Makan in Thailand

[Mooose]

9 hours ago, steveluv said:

Late April my Thai boss successfully booked the Moderna from a hospital for all 850 staff in the company but was told we will start the vaccination in Aug/Sep period. Worth the wait cos we all don't bloody trust anything CCP and local vaccine but this come with a very steep price to pay for the entire company and we are not looking at the "not over 3000 baht" price, its way more. Of course as a foreigner here my boss cover my wife’s vaccination too. Separately my Thai boss also booked for me and wife at Bumrungrad Hospital which we have e medial records there as you mentioned,  so for us it’s like which ever comes first. 

Two days ago on 2nd Jun THG made this announcement:

I send it to my maid immediately and told her to register with her LINE and also tell her family to register too. She said will wait for the free vaccine I told her to book Moderna immediately for everyone which she did.

great! good to be at least in the q 👍

hope thonburi delivers soon too and not cancel out later 😄

 

[Mooose]

8 hours ago, steveluv said:

Last resorts? Phuket and Bali chase dream of COVID-free tourism
Plans for ring-fenced 'sandboxes' and 'green zones' to revive economies

MASAYUKI YUDA and SHOTARO TANI, Nikkei staff writersJune 4, 2021 05:00 JST

BANGKOK/JAKARTA -- Clear skies, emerald blue seas and white sandy beaches. Phuket's allure is obvious, as millions of foreign tourists have discovered. But today, the future of this Thai island in the Andaman Sea and the lives of its people are being shaped by the unseen but deadly coronavirus.

Saranya Injan manages Chean Vanich pier located in a small cove on the east coast of Phuket. The tourist boats and ferries that once churned almost ceaselessly through here now lie moored and quietly rocked by the tide.

"Phuket is so desolate right now. It's like a ghost town," said the 51-year-old.

Thailand's best-known resort and others like it across Southeast Asia have been brought to their knees by border control measures to contain the COVID-19 virus, shutting out the foreign tourists who were once the lifeblood of the local economy. Without them, businesses are slowly dying.

But if all goes well, from next month some may again welcome thousands of tourists in unusual -- and, some say, risky -- initiatives that aim to ring-fence island resorts and keep them COVID-free.

From July 1, Thailand is set to conduct a "sandbox experiment," using Phuket as a testing ground to welcome vaccinated foreign visitors with no quarantine period.

Phuket has become a "ghost town," says the manager of a pier where tourist boats are now idle.   © Getty Images

Meanwhile, the equally tourist-dependent Indonesian island of Bali -- where visitor numbers have also been decimated by border closures -- plans to designate three popular tourist areas as COVID-19 "green zones," which are able to reopen with strict hygiene protocols.

Coming at a time when the pandemic shows little sign of loosening its grip on the region -- indeed, cases are rising in many areas due to new flare-ups and variants -- some think the initiatives are a step too far. But the chance of making money again is strong.

"Some people are afraid of starving more than contracting the disease," said another Phuket pier operator.

On the face of it, Thailand's requirements to enter the "sandbox" are strict. Tourists must arrive on a direct flight from countries with low to medium infection risks. They must be fully vaccinated for at least 14 days before departure and show a negative test result within 72 hours of boarding their flights.

In return, they will be allowed to move freely in Phuket upon arrival. If a mandatory test on the fifth day of their stay is negative, they will be allowed a daytrip off the island.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects 129,000 foreign visitors in the first three months of the sandbox experiment, with long-haul markets the main target. If the experiment succeeds, vaccinated tourists in Phuket will be allowed to travel to places like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Krabi from October and travel freely around Thailand from 2022.

Most businesses are supportive and are getting ready. "We have prepared ourselves since the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Suphajee Suthumpun, CEO of Dusit Thani Group. "Most Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket hotel staff have been vaccinated ... furthermore, we have also asked all of our employees and their families to register for vaccination, to build confidence among customers and staff."

In mid-May, Central Phuket mall, operated by retail giant Central Pattana, became the first mall in Thailand to reach "herd immunity" level by inoculating 85% of staff. The Airline Association of Thailand started vaccinating 15,970 employees working for the country's seven airlines. AAT President and Bangkok Air CEO Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth said having airline employees vaccinated not only builds their confidence but also enhances the image of Thai tourism.

Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in Phuket: Thailand wants to vaccinate 70% of Phuket residents before July.

Tourism and related businesses used to account for 20% of the Thai economy in pre-COVID times. But for Phuket, the proportion was almost 50%. Tourism will play a key role in reviving Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which shrank 6.1% in 2020.

The Thai tourism industry has high hopes for the experiment. "The Phuket Tourism Sandbox has received a lot of interest from our international tourism alliances, who are looking forward to their vacations in Thailand again," hospitality operator Minor International told Nikkei.

But in contrast to excitement within the government and tourism industry, locals are voicing concerns.

"Many residents in Phuket not involved in the tourism industry are worried about contracting the virus from foreign visitors," said a 60-year-old working in education. "All who benefit from the reopening say Phuket is ready. I am not confident that Phuket is ready to open to foreigners."

The government aims to inoculate 70% of Phuket residents before July. Deputy Gov. Pichet Panapong asked city chiefs and village heads to make door-to-door visits to encourage people to get shots. But with several clusters emerging nationwide, a third coronavirus wave may make it difficult and contentious for authorities to allocate enough vaccines to the island.

Some businesses on the island survived by serving domestic visitors while foreign tourists were away. They are still skeptical about whether they can rely on the return of foreign tourists.

"Infections may deter domestic visitors from coming to the island," said a local Thai restaurant owner.

But Minor International says: "The revenue derived from Thai tourists alone is not enough for the industry to survive. This is why it is vital that the country reopens to international tourists as soon as possible."

The Thai tourism industry has high hopes that the Phuket "sandbox" experiment will revive the visitor economy.   © Reuters

In Bali -- 10 times bigger and more populous than Phuket -- many locals are also desperate for tourists to return.

A 90-minute drive from the island's Ngurah Rai International Airport lies Ubud, an area of deep forests and lush rice terraces that offers tourists a diversion from Bali's nightclubs. But visitors nowadays are few because of the countrywide ban on foreign tourists.

"Right now, Ubud is dead," said Kadek Merhajaya, manager at Hujan Locale, a restaurant there.

Indonesia is less dependent than Thailand on tourism, which contributed 5.7% to gross domestic product in 2019. But Bali is much more reliant on visitors and its economy has been decimated by the pandemic. Its GDP contraction of 9.3% in 2020 was the deepest among Indonesia's 34 provinces. Hotel occupancy rates have hovered around 10%.

Figures from February showed 657,000 workers, or 19% of the island's working-age population affected by the pandemic in some way, including being laid off. Officials have said that at the height of the pandemic, the province was losing 9.7 trillion rupiah ($680 million) each month.

But light may soon be at the end of the tunnel with two big drives to bring people to Bali.

The first is the "Work from Bali" program to send up to 8,000 Jakarta-based civil servants to the island. "This is part of the government's efforts to create demand so that hotels and restaurants in Bali can survive," Odo Manuhutu, deputy for tourism and creative economy at the minister's office, told reporters in late May.

Some workers at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy have already begun working from Bali, said its minister Sandiaga Uno in early June. "But this is only a trigger and we hope other institutions including the private sector and education can participate so that the hotel occupancy rate can reach 30%."

Then comes foreign tourism. The intent is to designate Ubud and two other popular tourist areas -- Sanur and part of Badung, in the island's south -- as COVID-19 "green zones" able to reopen with stricter hygiene protocols. As part of the plans, the government aims to inoculate 2.8 million Bali residents aged 18 or older -- or over 60% of the island's population -- by the end of June.

As in Thailand, tourists will also likely face strict health requirements, including full vaccination before arrival and five-day self-quarantine at designated hotels, while an app to track each visitor is rumored close to being launched.

Government officials have stressed that any reopening is contingent upon coronavirus cases being suppressed -- something Bali seems close to achieving, with daily new cases on a downward trend after peaking in late January.

The province accounts for around 2.6% of cumulative confirmed cases, but now only accounts for 0.7% of active cases. Bali is also the most vaccinated province in Indonesia: 31% of the population has had at least one dose and almost 15% has had two doses.

Many residents and business owners support the green zone plans. "It makes sense to trial the green zones in Bali," said Christia Permata Dharmawan, director at Kebon Vintage Cars, a museum and entertainment venue in East Denpasar, "so that tourists are not afraid to come here, and that they feel we welcome them with open arms. It's important they can trust Bali."

Bangla Walking Street in Phuket in April: Businesses on the island want to bring back visitors.   © Getty Images

But some experts remain skeptical. "There can be no such thing as a 'green zone' in the way it's being touted in Bali," said Dicky Budiman, global health security researcher at Griffith University in Australia. "The moment you open the door to a newcomer, the community is no longer safe because you will introduce a new variant. Bali's green zones are simply not feasible."

Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, a virus expert at Udayana University in Bali, said: "I think it's almost impossible to open only three areas to tourists as a green zone, as populations in these areas are dynamic. People are coming in and out all of the time." What the government should be considering, said Mahardika, "is making all of Bali a green zone ... so we can really open our borders safely. Bali is a small island, why can't they manage it?"

In both Bali and Phuket, businesses that have overcome previous crises -- such as the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and subsequent tsunami, or the 2002 Bali bombing -- hope next month can mark the start of their latest revival.

"We can make a comeback. Our past experiences showed us," said Saranya of Chean Vanich.

Boongyong Nuananong, a 57-year-old who runs a seafood restaurant at Rawai beach at the southern tip of Phuket, said the time was right for the island to move on.

"Even if infections persist, we have to adapt to live with it," he said. "If we are too afraid, we cannot make a living."

Additional reporting by Ian Lloyd Neubauer in Bali

hope that they succeed, so many locals who are in one way or another dependent on foreigner tourists are simply decimated in the last 15 months with little or hardly much gov support ..

sure there will be people coming over but in sufficient numbers to boost up the economy? many are still sceptical of being safe in these places with the country still running high numbers day in day out .. 

[Mooose]

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/thailand-puts-a-lot-of-faith-in-tourist-sandboxes-but-who-will-actually-arrive-358561

hope tourists do come but somehow i do believe a lot of the story rings true .. just looking at ourselves, how many would go and enjoy phuket for a week or whatever but waste $3000 and 2 or 3 weeks as prisoner in a hotel room when return ..

[Shibadog]

23 minutes ago, Mooose said:

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/thailand-puts-a-lot-of-faith-in-tourist-sandboxes-but-who-will-actually-arrive-358561

hope tourists do come but somehow i do believe a lot of the story rings true .. just looking at ourselves, how many would go and enjoy phuket for a week or whatever but waste $3000 and 2 or 3 weeks as prisoner in a hotel room when return ..

airlines prepping https://www.thephuketnews.com/direct-flights-to-phuket-to-start-july-1-80180.php

perhaps there are people who can go for a much longer period of time. Retirees, Digital nomads etc.

[Mooose]

4 hours ago, Shibadog said:

airlines prepping https://www.thephuketnews.com/direct-flights-to-phuket-to-start-july-1-80180.php

perhaps there are people who can go for a much longer period of time. Retirees, Digital nomads etc.

yup, there will be people who will go but not the truck loads (or rather plane loads) the powers to be seem to be anticipating ..

 

[Shibadog]

2 hours ago, Mooose said:

yup, there will be people who will go but not the truck loads (or rather plane loads) the powers to be seem to be anticipating ..

 

they're clutching at straws out of desperation. And perhaps a little dose of delusion.

[steveluv]

2419 (community 2328, prison 91)
Dead 33, big increase from yesterday’s 23
 

[steveluv]

ITs Sunday and I felt like having mee rebus, so, got to cook for myself

 

[Mooose]

3 hours ago, steveluv said:

ITs Sunday and I felt like having mee rebus, so, got to cook for myself

 

looks professional and yummy 👍

[Mooose]

3 hours ago, steveluv said:

2419 (community 2328, prison 91)
Dead 33, big increase from yesterday’s 23
 

hope the big show of starting mass vacc today keeps up and not taper off ..

hope that powers to be can keep up supplies as people are hearing of random cases of cancelled appointments appearing already ..

[steveluv]

18 minutes ago, Mooose said:

looks professional and yummy 👍

Yes very delicious indeed. Old school taste. Left 1 more for breakfast today 😊

[steveluv]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Thailand-begins-mass-inoculations-as-ASEAN-fights-supply-shortages?utm_campaign=RN Subscriber newsletter&utm_medium=daily newsletter&utm_source=NAR Newsletter&utm_content=article link&del_type=1&pub_date=20210607190000&seq_num=7&si=44594

Thailand begins mass inoculations as ASEAN fights supply shortages
Vietnam gears up to produce Russia's Sputnik vaccine next month

Residents of Pathum Thani Province receive their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on June 7, 2021. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says, "Everyone will definitely be inoculated. Vaccines will continue to come in."   © Reuters
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerJune 7, 2021 16:01 JST

BANGKOK/HO CHI MINH CITY -- Thailand on Monday became the latest country to begin mass inoculations against COVID-19, a crucial step toward being able to revive an economy that lost its main drivers more than a year ago.

"Today is the start of nationwide vaccinations," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said at a kickoff event at Bang Sue Grand Station, a new commuter train hub in the capital that has been turned into a makeshift inoculation site. "No matter where you register, everyone will definitely be inoculated. Vaccines will continue to come in."

Elsewhere in Bangkok, large malls like Central World, Siam Paragon and Iconsiam have arranged to provide space where nearby residents can be vaccinated. Hospitals are collaborating in the effort.

As it begins its inoculation drive, Thailand finds itself in a race with its Southeast Asian peers for vaccines. Tiny Singapore has had some early success but faces difficulty in convincing seniors that the shots are safe. Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam hope to follow Thailand but are finding supplies hard to come by. Vietnam has asked the business community to help secure supplies.

Amid the struggle to obtain the scarce supplies that would allow them to reach herd immunity, these countries are also battling a new wave of infections.

In Thailand, the AstraZeneca vaccine will play the leading role. On Friday, the Ministry of Public Health received 1.8 million doses of the vaccine -- the first batch produced under license by Siam Bioscience, owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

A local entity of AstraZeneca will gradually deliver a total of 6 million doses through June. The company did not specify if all of the supplies will come from the local partner.

"The allocation of vaccines depends on the number of vaccines that come in each period," said Kiattipoom Wongrachit, permanent secretary of the Public Health ministry. "They would be allocated in consideration of the vaccine-to-population ratio and the severity of the outbreak situation."

Thailand began selective vaccinations at the end of February, when Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul became the first Thailand resident to receive the Sinovac vaccine. A few weeks later, Prayuth received an AstraZeneca jab. Apart from ministers, health care professionals and other essential workers have been prioritized for shots.

As of Saturday, 2.8 million of Thailand's 70 million residents, including foreigners, had received their first injection, and 1.3 million had completed their two-shot course. Thailand intends to vaccinate 70% of its residents by the end of the year.

All along Siam Bioscience planned to begin delivering vaccine batches in May or June. While it has managed to keep to its schedule, the government has allowed the virus to spin into dangerous territory.

The kingdom is suffering from its third coronavirus wave. Between March 23 and Sunday, 149,591 people were found to have contracted the virus. This accounts for 84% of the cases confirmed in the country since the dawn of the pandemic. Prisons, construction worker campsites and factories have recently given rise to clusters.

The Thai government has reserved 61 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In addition, it has received 6 million Sinovac jabs. This is not enough for the country to achieve herd immunity, so it is approving different vaccines as it tries to scrape together as many supplies as possible.

Apart from AstraZeneca and Sinovac, Thailand has approved vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and China's Sinopharm. Russia's Sputnik V and India's Covaxin are being registered at the country's Food and Drug Administration.

Inoculating residents is a crucial step in moving the Thai economy, which shrank 6.1% in 2020, toward recovery. Recent outbreaks have prompted some provinces to send out closure orders to schools as well as businesses like bars, spas and cinemas.

Beginning in July, Thailand is scheduled to allow vaccinated foreign travelers to stay in Phuket without a quarantine period. If this "sandbox experiment" succeeds, the government intends to begin accepting vaccinated international visitors at other destinations, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Krabi. Beginning in 2022, plans are to allow vaccinated tourists to freely move around the country.

A high inoculation rate will make it easier to reopen businesses and borders.

Singaporeans older than 70 wait in an observation area after receiving vaccine injections. The city has fully vaccinated 31% of its population. (File photo by Reuters)

Southeast Asian nation's inoculation rates depend on their ability to secure jabs. Singapore is the region's most vaccinated nation. As of May 31, about 40% of its total population (2.28 million of 5.7 million) had received at least one shot, and 31% had been fully vaccinated, according to the health ministry.

Singapore's government has not detailed how many injections it has secured, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on May 31 said it had received "further confirmation of faster vaccine deliveries over the next two months."

The government now expects to administer at least one dose for all eligible residents by early August. The government uses the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and has set up 40 inoculation centers nationwide. Residents use the internet to book appointments.

Singapore started vaccinating health care workers in December, then older age groups. Most shots are now being administered to residents age 40 to 44 as well as to students.

A significant portion of the elderly, however, has not received jabs. According to the government, 27% of people older than 60 have not made appointments, due to safety concerns, technical difficulties or other issues. The government now allows walk-in service at vaccination centers to encourage the elderly to get vaccinated.

Malaysia, which began its vaccination process in February, is currently performing 100,000 injections a day. As of Friday, some 2.29 million people had received jabs, with 1.13 million completing their two-shot course. The country, which has been under a tough nationwide lockdown since Tuesday due to a resurgence driven by more virulent variants, has a population of nearly 32 million.

A woman receives a shot in Subang Jaya. Malaysia aims to be inoculating 200,000 people a day by end of July 2021.   © Reuters

Previously, the country blamed its low vaccination rate on slow deliveries and unavailability as the countries producing vaccines hoarded supplies. Vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, China's Sinovac and AstraZeneca are currently in circulation.

The government aims to be inoculating 200,000 people a day by end of next month and is targeting the end of the year to reach herd immunity.

The Philippines on Monday started vaccinating its working-age population as it anticipates receiving additional supplies.

Manila expects to receive 10 million doses from different suppliers this month, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said last week, adding to the 8.3 million doses the country of 108 million had as of end-May.

The vaccination of workers -- the fourth category in an inoculation program that prioritized medical staff, the elderly and people with comorbidities -- comes as the government seeks to further open the economy and exit what last year became the worst recession in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines at the end of May had administered over 5 million doses, and 1.2 million people had received their second shots. It aims to administer 4 million to 5 million more doses this month.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish church in Quezon City, the Philippines. The country is to start vaccinating its working-age population sometime this month.   © AP

Vietnam lags its regional peers on the vaccination front, partly due to a supply shortage, and now finds itself in a race to secure additional supplies as India, fighting a devastating outbreak, has halted vaccine exports.

Vietnam had been seen as one of the best in the world in containing the virus. But the industrial hub of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces is now experiencing cluster infections.

The government, which hopes to avoid supply chain disruptions, is now prioritizing workers when it comes to vaccine shots.

The government intends to obtain 150 million doses and to vaccinate around 75% of its population of about 96.4 million.

But as of Sunday, the government had secured only 2.9 million doses. The country's political leaders are now encouraging the business community to obtain supplies and vaccinate workers.

"Vietnam's vaccine sources completely depend on the manufacturers," deputy health minister Truong Quoc Cuong said. "Vietnam is not in the group prioritized for vaccine supplies."

As of Friday, Vietnamese health authorities had reported securing 120 million doses, 38.8 million from the World Health Organization, 30 million from AstraZeneca, 31 million from Pfizer, 20 million from Russia and 5 million from Moderna.

Hanoi has approved the AstraZeneca and Sputnik vaccines, and on June 3 added the Sinopharm vaccine to its list for emergency use.

Hanoi is also negotiating to produce Russia's Sputnik vaccine in Vietnam, starting next month. In the deal, Vietnam's Vabiotech would be expected to produce 5 million doses a month.

Additional reporting by Kentaro Iwamoto from Singapore, P Prem Kumar from Kuala Lumpur, Cliff Venzon from Manila, and Kim Dung Tong in Ho Chi Minh City.
 

[steveluv]

So I had leftover of mee rebus on Sunday so Monday morning had it for breakfast before going to work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wanQobEdoQ

[steveluv]

Today’s Covid new cases.

New Cases
Thailand 2,128 ( -200 )
Prison 534 ( +443 )
———————————————-
Total 2,662 ( +243 )

Deaths 28 ( -5 )

[Mooose]

1 hour ago, steveluv said:

Today’s Covid new cases.

New Cases
Thailand 2,128 ( -200 )
Prison 534 ( +443 )
———————————————-
Total 2,662 ( +243 )

Deaths 28 ( -5 )

despite it being over 2 months already looks like they just cannot arrest the high numbers .. 

sigh ..

[steveluv]

So I had leftover of mee rebus on Sunday so Monday morning had it for breakfast before going to work

[steveluv]

This morning woke up all of a sudden craving for lontong since its a common breakfast meal. Living in Thailand the only thing I can do first is to go to the market.

Came back and prepare.

Ingredients

 

Marvellous 

[Mooose]

9 hours ago, steveluv said:

This morning woke up all of a sudden craving for lontong since its a common breakfast meal. Living in Thailand the only thing I can do first is to go to the market.

Came back and prepare.

Ingredients

 

Marvellous 

na kin khun steve!