spoon

I think its obvious thats the article is really an ads to entice retiree to make thailand their option for retirement. Obviously it will never tells the "negative" hehe

One bar is open is a good news indeed!

Sad. Pattaya jomtien was the last refuge for fun in pattaya and now all gone. I dint understand why even the restaurants are ordered to close though. Maybe boys will now go back to working at the dongtan beach during the day?

Im more interested to know which bars have those muay thai guys performing? Also, that dj station scene at the end, is it pre-covid?

The two are the same i believe.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/04/who-says-no-deaths-reported-from-omicron-yet-as-covid-variant-spreads

Agree, but i also agree that u dont need to pay the entrance fee to see boys in street clothes hehe. Is there any bars that actually have boys on stage wearing their usual gogoboys outfits?

Probably because night entertainment are not allowed to open, so clothed boys on stage makes it easier for them to say they are still a restaurant and not night club?

If the hotel reporting is done manually, it would be almost useless for tracking short term travellers.

Another reason why its hard to trace them, fear of the fine? Hehe

This might be very well the reason why it is hard to trace these people. Also, we dont know if those who they cant track actually staying in hotel, or airbnb, or camping somewhere remote. They did managed to track some of them though and i guess these are amongst those who actually used the apps.

My guess is they have not yet traced these people rather than cannot be traced. Unless there are active gps tracker on the phone, its not so easy to track a person unless u put in the resources.

So, if any of these people were positive, sandbox shouldve detected them right as they need to be tested again after 7 days before they can head out.

Just to add, most people who got sinovac here in malaysia are now encouraged to get a booster after 3 month of their second dose. And like thailand, we also allow mix vaccination for the booster, with priority given to sinovac to get pfizer as booster. I wonder when will your bangkok guy moderna's shot will be?

If i were to go to thailand for a week or less, i wont waste my time on the app. I would casually check it once in a while in case there is someone worth the trouble, but would not depend on it. The apps while convenient and cut the middleman, is littered with customers and boys alike, as well as those who are just looking for a free hookup, free dinner, free transport, or just free money without committing to anything. And if they dont deliver, they can just create a diff profile, or block u, and u cant really do anything about it. While boys at bars are not 100% perform as you wish, most of the boys on offer are available for hire, so no guessing games, no fake picture, no lenghty conversation getting nowhere. And we can always complaint to mamasan, or just review here and bitch about the bars hehe. If there is a choice, like the case in thailand, id choose bars, then massage, then only app.

Hospitals and GPs across Southern Africa are increasingly reporting that the symptoms of the aggressive new Covid strain Omicron are “unusual but very mild,” according to various media in South Africa this weekend. Around 90 per cent of all new infections in the Johannesburg region are now caused by the Omicron strain but, so far, the Covid death rate and even hospital admissions appear not to be increasing significantly, local media report. Some experts are therefore cautiously optimistic that – if Omicron turns out to be less lethal but more contagious and dominant than the Delta variant – the new mutation may actually be a blessing in the sky. Hundreds of infected people across Southern Africa reportedly complain of nausea, headaches, fatigue and a high pulse rate, but none seem to suffer from a loss of taste or smell, which has been the case with most other Covid mutations. Moreover, more and more medics across Southern Africa are confirming that most Omicron-infected patients merely have a severe headache, nausea or dizziness. Dr Angelique Coetzee told various newspapers in South Africa: “Symptoms are so different and so mild from [non-Omicron] Covid patients I have treated before.” A GP for over three decades, and chair of the South African Medical Association, she was the first African doctor to suggest to local authorities Covid had mutated into a new strain. Coetzee reportedly said the symptoms “did not make immediate sense”, with patients including young people of different backgrounds and ethnicities with fatigue and a young child with a high pulse rate. Looking at the first data coming out of Southern Africa, virologist Marc van Ranst said this weekend that “if the omicron variant is less pathogenic but with greater infectivity, allowing Omicron to replace Delta, this would be very positive.” The WHO warned that preliminary evidence suggests the variant has an increased risk of reinfection and may spread more rapidly than other strains, including Delta. They said there is early evidence to suggest Omicron has an “increased risk of reinfection” and its rapid spread in South Africa suggests it has a “growth advantage”. “It is extremely important we need to closely monitor the clinical data of Omicron patients in South Africa and worldwide,” Van Ranst stressed. The variant has more than 30 mutations – around twice as many as the Delta variant – which make it more transmissible and evade the protection given by prior infection or vaccination. https://www.cityam.com/coronavirus-blessing-in-the-sky-omicron-may-be-very-positive-news-for-the-world-if-new-covid-mutation-kills-off-more-lethal-delta-variant/ So i guess its actually a blessing in diguise?

Covid: South Africa 'punished' for detecting new Omicron variant South Africa has complained it is being punished - instead of applauded - for discovering Omicron, a concerning new variant of Covid-19. The foreign ministry made the statement as countries around the world restricted travel from southern Africa as details of the spread emerged. A statement by the South African foreign ministry on Saturday strongly criticised the travel bans. "Excellent science should be applauded and not punished," it said. The bans were "akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker". The statement added that the reaction had been completely different when new variants were discovered elsewhere in the world. An African Union official told the BBC developed countries were to blame for the emergence of the variant. "What is going on right now is inevitable, it's a result of the world's failure to vaccinate in an equitable, urgent and speedy manner. It is as a result of hoarding [of vaccines] by high-income countries of the world, and quite frankly it is unacceptable," said AU vaccine delivery alliance co-chair Ayoade Alakija. "These travel bans are based in politics, and not in science. It is wrong... Why are we locking away Africa when this virus is already on three continents?" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59442129

Moderna said they are already developing it while pfizer is doing a study to see how effective is the current vaccine (hopefully including booster) and said they can develop the vaccine within 100days. Still, the gap and logistical nightmare might mean it could be much longer than that before enough of us will get the vaccine. Maybe we should just do this. Even the current vaccine is not foolproof from infection, thus we will always need to be vigilant and wear masks, social distancing and avoid crowded places.

Some repair/renovation on going? Perhaps to make it covid friendly?

Another good news! Up from 9pm, now until 11pm

I see that insurance details were not asked? Im trying to determine whether i should get a separate insurance or ask my current insurance for the policy details if i ever made the leap to travel lol

I meant it will hehe. Doubt itll open sooner than dec 2. Lets just hope they wont delay it

Chi is impressive!

Yeah, thats a bummer indeed. But jupiter is open!