geisha

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.

Just get your booster !!!

I suppose some sort of testing must be done on arrival, as if you leave people up to their own devices, most wouldn’t comply would they ? I’m quite sure not many real 2 week tourists will come anyway. There are no holidays in November, and people who winter holiday usually use their Christmas/ New Year time. Also, the airlines have to get back on schedule , and they’re not going to fly half price with the nightmare 2 years they’ve just gone through! I think people like myself, longstay. , snowbirds whatever, might want to come. And there’s not millions of those. To be honest, no skin off my nose to spend a night in a hotel and one test . I’d probably sleep through it ! My only concern is being tested positive ,,even though I’m double faxed and a booster, I don’t relish that happening !!!

They check when you enter a country. From France to Italy for ex , i was stopped by road, in airports when you check in, they look at your passport, visas if have, and the destination rules documents. Otherwise you can’t board.

Same rules apply to entering many countries and the UK. !!You must order a day 2 test and pay online, print the order and Locator form with REF number to check into flight, otherwise you don’t board ! As for travel insurance I believe it’s necessary for all travelers. (COE , who knows. ? ) Have proof of double vaccins and details etc.

Hi, I plan on coming with a 60 day tourist visa and then extending 30 days at immigration. Should I apply for a COVID insurance 90 days ? I have also normal travel insurance that covers everything else on a yearly plan. Thanks.

Don’t know the details, but does it state government approved hotel ASQ or SHA+ ?

Hi all, please read the rules for entering UK for all travelers. Even from EU . You must order online and pay for a day 2 test which you do at home/ hotel and send back . Around 50 to 80£ , the test is delivered to your UK address. Secondly , you must fill in online , before leaving Thailand ( eg) a Locator form , with all your details, pass, flights and code number of the day 2 test you’ve paid for. Take your vaccination certificates, and a PCR test . if you are leaving soon, when I applied this week for the lateral flow test, they are out of stock , reason being the authorities have given all the lateral flow tests to the reopening of schools and UNIs and now they are rare. I also did a PCR before leaving France just to be sure tho for French residents it’s not needed. No point in taking risks on an expensive voyage. This all applies even if you’re British ..

This was an absolutely horrible story.The poor young girl came from France as an au pair to a family in London. She was mistreated for a good while, and certain neighbours knew about this. Anyhow, she went missing , and her family reported it to the police. They found a grave in the garden and the copule were brought to justice . The poor girl was 21 yr old Sophie Lionnet , burnt and buried in the garden. In Malaysia, the maid was tortured by a very well known family, scared for life !

Wow, the first few posts I read are nothing less than short sighted and ignorant. There are loads of older foreign women travelers who are much more adventurous than your average older male who’s main idea is getting laid with a much younger person ( man / girl) or finding a wife ! No one thinks this is anything to write about , except when it all goes wrong of course !! yes, the Caribbean and some places in Africa attract certain women. Who cares ? It’s a very sorry vision to think that an older woman only goes to a place to find a young man ! I have plenty of single women friends in Thailand, even Pattaya, who would never dream of something like that ! They are divorced or single by choice., enjoy seeing the world and getting away from the winter in EU, even settling down for good. My best friend leased land and house in Bali for over 30 years, a little paradise, she had a maid and chauffeur. I’ve met all her friends who have business there, mainly fashion and jewelry, art etc, and very few are married . None to younger men ! I’m not saying there’s anything wrong in having a younger friend, just that women aren’t constantly inhabited by the idea or want. Most, are happy to live their own lives without the bother or responsibility . Once you’ve had a stable and successful life, you can happily do what you want and where you want alone.

Every man and woman has rights, and they don’t include, mistreatment, slavery, violence , whether it be physical or mental. The man or woman’s race or religion doesn’t come into it. Unfortunately, there are some religions and countries that regularly mistreat their wives and employees. Maids getting beaten half to death in one country recently, an au pair from France in London, beaten and then burnt to death, happens all the time. Then of course there are wives and children , who most of the time keep quiet or hopefully run away , report to authorities. Let’s hope that they are all helped.

If there is still quarantine, or sandbox SHA+ , I was wondering if you still have to prove where you will stay after ? Thanks.

It doesn’t bother me, 500B is the price of a snack or drink at the airport. If you come into Thailand on a package tour, then it will be included in taxes / ticket of total-price. If you are an individual traveler/ tourist, you’ll already have forked out a large sum for your ticket, taxi to hotel and back, then , hotel, food, trips etc. Obviously, people on a shoestring do not come to Thailand like this. They take the all in package and spend nothing once here. With this pandemic , you’d have to be fairly well off to be coming on a long haul holiday. Look at the breakdown of your flight ticket, there are extras added on all over the world. What I would like to see if this 500B is implemented, is a proper fund for helping poor families. ( although that helping should be the government’s job!! ) As for tourists costing the hospitals money, that shouldn’t happen anymore with the insurance obligation.

Vaccination !!! That’s where they should have started the program as an example to the rest of Thailand ! No one should have entered the island non vaccinated ,including Thais, delivery drivers government etc . That was the way to restart the stupid Sandbox program . It could have worked. test before leaving home, test on day 2 or 3, basta ! I don’t agree with opening nightclubs as when that happened where I live , a month later we had a wave of young COVID people filling up the ICU. COE made easy is possible , online , download your docs, answer next day . That’s dreaming !