This last day of March feels a lot more optimistic than the same period just one year ago. Effective tomorrow, visitors to Phuket no longer need to quarantine for 14 days, seven being deemed sufficient. The first local vaccinations are set to arrive this month with a goal of having 70 percent of the island … Continue reading March 2021: Rapid Wrap-up
Month: March 2021
Daily Phuket #29: 30 March 2021 – Slow Internet
My ISP rather optimistically claims to provide "unlimited 4G" service but it is rarely close to that. Over the past few weeks, there has been a distinct slowdown to the point that I found it very frustrating trying to do anything online over the past four or five days. While I can access some sites, … Continue reading Daily Phuket #29: 30 March 2021 – Slow Internet
Daily Phuket #28: 25 March 2021 – This Is A Book
Thai people don't read. Well, that isn't quite true as some do. Some even claim to enjoy the pasttime. However, there have been plenty of statistics over the years claiming ridiculously low levels of reading for pleasure amongst Thai people with UNESCO stating that Thais read just eight LINES per year, compared to the 24 … Continue reading Daily Phuket #28: 25 March 2021 – This Is A Book
Daily Phuket #27: 24 March 2021 – Dress Rehearsal
I will make this a very quick entry as the power has just gone out once again -- the second time this evening. Two out of my three scheduled lessons were canceled at school for unknown reasons today. One of those was to be the last time I would see the class before they take … Continue reading Daily Phuket #27: 24 March 2021 – Dress Rehearsal
Daily Phuket #26: 23 March 2021 – Taco Tuesday
I never got around to posting this last night but it is the only photo I took all day -- my second attempt at cooking tacos at home. I wanted to use up the shells before the went stale and these tasted even better than the batch I made Sunday night. Not much happened during … Continue reading Daily Phuket #26: 23 March 2021 – Taco Tuesday
Daily Phuket #25: 22 March 2021 – Big Red Cows
Mondays and Fridays are my busiest days at school with barely enough time to sit down between lessons. This is the last semi-full week of teaching, broken by the Open House on Thursday which is all the school seems to care about right now. We all assumed that we had until Wednesday to finish preparing … Continue reading Daily Phuket #25: 22 March 2021 – Big Red Cows
Daily Phuket #24: 21 March 2021 – Chinese Post Box
Saturdays have become my stay-at-home and work-on-stamps day now that my weekend classes have all been shifted to Sundays. This week was no different as I got an early start scanning recent arrivals (mostly classic stamps from Austria and Norway) and then adding many of them to my albums later in the day. In between, … Continue reading Daily Phuket #24: 21 March 2021 – Chinese Post Box
Daily Phuket #23: 19 March 2021 – Phoenix of Phuket
Finally, Friday! Many Lower Primary classes were cancelled for parents' meetings but this didn't affect any of my lessons once again although the heat certainly did. My morning lessons went fairly well but I became dehydrated in the first of my late afternoon doubles, having to sit down as I became quite light-headed. The students … Continue reading Daily Phuket #23: 19 March 2021 – Phoenix of Phuket
Daily Phuket #22: 18 March 2021 – Colorful Court
As the end of the school year rapidly approaches, so too does the construction on parts of our center sports grounds. The various basketball, volleyball and badminton courts have all but been completed with the surfaces painted over the past few days. The paint and other chemical fumes have taken their toll on students and … Continue reading Daily Phuket #22: 18 March 2021 – Colorful Court
Daily Phuket #21: 17 March 2021 – Another Monky Morning
A quick and early posting as I need to report for Gate Duty in a few minutes. In yesterday's "Daily Phuket", I posted a photo of an unusual number of monks on the morning alms walk in the Old Town area. This morning, I saw a much larger procession of monks receiving alms outside of … Continue reading Daily Phuket #21: 17 March 2021 – Another Monky Morning
Mark Joseph Jochim 