Rain!

 

Rains – hard rains – are finally here.  This time of year is always the most intense of the Rainy Monsoon, and we’re getting it every day now.  But earlier in the year, the weather gurus predicted an unusually early and heavy Rainy Season, and yet that didn’t happen.  Drought instead.  Who can really predict the weather that well? 

On the Covid-19 front:  My parents-in-law have finally received their first Covid vaccinations.  Tuk’s brother recently took them to the big vax center at Bang Sue that I had gone to in late July. 

Plus, Thailand is at a couple of turning points, re: Covid.  After a serious surge in infections and deaths since April, the plague has (perhaps) reached a peak recently, with some downturn in cases and deaths.  So, the authorities are taking a risk and trying to relax some of the strict public Covid restrictions.  As of today, restaurants are allowed to have dine-in customers, at 50% seating capacity, although no alcohol is to be served.  Malls and department stores are now open again, with strict safety precautions.  Still closed are cinemas, gyms, bars, etc. 

Originally, only customers who have been fully vaccinated would have been allowed to enter restaurants and malls, but, since only 10% of Thai people fit this criterion so far – and the Thai economy has been severely strangled by the lockdowns – the authorities have dropped this requirement.  We expect a jump in infections from the increased social interactions, but most folks think it is high time to let loose a little bit. 

I have a haircut appointment for tomorrow, since barbershops have now re-opened, and a haircut is overdue and badly needed in this heat!  So, I will take public transit for the first time in a while to get to my longtime barber in the middle of the city.  Then, some shopping.

There have been political protests for some time in the city, but since I haven’t been traveling it hasn’t been on my radar much.  They are not as massive or destructive as the 2010 Red Shirt riots, and I haven’t been paying attention to the politics of these events as much.  I don’t expect them to affect my travel tomorrow. 

-Zenwind. 

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