Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video might suggest, we are discussing issues associated with the recent changes; the end of "Test and Go" for Bangkok, well greater Thailand and then the upshot of that.  

I saw a recent quote in an article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Bangkok, Pattaya Eye Sandbox Deal. There was a quote in here and they are talking about just to kind of give the broad strokes, Bangkok and Pattaya aren't considered Sandboxes so folks that are coming into Bangkok, flying in, they have got to go through a prolonged quarantine right now. Well this is putting off tourists. A lot of people are redirecting into Phuket or they are just not coming to Thailand at all and it is having a detrimental impact just across the board on the economy in Bangkok not least of which directly on the tourism sector and the hotel and hospitality sector. 

I certainly understand, these hotels are eager to do whatever they need to do to of put their ship on an even keel, to right the ship if you will, but this quote from this article, we will go ahead and put this on screen, I just thought it was strange. Quoting directly: "Bangkok needs to be included as a Sandbox but with more stringent measures and cooperation from hoteliers to closely monitor guests," and they are quoting Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, President, Thai Hotels Association. "Closely monitor!" I mean this is like Orwellian stuff at this point and I am not making light of this, truly. I understand where the hotels are at. It is just whatever we got to do; just get some people in here. Our job is being hotels, can we get some guests. But I wouldn't want to stay at a hotel where they are closely monitoring me. What does that even mean? Are they going to put a Low Jack on me? We are really getting into the realm of the absurd with this at this point and it is especially confusing to me where the "threat", the virus has mutated; it is not as lethal; it has been compared in many reputable publications as being on par with a cold or a flu. Yes it does kill people. We have said this for a long time but it is far less lethal than it was a year ago and we weren't doing any of this in Thailand a year ago.

So again I question the need for all of this and I am just hoping that people kind of assess the situation for what it is rather than falling into a kind of weird dystopian hysteria and we just kind of move on with our lives here.