Advertisement
A near-empty flight LX 180 flew us on March 18 to Bangkok. One wonders how long the airline industry can sustain this situation. Nenad remembered reading an interview with the Chairman of Swiss saying that their budget until July 2021 is not losing more money than 2 million Swiss Franks a day !!! Courtesy of the Swiss tax payer. In Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport an army of staff expected the few passengers. They were all wearing full protective gear with mask, face shield, head cover and full body protective plastic coats inclusive shoe protection. We felt like being in a science fiction movie. In a way funny to observe, but from a safety perspective quite professionally done. Despite all our negative Covid PCR tests we are treated as if carrying the virus. After all checks and document submissions (we had to bring along a stack of documents we had to prepare before our departure form Zurich), we were escorted to our van who was awaiting us with the task to bring us straight to the hotel room in Silom, an area in central Bangkok, which we then will not be allowed to leave at all for 14 days. The driver's sections of
Our room with a view
Bandara Suites Silom the van was shielded with a plexiglass wall fully sealed. He was dressed as well in full disease gear. To talk to him we had to should considerably to overcome the plexiglass wall. Nenad was very curious if he can talk him into a detour (for a seductive tip of course), so we can get the 'sticky rice mango' dish from our favorite shop in Thonglor, the area where we lived before we left Bangkok last year. This is Thailand and anything is possible! So indeed we ended stopping at the roadside, him jumping out of the car in his full outfit, running across the busy road, buying the stuff for us. Any special wish in principle in Thailand is possible. This mindset Nenad would really wish to find in Switzerland. Well, what an illusion.
The quarantine we had to pass in the Bandara Suites, a four star hotel downtown Bangkok. We had a spacious one bedroom suite with kitchenette etc. The hotel kept its promise and prepared the room as we requested. Gym equipment and additional supplies were all neatly arranged. As we put our stuff into the room, the door shut and we would be confined in
it until day 5 when we are tested again for Covid. If negative we then have a 45 minutes chance to walk (no swimming) around the hotel pool. The room has a beautiful view of the city on the Lumpini Park. So we could observe every day in the morning and late afternoon people doing their jogs and walks, wishing we could be there. For us it is cross trainer, bicycle, weights and yoga (we arranged live sessions with our Yoga studio we were members of), reading, Netflix and of course calling all Thailand folks we knew. We also enjoyed the time we had to just talk and reminiscent on all we have experienced in the last 10 months. It dawned on us that Nui and Nenad were spending the last 10 months literally every minute together. And we are still happy together !!!
Saturday April 3 our prison sentence is over and we can throw ourselves into Bangkok's social life. Curious to see how Covid the the long absence of tourists have changed the city. Meeting friends is on the agenda, starting with Ana, Tomislav and their kids, our Dalmatian friends, who have made our Croatia base camp
in Vodice possible. And of course evenings in Sole Mio our second home were planned.
In Buriram, Nui's home province, our monk wedding ceremony we belatedly held, to appease the spirits of Isaan, and Nenad's mother in law.... This was planned already for last year, but dropped due to Covid, we had to keep our promise to Nui's parents and sisters and do it this time. Before any important event Buddhists will “make a merit” to call good things into one’s life. There are numerous ways to “make merit,” from the release of a captive animal to donating money to a temple. For a wedding, the family will invite nine (9) monks to bless the bride and groom as well as their home. The monks will chant, as well as offer life lessons, and in return the family will feed them before sending them on their way. This ceremony may be treated as a separate event entirely. It could happen days before the actual wedding. These days, it will often become part of one wedding day’s happening. So it was in our case. The morning ceremony consists of a tradition called Sai Monkhon (Joining by Thread). All guests will
tie a little rope around the wrist of either couple and attach money to it. This tradition is more Khmer than Siamese. Buriram being ethnically a Khmer population they even today follow many Khmer traditions and speak Khmer dialects (Cambodian language). Nenad brought a bottle of home distilled travarica (Dalmatian grappa with herbs) Andelko in Tucepi gave him in September 2020. And as so often when you celebrate with drinks like this, family become friends and friends become family; and all join in in a happy choir irrespective of his or her native language. The big difference to a Balkan or Indian weddings that lasts for ever, in Isaan one starts early and finished rather early too. With satisfaction having squared off our dues and experienced another unique moment, Nui and Nenad closed their chapter of marriage proceedings.
Thailand was for many months almost free of Covid cases and life could evolve within the country borders freely (free travel between provinces, open restaurants and coffeeshops, open pups and massage parlors, etc.), very much unlike in Europe. An incident sparked in Thonglor, an upmarket expat living area (very familiar to us as we also lived there during the seven years
in town), changed all that precisely as Nenad and Nui started to enjoy their stay. The Japanese Ambassador held a "boys" party in a prominent night club in Thonglor. Someone brought the virus to this party and the whole crowd of a hundred or more generously was spreading it thereafter into all corners of the country. The consequence for us was severe. We had to cancel our stay on the tropical island of Koh Samui as travel restrictions started to be imposed. Closures of restaurants, ban of alcohol sales etc etc were on the agenda again, as it was the case a year ago just prior of our departure.
Luckily our friend helped us to get by. We spent time with them in their houses in Bangkok and Hua Hin. And of course our former second home the Sole Mio restaurant became a regular meeting point. The hospitality of our friends was really great, but Nui & Nenad did not expect this kind of restrictive stay.It hit our morale quite a bit. In addition the atmosphere in Bangkok was simply sad. Gone the Thai smile, gone the buzz in the streets, gone the day and night life Bangkok was
so famous for. Too many shops remained closed, the shopping centers empty halls, lots of restaurants closed for good. It was obvious to us that many people struggled to make ends meet, the homeless and beggars mounting in numbers. Also Nui's friends were among those who lost jobs and faced an uncertain future. All this made our stay anything but upbeat. Sadness prevailed, despite all efforts to celebrate reunions. Also the weather cried. April usually a dry and hot month saw an early monsoon and we had rain literally every afternoon and evening, but still with 30 to 35 degrees of course.
After six weeks in Thailand, actually it were four, as we spent 14 days in quarantine, we got ready to fly back to Switzerland. A PCR Covid test was required, as so often during our travels. Getting one became a bit of a night market shopping tour. The private hospitals do them for THB 4'500. But they are not sure the results are available in 48h, which one needs if you want to fly the next day. There is a way to get the results in 24 hours for a fee of THB 10'000 !!!. Government hospitals
were overwhelmed because of the new wave of infections. There is a home testing service (where nurses come to your house for the procedure) you pay THB 6'000. Inquiries revealed they are fully booked for 6 weeks in advance. Lucky for us Nui found a Government facility (converted school) which catered for travelers only. This opportunity we took and paid THB 2'900 for the test. Covid is indeed opening doors for certain people to make money.
We were fare welled by a group of friends at an empty Suvarnabhumi airport and boarded SWISS back to Zurich, uncertain when we will be coming back.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.05s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0285s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb