dluek

As far as I know, all Bangkok public parks are open as normal. 

After the latest announcement, unless you have a Thai work permit you have zero chance of getting into Thailand regardless of the health certificate stuff. And no, most travel insurance is not covering the covid. 

Good to hear. Was talking to a Thai friend today who lives on the border of Ratchaburi and Samut Songkhram provinces (house is much closer to Mae Khlong than Ratchaburi town) and she thinks she'll be thrown in 14-day quarantine if crossing that provincial border! She's so afraid of it that she made plans to start riding all the way up to Ratchaburi town to do her shopping. 

What a bunch of empty meaningless words. Wish we had the British ambassador who is actually trying to help people. 

Much better off taking a train imo.

On 3/22/2020 at 12:30 PM, JohnTJ said:

I guess the more pertinent question is whether flights are available, even though Emirates etc seem to have reliable routes available to be booked as of now even if the more common carriers (United, ANA, etc) don't.

 

My original return flight is on ANA in May, but it shows availability for flights this week if I try to change it.

 

Personally I'd much rather layover in Dubai than Tokyo so I might cancel and get a new one with Emirates or Qatar.

Been checking flights BKK-JFK and BKK-BOS (I'm staying in Thailand, just checking out of curiosity). Emirates was the best option by far for a while, but as of late last night their website had no more flights available for this week. Emirates announced they're grounding virtually all planes on March 25 and other airlines following suit very quickly. For these routes there aren't any great options left if you want to leave this week or anytime in April. I'm seeing stuff like Bangkok-Narita-Los Angeles-Boston via JAL / American, for upwards of 40,000 baht. EVA still flying through Taiwan (though very limited options and long layovers). Hong Kong just announced total airport closure including transit so Cathay is off the table. Korean is still an option I think. Best of luck to anyone making a break for it. 

Richard Barrow is also trying to get back to Thailand from the UK and he has really dug into this issue over the past 12 hours after Prayut said in his speech last night that arriving passengers from "local transmission" countries will need a health cert. Bangkok Post then increased the confusion by reporting just that. 

But Richard reported hours ago that this is NOT THE CASE. From what I understand, he received that info from both his airline and Thai embassy in UK (direct contact with them via Facebook). This matches what is currently on the DDC's website which says only passengers arriving from the four countries classed as "disease infected" need the health cert. 
https://ddc.moph.go.th/viralpneumonia/eng/ind_outbreak.php

And yes, as with visa requirements, Thailand is outsourcing checks on this requirement to airlines, which is ridiculous imo. 

30 million seems very optimistic at this point. 

Why do they think he'll be quarantined? I've not yet heard of the US quarantining arriving passengers from Thailand unless they show symptoms upon arrival. 

A Japanese guy posted on Facebook about it, so he decides to speak out now? Does he know there are about 30 different blog posts + innumerable social media posts showing pics from inside this ghost tower going back 15+ years? Not to mention the widely reported suicide... (I thought there had been more than one.)

Looks like any typical high-season day on Phuket. 

During the day, yes, they are empty because it's hot as balls. But I can attest that Lumpini, Benjakiti, Benjasiri and Santi parks all get very busy with joggers, aerobics dancers, basketball and takraw players, etc., every evening from around 5:30 to 8:00pm. 

Okay sounds like you applied for a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa based on your last description, but I'm still not sure. In that case you can't re-apply for that one in Laos because you can only apply for it at an embassy or consulate in your country of residence.

If I were you, having already obtained a new passport, I'd chalk up the old passport (and visa) as a loss and simply move on with my life. With the new passport you'll get 30 days free upon entry, could extend again for 30 more days in country or could take a spin over to Laos to get whichever visa you had applied for to begin with. You might want to try and contact the embassy in Ottawa and tell them to cancel that visa application. Then when you get back to Canada, toss that old passport in a drawer and consider it a lesson learned, i.e. don't use Canada Post. 

Does anyone who uses the One Stop Centre know if they're requiring TM30 (and/or TM28) before approving one year extensions on Non-Imm. visas? I've done a couple of 90 day reports there so far this year, and they've never required it for that or even mentioned it at all. Hoping it's the same story for extensions. Thanks. 

Interesting. Not once have I been asked to show ID when buying a bus ticket at stations all over the country (I always buy them in person). Once a ticket seller in Khorat asked for my name, I said "David." Ticket printed with name "Dayvict." 

Worth saying that it's not only in Thailand where getting involved in an altercation between strangers can be dangerous. Back in the States my one-time roommate pushed a drunk guy after seeing him slap a woman on the sidewalk after the bars closed late at night. The drunk laid into him, and roomie stumbled home with a broken jaw, broken nose, several broken teeth and eyes so swollen he could barely see. I took him straight to the ER but his face has never looked the same. 

Only times I don't feel safe are when riding in a public van driven by a total maniac, and when riding on the back of a motorbike taxi who is a total maniac. Otherwise yes, I feel safe here. 

This is blatant plagiarism of the CNN Travel article from last week. You can't re-publish the same quotes and screen grab the map graphic without linking to the original article -- it's illegal. 

Used to play full court basketball with Thais every week. Occasionally another farang would show up but usually was only me. Most of them are not big, but man are they quick. And you can see how their football skills impacted their basketball game. After a rebound there would always be two of them sprinting down each side of the floor like strikers looking for a long pass. I always played tough defense and some of them got a bit hot-headed about that from time to time, but mostly a good group of fellas. Wish I could still play but ankle injuries have kept me away.