Thai king has entourage of 250 in Germany. King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has returned to Germany – together with 30 poodles – after spending more than a year away from his adopted home in the Bavarian alps, according to German media reports. Bangkok Jack

Thai king has entourage of 250 in Germany

November 13, 2021

King Maha Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne in 2016 following the death of of his long-reigning father Bhumibol Adulyadej

King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has returned to Germany – together with 30 poodles – after spending more than a year away from his adopted home in the Bavarian alps, according to German media reports.

The tabloid-style Bild newspaper published a picture of what it said was the 69-year-old monarch wearing a dark brown and orange Adidas track suit on the way to the public swimming pool of the Hilton Airport hotel in Munich.

The newspaper said the king had arrived in Munich on Monday (Nov 8) and that a 250 member entourage had booked the entire fourth floor of the airport hotel for 11 days.

Visitors to Germany from areas it considers "high risk" such as Thailand are subject to a quarantine of at least five days unless they can show proof they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 infections.

The picture that Bild published showed an elderly man resembling the monarch wearing a mask and escorted by a younger woman wearing a similar track suit that the newspaper said was a security guard.

"All of a sudden the director of the hotel and the king's security detail came up to me and demanded that I delete the pictures," Bild reporter Karl Keim said. He said he then called the police for protection from their demands, which were not consistent with German press freedom regulations.

"The king's security detail wouldn't let me out of their sight. So the police accompanied me to my car."

The scion of one of the world's most privileged families has spent a lot of time mysteriously in the southern German state of Bavaria since about 2007 and has treated his adopted home as a playground even as the tabloid press gleefully followed his occasionally eccentric exploits.

Vajiralongkorn is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej , who reigned for 70 years.

Vajiralongkorn is reported to have purchased a villa near Lake Starnberg in the town of Tutzing in 2016. The monarch left Germany in October 2020 to mark the fourth anniversary of his father's death and had not left Thailand since then. Previous visits home from Germany usually lasted less than 24 hours.

German newspapers have reported that Vajiralongkorn has spent time in his villa in Tutzing and at a four-star Alpine hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a famous southern German spa town near the Austrian border that hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics. He is said to be an avid skier and cyclist.

"He's back and is feeling at home with his poodles in his favourite kingdom of Bavaria," Bild wrote, adding he had brought 30 poodles with him from Thailand. – AsiaOne 

On-site learning ban at #ChiangMai schools extended as #COVID19 pandemic spreads. PBS World



New fares set for app-based ride-hailing services The Royal Gazette website on Friday published a new set of fees for app-based ride-hailing services effective immediately. The Nation



New fares set for app-based ride-hailing services

The Royal Gazette website on Friday published a new set of fees for app-based ride-hailing services effective immediately.

According to the new rules set by the Transport Ministry, fares for small cars will start at 40-45 baht for the first two kilometres, after which the cost is between 6 and 10 baht per kilometre.

The starting fare for medium cars is 45-50 baht for the first two kilometres and 7-12 baht for every kilometre after that.

Fares for larger vehicles start at 100 to 10 baht for the first two kilometres and 12-16 baht for each kilometre after that.

The announcement covers vehicles that have been registered with the Department of Land Transport to provide ride-hailing services via an electronic channel.

The service fee for calling a ride via an app starts at 20 baht, but if a cab is called during rush hour when few vehicles are available, then the calling fee can rise up to as much as 200 baht. The application will calculate the fare plus calling fees in advance so passengers can choose whether to go ahead with the booking.

This means a 2km ride on a taxi called via an app can cost 60 baht – 20 baht calling fees plus 40 baht initial fare.

Vaccination update November 13th

 

CCSA extends nightlife curbs. Nightlife venues such as pubs will remain closed until at least Jan 16 to avoid a possible surge of infections during New Year. Bangkok Post

CCSA extends nightlife curbs. 

Tourists and local residents spend time at a restaurant on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on Nov 2 this year, a day after the goverment reopened the country to vaccinated travelles. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)

Nightlife venues such as pubs will remain closed until at least Jan 16 to avoid a possible surge of infections during New Year.

Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), on Friday said a CCSA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha decided to defer the reopening of clubs, pubs and karaoke venues.

The CCSA originally planned to reopen these venues on Dec 1, according to Dr Taweesilp. However, it has set the new tentative reopening date to Jan 16 and only in some areas, depending on the Covid-19 situation, he said.

"We need time from Nov 15 to Jan 15 to prepare for the reopening," he said.

Since the country reopened on Nov 1, alcoholic drinks have been allowed to be served in restaurants and eateries in Bangkok, Krabi, Phangnga, and Phuket.

The Public Health Ministry proposed the delay after consulting with other agencies. The CCSA indicated that it would follow a direction set by the prime minister.

Dr Taweesilp said the CCSA remains worried about the reopening of night entertainment businesses, which could lead to more infections if appropriate measures are not set in place. Inadequate ventilation and overcrowding were among its key concerns, he added.

Return voyage: Tourist boats have returned to the Chao Phraya River with this vessel ferrying passengers towards the Memorial Bridge. Boat cruises are a popular activity in Bangkok especially at sunset. (Photo: Wichan Charoenpakul)

He said that the Interior Ministry, the Public Health Ministry and business operators will set up a team to assess the situation and come up with a set of criteria for the reopening of night entertainment venues, though they may be allowed to reopen in areas at low-risk of Covid-19 infections.

Dr Taweesilp said the meeting also decided to reduce the number of maximum and strict controlled zones, or dark-red zones, from seven to six, effective on Tuesday.

This means Chanthaburi will be removed from the list of dark-red zone provinces and will be designated as a maximum controlled zone, or red-zone province, he said.

The six provinces that remain as dark-red zones are Tak, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and Songkhla, where the 11pm–3am curfew hours will remain in force until at least the end of this month, he said.

The curfew applies only in the dark-red provinces.

During the CCSA meeting, the Public Health Ministry provided an update on Covid-19 vaccinations nationwide, with some 44.8 million people receiving their first shot of a vaccine, 35.8 million getting their second shot and 2.7 million getting a booster shot, Dr Taweesilp said.

Dr Udom Kachintorn, adviser to the CCSA, said that the delay of the reopening of night entertainment venues was intended as a precaution against a possible new surge of infections during New Year.

The Public Health Ministry and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration must come up with measures before nightlife venues can safely reopen, Dr Udom said.

He noted that it is difficult to maintain physical distancing in nightlife premises, where people are in close contact with each other. Adequate ventilation in such premises is necessary to help reduce the risk of transmissions, he said.

"We have learned a lesson from the major cluster of infections linked with night entertainment venues," Dr Udom said, referring to the cluster which centred around the upscale entertainment district of Thong Lor in April.

"The public has been asked to be patient. They will reopen for sure," he said. "As part of preparations, the night entertainment venues must receive Safety & Health Administration (SHA) Plus certificates first."

Dr Udom also said the government is still concerned about the number of new daily cases being recorded, which is about 6,000-7,000, noting Bangkok sees about 700-800 cases per day.

Operators of nightlife venues have been asking the government to lift the alcohol ban in 17 tourism provinces and to allow pubs and karaoke clubs nationwide to reopen on Dec 1.

🔴 #COVID19 on Saturday: ⬇️ 7,057 new cases ⬆️ 2,893 probable cases (ATK) ⬆️ 55 deaths ⬇️ 95,413 in care. Out of 95,413 patients ⬇️, 43,752 are in hospital, 39,615 in hospitel and 5,643 in home/community isolation. There are 1,818 in a serious condition (-6) with 430 on ventilators (+7). Richard Barrow



Bangkok Post highlights 13/11

 

Thailand to lag in tourism recovery despite border reopening: Nomura report, ASEAN Business - THE BUSINESS TIMES / The Nation

Thailand to lag in tourism recovery despite border reopening: Nomura report

Friday, November 12, 2021 - 18:36UPDATED Fri, Nov 12, 2021 - 6:37 PM

THAILAND has laid out the welcome mat for tourists, but visitors aren't exactly making a beeline for the country. The pickup is likely to remain disappointing for the rest of the year, not unlike the situation among its Asean neighbours, a Nomura report has said.

The weak outlook is based on projections by Nomura's research tool known as the Tourism Recovery from Inbound International Passengers Tracker (TRIPTracker), which can gauge the recovery prospects of international arrivals while taking into account the rate of full vaccination, degree of openness and travel restrictions in both the source and destination countries of inbound passengers. 

Nomura analysts applied the TRIPTracker formula to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia following the recent announcements of border reopenings in these three countries. 

"The results point to a weaker recovery in Thailand than in Singapore, despite Thailand's more aggressive re-opening," said the team. 

Thailand's TRIPTracker score is set to reach 4.9 per cent by year-end, from 4 per cent on Nov 1. (A score of 100 per cent indicates full recovery to pre-pandemic levels.) 

Thailand's score at the end of October, before it allowed vaccinated travellers from 60 countries to enter without quarantine, was 0.7 per cent.

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The analysts said that Thailand's reopening could backfire if it leads to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, accompanied by a rise in number of severe cases, given the relatively low full-vaccination rate; just under half its people have been fully vaccinated. 

"This suggests the re-opening plan is still subject to considerable uncertainty," said the Nomura team.

"Although we do not think the government will back-pedal on the re-opening of borders - as had happened with Phuket's re-opening - the resurgence in cases could still dampen tourism sentiment and weigh on the recovery further out."

The team added that Thailand's still-low TRIPTracker score was due to the stringent quarantine requirements imposed on visitors from China, Japan, Hong Kong and most South-east Asian countries who are returning home after having visited Thailand. 

"We do not expect any major changes in the quarantine requirement of the source countries towards Thailand by the end of the year, especially its top market, China," said the analysts.

"Our China economics teams does not expect China's zero-tolerance policy to be eased soon, so the quarantine requirement for returning passengers is also unlikely to be relaxed anytime before Q2 2022," they added. 

Malaysia, Thailand's second largest source of visitors, is also unlikely to ease quarantine requirements for Thailand any time soon, since its full-vaccination rate is still well below 70 per cent. 

Comparing Thailand with Singapore, Nomura analysts said: "Singapore's strategy is better recalibrated in that it is expanding the VTL list such that the share of source countries with no quarantine requirements for returning passengers is still higher than that of Thailand's, likely helped in part by Singapore's much higher vaccination rates."

Singapore's score by end-2021 is expected to be 6.3 per cent, which Nomura analysts said reflect "a better calibrated strategy to reopening".

The Republic, which has a full-vaccination rate of 85 per cent, had a score of 3 per cent on Oct 19. The bilateral vaccinated travel lane (VTL) with Malaysia is expected to lift the score to 5.8 per cent by Nov 29. 

Malaysia's resumption of air travel with Singapore brings its score to 1.9 per cent, said the analysts, who warned of upside risks ahead.

Since the VTL is only for air travel and accounts for only 20 per cent of arrivals from Singapore, going by Nomura's estimates, a possible expansion to land travel on the Causeway could lead to a jump in reading to 8.1 per cent, the analysts added. 

"All this suggests a still-slow tourism recovery in the region, particularly in Thailand, which is seeing disappointing arrival numbers so far," they said. 

Nomura is keeping its 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) forecast at 7.1 per cent for Singapore, 4.4 per cent for Malaysia and 0.6 per cent and Thailand.

Likewise, it is maintaining its 2022 growth outlook at 4.6 per cent for Singapore, 7.7 per cent for Malaysia and 4.1 per cent for Thailand.

Pubs, bars and karaoke bars Thailand’s COVID-19 restricted zones and “sandbox” provinces may be allowed to reopen from January 16th, on the condition that they meet the required criteria and pass assessments by relevant authorities, according to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

Thailand's nightlife venues to reopen on Jan 16, subject to assessment

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Pubs, bars and karaoke bars Thailand's COVID-19 restricted zones and "sandbox" provinces may be allowed to reopen from January 16^th, on the condition that they meet the required criteria and pass assessments by relevant authorities, according to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

The Public Health and Interior ministries, as well as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, have been designated by the CCSA to enforce safety measures to be imposed on these venues.

One of the required safety measures is that venues must improve their environment and air circulation system and that all staff are fully inoculated against COVID-19.

Pubs, bars and karaoke bars, located in restricted and "sandbox" areas, are given until January 16^th to make preparations and improvements ahead of evaluation by assessment committees in each province.

Venues which pass the assessment will be registered and allowed to reopen for business and must strictly comply with the safety measures. If a COVID-19 infection is found in any of the venues, it will be closed down.

The CCSA, at its meeting today, agreed to reduce the COVID-19 "dark red" provinces to just Tak, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla, where infections are still spreading. The night-time curfew between 11pm and 3am is in place only in the "dark red" zone, and until November 31^st, pending a further CCSA decision whether to extend the curfew.

Bangkok is now included among the "sandbox" provinces, which also include the popular tourist destinations such as Krabi, Phuket and Phang-nga. The ban on serving alcohol in eateries has been lifted in the "sandbox provinces" and five other provinces deemed at low-risk for the spread of COVID-19 – Nakhon Phanom, Bueng Kan, Mukdahan and Sakhon Nakhon.

All the provinces classified as "dark red", "red" or "blue" zones are required to comply with the Universal Prevention and COVID Free Setting regimens.



🔴 Looks like no major changes have been approved for entry to #Thailand. Richard Barrow

🔴 Looks like no major changes have been approved for entry to #Thailand. Still 63 countries on the list and you still have to have RT-PCR test on arrival and ATK test on Days 6-7. But it looks like they are considering switching the RT-PCR test to ATK from 1st December. And also adding more countries. And also adding more provinces to the Sandbox. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the TAT Newsroom have both told me they are expecting to send out press releases later today or early tomorrow. There might be some things changing that are not on these charts. 

But nationwide, pubs and entertainment venues won't be opening now until 15th January at the earliest. However, some provinces can serve alcohol in tourist areas in SHA+ venues up until a certain time. 

More details soon.

 

The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 249 new and confirmedcases of Covid-19 today with 3 new deaths, November 12th. Pattaya News

Chonburi announces 249 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 3 new deaths

Friday, 12 November 2021, 12:47

Highlights:

• 249 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Chonburi today

• 261 people recovered and were released from medical care

• 3 new deaths

The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 249 new and confirmedcases of Covid-19 today with 3 new deaths, November 12th.

This makes a total of 104,290 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 2,846 people still under medical care/supervision, and with a total of 740 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April.

Additionally, 261 people were also released and recovered yesterday in Chonburi. 100,704 people in total have now been released from medical care and recovered in Chonburi since this current wave of Covid-19 began.

Only three cases out of 2,846 were listed as being in serious condition in Chonburi currently, either on a ventilator or pneumonia, all of them were not vaccinated.

The three new deaths were aged between 67-89. They were close contacts from previous cases in families. All of them have chronic health problems and were not vaccinated.

In total, 1,750,857 people in Pattaya and Chonburi have received their first dose of a Covid -19 vaccine which is 75.02 percent of the total Chonburi population. Of those, 280,273 have received their first dose and are what the Thai government calls 608 groups (elders, have chronic health problems, and pregnant) which is 75.76 percent of those in these risk groups in Chonburi.

The district-level new cases were as follows today:

Mueang Chonburi 50, Si Racha 75, Banglamung (Pattaya) 55, Panat Nikhom 7, Sattahip 6, Ban Bueang 5, Phan Thong 9, Bor Thong 3, Nong Yai 6, Soldiers in Sattahip 1, and 28 people transferred from other provinces for medical care

The details on the cases are as follows:

1. Work and stayed in Rayong, transferred from other provinces for medical care, 30 cases
2. Cluster, Borwin Academy athlete dormitory in Si Racha, 6 cases
3. Risky occupations meeting many people, 8 cases
4. 4 medical personal
5. Close contacts from previously confirmed cases in families – 76 cases, in workplaces – 45 cases and close friends – 5 cases
6. Close contact of a confirmed patient (under investigation), 21 cases
7. 54 cases, in general, are under investigation as to how they contracted Covid-19

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Thailand's Health Minister denied entry to Switzerland for WHO meet after vax with Sinovac 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Picture: Daily News

 

Daily News reported that Thailand's netizens were having a feeding frenzy after Thailand's DPM and Health Minister - the much criticized Anutin Charnvirakul - was denied entry to Switzerland to attend an important World Health Organization meeting. 

 

The minister - who started the pandemic calling foreigners "dirty", continued with various protocol breaches and tame denials and presided over the early debacle of slow vaccination now has a country ban on his CV.

 

The minister was one of the first to get a Sinovac jab at the end of February in a much publicized PR stunt with PM Prayuth Chan-ocha to persuade the public about vaccines like Sinovac before locally produced Astra Zeneca vaxes were ready in June.

 

The Swiss authorities deemed that two doses of Sinovac and one booster with AZ were enough to bar the minister. 

 

Anutin spent yesterday bigging up his role in the pandemic and waxing lyrical about how Thailand had the options of many different vaccines to fight different strains during the pandemic.

 

But he was forced to admit that he couldn't go to Europe until he got a fourth booster shot and that this will have to be an option for others who needed to travel for business and leisure purposes. 

 

Daily News published examples of netizens poking jibes at the minister amid a plethora of "5555's" - hahahaha's in the Thai language.

 

One suggested ironically that the minister might send a construction worker in his place.

 

While another just went with "Som" - short for the phrase "som naam na" or 'serves you right'.

 

Discover Cigna's range of health insurance solutions created for expats and local nationals living in Thailand - click to view

 

Figures don't match on tourism arrivals - MoFA say 30,000+, MoPH cite just 24,000. ASEAN NOW

Picture: Daily News

 

Conflicting reports from Daily News yesterday showed that different Thai government ministries were reporting different numbers for tourist arrivals in the first ten days of the country's reopening, November 1-10th.

 

They quoted IT whizz and Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Thanee Saengrat as saying that 30,538 tourists had come to Thailand.

 

In another report after a later House of Representatives debate a Ministry of Health aide said that just 24,000 had entered the country. 

 

ASEAN NOW notes that such variances will only give grist to the mill for those that claim Thai stats are plucked from the ether.

 

Thanee also said that 147,503 tourists had registered with Thailand Pass and 92,920 had been accepted by 8 am yesterday. 

 

Top of the pile for those already coming to Thailand were US citizens with second to fifth filled by nationals from Germany, the UK, Japan and South Korea. 

 

And after seven months, officials start including foreign arrivals who test positive after landing on the island in the total number of infections in Phuket.... something they have not done since they started reporting infections on April 3... Why? We have no idea... Phuket News

Phuket marks 53 new COVID cases, no new deaths

PHUKET: The latest Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) daily COVID situation report has marked 53 new local infections confirmed across the island yesterday (Nov 11) bringing the total number of people recognised as infected with COVID-19 in Phuket since Apr 3 to 16,139.

As noted yesterday, the new total infections given since Apr 3 now includes international arrivals testing positive for COVID-19 after arriving on the island.

The total given yesterday for Nov 10 was 16,083. The 53 new local cases reported yesterday bring the total to 16,136, not 16,139 as marked in the report for Nov 11.

To achieve the new total given for Nov 11, the report must now include the one Sandbox arrival and the two Test & Go arrivals recorded as testing positive in the report.

Other than the new method in reporting the total number of infections being observed in the daily report, Phuket officials have yet to publicly recognise the change in policy in counting the number of people in Phuket infected with COVID-19 ‒ after seven months of not including international arrivals in the Phuket tally of infections.

The new method of counting now throws into doubt whether or not any of the previously reported 229 Phuket Sandbox arrivals who tested positive after landing on the island since the Sandbox scheme began on July 1, or the eight Test & Go tourists who have tested positive after the entry scheme began on Nov 1, are now to be added to the tally.

At this stage it appears Phuket officials have ignored those previous infections recorded, and only from now on will include international arrivals in the total.

However, the new method of counting infections still does not include 42 COVID patients brought back to Phuket under the "Bring Phuket people home" policy, or 10 infected with COVID-19 in other provinces.

Whether the new method of counting will include the 35 returning from other countries and testing positive remains to be seen.

The PPHO report for Nov 11, marked as accurate as of 8pm last night, was posted online at 10:49pm.

The report marked no new deaths attributed to COVID-19, leaving the total number of deaths in Phuket attributed to COVID-19 since Apr 3 at 126. After 55 COVID deaths in September, officials marked 44 deaths in total in October and so far seven deaths already this month.

Meanwhile, the 53 new local infections bring the total number of new local infections reported on the island in the past seven days to 374, as follows:

• Nov 5 - 62 new cases
• Nov 6 - 55 new cases
• Nov 7 - 45 new cases
• Nov 8 - 39 new cases
• Nov 9 - 50 new cases
• Nov 10 - 70 new cases
• Nov 11 - 53 new cases

According to the PPHO COVID situation report for yesterday, 630 people were under medical care or supervision, 43 fewer than the 643 reported for Nov 10.

The report also marked 15,509 people in total being discharged from medical care for COVID infection since Apr 3 ‒ 69 more than the 15,440 reported yesterday.

The report recorded seven people suspected of being infected with COVID-19 after testing positive by antigen test kits (ATK), and the total number of people reported as currently being held at 'COVID-19 Care Centers' across the island increased by three, from 127 to 130.

The report did not confirm how many people who tested positive by ATKs were confirmed infected by RT-PCR tests or how many people had been released from ATK detention at 'COVID-19 Care Centers' and allowed to go home.

According to the report for Nov 11, there were five 'Red' patients (zero change from yesterday), 51 'Yellow' patients (+4) and just 39 'Green' patients (-10).

A further 252 people who tested positive for COVID-19 were at 'hospitels' (+2), and 127 were designated to recover in "Community Isolation" (zero change), which includes self-quarantining at home.

The report posted last night marked that of 3,380 hospital beds in total available (-25 from the 3,405 reported yesterday), 474 were occupied (-4 from yesterday).

Thai king returns to Germany for first time in 13 months November 12, 2021. Bangkok Jack / Reuters

Thai king returns to Germany for first time in 13 months

November 12, 2021

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn, seen here in December 2019, reportedly returned to Germany on a Thai Airways flight Nov. 8. © Reuters

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn was spotted in Germany for the first time since October 2020, a visit that comes amid yearlong protests in the kingdom by younger citizens demanding monarchy reform.

The 69-year-old king went to Germany on a Thai Airways International flight Monday, according to a report Wednesday by top German tabloid Bild.

The king presumably is at his villa in Germany's southeastern town of Tutzing, Bavaria.

He is expected to stay for a few weeks in Bavaria, according to sources who requested anonymity. The reason for his visit is unclear, but believed to involve the upcoming start of the ski season.

King Vajiralongkorn returned from Germany, where he had long resided, in October 2020 to mark the fourth anniversary of his father's death. The monarch had not left Thailand since. His previous visits home usually lasted less than 24 hours.

In Bavaria, local media liaising with Nikkei Asia were unaware of the king's travel plans prior to his arrival.

But they noticed in June that a villa was being renovated for him in Tutzing, which would make it the second villa the king owns in that town.

A royal dog caretaker was spotted at Hilton Hotel Munich Airport on Nov. 8.

The king's visa for Germany drew intense media coverage and political attention in the country last year.

Questions were raised over whether he was conducting Thai state affairs from German soil, which would be a breach of German law, and whether he owes Bavaria and Tutzing any inheritance and property taxes.

But the issue has lost prominence this year. German politics have focused on the country's election held in September, which the ruling Christian Democratic Union under Chancellor Angela Merkel lost.

The center-left Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democratic Party are negotiating to form a coalition government that likely will see the foreign ministry led by the Greens.

Prior to the election, the Greens were vocal in criticizing Merkel's government as too soft regarding King Vajiralongkorn, so he might find the current state of political limbo beneficial for his travel plans.

It remains unclear how the king entered Germany in conformity with COVID-19 regulations.

Berlin has categorized Thailand as a high-risk area since August, which means the king would be subject to a quarantine of at least five days unless he shows proof of recovery from COVID-19 or completed inoculation with a vaccine recognized in the European Union.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn often resides in this villa in Tutzing, Germany.    © Reuters

Chinese vaccines are not recognized, and issues could arise even with a Western vaccine brand if it was produced in Thailand.

The inoculation status of the king's daughter, Princess Sirivannavari, reportedly nearly triggered a diplomatic crisis between France and Thailand earlier this year.

France refused to recognize her inoculation with AstraZeneca doses that apparently were produced by Siam Bioscience, AstraZeneca's production partner in Thailand.

Sources said the problem was solved only after it was established that her shots were from AstraZeneca's South Korea stock, which France recognizes.

King Vajiralongkorn's father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, did not leave Thailand at all after 1967, apart from a fleeting visit to Laos in 1994, and for many decades he spent eight months of the year outside the capital moving among four provincial palaces.

Critics and analysts attributed King Vajiralongkorn's unusually long stay in Thailand to the palace seeking to calm the protests demanding monarchy reform and the revocation of the "Article 112" lese majeste law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

The youth and pro-democracy demonstrators have staged protests since last year, drawing up to tens of thousands of people.

Momentum for the protests has slowed since key leaders were charged under Article 112, though sporadic protests continue in Bangkok. – Reuters