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| Hello from Nai Yang Beach, Phuket, Thailand. Currently COVID-free. But watch your step. |
Here's what has happened since the last update:
So much! Joe Biden has selected Kamala Harris as his running mate, Russia says they have developed a vaccine, there was a horrible explosion in Beirut, children are heading back to school, tourism is still virtually non-existent in Thailand, the Canada-US border closure has been extended to September 21, and the global pandemic is still a serious matter.
In our neck of the woods, life hasn't changed much. Thailand has done well with controlling the virus, but most of the rest of the world hasn't, so tourists are still blocked from entry.
This continues to create severe financial hardship on our island of Phuket. There is talk of using Phuket as a test case, which means that tourists would be allowed here first before opening up the rest of the country (link). It would be easier to control an outbreak on an island that can be isolated. This could have quite an impact on our neighbourhood - both positive and negative, so we are anxiously awaiting more news on this.
As two of the few tourists that are still hanging around in Thailand, we have an obligation to check in with immigration every 90 days. We were very happy when Darrel figured out that we are, in fact, able to do this on-line. He hadn't had much success that past number of times (which meant we had to drive into Phuket Town to do it in person) but, through some serendipity, discovered that the problem is with the condominium server and not with our devices nor with the Immigration system. So he used our "mobile data" on our phone and it was as easy as a-b-c.
Here are a few specific events over the past weeks:
July 15 - We took a drive to the end of the bay to look at some new construction going on and to see how the demolition of an old project (a grand hotel that was never completely built) was progressing. It was awful to the see environmental destruction taking place, but yet wonderful to see how the environment was taking over the ruins of the old project.
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| The new |
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| The old |
July 19 - We just heard from a neighbour that an Italian restaurant in our "Walking Street" is thinking of closing its doors permanently. The owner predicts another 18 months of slow-to-nil business. We expect that there will be more permanent closures in our village. In the meantime, the "Walking Street" is mostly shut down right now, but a couple of restaurants on the beach are trying to make a come-back.
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| No walkers on Walking Street |
July 23 - The Government of Thailand has extended the Emergency Decree until August 31. Reminder: "The decree combines the power of more than 40 laws so it can deliver quick and efficient responses to the pandemic".
July 24 - We went for lunch with an Australian friend who is stuck here on his boat. His wife went back to Australia a number of months ago, leaving him to tie up some loose ends and with plans to follow her after a short while. Then the lockdown occurred. Travel become difficult so our friend decided to bide his time until the situation improved. With no end in sight and with Australia experiencing some spikes in the number of infections, our friend figured it was now or never, and he booked a ticket home. He left at the end of July. Cost of his one-way ticket: $12,000 AUD, cost of 14-day quarantine in designated hotel: $3,000 AUD. The flights into Australia are very limited, and only first- or business-class tickets can be purchased. Our friend got a discount on his ticket; the regular price was $16,000 AUD!
July 28 - We had lunch at the Dewa Bread and Butter. The server, who also is the bar tender, cheered upon pouring our beers for us (July is a birthday month so we can have beer with our lunch). The reason for the cheer - it had been four months since the last beer was poured!
Also noteworthy about this lunch: I sat down at an outdoor table while Darrel checked us in (part of the COVID requirements). They also took Darrel's temperature. He asked "What about Lori?" (Lori is their nickname for me). They laughed and said, "Oh, we know Khun Lori is healthy!"
August 8 - the Dewa Resort had a number of "local" tourists (mostly from Phuket, so the parking lot was pretty full) staying over for the weekend. It was nice to see the facilities put to good use again.
August 9 - We needed to visit our bank to do some face-to-face business - highly unusual because they have a terrific on-line system. I hardly need to be reminded, but I was reminded why I love this place so much: I was greeted at the door by a smiling woman who wanted to know what I needed, then she led me to a chair where I was met by another smiling woman, and then my business was taken care of immediately. All the COVID precautions were in place, too.
Some photos from the past 30 days:
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| A sunset from our balcony. |
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| Phuket takes social distancing very seriously. |
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| Checking out the beach one evening. |
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| Nice to see some others enjoying lunch on the beach. |
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| Following the rules - sanitizer, mask, social distancing. |
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| Our full moon dinner at the Dewa (thank you to Nitty for the photo). |
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| The full moon over the Dewa. |
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| We had some bad winds, and a few trees were toppled. |
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| Unfriendly sky and sea. |
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| Lunch at a seafood restaurant in Chalong Bay. |
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| Not too many people at the seafood restaurant in Chalong Bay. |
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| Not too many people on the beach in Nai Yang either. |
August 13 - The children are now back to school full-time in Thailand. They are still social distancing and still wearing masks. As our little grade-two neighbour said to us, "COVID is still out there!" Ten days later, his mother was able to tell us that not one child has been sick. That is not surprising since there are zero community infections.
August 17 - Although travel by foreigners into Thailand is still mostly blocked, travel within the country by locals is highly encouraged (possible because there are zero community infections). In fact, the government even provided some stimulus money to promote it. Hotels, restaurants and other tour operations are offering decent discounts. Even though we didn't qualify for any aid, we decided to go on a road trip with a Thai friend that we have known since we moved here. We met up with her parents in Nakhon Si Thammarat (the capital city of a province of the same name, about 282 km to the east of us), and then with her daughter on Koh Samui. On the map below, the island to the north of Nakhon Si Thammarat is Samui.
We posted a lot of photos on Facebook, and here is a link to our Google photos in case you don't have Facebook:
And here is an album dedicated to our visit to the Jungle Elephant Sanctuary. Most of the photos were taken by their professional photographer, Mr. Handsome:
August 20 - The Thailand Emergency Decree has been extended to September 30.
Should We Wear Gloves? Straight from the mouth of the CDC:
[Wearing gloves] ... will not necessarily protect you from getting COVID-19 and may still lead to the spread of germs.The best way to protect yourself from germs when running errands and after going out is to regularly wash your hands with soap and water for 20- seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
We don't ever wear protective gloves, except for the ones we have for cycling (we like the cushion in them). Oh, and we have gardening gloves. Oh, and I have rubber gloves for when I use strong household cleaners. We used to have skiing gloves, ball gloves, winter gloves, sailing gloves, diving gloves, and racquetball gloves. Come to think of it, we've used a whole lot of gloves over our lifetime. But not for COVID-19.
Here's a good article on the subject of gloves: link.
Uncertainty
Have you ever lived with more uncertainty that what we are living though now? So many questions: when will a vaccine be available; can we even become immune to COVID; will our kids be safe when they go back to school in September; will there be more waves of COVID; how many people are going to go out-of-business; what will happen to our economy; will air travel become too expensive for most of us; etc.
I can't imagine the stress that this uncertainly is creating for most of us. There are stresses that some of have dealt with before - job loss; the loss of a loved one; financial loss; floods; fires; etc., and then there are the new stresses - trying to remember to social distance; wearing a mask; deciding whether or not to book a vacation away; trying to figure out what "new normal" means; coping with "home learning"; etc.
In her article, "Why Can Uncertainty Cause Stress?" (Link), Dr. Liji Thomas states:
"Some of the ways in which uncertainty produces stress and anxiety are:
- Uncertainty generates a dilemma as to the intensity of action one should take to prepare for the future. On the one hand, it is possible to make a plan to handle the situation at the most efficient level, but at the cost of it being found inadequate if the situation exceeds one’s expectation. On the other hand, one may over-prepare, with abundant precautions and coping mechanisms, only to find that they were not required and were not cost-effective.
- Uncertainty is also a hindrance to being able to feel in control of a possible situation, because the exact nature and level of threat is unknown, making adequate preparation impossible."
The International Committee of the Red Cross is worried about the stress that the pandemic is causing (link), including for health workers. "Health care workers are facing unique hardships during this pandemic, working in extraordinary circumstances, likely to feel under pressure and stress, and in many cases worried about transmitting the disease to their families". The American Psychological Association is also worried (link). "The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of life, from health and work to education and exercise. Over the long term, warns the American Psychological Association, the negative mental health effects of the coronavirus will be serious and long-lasting."
The Government of Canada has some advice (link), including:
- Think about how to use any unexpected flexibility in your daily routine.
- Focus on the positive aspects of your life and things you can control.
- Be kind and compassionate to yourself and others.
The advice that I am grabbing on to: Focus on controlling those things that are under your control.
Wishful Thinking:
(Nobody said that we were to avoid wishful thinking.)
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| I wish they had a bench like this on the Dewa beach. |
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| I wish we could light this and have a wiener roast. |
Snippets from Friends:
From B.C.: We are in Phase 3 so are still physically distancing but shops, restaurants etc. are open with rules in place and masks are the new norm. We are not suffering too badly although we have not been able to see our friends in the US. We do our usual chores such as clearing brush, tree trimming, painting etc. The eagles, killer and humpback whales and deer keep us entertained. We get oysters and dig clams on the beach in front of our cabin and of course catch prawns, ling cod and sometimes (with luck and skill) salmon. We haven’t been to a restaurant since early March. We miss travelling but for now we are just relaxing and looking forward to the days when this virus is history.
From Ottawa: Restaurants open for inside dining today, but we'll stick to patios. I watched an EPA webinar yesterday and the modeling of air flow inside, showing various droplets size deposition away from an infected person does not give confidence with interior spaces yet. The same goes with gyms. I wonder how we'll keep fit this winter when we put our bicycles away. Yesterday, we cycled our 798th km so far this summer! That is about what we used to do in an entire summer on a good year and it is just July 17th. Hopefully our borders with the US will remain closed until they come to their senses.
From Illinois: We have been following the Covid 19 rules and remain fine. We know people of different ages that have come down with the illness. All have recovered and no sign of after effects, so far. But so much learned and so much not known. I stay close to the farm. Volunteer twice a week at food pantry mostly senior volunteers who take responsible care. We are wondering if we'll be able or want to go to Florida this Fall/Winter Season. Getting in easy, getting back to Illinois the question - 2 week quarantine from certain states. We have a daughter in Palm Springs, Ca. but they are having spikes in the virus and might be closing down again. Might be a snowy Illinois winter for us "snowbirds."
From South Africa: Our numbers of positive infections are going through the roof (and realistically, those are only a fraction of the numbers actually infected but not tested) but the good news is that our death rate is so low. Our nation is despondent - of course due to fears about the virus but also due to the restrictions put in place by the government which have totally destroyed the economy (millions of businesses lost now on top of the fact that the economy was already in dire straits pre-Covid), impoverished millions and brought about food hardships (aka starvation), and imposed ridiculous rules which have no basis in logic. But we do what we can and try to remain upbeat and follow all news avidly (which adds to misery sometimes!).
And, finally ...
Some inspiration from a little fellow who, although known as a hermit, is not afraid to go out and explore:
That’s it for now. Take care, everyone. Loretta & Darrel.
