A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tr...1&pub_date=20220211190000&seq_num=20&si=44594

Thai tourist spot offers touch of Harajuku close to home
Japanese-themed attractions fill gap as COVID blocks travel to popular destination

With Japan among the popular destinations for Thai tourists, Harajuku Thailand has drawn residents unable to travel abroad due to the pandemic. (Photo by Marimi Kishimoto)
MARIMI KISHIMOTO, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 11, 2022 13:44 JST

BANGKOK -- Thai tourist spots that take a cue from Japan's landmark locations have attracted the interest of local residents unable to visit the country because of the pandemic.

One such attraction, Harajuku Thailand, partially opened in December. From Bangkok's city center, it takes an hour's drive through rice paddy country to arrive at the location.

The first thing greeting visitors is a giant statue of a maneki-neko -- a lucky cat waving its paw. Inside the attraction, one can see a building inspired by Tokyo's old Harajuku train station. There is also a Japanese shrine, a statue of the legendary loyal dog Hachiko and a waterway housing koi fish.

A 66-year-old woman decided to visit Harajuku Thailand in the middle of a drive elsewhere.

"I've went to Japan many times because I love sakura blossoms," she said. "This place has captured the atmosphere."

Harajuku Thailand also drew a 13-year-old girl in middle school.

"I found out about it on social media, and I came with a friend," she said, smiling. "I'm having fun taking pictures and walking around."

"Japan is the first travel destination that comes to mind for many Thais," said Kiratiya Sirichaiphatthana, the project director for Harajuku Thailand developer Suwintawong S&C. "When we were discussing concepts for a new attraction, we all agreed on something that will give a taste of Japan to Thais who can't take a trip there because of COVID."

Response from visitors has been positive, according to Kiratiya. Tourist traffic is expected to grow once Harajuku Thailand finalizes its slate of tenants and launches full operations at the end of March.

Japan is a popular tourist destination for Thais. During the pre-pandemic era, Japan ranked third in the number of outbound travelers, statistics from Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports show, behind only Malaysia and Laos.

The Japan National Tourism Organization reports that the country received 1.31 million visitors from Thailand in 2019, a number that soared sevenfold over a decade.

With coronavirus travel restrictions in place, demand is ripe among Thais to experience Japan in some form. At the beach town of Bang Saen near Bangkok, a Thai owner opened a restaurant called Nomisuke Ramen. The location, which faithfully resembles a row of retro Japanese bars and eateries, became popular overnight.

Top Thai convenience store chain 7-Eleven started promoting Japanese-style bento lunches for "those who long for Japan."

In the early 2010s, Thailand saw a proliferation of tourist spots that resemble locations in Europe, such as Venice. The popularity of Japanese-style tourist locations is expected to continue for the foreseeable future as the pandemic limits travel.

 

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I like this noodle shop at Tanglin Halt Market Food Centre

My favourite noodle - meepok dry

Singapore Kway Chap is probably one of my favourite breakfast

 

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And then on the 5th day of Chinese New Year it was time for me to go home. But before I did that I need to do a few things to get into Bangkok:

1. PCR test 72 hours before flight and for this I have to pay S$128 and did it at a clinic in Wheelock Place. This is for boarding and entering Thailand.

2. Apply for ThaiPass - this is done online but before you do this you need to prepare 4 pictures which will be uploaded:
a. Picture of your passport
b. Picture of Vaccination Cert (even better if you separately have a picture of the QR code too to speed up process)
c. Picture of your confirmed booking of a SHA hotel in Thailand for your first and fifth day, the letter from the hotel must also include confirmation of payment for PCR tests on the two days.
d. Picture of your Covid Insurance (min US$50,000)

With the above you will submit in the ThaiPass online platform and then wait. This is free. They say give them 3 days to approve however most of the time they will approve within half a day.

Ok so I left finally and this is the Changi Airport that day, it was quiet as expected.


The lounge laksa was really nice, gin nice too

 

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Ready to go

The journey

My Hindu food onboard

and more gin tonic of course

 

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I arrived at 7pm and the hospital the hotel engaged to do the PCR came at 8.30pm did my PCR and left. I got the result at 1am which means it took only 4 hours, not so bad. I decided to stay till the next day.

Hotel

Dinner provided by hotel

Breakfast the next morning

 

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Provinces with the most and least number of poor people​

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The number of “targeted poor” in Thailand has risen to 1,025,782 people in 2022, up by 42,466 persons since 2019, according to findings published by the Thai People Map and Analytics Platform (TPMAP).​

“Targeted poor” refers to those who are registered as state-welfare cardholders and prioritised for assistance by the government.
The platform said it had based its estimates on data collected from 36.1 million people who are registered with the Community Development Department. The data found 3.4 million people classified as poor as per the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

It then cross-referenced this group with those who have registered as state-welfare cardholders and eventually arrived at 1,025,782 as the number of “targeted poor”.

The MPI uses five key indicators to measure the level of poverty: health, living conditions, education, income, and access to government service.
The TPMAP also listed 10 provinces that have the highest number of poor people in Thailand:
1. Chiang Mai – 52,928 poor people, or 5.36 per cent of the province’s population
2. Buriram – 45,356, or 4.41 per cent
3. Chiang Rai – 42,140, or 5.42 per cent
4. Nakhon Si Thammarat – 36,941, or 4.3 per cent
5. Udon Thani – 36,931, or 3.7 per cent
6. Nan – 35,949, or 10.97 per cent
7. Phetchabun – 35,548, or 5 per cent
8. Nakhon Ratchasima – 32,144, or 1.87 per cent
9. Chaiyaphum – 29,845, or 3.64 per cent
10. Si Sa Ket - 28,892, or 3.08 per cent

The provinces with the least number of poor people:
1. Trat – 706 poor people, or 0.58 per cent of the province’s population
2. Samut Songkhram – 920, or 0.75 per cent
3. Nakhon Pathom – 1,493, or 0.3 per cent
4. Nakhon Nayok – 2,110, or 1.29 per cent
5. Uthai Thani – 2,217, or 1.04 per cent
6. Ranong – 2,427, or 2.07 per cent
7. Amnat Charoen – 2,473, or 1.03 per cent
8. Chonburi – 2,706, or 0.51 per cent
9. Singburi – 2,711, or 2.02 per cent
10. Rayong – 2,833, or 0.78 per cent

Published : February 17, 2022
By : THE NATION

 

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Seiko Thailand called me earlier to collect a New Year's gift I only recently had time to go collect. what a pleasant surprise.

 

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Bangkok shop >> what's he selling?

 

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https://www.bangkokpost.com/busines...-test-cut-insurance-cost-for-test-go-arrivals

Govt to scrap Day-5 PCR test, cut insurance cost for Test & Go arrivals
PUBLISHED : 23 FEB 2022 AT 15:57 UPDATED: 23 FEB 2022 AT 21:12

In this file photo taken on Oct 30, 2021, tourists walk along Phra Nang beach in Krabi. (AFP)

The government will further relax entry rules for foreign visitors starting next month, bowing to demand from the local tourism industry to lower costs as more countries ease border controls to lure holidaymakers.

Vaccinated arrivals to Thailand will not be required to undergo a mandatory polymerase chain reaction test on the fifth day of the arrival starting March 1. Instead, they can do a self-antigen test, scrapping the requirement to have a confirmed hotel reservation for the test.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), the main virus task force chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, also lowered the minimum medical insurance coverage for visitors to no less than $20,000 from $50,000.

The government is making it easier for travellers to visit the country’s famed beaches, temples and national parks after nearly two years of tight border curbs decimated the tourism industry.

- Most cases local, death rate low -

While the nation is battling a spike in Omicron-led Covid cases, the low mortality rate compared to the peak Delta wave means healthcare facilities can cope with the outbreak, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the task force, said at a briefing Wednesday.

Thailand saw Covid cases jump to 21,232 on Wednesday, a six-month high, but the deaths stood at 39, compared with more than 300 a day during the peak of the Delta wave in August.

The vast majority of new cases were locally transmitted, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, with approximately one in a thousand arrivals testing positive.

He said the mandatory fifth-day test can be conducted using ATK because results were very accurate and widely accepted.

During the CCSA meeting, the public health minister said the number of operators answering calls to the 1330 hotline would be increased after Gen Prayut said he called the hotline and the person who answered sounded exhausted. Currently, he said, there were about 3,000 operators working the Covid advice hotline operated by the National Health Security Office.

Asked whether hospitals were prepared to accommodate more Covid-19 patients, Mr Anutin said all measures have been put in place. If necessary, hospitals could be expanded.

The current rate of infections is high, he said, but health authorities are trying to minimise the number of critically ill patients and fatalities.

He told people to adjust their behaviours, get vaccinated, and avoid going to parties and other crowded places.

- Baht rallies -

The baht rallied as much as 0.4% on expectation easier visa rules will boost the country’s current-account surplus. The currency traded at 32.329 to a US dollar, extending gains this year to 3.3%.

The government has been experimenting with several plans in recent month to try to revive the travel sector that used to contribute to about one-fifth of the economy, with 40 million foreign tourists generating more than $60 billion in 2019.

The country has cleared about 302,000 visitors under the Test & Go programme since it was reopened for a second time on Feb 1, according to Dr Taweesilp.

Bangkok, eastern province Chonburi and resort island Phuket received the most travellers under the plan, he said.

 

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Made myself a very simple dinner - fish boiled rice (porridge)

Took a piece of Spanish mackerel out of the freezer

Remove the bones and skin

Slice the meat

Put the bones and skin and add some slices of ginger into a pot

Add water and bentoil the content in the pot for 20mins add salt

Cooking

Ready

Let's eat

 

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After back from my Chinese New Year break in Singapore I kept craving for Singapore hawker food. So I made meesiam for breakfast recently


The vermicelli

The broth

The condiments

The breakfast

 

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And then this morning discovering overnight leftover rice decided to make a simple ikan-bilis fried-rice for breakfast

Simple ingredients

Fried-rice ready

Time to enjoy

 

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One morning I woke up decided to fry make some crispy lard, so one thing led to another ended up with a very nice Hokkien fried sotong noodle -

 

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Found a newly opened Izakaya very close to home, less than 5 mins drive

The front

Tempura

Chicken wings

Bacon mushrooms

Fried chicken

Finally finished off with a miso ramen

 

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tr...1&pub_date=20220228190000&seq_num=26&si=44594

Thai Airways' restructuring lifts it to first profit in 5 years
Tourism reopening comes too late to improve airline's operating earnings

Thai Airways reported a net profit in 2021, thanks to one-off contributions from asset assets and cuts to employee benefits. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 28, 2022 17:14 JST

BANGKOK -- Thai Airways International reported a full-year net profit in 2021, its first in five years, as one-off contributions from asset sales and cuts in employee benefits helped its bottom line.

But the Thai flag carrier's operating performance has yet to show signs of a sustained recovery despite the government scrapping quarantine requirements for vaccinated international travelers

Thai Airways posted a consolidated net profit of 55.1 billion baht ($1.7 billion) for 2021 on Wednesday, reversing its worst-ever net loss of 141 billion baht in 2020. The rebound reflected its restructuring efforts under a court-supervised rehabilitation.

"We returned to profit, but it was only because of one-time gains," Piyasvasti Amranand, a Thai Airways board member in charge of the company's rehabilitation, said at a news conference on Monday.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions around the world undermined the airline's already shaky financial position, forcing it to file for rehabilitation with the Central Bankruptcy Court in May 2020. Its rebuilding plan was formally approved last June.

Thai Airways has put this building in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai up for sale, along with other properties, to bolster its finances. (Photo by Masayuki Yuda)

The company posted a gain of 4.4 billion baht from the sale of assets and shares. Thai Airways has put several properties up for sale to further shore up its books. It recorded an additional of 8.8 billion baht gain by reducing employee benefits and eliminating executive positions.

A debt restructuring contributed 61.8 billion baht to company coffers, as repayment deadlines for loans and debentures were extended. Entering into court-supervised rehabilitation gave the company an automatic stay in debt payments. Penalties for missed repayments from May to December 2020 that were booked in the company's financial results for 2020 were retrospectively exempted and included as an extraordinary gain in 2021.

Meanwhile, severance payments for an early retirement program cost 4.6 billion baht, an increase of 51% versus the previous year.

Thailand began accepting tourists without quarantine in November, as the government desperately sought to revive the economy. That helped support air travel for a while, but the quarantine waiver was later suspended for six weeks, starting in late December, due to the omicron outbreak. And the tourism-boosting measure came too late to affect Thai Airways' operating performance in 2021.

Revenue from passengers and excess baggage came to 5.5 billion baht, down 84% from the previous year. Freight and mail revenue jumped 59% to 10.9 billion baht over the same period, thanks to demand for deliveries sparked by the global economic recovery.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine will have little impact on flights. "Since 2014, Thai Airways has not flown over Ukrainian skies," said Piyasvasti. It does not operate direct flights to Russia or Ukraine.

Russians were the top visitors by nationality to Thailand in January, but they mostly travel on charter flights. Geopolitical tensions, however, have pushed oil prices up markedly. Higher fuel prices are likely to make travel more expensive, discouraging potential visitors. "This is a common issue for all airline companies," said Chai Emsiri, Thai Airways' chief of finance.

The Thai flag carrier aims to return to a stable operating profit next year. Piyasvasti insisted the airline had improved its profitability significantly by reducing operating costs. "Once travel restrictions by other countries are relaxed, Thai Airways will start making an operating profit," said the director overseeing the rehabilitation.

The airline will increase flights to countries and regions that are already open, such as the European Union, Australia, India, and Saudi Arabia. Piyasvasti said he expects Japan and South Korea to scrap travel restrictions by the end of the year. China, on the other hand, is likely to remain closed for the entire year, he said.

Despite wringing out its first profit in five years, the flag carrier's financial troubles are not over. As of December, the company's shareholder equity had improved but remained at minus 71.3 billion baht, versus minus 128.7 billion baht in December 2020.

Its total assets declined by 23%, while liabilities fell 31%.

The airline has abandoned efforts to receive write-offs from its creditors, unlike many other previously debt-ridden international carriers, such as Japan Airlines. Thai Airways will remain weak financially for the foreseeable future, hurting its ability to invest quickly for future profitability.

Piyasvasti Amranand, a Thai Airways board member overseeing the company's rehabilitation, discusses its financial results for 2021, in Bangkok on Feb. 28. (Photo by Masayuki Yuda)

To make it through rehabilitation, the airline is in talks with its creditors for an additional loan of 25 billion baht. "We will have a final discussion with banks in March, and sign a contract by the end of March," said Piyasvasti. Bangkok Bank, Thailand's largest commercial lender, will be the lead underwriter for the loan. Krung Thai Bank, Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Government Savings Bank and Kasikorn Bank may join as co-underwriters, according to the airline.

Its assets, including land, aircraft and even airplane parts will be used as collateral for the loan. The assets were valued at 30 billion baht.

Of the fresh funds, 4 billion baht will be used for employee compensation, while 10 billion baht will go to refund customers for unused tickets. The rest will be used as working capital.

Thai Airways' original rehabilitation plan, which was approved by the court, included an additional 25 billion baht loan from the government. But late last year the government decided not to grant the loan, forcing the airline to come up with an alternative. The new plan must again win court approval.

 

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Dimsum in Bangkok

Siew Mai

Hargao

Xiaolongbao truffle

Pork rib

Turnip cake

Rice roll charsiew

Long beans with bacon

 

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It ain't no secret but for someone who love to cook there's always something he/she always use for th cooking. It could be a technique, a sauce, a stock etc. For me its my cooking stock that I use it so very regularly as I am please to share

 

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Last night came home late so at 9pm made dinner, fried beehoon