geisha

Richard Coleman, sorry , I mis read your post.Thought you meant you were covered for 20/ 50 thousand $ by your Visa card !! You meant having this money readily available when needed. Ok. My sitUation is the same, have plenty invested . Still I think that a reasonable insurance that covers any huge bills is worth it. My neighbours from France had a terrible accident while in Phuket, not their fault at all, and spent over three weeks in Bangkok Phuket hospital, their legs basically crushed. It was sometimes touch and go. After 3 weeks I managed to get them repatriated with their insurance. I can’t remember the amount but it was immense! (12 yrs ago about). They were very well looked after and the specialist in France said the “ repairs “ were amazing. They spent another few months in a specialist centre. After seeing that with my own eyes and being at their bedsides every day, I would never take any chances.

Hi, not contradicting you, but I thought a gold/ platinum visa only covers you for 90 days ?? is it country depending ? I have both those cards and live in France. I’m often gone over 90 days so take out an extra insurance.

Anyone who knows Thailand even slightly would not have applied first weeks of the new app.

Well I do, and never had a problem. I’ll certainly be asking around from,applicants, ( hundreds on FB) to find out if this really is a problem. Loads of messages saying they never got through, or never got the email, or passport number problem . Then lots saying after the umpteenth try , they got through. So the hotmail of op could have been just a moment .

I heard the same, Phuket has quite a big young foreign population who go out for fun, not necessarily for the girl scene. I never saw that in Pattaya area for example.

Why are you all getting steamed up about the figures ? Does it make a difference? It’s a wait and see game.

The new rules Nov 1 st don’t require fully vaccinated ? Crazy !

Yes, and are all these presumed travelers fully vaccinated ???

I think I have an eye sight problem! Did I just read on requirements for entry 1st Nov , Non Thai Nationals ( eligible countries) * Travelers are not required to be fully vaccinated against Covid 19 *: ???? This I really don’t understand ! With all the important messages to get people vaccinated especially for travel, you’d think being fully vaccinated was top of the list for requirements ? Certainly is in Europe .

I think the op was worried about showing bank funds and STV ask for them. I fact I think all visas do. Visa exempt doesn’t obviously. Have rules changed ?

Hi all, I’m thinking of spending a few months in my old haunt of Kata beach area Phuket. Spent many snowbird years there. I will be renting a condo, not yet found but searching. I really want to rent a safety box to put my passport , papers, valuables in . I always do this when I’ve been in Chonburi or Bangkok, much safer than leaving in a condo safe. I don’t have a bank account, and from asking friends, the bank safe deposit boxes are all full anyway. Any info appreciated. Thanks .

Grumpy old man, I’m,sure he’s not completely alone ?? Get someone of confidence , family, neighbours, to down load everything ( except banking) on a cheap smart phone. Then if he goes somewhere and needs one he can just hand it over.

That’s bad in my view. Anyone, especially aged, eye sight problems or physical, should be able to have a printed copy. We do in Eu and GB . Hot do they expect poor people, or farmers in the sticks living on a shoe string to have a smart phone, and be able to use it ?? So, you loose your phone, it breaks, it’s out of juice, what the hell do you do then ?? Everyone advises to have paper copies with you !

Well, air pollution will be much better with those thousands of buses off the streets, and the airports friendlier immigration queues without people pushing forward and shouting! The Chinese weren’t there a few years ago, and sorry, not racist at all, Thailand was a much better place all round.

French BFM TV has just announced a new drug from Merck to treat Covid. It’s an anti viral that has to be taken as soon as Covid is confirmed positive. France has just ordered a starting amount deal and it’s promised for this December. This is fantastic news , look it up.

Due to the obligation of presenting your passport in Paris for the visa stamp, I have , in the last few years ,traveled to BKK visa exempt and a return ticket of around 3 and a half months with Emirates. Emirates always ask, so I present them a ticket to Yangon ( before the present uprising of course) or Cambodia , Singapore etc. I normally do use these tickets and have a holiday away from Thailand. Which means I don’t have to change my Emirates ticket dates. For immigration, I extend before the 30 days is up, get another 30 days, then do my holiday trip , come back visa exempt. I’ve never had a problem. Now, with Covid restrictions, it may not be possible, but I’m thinking by January things might be better, and easier to move around .which is when I shall come back to Thailand.

It’s not doctors who * invent* new medicines or treatments, that’s the job of dedicated scientific research . They have been at their studies 24/7 since the very start of Covid. I think the medical and scientific world are doing their damned best on this, and many other subjects.

But can you still do that now ,. ?

Ps, as mentioned above, buy a cheap ticket out of Thailand that you need not use. Example a BKK Phnom Penh , or Singapore , depending where you are staying. This is only for your airline from Belgium when you check in. Thai Immigration has never asked me for one , but you never know.

So you are in Thailand for 60 days ? Just go visa exempt and extend it for one month in Thailand ? Am’i right with this ? Do you already have your ticket. ? Check with your airline if you can change your return date , ( don’t mention when ) I always take a Flex option with mine that permits me to change the date for a fee. When you book with most airlines you get options, economy , flex , business , 1st class. Always choose the one where you can change dates for a fee. Also check the validity of your ticket. Cheap ones are usually only good for a month.

I’ve always rented from a company/ condo office. Never had a problem. So when I rent a new one, and pay my rent monthly ( with contract ) how do I know where the moneys going to ? I get a receipt, ok, what else should I get ?

Sorry, the fault is all on the people who run this country. Lack of education, children working on the streets selling flowers, this has been the reality of Thailand for many years. Those kids grow up, and boys and girls end up in the sex industry as they have absolutely no qualification to do much else. Where’s the help ? Where in the world do you find a country who relies on sex to feed their families ? some poverty stricken African countries maybe ? I’ve been coming to Thailand for 35 years and have made friends who work in restaurants, legitimate massage shops, shops. They go home to a room shared with other girls and mats on the floor. Yeah, great life, not. Thailand has put its eggs all in one basket, which has had its results over the years. Really, who wants a life in the sticks slogging all day on a farm to be dirt poor ?? When tourism took off many years ago, things like education, schools, pension schemes, social security could have been installed, as it was elsewhere ! But they filled their own bank accounts and bought land and houses abroad, and left their own people to their own devices. Nothing has been done, and I very much doubt it ever will be . Thailand is on a downward slope, and the worst is to come. Those youths fortunate to have an education can see it coming, and that’s why they are being stopped in their tracks. It’s not the first time. Poor Thailand. Before condemning the sex workers , ( or their clients, mostly Thais) put yourself in the shoes of those who’ve never had a proper home, education, job, government help , and see how you’d like it !

Also, now it’s better/ easier to go to Bangkok, than to do the Sandbox 7 nights ? Doesn’t make sense to me . Why is it 1 day full quarantine in BKK and 1 test , and 7 days SHA+ in Phuket plus 2 tests ????

Hi, good for you. Just went back for a holiday, , albeit from France . Just follow gov.uk it’s all there, easy to follow. If you have to do a day two test, you do it and pay online.( they send it to the address of your choice) Then they send you the docs with a number .. This number you put on the Locator form, easy to fill in. Take your vaccin certificates with you. I found that all this was checked in France by my airline BEFORE I could board. Then in London, terminal 5 for me, very easy, just my UK passport through the machine . From plane to baggage 30 mins max. Had good food, very friendly people and enjoyed my stay very much.

In France, if you’ve been double vaxed, ( or one Johnson) you get your booster jab exactly 6 months after the last jab. They will use Pfizer or Moderna.