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1 hour ago, Joe Farang said:

Not sure if this is earlier or after the game.

 

This film depicts a group of ticketless people bursting through the fire exits at Wembley hours before the game (it's broad daylight outside).

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Any public hire vehicle must be fitted with meters. Which they won't be.

Really? Last time I got a tuk tuk in Bangkok, I don't recall seeing any meter. Or are there exceptions to your rule?

12 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

There is a simple way of dealing with this, which will never happen.

 

Every taxi must use the meter. Every taxi must have a sign saying, in English, that if the driver refuses to use the meter call ***, which will be answered by an English-speaker.

 

It won't work because the driver will remove the sign. It will not work because no-one will do spot checks to see that the sign is there. It won't work because no-one will answer the phone, and if they do they will be told to call the tourist police (as happened to me in Bangkok), And it will also not work because, as also happened to me in Bangkok, the driver if forced to use the meter will simply take the long way round to generate what he wanted to charge anyway. And, if someone does answer the phone, nothing will be done even if a note is taken of the driver's number.

It won't work because 95% of private hire vehicles in Phuket don't have meters. Mostly supposedly fixed cost "airport limos", vans and tuk tuks.

No, some landlords are OK.

3 hours ago, HAPPYNUFF said:

Made the mistake of going there,,,once..      Went to buy a T shirt at some markets..400 baht.No thanks.

Great Scott! 400 baht for an item of clothing?!

Just out of curiosity, how much do you normally pay for your clothes?

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand is set to import at least 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the year

Yes, 20 million is a bit pessimistic. I think it will be 50 or 100 million, maybe more.

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

You are assuming facts that are not in evidence.

The original Post said nothing about $800 b from the airport to Patong.

800 b from the airport to Patong is a normal and reasonable price that I have paid for years for a private drive company.

It does not say in the OP who knows but it may have been from Karon, which would in fact be a huge rip off.

Phuket has traditionally been known for big Taxi mafia and rip offs even the government acknowledges it.

Also, comparing anything here to western pricing is ridiculous.

 

"comparing anything here to western pricing is ridiculous."

I expect you walk up to 5 star hotels in Thailand and demand to stay for £10/night. Since comparing anything in Thailand to the West is ridiculous.

Your theory about the Karon - Patong journey is unlikely but possible, and I suppose the 900 baht journey was from Kata Noi to Kata? Since we are inventing things, perhaps the 800 baht was a 12 hour drive around the island?

Just now, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Bizarre comment. Phuket isn't a Western country and the same prices do not apply. And you miss the point. In Thailand such pricing is illegal (no meter) and excessive when compared to prices elsewhere in Thailand. Just because prices might be higher in countries where people are paid 10xmore doesn't make Thai taxis on Phuket cheap.

Whose point did I miss? Have you ever been to Phuket? What pricing are you claiming is illegal again? The airport "limos" that charge 800 baht to go to Patong? 95% of the vehicles at Phuket airport don't have a meter - only the meter taxis, funnily enough.

I never claimed that Phuket taxis were cheap. But Thais aren't obliged to make everything super cheap so that you are happy.

7 hours ago, calbts2 said:

I always rent a car when I go to Phuket as you can usually get a rental for around the same price as a short one way tuk tuk ride. It really is common sense. Don't know why more people just do this instead of supporting the taxi mafia. It is often fun coming out of the airport terminal and seeing the looks on those taxi mafia driver faces when I ignore their calls and head to the car rental counter. I will pay 1000 baht for a nice one day car rental vs 1000 for a one way trip to a hotel.

Great idea! So you pay 1000 baht, hire a car and drive to your hotel.

Then the next day, the car hire people send someone to come and collect your car free of charge! What an amazing service! Is it Budget or Avis that runs this incredible deal? I will go and check the prices now!

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Others chipped in with tales of 800 baht (to Patong), 900 baht (to Karon) and even 1,350 baht rides. The last of these was one way from the airport to Kata Noi that the poster said would normally be 600 baht. 

Well, I know everybody loves to rubbish Phuket. Yes, Phuket taxis/tuk tuks are more expensive than anywhere else in Thailand. I don't like it either.

Those prices would be fairly ordinary in a Western country. Airport to Patong would take 50-60 minutes, and the charge is 800 baht, or $25. How much would you expect to pay for an hour-long taxi ride in the US/UK/Europe?

Having said that, it's substantially more than I've paid in the past. Haven't been ripped off so far by the Phuket meter taxis, I assume they are still parked outside the airport?

11 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

I am fully in support of Phuket opening up as soon as possible but feel a better and morally acceptable way to do it would be to vaccinate the elderly and vulnerable first as the was promised by the Thai administration instead they have gone against that promise and have left the elderly and vulnerable to suffer the consequences of that decision, it is this that I'm voicing my concerns about.You have made some baseless and inflammatory accusations that I'm anti Phuket and anti tourist when in fact I have enjoyed Phuket as a tourist and one of my best friends runs a business there which I still frequent, so it would appear that you are incorrect in your accusations.If you are in favour of this reprehensible Phuket scam parading as a scheme you are quite entitled to express such views and I feel I should be entitled to do the same should I feel the desire to do so. 

More dull sanctimonious whining.

3 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

I will agree to disagree with your sentiment as the post you responded to does not derail the topic as it discusses the reason why the Sandbox opened, vaccinations, while also discussing where those vaccines could have been used, and the same outcome obtained by opening the sandbox up without vaccinating the island.

He's posted almost exactly the same thing on several other threads - look at his recent posts. When you go around various different boards on a forum repeating the same thing on each one, it's usually called "trolling".

I would much rather hear some interesting trip reports from people on the Phuket Forum than some anti-Phuket, anti-tourist ranting. He obviously feels entitled to copy and paste his views on Phuket vaccines on dozens of different threads.

I'm sure he'll pop up again soon on the "Which beach in Phuket would you recommend" thread with another angry diatribe (smile)

2 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

It is rather extreme why someone would vaccinate younger healthier people before the elderly and the vulnerable.Had they vaccinated the elderly and vulnerable groups they could have opened up the same because the elderly and vulnerable would be protected which was supposed to be the plan from the beginning.Do you think the way they have done it is a good idea to let the elderly and vulnerable to be left to die so they can open?They could have vaccinated the elderly and vulnerable in the same time and opened about the same time.   

This post has zero to do with the topic of this thread. You're derailing a interesting thread so you can have a rant about vaccines. Isn't it a coincidence that all the people who want to keep foreigners out of Thailand are currently in Thailand themselves?

On 7/2/2021 at 6:31 PM, BritTim said:

For those interested in the data the DDC uses in determining how to categorise thr risk of each country, this is an interesting presentation:

https://ddc.moph.go.th/uploads/ckeditor2//files/จัดกลุ่มประเทศตามความเสี่ยง กรมควบคุมโรค .pdf

จัดกลุ่มประเทศตามความเสี่ยง กรมควบคุมโรค .pdf 542.23 kB · 2 downloads

Here's a partial English translation for anyone interested:

English Translation.pdf

On 7/2/2021 at 4:45 AM, Bluespunk said:

Disagree with you on last point, didn’t read the lecture at start after reading initial patronising tone. 

You must find it difficult to read your own posts (smile)

14 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

eh?  I don't own a smartphone, but frankly how can anybody get on a flight to Thailand without one, because aren't you supposed to register for one of those apps and show it before you board the plane or are allowed to leave the airport at Thailand?  Are they not checking or pinging you?  What and where does one "agree" or certify they are OK with being tracked?  What if one leaves their phone in their room, or turned off, or in the safe in the room?  Are the Thai officials saying they expect people to keep their phones on their persons at all times?  Would like to see the rules in print about and any details about that if they exist

They aren't very expensive now, an iPhone 6s is a nice phone that still runs quickly, plenty on sale second-hand for around £50:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255038433882

I'm sure we'll hear more about the tracking rules as more "sandbox" trip reports come in, I'll be interested to hear about what is happening.

On 7/1/2021 at 12:59 PM, worldfun said:

Russia actually qualifies both in terms of bilateral visa exception & 'low risk' country so not sure why no flights yet taking off? Russia is always winter in most of the country so should be the right season too ???? Perhaps it's the no alcohol, no bars, high cost minor problem? Hah! Or not enough sputnik vaccines?

Perhaps Russian airlines have calculated that they would make a loss scheduling flights to Phuket, given the low passenger numbers.

29 minutes ago, simon43 said:

What happened to the requirement to wear tracking wristbands?  It's gone quiet on that topic...

It was supposed to be intended for people without smartphones.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Mr Tanee said that embassies and consulates have successfully processed all COE applications from Phuket Sandbox travelers arriving on 1st July, however some applications had been rejected due to incomplete documentation.

Never mind, I'm sure that the rejected applications were able to get full refunds for their home country PCR test, 3 Thai PCR tests, mandatory 15 day hotel booking paid in full, Thai covid insurance, and flights.

5 hours ago, madmen said:

I fly in tomorrow. Applying for COE went super smooth and 14 days on a tropical island beats the <deleted> out of 4 walls Bangkok jail ????

Good luck madmen - hope it all goes well for you ????