Thursday, April 28, 2022
6:55 a.m. Room 1102, Phannu House
Mae Sot, Thailand
The YouTube Premiere last night went very well, I thought. I certainly enjoyed watching my own video despite feeling at many points that I was talking way too much, speaking far too slowly, and focusing too much on Sukhothai history. In short, I kept feeling embarrassed because the video seemed so boring. And I was so conscious of the 25 people or so who were listed as watching along with me. I wanted the video to be more fun and faster-paced for them. And every time I slowed right down in the video, I kind of cringed inwardly. But at least the number of people watching with me didn’t drop down to zero. People seemed to hang in there for the full ninety minutes, and I guess that is saying something. Some people were also very generous with the Super Sticker and Super Chat features, and that was very encouraging. It gives me some hope that I might be able to continue the YouTube life.
I was assuming that this would be the last Sukhothai video that I would present as a Premiere. The remaining video is a very simple one in which I try Sukhothai noodles and then I drop by a camera store at a shopping mall. That hardly seems worthy of being a Premiere. But I’m thinking now that I could combine it with the first of the Mae Hong Son Loop Series. I could show both of them as Premieres on one night. And combining them might elevate the noodles video enough to make it not feel so strange as a Premiere. Then again, I wouldn’t want to steal the thunder of the first Mae Hong Son Loop video.
The big news from yesterday, which I actually forgot about until just now, is that Malaysia announced plans to scrap nearly all of their entry restrictions starting on May 1st. This came as a big and very happy surprise. That means that after May 1st, I won’t need to get a covid test before I get there and I won’t need to get another one after I land. Best of all, there will be no need to have special covid-19 health insurance. And there is no quarantine. Of course, all of this depends on me being fully vaccinated. If I were NOT vaccinated, I’d sill have to do all those things. But after May 1st, all I will have to do is download the special app, register on the app and upload my vaccination certificate, and then follow the various rules that are in effect in the country in terms of wearing masks and social distancing. It’s almost like Malaysia is going back to pre-pandemic standards for allowing tourists to enter the country. And if Malaysia is scrapping the health insurance requirement, perhaps all countries will end up doing the same thing.
I find it interesting that this dropping of requirements feels like a competition between countries. They are all competing to attract tourists again. And the more open the country, the better chance they will have of capturing a larger share of the tourist dollars that they hope will start to flow again this year. The idea is that tourists want to come to Southeast Asia, and they will naturally choose to visit the country that has the fewest restrictions. If the Philippines is wide open, people will choose to go there instead of to Thailand, where the Thailand Pass system is still in place. And as one country drops requirements and makes it easier, the other countries quickly try to match them and even surpass them.
And this same process occurred at the beginning of the pandemic. Governments seemed to be competing with each other to impose stricter and more complex entry requirements. Each country would match the restrictions imposed by a neighboring country and then surpass them. And now the reverse is happening. I definitely like this new competition better.