Baby Steps Away from the Lockdown (September 2021)

Bangkok and its surrounding provinces are now just starting the gradual process of reopening. With restaurants and shopping malls having been shut down, they are now opening their doors again. And the businesses and customers have come storming back.

The social-distanced waiting area to pick up takeaway food during the lockdown (August 2021)

Bangkokians are cheering that dine-in services at restaurants have been allowed again. There are some stipulations that businesses have to follow (regulations on vaccinating employees, limited operating hours, mask requirements, capping the number of customers at any given time), but despite all of that, many people are glad that the businesses have been given some breathing room.

Slide the bar to compare images from The Mall Ngamwongwan two weeks apart. The left picture is from mid-August 2021, where this open space was used for customers to place orders at restaurants. Now with restaurants open again, the temporary restaurant takeaway service has reverted back to a rotating showroom in early September ’21.

These are baby steps. Domestic and international travel are still heavily limited right now, but there is a feeling that the country is detecting a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.