superal

Your post will have helped many people applying for the COE and all because of the "upload " button feature that also tripped me up . If the "upload " button had been prominent , say 3 times the size , then it would have been more obvious . The fact that you got pre-approval on Sunday night suggest to me that maybe the Thai embassy workers are working weekends ? Finally , I just wish that the London Thai embassy call center could employ more agents to answer their phones as being told you are number 22 in the queue is frustrating and one such time after waiting 45 minutes to speak to an agent I was cut off when I said " Is this the Thai embassy express service " and chuckled ( true ) .

For sure we are all differ when it comes to our hobbies / entertainment / enjoyment but I reckon the majority of tourists to Thailand are males who enjoy the bars and company of some beautiful Thai ladies . Maybe Scott should run a survey on what attracts you to Thailand ?

Not sure how the Thai government intended the " sandbox " to work because it is definitely not made for tourists as most entertainment venues are closed and the remaining hotels operating under the SHA plus system are offering minimal services . Previous reports from posts on this forum are not exaggerating when they say that Phuket is dead and boarded up . So for potential Thai tourists who have been to Thailand previously and enjoyed the entertainment / bars , forget it cos it has vanished and you will be wasting your money , go to the mediterranean places where everything is open . However if the Thai government have set up the "sandbox " to allow expats to return to their families & friends , then it is a welcome gesture but I am intrigued to why more places are being added to the "sandbox " scheme when the Phuket guinea pig island is all but empty . Hint to TAT , have SHA + type bars where all workers are double jabbed with AZ or Pfizer ( not Chinese WHO unapproved ) vaccine and same for patrons , all controlled by government approved staff and then watch the tourists arrive . One of my concerns is that some proof of vaccination paperwork from certain countries may not be authentic , I have recently read . Any arrival testing positive should not be sent to a crowded covid hospital but should be quarantined in their SHA + hotel room until well again or transferred to a hospital using the covid insurance policy . Countries suspected of faking vaccine certs should be banned from the "sandbox " scheme .

Hi James , Please tell me how you plan to travel to your home in the north east as the Thai government have suspended interprovincial flights till the end of August ?

Interprovincial travel by air needs to open a.s.a.p. . Is a major inconvenience to business people and returning farangs . Why stop air travel when mini buses , cars and heavy goods vehicles are still allowed ? The one covid rule that is often ignored is social distancing which is probably the quickest way of spreading the covid virus . Gotta get the basics right first or all else that is newly thought up is pointless .

Closing bars is a soft target and when you see the masses at markets and even vaccination stations without any social distancing the mind boggles . Controlled bars where the entrance is by way of an official who can view your vaccine cert could work especially if a qr app were used similar to the UK NHS register that is almost impossible to fake . Maybe the government should introduce prohibition then we can all decide if we want to stay . This was once a fun country but sadly approaching its sell by date .

Double jab cert or single J&J is important and if you aint got it your not going to Thailand . Pre flight 72 hour covid test and 3 tests in Thailand are also necessary . C.O.E. is given to you to confirm you have made a compliant application . A SHA hotel booking not a problem and there are many choices with big discounts . The covid insurance has to be included but general health insurance not so sure as this will stop many older tourists because of the high costs . If the TAT are reading , please take heed of previous posts that rightly state , there is nothing to go to Thailand for accept beaches and the same and some better are available in the mediterranean . Thailand is bordering on moving to the red list and that will seal the complete halt of any tourism . A true sandbox is where all who will work there are fully vaccinated ( not just one jab ) as are the tourists and the area is completely isolated . Controlled bars and restaurants where vaccination certs must be shown should be open cos they are the main attraction for the majority of tourists . In the case of the Phuket sandbox the Thai government have reneged cos although they say that after a 14 night stay you are free to travel around Thailand but the reality is there is no transport , accept expensive taxis or the occasional tour bus . I hear of flight companies taking bookings for interprovincial flights and not giving refunds only offering re-bookings where a refund is the legal option .

Is a messy job and better left to those who do it regularly . Not cost much to have a pro do it . From someone who has done it and wish I never started it .

Windscreen tinting in any form is a danger , especially at night . My lady bought a new car and was advised by the female sales to have tint all round . When I first drove the car at night I could only drive at 50 km per hour max cos I thought the headlights were defective and the next day took the car back to the dealer and told him to check the lights . Lights are halogen , so not great anyway but they were not faulty , it was the stupid 60% tint . Asked them to remove it and change to a 20% but they did not keep it in stock but changed it to a 40% which is still too dark on unlit roads . The UK car window tint law is a maximum of 25% tint on the windscreen and front side windows 30% which makes sense . I have often seen in Thailand a slot cut out of the tint on the drivers side which enables the driver to have night vision . In Thailand you can do what tint you like , crazy .

Yes its true and I have seen many times ladies trying to lift bags up to the overhead stowage and cannot because too heavy so a gallant man assists . Trying not to digress but I have been looking at interprovincial flights . Some companies tell you that 7 kg hand luggage is included in the fare and some say fare includes 20 kg of checked luggage , but what they all fail to tell you is the cost of additional luggage over and above the allowance . What they do say is " not to worry if you have additional baggage as we can take care of this once you have booked your ticket " . We all know this will not be cheap . Air Asia , as I recall give you the excess luggage payment choice prior to full payment .

Just did a Google search and stats vary but below is what I found This Thursday 12 August 2021 (consolidated data), 45,792,392 people have been given the first dose of the vaccine in France, namely 68.20% of the population. 38,510,140 people have been given the second dose of vaccine, namely 57.40% of the population. https://www.sortiraparis.com/news/in-paris/articles/239732-vaccination-in-france-how-many-people-are-vaccinated-as-of-datacovid-confirmedfr/lang/en

71% ? not quite but maybe in another month

This is a big off put to many a tourist and needs to be addressed . I can accept a public drinking ban such as street or beach drinking but having a beer with your vaccinated friends in your hotel should be allowed .

That would really wreck the Thai economy and the baht would plummet . Not forget , money number 1 in Thailand .

Has anyone used the above in the last couple of weeks or so , since the UK opened up? Are there bars and restaurants before or after security areas and are there any duty free shops open ? ( last time I used it 6 months ago , the place was a ghost town with everything closed ) Is checking in slow because of the sandbox C.O.E. paperwork ?

Reality is , you will get vaccinated next year at best . Will the promised vaccines come to Thailand and be fairly distributed ? Indeed I am surprised the black market for vaccines has not kicked off in Thailand . Maybe best to be proactive and if you can get a visa for your g/f you could go to your home country for a holiday and get double jabbed at the same time . Not trying to be dramatic but if todays covid daily infection predicted rate is correct at 50,000 a day with 45% of the population to be infected , it may be prudent to follow my suggestion .

What about the hotels , are they exempt from an alcohol ban ? cos if not they should be if tourists are to be encouraged to visit . Easy to control the sale of alcohol to hotel residents only . Many folk enjoy a wine or beer with their evening meal or an after meal nightcap .

and the authorities originally allowed Phuket workers to work with only 1 jab , you would think that those in power would at least be informed and taking advice ?

If they had a welfare system / furlough scheme , that figure would be much longer , also there is still a long way to go , at least another year . Maybe the government will dip into their foreign reserves pocket to feed the unemployed and procure the better class of vaccine or will they rely on the worldwide charity ? I think the latter. How are the unemployed folks and their families surviving ? The government need to come up with a solution to feed the wanting and stop a disaster . Undernourished folks immune system will be low and the virus will flourish .

Just to explain to other members , Hotchilli was refused the vaccine because he is a farang . I am flabbergasted . Needs to be brought to the attention of people at the top or at least to our man in Bangkok . Absolutely disgusting racism .

Did they actually say that ?

Shutdowns/lockdowns are not a pleasant experience for sure but if a furlough scheme is supporting all then at least it is survivable and will dilute the virus spread as was carried out in the UK . A furlough operation would be difficult to administer in Thailand because of the amount of unregistered / self employed workers . The powers that be have decided to reject the western way of social living for the masses and instead it is the survival of the fittest and no social safety net . So we have a predicament where there were business owners holding their own until now and having sunk their savings into delaying their business closures , are now dependent on either friends or family for food and money for utility bills etc . It is a dire situation that is worsening day by day and could lead to civil unrest . The future looks grim for many Thai folks .

Forget about cheap juicers cos they may only last a day or 2 . Top of the range is the Kuvings but in my opinion are overpriced and are double the price of the Reboot Master 6000 slow juicer which has a 5 year motor guarantee . My lady has the Reboot at a cost of around 10,000 baht and now it is 3 years old with no problems . It is classified as a commercial machine and it is used daily in our restaurant sometimes for 3 hours on continuous use when juicing 40 kg of passion fruit that is sold at the local market. For sure Kuvings juicer is well known and reliable but it is expensive and only compares equally to the Reboot which is less than half the price of Kuvings .

If they intend to cancel the "sandbox " it would be good if they can give say 1 months notice , soas to stop the complicated booking process, to qualify for the C.O.E. , especially for people who book at short notice . So I guess as things stand the best bet would be a Bangkok hotel as there is not a threat of the ASQ hotels being dropped .