DFPhuket

I flew Phuket/Doha/Germany on Qatar last week. I'm fully vaccinated with Pfizer. No covid test was required at departure, in transit, or upon arrival in Munich. Only my proof of vaccination (the US CDC vaccination card) was checked.

An update: I flew Qatar Airways from Phuket to Munich via Doha. I showed my US CDC vaccination certificate at check in and on arrival in Munich at immigration. Up to 5 days before I left Thailand I completed the German digital registration. That's all it takes. Vaccinated people don't need PCR tests. If only Phuket could make it so seamless.

Same for me. I extended my retirement stay at the end of July and yet the app is showing that I'm on overstay. I happened to be at Patong Immigration for a Certificate of Residence and showed my screen to the officer. He looked at his screen and said everything was showing as correct. He made some comment about "technology in Thailand is bad."

I was in a taxi going from Patong to the airport last night at 11:30 pm and I didn't see anything open along the way other than a tiny number of 7-11/Family Mart's. Bangla looked dark when I looked down the Soi.

Once I began a Wise transfer and realized I needed to send a larger amount so I cancelled and started over with a different amount. After that, when making transfers there was a message asking me to agree that if cancelled a transfer it would cost me (I don't remember the details). I clicked a box showing I agreed. I recall the message more often appeared when I was making a larger transfer. It stopped appearing completely in a month or two after a few more transfers were made.

Yes, I'm sure. From the German site you linked: Information for vaccinated and recovered persons: Proof of vaccination or of recovery from COVID-19 can replace a negative test certificate and exempt from quarantine on entry. I'm flying Qatar. They require passengers to meet the requirements of the destination country and don't have additional airline specific requirements.

I'm flying from Thailand to Germany on Monday. I had to upload a copy of my (US Pfizer) vaccination certificate to a German government website and print out a document. That's all. No PCR tests. No quarantine. Nothing else. For my return to Phuket I can't get my COE until after I arrive in the EU and upload a copy of my entry stamp, along with my passport copy, re-entry permit, insurance document showing $100,000 (which won't cover asymptomatic hospitalization), SHABA 7 day hotel certificate, prepayment of 2 PCR tests, and flight itinerary. Plus I must download the MorChana app. Then I'll need to find a place to get a negative PCR test no more than 72 hours before my flight departs. After I've done all of that, I can fly to Phuket where I'll have 2 more PCR tests. Thai hospitality at its finest.

As of today it is not possible for the Phuket sandbox. While you can have as many stops as you need as you fly to Thailand, your first entry into the country must be at the Phuket airport.

This topic has been discussed in this Sandbox Facebook group. Several people have asked embassies to clarify the issue of getting a 14 day COE and wanted to change it to 7. They have been told they do not need to change their COEs - that the vaccination certificate will be reviewed upon arrival. Here is what is listed on the Royal Thai Embassy in Vienna website.

While much of Patong is closed, there are lots of shops and restaurants open on the beach road between Holiday Inn Resort and Kudo Beach club. There are plenty of restaurant options and Patong beach is actually quite pleasant. DoubleTree Hilton is in a good location and has some very reasonable rates. Last week there were about 15 "restaurants" open on Bangla road but they closed after a raid. I'm sure they will all reopen on October 1.

When you arrive at the airport and have your PCR test, you are required to remain in your hotel room until the hotel gets your negative results - around 4 to 6 hours. After that, except for the daily QR code check at reception, you are a regular hotel guest and can come and go as you please. No one monitors your movements or activities. Just like before Covid, different hotels will have different rules about someone joining you in your room.

I was one of the people who came to the Phuket sandbox in the first days of July and this situation sounds very similar. Back then embassies hadn't received official notice from Bangkok so there was a lot of confusion about applications. I was told by the Chicago consulate to pre-apply and then I could do the second part after final decisions were announced. Other embassies said to wait. In reality, three days before July 1 the COE website was updated and everyone pre-approved received a rejection notice and had to begin again. Several embassies announced on Friday that they were suspending COE approvals pending updates. I'm cautiously optimistic this means changes (for the better) are coming. I'll be doing my second sandbox in mid-October and I plan to wait to apply until after Oct 1. Embassies do process COEs based upon travel date. In late June mine was approved in 24 hours while others traveling later had a much longer wait. After the website was updated on Monday June 28, I submitted my COE that day, was approved on Tuesday, and flew on Wednesday.

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The original poster's question related to transfers from a US bank to Thailand via Wise. I'm assuming the poster is selecting the cheapest option - an ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfer. The ACH option is not available from banks in other countries so comments about the speed of transfers from other locations aren't relevant to US transfers. An ACH transfer is far cheaper than a debit card transfer (see below), but it can also be much slower. If an ACH transfer falls over the weekend or a holiday I've had it take up to 3 days. I've also noticed that transfers over $5,000 tend to take longer. Sometimes a transfer does arrive in an hour or less, but you shouldn't count on it if you use the ACH option.

Two days ago I counted 15 bars open on Bangla and saw police were stationed at each end of the street. It's *shocking* that they didn't check whether the paper cups in the other 14 bars had alcohol.

Emirates and Qatar have been reliably flying to both Bangkok and Phuket. Both currently allow you to change the dates or fights at no charge or get a full refund if your plans change. The negative is that they have a stop in Dubai/Doha.

Those arriving internationally mostly have mNRA vaccinations and are required to take 4 PCR tests. Domestic people coming to Phuket, mostly vaccinated with Sinovac, take 1 less reliable rapid test. It's all so frustratingly stupid.

For two or three years before I retired at 62, I carefully tracked my expenses using a financial app. I literally added every expense from a Starbucks coffee to holiday expenses. I needed a good understanding of what I was spending. I also knew that some expenses (e.g., travel) would increase when I wasn't working since I would have much more free time, but others (e.g., work clothes, gas for the car) would go down. I was in a fortunate position since I spent the last 3 years of my career working in Thailand. That allowed me to more easily estimate my likely expenses (which turned out to be wrong since Covid stopped almost all of my travels). I realize that will be much more difficult for you. Yet, without making a realistic estimate of your future expenses (including additional medical expenses as you age), it's impossible to know if you can afford to stop working and retire here. The other side of the equation is figuring out how much money you have or will have and how much you can afford to spend per year without depleting it too soon. While the financial planner estimated you would die "between 78 and 84", what if you remain healthy, active, and live until you're 90? I'd encourage you to take the time to, as realistically as possible, calculate your income and expense numbers. While being bored and disinterested in your job sounds bad, running out of money to live would be a lot worse.

I have a condo in Phuket, and did the Phuket sandbox in July. Your final PCR test on day 12 (results on day 13) will be valid for travel to Bangkok. I had several sandbox friends who used that final test as proof for travel. There are now a few daily flights to Bangkok so I don't think getting there at the end of sandbox will be an issue. I have Cigna insurance and with an extra letter from them, it covered the COE requirement. Assuming you have insurance, you might already be covered. The required insurance must be valid until your extension expires on 19th February 2022. For sandbox hotels, look for ones in an area where nearby restaurants are open. I stayed at the DoubleTree Hilton on Patong beach road (many restaurants are open nearby and the beach is currently very nice) and I could walk to Jungceylon for my PCR tests. With taxes/fees and breakfast it was in the low 20,000 baht range for 14 days. I also had to pay 8000 for the required PCR tests. When I was looking at ASQ's in BKK, similar level hotels were around 50,000 - although they did include PCR tests and 3 meals. Assuming you have all of your documents for the COE, approval is usually pretty fast. They prioritize approvals based upon departure date. The earliest you can start is 30 days in advance. Once you get pre approval you have a maximum of 15 days to upload supporting documents (proof of SHA+ booking, PCR test prepayment, etc.).

Only 9 sandbox arrivals out of 33,000 were positive on the day 12 test. That's 0.02%. They obviously picked up Covid in Phuket since they were negative for the previous 3 test. Domestic arrivals are tested only once. There is no medical or safety reason that double vaccinated and tested international arrivals need to remain in an SHA+ hotel beyond the day 6 test.

The driver's license building is open. I went on Tuesday since my first my 2 year license was expired and hoped to get it renewed for a 5 year license. I had my Certificate a Residence (free), medical certificate (200 baht), copies of my passport/extension, and proof that I had successfully completed the online video, which allows you to skip watching the required video. There were few people there and no queue. Since I only had to do the color blind and reaction test, I'd hoped I could get my license that morning. Nope. The person at the desk looked at my documents and stapled a note on the front that told me to come back at 9 am on November 4 - seven weeks later.

I stayed at the DoubleTree Hilton in Patong. There was no one monitoring when I came and left the hotel. How would hotel staff even know if you went to sleep at 9pm, 11pm, 1am, 3am or 5am? With the sandbox you are free to come and go as you'd like. The requirement is a daily QR scan, not an evening sign-in and sign-out. I slept at the hotel sometimes because I figured I might as well use their free air con and shower. I also pulled back the bedding. Whether or not I slept there, I had breakfast at the hotel and completed my scan then. I had a friend staying at the Westin and the printed rules in the room said "you must sleep in the room each night," but there was no monitoring at all.

Based on my experience with the Phuket sandbox, my guess is that you'll be required to book an approved BKK hotel for 14 days and check in with a QR code once per day. You'll also have to take the required PCR tests. You only have to stay in the hotel for a few hours after arrival pending the airport PCR test. After that you are free to go where you'd like. You also don't have to sleep in the hotel. If it's like Phuket, you could stay at your home and just go to the hotel once per day to get your QR scanned.