I miss Thailand

[abidismaili]

Last trip November 2019 

When oh when can I go back?

I have 5 weeks holiday a year. I can’t go for the two week quarantine option. That will take 4 of my 5 weeks if I want to have two weeks real holiday there. Then rest of the year only working working without a break. Won’t do that. 
 

I asked my job but they don’t allow working from there. 
 

I am surprised there is no mass uprising from all these Thai who directly (hotels for example) or indirectly (massage shops for example) work in the tourism industry. How do they get money now? Hoe do they pay their rent?

[fedssocr]

people are marching in the streets

[PeterRS]

37 minutes ago, fedssocr said:

people are marching in the streets

Are they? I live in Bangkok and have neither seen nor heard of any marching against anything for some 4 months or so. There certainly were major protest marches in October but these were not exclusively against the worsening economic conditions. There was another reason which on this Board cannot be discussed.

Like many Asian nations, Thailand has a good family structure. Some of those out of work especially in the tourism industry will no doubt have returned home and be working in the village shop or in the fields. Then you have to realise that several polls have found that a considerable majority of Thais do not want tourism to reopen until there are better solutions to the covid19 pandemic. The Tourism Authority of Thailand constantly pushes for opening up tourism in some way but the government is not biting.

Thailand is far from alone in this respect. A couple of months ago Hong Kong and Singapore announced a traffic bubble to allow one flight in each direction initially. A few days before it started, Hong Kong had a new outbreak and the bubble burst! For those who enjoy travelling we just have no alternative but to wait.

[Guest]

15 hours ago, abidismaili said:

I asked my job but they don’t allow working from there.

Try negotiating more.   If you're currently working from home and you make sure you get a hotel with a good internet connection, there's no difference between working from Thailand and working from home.   A good employer might just recognize that some flexibility helps retain skilled staff.    Of course, there are plenty of unimaginative employers around so I recognize this might not get the right result.

As for people marching in the streets, the key point is this is very localized.   If you're not in the protest areas, the protests are simply something you only hear about in the Bangkok post.  That had zero effect on my stay.

[abidismaili]

How many tourists did tot you see? 

[PeterRS]

I am out and about most days. Very few people seem like tourists.