petesie

The girls went to temple today only to find it closed... HBD Nutty!

I was just the creepy old git behind her taking the pic...

On the parcel post situ...I found the DHL office is still shipping air freight, located just off the 2nd road at Thip Plaza; I sent it yesterday afternoon and it arrives at my sons home tomorrow.

Someone did post on PA something to that effect; I did reply but when I hit submit the thread had gone. I considered it relevant, the knock on effect of impoverishment has to be an increase in crime through desperation. Girls who were prepared to stay are starting to realise this won't be over anytime soon and they can either eat or pay rent but not both. Nisa is at our house now as she is leaving her stuff here and catching the bus tonight. Not a bother bud; it's all part of the refurb, New is fed up of the middle bar girls who when asked if their bar is Newbar the answer is...yesss.

It's only been 11 days since the bars closed and now 5 since what was deemed as non essential stores locked their doors. April will surely be a telling month for the country as peoples available funds dry up, not only the bar workers. We did some renovations on the house which kept a team of fellas gainfully employed for nearly 3 weeks, then we started on the bar refurb. The head guy had to stop due to a personal injury (done at his home!) and now when he wants to restart he cannot as all the usual providers have closed so there's nowhere for him to get materials. The hotel where New's sister & Venus works have closed their doors for the foreseeable future, Songtaews have been taken off the road & motocy guys are clapping their hands at anyone who moves. Panic buying has more or less stopped as folk realise provisions are still there. Surprisingly the girls have been realistic so far with money requests, we had one yesterday for 300 baht which surely must be a record. The guys who live here mostly already have their requirements such as transport, furniture etc., there is no Farang traffic in or out of the country so the 20% of GDP it brings has dried up...that has a serious knock on effect for businesses that provide support to that market and the revenue it brings to the Thai workers. It brings it home when you realise that for every income there is usually 5 people relying on that; New's 2 sisters are now out of work so someone has to help them and their kids survive, plus the old folks in the village. The girls that chose to remain are starting to realise they do not have the means to stay here and are now considering their options, the next few weeks will be...?

Cheers RX...might be posting myself at this rate.

A very beautiful Thai girl mate, cute 'n natural. After being without my Fuji X100f for 18 months I only went & left it in Ireland, I came with a small backpack and thought it was in there...so my i-phone pics are all I can offer. Crossing 2nd looking both ways from a deserted Soi MiT.

Doris had a good old yak with Jar this morning, some of the girls opted & preferred to stay in Patts; it was too difficult & awkward to get back to their homeplace and once there they're stuck indoors for 14 days, local food, dodgy internet, no TV, mates etc..

Popped into town to see the old fella at the bar; he told us 2 guys came behind the bar last night to steal his bag but he woke up. Soi MIT is as desolate as it seems in the pics with Buakhow not much better. Into Buakhow post office to send Doris's old I-phone 8 to my son to discover it's sea freight only and approx 3 months...never even considered that. We then went to Tops in Central for a looksee and bought a pyrex dish, this seems to be the only store which has shelves open where you can actually buy the odd household item which isn't food. I've bought loads of dishes over the last 5 years which never made the next condo move...she forget. I did see something else that was nice on the way into Tops...

Cheers fellas! Girls still reporting in, heard from Ked, Nutty, Ae, Bom & Pa today...Handbag is in her 14 days of self iso, Pa asked if the old LB who does their eyebrows etc. could sleep under the bar as he has money for room but not for food so until he's allowed to go on the bus he'll stop there; no issue, we'll pop by tomorrow to make sure he has a mat and give him some King Koi Nid Noi. Lazy old day as Doris was off to hospital so another few episodes of Letter for the King on Amazon Prime, yon Firestick has been dead handy of late. A Cumberland sausage casserole was put in the slow cooker for madame's fodder this evening. A swift trip to Makro then Tesco's for a top up, met Josh 'n Poo in Makro, he seemed in good spirits. Surprisingly the supermarkets weren't busy. A quiet Makro and a wee tightrope walker...Doris manages to water her garden while still yakking on the phone.

Another day drifts by...I'm awake at 7am every morning; I then have a 4 hour wait before Doris permits me to turf her out of her celestial snoring chariot, I really must break her out of the 'bar hours' routine as half my bloody day has already gone. A visit to the big C to check out the new opening hours; now 6am to 6pm, all restaurants/food outlets only open for take away, booze buying hours have been changed to 8am to 2pm which is actually a good move. Thermal image camera check as you enter in single file, sanitiser pre & post shop so they really are trying. Other inessential stores such as Homepro are closed; banks only letting a few folk in at a time so queues outside. The local markets have also restricted hours unfortunately...they get busy quick... Doris has to take her nephew for a hospital appointment tomorrow (good uncle), she heard through FB that the medical staff have run out of masks so she ordered a box to give to the staff.

After feeding them New dropped the girls off in town & picked up this 4.5 litre beauty on the way home... There's a method in me madness...all the non essential shops will be shut as of today as has happened in other countries. I recently found this shop on Pattaya Klang which does a great selection of whiskies at slightly cheaper rates than other outlets. The speciality bottles above can be found at only a few outlets; I saved nearly 2k baht by buying them at this store. During these trying times I canny do much but I can always be a canny Scot.

I think we all anticipate the bars not opening for a wee while. An announcement is to be made tomorrow; this is not expected to be good news but let's hope it's sensible for the sake of the Thai people. I'll say no more on that. The hooch shop also anticipate a closure as they're not shifting much stock so the one we use on Pattaya Klang thinks they will be closed next week. Our bond shop which we use for the beer is already closed. I'm Scottish so I'm thinking there's going to a price increase whenever they do open so I'm buying it in now. I've 2 wee 3 litre centrepieces in mind with a certain Scottish theme...

The girls are reportedly Ok, some gone home, some hanging around. Doris paid out the salaries today and also the loan requests, well not the one for 45k for a handbag...first time I've heard the casino called that. After checking out the bar progress and delivering some more new lights we had lunch out by the lake at the Lofts...what lake, more like a puddle or 2. Lunch was great, Doris ate the lot and had to be put to bed at 3pm due to being knocked comatose by Farang grub... Lake pics courtesy of Solice...

It's strange staying in for the evening instead of going to the bar...not quite used to that routine just yet. We ventured into town today to Makro just to get the staples in; they did temp check everyone on the way in and sanitiser offered & applied at entrance & exit. As expected the car park was packed but no sign of panic buying, just most folks Saturday morning shop with the majority, including us, masked up. We then shopped at Baan & Beyond for some more lights for the bar & some stuff for the house, stopped at Boontavorn to pick up some bedroom furniture and returned home. Town wasn't dead but definitely not as busy as the previous week. There is a Brit food shop which does a wide range of products who do home deliveries which I'd recommend to anyone who doesn't want to mingle at this time. The girls are confused as most of the locals are & as they don't usually listen to the international news they are subject to FB rumour control. A lady who came to wallpaper our bedroom was telling us how many were dead in Rayon...hadn't seen that on any newsfeeds. We had planned on going to the local gym but invested in some home fitness stuff instead; Doris is walking for an hour every night and is getting quite into it...now if I could only manage to kick her out of bed in the morning...