chaihot

16 hours ago, Sheryl said:

there remains a Global Cigna expat policy issued out of UK.

That is what I have - as I made contact direct with the UK office and never anyone in Thailand.  My renewal is Feb 24 -- and there are no notes on my account in the online panel.  

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Pattaya police chief Kunlachart Kunlachai

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Pol. Col. Kulchat Kulchai

PattayaMail says:  Pol. Col. Kullachart Kullachai

Pattaya New in another article:  police chief Kunlachart Kunllachai

Too bad they don't really know the name of the police chief.  

????   hahahaha

5 hours ago, Soikhaonoiken said:

I have family in Thailand waiting for me to visit, but unfortunately I won't be going until they drop the Thailand pass, quarantine, and the PCR on Arrival and 5 day test,

I have no problem doing a PCR prior to flight which makes more sense...

Hi, I also have family here and stayed out for over 2 years.  I just arrived two weeks ago.

If I had realized how SIMPLE the entire process was, I would have returned long before now.

Research WHO is getting Covid and being confined to a hospital after arriving?  Kids mostly, but also people who are immediately going to nightclubs and crowded parties.  TikTok is FULL of kids showing their 170,000 baht Covid hospital bills because they went out partying the first night.

I wore a mask in the USA all the time.  I had a RT-PCR test before leaving.  

I arrived in Thailand and had a RT-PCR test and stayed in my hotel until clear.  For the next few days, I left the hotel to walk -- but stayed away from people.  I stayed the full 6 days --- but that is not necessary any longer and the 5th day test is on the honor system.

From someone who just lived it, I think people who want to return for family are making too much of the requirements.  It was easy.  It all comes down to how bad do you want to return and see your family.  Two years was too long.

20 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand will scrap all restrictions on inbound tourists once the COVID-19 virus has been declared endemic, something that is expected this year.

The key words ... "THIS YEAR".

On 1/20/2022 at 4:46 AM, stigar said:

Thats their plan.I cant understand those who is eager to go there.

<putting hand in the air>
I haven't been back to Thailand since Jan 2020.  Consequently haven't seen my wife (or dogs) for that amount of time.  No relevance that they are in the same sentence; "wife" comes first.  ????

I booked my air last week.

Today I booked my hotel.  I decided to book a hotel for 8 days.  I was already planning a return and a 7 night quarantine stay, so this will be much better (and is actually cheaper).  It will be great if I can really move freely around town on some of the days.  Paid and fully cancellable (through Agoda).

I already have international expat travel insurance through Cigna; but I priced the government version of COVID insurance and I will buy that as well.  They list "asymptomatic" hospitalization is covered (who knows the truth), but I will buy it this time just in case.  I didn't buy insurance yet as it is not refundable. 

I will wait until the 1st to apply for the visa.  I'll need to bite the bullet on the insurance before I apply.

One can only hope.  I'm tired of being here in the USA.

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Germany is a country famous for its beers and the world-famous Oktoberfest, and it has the cheapest average price of a beer; a 500ml bottle of local beer costs £0.52 on average. 

 

In Thailand, the survey said the average beer here costs US$1.72.

I love it.  They can't make a price comparison using the same currency.  

This is how I get my morning laugh before working.    ????

14 hours ago, Chivas said:

Until Thailand introduces a "proper" driving test for 2 and 4 wheels (and introduces in addition punitive jail sentences for drink dring) the insane death toll with continue indefinatly

Wait.  Watching a Soap Opera for an hour about being a nicer driver is not "proper"?   LOL

On 11/14/2021 at 2:10 PM, spidermike007 said:

and rebuild the system from scratch, using outside help,

hahahahahahhahahahhahahh.

A Thai asking for outside help.  That is the funnies thing I have ever heard.

Millions of Native speaking English visitors combined with expats and NO ONE asks them to review street or building signs because they speak "good enough English" to translate.

On 10/24/2021 at 3:38 PM, NanaSomchai said:

Let me fix your post:

 

You mean no one wants to deal with the constantly moving goal posts and jump through the interminable hoops required to enter a deserted, devastated entertainment adult industry, shuttered down for good all across Thailand?

 

What a surprise!

 

Imagine jumping through all the expensive hoops only to end up on a deserted Walking Street, Soi Buakhao, Patong, Phuket, etc with a nasty curfew, no alcohol being served in restaurants/dining places and no nightlife at all.

 

What a bargain!... NOT.

What fantasy do you live in?  No one comes to Thailand for the things you mentioned.  This is a country where hard-working families come to vacation on the beautiful beaches, and swim in the beautiful sea.

<insert sarcasm emoji>

11 hours ago, Scrotobike said:

Bars

Alcohol

Entertainment venues

 

Oops - forgot most tourists like these!

That acronym is BAE ... and who is going to travel if they aren't going to get any BAE.   LOL

Is anyone else surprised that the authorities didn't take the Covid shut down as the opportunity to knock down the beach side of Walking Street to fulfil the "glorious plans" of a years gone by?  

Most courts were closed; businesses already shut down; I was SURE they would have done this by now.  

11 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

They should have gone with "LUBE". 

Now THAT is a winning post!!

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

It certainly will stimulate the economy and enable Thais to make money from selling land.

But will it really??  I don't know of anyone who didn't buy property (land and house) because they couldn't own it directly - everyone used a company; which is why there are so many "company lawyers and firms" in Pattaya.  So I don't understand how it would change things very much.

Also, isn't a major constitutional amendment required to allow nasty foreigners to own the holy land?

10 hours ago, mikebell said:

They are trotting out this hoary old chestnut more and more frequently now as desperation sets in.  The wealthy will not come to live in a place where there is no rule of law; no police force; dangerous roads AND a pandemic of corruption from the local cop up to the very highest in the land. Droughts and floods alternate regularly and then there are the dogs!

Western foreigners - No.  Wealthy Asians, quite possibly.  Corruption is a 2-way street.

My wife had her second shot yesterday at the stadium in Buriram where there were (allegedly) thousands of people in line.

She had the Sinovac-AstraZeneca series, with the second shot being AZ.  Pretty good actually -- since we didn't think she would get her vaccines this soon.  

Apparently Buriram has some pull.  LOL

The only thing I read was Prayuth walking this back saying something on the order of ... I said we would open local restaurants and businesses; I didn't say anything about foreigners.

That really tells you something when a copy is willing to admit to murder, but absolutely denies being corrupt.

WOW.

For those of you who have also been around here for a long time ... Could you ever imagine that Thailand would be happy reporting that 19,000 tourists arrived?  

LOL

On 8/7/2021 at 7:54 AM, steven100 said:

they always get their man ....

... only if they are poor.  

I was looking quite seriously at returning through Phuket in August .... but the more I read, the more I realized that I have waited this long to see my wife, I can wait a few more months.  I don't want to jump through the hoops.  ????

I also don't want to go from complete freedom-of-movement to do almost anything here in the USA, to the restrictions of Thailand.