Battlefords resident reflects on Thailand pandemic experience

“I said, ‘well, maybe I could get out a little bit later, like three or four days,’” he said. “And that was the last flight that left, March 24.”

Goheen had never stayed later than mid-April before, making it his first experience with true Thailand heat spring and summer. It was enjoyable seeing how quickly fruit tree’s developed, but adjusting to the warmer weather and the start of monsoon season was eye-opening.

“In the morning it’s like a 100 per cent humidity, it’s not good,” he said. “And I wasn’t prepared for that.”

(Submitted Photo/Rob Goheen)

Life in Chiang Mai, the largest city in the northern part of the country, involved similar changes to North America, with restaurants shutting down and mask use increasing. Fortunately for him, the government was understanding of the situation that people from other countries were in.

“They were very generous with me,” Goheen said. “My visa ran out and they extended everyone to July 31.”

Many of the complaints of people during the lockdown are similar to those voiced in Canada. Goheen said he and his friends that were there had a hard time figuring why certain things were shut down and others weren’t.

“Going to the grocery store, everyone’s wearing masks, but there’s 400 people bumping into each other,” he said. “And yet they wouldn’t let us out on a golf course, outside? That bothered my friends even more, because they’re avid golfers.”

(Submitted Photo/Rob Goheen)

One memory that stands out was the end of an alcohol ban that had lasted for 20 days. When it lifted, people swarmed stores.

“We were watching [all these people] and thought, ‘wow, this is like a hornet’s nest!’”

Shortly after, the government promptly banned alcohol for another period. Goheen said the uncertainty of the pandemic didn’t sit well with the Thai people there.

“Family is number one to them,” he said. “All of a sudden they’re told there’s a curfew from 10 PM to 4 AM, you can’t buy alcohol anywhere, can’t go to a restaurant or bar, can’t socialize. It threw them for a loop.”

That trepidation was something Goheen shared.

“I heard I wouldn’t get out until the end of August,” he said. “It was the unknown that bothered me more than anything else

However, that experience wasn’t uniform across the country. When they went out to the mountain community, where his fiancé’s family is from, it was a very different experience. There was next to no social distancing and no mask-wearing.

“They never took it seriously at all,” he reminisced. “In fact, they laughed when some of us got up there with masks on.”

When he was eventually able to secure a flight out of the country, Goheen was then forced to self-isolate for two weeks upon getting home. Not being able to spend time with his family was a long two-week wait.

“That was worse than staying over for the extra 37 days,” he said. “I never went anywhere, just stayed in the house, walked my dog twice a day and that was it; back in the house.”

In reflecting on those two and a half months, Goheen said he probably wouldn’t change anything, despite the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.

I was getting kind of homesick and the idea of not being able to get out of here till September or August kind of threw me,” he said. “[However], I love Thailand, so I would never have changed that. It would have been nice to go home when I wanted to, but it never cost me anything to stay there longer.”

(Submitted Photo/Rob Goheen)

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports

by Josh Ryan

Battlefords resident reflects on Thailand pandemic experience

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