On May 24th, 2022, the Thai cabinet extended the state of emergency nationwide by two months until July 31st, 2022, ostensibly to deal with the local Covid 19 situation. The extionsion was proposed by the National Security Council (NSC). The NSC functions as the operations unit of the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration and is supervised by Thailand's Prime Minister, Dictator, Songwriter and the man of many words Prayut Chan-o-cha. This is the 18th extension of the special law. The government insistes that the extension is necessary to facilitate the swift and integrated implementation of measures to control Covid-19 for the sake of public safety. This special law was enacted March 26th, 2020, and gives Prayut Chan-o-cha wide-ranging powers, including a ban on large gatherings to prevent anti-government protests.

Bangkok Post: Govt plans to charge foreigners more than Thais for hotel rooms Bangkok Post: Hoteliers deride government proposal for dual pricing 2PriceThailand.com: Additional information Two Price Thailand: Latest information on Twitter Update (July 8th): The (stupid) tourism minister said they did not give a mandatory order about the issue, but want to encourage hotels to shift room rates based on the market. Too late, he has already damaged the image of the Kingdom.

Bangkok Post: Tourism fee to hit all foreigners
Expat and diplomat exemptions ruled out
If you arrive on a 60 day tourist visa you are only covered for the first 30 days .... Pattaya Mail: Thai compulsory insurance for all foreigners threatens chaos When entering the land of smiles, you will soon have to pay an insurance fee of 300 Baht. Then there is the exit tax of 700 Baht. Then there is the fee of 1'000 Baht (or more) for the re-entry permit for each trip abroad. And, of course, double to five times the price for most tourist attractions. Since the military under Dictator Prayut Chan-o-cha took power, Thailand has become a very greedy place. TwitLonger: More doubts over the introduction of the new Thai tourist arrival tax Of the 300 Baht, 11.3% or 34 Baht will be used for a 30 day insurance. The remaining 88.7% or 266 Baht will be allocated to a fund for the development of infrastructure for foreign tourism in the Kingdom, i.e. the money will go into some as yet undefined pockets ....

Bangkok Post: Thailand to offer land ownership to lure wealthy foreigners
Other countries are looking for brains, not money .... Bangkok Post: Keys to the kingdom?
A bold initiative by Deputy Interior Minister Niphon Bunyamanee to allow rich foreigners to purchase plots of land and property requires a serious review Pattaya Mail: New laws to permit foreign ownership of Thai property will benefit China
Following decades of fevered debate, Thailand looks set to allow billionaire non-Thais to own property for residential use. The restrictions are substantial. Bangkok Post: Explainer: Exploring the land scheme for foreigners

On June 17th, 2022, the Thai Centre for the Administration of Covid 19 situation decided that on July 1st, 2022 (or after publication in the Royal Gazette): Foreigners will no longer be required to register with the Thailand Pass (TP) system or acquire a Certificate of Entry (CoE) before entering Thailand. The minimum health insurance coverage of 10'000 USD for foreigners will also be lifted. Mask mandate will be scrapped, making it purely voluntary outdoors or in uncrowded places. Face mask wearing will still be required in crowded and poorly ventilated areas such as public transport, and markets and concert venues. Pubs and clubs will be allowed to serve alcohol until 02:00 (2am). Gatherings of more than 2'000 people must be registered with the Provincial Communicable Disease Committee, while authorities advise mask-wearing in enclosed areas or large gatherings, especially for those in at-risk groups. Redesignating all 77 provinces nationwide as green Covid surveilance zones. Temperature checkpoints for buildings or stores will no longer be mandatory. Social distancing will only be a recommendation. However, visitors will still have to provide proof of Covid vaccinations or test results if asked via random inspection on arrival or exit. If they cannot provide proof of vaccination or test results, they will be tested with an antigen test kit. This regulation will stay in place until the emergency decree is lifted. Furthermore, Thailand’s CCSA plans to lift its notorious alcohol sales ban from 14:00 – 17:00, in hotels at least, starting July 1st. According to Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, restaurants and tourist attractions may also sell alcohol during this time, at provincial governors’ discretion.

The Straits Times: Sell premium': Thailand discourages discounts, wants high-value tourists The Pattaya News: Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul wants more premium Thai tourists, urges certain businesses not to discount or focus on low prices

Years of trials with Eucalyptus Citronella and Eucalyptus Citriodora have shown me that despite all the "reports" on the Internet to the contrary, the plants do not repel mosquitoes. The plants do contain the mosquito-repellent citronella oil in their leaves. However, they hardly allow it to escape. The oil must be pressed out. Since the plant does not do this itself, it cannot use it to chase away mosquitoes. The same oil is also contained in lemongrass and a few other plants. But the above also applies here. However, with the help of a retired macrobiologist, we have found a way to put a bit of a stop to the mosquito infestation. Mosquitoes have a very good olfactory organ that can perceive CO2 particularly well. Our CO2 emissions attract at least the female mosquitoes, because they need blood to reproduce. Their olfactory organ can localize CO2 to within a few hundred meters. With suitable - for mosquitoes - malodorous plants you can prevent the perceptibility of CO2, depending on wind conditions. Our experiments have shown that this is particularly well possible with lavender, but also with garlic and wild garlic. If this scent is in the air stream, mosquitoes can no longer locate CO2 and therefore refrain from a visite. The operation of the mosquito coil is based on the same knowledge. However, the smoke and tar components released in the process are not beneficial to our well-being. We can also point out a widespread misinformation of the advertising industry. Mosquitoes, unlike other insects, have very poor eyesight. Above all, they cannot localize ultraviolet light. Therefore, UV lamps are completely ineffective against mosquitoes. For an electric insect trap to work on mosquitoes, it would have to emit CO2, but it doesn't (yet).

In recent weeks, several new bars have opened in Soi Chaiyaphoon. Here we mention some of them: