Taking A Walk Around Central Hat Yai In The Year Of Covid 19

Описание: Video Description

While waiting to collect my daughter from tutoring classes this morning I took a quick stroll around the downtown area of Hat Yai and chatted with a few locals. It's all very sad. Hat Yai is much more than simply a tourist town, but many local people rely on the weekend Malaysian and Singaporean tourist trade. Since the borders closed earlier this year there haven't been any tourists and consequently many people have lost all - or a significant portion - of their income. However, Thais are realistic, pragmatic and resilient.

One man told me that many Thais are suffering, but they are aware that they're still better off than a lot of other people. They have food to eat and somewhere to sleep. He also told me that more Thais should follow the late King's theory of Sufficiency Economy and be satisfied with less in life. As Buddhism tells us, nothing is permanent in life. Many Thais have seen their lives greatly improved by mass tourism, but it only takes something like Covid to decimate the industry completely.

I had to do quite a lot of voice over to repair errors with the soundtrack. For some reason my microphone kept cutting out in the street and there was no sound. I apologise for the inconsistent sound, but I didn't realise there was a problem until I got home.

Recommended books:
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Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker: https://amzn.to/3e4eBVr
Thai for Intermediate Learners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker: https://amzn.to/2WPOSKM
Thai for Advanced Readers by Benjawan Poomsan Becker: https://amzn.to/2LL3m8p
Robertson's Practical English/Thai Dictionary: https://amzn.to/2WQDnD2

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