Kaoboi Bebobp

They can't even see me waving for service in a bar and can't see signs for disabled parking in malls. Yeah, squiggly lines are going to work.

Sorry dude, SGN is Saigon Airport (HCMC, VN). SIN is the Singapore code. I've never been to Singapore. My flight route was Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City and back.

This is a holiday weekend, too, so it explains some of the check-in kerfuffle. I flew to Vietnam in early May and returned a couple of weeks later. In and out, a total breeze at BKK and SGN airports. In fact, landed at SGN, was outside having a smoke 20 minutes later.

Nope. Visa situation in VN is awful. There's only the 30-day Tourist visa, which cannot be extended in-country. The 90-day Tourist visa is not available, yet. I'm not sure of the 1-year Tourist visa available ONLY to Americans, but I think it's not been reinstated, yet. I just came back from VN and friends are doing Cambodia border runs to get another 30 days. I won't go back until there's a reasonable longer-stay visa

A friend flew off to London mid-morning today and posted photos of empty hallways like this out at Gate E1-10. Said he'd never seen an airport so empty. Then a friend piped in it was as empty as this when he flew out for a job last week. So few are arriving and very few not wanting to leave as there's no confidence in what they will face on the return. I'm now thinking -- after Anutin doused the idea of the endemic status -- that we're not going to see any improvements on arrival requirements or rules on mandatory mask wearing for months. I've been delaying a trip for months for these reasons.

Richard Barrow's Thai public holidays calendar and the Bank of Thailand's calendar shows NO holidays this week.

I'm not American but. . . . Yes, you can get a 30-day tourist visa (non-extendable!) and pay the small fee. The note on this graphic about visa exemptions for 13 nationalities is not meant to exclude all other nationalities. The exempted ones don't need to pay. But the rest of us must pay the visa fee. It's online at https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn. (NB: I keep getting Site Can't Be Reached. My guess is it's so busy it can't handle the volume. I tripled checked the URL so it's correct. So many scam sites.) Also note, lots of reports on FB Vietnam Legal Group of people getting their e-visas to enter VN.

I have not been to either of these restaurants, but Hemingway's on Thappraya Rd. 1, and Wombat and Kiwi on Jomtien Beach Rd just past the Night Market get top reviews for food. Both serve breakfast. A great source of meal reviews and recommendations is the FB group Breakfast Club Pattaya.

Check Inn 99 is permanently closed, sorry to say. Confirmed on their FB page, too. But they note the Sunday afternoon jazz continues at Queen Bee, soi 26 Suk.

I'm waiting for the same thing. I do not want to do a 30-day visa because I intend to stay for lengthy periods. I've heard estimates of mid-April for the 90-day Tourist visa (YouTuber living in HCMC) to 2-3 months by others. Vietnam has really botched this "re-opening." It has not issued any kind of statement on visa plans other than pre-pandemic rules will apply. There were quite a few unhappy people who booked flights and hotels for after the March 15 only to find out VN is not doing long visas, both Tourist and Business.

So, Cambodia won't do a thing about the Chinese human traffickers and so they're allowing Thai police to do the job? Don't know what to say. Anyway, some good news.

In contrast, Google's Destination Insights, which monitors travel demand, shows Thailand in 47th place under the title: Top Growth by Destination Country. It's a 10%-25% decline. Vietnam is 2nd at 75% growth in demand. https://destinationinsights.withgoogle.com/intl/en_ALL/

Didn't bother clicking the bait link, but the OP reads like a paid advertisement.

Not read a thing about any approvals by the top decision makers in VN. For a month now, all we've heard are ministerial proposals for health and visa protocols. I check 6-10 Viet news sites a day. Pretty shocking considering the constant messages about fully re-opening March 15.

There was about 12-15 exempt nations. But they only get 15 days. Quite silly. But many tourist industry groups are pushing for expansion of the nations' list and amount of visiting time. Some news out of Hanoi has got to come this week. I'm not American so I know little about the 1-year Tourist visa, except you have to leave every 90 days, I believe. I think the special visa for Americans was still in the law, which was amended and made effective in July 2020.

Ten days before the alleged re-opening and they're still kicking around "proposals." These should have been resolved and tied up in ribbons in February.

Yup, VOA is suspended. Also recently the Dept of Labour has stopped converting Tourist visas to retirement or business visas in-country. Most folks are hoping they will soon bring back the VOA Ordinary visa, which you can extend for an ER or EB up to 12 months. Note to OP: The embassy will affix a full passport page sticker whereas if you order from the government site, you get an official letter and pass it to immigration on arrival at PNH. They just stamp you in. Page saved. All the requirements for entry can be seen on the top of the FB page for Cambodia Visa and Work Permit Group.

Have always been underwhelmed by LG and Samsung units in multiple apartments. I agree with above recommendations: Daikin and Mitsubishi. Plus my landlord just replaced my old Toshiba, which was working very well until it simply stopped, with a brand I've never heard of, Amena (inverter), made in Thailand. After one month, I'm quite impressed. Runs very quietly and produces very cool air and dehumidifies well. Got the same brand model in my bedroom. Totally quiet. I also like the very clear and clean remote screen.

Keep your eyes on these news sites. They're always on the ball with gov/tourist/visa news: VNExpress, Viet Nam News and Tuoi Tre. There's also FB group: Vietnam Legal Group, run by a Viet lawyer. He's usually pretty on top of anything legal. However, not a peep from Immigration on visas yet. And the latest news from VN Health Ministry about restrictions on entry is not encouraging. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/health-ministry-seeks-to-tighten-entry-restrictions-as-inbound-tourism-reopens-4433863.html

A scam indeed. I found out in early January, when I planned to pop into Phnom Penh and return to BKK, that my COVID insurance, required for my November return to Thailand on a Non-Imm retirement extension, expires as soon as I leave. I paid 18,000 baht for 180 days but my trip was to be at around the 90-day mark. So I would be throwing away about 9000 baht plus another 9000 baht to buy a new policy to complete my stay. >>Insert colourful language here<<

When I lived in Pattaya, I rode a motorbike using 100% concentration and reading everything around me. Still, there were too many close calls and I stopped riding at night. One evening riding north on Soi Yume, I was signalling and slowing down to turn right into my small street, behind Big C Extra. Sure enough, a kid sped past me on my inside right. If I hadn't been watching out for any dumb behaviour, we would have collided. I haven't ridden in several years now.

Yawn . . . I hope the "relaxed" restrictions are a lot better by the time March 15 rolls around.

Cambodia, absolutely up to date. Source: Cambodia Expats Online:

For the fully-vaccinated, there's been no quarantine in Canada since at least October, 2021, and only a pre-flight PCR test to show. In Toronto, masks were optional on the street, with most people not wearing any. But starting Feb. 28, 2022, no PCR tests needed, only an antigen test 24 hours before your initial flight. So in short, arrive in Canada and carry on life. Did you hear that Thailand?

Hanoi beer from Vietnam was introduced 2-3 years ago in Thailand. Maybe that was it. I found it a bit too mild. Hanoi is the only Viet beer I've seen in Thailand.