reflectionx

On 9/8/2021 at 8:25 AM, DogNo1 said:

COVID-19 is now an endemic disease meaning that there is no such thing as permanent immunity from it.  Yesterday on Youtube, There was a video featuring a healthy young doctor with no risk factors who contracted COVID, received two doses of Moderna and then got COVID again.  Recovering from the disease AND getting double vaccinated doesn't prevent you from getting COVID again, especially if it is a newer variant.  People who have recovered and/or have been doubly vaccinated can contract the disease again because antibody levels decrease over time.  Thailand has no choice but to doubly vaccinate everyone with an effective vaccine even if they have previously recovered from COVID.  Only then may it become an acceptable tourist destination again.  I think that all tourism will be down in the future.  The BIG question is what variants or new pandemics will appear in the future.  We may be wearing masks for the rest of our lives.

COVID is here to stay for few years. Get vaccinated, move on - eg Spanish flu. 

There a lot of people who are sitting on plies of cash (that they couldn’t spend due to pandemic) eager to travel. But they dont want to be poked in the nose and possible being forced in quarantines during their vacations. The first few countries to reopen will emerge winners. Sadly, It doesn’t seem that the Thai government understands this.

Step by step, I cancelled my 5 weeks trip around XMAS this year.

Until there is zero chance of being forced in a tropical jail for 2 weeks with 2 small children, we ain’t putting foot in Thailand.

I don’t mind all the useless paperwork, but until the my get rid of the testing requirements, I seriously doubt that any rational being (farang with money) would risk it.

On 8/25/2021 at 8:34 AM, richard_smith237 said:

 

I think common sense is a requirement. 

 

Mask wear is a must whenever out in public - if you are walking at the waters edge, you will get away with a mask around you neck and put it on if someone asks. 

 

If you are walking down the street, wear your mask. 

 

If sat on the beach, have the mask at hand but no need to wear it unless in a group. 

 

If at the hotel pool, no need to wear the mask, no one will bother you. 

 

If in the pool... well, we don’t need to be silly about that one. 

Seems reasonable.

What happens if you or your family test positive at some point? I can’t see myself stuck in a room with 2 little kids for 2 weeks…

10 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

Unfortunately for my first 7 nights I'm pretty sure I can only book with the

 

Samui Extra Plus hotels, where the cheapest starts at 35,000 baht

 

https://asq.in.th/samui-extra-plus-alq-sandbox-hotels

Oh, I missed the EXTRA part. Do you still have to go through the hassle of 3 PCR if you choose Samui? If yes, I’d rather go to Phuket. It doesn’t make sense to spends so much $$$ to be in jail for 1 week wth

I don’t get the whole concept - you need to be vaccinated but you still need ridiculous amount of PCR. The 2 weeks incubation period is stupid to begin with. 
 

How about masks at the beach and at the hotel pools? Are they mandatory? If so, I am not going. Don’t want to go back with mask “sunburned tattoo” on my face

11 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

Thanks.  I still can't believe (although it's entirely believable) just how much of a markup the Samui Plus hotels are charging for those first 7 days.  Again, I get that they're hurting and need the revenue, but is it really worth souring someone from ever staying with them again moving forward?  Just such terrible business

 

So now I'm deciding whether I pay about $1,000 more for my flight to Phuket where the hotels are cheaper (plus flight to Samui later) and I have more freedom for the first 7 days or a cheaper flight (since I can go with my original one to BKK and then transfer to Samui) to pay more for the first 7 days.

 

Guess I need to get the old calculator out!

I find Trip.com has good prices on Koh Samui hotels, but not that much choice. You are basically limited to a couple of 4 star hotels in the $30-$40 range, and Imho this is more than reasonable for 4* beachfront hotels. The email I got was from Casa Del Mar

20 hours ago, Espanol said:

I had tickets with Turkish Airlines for September and they cancelled my tickets and gave my money back. Probably not enough people flying. 

 

I had to book with Qatar at a much higher cost.

Did you try to argue with them to rebook you with another airline?

21 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

So just to be completely clear, if I'm coming back from the US, teh only way I can make the sandbox work (either Phuket or Samui) is to fly an airline that goes directly to one of the Islands after a layover

 

What are some of the airlines that actually do this?  From searching, it seems like most flights have me flying into BKK and then transferring to Bangkok Airways

As I booked hotel through Trip.com at Koh Samui for after the sandboxing, I got this email from them in case someone needs more info for the Koh Samui bubble:

Despite the fact that there will be no quarantine requirements, all travelers will continue to be restricted to stay at some accommodations.

· For travelers who wish to visit Samui only, no minimum stay is required but they must leave Samui (Thailand) for another country on or before the intended departure date;

· For travelers who wish to continue the journey to other Thai destinations, they must stay in Samui for 14 nights and thereafter will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand.

Samui Extra Plus Hotels (Day 1-7) in Samui only

From Day 1 to 3, you will be allowed to leave your hotel room to a designated area within the hotel only. From Day 4 to 7, you will be allowed to travel to a designated route in Samui or join a tour program within Samui also.

SHA+ Hotels (Day 8-14) in Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao

After spending 7 nights at Samui Extra Plus hotel, you will be allowed to travel freely around Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao but you will have to stay at an accommodation with a SHA+ certificate, which is issued by the Thai government for safety and health measures standards. You will need to stay at SHA Plus hotel for no less than 7 nights and the hotel(s) will need to be pre-booked in advance.

Here are the details of the program. 

https://www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-thailand/samui-plus-sandbox-travel-to-thailand-without-quarantine

https://www.thaiembassy.sg/sites/default/files/Samui%20Plus%20Eng.jpg

21 hours ago, stevenl said:

Qatar, Singapore, Emirates, Etihad, Cathay, Thai.

My tickets for December-January are with Turkish airlines. No clue if they keep the flights though, so all my hotel bookings are refundable.

10 hours ago, reflectionx said:

Seems like a lot of hassle and $$$.

 

I was hoping that we wouldn’t need to spend $$$ on our 3 and 8 years old kids, but based on what I am reading, that’s like extra $400 per kid (including the pré departure test).

 

I might change my mind and wait one more year to visit the family (all the travel we booked so far is refundable). Still a lot of time til December, we will wait and see how the situation evolves.

 

are people required to wear masks at the beach? If so, what is age at which kids are exempted?

 

thanks

Anyone? What a mess.

also, my kids have Thai passports, is the process for Thais different?

Seems like a lot of hassle and $$$.

I was hoping that we wouldn’t need to spend $$$ on our 3 and 8 years old kids, but based on what I am reading, that’s like extra $400 per kid (including the pré departure test).

I might change my mind and wait one more year to visit the family (all the travel we booked so far is refundable). Still a lot of time til December, we will wait and see how the situation evolves.

are people required to wear masks at the beach? If so, what is age at which kids are exempted?

thanks

Anyone used OFX? Their rates for large amount are ridiculously good compared to the rest of the pack.

What is the best bank to transfer large amount to from Canada? Transferwise is too expensive for such amount. 

I remember 10 years ago we used Bangkok bank as we could keep the money in CAD for as long as wanted and decide on which day to covert to THB.

Is this still the case? If not, which bank is the best for such a transaction at the moment?

thanks

meh, for some reason I missed the fact that One has to register a drone with CAAT, which apparently takes weeks.

we are only here for 25 days, so I was wondering if there is a way to get it done faster? Eg if register under wife name (she is Thai), would it speed things up?

also, is it ok to fly while waiting the CAAT confirmation (I guess YMMV there)?

Other than the classifieds here (????), what other sites are good for house rentals in Thailand?

Do they have something as popular as kijiji and craigslist in the west? It's ok if it's in Thai.

Thanks

I have a question regarding O visa (family stay). Last time I stayed there for 5 months, I had to fly out and in at 90 days. 

I am planning another 5 months stay. Is it possible now to simply go to immigration and get the extension?

how about his new online service, does it apply to O visa as well?

thanks

On 03/01/2018 at 11:08 PM, TunnelRat69 said:

I stepped on a sting ray in Bang Sarae Beach a few years back, it got me on the ankle  -  Pain was immediate, and it swelled up - iced it down but the pain wouldn't go away, finally went to the Hospital, couple shots, more ice and antibiotics.  They said lucky for me it was a small one, It Hurt like Hell!!!   I can't imagine what a big one would feel like.  I wear water dogs (hard rubber pull on shoes)in the water now, but in reality, if you don't step directly on the spike, they will get you higher up so the shoes are only a warm fuzzy feeling for me. Also protects from cuts by broken beer bottles, I really don't care if I look like a geek going in them on.

Actually while stuck in the hospital I read a lot about it, and rubber shoes in most cases will NOT protect you from he barb, as it can easily pinch through. In fact, it can make things worse as there are some special bacteria in the rubber, so it would be even more difficult to heal.

sorry for resurecting this from the death, but I wanted to share my experience as it might help someone in the future.

The very first thing to do if you get stung by stingray is to start pouring hot water on your foot. Careful not to burn your skin as you won't be feeling the heat from the pain, so first try on your hand for example to make sure it wont burn your skin. Apprently the heat breaks the stingray venom (some sort of protein).

I was given a bag of ice to put on and I almost fainted from the pain by the time I got to the hospital. It was about an hour from the incident til the time they put my foot in hot water, so I think this contributed to the complications I am still dealing with (yup, 3 weeks after).

At the ER they cut the area and cleaned the wound (1.5cm deep) from the barb pieces. Apparrently they did not do it very well as a week later my foot got very itchy and swollen again. The infection was back even if I did everyday wound cleaning and dressing and never got it wet. They deep cleaned it again, and a small piece of the barb resurfaced, plus they did Xray (which they are supposed to the first time, but they didnt). 

Anyhow, 17 days after the incident there was almost no infection left, so the surgeon cut what was left from the infection inside and stiched it up. He checked it again today and had to cut one of the stiches as there was some water (like mini infection under the surface), so he wanted to let it drain out. I am heading back home tomorrow and am supposed to follow up for more cleaning and stiches removal in a week. 

I never imagined that the recovery would be that hard, pretty much spent my entire vacation at the hospital, went through 3 rounds of antibiotics and still cannot recover fully.

I just had terrifying expereinne which was attributed to stepping on a stingray (on Klong Mueng, close to Sofitel). The folks at Krabi inrernational took good care, so it appears to recover well.

anyway, defnitely not brave at this point to go back in the sea, so I was wondering if there are any swimming pools in Klomg Mueang/AoNang where we can pay to use it during the day?

thanks

Come on guys, there is no conspiracy here. The prices are set automatically and asthe seats gets filled up, the prices go up.

This is valid for all airlines, not only low cost. Same thing happened during the Alberta wild fires with AirCanada.

Depending on the destination and time ofnthe year, there is a sweet spot for booking tickets. For example for last minute deals in all inclusive in the Caribbean I found 2 weeks to be the best. For my Christmass travel to Thailand this year from the East Coast I had booked in March and paid only 900 CAD (23 000 baht). Should I had waited til October, it would have been double that price

Since bumguns don't really work well in cold climates (unless you are masochist, last year cold water pipe froze 9 ft below surface), I am looking to buy and bring back a washlet/bidet seat that heats up the water and air drie, li the ones they have at Tokyo airport.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/B009DC9QNS/ref=mp_s_a_1_24?qid=1447710876&sr=8-24π=SL75_QL70&keywords=washlet

Why are people running stock firmware? Get some linux based flash like openwrt...

Grrr, can't seem to edit my post on full browser on mobile...

Anyway, out of curiosity, why would you need only DOS installed on your laptop?