I posted a pic from Spa Bangkok where they are expecting to wear plastic shields and masks to protect the masseurs (and by extension to protect the customers). Spa Bangkok seems to be making their safety regimen a marketing point - good to know for people who might feel they are in a particular risk group.

And the long-term consequences of the disease are only just beginning to be studied, and there are a lot of depressing reports about that. The people who think it can't affect them or that it's "just like the flu" are the ones who can become super-spreaders. That's true for both customers and sex workers. And, what the local guys seem to grasp more readily than many others is that it's not just about them, it's about the 10 people that they can infect, and so on. I think that's something that is more natural for the local guys to be aware of because of the long-standing culture of wearing a mask -- to protect other people when you might not be feeling well. Sadly, many Americans don't seem to be able to grasp this. (I won't comment on other nationalities.) When the tourists return, it is inevitable that some people with COVID-19 will get into the country. Probably the same will be true for guys coming back from the provinces or the surrounding countries to work in the bars, etc. I don't think anyone doubts that. The hope is that with rigorous screening and contact tracing if cases do arise, the numbers can be kept low. It's also up to everyone to do his little bit to help. But Thailand is not going to be a COVID-19-free bubble. Admittedly, I have no idea how it's all going to work out practically. Easy to provide fresh clean sheets and towels (and wash them after any guest leaves). Will the scent of disinfectant start becoming something I associate with a sexual romp? Should we all get those temp. reading guns and check each other for fevers before getting naked? Even if a guy has brushed his teeth and used mouthwash, I swear I can usually taste the pad krapao he had for dinner, so I'm not so much a fan of kissing. Easy to give that up. My favorite sexual position(s) don't involve face-to-face, so that's a win for me. If someone tells me we have to wear masks, well - if all those doctor visit fantasy porn or strangely-alluring porn vids of twinks having sex wearing dog masks have taught me anything, it's that it's still possible to have a good time with a mask. I'm an open-minded chap and willing to learn. [I truly hope it doesn't come to that.]. I wonder if the blow-job bars will install plastic partitions, or will glory holes become the newest old thing? I can't decide whether a brothel bar or massage shop is likely to be safer than some random guy off of hornet. The better massage shops I expect will have pretty serious cleaning regimens, but higher volume, of course. I expect shops and the bars will be screening for temperature and keeping an eye on the health of the guys who work there.

I agree. Each person will have to make really hard decisions about how he assesses the risks of travel and what to do and how at the time, especially in light of his own risk "profile." I suppose the main point is that we should also respect each other person's decisions regarding that - including the sex workers - and not try to pressure them or dismiss their concerns. So it's a just another little thing to be thoughtful of. That's all.

What SWING is trying to do is to tell the sex workers that they have "the power" to say no, and the information to back it up. It's like barebacking. Sure, there are customers who will insist on it and some sex workers will go along because they need the money. Can't have any respect the customers who do that and can only feel sorry for the sex workers who go along.

Personally I think it's great that what SWING is trying to do is great. (And if the medical professionals at SWING think there is an advantage to showering, why be down on that? And, it's just a shower????? LOLs. Even small things that can help - let's give'm that.)

SWING has come up with advice for sex workers in the COVID-19 era. Some of the recommendations were briefly mentioned during a recent Foreign Correspondents Club program on the current sex worker scene (available online). They include practical steps, such as requiring the client to take a shower before getting down to business and while the client is showering spray the bed with a disinfectant spray, etc. I can't remember if the client is supposed to wear a mask. The president of SWING made the point that sex workers are terrified of getting COVID-19 (for good reason) and they are trying to educate the sex workers and "empower" them to insist on the new-normal COVID-19 safe sex.

You can go -- if you'll put up with the quarantine, etc. -- but many of the rest of us can't just yet. The Ministry of Health restriction is lifted but the Royal Government suspension of tourist visas, e-visas and visas on arrival is still in effect.

FYI - CAAT has extended the ban on international flights to end of June.

If you sign in from comment-on-a-post there is a "remember me" option. There may be other ways also, but that has worked without fail for me.

Perhaps worth keeping in mind that businesses have been allowed to re-open -- but only under the "new normal" rules. Screening, social distancing, masks (duh), limitations on number of customers allowed in at any time, plexiglass dividers between tables, etc. (I assume everyone has seen the pictures). Barbers have to wear masks and shields. Some mainstream massage shops are already planning for that to be required. In China, Shanghai Disneyland is reopening and tickets sold out almost immediately. But there will be all the usual health precautions and more, and right now limited to only 30% of capacity. Personally I think this is being handled quite well by the Thai authorities. There will always be slip-ups and it will take some time for the real "now normal" to evolve, but they're good, small steps forward. Here's what we might expect from one of the better-known legit(-ish) massage places.

Personally, I took Secretary Mnuchin's more to mean exactly what he said - "too soon to tell" as far as international travel was concerned for the remainder of the year. He acknowledged there will be some very limited, necessary business travel. Implicitly his observation about business travel means there will some flights. I think there will almost certainly be some limited travel by regular folks as well. I don't think Mnuchin is particularly keyed into when countries in SE Asia will begin opening their doors or on what conditions. The various lockdown restrictions that various countries have in place remain. In typical Bangkok Post fashion, even the headline of the article that started this thread is inaccurate. The idea of opening the door to Thailand for travelers from China and S Korea is just something that was floated. The restrictions haven't been "lifted." And that particular idea is hardly news. There have been very very public discussions before about the need to get essential business travelers back into Thailand. The Chinese government has told its people no international leisure travel for the time being - I forget whether the restriction was until October or the New Year (and which New Year).

I keep in contact with a bunch of guys from all over - Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. With a few it's daily, and with a few others more like a couple of times a week. I also "actively" follow 3-4 more guys on Facebook (with mutual "likes" and comments, etc.), but that's less of a connection as far as I'm concerned. Actually, not much of a change between pre-COVID-19 and now. No requests for money - so far - but lots of mutual complaining about the current situation and overly-optimistic thoughts about when we can be getting back together again. In the current shelter-at-home world, it's no exaggeration that the countless pictures and videos and idle chit-chat with the guys is the highpoint of my day. But I've always said that I have been very lucky with the guys that I've gotten to know.

In case you didn't see it live - and with the technical issues delay - the benefit concert last night (U.S. time) "Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Benefit Celebration" to benefit ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty) is available on YouTube. It's great. Just great. The YouTube link can be found on the Broadway.com site: http://www.broadway.com/sondheim90

THere's nothing stopping them from changing anything in the future. I'm just trying to make the simple point that there might be a simple explanation on why they did what they did.

I agree it's a bit silly -- and the omission of Singapore seems bizarre - but you could imagine that if they are planning to lift the ban on all flights into the country, then they will need to resurrect the old system -- or come up with a new one -- for who can and cannot come into the country and on what conditions (med certificate, etc.), so this might be part of general housekeeping to get that system back up in place for the removal of the ban on incoming flights - perhaps as early as the end of the month??? Whether there actually will be any flights and if so from where once the AOT opens the door, we'll see.

In case someone is bored with lockdown, the Chef at Bun, Meat and Cheese is hosting an online burger cooking class Sunday, 26 April 1:00 pm. It's limited to 10 people (I think - not sure), and the ingredients will be delivered to your home so you can cook along with the chef (hence only Bangkokians). Among Bangkok foodies he has generated some good buzz for his burgers. I don't eat beef so I can't personally vouch for his signature dish. I believe the event will be in Thai (but not 100% sure). 2,390 which obvs includes the class plus the ingredients to make your own (4). Always on the lookout for interesting things to do in the current situation..... Cooking Burgers with Taiki https://www.eventpop.me/e/8676/cooking-burgers-with-taiki

Yes. 100% agree. And traffic fatalities do not overwhelm the health care system or endanger the lives of health care workers. Boggles the mind that after all this time some people are still saying there's nothing special about a highly contagious disease with serious health consequences.

I know of one academic at Chula who will disagree with the suggestion that Thailand danced to the U.S.'s tune, with the suggestion of vassalage or client-state status. Particularly in its (Thailand's) own backyard. The royalists -- and this doesn't mean the monarchy, it means the conservative military and -adjacent parties, including the Democrats -- played their own "Great Game" and have pivoted and played various sides off against each other since the Colonial Era - and are the only ones to survive in the region. Now we are seeing exactly the same thing play out - but this time a flip of sorts back to China, led by the military junta which one might otherwise expect to be fist-and-glove (as it were) with the U.S. Thailand profited immensely by the Western boycott of Myanmar, and chaos and lack of development in Cambodia and Laos served Thailand's interests as well. Horrible as that may be. And lets not forget that model of Angkor Wat in the Grand Palace. Says something ........ (By the way, her name is Wasana Wongsurawat)

I think that for the most part in the M-T-L-C-V countries, the governments don't stand in the "take care" position with the people. Thaksin Shinawatra certainly took steps in that direction in Thailand (for his own reasons), but the conservative/royalist/military/bloc seems to have accepted those steps only begrudgingly (witness the current junta's shitty first steps towards universal income payments to help ease the COVID-19 crisis, finding only 9 million people eligible). I think there was a headline where some government agency was boasting it had created 300 jobs for people displaced by COVID-19. Big f***ing whoop. What these countries do have are the underlying social structures that have been in place long before the rise and fall of "mere" governments: the family, the village (or local communities) and the temple. (I'm less confident of this start as far as VN is concerned, because I think perhaps during the more oppressive communist years there may have been more damage to these sorts of undergoing structures.) Sometimes people here question the idea of the guys sending so much of their earnings home to "mom", but the flip side is that there is a home for them to go to and, out in the countryside, plenty of food. Temples are arranging food distribution - and in the non-urban areas temples have always played that role with the "excess" daily offerings. Also, in Bangkok and I read Pattaya, bars and NGOs are stepping up. SWING Foundation in Bangkok has been providing food and supplies and has stayed open to provide medical services to the gay/trans "service worker" (sex worker) community. Patpong Museum has been helping out also, but I assume their focus is the bar girls. COVID Thailand Aid - I've posted about them before - is providing food and supplies to the elderly and at risk community in the Khlong Toey slums and more recently throughout much of Thailand. Another organization based in Klong Toey that has been stepping up is the marvelous Duang Prateep Foundation. I am sure all through would welcome donations. So, for the most part, I don't expect the government to do much. But I think the local people in the community will make the difference. On a side note, the guys I worry about are the guys who for one reason or another, don't have a family situation where they can go back home, and have stayed in BKK.

A recent article in Scientific American: The Loneliness of the “Social Distancer” Triggers Brain Cravings Akin to Hunger -- A study on isolation’s neural underpinnings implies many may feel literally “starved” for contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic" https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-loneliness-of-the-social-distancer-triggers-brain-cravings-akin-to-hunger/

Most - if not all - visitors to Bangkok at some point come across the work of the man featured in this video. I usually try to take pictures of his work when I find them walking around town. I met him one night rather late (or early in the morning, depending on how you view it), when I was walking home. He was diligently at work, but when I said hello he looked up and said hello back with a nice smile. A magic Bangkok moment. COVID Thailand Aid (formerly COVID Bangkok Aid) is an organization that I've tried to help in a small way. Their focus is to help the elderly poor and others most at risk. I hope they keep an eye out for Khun Pichai. https://www.facebook.com/groups/covidthailandaid/

ThaiVisa is often a source of useful info -- if you can cut through the din of the complainers. Here's a recent topic that might have answers - or where you can post to ask a question. (I recall there is another thread about online reporting as well.) https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1155936-how-to-do-90-day-reporting-online-and-by-post/ My usual guidance on ThaiVisa is to follow what UbonJoe says. He knows his s**t.

For people staying in BKK - some of the best chefs in Bangkok are collaborating on meals for home delivery. I think Issaya Siamese Club is perhaps taking the lead, but the wonderful chef from Sawaan is participating. The phone number is at the end of the Facebook video - link below. Issaya and Friends Video.

My read of it is that visa holders (other than work permit or people who fall into the other specific categories) are simply not permitted to enter. There is no mention of visa people being allowed in, and that is consistent with how many other countries have behaved when they have shut their borders. You can't come in even if you have a previously-issued visa. That is also how the CAAT and IATA have read the rule. Only the "enumerated" classes of people can come in. As a result, even if you have a previously granted visa, you can't come in. That would pick up O and 0-A (and and TR and PE and ED) visas. Retirement extension folks I think are all either 0 or 0-A (a topic that got a lot of attention when the new health insurances rules were announced for one of those). I am sure that there will be lots of difficult fact patterns that they haven't addressed or possibly even thought of. For example, someone who is out of the country with a re-entry stamp but intended to come back to renew his or her extension but now cannot. Will he have to start the whole process over? And some people will almost certainly be royally screwed. But I think that often happens with emergency decrees - it's the nature of fallible humans around the world operating in chaotic times.

except.... it's not only Thailand. Right now Austria requires a medical certificate for some classes of travelers, according to IATA. More importantly, until the recent - very recent - spate of countries closing their borders entirely, there were others. French Polynesia had it quite a while ago.. I think the medical certificate is inappropriate for Thai nationals and permanent residents. Beyond that, it is what it is - an effective ban, but if someone really wants to go to the expense to get the certificate and ignore all the advice about not traveling, then he/she can come in. That's how sausages are made. But it's not like Thailand invented the medical certificate.