Drinkers all over the world are turning to brews that don't come with a buzz. They are increasingly worried about the health risks associated with alcohol and the consequences if driving a vehicle in a drunken state. Therefore, the big names in the brewing businesses are launching non-alcoholic versions of their beers. In Thailand Heineken launched its Heineken 0.0 (Heineken Zero Zero) last year. In other countries Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) launched non-alcoholic versions of Budweiser and Corona and Diageo its Guinness Zero. Carlsberg is producing the alcohol-free Carlsberg 0.0 beer since 2015. Since the two dominant Thai breweries Chang and Singha have nothing to offer, the government obviously wants to help the two supporters of the Military Junta and announced to raise the beer tax for non-alcoholic beers significantly. Thailand's government said it's considering a tax increase on alcohol-free beer in order to discourage drinkers from eventually switching to alcoholic drinks. Thailand's Health Ministry reasoned that once drinkers develop a taste for non-alcoholic beers, they will likely progress to the alcoholic version. A stupid assumption: 33% of Spaniards and 23% of Germans already are drinking non-alcoholic beers and Heineken reports the alcohol-free beer market is growing 9% a year in the U.K. According to Patchara Anantasilpa, director general of Thailand's Excise Department, non-alcoholic beer or “malt drinks” are actually defined by alcohol contents of 0.5 percent. This definition is also completely wrong! A non-alcoholic beer contains no more than 0.05% alcohol. Since January 23, 2015, alcoholic beverages can only be sold from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to midnight every day. The law explicitly mentions alcoholic beverages. According to several retailers, however, they are not allowed to sell non-alcoholic beer outside of these hours. Same as for soda water. Since the Thai authorities associated soda water with whisky, many outlets hesitated to sell soda water during the first years of the regulation. Don't tell these imbeciles that Ovaltine (Ovomaltine), Milo, Dmalt and many other drinks also contain malt! Otherwise they will restrict their sales too ....

On January 27th, 2020, Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand's Health Minister, told reporters that the coronavirus is just a type of flu. I see it as a flu. But on February 7th, 2020, Anutin Charnvirakul slammed foreign tourists who refused to wear face masks handed out by the government, saying they should be kicked out. They don't care about the big picture and these tourists are in the country. We're giving the masks to them and they still refuse. The Chinese, the Asians – they are all taking [the masks], but those ai Europeans… that's unbelievable. Obviously Mr. Anutin is too lazy to read - or he does not know to read at all: The WHO writes that wearing a medical mask is one of the prevention measures to limit spread of certain respiratory diseases, including 2019-nCoV, in affected areas. However, the use of a mask alone is insufficient to provide the adequate level of protection and other equally relevant measures should be adopted. If masks are to be used, this measure must be combined with hand hygiene and other IPC measures to prevent the human-tohuman transmission of 2019-nCov. The U.S. public health institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published the follwing advice about when to wear face masks and when that would not be necessary. - You have the symptoms of novel coronavirus. - You are a medical professional with novel coronavirus–infected patients. - You are in close proximity to someone who has novel coronavirus. - You are a member of the general public in a place where the virus is not spreading in the community. - Disposable face masks block large particles from entering the mouth. - The more tight-fitting N95 respirator mask is far more effective: It protects from airborne illnesses. Anutin Charnvirakul's boss, Thailand's Prime Minister - and the country's 'former' Dictator - Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is not one bit better. He showed his inability to put a face mask on properly on a few occasions. The coronavirus outbreak and PM2.5 microdust pollution have hit the Prayut government hard. Everything what the government has said or done seems to be wrong. The PM in particular took one hit after another with his seemingly uninformed comments. He first sparked off criticism when he said that no Thais living in the virus' epicentre of Wuhan had made a request to return home. Wrong! A number of Thai students in Wuhan had complained about food shortages and asked the government to help them to return to Thailand. Nevertheless, the armed forces told the press that 20 navy officers who had been overseeing construction of Thailand's brand-new submarine in Wuhan had already returned home on January 27th, 2020. Obviously, Thailand's Prime Minister and his government cares more about its armed forces than its citizens ... Prayut himself even told his citizens Fake News: On January 27th Prayut claimed that he had ordered preparations for evacuation flights a month ago [e.g. on December 27th, 2019]. That would indicate the PM were a clairvoyant as Chinese authorities only managed to identify the mysterious infection as a novel virus from the corona family on January 7th, 2020, .... Even in Thailand lies don't travel far.

On December 18th, 2019, Pattaya Deputy City Manager Worapot Pongpalee told businessmen and the press that the road works on Beach Road will be completed by February 13, 2020. A foreign expert who has been observing the works believes that the works will continue until June or July before street and promenade can be used properly again. Furthermore, he doubts that the system will work the way the Thai 'professionals' imagine. The pipes are practically laid flat. The sewage will be dammed up in the pipes, as no pumps have been seen so far.

On February 12th, 2020, Udom Thipdecho, director of the Chonburi Provincial Irrigation Department, as well as some Officials from the Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) told the Pattaya Business & Tourism Association that they have reduced the water pressure as much as 20 percent in some areas, but nevertheless the entire region still has running water. The officials claim that the five reservoirs serving Pattaya have still more than 260'000 cubic meters of water. That's enough water to last through June, even without rain, the highly educated officials promise. Nevertheless, the streets are already full of water trucks that deliver (dirty) water to hotels, restaurants, condominiums and housing estates - and nobody controls the quality of the water that the private water sellers deliver ...

Last month Pattaya City Hall announced that it will be focusing pedestrian safety as a priority in Pattaya in 2020. All just empty words, as the above picture proves. The pavement was completely redesigned a few weeks ago. And the result? No room for wheelchairs or prams, not even for obese people.

The beaches are already empty, the deckchairs mostly remain unused. Time to dream of better times, lots of time.

Some hotels in Pattaya report an occupancy rate of only 10%! Never experienced in the past 35 years. Does your business have a Plan B?