awesum4

The costs are extraordinary but that's what we are trying. What would be the costs of thousands dying and tens of thousands being very very sick like Italy? What is the cost of the 12 doctors there that have died so far? We have a fairly low national debt, so the government has decided it worth increasing that to cover some of the costs. Maybe it wont work, but it's worth a go.

And God said "sorry I'm in self isolation, have been since that Martin Luther pissed me off"

We were there to attend our Chinese students wedding to a Japanese guy she met here. Father was a very wealthy guy from Hong Kong. Flew 16 people from Hong Kong, 16 from Japan and us from New Zealand. Put us up in the Moana Surfrider which is definitely not the cheapest hotel in the world. Bloody lavish wedding in a chapel on the beach. Seafood dinners in the Hilton. I said to her "this must have cost a fortune". Her reply "way cheaper than Hong Kong, there we would have 2,000 guests". Father swam to Hong Kong from the mainland when he was 15. Started as a worker in a sweatshop and

In most countries the strategy is to flatten the curve so health systems aren't overloaded. But here we are trying to eliminate it. All but 2 of the cases are linked to people arriving from overseas, so little or no community transfer. If people isolate the virus cant spread and therefore dies. So as long as no new cases come from overseas we would be free from it. Hawaii is even further from its neighbours than we are, so could try the same strategy. But it requires an almost complete shutdown and everyone following the rules. Kiwis are more likely to do that than Americans.

If a total quarantine for 4 weeks actually stops the virus completely the economy will recover gradually. If lesser measures are used the economy could take a lot longer to recover, and people continue to get really sick and possibly die. Lots of industries especially tourism are fucked either way. How many tourists do you expect would holiday in Hawaii over the next two months if they left it open? We were only on Hawaii itself for a week, so one luau was enough, we went where our travel agent suggested. It's a pity we weren't in contact with you so we could have gone to o

Unless you are one of the people who dies from it. Remember men die at twice the rate of women, smokers die at twice the rate of nonsmokers, old people die at a much higher rate than young, people with serious medical conditions die at a much higher rate than healthy ones. If you are an old, male, who smokes, is overweight and already has health problems and you catch this once the hospitals have more patients than ventilators then you are fucked. But it would be a comfort to know tourists would still be going to the luau at the King Kamehameha hotel.

New Zealand is closed to all except citizens and permanent residents returning home. The only exceptions are family of the above and some workers in the health sectors. Is she one of those people? If not she needs to check carefully before she travels here, they are refusing to let people in.

Apparently it costs a lot to store planes for a year or more....if you had a really big backyard they would probably give you a couple for free as it would save them money. You could then refit them inside and rent them out on Airbnb

I cant see any airline buying new planes this year. If 80% or more of their planes are parked up why would they buy new planes? Even when flights start again it will be months if not years before demand is anywhere near 2019 levels. The thousands of people losing their jobs sure wont be holidaying overseas this year. Both Boeing and Airbus are in big trouble.

I would agree with you that isnt worth the effort if you normally live in Thailand.

How many would have been in the air at the same time a month ago? A lot of people are still getting home, can you please look again in exactly one weeks time?

Air New Zealand has grounded 80% of its planes for an indefinite period. It will lay off 30% of its staff immediately and ask the rest to use up their holidays or take unpaid leave. As tourists are no longer allowed into the country (3.4 million came last year) and returning citizens having to self isolate for 14 days their international fleet will be mostly restricted to cargo planes. All gatherings of more than 500 people are cancelled, so no touring rock stars, no conferences. Therefore a drop in domestic flights as well. I think most airlines will be doing the same over th

Maybe it's not a footpath, certainly there doesnt seem to be anyone walking along it. Maybe it is simply a raised draincover so motorists won't drive over the drains and fall into the open access holes.

Brilliant....I wonder if you can get the cabin crew to put them out there mid flight if they wont shutup.

I have never worked out why guys keep their wallet in a back pocket. Front pocket is way more secure.

I got it, and I'm not American.

In farangland I've had someone find a wallet I dropped and return it to me. I gave them a reward for doing so. I think its definitely the right thing to do.

Shouldn't this be in the accomadation section......I was hoping for a trip report about two mates one of whom was filthy rich and the other just struggling along...

Looks like it should actually be May until October.

Hopefully the rains will come and the reservoirs refill before I come over in July. When I was in Buriram last August the farmers I spoke to were complaining how dry the wet season was. Hopefully 2020 will be back to normal.

Thanks for that extra detail EP. It certainly seems stupid to fly civilian and military aircraft from the same airport, especially during a conflict.

Thanks for the clarification. The points in dispute are worrying aspects to this case. The captain was ordered to stop pursuing the iranian gunboats, had he have obeyed that order he would not have been in the position to need to fire on the aircraft. Was he reprimanded for this? The plane was on a commercial flight path heading for Dubai. It was climbing as normal, not descending to attack. They mistook a civilian airliner for a much smaller jet fighter. Were the aircraft recognition systems that enable antiaircraft systems to tell friend from foe and military from civi

At least they have openly admitted it in only a few days. Which means they may learn from their mistakes. The USA denied they shot down the Iran air flight in 1988. Then they explained it was in international airspace and descending towards the ship that shot it down, when it was in Iranian airspace and climbing. Two other American warships recognized it as a commercial flight. The captain of the ship who shot it down was given a medal for his services during that time. He should have been punished instead. Quite a contrast in handling very similar fuckups.

Be careful Bazle, little wee Hyku will throw his toys out of the cot and put you on block..... now that would be funny...

Fair enough. The rooms were small. When I returned to Pattaya from my trip out east I stayed at Opey de Place on Soi Lengkee. It's a lot smaller and right in the centre of the action. Only a small pool but it was normally empty, always empty recliners and it had trees where you could relax in the shade. No balcony with a view, but you could sit at the front of the hotel, have a coffee while watching the world go by.