Are you staying in Thailand or going back home?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

48 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

Citizens always have a right of return to their own country. That's the whole point of a passport, which is a document issued by a citizen's government requesting other governments to allow the passport holder "to pass without delay or hindrance". To refuse the right of return means the citizen's government is imposing on some other government unilaterally the burden of caring for that person

 

Understood... Citizens may still have the right of return, as they do right now. But they also might well end up finding themselves confined not just at home, but in some military base camp somewhere for two weeks or more along with all their fellow returning travelers.

[JerseytoBKK]

3 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

And fit.  The halt and the lame don't go on cruises

How many cruises have you been on? All these ships have elevators and are handicapped friendly. Lots of people use walkers and seeing someone in a wheelchair is not uncommon.

 

Almost everyone does buffet breakfast and most also do buffet lunch. Trays and large displays of food just sitting there waiting for anyone one of a thousand people to cough. Casinos, theaters and pools where people are elbow to elbow. 

 

The cruise environment is a much easier place to catch a virus. Why do you think rhinoviruses are such an issue on cruise ships?

 

Just looked at the age distribution and over 1,231 were over 70. High risk group.

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by JerseytoBKK

[RocketDog]

I was planning a trip home to USA in late May for discretionary medical visits, prepare taxes, etc. 

I was planning to time it so my current OA Extension of Stay would expire and I could re-enter visa exempt and apply for a O visa. 

 

Now even if I could get back home in Denver via 4 a international airports I'd probably be more at risk there than here. Moreover I might actually get stranded at home! That would be unacceptable. 

 

So come late May I'll toddle off to Khonchanaburi by car and do the crossing there. 

 

We have stocked up moderately on food, have a water purifier, and live out in the sticks so life goes on. 

 

I wear a mask when I venture out, but more for protection from the natives than from the virus. 

 

My primary job now is to hold down a chair by the pool and watch for snakes, lizards and toads coming there for a drink in this terribly dry weather. Hey, somebody has to do it????

[RocketDog]

4 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Understood... Citizens may still have the right of return, as they do right now. But they also might well end up finding themselves confined not just at home, but in some military base camp somewhere for two weeks or more along with all their fellow returning travelers.

Right on Johnny.

So in that case "home is where your beneficent government hangs your hat" and to hell with your heart. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, RocketDog said:

Right on Johnny.

So in that case "home is where your beneficent government hangs your hat" and to hell with your heart. 

 

I wouldn't be blaming or criticizing the U.S., or any other country, for imposing a two-week mandatory quarantine for people returning from virus impacted areas... The quarantines serve their purpose and probably are reasonably effective, if inconvenient, unlike the temperature screening, which is convenient but almost entirely ineffective.

 

But if it was me and I had a choice to stay put and try to ride out the storm here vs. traveling back to the U.S. right about now, I'd probably choose to try to ride things out here... Because here, for many years now, is my home. And for obvious reasons, now is not a very good time to be undertaking international travel.

 

 

[parafareno]

3 hours ago, RocketDog said:

Right on Johnny.

So in that case "home is where your beneficent government hangs your hat" and to hell with your heart. 

I cant return anymore..my country closed all its border.....so I dunno what will happen if I get stranded here...and my visa runs out?

[luckyluke]

Planned to visit my son, his wife, my 3 grandchildren in Belgium for 2 months starting 01 April. 

I am 71+, married to a Thai lady and staying here permanently since 2000.

My son adviced me not to come, my wife not to go. 

I listened to both and cancelled my trip. 

[rickudon]

I usually spend 2 months in the UK each summer. I started looking at tickets in late January, but by the end of January i knew the pandemic would be worldwide by April, and flying an issue. I was going to see my granddaughter for her first birthday. Guess i have to wait until she is 2 now.

 

My Thai sister-in-law is here on holiday, i did warn her before she came last month that if she didn't return by mid-March she might not be able to go back. Sure enough, Eva cancelled her flight today .... Her husband returned a week ago for work reasons, could be a long separation!

 

Norwegian, Ryanair and Easyjet have all laid up 75% of their planes, other airplanes to follow. The aviation industry will be in near total lock down by April. All cruise ships are also being laid up.

 

How quickly can things change? Cases in France rose 28 fold in the first 2 weeks of this month.  My son works in London (civil service). They have been denied the right to work only from home, and 2 of his department are already sick ....

 

[Nemises]

_{Stay in Thailand during it's hot season? Did it once. Never again. Feel sorry for the farang (originally from cooler climates) who have to stay here and suffer the heat and extreme humidity.}

 

_{Stay in stinking hot Thailand because of a virus which has little or no effect on healthy, under 70 year olds? No, definitely not.}  

 

[RocketDog]

34 minutes ago, Nemises said:

_{Stay in Thailand during it's hot season? Did it once. Never again. Feel sorry for the farang (originally from cooler climates) who have to stay here and suffer the heat and extreme humidity.}

 

_{Stay in stinking hot Thailand because of a virus which has little or no effect on healthy, under 70 year olds? No, definitely not.}  

 

Perhaps, assuming you CAN leave. 

 

My aircon, saved movies, and pool will get me through it! 

The thing that has hit me recently is that traveling now may impose more risk to others than to myself. 

 

Food for thought. 

Everybody has to make decisions based on their situation. 

[DeathShroud]

Been here 4 years. Retired, disabled u.s. military on an O visa. I speak okay Thai.

 Got a car, motorcycle, renting a house 40 km in the jungle/ fields away from the cities.

 

Wife is a Thai Lt. Col. She's got 15 years to retirement. 

 

We got a daughter and a son on the way, will be born in May.

 

Leaving here for America? 

Nothing there for me.

5 years ago, I was broke, living on my military pension in USA, where rent was $1500.00 a month. Cell phone was 200. Cable was 150. Etc.

 

I pay 5k TB a month here for rent.

 

Staying as long as I can in LOS.

If they eject foreigners, I will go to the Philippines.

 

I don't think America will collapse, but if they freeze banks?  I will be done for.

 

Hoping it will not come to that.

 

If it does, I will do what I have to. I got kids.

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by DeathShroud

[gamesgplayemail]

I will go back when the virus will have killed all the people in my homecountry !

 

 

[drbeach]

On 3/16/2020 at 2:49 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Understood... Citizens may still have the right of return, as they do right now. But they also might well end up finding themselves confined not just at home, but in some military base camp somewhere for two weeks or more along with all their fellow returning travelers.

I'd recommend waiting it out in Thailand...just make sure you can get the visa extensions allowing you to stay until this situation improves. This is unprecedented and you're right, it's foolish to go back home right now...you're safer in Thailand as long as travel isn't required for the foreseeable future (at least the next 60-90 days).

[drbeach]

11 hours ago, DeathShroud said:

Been here 4 years. Retired, disabled u.s. military on an O visa. I speak okay Thai.

 Got a car, motorcycle, renting a house 40 km in the jungle/ fields away from the cities.

 

Wife is a Thai Lt. Col. She's got 15 years to retirement. 

 

We got a daughter and a son on the way, will be born in May.

 

Leaving here for America? 

Nothing there for me.

5 years ago, I was broke, living on my military pension in USA, where rent was $1500.00 a month. Cell phone was 200. Cable was 150. Etc.

 

I pay 5k TB a month here for rent.

 

Staying as long as I can in LOS.

If they eject foreigners, I will go to the Philippines.

 

I don't think America will collapse, but if they freeze banks?  I will be done for.

 

Hoping it will not come to that.

 

If it does, I will do what I have to. I got kids.

 

Same here.

 

You're not likely to get ejected. Depends on your visa situation. If you're on a non-O extension of stay and you have sufficient funds in the bank, you're good to go. If you are on a non-O multi, make sure you do a visa run to get another 90 days now, if you haven't already done so. Cross to Myanmar and back. Then get a 60-day visit wife extension. Finally, you might find yourself having to go for the 1-year extension with the money in the bank if the borders still remain closed by then...though that would be a super unprecedented situation.

 

Best of luck to you, I'm sure everything will be OK.

Oh and BTW, even the Philippines isn't necessarily the place to be for foreigners anymore...you can't go there now...many expats have left recently since Manila has gone into lock down so who knows what things will be like once it's back to business as usual.

Edited March 18, 2020 by drbeach

[parafareno]

1 hour ago, drbeach said:

Same here.

 

You're not likely to get ejected. Depends on your visa situation. If you're on a non-O extension of stay and you have sufficient funds in the bank, you're good to go. If you are on a non-O multi, make sure you do a visa run to get another 90 days now, if you haven't already done so. Cross to Myanmar and back. Then get a 60-day visit wife extension. Finally, you might find yourself having to go for the 1-year extension with the money in the bank if the borders still remain closed by then...though that would be a super unprecedented situation.

 

Best of luck to you, I'm sure everything will be OK.

Oh and BTW, even the Philippines isn't necessarily the place to be for foreigners anymore...you can't go there now...many expats have left recently since Manila has gone into lock down so who knows what things will be like once it's back to business as usual.

I have single entry visa, my stay will run out in MAY 8th, what to do? Can I extend it?

[EricTh]

More and more countries in SEA are closing their borders. Malaysia just closed their borders today. 

 

If anybody want to fly back, it should be done sooner rather than later. 

 

Thailand may follow the examples of the other countries in SEA as the number of cases rise.

[emptypockets]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2020 at 2:01 PM, ThaiBunny said:

Citizens always have a right of return to their own country. That's the whole point of a passport, which is a document issued by a citizen's government requesting other governments to allow the passport holder "to pass without delay or hindrance". To refuse the right of return means the citizen's government is imposing on some other government unilaterally the burden of caring for that person

Not so much as having a passport. Very soon it will be 'can I get a flight'?

[Dario]

On 3/16/2020 at 11:02 AM, Dario said:

A few have already been cancelled, but these are small tournaments not the size of ITF, WTA and ATP. If LTAT  cancels more, so be it, no problem with that.

The tennis tournament my daughter had entered for this weekend in Pattaya has also just been "postponed." Not surprising, all ATP, WTA and ITF tournaments worldwide are postponed/cancelled until June 6.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Dario

[iLuvThai]

.and now my booking is even gone from their website...it is a big mess. 

 

If you have an email with the itinerary, make a note of the flight numbers and such then visit the website of the airline. You may need to create an account with that airline, regardless use there contact us to talk/chat/email or phone them to get confirmation. That's exactly what I had to do for both Chinese Eastern airlines and WestJet to confirm the my flight was still on after Budgetair emailed me and told me my flight was canceled. Another step I also took was to go to the booking website in my case budgetair and researched flights for the exact same day I was leaving and guess what, they are still booking flights with the same stops in China for the same day. That's what prompted me to contact the airline directly. Good luck. How this helps. Be well. 

????????????

[Chivas]

On 3/15/2020 at 5:21 AM, Chivas said:

Absolutely nobody in their right mind is currently flying out of their home country.

I suspect 1 month from now the situation will be 10 times worse. I'm grateful I got home 2 weeks in one piece but since that short period its escalated out of control

Quoting myself from just 9 days ago of which there was plenty of ridicule

 

Wonder how those stranded are feeling today...............