[Bangkok] Situation July 2021
Yes, I'm still alive and still here. Went to the States in early June for various reasons including Pfizer vaccination. This meant re-entering Thailand which means 15 nights Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ), i.e. a hotel room quarantine. Plenty of posts about this on the Net so I won't go into it.
Nor will I go into the Thai government's policies and efforts to vaccinate the populace. There's plenty online and I'll answer questions in this thread if anyone's interested.
There's good news and bad news, as usual, but here's the tl;dr: there were changes pre-COVID but the global pandemic has cratered tourism and dented/destroyed many businesses. It's not as bad as Brazil or India, but...it's bad. Tourist destinations like Phuket and Pattaya have been body-slammed. Almost no Thais are unaffected and many have lost jobs or businesses.
The bottom line: the mongering scene as we knew it is gone.
Here's my suggestion: do you have fond memories of said activities? Find your photos, and catalogue them. If they jog your memory, write down your recollections. We all have stories, but are they documented? Maybe now's the time.
Now's not the time to visit. The “dark-red” areas of Thailand—including Bangkok and Pattaya—have restrictions, including a 21:00 curfew. Nothing is open after 20:00 or so, including 7-11. Needless to say, go-go bars and massage places are shut tight. There's no point in even fantasizing about Thailand nightlife right now.
Bangkok's infrastructure survives, and it's still a modern Asian city. But business patterns are different now. There are resident expats—some farang, some Asian (many Japanese). Food delivery, always popular due to traffic, keeps people fed and keeps (some) restaurants alive.
I'll write more if people are interested.
JtB | |
