COVID-19 - Ninth Update - Still Some Restrictions

Self-Isolation
(or maybe just star gazing)

Comparing numbers as at May 9, 2020:

We found these numbers interesting. I’ve ranked them by deaths/1M pop, starting with the lowest. I cannot attest to the veracity of the numbers, but do think they tell a story.

For current information on all countries, click here.

Here’s what happened since the last update.

May 7 – Phuket News announced that “Phuket beaches remain closed”. Sigh. But golf courses are open. Phuket News also provided a very long list of the places that must remain closed until further notice. Massage shops are closed, but pet shops are allowed to open. All the other openings and closures seem to make sense.

May 10 – We are getting our second lunch delivered by a Thai friend who has started her own business making Thai dishes from the northern part of the country. Affordable, tasty, and convenient. And a little bit spicy! We’ll be happy for her when she can get back to her regular job, but we’ll miss the lunches!

May 15 – Below is a catchy Facebook posting by the Thai government. They warned that the virus can live up to nine days on a bank note. They also informed the public that banks must hold deposited bank notes for 14 days before releasing them to the public again.

May 17 – This is the date of the second phase of easing restrictions in Thailand. Yes! We were given a list of what will be open, such as restaurants, museums, and shopping centers. Pubs, bowling alleys, massage parlors and cinemas are among the places still closed. We will cope.

The morning headline in Thaiger News is a bit disappointing for some, I’m sure.  "Fortress Phuket remains sealed off from the mainland".  Our island’s airport and bridge are closed until further notice, with exceptions for goods, medical supplies, construction material, etc.

It’s pouring rain today. Restrictions are eased, but we want to stay dry. Another day at home.

Saw the following on Facebook (Thanks Linda):

Snippets from friends:

Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories. The following excerpts show how all of us are experiencing “strangeness” in our lives right now.

Still waiting for our flights to Europe to be cancelled so we can get cash refunds. 

We are beginning to open up in Oregon but I am very cautious. No grocery stores etc. for us.

[Hubby] has been saying “he needs a cruise” however I think that will be a dream for the foreseeable future. Travel will not be the same. We too were trying to see the world, while we are able.

We aren’t venturing out much yet. We did play golf yesterday.

[Hubby] has joined the ranks of the 'unemployed.'

Kids have been home FOREVER! It is unlikely that [the schools] will reopen their doors before Sept. Everyone is hoping that the weather will take a turn for the better and all the kiddos can go outside. Currently it is 3 degrees and snowing.

This was supposed to be our year to visit Phuket. We were so looking forward to it. The kids and I were planning to be there for the summer.

My mom lives in Assisted Living, this has been hardest on her, as they don’t allow anyone to visit or residents to leave.

We have not really seen much of eastern or northern Canada, so I could be very happy exploring my own country.

Our son in Denmark and his wife were both very ill with assumed COVID, but both recovered and are back at work.

[Hubby] has become an excellent cookie baker!

We are saddest at the prospect of losing our big adventure this summer in your homeland [Canada].  We were scheduled to cruise the Northwest Passage from Greenland to Nome, Alaska.  I feel certain it will be cancelled, as it poses too much danger to the First Nations folks up there.

We live a mile up a gravel road surrounded by forest.  It is the perfect spot to do social isolation.  Whether we like it or not, we have been communing with nature.

Masks are not mandated yet but many people are wearing them. I will do so when I go to the grocery store once a week.

We are still not allowed to travel more than 2 km from where we are anchored – that is unless we are a super-yacht. They appear to be moving around at will.

We went shopping last Tuesday. It was the first time in 7-1/2 weeks so we may have left some drool over the fresh produce.

This whole virus thing started in the USA near us, in Washington, near Seattle. The Governor wisely shut down the state and he is now in the process of relaxing the rules. We are not in a rush to go out! We do plan to go cruising again ... when the virus is under control.

Yesterday I finally had a haircut and that felt so good. The hairdresser really had a go at it. She must have missed her job.

 A note I sent to a friend: Most of the cruisers we know have made it home safely. We have one who had a long, hard wait in Puerto Rico before getting back to the US. One boat here in Thailand is waiting patiently to be able to sail to Malaysia so they can put their boat in a marina spot that they have booked, then they can go back to AU. We have another friend somewhere in the Indian Ocean who is sailing back to California. He’s having a tough go of it, but so far is on track. We have friends sailing in the Philippines who are okay, obeying the quarantine measures and managing to dodge typhoons. And we have friends in Tahiti who are finally enjoying the relaxation of a strict lockdown and are now celebrating.

That’s it for now. We hope you all find something to celebrate. Loretta & Darrel.

COVID-19 - Eighth Update - After the Lockdown

Grey skies for grey times.

A touch of beauty to help improve the mood.

The Phuket Lockdown ended on April 30^th, but the Thailand Emergency Decree continues until May 31^st.  What does this mean for us?

-                      There is still a curfew from 10 pm until 4 am but we don’t go out that late at night anyway.

-                      Most airports are closed. There are exceptions for bringing Thais back home or for getting some foreigners back to their home countries. And of course there are “goods” moving back and forth.

-                      Just a couple of months ago, our neighbourhood skies were very busy with airplane traffic – day and night. Now there is nearly nothing. The other day we saw a contrail (maybe a flight from Kuala Lumpur to India) and considered it very special. When we go up to our rooftop to enjoy the night sky, there are no planes flying around. Highly unusual. We are actually enjoying the silence while at the same time getting knots in our stomachs when we contemplate the economic implications for this country.

-                      Our neighbourhood still hasn’t really opened. Restaurants are still shuttered, the park is still barricaded, and the beach closure signs are still posted. The hotels are still closed. We are waiting patiently for some announcements.

We continue to wear our masks whenever we leave the condo. We feel a bit vulnerable because we live in a neighbourhood that is home to an international airport. When the airport is operating, there are very many people coming and going from who-knows-where in the world. We shop at the same places that the airport staff shop and when we do eventually start eating out again, we will be eating in places that airport staff eat. Oh – and did I mention that there is a 20,000 baht fine if you are caught in public not wearing a mask.

Living close to the airport is a bit problematic for us – but in a manageable way. Until a vaccination or, at least, a treatment is found for COVID-19 or the hospitals announce they can handle another wave, we will continue to be worried about getting infected and then infecting others. I wish there was a “vulnerability index” whereby regions or neighbourhoods could see where they stand regarding potential for an outbreak. I think our neighbourhood is more vulnerable than, say, Moose Jaw or Hobart. So even if it isn’t the “law”, we will wear our masks and we will practice social distancing. We won’t go to crowded places. We take the proper measures, but cannot be guaranteed that everyone is doing so. Therefore, we treat our apartment as a “safe zone”.  We won’t invite visitors into our condo, and to show our respect, we will not enter the homes of others. Outdoor restaurants with well-spaced tables is what we are looking forward to as our meeting places. And, boy, are we looking forward to eating on the beach.

Important note for Dewa owners: We have been talking with Khun Yea, and can advise that there is a way that donations can be given through her for all the staff. You all have her email. Money can be transferred the same way that you pay on your owner’s account. We can tell you that the financial impact on the staff has been significant. The hotel continues to be shut down, and it is highly unlikely that travel and tourism (even domestic) will pick up in the near future. Yet, every time we see any staff member, they are always full of smiles and good cheer … their spirit is indomitable.

Here’s what happened since the last update.

May 1 – This was the first of three closely-spaced National Holidays in Thailand – Labour Day (Friday), Coronation Day (Monday) and Visakha Bucha Day (a Buddhist holiday on Wednesday). One news article estimated that ONE MILLION Thais would be travelling on the weekend. I don’t know how provincial borders that remain closed (e.g. Phuket) would have managed. I don’t know how many travellers were put in quarantine. I do know that they lifted the alcohol ban on the weekend. The weekend saw more traffic deaths than the grand total of COVID-19 deaths so far.

May 4 – Darrel published his e-book “Laughter is Not Always the Best Medicine” on Amazon. Incredible what you can accomplish when you are locked at home. Click here to read more about it.   All our books are free for a while. Click here to see what we have. You might have to go to your own country’s Amazon site to see them. If so, search for cankata.

May 5 – We went for a bike ride. We noticed how much the newly-planted trees have grown since our last bike ride. Time + Rain = Huge Growth! There were lots of others out – walking, running, cycling, and waving at us.

May 5 – Darrel drove his motorcycle through the village at noon time. NOTHING was open except for a couple of noisy construction sites. We are not sure when this place will come back to life.

May 5 – Four Dewa cleaning staff walked past our apartment, so we donned our masks, went out in the hall, had a little chat and gave each of them a boxed juice. This has become a weekly ritual and is such a nice diversion.

May 6 – Darrel had the following to say about our preparations for our morning bike ride:

“Today was the second time Loretta and I went for a bike ride since the COVID -19 restrictions have been relaxed. I placed our helmets and bike gloves on the desk by our entry door.  As we were preparing to leave our condo Loretta put her helmet on and asked me if I could tighten her straps. They all felt too loose. At the same time, I was putting on my gloves, but they felt too tight. I removed the gloves without mentioning that somehow Loretta's gloves ended up with my helmet. To tighten Loretta's helmet straps is not as easy as one would think since there are two different straps with four different connection points. This somewhat complicated system works well to properly fit the helmet side to side and front to back, but knowing you only have to do it once makes the effort worthwhile. So after a number of trials, we finally got the helmet to fit Loretta properly. I then went back to the mixed up glove issue and sorted them out. As we were heading out the door I picked up my helmet but noticed my helmet was now RED and not GREEN as it was the day before. Loretta and I immediately broke out into a giggling fit - delaying our bike ride another few minutes. Actually it was more than a few minutes because now I had to loosen my straps since my helmet was too tight. But Loretta's was just right.”

In response to some questions, here is some background information that puts some of our news in context.

A map of Phuket showing the sub-districts (tambons):

We are in T. Saku - in the NW corner.

And thank you Wikipedia for the following:

Phuket Province has an area of 576 square kilometres (222 sq. mi.), somewhat less than that of Singapore, and about a tenth the size of Prince Edward Island. It is Thailand’s largest island.

We are connected by a bridge to the next province to the north – Phang Nga. The old bridge is much more beautiful than the new bridge, and thankfully it hasn’t been torn down.

The old bridge (with the new one to the right).

The island is mostly mountainous. Forest, rubber, and palm oil plantations cover 60 percent of the island. The west coast has several beautiful sandy beaches. The east coast beaches are more often muddy.

Population: about 600,000, which includes migrants, international ex-pats, Thais from other provinces, and locals. In the “high season”, the population swells to over a million. Well, maybe not this year. In 2017, Phuket received about 10 million visitors, most of them foreign, with China the leading contributor. The numbers fell somewhat last year. This year, the drop in numbers will no doubt be shocking.

Weather: Due to our proximity to the equator, there is little variation in temperatures. The average annual high is 32 degrees C and the annual low is 25 degrees C. We have a “dry season” that runs from December to March (we still get some rain during these months) and the rest of the time it is the “wet season”. We get about 2,200 mm of rain each year on average.

Feeling a bit proud of our little island: In July 2005, Phuket was voted one of the world’s top five retirement destinations by Fortune Magazine. We’re certainly glad we picked it.

That’s it for now. Take care. Loretta & Darrel.

COVID-19 - Seventh Update - The Phuket lockdown is over

We don't know when the beaches will open.

We’ve recently received a number of inquiries as to how we are doing, so I guess it’s time for another update.

In our last update, I mentioned that we were in “lockdown”, meaning that we couldn’t move between sub-districts in our province. That has now been lifted, effective May 1, except for five hot-spots. The country of Thailand has extended its Emergency Decree until May 31, so many things are still closed. But like many other countries, there is a tentative move to gradually reduce restrictions. Any day now, we should be able to cycle in our park. Soon, the alcohol ban will be lifted. Pet grooming clinics might open on Monday. Maybe our new dental clinic can open its doors soon.

A hungry cat walks by a shuttered restaurant.

Usually this area is bustling with activity.

Once upon a time our village was thriving. Now it is a ghost town.

“Any day now”. “Soon”. Based on the news we are watching, there is still much uncertainty all over. Some people talk about the New Normal – but that is a phrase I won’t use. It is all new, but it is not normal. Each day is likely going to hand us something abnormal that we will have to deal with.

It still feels like we are in suspended animation. At best, we are moving in slow motion. Life in our little apartment seems almost normal – but there is a strange stillness and quietness in our neighbourhood.

Even though life is not normal, Darrel and I are coping very well. We realize that we are extremely lucky. Our pension income has not been affected, our savings are in GICs so have not been impacted, we can get all the groceries we need (mostly – where’s the yeast!?), internet is still robust and our TV reception is top notch (mostly – sometimes cuts out when it rains – working on that). We have lunch delivered to our door a couple of times a week, and now that the Phuket lockdown has been lifted, we can increase that to three times a week, because one of our restaurant managers can now cross the “border” to get to work. The rains are returning and the air is cooling, so with our doors wide open we are enjoying the freshest of tropical breezes. The construction across the street has slowed, increasing the peacefulness of our neighbourhood. They are laying some new water pipes along our road so sometimes there is a bit of noise and mess, but it is not too bothersome. Every morning, noon, and night we go up to our rooftop balcony to check out the sky, see how many orchids are blooming, bake a little in the sun (our plant sprinkler system has one section that is an over-achiever, so we stay cool and fresh under its gentle over-spray), and at night we enjoy the beauty of the stars, planets and the moon. Sometimes we get lucky and see a satellite, the ISS, and even the odd shooting star. We have an exercise regime that seems to be working. We have puzzle books to keep our minds from getting too numb. Darrel is writing a book of humorous stories and the background noise of his continuous chuckling is lovely background noise indeed. A nice contrast to the stillness and quietness of the neighbourhood.

Infrastructure work continues. Our biking route is a mess now.

Construction of this site continues, but at a much slower pace.

One hopeful taxi driver on the good side of our dug-up street.

We are painfully aware that many people are not so lucky. There has been some horribly sad news of tragic events in Canada to compound the sadness of the deaths from the virus. Here in Thailand, many of our friends are going to have a difficult time to get back on their feet financially. Everywhere, our friends and relatives with young children have an extra burden to bear – answering difficult questions, trying to cope with home schooling, finding creative ways to get them exercise and fresh air, while trying to maintain a semblance of happiness and sanity. Our friends and relatives who are “essential workers” expose themselves to risk on a regular basis, and many have to wear protective equipment that is uncomfortable – sometimes to the point of being harmful, but the lesser of two evils. Our hearts go out to all of you who are having difficulties with coping.

We have received some questions from friends who have units here at the Dewa. Since the time that Darrel and I put ourselves in isolation mode, we have not had much contact with other owners or staff. The hotel is closed, so most staff are not working. The Phuket lockdown added some complexities to the situation, and even “essential” employees couldn’t come to work. For instance, Khun Janya was restricted to the southern end of the province. Now that the lockdown has been lifted, we hope to see more of the friendly and familiar faces that we miss so much. Our general manager lives on site, so that was very convenient for everyone. Some staff are now living here at the Dewa, so our pools and gardens are still well-maintained. Our engineering, internet, security and other maintenance needs are being met. Housekeeping staff – a core few of them – are keeping things clean and tidy. While the hotel and pool villas are completely empty, we estimate that about 15 condominium units are occupied – about half are owners or Dewa employees, and the other half are longer-term guests. We do not get together with any of them but wave balcony-to-balcony. Darrel and I do an evening walk-about when everyone else is tucked away, and it is comforting to see that all is well in the condominium grounds.

We have no idea when tourism will return to normal. Our little village is heavily dependent on tourism. There will be no “new normal” here. It is going to be one long, hard struggle to just get back on our feet.

So inviting, but off-limits.

Just by pure luck,we had enough to get us through the ban.
We were able to toast the new moon.

Perhaps a hopeful sign: Our money plant has a new sprout.

While sitting in isolation, I did keep track of a few things:

April 13 – Darrel went to pick up our laundry and also get a few items from the mini-mart (our grocery delivery was missing some items like apples and oranges). He was stopped by the police and required to show his passport and to have his temperature taken. All the information was recorded on a form. (Note – no officials ever did visit our unit. We had thought that it was a possibility).

This day is the traditional Thai New Year. The government declared that it would NOT declare it a public holiday. Usually it is a three-day public holiday. It is a very extreme measure that indicates that the Thai government is taking this situation very seriously.

Also on this day, we lost one of the restaurants from where we ordered for home delivery (the lamb burger place, sigh).The manager lives in another sub-district, so she had to close.

April 18 – The Governor of Phuket has announced that the lockdown has been extended until April 30^th. Four extra days.

April 19 – We heard the horrifying news of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

April 22 – Possible food/meat shortage? Some meat-processing plants closed down in Canada and US. I read that there might be problems with the food supply change, so I ordered four extra cans of beans with my food order. They were out of stock. I wonder if I should be alarmed.

After that last entry, I stopped writing stuff down. Instead, I baked cookies a couple of times and worked on my YouTube playlists. I created a “mellow” category for myself and find that it is growing exponentially. For every song I add, YouTube finds a couple more to recommend. It’s like a virus.

A “Dinner Out” for Dylan and Laura: 

Here’s something to lighten up the tone of this blog entry. Our son and daughter-in-law shared this lovely little story, and said we could share it with you. It also involves our teenage grandchildren, Taylor and Tehja.

After a few weeks into Covid-19, Laura and I were starting to miss our date nights, usually a nice dinner out. So as consolation, we decided to get “take-out” from one of the Italian restaurants in Stony Plain.

On our way out to pick it up, I quietly asked Taylor to have the table set and act like our waiter when we got home to surprise Laura. No other direction was provided other than that.

When we got home with our food, Taylor was waiting at the front, dressed up nicely and hair combed (an unusual image lately, lol).

He escorted us to a fully set table, complete with a variety of cutlery, side plates, water, wine glasses, and even bilingual menus and a “reserved” sign.

After lighting our candle and filling our wine glasses, the kids left us to eat our “date night” dinner, coming once and a while to fill our wine glasses of course!

At the end of dinner, the kids cleared our table and washed the dishes while we continued working hard… on our wine.

Unfortunately we didn’t take any photos (but we kept the menus), since we were caught up in the moment. But we’ll remember it forever. And a note to the blog readers, the servers were tipped for their efforts… we’ll definitely come back again!

Coffee Break for our Ottawa Friends 

We got this update from friends in Ottawa who, like us, are mostly unscathed by recent events.

So far, we are adapting very well to all of this time at home. We do low-tech "Stairmaster" exercises, going up to the 9th floor every other day, plus weights, jumping jacks, and pushups in the apartment.

The "afternoon coffee break" routine that we used to do – going out to a coffee shop for coffee and to read – is now done in the apartment. We set up a folding table by our living room window with two chairs, table cloth etc. and have our coffee breaks there.

~~ We hope all our friends are finding creative ways to stay fit and enjoy special moments. ~~ 

Quote found on Facebook (thanks Jenny): 

“I can’t go out because of the virus” sounds weak, whiny and boring.

Try instead: “I’ve sworn an oath of solitude until the pestilence is purged from the lands”.

Sounds more Valiant and Heroic, people might even think you are carrying a sword.

That’s it for now. Stay valiant and heroic everyone. Loretta & Darrel.