chang1
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Posts posted by chang1
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9 hours ago, thairastawoman said:
Why don't they stop before being caught ?
Obviously because they never know when they are going to be caught. Monks are not that accurate.
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2 minutes ago, kickstart said:I was thinking the same ,let's see if the B in B find her mobile phone in one of their back garden,as i Kho Tao.
RIP poor lass.
Phone was found at the scene.
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DNA evidence can be brought up years later. The perpetrator will have a lifetime of worry even if they are not found.
A friend of mine got pushed through a shop window and thought little of it until several years later he got charged over it after being stopped for drink driving and a DNA test was done that matched his blood on the broken glass.
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Any Burmese here with tracking apps will be very worried right now.
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5 hours ago, ACB21 said:
Ah oke, I misunderstood. I thought you meant by prepaying you lost your right for a refund/cancellation. That last part is a concern for me. If the authorities impose even stricter rules then I want to be able to cancel the trip with full refunds even if prepaying (as per rate conditions).
Paying the hotel for transport to make sure the embassy accepts it as suitable proof for the COE makes a lot of sense. Im not sure if independent taxi's are even looped into the COE/SHABA/QR system. Thanks for the tip ????
Another tip for the COE - if you are using the 45 day visa on arrival, you need to upload actual flight tickets to prove your onward travel, during the first stage of the COE, even though they are not asked for. I had the first part rejected several times due to thinking they only needed what you intend to do when actually they need everything already paid for. This makes it feel very risky but if all is OK I doubt anyone will get refused. Then in the second stage you have to upload things again but that is straight forward. Allow a week for all this even though they do respond within 4 hours (UK) to each submission. If all is ready to go it can be done in a day but I had other people to do including someone going to Bangkok.
Pre flight PCR tests are Another pain. The lass going to Bangkok used a kit from a local chemist which was dropped into a bin near the door for a courier to collect. The day before her flight she went back as she had not got a result. Her swab was still in the bin uncollected. After an hour of being told she would have to miss her flight (she had saved up 2 years to go home) I drove to their lab (had been told I couldn't do that earlier) over 100 miles away and got it there with 10 mins to spare! I managed to get 3 free tests for us for my troubles. These cost £100 each but probably cheaper than my fuel to them. My wife and son got their results the morning after posting them (royal mail - not in the bin this time) but none for me. Rang them and found my test had to be repeated but it did come through later that day. So use the full 72 hours for the test as they can mess up - ours we're in the priority (don't use normal) post box 71 hours before the flight so had a full day spare. A stressful time as other things were going on at the same time hence flight changes. I needed a holiday after all that. Now we just need to find a way off the island. Our friend has a taxi booked to Udon Thani costing over 20000 baht but has no choice as she is finalising her house build and needs to be there for the handover. I may hire a car if flights are not available.
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1 hour ago, ACB21 said:
I think that really depends on hotel policy and how well informed the staff are, more so then there being a specific 'no refund' rule by the local authorities. Some hotels I've spoken to have confirmed full flexibility and refunds up to 24 hrs before checkin in (depending on your rate) even if prepaying the room as required by the COE. Holiday Inn Phuket and JW Marriott confirmed this specifically in emails.
However an other hotel said no refunds for sandbox guests if the reservations is part of an application for a COE. But then another colleague, from the same hotel, did confirm that flexibility/refunds according to rate conditions still apply even if prepaying. And then there are the hotels that flat out don't offer flexible/refund rates at all right now.
I suspect guests and hotel staff are confusing prepay for a COE with the customary discounted prepay rate with no refunds possible.
Tests are to be booked on https://www.thailandpsas.com from august 1st I think. Hotels aren't supposed to arrange for testing anymore.
As to transport I think the only requirement is that the transport needs to be SHA+ certified, not that it needs to be booked through the hotel. But not sure on that one though. I hope not, some of the Mai Khao hotels are charging THB1500 ( in a Mercedes/BMW, or a Camry for THB 1000) for a 15m ride.
That is why I asked if a COE had been issued. Our hotel was fully refundable but would not give us the SHABA certificate until everything was paid for. We did get our dates delayed one week but they said they couldn't change them much more than that. We than had to sort out the COE which required it to be "reset" by a helpful man at the London embassy over the phone. So there is some wiggle room but as you say, it depends on your hotel and at what stage you are at with the COE. If the hotel is not involved with testing or transport then changes should be much easier as they are not dealing with other parties.
Our hotel charged 1200 baht to Karon in a van for the 3 of us or had a car for 1000 baht. I doubt you will get a COE without proof of prebooked transport. Doing it all through the hotel is simple with just the SHABA certificate proving it all in one document. Which, when applying, you will see is a good thing even if it is not the cheapest.
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12 hours ago, the green light said:
if you are visiting your in-law.. that is not going on vacation. it is a family trip.
sure they are few tourists but most are reporter writing for their own paper like Alison Fox from Travel leisure magazine..
So a "family trip" is different to a "vacation"? Do you not take your family on vacation with you? To me a trip is a short break like a day trip, eitherway you are still a tourist. Taking a long haul flight and staying away for 5 weeks is a bit more than just a trip. As I said, you have to define tourist I say I am combining a holiday with visiting family but you call it a family trip.
We have been here a few days now and it is very enjoyable. Sorry if that spoils the narrative here but a quiet Phuket is lovely even in the rainy season. There are restaurants open and I have only had one refuse me a beer. Everyone is happy to see us, even the policeman at the local road checkpoint sounds happy as he waves us through. To us this is a holiday which, without the sandbox, would have been taken elsewhere.
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3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:
Maybe he was being sincere and they really were helping folks out. Frankly, I think this "war on drugs" is ridiculous. Especially ganga. An absolutely juvenile quest, that does little to nothing to stop the flow. If someone wants drugs, they will find them. And here 99% of the ganga "arrests" result only in the enrichment of the local franchisee cop.
I agree to a certain extent especially drugs like gang. If someone ruins their life with drugs then it is not a problem. The problem is it is rarely just their own life that is blighted. Partners, children, neighbours, crime victims and tax payers end up with the fallout. Legal drugs and prescribed drugs can do harm as well but most of us can handle them. Once you start things like cocain alarm bells should start ringing as if you need illegal drugs you have a problem. Compared to tobacco and alcohol, the odd joint now and then seems relatively harmless. Personally I am perfectly happy with a few beers and have absolutely no need for anything stronger.
My secret - for every high there is an equal low. Once I realised that there was no point wanting more than beer. I found space cakes in Amsterdam interesting but not worth breaking a law for. Tried fans when I was young but just coughed. Smokers, to me, appear to be fighting off the depression of the craving far more than actually getting a positive kick so even without the downsides not worth bothering with and I don't need to be cool, which seemed the reason my mates started to smoke.
Time for my first Leo, with ice and lime, of the day.
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2 minutes ago, tudorc said:Should be more concerned about typical of British these days,either drug dealing,thieving,drunk violence and murdering women abroad,
but no,his ethnicity and name are of more concern to the racists.
And your first line is any better than racism?
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41 minutes ago, dj230 said:how long is the sentence for something like this?
Inversely proportional to your bank balance.
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7 minutes ago, khunjeff said:One thing that always strikes me is that they never seem to look at travellers' concerns at all when they come up with these schemes. I fully realize that ultimately Thailand's own needs will always determine what its policies are, but there should at least be someone at the table saying, "you know, this idea you're proposing will be totally off-putting to potential tourists. Is it really necessary?" My impression is that there is currently no such person - just a bunch of representatives from different parts of the bureaucracy pushing their own agendas based on grossly inaccurate ideas of what visitors want and will tolerate.
This should be what TAT is for. Instead of pulling fanciful numbers out of nowhere they should go to Phuket and talk to us and put suggestions forward. Simple things like metered taxis would work wonders. Happy holidaymakers returning home with tales of good times are the best way to get arrivals up. Me going home saying I didn't bother going to the bars in Patong because it would cost 800 Baht in taxi vans for what a Bangkok taxi could do for around 200-300 Baht, will only build up resistance which was happening long before covid19.
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6 minutes ago, gim12 said:
holiday inn refunded my reservation in full
Did you have a COE though? Ours wanted full payment for the room, tests and airport transfer before giving us the SHABA certificate.
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29 minutes ago, 10baht said:No more "tourists" ??? I just do not think many were "real" tourists in the first place.
Depends on your definition of tourist. We are here so that we can eventually visit the in-laws for a couple of weeks but we also spend around 3 weeks doing tourist things like a beach holiday - often with the in-laws. There do appear to be some genuine tourists here as well (can't understand why though).
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15 minutes ago, gim12 said:
why even have a COE? cannot the immigration officer at the airport check the paperwork? Some Phuket hotels allow cancellations one day before arrival so how does submitting a hotel reservation weeks before your arrival to get a COE prove anything?
The hotels are not refundable for the COE even if booked on sites that say they are like booking.com.
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10 hours ago, ChC1 said:The currently CoE requirement will stop 99% of vaccinated tourists. If you want more tourists, make sure everyone is vaccinated, so no family with children, they can wait for the second stage of opening. Then make sure only a vaccine certificate is required to apply CoE. Then you may see more adventurous tourists. Be selective, yet be more open, I wonder if the Thai government agencies can do this?
Why no children? They have much more natural immunity than adults so, as far as I know, are no more riskier than vaccinated adults.
I don't see the point of all the testing, if tourists are fully vaccinated they are worse than locals. One test before flying in and then 3 lateral flow tests after arrival should do. 8000 baht for pcr tests is way over the top and cost us (3 of us) more than the hotel. It is far more important to keep out any new more dangerous strains than worrying about a few more cases brought in by tourists/returnees.
COE is a big deterrent, I told my mate not to even think about tryptophan come with us because of it. Although I doubt anyone would be refused it there is a real perceived risk in having to prebook everything including insurance before even passing the first stage. As even the hotel and testing is non refundable and flights can only be changed not refunded it is a big commitment. If he could have had his itinerary passed and then booked accordingly that would be much better. There is also the need to self isolate before flying as you don't want to get infected before the fit to fly test.
Next they have to guarantee onward travel is available as most of us have other places to that we have to go to.
I was told no beer with my meal yesterday. Not a big deal but why? We were the only people in the restaurant, 2 adults and a kid. Bars maybe but restaurants - pointless. Then there is the wearing of masks outside. The last figure I heard was masks reduce transmission by 30% indoors. Outdoors I thought the concensus was that they did nothing except if people could not keep apart in such places as stadiums. Until they can promote these sandbox islands as restriction free tourists are not coming. Just an alcohol ban will stop them yet alone all the other nonsense.
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16 hours ago, Tony125 said:
People are stocking up because with 20,000 cases of Covid reported today they don't want to go outside to shop so will buy as much as they can afford so as not to make repeated trips for supplies.
Same thing happened in the UK. People stockpiled despite being told it was unnecessary for a while but things soon returned to normal but with higher prices.
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Time to stock up on bog rolls!
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41 minutes ago, stevenl said:4 hours ago, Brickbat said:Morons ! it has to be ! Risking their lives to holiday and irresponsible to allow this to happen . Responsible governments have shut their borders.
The international tourism has not been responsible for any significant covid numbers.
I am vaccinated so at extremely low risk and probably safer here than in the UK.
Responsible governments vaccinate. The UK is now opening up - too soon? Maybe but it has to be done sooner or later. Just look at the normal death toll on Thai roads yet we still use them. If a few anti vaxers are lost along the way it is their fault alone (or YouTubes). The ones I feel sorry for, are those unable to get vaccinated for whatever reason and those dying, like my brother, (possibly) due to resources being diverted.
Tourists coming relatively risk free is the lesson that needs to be shouted out to those who think the sandbox is dangerous. Tourism is desperately needed here so the fewer restrictions are imposed the more will come - even genuine holiday makers!
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42 minutes ago, the green light said:how Phuket can get away with it and not be under the lockdown conditions.
NO malls
No health spa
No swimming pools
No travel
No restaurant...only take out
We've just started our time at Karon beach.
No malls - good
No health spa - not a problem
No pool - ours is great and only 2 metres from the door.
No travel - I presume you mean onwards travel - in 2 weeks if still the case is the biggest problem by far.
No restaurants - plenty around unless you can't go native.
First thing to do is rent a bike - 200 baht a day. The roads are quiet and a joy to use. No taxi vans around apart from the one that sits all day at the front of the hotel, my heart bleeds for the poor guy trying to screw us for 400 baht to go a few kms to patong. The fool would get me every night if he dropped to 200 each way assuming there are some bars open.
The weather although not great is good for me, a good onshore breeze all day long. Nai Harn was great today with nice big waves.
So even if we don't get to see the in-laws it will not be a waste of 5 weeks.
Worst bit so far - having my brain scraped by the person in one of the booths in the photo - training definitely lacking but my eyes stopped watering after a few minutes and don't think there is any permanent injury. As for money - about 2000 baht a day all in for food and the bike.
The flight from Manchester to Singapore had 16 people on a wide body plane (but was full of cargo) - the smaller plane to Phuket was about 3/4 full.
Only our 2nd day but so far very enjoyable.
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6 hours ago, oldcpu said:
However allow the local transmissions to fester (with no tracing / tracking due to insufficient testing) and we could reach 90-cases per week of International Travelers, NOT because they are bringing it to Phuket, but rather because they are catching it in Phuket
Having just arrived in Phuket, this is my biggest worry - all this hassle just to end up in quarantine. Tourists are not the problem - locals and migrant workers are. This travel ban will be the thing that destroys the sandbox as there is not much point coming here if we cannot go to where we really want to be.
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2 hours ago, Whale said:Ah the smell of money has the real estate boys frothing at their mouths. Greed again. Give them half a chance and they will concrete over the whole island and not give a damn.
That's what ruined Samui after the tsunami. They left Phuket and moved the 2 week holiday makers over. Turned coconut island into Spain so now not worth going to anymore.
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17 minutes ago, vandeventer said:
In the USA during the great depression you could buy a house and land for $50 dollars.
But what was the average wage at the time?
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2 minutes ago, Guderian said:And this would help young Thai families trying to buy their first home how?
Only good for wealthy land owners so may have a chance to get passed.
I think restricting land ownership to a few rai would help the average Thai far more. Why does anyone need to own vast amounts of land? If you go back far enough no-one owned any land so it has never been anyones to sell or give away. Yet most people seem to have no problem with super rich owning vast amounts of land while poor working people are forced to rent meaning money only flows up to those who do very little.
Maybe a land tax that increases exponentially with the amount of land owned would solve this.
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Until a red notice is issued the prime minister and his government are always going to look bad as it shows they don't want justice for obvious reasons.
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Brit in Chiang Mai fancied himself as modern day Robin Hood - selling drugs to help the poor
in Chiang Mai News
Posted
Neither does my wife but she has a passport to prove it. British is a loose term and there should be a clear distinction between British and naturalised British. Citizenship should be earned and respected but now it is expected and abused. My wife can have her Citizenship removed at anytime if she misbehaves, a power that should be used much more often (not on her though I hope) as a deterrent. This guy could be 2nd or third generation so just as British as me. We are all descended from immigrants, some arrived earlier than others.