reader

I'd agree that the government should be interested in opening borders to Chinese travelers, but somehow I don't think there are many who'd be willing to quarantine for 14 days if that's one of the requirements. Chinese tourists tend to come for long weekends or week-long group tours. The drawbacks of the travel bubble concept are already becoming becoming apparent. It has taken the government about six weeks to negotiate the small number of restrictive bubbles and they won;t begin until August. And a lot can happen between the time a bubble is finalized and it actually goes into effect. Countries that look like a sure thing today can look altogether different if a new surge emerges.

From The Thaiger Hospital director proposes importing overseas Covid-19 patients for treatment With the Covid-19 situation in Thailand apparently well in hand (there have been no locally transmitted cases for well over a month), a hospital director in Bangkok is proposing flying in patients from abroad for treatment at his hospital. The director of Mongkutwattana Hospital is considering medical flights to bring international Covid-19 cases to the hospital for treatment, in an effort to stimulate the economy. In a Facebook post, Dr Rienthong Nanna said flights would carry 60 passengers and be specially adapted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outside the cabin. Under his proposal, the hospital would act as a state quarantine facility, caring for foreign patients until they are certified virus-free and allowed to travel in Thailand as tourists. The proposal has the support of several clinics that treat international patients. Accommodation providers who want to collaborate with the hospital to prepare medical flights and state quarantine are invited to contact the director of Mongkutwattana Hospital’s office. The Ministry of Public Health Ministry has not announced whether Thailand will consider accepting Covid-19 patients from overseas.

A light (4-8 passenger) jet rents for between $2600-$3500 per hour. Departing from most ASEAN nations would put flight time inside a two-hour range of BKK. Most charter services will offer to "pool" passengers with common destinations and departure dates. Create your own travel bubbles. LOL.

Here's the ticket. From Bloomberg News Thailand Plans Open Borders for High-Spenders on Private Planes (Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s plan to target high-spending foreigners to kick-start its travel sector has a green light after winning Cabinet approval and additional support from the nation’s aviation regulator. The Southeast Asian nation lifted on July 1 a near-total ban on foreign travelers. The majority of arrivals in the initial phase will be foreigners with direct ties to Thailand -- such as those with businesses, major investments or family in the country. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand added a clause to also allow those who have “special arrangements” with the government. “Many in the high-spending, high-income groups avoided direct impact from the pandemic, but couldn’t come here because of travel restrictions,” Chula Sukmanop, director general of the CAAT, said in an interview Tuesday. “I’ve spoken with private aircraft operators who said they have plenty of potential customers looking to charter a plane to here.” The “special arrangement” group widens the market for “big spenders,” whose applications could be treated on a “fast-track basis that requires case-by-case approval,” Chula said. The biggest proportion of visitors in the initial phase will qualify through one of the travel-bubble agreements Thailand makes with other nations, he said.

From South China Morning Post Life under lockdown: tourist street in Vietnam hit hard by shutdown to stop Covid-19 Vietnam has been praised by international health experts for implementing one of the world’s best-organised epidemic control measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic. On March 31, 2020, the Vietnam government ordered a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and as of the end of June the country had reported just over 300 infections and zero deaths. But the measures have taken a toll on the tourism and hospitality industry. Bui Vien Street in Ho Chi Minh City is filled with restaurants, bars and clubs that normally cater to foreign tourists. But amid travel restrictions, the lights and music are gone, and local people who rely on tourism are left struggling to get by. Continue to view video https://www.scmp.com/video/scmp-films/3091162/life-under-lockdown-tourist-street-vietnam-hit-hard-shutdown-stop-covid-19

From The Thaiger Thailand is proposing a “travel bubble” pilot scheme featuring a proposed five areas of the country to be tested before international tourists are officially allowed to enter. The move is reportedly to focus on safely reopening by using the areas of Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phuket, and Pattaya, as experimental locations, which would allow tourists to enter at a maximum of 1,000 per day, without having to fulfill a 14. day quarantine period. A travel pact or “bubble” with 3 distinct stages, is expected to be agreed to with countries that have had similar success to Thailand in suppressing the Covid-19 virus and that have gone at least 30 days without recording any new cases. Initially, it’s understood the arrangement will include China, Japan, and Taiwan. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says that in phase 1 of the agreement, which could begin in August, only those touring in groups would be admitted, due to it being easier to manage group activities and travel. If no new infections arise within one month of phase 1 getting underway, Thailand can move to phase 2. The second phase would see more regions of the country opened up to international tourists and a higher number of foreign visitors admitted. Similarly, Phase 3 would roll out upon the success of Phase 2, seeing all of the Kingdom open once again to both international tour groups and individual travelers. The proposal, which has yet to be approved by the Public Health Ministry, comes as the government has approved a stimulus package for domestic tourism to help the country’s decimated hospitality sector. Currently, only those who fall under six groups of travellers are allowed to enter Thailand, but they must apply and receive proper approval before entering.

From Khaosod English Pattaya Bars and Nightclubs Reopen, But Few Customers Return PATTAYA — Nightlife establishments in the resort town of Pattaya were back in business on Wednesday night for the first time in more than three months, though operators said there was little change. Beginning Wednesday, all bars and nightclubs may open until midnight, but they must practice social distancing measures within the venue. While business operators welcomed the lift of closing orders they had been yearning for, a bar owner in Pattaya said she only had three customers on the first night of reopening. “Only three customers came to my bar last night. I could only make less than 500 baht,” Saifon Kayanyeam, the owner of a bar on Pattaya Soi 6, said. “I will keep the bar open for 15 days to see whether the situation is getting better. If not, I have to close it since the cost is mounting.” A survey by a Khaosod reporter found that only 15 percent of all bars in Pattaya returned to business last night. Let alone on Pattaya’s famed Walking Street, only 13 ‘beer bars’ were opened, barely any customers. Nightclubs remained closed. For Chaiyot Thammasunthorn, who owns a nightclub on the Walking Street, he decided to keep his establishment closed until the pandemic is fully over. “Nightlife operators in the city have decided not to open their businesses because there’s not enough purchasing power,” Chaiyot said. “On top of that, there’s virus control measures imposed by the government, so we will wait until the situation becomes better domestically and internationally.”

From The Nation BTS new normal: no phone chatting or face-to-face riding The BTS Skytrain system has cancelled its seat-spacing measure in order to increase passenger capacity after schools and colleges reopened on Wednesday (July 1). Social distancing has been relaxed to boost convenience for passengers, said Surapong Laoha-Unya, Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) chief executive officer. However, stations and trains will limit the number of passengers to 70 per cent of normal capacity so as to prevent overcrowding on the system. The BTS is also operating “group release” measures for passengers in the morning and evening rush hours, to prevent overcrowding on platforms. Meanwhile, passengers are being advised not to talk on their phones and to avoid facing each other at close proximity. Frequency of rush-hour service is 2 minutes, 25 seconds for trains on the Sukhumvit Line, and 3 minutes, 45 seconds for the Silom Line, said the operator. Temperature checks and ThaiChana scanning remain in place on the system.

From Bangkok Post IATA urges rethink over quarantine for tourists Governments should avoid quarantine measures when re-opening their economies, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Imposing quarantine on arriving travellers keeps countries in isolation and the travel and tourism sector in lockdown, said the association, which represents 290 airlines comprising 82% of global air traffic. "We are proposing a framework with layers of protection to keep sick people from travelling and mitigate the risk of transmission should a traveller discover they were infected after arrival," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's director-general and CEO. Mandatory quarantine measures stop people from travelling, with a recent public opinion poll revealing that 83% of respondents would not even consider travelling if quarantine was imposed at their destination, said Mr de Juniac, adding an analysis of trends during the lockdown period shows that countries imposing quarantine saw arrivals drop by more than 90% -- an outcome similar to countries that banned foreign arrivals altogether. "Safely restarting the economy is a priority. That includes travel and tourism. Quarantine measures may play a role in keeping people safe, but they will also keep many unemployed." Mr de Juniac added that the IATA supports reducing the risk of imported cases by discouraging symptomatic passengers from travelling, implementing health risk mitigation measures, such as screening via non-intrusive temperature checks, and providing Covid-19 testing for travellers from countries perceived to be "higher risk". The IATA said it recommended that tests are undertaken prior to arrival at the departure airport so as not to add to airport congestion and avoid the potential for contagion. Tests would need to be widely available and highly accurate, with results delivered quickly. Test data would need to be independently validated so as to be mutually recognised by governments and securely transmitted to the authorities. Also, in cases where an infected person does travel, the IATA said there should be universal implementation of the Take-Off guidelines published by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) including mask-wearing during the travel process, sanitisation, health declarations and social distancing where possible. The measures should be backed up by contact-tracing for people detected as infected after arrival. New mobile technology has the potential to automate part of the contact-tracing process, provided privacy concerns can be addressed, said the association.

From National Public Radio Universal Health Care Supports Thailand's Coronavirus Strategy Thailand was the first country outside of China to confirm a case of coronavirus. That was back in January. Since then, while the pandemic has raged in the U.S. and Europe, Thailand has been able to control its epidemic with a caseload among the lowest in the world - just 58 deaths. Thai epidemiologists say the country's universal health care system played a major role. NPR's Malaka Gharib has more. To explain how Thailand's Health System worked to keep the coronavirus under control, let's start with the first Thai citizen to test positive for the virus, a taxi driver. Krit Pongpirul is a professor at Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Medicine. He says the driver's route involved picking up and dropping off Chinese tourists around Bangkok. Listen to interview or read the transcript https://www.npr.org/2020/06/28/884458999/universal-health-care-supports-thailands-coronavirus-strategy

From South China Morning Post Hongkongers’ son brings American-style Chinese food to Bangkok James Au of the Lazy Panda restaurant in Bangkok. Photo: Vincent Vichit-Vadakan James Au used to tell his parents he would never work in the catering industry. But now the 31-year-old son of first-generation Hong Kong emigrants to the US operates an American-style Chinese restaurant in Bangkok. His journey to the Thai capital began in Minneapolis, where his family had worked its way up to owning a chain of seven Chinese-American restaurants. Au, however, got his start in software. Before turning 20, he had already sold his first start-up – an online community for video-game betting – for US$100,000, which he invested in buying, renovating and flipping properties following the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, after which he turned his attention to rental properties. By the time he was 25, he had a small portfolio of rental properties and was looking to try something different. A short stint of consulting work in Hong Kong set Au’s sights on Asia– though he opted to move to Bangkok rather than stay in the city of his parents after visiting the Thai capital in 2017 and finding it to be “way more chill”. For a while, he worked in digital marketing, but the “crazy drama” he experienced at the company – combined with a visit from his mother Lorna – would soon see him change career paths. By this time, Au’s parents had already sold their restaurant business to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Noting the absence of American-style Chinese food in Bangkok, mother and son discussed the possibility of filling the gap in the market. “I didn’t know if it would really work,” Au says, adding that his feasibility study consisted of a few social media posts, such as on the “Bangkok Foodies” Facebook page, “to feel out the market”. In the end, he decided to follow his intuition and heeded the advice tattooed on his left arm: “Trust yourself”. Obtaining the necessary permits and overcoming obstacles such as hiring builders, drawing up contracts and navigating Thailand’s bureaucracy proved a challenge, but in July last year Au and his mother finally opened their new restaurant called Lazy Panda. The menu borrows heavily from his parents, whose Ah Sa Wan restaurants in Minneapolis’ elevated Skyway System proved very popular with the US city’s hungry office workers. Some of the recipes can even be traced back to Au’s maternal grandfather, such as the batter used for the sweet and sour chicken. Chatty and opinionated, Au has an engagingly geeky eye for detail. His preferred thickener for sauces is potato starch, he says, because it has “a longer protein chain so it’s thicker and more viscous and it holds together better on the heat”. The hybrid comfort food that Lazy Panda serves has proved a hit with both foreign and Thai customers, leaving Au to focus his attention on fine-tuning the website and finalising new menu items to be introduced in the coming months, such as his grandfather’s recipes for roast pork. Thoughts of expansion have been tempered somewhat by the coronavirus pandemic, although Au notes that his restaurant has “definitely not been hurt as much” as those places that are more heavily reliant on tourists. In fact, interest in Lazy Panda’s delivery-friendly menu surged during the weeks when eat-in dining was banned – “we lucked out”, he said. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, was “horrible in school, never paid attention [and] always did my own thing”. Lazy Panda is located at 245/6 Soi Sukhumvit 31, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Before declaring Bangkok as Armageddon, there is a simple solution: test would-be travelers at their point of departure before they even begin their journey. This way Thai officialdom knows it's getting only those passengers who tested negative prior to departure. Transit airports are aware of the same and a 1998 like financial catastrophe is averted. Not everything has to be complicated. P.S. Welcome back after such a long absence.

From Khaosod English Survey Says 3 in 5 Thais Want Borders to Reopen BANGKOK — A survey found that Thais are cautiously leaning towards reopening borders for tourists as the coronavirus pandemic appears to be winding down. According to a survey by UK-based market research company YouGov, three in five subject interviews (63 percent) want the border to reopen after 3 months of ban on most international flights to Thailand. Of all interviewees, a fourth (26 percent) said that the border should reopen in the next three months. A remaining quarter (26 percent) answered that the border should reopen within the next six months to a year, while one in ten (11 percent) said that the border should remain closed until after a year. =========================================================================================================================== From Khaosod English Survey: 1 in 4 Workers Lost Jobs, Put on Leave in Pandemic BANGKOK — A survey found that a quarter of employees across the country either lost their jobs or were put on temporary leave during the coronavirus pandemic. The survey, which interviewed more than 1,400 Thai employees and 400 employers, was released by job search firm JobsDB earlier this week. It confirmed what many analysts have dreaded: that the pandemic is yet another nail in the coffin for the struggling economy. “The hardest hit groups are those with a monthly salary below 16,000 baht,” JobsDB country manager Pornladda Dathratwibul said. According to the report, 9 percent of the interviewees say they have lost their jobs, and another 16 percent say they are placed on temporary leave. 45 percent of workers who survived the layoff say they still suffer an impact on their paychecks. About one-fourth of interview subjects receive no bonus, while one-fifth of them get no salary increase. The data also indicate that wages are slashed by 11 to 20 percent for those who take a salary cut.

From Bangkok Post Regional budget carrier says it can't recover from pandemic impact The regional budget airline NokScoot is shutting down, saying it cannot recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The carrier said its board of directors decided on Friday to liquidate the airline, with the decision to be announced in a general meeting of shareholders to be held in two weeks. The decision will leave 450 staff members unemployed, save for some who will work on the liquidation process. The company promised to pay them full benefits in accordance with Thai law. NokScoot operated medium- and long-haul Asian routes serving seven cities in China and three in Japan, as well as New Delhi, Singapore and Taipei, from its base at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok. Even before the coronavirus outbreak began, it was struggling in the market due to intense competitive from other low-cost carriers.

From The Guardian Cambodia tourism chiefs call for end to Covid-19 healthcare and funeral deposit Tourism chiefs in Cambodia say they hope officials will drop a $3,000 (£2,400) coronavirus deposit scheme under which travellers have to make a downpayment for potential medical costs – including their funeral – arguing it is likely to deter potential visitors. The government announced earlier this month that all foreigners entering the country must have an insurance package worth $50,000 and make a deposit of $3,000 in cash or by credit card. The deposit covers possible expenses in the event a person catches Covid-19, including healthcare, laundry services, meals and a funeral. Chhay Sivlin, the president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said the deposit was introduced because insurance companies had previously refused to cover the cost of coronavirus treatment. “Our government has exhausted our resources and can no longer provide for any tourists tested positive for the disease,” she said. The new policy was understandable, she said, but she hoped officials would introduce stricter regulation of insurance policies instead, and a requirement for travellers to carry a minimum amount of cash. Cambodia has so far managed to contain the coronavirus, recording 130 cases and no deaths, but the pandemic has devastated the tourism industry, leaving vast numbers of people without work. About 13% of Cambodians are employed in the tourism sector and 30% work in related industries, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

It's a shame those who took their lives in desperation didn't consult you first. They would have been spared the inconvenience. It's easy for those of us who don't wait in lines for our meals, have income to pay our bills and the means to travel to judge those without those benefits.

From CNN Tattoos, karaoke and a touch of film noir: What it was like to work with Anthony Bourdain in Thailand (CNN) — When crew from CNN's "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" contacted me in February 2014 to ask for assistance with an upcoming shoot in Thailand, of course I agreed without hesitation. No food celebrity was more widely loved than Anthony Bourdain at the time, and his posthumous fame and recognition have only grown since. In an era where chefs are the new rockstars, he was Johnny Cash, keeping it raw and real. Playing down his history in professional kitchens, including Manhattan's Brasserie Les Halles, he liked to describe himself as a failed chef and talked openly about past substance abuse. He sharply criticized over-hyped TV chefs and the Michelin cult, using his influence instead to praise the street vendors and line cooks who feed most of the world. For 17 years, across four television series ("A Cook's Tour," "No Reservations"," The Layover" and "Parts Unknown"), and in over 50 countries, Tony let us tag along as he met people from all walks of life and explored their food traditions, no matter how alien they might appear to the home audience. In fact, the more alien it was, the better, but always in a local context rather than as a critical, judging observer. And it wasn't just about food. His zig-zag path across the globe was strewn with rough jewels of philosophy. "The more I travel," he said, "the less I know." I was approached by Tony's producer Tom Vitale, who spent virtually his entire career working alongside him. Tony liked working with Lonely Planet guidebook authors, Vitale said by way of introduction, because they knew the terrain and were used to tight travel schedules. In a series of emails, Vitale laid out his plans to shoot in Chiang Mai, and asked for my advice on locations and activities. At that point, the wildly successful series was in its third season. It wasn't Tony's first on-camera visit to Thailand. In 2003, "A Cook's Tour" added Bangkok to a Singapore shoot during a long flight layover in the Thai capital. Bangkok was showcased again in the fifth season of "No Reservations" (2008), when Tony dove deeper into street food. Continues with photos and videos https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/anthony-bourdain-thailand/index.html

From Khaosod Engish Chuan Savoey is located 207 Silom road. It’s a 20 seconds walk from BTS Sala Daeng Station Exit 2. It opens everyday from 8.30am to 3.30pm, except Sunday. BANGKOK — Egg noodles with roasted pork and dumpling is one of the most popular Chinese foods that have gone ‘native’ in Thailand for a long time. It’s a common enough dish, but few mastered it throughout the test of time. One of those lucky few is Chuan Savoey on Bangkok’s busy Silom Road. They have been selling the dish for over 40 years, seeing Silom grow from a sleepy orchard area into the bustling financial district. Three brothers and a sister now run the place with half a dozen staff. Known in Thai as bahmi giew moo daeng, the dish originated from China’s southern coastal provinces. Brought to Thailand by migrants from those parts of China, the dish is now well integrated into the Thai street food culture. Those migrants include the grandparents of Chuan Savoey’s Opas Yotjiranand, 57, who keeps the shop churning out this staple dish along with roasted pork with rice and red gravy sauce. We certainly recommend its egg noodle, particularly with not just roasted pork but with blue swimming crab meat, which is known in Thai as pu mah or ‘horse crab’. A sign in front of the shop proudly stakes its claim of “100% original” noodle. The place is very popular particularly during lunchtime on weekdays when office workers from around Silom vicinity would descend to the noodle shop. Expect to queue outside on the pavement. Even during the ongoing coronavirus, the shop seems to be doing a good business.

From Coconuts Bangkok Plans to create one long holiday in July from the postponed Thai New Year holidays have been called off, the prime minister said today. Speaking at noon today, Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha said the three Songkran holidays would be rescheduled at different times, though he noted that any working day gaps would also be made holidays. He said there would not be made consecutive to create a long holiday as previously rumored, saying it wasn’t good for government agencies that need to remain at work. Earlier this month, Culture Minister Ittipol Khunpluem said they might come as soon as July 7, adding to a long religious holiday weekend. Today he said that no decision had been made on new dates, though Asanha Bucha will still take place the first weekend of July, July 4-6.

From CNBC Hotelier discusses changes in Thailand's tourism sector post-virus Deepak Ohri, CEO of lebua Hotels and Resorts, says the average stay in Bangkok is likely to increase from 1.8 days to around 2.3 days after the coronavirus pandemic. He also weighs in on how New Zealand and India managed the health crisis. To view interview https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/06/23/hotelier-discusses-changes-in-thailands-tourism-sector-post-virus.html

Thanks for catching that. It seems that it was actually Bloomberg that was the original source but I picked it up first on the Post which credited Bloomberg in its article: "The pandemic provides an opportunity to reset the sector, which had become reliant on Chinese groups and backpackers, he said in an interview with Bloomberg News."

I agree that It's indeed quite possible that the Cambodians in bkk--and the Burmese in Iowa--prefer working under existing conditions than the alternatives. But in my book that doesn't excuse those who impose those conditions simply because they know they can get away with it.

And it's not just in Thailand--and other places--where migrant workers are being taken advantage of. Here's a truly depressing report from the US state of Iowa. I read a lot of news on any given day but it's the stories about the poor and the powerless that register the most. There are no excuses and no justification. From National Public Radio Iowa's Burmese Community Devastated By COVID-19 Iowa's tight-knit Burmese community is inundated by the coronavirus. Many work at meatpacking plants and estimates are as high as 70% being infected, with entire families struggling to cope. To listen go to https://www.npr.org/2020/06/21/881173373/iowas-burmese-community-devastated-by-covid-19

Somehow I don't see Somchai hustling down to Silom at 10p.m. to poll the Cambodians running for the bus to take them back to the dorms. And since this is a work of fiction, I'm just lending a bit of literary criticism. And if it were true it would make the whole yarn seem like an excuse to defend the government's action. Not me. I know--like you--that they want to get back to work. But here's the problem: in order for that to happen you need a huge influx of tourists. The government cites good reasons for delaying the return of tourists. In fact, the latest news out of the Tourism Authority claims that Thailand will pander only to the wealthy foreigner in the future. So we're left debating the same issues we've been posting about for the past few months. At least it keeps things interesting.

Now that is funny. But surprising that neither Somchai or the boss thought about asking the workers how they felt about it. On second thought, maybe not surprising at all.