Phuket authorities to form “EOC Phuket Tourism Sandbox Operation Center” to track and trace all foreign visitors traveling under “Phuket Sandbox” scheme

[Khun Paul]

The more you read about this and other schemes, you learn that Thais could not organise a Party inside a brewery let alone this. The planning thinking processes ( if any ) are at best  flawed and useless. 

[bkk6060]

I would have to plan a good answer if they asked me why I went to 2 or 3 massage places everyday.

[rumak]

AH yes,  the Great Escape.    You guys looking for love in the Sandbox.......... Don't forget to bring a glove and ball .    You might be in solitary 

 

 

[connda]

How disturbing in an Orwellian sort of way with a dash of Huxley tossed in for good measure. 

"The perfect dictatorship would have the appearance of a democracy, but would basically be a prison without walls in which the prisoners would not even dream of escaping. It would essentially be a system of slavery where, through consumption and entertainment, the slaves would love their servitudes."
- Aldous Huxley

 

[Crossy]

Initial images of the Operations Centre emerge:-

 

[connda]

6 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

 

Yet another reason NOT to go to Phuket and be part of the "lock-in holiday" ........................LOL

I wonder how long expats will continue to live on Phuket, and by extension later on in Pattaya and Chiang Mai?  I fully expect that any pasty-white farang will become a target of close monitoring and constant intervention by authorities.  "You know.  Farang.  They all look alike. We can no tell difference."
"Where you go.  Why you no have on tracker??? Where passport? Show passport now!  Why outside "sandbox?"  I can see it coming.

I fully expect all non-Thais, especially farang, to become the object of intense scrutiny by the RTP, immigration, and especially these new government organizations tasked with tracking, tracing, and monitoring dirty foreign tourist and making sure they don't stray off reservation.  And those of us living here will start to be constantly hassled and harassed due to our ethnicity and the color of our skin.
If fact, I won't be surprised that one day we are told that as a condition of our visa extensions that we must wear a GPS tracker so that The Tracking Authorities can keep expats separated out from the tourist.  The government has hinted for a long time that tagging all expats with GPS monitors is in their interests.  They simply didn't have the excuse until now.

"New Normal" keeps looking more and more like a Philip K Dick novel.

[chilly07]

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

This whole idea sound more and more like those notorious prison islands whereby you are closely watched, contained prodded and checked, and they call it a "holiday"...

Yes and why not call it a reeducation centre and import everyone who complains about Thailands 'vaccination roll out'

[connda]

6 hours ago, Thailand said:

Just received a message from Air Asia ,flights to Phuket from 1st July from 235 baht.

But only for "Big Members".

 

John Holmes Tours? So the flights aren't for Thais and are only for farangs?  "Big Members?"

[RafPinto]

Oh dear.

 

Changing the name doesn't change anything.

Accept it, almost nobody will turn up to play in your sandbox.

[connda]

4 hours ago, poskat said:

tourists coming to the litterbox have to test negative 72 hr before their flight, and then negative again on arrival.

 

so if they get infected while here, that means they caught it from a dirty, infected, likely unvaccinated, thai.

 

that suggests that they should be tracking thais, not tourists

Well. Tourist are vaccinated with two shots and are now completely safe from contracting Covid.  No worry.  ????

[poskat]

11 minutes ago, connda said:

Well. Tourist are vaccinated with two shots and are now completely safe from contracting Covid.  No worry.  ????

yes, that's my point...so why do they need a center to track them

[Burma Bill]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

EOC Phuket Tourism Sandbox Operation Center” will be formed as a command center for tracking and tracing arrivals

 

[Venom]

4 hours ago, A Los for words said:

This is the least of their problems. The US just declared Thailand an area for their citizens to avoid due to CIVID and civil unrest.

 

Where did you hear that? Thanks 

[Salerno]

4 minutes ago, Venom said:

Where did you hear that? Thanks 

 

Somewhat of an overstatement (the wording is actually reconsider not avoid). https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Thailand.html

[NeoDinosaw]

7 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

You win the internet today--kudos ????

I guess that Biggus Dickus  'Life of Brian'    would be OK

[zhounan]

Are they plan to welcome a group of foreign criminals in a trip?

[oldcpu]

4 hours ago, connda said:

I wonder how long expats will continue to live on Phuket, and by extension later on in Pattaya and Chiang Mai?  I fully expect that any pasty-white farang will become a target of close monitoring and constant intervention by authorities.  "You know.  Farang.  They all look alike. We can no tell difference."
"Where you go.  Why you no have on tracker??? Where passport? Show passport now!  Why outside "sandbox?"

Nahhhhh ... as a retired expat who has been here for a while, we just flash them our Thai pink-ID card that has our name in Thai and also our address. ....  Oh ?  They also  want our name in 'English' ? No worries, we simply show them our Thai driver's licence which also has our address and has our passport # on it.

 

No problems at all for us. 

 

But maybe worries such as yours will keep the tourist hordes away?  One can always hope.  ...   And as expatriates we can continue to enjoy Phuket, which is the best its been for years / decades even.  Most beaches are incredible, quiet. Traffic is light. Very light.  Restaurants have some amazing bargains. And as a local, with our local Phuket knowledge, we do know the places to go.

 

Although - having typed the above honestly with a degree of sarcasm (although I sense you like sarcasm based on your post). - I also do hope tourists return, NOT for myself, as I can do without the hordes of tourists, but rather return for the local Thai / expats whose income depends on Tourists.

Edited June 24, 2021 by oldcpu

[gim12]

tracking the vaccinated visitor who had to test negative at the  airport upon arrival and also at the departure airport and not the unvaccinated local makes perfect sense...if the goal is to make money off tests 

[bangon04]

19 hours ago, Venom said:

They've been trying to implement this for years. Long before the covid 19 debacle. Welcome to the new normal. 

is this the same command center which came up with the idea of tracking bracelets for every Foreigner?

[rumak]

22 hours ago, connda said:

How disturbing in an Orwellian sort of way with a dash of Huxley tossed in for good measure. 

"The perfect dictatorship would have the appearance of a democracy, but would basically be a prison without walls in which the prisoners would not even dream of escaping. It would essentially be a system of slavery where, through consumption and entertainment, the slaves would love their servitudes."
- Aldous Huxley

 

 

yes,  so many countries try to emulate that of the biggest big brother.  

everybody stand  up !   USA   USA   USA  USA   

 

oh,so tired.   gonna need a big mac after that !

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/24/2021 at 8:45 AM, webfact said:

a command center of all local networks to track and follow up all foreign tourists during their visit to the island

Even if I liked Phuket, that is a reason I'd never visit. I have no desire to be tracked wherever I go. Perhaps the sheeple are OK with it, but never I.

[A Los for words]

On 6/24/2021 at 1:41 PM, Salerno said:

 

Somewhat of an overstatement (the wording is actually reconsider not avoid). https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Thailand.html

I agree, 'reconsider' assumes Americans were considering coming in the first place. If they were not before, they probably won't change their minds. It's still not good news for the dirtbox planners.

[CLW]

On 6/24/2021 at 12:59 PM, connda said:

I wonder how long expats will continue to live on Phuket, and by extension later on in Pattaya and Chiang Mai?  I fully expect that any pasty-white farang will become a target of close monitoring and constant intervention by authorities.  "You know.  Farang.  They all look alike. We can no tell difference."
"Where you go.  Why you no have on tracker??? Where passport? Show passport now!  Why outside "sandbox?"  I can see it coming.

I fully expect all non-Thais, especially farang, to become the object of intense scrutiny by the RTP, immigration, and especially these new government organizations tasked with tracking, tracing, and monitoring dirty foreign tourist and making sure they don't stray off reservation.  And those of us living here will start to be constantly hassled and harassed due to our ethnicity and the color of our skin.
If fact, I won't be surprised that one day we are told that as a condition of our visa extensions that we must wear a GPS tracker so that The Tracking Authorities can keep expats separated out from the tourist.  The government has hinted for a long time that tagging all expats with GPS monitors is in their interests.  They simply didn't have the excuse until now.

"New Normal" keeps looking more and more like a Philip K Dick novel.

 

Reminds me of the question "why I am as Farang still here" from a young Thai in a coffee shop in BKK just after the borders have been closed March last year.

However, he was very polite,  friendly and more curious what I am doing here etc...

[JCP108]

On 6/25/2021 at 3:28 AM, CLW said:

 

Reminds me of the question "why I am as Farang still here" from a young Thai in a coffee shop in BKK just after the borders have been closed March last year.

However, he was very polite,  friendly and more curious what I am doing here etc...

More disappointing for me was when several of the powers that be in our neighborhood told my wife they wanted me to quarantine in our apartment for 14 days around that same time (late March). I had moved to Thailand before the pandemic. I had not traveled at the beginning of the pandemic. The people in the neighborhood had all seen me day in and day out the whole time. But, I was the dirty/dangerous farang. Also ironic was the fact that I wore my mask 100% of the time when out and about and only about 10% of them wore theirs (and, mostly around their chins). 

[CLW]

On 6/27/2021 at 1:19 AM, JCP108 said:

More disappointing for me was when several of the powers that be in our neighborhood told my wife they wanted me to quarantine in our apartment for 14 days around that same time (late March). I had moved to Thailand before the pandemic. I had not traveled at the beginning of the pandemic. The people in the neighborhood had all seen me day in and day out the whole time. But, I was the dirty/dangerous farang. Also ironic was the fact that I wore my mask 100% of the time when out and about and only about 10% of them wore theirs (and, mostly around their chins). 

Might add highlight of last week. In the Soi of my residence (dead end road with no foot traffic as we know most thai people are too lazy for walking) I was walking to the main road without a mask, but handy to put it on once I get on the Songthaew there. While I was walking some stranger woman on a motorcycle (with no helmet of course, but mask on) was yelling at me to put my mask on....