Lotus Massage Parlour reopened its doors in mid-June and barely a month later, tighter Covid-19 restrictions forced it to shutter again.
"This is the third time this year. I don't know how long I can go on," owner Nawaporn Yotthong, 45, told The Straits Times. "Are we scared of the virus? No. We're scared that we have no money to live on."
She was frustrated in the past when her shop was forced to close.
"But now I don't feel anything," said Ms Nawaporn, against a backdrop of empty faux leather chairs that used to be filled with locals and foreigners seeking respite after hours of shopping along the Sukhumvit stretch.
Bangkok and nine other provinces have seen steady upticks in daily infection figures, and on Monday, the authorities clamped down with tighter control measures that will last for two weeks.
Shopping malls and non-essential businesses, including massage parlours, are closed. Public transport and domestic travel services have had their operations curtailed, and more than 15 million people in the affected areas are faced with a daily curfew from 9pm to 4am.
Police checkpoints have also been set up across Bangkok and the other provinces to control the number of people leaving the highly infectious zones.
The restrictions in the "dark-red zones", a term Thailand uses to classify provinces with the highest infection risk, have upturned the lives and livelihoods of many.
The daily infection figures have hovered near 9,000, and the authorities predict that the country's most severe wave, which began in April, could see numbers exceed 10,000 cases and 100 deaths soon.
Yesterday, the country recorded 8,685 cases and 56 deaths, bringing the total to 353,712 cases and 2,847 fatalities.
Public frustration over the government's handling of the pandemic has also reached "fever pitch", said Mr Jay Harriman, senior director at strategic advisory firm Bower Group Asia.
Protests demanding Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's resignation have returned, with at least three groups taking to the streets last weekend.
With the government urging those who are able to work from home to do so, there has been even lower footfall in the city.
Street hawker Thansamon Wongnok, 46, used to ply her trade along the busy Soi Sukhumvit 19 street. Since the pandemic began, sales have dropped by at least half.
"I used to sell out by lunch time, but now it's 2pm and I still have food," said Ms Wongnok, who has been selling omelette fried rice there for five years.
Instead, crowds are gathering, sometimes overnight, at testing facilities, hospitals and vaccination centres in Bangkok, as the country's healthcare system is under strain.
Since February, Thailand has administered nearly 13 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, with only about 5 per cent of its more than 66 million population fully inoculated.
In Bangkok, where infections are highest, hospitals have run out of beds for critically ill patients. The government said it is working to set up more field hospitals and implement a home isolation programme to ease the load.
This month, a local television channel reported that an 84-year-old man committed suicide after his 57-year-old daughter, who had Covid-19, died while waiting to be admitted to the hospital.
The tragedy drew nationwide outrage. Some people, such as media executive Pornchanok S., believe that the government should do more.
"We wear two masks, sanitise our hands and (maintain) social distance. But we also need effective vaccines," said the 26-year-old.
The country relies heavily on locally made AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac vaccines, amid growing concerns over the latter vaccine's effectiveness against more transmissible variants of the virus.
Thailand said on Monday that it would give a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine to those who received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine, for greater protection.
On Monday, the first day of the new restrictions, the junction of Asoke and Sukhumvit - formerly the site of perennial traffic congestion - fell quiet as the 9pm curfew set in and public transport ceased operations.
Mr Nuttakit Wongwanich, 35, a freelance photographer who sold his camera earlier this year to drive a rented taxi, said earnings were dismal. He made only 350 baht (S$14.50) that day.
"I have no profits," said Mr Wongwanich, who usually earns about 1,000 baht daily.
The state of Thailand's tourism industry is reflected in the dim alleyways of the famed Chatuchak weekend market, which The Straits Times visited over the weekend.
The market has largely remained open during the pandemic, but souvenir storekeeper Suphaorn Sintha, 69, estimated that 70 per cent of the shops are closed - "some temporarily, some for good".
Still, Thailand is gunning to open up more tourist destinations in the coming days.
Tomorrow, the resort islands of Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao are set to reopen in a scheme similar to the Phuket "sandbox", where vaccinated tourists will be allowed to roam the island quarantine-free.
