Expats in Thailand feeling the pinch (and pleasure) of lockdown

[snoop1130]

Expats in Thailand feeling the pinch (and pleasure) of lockdown

 

An unusual sight of Bangkok.

 

As the deadly Covid-19 virus creeps through Bangkok’s streets, the city’s expatriate population has reason to be feeling extra nervous.

 

The attacks began in early March when Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul blasted “ai farang” (bloody Caucasians) for not wearing face masks, adding offenders “should be kicked out of Thailand”. A few days later a Twitter account registered to his name doubled down, criticising “dirty” unmasked Westerners who were “more likely to spread the disease than Asians”.

 

The account was hastily deleted but the message was loud and xenophobic – and also ran counter to World Health Organisation advice at the time. The global body declared that, to prevent shortages, masks should only be worn by Covid-19 sufferers and medics, and that good hand hygiene was the best defence against the virus. Thai hospitals were indeed complaining of mask shortages at the time.

 

Expat forums lit up with complaints that farang were being singled out in public for not wearing masks. A western diplomat told Thai PBS World that he was shouted at by an armed sentry for leaving his face uncovered as he strolled passed a Bangkok barracks.

 

Yet not all expats were comfortable with the bare-faced look being advocated by the WHO and Western media.

 

“As a farang, I’m embarrassed that while almost every Thai is responsibly wearing a face mask, many foreigners aren’t,” said Alan Simon, a retired software developer living in Bangkok.

 

“I don’t know if it’s ignorance or complacency, but I fear the toll is going to surge soon. I’m in a high-risk age group so I’m definitely not taking any chances,” the 61-year-old Australian added.

 

The mask controversy was eventually solved not by Anutin’s ranting, but by hygiene policies implemented by shops and supermarkets, which forced every shopper to cover up.

 

Yet as the daily count of Covid-19 cases mounted, foreigners in Thailand were facing more serious problems than a health minister’s prejudice.

 

Immigration offices around the country were packed with expats and tourists desperate to extend their visas or meet the 90-day-report requirement, so as not to fall foul of the law.

 

Popular expat blogger Richard Barrow echoed the frustration of many foreigners who were being forced to herd together at a time when Covid-19 was spreading at a rate of more than 100 cases a day.

 

“Will this madness ever end? We are in the middle of a global pandemic and the Immigration Bureau are still insisting for stranded tourists and expats to jump through hoops to extend their stay,” said Barrow in an April 1 post, citing Trat Immigration’s list that required expats to “take the house owner with you for interrogation”.

 

On the same day, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed action after hearing that hundreds were queuing in long lines outside immigration offices from 5am. The government announced it would approve automatic extensions for tourists until June in order to lower the health risk for both immigration staff and foreigners – though holders of other visas will still have to brave crowds to get extensions.

 

Immigration offices apart, Bangkok – the city that never sleeps – has gone into deep hibernation. The “soft” lockdown started on March 18 with the closure of all schools, universities, bars and leisure venues. Malls and dine-in restaurants were added to the list on March 22, before the lockdown became a full-blown night curfew on April 3 as Covid-19 cases in the capital continued to rise.

 

The enforced confinement has affected Bangkok’s estimated 100,000 to 200,000 international residents (no accurate figures are available) in different ways.

 

Pratiksha Ghosh, 19, arrived from India to study at an international university in the city last September. She quickly made friends at college and adjusted to her new routine of bus rides back and forth for lectures. But lockdown has brought dramatic changes to her life – not all of them negative. Like university students across the country, she now logs on for lectures online.

 

“I miss joking with my friends in class and eating Thai food in the uni cafes,” grins Ghosh, a first-year architecture student. “But the lectures online are actually more productive, because we [the students] have fewer distractions.”

 

Her classmates agree, though Angela who lives near campus complains the food shops close very early, “so we have to buy our meals very fast”, while Baze says “there’s nowhere we can go to have beers to unwind anymore”.

 

Thai and international schools across the country are using Google Meetings, Line and similar platforms to tutor their students at home.

 

Tamara, an American head teacher at a leading Bangkok school, agrees the online conferencing tools are proving effective as replacements for real classrooms. But she says primary school pupils are missing out on education under the lockdown because they often don’t have access to computers.

 

“Life in lockdown is no hardship for my son and I because we are introverts, usually at home, in our own rooms, doing stuff online,” she says.

 

The internet was a common thread running through the conversations of every expat contacted for this article ­– providing news and entertainment, as well as a lifeline to friends in Thailand and back home.

 

Daisy Mendiola, a business consultant and university lecturer, has even managed to keep her busy expat social life going via her computer screen.

 

“We agree to meet online, even put make up and dress up. We drink together and toast each other virtually, in a group chat. Being innovative it the key!” says the 60-year-old Filipina from her flat in the southeast of the city.

 

At a time when restaurants are only open for takeaways and going to the supermarket can be a game of chance, busy mothers like Tamara rely on technology and farang-friendly apps like Grab and Foodpanda to put food on their table.

 

The safety and convenience come at a price though.

 

“My food budget has increased because things cost more or cost for delivery,” says Tamara, echoing a big complaint of Thais and foreigners alike under lockdown.

 

Another is the temptation to binge-eat and drink as a way of getting through the long stretches of enforced idleness at home.

 

“Not good for your liver or waistline,” quips an Australian manager, 41, who lives in the Asok area and admits her consumption of food and alcohol is on the rise. It doesn’t help, she adds, that gyms and parks have been closed.

 

However, despite reports that panic-shoppers had stripped eggs and other items from Bangkok shelves, none of the expats we spoke to have had trouble finding food under this state of emergency.

 

Shortages of a different kind are blighting the life of Amanda Chou. The Taiwanese owner of a Bangkok-based business that makes chemicals for the car industry complains her supplies from Thai factories in lockdown have slowed down, and with her buyers in Europe still in limbo, she has little work for her staff to do.

 

Despite their different experiences, one thing unites the different expats featured in this report. All agree strongly with the lockdown measures Thailand has taken so far to contain Covid-19.

 

“I think Thailand learnt from SARS and Avian flu before, and has had some experience with this kind of situation,” says Tamara.

 

“I am pro-lockdown because we need to keep the virus levels low to avoid a high rate of transmission.”

 

However, not everybody is keen on a 24-hour curfew, because even though “the skies are bluer and the pungent smell of carbon monoxide has gone”, says Daisy, she’s hoping “life won’t come to a standstill”.

 

Source: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/expats-in-thailand-feeling-the-pinch-and-pleasure-of-lockdown/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2020-04-06

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[rtco]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“take the house owner with you for interrogation”.

Mine lives in the UK ... duuurrrggghhhhh

[sungod]

'Tamara, an American head teacher at a leading Bangkok school, agrees the online conferencing tools are proving effective as replacements for real classrooms.'

 

She would say that, it justifies them charging full fees for half the service. Must be a really poor school if she is in charge and thinks that.

[Isaan sailor]

All hail the mighty Baht.  Even in times of turmoil, the currency rises--20 Satang in the last 24 hours.  BoT lowers interest rates twice--the Baht still rises.  Granted, western currencies have risen with the pandemic.  But the last 24 hours seems like the bad old days...

Edited April 7, 2020 by Isaan sailor

[cornishcarlos]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

As the deadly Covid-19 virus creeps through Bangkok’s streets,

 

Wow... What a sensational headline !! Keep that fear factor going... 

Less than 1% (more likely about 0.5%) of those that contract it will die...

[UbonThani]

Masks useless unless standing close to people

[kingstonkid]

Primary students aren't missing anything it is holiday season

[BobbyL]

25 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

Primary students aren't missing anything it is holiday season

Not for international schools. My school finished on Friday, but many others are also working this week. 

[Grumpy John]

As a farang I know my rights here in Thailand....well right, the right to leave Thailand and go somewhere else! ????

[stephenterry]

1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Wow... What a sensational headline !! Keep that fear factor going... 

Less than 1% (more likely about 0.5%) of those that contract it will die...

Any human life taken by this disease is one too many, IMO.

[cornishcarlos]

22 minutes ago, stephenterry said:

Any human life taken by this disease is one too many, IMO.

 

So should we all stayed locked inside our house forever !!

What about lives taken by starvation ? How about road accidents ? Or any other way you can think of ??

People die, that's just life...

 

This is being used by governments, used by media outlets, used by investors.... 

 

My opinion only... 

[rabas]

1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Wow... What a sensational headline !! Keep that fear factor going... 

Less than 1% (more likely about 0.5%) of those that contract it will die...

Yet incredibly 21% of all identified cases who no longer have it died.

[stephenterry]

1 minute ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

So should we all stayed locked inside our house forever !!

What about lives taken by starvation ? How about road accidents ? Or any other way you can think of ??

People die, that's just life...

 

This is being used by governments, used by media outlets, used by investors.... 

 

My opinion only... 

What you decide to do with your life is up to you - providing it doesn't contaminate others. Any other sentiment is pure selfishness.

[craigieboy1973]

Reading this post reminds me why i got divorced...no matter what you do as s farang you are always treated lower then a doi dog ....... thats for teaching me never to invest in thailsnd

[dcsw53]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Bangkok’s estimated 100,000 to 200,000 international residents (no accurate figures are available)

With all the hype about TM 30's, overstays etc, they cannot come up with a more accurate estimate ?? Hilarious and totally expected.

[pomozki]

2 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

All hail the mighty Baht.  Even in times of turmoil, the currency rises--20 Satang in the last 24 hours.  BoT lowers interest rates twice--the Baht still rises.  Granted, western currencies have risen with the pandemic.  But the last 24 hours seems like the bad old days...

how does that work out - you say the baht has risen but that "western currencies have risen with the pandemic" - did you mean they;ve fallen?

2 hours ago, UbonThani said:

Masks useless unless standing close to people

like in a shop or a street seller or a market or when chatting to someone? quite a few examples tbh, so not sure what your point is, are you saying people shouldn't bother wearing them?

[UbonThani]

1 hour ago, stephenterry said:

Any human life taken by this disease is one too many, IMO.

1m die each week

Dont they count?

[cornishcarlos]

51 minutes ago, rabas said:

Yet incredibly 21% of all identified cases who no longer have it died.

 

Where did you get that stat from !! 

Plus died of what ???

[stephenterry]

55 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

So should we all stayed locked inside our house forever !!

What about lives taken by starvation ? How about road accidents ? Or any other way you can think of ??

People die, that's just life...

 

This is being used by governments, used by media outlets, used by investors.... 

 

My opinion only... 

What you decide to do with your life is up to you - providing it doesn't contaminate others. Any other sentiment is pure selfishness.

[UbonThani]

1 minute ago, pomozki said:

how does that work out - you say the baht has risen but that "western currencies have risen with the pandemic" - did you mean they;ve fallen?

like in a shop or a street seller or a market or when chatting to someone? quite a few examples tbh, so not sure what your point is, are you saying people shouldn't bother wearing them?

Use common sense

 

Some people should use them

Some shouldnt

Thats why God gave us the ability to think

[cornishcarlos]

11 minutes ago, stephenterry said:

What you decide to do with your life is up to you - providing it doesn't contaminate others. Any other sentiment is pure selfishness.

Don't understand your post.... ??

 

What I decide to do is not up to me at the moment is it.. I'd like to be at home with my wife but I'm not allowed to travel !! 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by cornishcarlos

[RichardColeman]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“I think Thailand learnt from SARS and Avian flu before, and has had some experience with this kind of situation,” says Tamara.

And you think importing millions of Chinese tourists after the pandemic was known about was in line with that statement ? 

[Ketyo]

“take the house owner with you for interrogation”

 

I honestly believe that Thailand is a country that is run by people with the intelligence, awareness, and critical thinking levels of children.

 

Unfortunately, the society is largely modern and rich - especially in the cities. But the ruling junta went to school when the country was poor. And education was not much more than day care.

 

Hence the mismatch in the need for good government and the incompetence of government decision-making.

[Thingamabob]

2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

Don't understand your post.... ??

 

What I decide to do is not up to me at the moment is it.. I'd like to be at home with my wife but I'm not allowed to travel !! 

 

 

 

I agree. Strange post. Priggish and self-righteous , to say the least.

[Isaan sailor]

3 hours ago, pomozki said:

how does that work out - you say the baht has risen but that "western currencies have risen with the pandemic" - did you mean they;ve fallen?

As an expat, I watch the Baht daily.  I spend boatloads with my credit card and cash every month.  We and other expats like me support our house, family and village to a fair amount  And we traveled a fair amount domestically and internationally—up until this gift virus hit.  The Baht gyrates wildly with swings up to 1% daily—today being a good example.  We draw a line in the sand—when the rising Baht crosses that line—we’ll shut it down, and leave.

[plachon]

not everybody is keen on a 24-hour curfew, because even though “the skies are bluer and the pungent smell of carbon monoxide has gone”, says Daisy, she’s hoping “life won’t come to a standstill”.

 

Oh dear, I hope Daisy does not lecture at university in a science subject. Even if it is "business studies" or something similar, I would have hoped that anyone who graduated from high school would have been taught that CO is colourless and odourless. ????

 

Didn't read about a lot of "pleasure" being generated by the lockdown.......????

Edited April 7, 2020 by plachon

[tso310]

1 hour ago, Ketyo said:

I honestly believe that Thailand is a country that is run by people with the intelligence, awareness, and critical thinking levels of children.

 

 

You shouldn't insult children.

[Krataiboy]

With the menfolk forced to stay home after ten in the evening,  it'll be interesting to see what happens to the birthrate nine months time.

 

For an awful lot of families I reckon it's going to be a nappy Christmas.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Krataiboy

[Monomial]

6 hours ago, stephenterry said:

Any human life taken by this disease is one too many, IMO.

 

And what about the countless lives that will be taken due to severe stress and depression as a result of this economic evisceration?  How about those people who are committing suicide as they watch their lives destroyed?  Do you also agree that every life lost as a direct result of this lockdown is one too many, or don't those lives count?

 

It is nice to say every life taken is one too many, but the results of this lockdown will likely be much, much worse than the virus. End this closure of businesses. Wear a mask and use alcohol spray prodigiously. That is the optimal way forward and the only way that genuinely minimizes human casualties.

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

8 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

All hail the mighty Baht.  Even in times of turmoil, the currency rises--20 Satang in the last 24 hours.  BoT lowers interest rates twice--the Baht still rises.  Granted, western currencies have risen with the pandemic.  But the last 24 hours seems like the bad old days...

 

The baht can even go up to the sky if it wants to.
Western economies are exploding through the imbecility of their rulers.
To whom will the Thai people sell what they produce?
Except in China, nobody else .. and it won't happen because
  the chinese already produce all that Thailand produces and for much less expensive, that is likely to do very badly to thailand.

I am not sure that the sale of a few thousand tonnes of durian could put an end to the crisis that is coming.