A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[Froggy]

Visited Bangkok's Chinatown, Yaowarat last week to do some last minute Chinese New Year shopping. I was very early arriving there about 6.30am so the streets are rather quiet.

Here's the scene of the streets

Visited the Chinatown market

 

[Froggy]

Some photos of life at Yaowarat in the morning mostly opening of shops

 

[Froggy]

First of all I would like to wish everyone in this forum a Happy & Healthy & Prosperous Lunar New Year. Have a Great Rabbit Year!

Every eve of lunar new year Chinese all over the world will try their best to have reunion dinner with the family. So every year I will try my best to come back to Singapore to have my reunion dinner with my mom. I'd like to share my reunion dinner photos with all of you here.

The spread of 10 dishes

Lorbak

Brocoli

Roast chicken

Meatballs

Chapchai

Fried noodles

Roast pork belly

Prawns

Steamed golden pomfret

FIsh maw pig stomach pepper soup

Happy holidays

 

[Froggy]

Fried noodles for my family Chinese New Year party

 

[Froggy]

Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year. Time passes quickly and tomorrow is time to go back to Thailand to join my fellow Thai salesmen in selling screws.

Had a great dinner tonight, all home cooked (except the yu-sheng)

Started with yu-sheng lo-hei bought this from Putian restaurant


The its the actual dinner

Braised abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber, chicken, shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, scallops etc

Pork meatballs

Treadfin steamed with soya sauce

Prawns

Cabbage soup with fish maw and abalone

Great meal with the family

 

[Froggy]

This year’s cold spell in Bangkok is most unusually long I believe it’s almost 2 months now, usually it lasts only 2 weeks.

It’s 7.32am now

But I’m not complaining

 

[Froggy]

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/s...ill-announce-his-return-to-thailand-this-year

Former PM Thaksin says daughter Paetongtarn will announce his return to Thailand this year

Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra (right) during a visit to a community in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan 21. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

ANGKOK - Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra insists his return to Thailand will come without help from Pheu Thai or the ruling Palang Pracharath Party and will be announced by his daughter Paetongtarn.

Thaksin made the latest declaration on returning to his homeland during a discussion on the Clubhouse social media app on Tuesday night.

It came amid rumours that Palang Pracharat and Pheu Thai have done a deal for Thaksin to return after the general election, scheduled for May.

The former PM was answering questions from supporters in a live session held by the CARE Kid Kluan Thai (Think and Move Thailand) Facebook page.

Asked when he would return to Thailand, Thaksin revealed that he suffered an illness last year that disrupted his plans to come back.

“I intended to do so and I sped up oxygen treatment before the year-end. But the situation remained dangerous and my children had concerns over my safety,” he said. The ex-PM did not reveal why he needed oxygen therapy, though he reportedly caught Covid-19 last year.

“Anyway, I can confirm that I’ll definitely return and I want to emphasise here that I won’t be seeking help from any political party, including Pheu Thai. I’ll depend on my own heart, so don’t worry about me.”

Thaksin asked supporters to listen out for an announcement by his youngest daughter, Ms Paetongtarn, who is set to be unveiled as Pheu Thai’s candidate for prime minister at the next election.

“Ing (Paetongtarn) will announce when I’ll be back,” Thaksin added.

The former prime minister said no amnesty law would be enacted to pardon him and Pheu Thai would not seek compromise with Palang Pracharath over an amnesty.

“I depend on myself. I won’t beg for help from (Palang Pracharath). I can help myself and I’ll definitely return,” he declared.

Complaining of persecution by Thai authorities during his exile, he said he would return to his homeland to defend himself.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup on Sept 19, 2006 while attending a United Nations meeting in New York. He returned in April 2008 to a hero’s welcome only to flee from a corruption trial in August 2008. He was eventually sentenced to a total of 10 years in jail.

An amnesty push by the government of his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, sparked street protests that culminated in the 2014 coup led by then Army chief Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.

On Tuesday, former red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan alleged that Thaksin had betrayed his supporters before the coup by compromising with Mr Prayut to block red shirts from protesting.

Mr Jatuporn said Mr Prayut had been able to stage the coup only because Thaksin had done a deal with him to halt any red-shirt mass protests.

Mr Jatuporn also claimed that Thaksin had neutralised the red-shirt movement after it helped his proxy Pheu Thai party to win power.

He added that including Thaksin as a beneficiary of the amnesty push had triggered its failure, leaving many of the red shirts who should have been pardoned for political offences in jail.

Asked to comment on Mr Jatuporn’s claims, Thaksin shrugged off the allegations.

“It’s okay. It’s natural. I want to tell red shirts that humanity does matter and all understand it, including the love for democracy,” he replied.

“People seek many ways to survive and I don’t mind if they attack me.”

Thaksin said he was confident that the “pro-democracy side”, or Pheu Thai and the Move Forward Party, would win over 300 House seats at the election, citing recent opinion polls.

As a result, the pro-democracy faction would definitely win the election and form the next coalition government, he added. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

 

[Froggy]

Finally it was time to go home. At Changi Airport SQ lounge

Very nice nasi lemak

and laksa

 

[Froggy]

Taking off Changi Airport for Bangkok

Fish curry with rice meal

Fish was really good

Salad

Cheeses

Dessert

 

[Froggy]

Night landing in Bangkok, beautiful

 

[blackmondy]

Night landing in Bangkok, beautiful

Welcum back to the land of traffic jams.

BTW is the MRT system fully operational yet ? I used to live at Changwattana area years back and they were building the overhead tracks.

 

[Froggy]

Welcum back to the land of traffic jams.

BTW is the MRT system fully operational yet ? I used to live at Changwattana area years back and they were building the overhead tracks.

The line along Chaeng Wattana Road is known as the Pink Line which is still under construction and should be running second half of this year. Its a BTS monorail system.

 

[Froggy]

This is crazy. Unbelievable. It’s almost February and tomorrow morning expect to be 17 degC

 

[Froggy]

Monday felt like having mutton curry so went to the supermarket bought 1.5kg of lamb to cook

I ate with roti prata

 

[Froggy]

Moon tonight - Last day of Chinese New Year

 

[Froggy]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tr...1&pub_date=20230206190000&seq_num=18&si=44594

Thai tourism struggles to find workers as visitor numbers swell
Labor shortage creates headwind in sector that once comprised 18% of GDP

Since Thailand fully reopened for tourism in July 2022, the country has welcomed more than 11 million foreign visitors. © Reuters
APORNRATH PHOONPHONGPHIPHAT, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 6, 2023 12:00 JST

BANGKOK -- Thailand's tourism industry is struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the sector now facing a labor shortage that could hinder a quick bounce back.

Since the government reopened the country in July 2022, Thailand has welcomed more than 11 million foreign tourists, well above the target of 10 million forecast by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

However, it is still unclear whether the surge in arrivals will be able to effect a quick turnaround in the industry, which once accounted for about 18% of Thailand's gross domestic product due to a shortage of workers.

Data from the Labor Ministry shows that the frequently visited southern beach town of Phuket is facing the most serious labor crunch. The tourism sector there needs to fill more than 17,000 positions, while the northern city of Chiangmai is about 9,000 workers short. Chonburi, just south of the capital Bangkok, is still trying to fill about 3,000 jobs.

"It's getting worse as more tourists come, and we don't have a large enough workforce to serve them," said Krisda Tansakul, adviser to the Thai Hotel Association. "We badly need more workers, from bellboys and cashiers to hotel managers."

TAT expected the number of foreign tourists to reach 25 million in 2023.

However, the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) -- a grouping of hotel operators and other related businesses -- was more optimistic, expecting up to 30 million foreign tourists this year, with total tourism revenue hitting three trillion baht ($91 billion).

"If this problem drags on, we may not be able to meet the demands of those 25 to 30 million tourists coming into Thailand," said TCT President Chamnan Srisawat in comments to Nikkei Asia. "This means we would miss tourism-based revenue targets."

But even if the industry finds enough workers, profits could be smaller than expected due to rising costs.

"Hotels need to pay higher electricity bills and find more manpower, resulting in higher labor costs. Even our bus drivers need to pay higher fuel prices," Ekkasit Ngamphichet, president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, told Nikkei. "[Both] are unlikely to profit much."

The COVID pandemic adversely affected around 3.9 million employees in the tourism sector, according to a study by the National Institute of Development Administration. © Reuters

Thai tourism peaked in 2019, when the country welcomed nearly 40 million foreign tourists.

Then COVID struck, plunging the number of foreign tourists to 6.7 million in 2020, which dwindled to 427,869 in 2021. Since then, the number has jumped to 11 million as of the second half of 2022 after the country reopened.

But the steep drop-off in tourism hammered some 3.9 million workers in the sector, according to a study by the National Institute of Development Administration. Data from the Labor Ministry indicates that around 7.7 million workers were in the tourism industry before the pandemic.

Around 60% of people laid off returned to hometowns to work in the agriculture sector. Another 20% looked for new jobs in other industries while the remaining 20% started their own business.

"Those who found new jobs with higher incomes -- and particularly those who started their own business -- are feeling much safer after having moved on, and will most likely not go back to previous [tourism-related] jobs," said Vacharee Prashyanusorn, TCT president of Nakhonratchasima province.

Vacharee, who operates a hotel in Khao Yai, 130 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, said hotel operators were suffering the most, as they need to quickly staff positions to meet expected demand from millions of Chinese tourists after Beijing recently reopened borders.

"Big hotel chains are fleshing out their workforces by offering larger salaries, but small and midsized hotels still have liquidity issues, making it harder for them to spend on attracting new employees," said Chamnan of TCT.

To capitalize on the resurgence in Thai tourism, Chamnan said the TCT is working with educational institutions nationwide to find workers willing to fill open positions. The TCT is bringing in trainees from schools devoted to tourism and hotel management from several universities.

"It is a win-win measure because the trainees will get the jobs they are studying for, while operators can finally get the workforce at the right time," said Chamnan.

Moreover, the TCT has also received support from the Government Savings Bank, which offered a 5-billion baht loan for small and midsized hotels to help tackle liquidity problems.

"With this kind of help, we expect the tourism industry to get back to pre-COVID levels by the end of the year," Chamnan said.

 

[Froggy]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Fi...1&pub_date=20230208190000&seq_num=15&si=44594

Thai pandemic borrowing binge prompts calls for repayment delays
Household debt emerges as campaign issue with general election looming

As Thailand draws closer to general elections, the second largest party in the ruling coalition is promising stressed-out households a three-year debt holiday. © Getty Images
FRANCESCA REGALADO, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 8, 2023 13:35 JST

BANGKOK -- The surge in Thai consumer borrowing during the pandemic has become a campaign issue in the Southeast Asian country, with populist politicians pushing for a multi-year debt holiday.

Thai households owe more as a percentage of gross domestic product than any other country in the region, according to the latest Bank of Thailand figures, reflecting a jump in borrowing that occurred as COVID dealt a blow to an economy that relies heavily on tourist revenues.

Thai consumer debt stood last September at 14.9 trillion baht, or 86.8% of GDP, up from 70% in early 2020. Between 2019 and 2020, consumer loan delinquencies of up to 90 days tripled to more than 1 trillion baht -- and have stayed above that level ever since, the central bank says.

"COVID has turned people with good discipline into ones with severe debt in just two years," Surapol Opasatien, chief executive of the National Credit Bureau, which tracks millions of debtors for the country's banks, told reporters in December.

Government forbearance programs have helped cushion the blow for borrowers. But many of these efforts are due to expire in the next few months, and with general elections looming, some Thai politicians are calling for further repayment delays.

The second-largest party in the governing coalition, the Bhumjaithai Party, has proposed a three-year consumer-debt holiday financed by the issuance of new government bonds.

"COVID has put us through tough times for three years. So, whoever has lawful debt, Bhumjaithai will give you a debt holiday of up to 1 million baht for three years," said Anutin Charnvirakul, the party's leader and Thailand's health minister.

Chartthaipattanakla, a party led by a former finance minister, has called for replacing the National Credit Bureau's debtor list with a formal credit scoring system. The Bank of Thailand and commercial banks have opposed the proposal, arguing it would undermine the credibility of the Thai banking system and make it harder to make loans.

The debt burden on individuals factored into the central bank's hesitance last year to raise interest rates in line with the U.S. Federal Reserve and neighboring countries. The bank finally bowed to inflation in August, and the policy rate now stands at 1.5% after four rate hikes.

The policy change will increase the burdens on borrowers of limited means who have taken on floating-rate loans, said Thitima Chucherd, head of economic and financial market research at SCB Economic Intelligence Center. "Although the impact of interest rate hikes may be limited to some certain types of debt, a higher debt burden could make those low-income households become more vulnerable."

Since 2017, the central bank has been working with lenders to restructure consumer debts of up to 2 million baht. More than 30,000 debtors with a combined 6.85 billion baht in principal were in the program as of August.

One of those participants, Mam, a single mother in northern Thailand, said she found herself struggling with debt since she shut down her part-time flea-market business four years ago after having a child. She owed money on her business credit card, a personal loan from her employer on another job and on loans for two cars, both of which were eventually seized.

Last year, she applied to the Bank of Thailand's debt mediation program. The clinic took on 60% of her 163,000 baht credit-card debt and reduced her monthly payment to 750 baht. "I used to feel that I had nowhere to turn, but I decided to participate in the debt clinic," Mam said.

Monitoring Thailand's consumer debt burden is tricky for the central bank because the commercial banks it oversees only account for 43% of household loans. The rest are made by other kinds of financial companies, such as specialized lenders and savings cooperatives.

The impact on banks depends on their customer mix. Profits at Bangkok Bank, the largest Thai bank by assets, rose 10.6% last year, reflecting strong returns from corporate customers. By contrast, Thailand's second-largest bank, Kasikornbank, which lends mainly to consumers and smaller businesses, reported a 6% fall in profits in 2022 as provisions for bad loans increased 28.73% to 51.9 billion baht.

 

[Froggy]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tr...1&pub_date=20230210123000&seq_num=12&si=44594

Thai Airways on track to exit rehabilitation early: CEO
Carrier eyes increased service to China and Japan as travel recovers

Thai Airways plans to launch new flights to five Chinese cities this year, including Beijing and Shanghai. © Reuters
YOHEI MURAMATSU, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 10, 2023 03:50 JST

BANGKOK -- Thai Airways is expected to conclude a restructuring plan ahead of schedule, new CEO Chai Eamsiri told reporters Thursday, as a worldwide relaxation of pandemic restrictions spurs travel demand.

The Thai flag carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 amid headwinds from COVID-19. In plans announced last year, it aims to complete restructuring in 2024 through a debt-for-equity swap, and is looking to resume trading on the stock market in 2025.

The restructuring plan is 70% complete, said Chai, who took the top post effective Feb. 1.

Thai Airways will officially announce its 2022 results by the end of the month. Revenue increased nearly fourfold last year to about 90 billion baht ($2.69 billion), Chai said.

The carrier predicts another 40% increase in 2023, which would bring revenue to about 70% of the pre-pandemic figure from 2019. It also aims to expand its fleet to 58 aircraft from the current 49.

Chai said he wanted to expand service to China, Japan and Europe. Thai Airways plans to launch new flights to five Chinese cities this year, including Beijing and Shanghai.

In Japan, Chai is more focused on increasing the frequency on existing routes than establishing new ones. He is considering more flights to and from the Haneda and Narita airports serving Tokyo, as well as Kansai International Airport serving Osaka.

Overall, Thai Airways expects to resume 65% of pre-COVID routes this year and 85% in 2025.

Chai is Thai Airways' first permanent CEO since Sumeth Damrongchaitham stepped down in April 2020. He served as chief financial officer until taking the top post.

 

[Froggy]

One of the mornings this week I had to leave home very early for a long drive to Rayong for work.

I had to make a quick stop at a nearby 7Eleven for drinking water. Coming out of the store I saw people buying breakfast from street hawkers so I decided to take a video to show a typical morning scene at a 7Eleven store in Thailand.


For breakfast I stopped at the highway rest point along the highway between Bangkok and Pattaya


I had breakfast at Starbucks

Breakfast

 

[daryl76]

I was in thailand during cny also, love the place..... wouldn't mind if can retire there, not in bkk of cos, traffic jam is crazy