[International arrivals in Thailand increase after restriction easing]

At the moment just waiting for my PCR test result in the quarantine hotel.Just finished eating my Grab delivered pork with basil,so just a few observations on my trip.

 

Flight Sunday 12 30 Thai Airways from Heathrow,terminal 2.Terminal very busy,check-in line for Thai Airways snaked around,2 hours to check-in.Quick look at Thai Pass printout,no checking of onward travel.

 

Full plane,mixture of many thai people.tourists etc.

 

At Bangkokk first need to go through Thai Pass desks for checking.Then onto passport control.Both reasonably quick.Passport control quite thorough in checking Thai Pass and hotel details,didn't look at insurance at all.

 

After baggage collected hit the real bottleneck of transport to the hotel.After finding the name of your hotel amongst the maybe 200 printouts stuck on boards you are sent to a zone.The lady in charge of our zone was doing her best but the system was on the point of collapse.She was in charge of numerous hotels,who when their transport arrived would notify her my phone ! Transport either 8 seaters or saloon cars,totally inadequate to handle even the small influx of flights at 6 am on a Monday morning.

 

Our hotel close to airport,but the round trip to the hospital for the test,then drop off to the hotel and back to the airport must take more than one hour.

 

So this last step a bit of a mood killer and in my opinion this part of the Thai Pass is totally impossible to sustain if numbers only increase a little.

 

PS Literally finished the last sentence and reception just called to say both me and my partner's tests are negative.Yipee,time to relax a bit more and make a trip to 7-11 for some Winstons.

[21/22 EPL Top 4 & Relegation Predictions]

In the days to call, which we've left behind,

Our boyhood’s glorious game,

And our youthful vigour has declined

With its mirth and its lonesome end;

You will think of the time, the happy time,

Its memories fond recall

When in the bloom of your youthful prime

We’ve kept upon the ball

Kick it off, throw it in, have a little scrimmage,

Keep it low, a splendid rush, bravo, win or die;

On the ball, City, never mind the danger,

Steady on, now’s your chance,

Hurrah! We’ve scored a goal.

Let all tonight then drink with me

To the football game we love,

And wish it may successful be

As other games of old,

And in one grand united toast

Join player, game and song

And fondly pledge your pride and toast

Success to the City club.

Kick off, throw in, have a little scrimmage,

Keep it low, a splendid rush, bravo, win or die;

On the ball, City, never mind the danger,

Steady on, now’s your chance,

Hurrah! We’ve scored a goal.

City!

City!

[21/22 EPL Top 4 & Relegation Predictions]

There can only be 1 champion of the EPL if the criteria is a 'proper' football club & that is The Canaries.Sure we are favourites to go down again,but as the only self-financing team in the league and not an investment vehicle for some anonymous  businessmen its good to be authentic.On The Ball City ! Have a little scrimmage. - oldest football song still being used.

[The Future Of Digital Money Is Coming]

China is now 7 years into the development of a national digital currency.It is already being tested in several chinese cities,and China hopes to have it available for tourists to use at the 2022 Olympics.In addition,Thailand has joined China,The UAE and Hong Kong in testing digital methods of transferring money between countries.In contrast,The USA is 'looking into' a national digital currency.

 

The difference between national digital currencies and crypto-currencies is the former is centralised.The implications of this are very wide.The government will have access to all transactions,and can even put an expiry date on the currency to encourage people to spend it in a given time.

 

My opinion is,at least in Asia,the digital Yuan will become the de facto currency in the near future,not the dollar.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/technology/china-national-digital-currency.html

[Chiang Mai Air Quality and Pollution]

Reading a recent article on BBC Future lntroduced a whole new dimension to my understanding of pollutants.It did make pretty depressing reading,but showed it is a worldwide issue,not only in areas with visible pollution or high PM 2.5 reading.

In short,current PM2.5 meters are ineffective in measuring pollution as they don't count the very smallest particles-nanoparticles,which recent research suggests are a much larger cause of illness & death.In addition,there is a lot of misinformation out there.Contrary to belief,most PM2.5 cannot pass through the lungs into the blood,Also NOx gases,eg nitrogen dioxide,only account for 14% of deaths due to air pollution.

The biggest killer never makes the news,isn't regulated or measured.Nanoparticles are microscopic compared to PM2.5.For example,a cloud of a billion nanoparticles has the same mass as one PM10,and a combined surface area one million times larger.Nanoparticles generally originate from combustion engines in cars etc,so this surface area comes coated with toxic,unburnt fuel from vehicle exhausts.Once inside the body this large surface area means more toxicity as it passes into the blood and is in touch with a greater surface area in the body.An experiment conducted along the Marylebone Road in London resulted in a shocking measurement due to the traffic.The nanoparticles easily pass into the bloodstream and can affect any organ.

A low PM2.5 reading on a government website or app can therefore give a false impression of clean air.There are no legal limits or emission reduction targets for nanoparticles.The Euro 6 test goes some way,but still doesn't cover 30% of nanoparticles.The good news is that nanoparticle numbers correlate with NOx readings.So reduced exposure to combustion engines reduces nanoparticle exposure,either by not living or being close to busy roads,or having electric vehicles.

Ironically,being a Chiang Mai resident and being exposed to the burning season seems to be less harmful than living close to heavy traffic.