🏌‍♂️🏄‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏊‍♂️🧘🧘‍♂️
I took a break from the social media to get some few things done. I dropped my daughter to college, and while in Thailand I did a silent retreat, I caught up with some old friends, did some great writings (two books next year), had a health check-up (details below), and got my teeth fixed. To paraphrase my favorite uncle, late Ugyen Wangdi, I have reached an age where I have to look for spare parts 😂

OK. Back to health check-up. I knew that the series of lockdowns would have ruined my health in some way. After all, all I was doing was eat, sit, watch TV, work the laptops and sleep.

In fact my cholesterol, trygleceride, uric acid, and bilirubin had all crossed the upper limit. This is happening for the first time. I have also become overweight by 10 kilos. There were no symptoms whatsoever. It was just my gut-feeling that the lockdowns would have affected my health in some way.

So, to all my friends, get your blood CBC test and check your weight before they cause you further damages. This advice is especially for those who have entered the spare-parts age.
😁😁😁

And how is Bangkok? It was empty, devoid of tourists, and half the malls and shops, which I had been going for the past 25 years, have all disappeared. Unlike here, there is no kidu system. You are on your own. The shops I entered treated me like royal guest. And when I paid for things I bought, it was as if I was gifting them free money.

The Thai government has now relaxed all travel restrictions but arrival is only 7% as compared to the same period in 2019.

So, with all the talks of reopening to tourism here in Bhutan, I don`t think there would be a windfall. It would take at least another 2 to 3 years for the travel industry to become normal.

If the pandemic was bad looks like an impending global recession will be worse for the travel industry.