cormanr7

3 hours ago, Jack 0009 said:

I tried to use the QueQ app but it does not seem to accept my Passport number as valid ID  

is this for Thai only?

I'm not very sharp on this things so any help would be appreciated

You have to use the 13 digit Thai 'ID' that many people have been given after their first vaccination (in Thailand that is). I booked Thai-Japanese sports center (Din Daeng) via QueQ, appointment was yesterday in the time period 10-12 am. However, I arrived at gate 2 at 08.30. No need to wait, get a form (Thai language only), fill it in and sit at the section reserved for QueQ bookings (to the left when facing the building). You then go through three subsequent desks (which all seem to ask the same questions), got my vaccination at 09.30. Five minutes later it showed up in the Moh prom app! If you want a printed certificate (bai rap rong) be prepared for a long wait (they told this upfront). can take nearly an hour. This is in front of the waiting area where you are supposed to stay at least 15 min. If you got two AZ shots previously -like me- you will get Pfizer as the booster. It looks a bit like a zoo with many people hanging around outside, but actually it went quite well whith many smiling faces. Only problem for some is the lack of English instructions, forms; most of the staff will first ask if you can speak Thai .

Not sure if you can get a booster if your second Pfizer shot was 5 or less months ago, better check.

You can also just show up and walk in (que at the right).  

Have been able to do the 90-day report only 4 or 5 times in the past 4 years. Tried the new site (having received PW a few days ago) yesterday, went OK (within the correct time period, used drop down menus). Today got mail 'rejected' , no reason stated as usual. This for CW. Not surprised, as others have noted a lot of info. on the TM.47 generated by the new site is missing, no TM.6 number, type of visa, etc. So that means another endless trip to MTT then, 4-5 h wasted, sit together with a lot of people. Great.

On 12/19/2021 at 1:22 PM, champers said:

 Thailand has stopped publishing daily testing numbers

No they have not. Data lag a few days behind, with latest figure for Dec. 18th: a very low figure of ca 24,400 but this was a Sat, not sure if they test less in the week-end. Highest figure in the last 10 days was ca 46, 200 (Dec 13th). https://www3.dmsc.moph.go.th/

7 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

I tried QueQ this morning which looks easy BUT all the hospitals and locations are in Thai only. I will wait until this becomes somewhat easier. Anyone know if you can auto translate a page in IOS like you can in a web browser?

The name of the hospitals are shown in English under the elephant emblem on the left side. Almost impossible to read, if you cannot enlarge it make some screenshots and then enlarge those (BTW I use Android). You can then click on the hospital of your choice and the next few pages (where you enter passport number, select/given a date and select a time slot) are partly in English. Tried a few, same results as with AIS /other telecom providers: all full. Also note that whereas hospitals are claimed to be in the 'Bangkok area' many are in the middle of nowhere.

On 12/16/2021 at 4:25 PM, Longwood50 said:

  I use both Shopee and Lazada.  Of the two, I prefer Shopee

Indeed, if you use a desktop there is no problem whatsoever using shopee (no experience with the app) apart that after a few days I have to login again. Delivery tends to be fast (I prefer domestic sellers which you can select on the left, in addition to a high number of positive ratings) and is mostly done by Shopee express. Tracking works well. They once lost a small package, notified me after 7 days and gave a refund. On the two occasions the item came from China I got it within 10 days. Many products on lazada seem to be more expensive.

The change from PCR to ATK test has been suspended https://www.tatnews.org/2021/12/thailand-eases-entry-rules-from-16-december-2021/. Maybe  next year but I think they will wait to see hwat impact Omicron has. 

On 11/27/2021 at 2:57 PM, rabas said:

Just today:

"On 27 November 2021, the Dutch health ministry estimated about 85 of the ~600 passengers on two flights from South Africa that landed at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol  on Nov 26 were infected with the virus."  [wiki] The actual number is now 66. [reuters] I assume most if not all passengers would be vaccinated.

 

Maybe someone has reported this already but 13 out of 61 infected passengers had the omicron variant, suggesting that it is already widespread https://www.ad.nl/dossier-coronavirus/rivm-13-passagiers-uit-vliegtuigen-zuid-afrika-besmet-met-omikronvariant~a526e346/  in Dutch).

Major vaccine producers are already testing their product against omicron to see if adjustments  will be required: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/26/pfizer-biontech-investigating-new-covid-variant-jj-testing-vaccine-against-it.html.

The international edition of der Spiegel (so in English) has just produced a sobering account of what seriously ill covid patients as well as medical staff go through in a German hospital. It is titled 'One thing that we have learned is that COVID is an a**hole' (the stars are mine, the original title has the full word): https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-violence-of-the-fourth-wave-one-thing-we-have-learned-is-that-covid-is-an-<deleted>-a-9da60dbf-6311-472a-9fdf-60a6442b1235. And yes, some of the patients were fully vaccinated.

Another recent article briefly touches on potential reasons for the resurgence of Covid in Germany with the interesting title: 'A federation of imbeciles. Anti-vaxxers and politicians drive Germany to the brink'. You can find it here: https://www.spiegel.de/international/coronavirus-in-deutschland-wenn-impfverweigerer-auf-ein-land-ohne-politische-fuehrung-treffen-1636729575-a-1495255a-25af-4b8e-9727-4ea7f26db55f (strangely enough the referral is in German, but the article is in English). It is somewhat provocative, you can read it yourself.  Also keep in mind that Germany's fourth wave is not unique, for instance the Netherlands have also reported record infection numbers in the past days (as have Austria and others).

Lots of confusing information here. There are a few airlines that include hold bagage (usually up to 10-15 kg) even in their cheapest tickets. These are (were) Nok, Thai Smile and Thai Lionair. The other two major 'budget' airlines, Thai AirAsia and ThaiVietjet air do NOT (though they have more expensive options that do). Here you can purchase hold bagage in increments, usually cheaper if you do this at the time of booking, fares at the airport can be steep.

Regarding cabin luggage, the max 7 kg limit or thereabouts has officially been in force (not just in Thailand) for many years. This has to do with the overhead bins which are not designed for heavy stuff. However, the number of cabin luggage differs per airline, some are trying to limit it to one piece, for others you can take a small bag + a computer. In addition their is usually a size limit.

       I have never heard of hold luggage not being allowed on a flight (except for very small commuter planes), either this was a special case or a misunderstanding: basic AirAsia tickets do NOT include hold luggage. They only fly A320/A321 so space should not be a problem but many airports in the west have a shortage of personal (people made redundant) might be the same here?

Getting to the bicycle: note that not just the weight but also the dimensions are critical. Suppose you had something that only weighed 15 kg but had outsize dimensions, it will be refused. At AirAsia you can book up to 40 kg hold bagage; if you tick sports equipment, it can also include a bicycle but you will probably have to pack it per their instructions (usually pedals removed, ....) so that it is flat. Cost (via prebooking) for 40 kg is 1,400 B (you can check this by selecting a flight, then going to add-ons, no need to actually book it). Not sure if they will go over this weight.

     Alternative, put the bicycle on a train; a few days ago I was at BangSue Junction and I saw them hustling some motorcycles in the cargo carriage of a train. 

On 11/14/2021 at 7:00 PM, fdsa said:

- welcome to Shopee! (note that I'm not saying "Lazada" because it's the same shíthole as Aliexpress - same owner, same codebase, same broken search engine)

they have greatly enhanced their logistics so I usually get shipments from China in ~10 days.

No experience with lazada/Aliexpress but bought a few items on Shopee that came from China, either local Thai sellers did not have the product or -in the case of an airbrush- the same item from China was more than 50% cheaper than from the local sellers. Surprisingly I received the items (from two sellers) in 10-12 days. The items seem to go to a warehouse/clearing house in Thailand and are then shipped via the usual local couriers (Shopee Express. J&T, Ninjavan,.....). No problems with customs (note that these were not very valuable items, all <1,000 Baht).  Tracking is available, right from the moment of pick-up in China. Most items seem to go via Shanghai.

According to some reports, It seems risky to apply just 7 days prior to departure to Thailand, especially if you have some obscure vacc. certificate. That begs the question: how long before departure can you apply for the Thailand Pass. Did anyone try say 4 weeks before departure? Is there an official time period in which you can apply?

20 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

QR codes for the vax certificate.

Did you have separate QR codes for the first and second vaccination?

I got my vaccinations in Bangkok and there is only one QR code (on the final certificate that shows both vaccinations). In fact I have not seen anyone around here with a QR code for the first shot and as far as I am aware this is quite rare abroad too. So what do people use then for the first and second vaccinations in the Thailand Pass application? Do you use the single QR code twice?

When trying to get an intl. vaccine certificate on the mophrom app, I got as far as the 'booking date' (I assume this refers to the date you pick it up or is it the date of submission?) but when I click this I get a calender (Nov/Dec) which does not populate the field. No luck either with trying to fill in a date manually (with either 2021 or 2564). When I get to the confirm step, there is a pop-up saying 'fill in booking date'. Any ideas? 

As far as I am aware, there is no PCR test on arrival at Suvanabhumi, you will be taken either a) directly to the hotel where a nurse will take the sample or b) to a test center and then to your hotel . Transport will be arranged by the hotel.

A number of hotels approved for the 'test&go' one night scheme are shown here: https://ASQ.in.th/1DAY. The price should include the PCR test and transport. I think the results of the PCR will be reported by e-mail.

Apparently if you test positive, you will be taken to a hospital 'for further tests'. Most of this info. was taken from Richard Barrow's site.

Here is some information https://asq.in.th/thailand-covid-insurance (updated October 24th 2021), you can fill in your age and period of stay and see prices from various insurers (it states at the top that insurance must cover 'travel and COVID-19' whatever that means). Note that this is only a limited selection, you could probably find others. If you are 65 and are looking for a 180 day period (just an an example) it appears that AXA and Tune are cheapest and furthermore also cover asymptotic covid cases. However, Tune actually covers one year, but it appears that the price (15,000 Baht) is similar to the previous policy that covered 100,000 USD and indeed when clicking the link you are directed to the 'old' page. Not sure whether these policies will be priced cheaper in the future due to the 50K requirement for the Thai Pass.

10 hours ago, ProbPossConf said:

Could not do the report online when the dreaded pop-up advised to visit the local immigration office

Same here, but this for CW this morning. On-line worked for me for a year, but last time (August) had to go in person (I thought that this was due to the new extension of stay date not having been entered in the system?).

So waste 3-4 hours next week.

On 10/12/2021 at 4:18 PM, Eaglekott said:

Maybe because many low risk countries has many more cases per day and capita than Thailand. Today Thailand had about 10,000 new cases with 70M people and UK had 49,500 cases on their 69M people. 

Meaningless comparison as the UK has something like 420,000 PCR tests/day (plus further ATK) https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/testing whereas in Thailand it is 56,000 on a good day (plus further ATK) https://www3.dmsc.moph.go.th/# for a roughly similar number of people.

IF you, for instance, take KLM to Amsterdam and check the travel requirements (on the KLM website click on COVID 19 which will direct you to a site called  https://klm.traveldoc.aero) for your flight from BKK. It then shows that you need either a PCR test no longer than 48h OR an antigen test no longer than 24h before flight departure. This is in line with the official Dutch Govt entry regulations.

BKK-AMS:

Covid-19 Test Required: Passengers aged 12 years and older travelling from a high-risk or very high-risk area outside the EU/Schengen area must hold one of the following:

• A negative NAAT test (PCR, RT PCR, LAMP, TMA and mPOCT) result conducted up to 48 hours before boarding; or
• A negative antigen test result conducted up to 24 hours before boarding.

Be careful of what you read on this forum and check with the airline yourself.

Nice graph of cases vs time in the 13 health districts (grouping of provinces according to location with Bangkok as a separate district). In most districts (reported) cases have declined significantly, but in district 6 (which includes a number of 'major' cities such as Chasoensao, Chonburi and Pattaya) cases remain consistently high. Bucking the trend is district 12, made up of the southern provinces, where cases have been increasing steadily as widely reported. In the lower part of the fig. it is evident that districts 6 and 12 combined make up almost half of the new cases. What is missing is a case load per capita for the various districts. Source is shown at the top of the fig. 

There seems to be an issue with some airlines flying to Europe apparently requiring a PCR test here in Bangkok before departure whereas for many EU countries the government rules clearly state that either a PCR OR an antigen test is required. Though the latter must usually be taken closer to departure it is more convenient (and cheaper) as you can have it done within an hour and walk away with a certificate whereas the results of the PCR test take time (and are usually forwarded by e-mail). If you want to have results in a few hours there are a few options (but sometimes at a highly inflated cost).

As examples, the official govt. site for the Netherlands and Germany state:

• Netherlands: https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the-netherlands-from-abroad/mandatory-negative-test-results-and-declaration/information-on-the-test-result     
• Type of test: 
  • The test used for a NAAT (PCR) test result  must be a molecular NAAT (PCR) test (either PCR, RT PCR, LAMP, TMA or mPOCT). For a rapid test result the test must be a rapid test conducted up to 24 hours before departure. Usually this is an antigen test but it can also be a NAAT (PCR) test.
•  
• Germany: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/coronavirus/2317268

• A negative test result obtained using nucleic acid amplification technology (e.g. PCR, PoC- PCR) in German, English, French, Italian or Spanish. The test must have been carried out no more than 72 hours prior to entry (time of swabbing).

  Alternatively, a negative antigen rapid test result in German, English, French, Italian or Spanish. Following a stay in a high-risk area, the test must have been carried out no more than 48 hours prior to entry. Following a stay in an area of variant of concern, the test must have been carried out no more than 24 hours prior to entry

Moving to the KLM site, for a BKK-AMS flight it says (https://klm.traveldoc.aero/results):

Covid-19 Test Required: Passengers aged 12 years and older travelling from a high-risk or very high-risk area outside the EU/Schengen area must hold one of the following:

• A negative NAAT test (PCR, RT PCR, LAMP, TMA and mPOCT) result conducted up to 48 hours before boarding; or
• A negative antigen test result conducted up to 24 hours before boarding.

So a PCR test is not always required, but check first with your airline.

So lots of people want to know what the number of tests/day is.  A bit of research leads to https://github.com/djay/covidthailand#testing where we find the PCR tests/day. These in turn come from https://www3.dmsc.moph.go.th. So for the last two weeks (data updated to Oct. 2^nd) we get the following (see table). More interesting data on the latter site with details of the accredited labs for COVID PCR-tests (now more than 350 though on some days they manage less than 30,000 tests !). Now the fun starts: the number of positive tests is a lot lower than the officially reported  number of confirmed cases. This trend started roughly mid July and early September the number of positives was some 33% lower than the confirmed cases (see figs). The github site has a few pages on the possible reasons for the discrepancy which you can read yourself but there is no clear answer. I did note that some of the accredited hospitals potentially use pooled samples which in theory allow detection of more than one case per PCR test. 

Looking at the table another unexpected observation: the number of tests/day varies by a factor of almost two, yet the positive rate is in a narrow range (15-18%). Unfortunately there seems to be little explanation on the moph site what the data actually represent it is just given as 'date/positive/tests'.

There are loads of other data on the github site.

On 4/6/2021 at 1:39 PM, Fab5BKK said:

The new "A" series from Samsung surely worth a look, a little bit over the budget but there are some promotions around...

Just bought a Galaxy A22 4G (5,600 Baht after discounts, 'officially' 7,000 Baht). First appeared around July, works great. They apparently only sell the model with the highest specs (6/128 GB) here in Thailand.

Actually AirAsia is supposed to start Hua Hin to Chiang Mai twice weekly from Oct. 15

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/airasia-to-launch-hua-hin-chiang-mai-route-on-15-oct/

The following figures should be interesting (actually there is nothing new to be seen here, but people doggedly continue to show graphs of cases only). They show confirmed cases (PCR only), deaths and vaccination rate for (from to to bottom) Thailand, Indonesia, Germany and UK. I have chosen Indonesia because it has an even lower testing regime than Thailand (see ourworldindata.com), has relatively low vaccination coverage and uses Sinovac and AZ to a large extent.  Germany and UK are two examples of countries with extensive testing and high vaccination coverage. Data are from https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps which to some extent is more useful than worldometer and the like. For Thailand I have also included the hard data (the 2nd fig) from the same source.

Graphs of deaths closely follow those of cases with a 1-3 week interval. The death rate often decreases a bit faster than the case rate. This may be due to vaccination but in the case of the UK it also happened during the end 2020/early 2021 wave when few vaccinations had been performed. There can be many reasons: enhanced testing may detect more asymptotic cases (which will often not result in death), people may report to a hospital earlier after cases shoot up, etc. With high vaccination coverage, the case fatality rate (CFR) decreases drastically and the death curves tend to be much more flat.

Morale: comparing cases vs deaths is useful; if the curves look completely different there is potentially something wrong (example: cases go down rapidly but deaths stay at a plateau for a long time. Is it still possible to fake data even when death viz case curves look OK. Of course, people who do that are well aware of what I have written in the preceding two paragraphs. You could just scale the 'true' data, for instance by dividing them by two or whatever. In the end, the excess deaths should give some crude indication whether the death numbers are realistic. In August, for instance, excess deaths in Thailand were more than twice as high as reported deaths with COVID (cannot find the reference at the moment).

Then there is the 'thailand has a low testing rate so that is one of the reasons it is still on the UK red list' crowd. Well, for instance Bangladesh and Pakistan were taking off the red list though their testing rates (per capita) are 3-4 fold lower than in Thailand (data from ourworldindata.com). The testing rate is only meaningful when it is related to the positive rate and these were less than 5% for Bangladesh and Pakistan and much higher for Thailand (ourworldindata.com). There are probably also political factors, i.e. there are lots of East Asians in the UK. Of course, Thailand could bring the positive rate down by testing more but this would also increase the case count/capita, which is another factor (and again these were low for Bangladesh/Pakistan). It would help to control the spread of the virus.  

Thailand

Indonesia

Germany

UK