Even though Spumoni left the physical realm on May 10, 2006 his spirit temporarily is residing on the island of Phuket Thailand. It’s the most beautiful time of year to be in this part of the world during what they refer to as cool season.

Now that happens to be a relative term because just about anywhere else on planet Earth the daytime temperatures in the 80s and 90s would be considered rather warm. But hot season is around the corner and temperatures will routinely cross the triple digit mark. When you add in the oppressive humidity it makes February really seem like a cooler and more pleasant time of year.

Normally there would be huge crowds of people swarming the beaches and walking streets from Kamala down to Kata and beyond. But with the pandemic still raging in 95% of the world this place is a little oasis away from the coronavirus.

In general, Thailand has done an excellent job fending off the pandemic. The initial lockdown in late March 2020 was pretty traumatic to the economy and virtually the entire population. But the long-term positive effects have been well worth it. This country of 77 million people has seen only about 25,000 cases and less than 300 fatalities.

Thailand had actually avoided community spread for several months. But that was until the disastrous influx of illegal immigrants in the community of Samut Sakhon.  It’s hard to believe that unemployed Thai people were not willing to accept paying jobs in the sprawling fish markets. The net result was that infected people from Burma were illegally brought in by human traffickers.  (I refuse to use the name Myanmar. It’s a fictional name made up by the military after the 1^st coup a couple of decades ago).

An elderly woman working in the fish markets became very ill which spawned widespread testing and contact tracing. But with the asymptomatic nature of the disease it spread like wildfire throughout the community. The authorities made a very strict lockdown. But just enough people had left Samut Sakhon to spread the virus to almost every province in the country.

The aggressive measures taken by the authorities helped to slow the spread in most provinces. Phuket only had a couple of cases and those people were immediately put into the hospital and kept in isolation until recovering.  But tourism is still a shell of it’s former self. 

The beaches and towns are deserted. The roads are nearly devoid of traffic. Most restaurants and shops are closed. This makes it the perfect place for the Spirit of Spumoni take up temporary residence. What better place to get away from the craziness of the pandemic than an idyllic tropical island.

If dealing with the pandemic ever bothers you close your eyes and think of Spumoni in Thailand. You should find a sense of calm and peace coming over you as your cares wash away.