pattaya1234was

2 hours ago, flexomike said:

was not asked for certificate when I left Thailand on August 8th or on arrival September 9th

 

 

 

 

But I was asked to show a vaccine certificate when checking in at  Heathrow  last Sunday- Eva. Nothing in Swampy.

15 hours ago, ripstanley said:

In 2019 I had an operation in Phayao Ram (a private hospital). They accepted a cash deposit. So your initial statement is incorrect.

My reference  was to one hospital which happens to be in Pattaya.  For major operations ,if you do not have Insurance, I suspect a CC will be asked for-maybe I am wrong but... 

Has anybody any experience of the above flying on either Eva or Thai? Were there any Security/luggage  delays/problems?

13 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

So, I guess the no card folks never travel?  Book flights and hotels and activities.

Never order supplies, maintenace items, gifts, etc. online?

Credit is a good thing to have if a person has a full active life. Certainly not needed I guess if one sits around doing nothing.

 

Also I guess that many posters have not needed an operation in one of our private hospitals-the first thing one is asked for is a credit card. My UK bank, Barclays, blocked my CC when I moved house 7 years ago so I was stuck without one To get a credit card from a Thai bank is impossible if you are aged over 75. Amex Thailand eventually came to my rescue. Yes I know it costs 4000 baht per annum but in the last few years they have been very quick to get me a refund on cancelled air fares. 

18 minutes ago, internationalism said:

international flights to thailand are monopolised by emirates, which has some 35% of share.

So for the BA getting on that route will be difficult.

They have already code share to BKK with Qatar (as I remember). 

And they have kept their bangkok slot, which they are using for cargo flights. Apparently, cargo is more profitable, than passenger.

Tourism to thailand is highly seasonal - summer holidays and xmass/new year, with winter brakes.

At the last official count there were 17,000 British Expats in Pattaya alone-quite a few of those will be travelling to and from the UK. It is not just tourists who used to use BA..

Over the past 30 years I have used BA on many occasions, some as a courier.  I have never been on a flight which was less the 90% full. Originally they used the Boeing 747 and latterly have downgraded to an old Boeing 777. Unless you were in Business Class you had a pretty uncomfortable flight; they were cramped and the seats were dreadful with many having a media box under the seat in front . So it may be that of late BA have had a lower seat uptake but that was entirely a problem of their own making. Yes, I know that AF and KLM use the identical planes but they are just as uncomfortable.

People are now looking to travel in modern planes hence the success, for instance, of Finnair.

The fact that Thai are now flying two flights per day rubbishes the suggestion by BA that there are not enough customers.

BA have shot themselves in the foot and have only themselves to blame for their predicament. Please do not blame the customer-you provide the service and there will be customers.

23 hours ago, Joseph98765 said:

- 300b to get in

- 700b to get out

- Dual price when you book a hotel

- Dual price when you want to go to a National Park or anything that you want to visit

- Rip off by Taxis or any kind of transportation that you need to deal the price upfront.

 

Yeap, the list can keep going if I keep thinking... 5555555

1000 baht for re-entry permit?

7 hours ago, RichardL said:

It was always going to though. That's kind of how these things work. Weaker (in terms of impact) viruses spread more easily. 

Unfortunately many still panic about case numbers, even the the fatality rate has diminished massively. Covid's fatality rate is no longer at a level that warrants emergency measures.

And you are speaking with the experience of having had  Covid? Just asking

I have had Amex Platinum for 4/5 years now. Absolutely no problem getting one and no Work Permit needed. They have been very helpful when trying to get money refunded from Airlines. Last week I used mine to book some flights and went over my limit-I called them and immediately they extended my credit. These cards are being much more widely accepted now and no % charge for using one.

Highly recommended.

On 2/18/2022 at 8:32 AM, brianthainess said:

Yes I believe that is true, I had a friend who died in a local hospital from natural cause, his body was sent to Bangkok, i believe also to check the cause of death, he was in a very long term relationship here with a LB, (he had already signed over everything to 'her'). 'She' had to wait for the body to be sent back, before the cremation could take place.

No doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression that if one died in hospital there was no need for the body to go to Bangkok. The hospital takes of matters. If you die at home then Bangkok is the calling place.

To save my partner having problems on my death my brother, in the UK, has informed the Embassy here in Bangkok that he is happy for my partner to deal with matters-the Embassy have been provided with my partners details ID Card etc. The Embassy has acknowledged that they have the details.

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

recommendations are allowed, just need to be careful with slander and negative reviews

Fascino

because i understood that advertising was not allowed

I was taking Omeprazole until it stopped working. A pharmacist in a well known Pharmacy in Pattaya Tai, they have branches all round Pattaya, suggested Miracid. This has worked perfectly for me and  couple of friends who also have tried it. If I am allowed to name the Pharmacy I will.

On 4/2/2022 at 6:45 AM, keithkarmann said:

200 baht would do it.

They could offer a 'package'. Vote and get vaccinated. I hope that is not too obtuse.

if you are offered 'free' insurance please check the cover. I did not and found to my dismay that the cover was minimal  ie death cover was 100,000 baht. I know life here is cheap but....?

On 1/18/2022 at 1:10 PM, jesimps said:

If that's the case, why is it cheaper to buy a return ticket UK-Thailand from the UK end than here? Not being a smart ass, just hoping you can let me know the reason.

I seem to remember a tax being added by Gordon Brown about 10 years ago. Fifteen years ago it was cheaper to buy return ticket in Thailand. Could it be that arrival in UK as first port of call is cheaper than departure from UK, or it could be vice versa!

19 hours ago, NanLaew said:

When Thailand soft-opened to certain foreigners last summer, despite the doom and gloom merchants, naysayers and 'what-if' fan boys, it eventually worked out just fine.

 

When Thailand introduced Thailand Pass, despite the doom and gloom merchants, naysayers and 'what-if' fan boys, it eventually worked out just fine.

 

When Thailand added Test & Go to Thailand Pass, despite the doom and gloom merchants, naysayers and 'what-if' fan boys, it worked just fine.

 

Then again, despite the rigmarole and personal travails of skipping in and out and in again, I'm still a glass half-full kinda guy.

I think your glass is/was more then half full!  Everything might have been fine for you but there are countless others for whom this was not the case. I look forward to hearing of your experience with Test and Go mark2. Good luck with that!

13 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Whether the hotel has on-site medical staff is determined by the hospital that they are in partnership with. Those doing the on-site testing are not hotel staff. The larger the partnered hospital and/or its proximity to the hotel will determine if testing is 'on-the-fly' or 'on-site'. Either way, the hotels typically explain where the testing is done. If they don't specify this and it is important to know, simply contact the hotel directly.

So you are confident the proposed plan is going to work? Somehow, I think not! We'll see! I can see the BMW Smart cars being very busy!

14 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

They stopped accepting new applications for that option weeks ago. Only people who already had a pass issued can still do it.

Thank you. But at present many hotels do not do the tests themselves. Passengers are dropped off at a hospital en route from the Airport to the hotel. Once tested they are  taken on to the hotel. This avoids the necessity for the hotel to employ medical staff 24 hrs. I think it very unlikely that the day 5 test will be taken in a hotel.

A friend arrived  a week ago. Stayed in hotel in Bangkok and then travelled  to his apartment in Pattaya. On day5/6 he had his second pCR test in a hospital in Pattaya. He has not been 'detained' anywhere.

14 hours ago, mrfill said:

Reading the link we find "Chatham House published a research paper in 2020 concluding that Sri Lanka's debt distress was unconnected to Chinese lending, but resulted instead more from "domestic policy decisions" facilitated by Western lending and monetary policy, rather than by the policies from the Chinese government."

and

"A 2019 research paper by Bräutigam found that most of the debtor countries voluntarily signed on to the loans and had positive experiences working with China, and "the evidence so far, including the Sri Lankan case, shows that the drumbeat of alarm about Chinese banks' funding of infrastructure across the BRI and beyond is overblown"

and

"On March 2018 report released by the Center for Global Development says that between 2001 and 2017, China restructured or waived loan payments for 51 debtor nations, the majority of BRI participants, without seizing state assets"

and

"A 2019 report by the Lowy Institute said China had not engaged in deliberate actions in the Pacific that justified the accusations of debt-trap diplomacy, at least based on contemporaneous evidence, and stated that China had not been the primary driver behind rising debt risks in the Pacific, but warned the scale of its lending and the institutional weakness of Pacific states posed risks of small states being overwhelmed by debt"

and

"A 2020 article by the Lowy Institute called Sri Lanka's Hambantota International Port portrayed as the "case par excellence" for China's debt-trap diplomacy, but stated that the narrative was a "myth" and that the project was proposed by former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, not Beijing.[37] The article added that Sri Lanka's debt distress was not caused by Chinese lending, but from "excessive borrowing on Western-dominated capital markets."

 

Doesn't seem to fit the fashionable narrative. But don't let a few truths get in the way of a good Sinophobic rant.

 

And have the Chinese built the motorway from Colombo to Kandy which was just a pile of gravel in a field just north of Colombo-not when I was last there.

I had Pfizer booster in Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya on 29th December. I was told the record of the jab would be on  my app. in one week. My first 2 jabs are already on the app., Mor Phrom. I went back to RGP yesterday, after 2 weeks, and was told I have to wait 2 months to get the booster added to my app. Anyone else had a similar experience?

2 minutes ago, John9 said:

Does anyone know where in Pattaya one can get booster Pfizer jab. I had 2 AstraZeneca in UK in March and May 2021. Please confirm where to get any procedure and of course will I get combined certificate for all three here ?

Royal Garden Plaza and possibly the Stadium. You will not get a certificate for the booster but it should be arriving on you app if you have one.

5 minutes ago, pattaya1234was said:

Strange! I have again opened the article with a new browser and it's still not there. We are obviously living on different planets-or something!

Now taken another route and it is still there.! I think that just about sums up the situation here! Let's hope the meeting decides to abandon the 10th Jan. idea!