Songkran

Songkran has more or less been cancelled this year. No parade, no water splashing and strict social distancing regulations. To be honest we won't miss the water splashing, and a lot of people whom we have spoken to feel the same. It is still a holiday and many places will close for a couple of days. Our swimming pool and gym have been closed. This decision has not gone down well. Our pool is chlorinated plus we were already restricted to only 4 people at a time being allowed to swim, a booking in system was in place. The dissent has been so strong that we are hoping for a reversal.

There have been more covid cases, Chiang Mai is recording 200 new cases a day, fortunately no deaths have been reported. A Field hospital has been set up to accommodate 1,000 patients and a second hospital is being constructed with an additional 1,000 beds. Apparently if you have to go to one of these hospitals you have to take your own bedding and toiletries (including toilet paper).

However, the death toll for the first day of Songkran stands at 54, with over 300 injuries.

The Thai Pavilion at our condo has been decorated for Songkran.

Yesterday I went to the hairdressers. All the staff wore masks, and I kept mine on for most of the time. I had to take it off for hair washing.

As yet we are not in lock down mode. Apparently an assessment will be made after Songkran. Most people are very unhappy that people from Bangkok have been allowed to travel. They are supposed to self isolate for 14 days, but as most will only be here for a short time the chances are that they won't. It is a crazy and scary situation. We will not be going out for the next few days. We will go to our local supermarket today and stock up on food.