Intercity Bus Travel

[mikebell]

My wife's daughter has been stranded under my roof because of restrictions.  She is a native of Kalasin.  How soon can I deport her?

[allane]

Where do you live ?

[glegolo]

Just take your car and drive her to Kalasin...

[BritTim]

Are you in Bangkok? I am unsure about the situation with buses. Air Asia has daily flights from Don Muang to Khon Kaen (about an hour by road from Kalasin depending on where exactly in the province the girl is going).

[mikebell]

I live in Pattaya.  If I drive to Kalasin won't I be under house arrest for 14 days?

[SantiSuk]

19 minutes ago, mikebell said:

I live in Pattaya.  If I drive to Kalasin won't I be under house arrest for 14 days?

Drafting....

[Lee1889]

We're in a simular position. I need to take the wife to Udon Thani from Hua Hin so that I can get back to England for work. I'm not sure if I'm allowed.

[SantiSuk]

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

I live in Pattaya.  If I drive to Kalasin won't I be under house arrest for 14 days?

Difficult to get good information out of ThaiV members on what is happening in practice on the ground - I've tried in respect of Buriram and Nakhon Ratchasima, with no joy to date. I suspect it is because our fellow forum members are not travelling inter-provincially.

 

I very much doubt you would be asked to self-quarantine anywhere along the way or in Kalasin if:

1. any checkpoint that did stop you and temperature-checked you found you both to be without fever

2. any such checkpoint believed your story that you personally are in transit (ie not stopping in Kalasin) and that your step-daughter is returning to her normal residence.
 

The rules applied by individual provinces differ and if you were to believe that therules that apply rules are being implemented in practice, or if you phoned the individual province City Halls, you would most likely collect a barrage of requirements that would put you off form traveling. From local experience here and other comments I have read on ThaiV it seems as though implementation of rules is much laxer than the principle of their design, particularly in Isaan where there are few Covid cases to start with and even less cases that are still live. Checkpoints seemingly often wave traffic through or are not particularly intense in their questioning - or are non-existent. Nice trick by the military government and local governors to have frightened people into reducing their travel without having to erect an immense infrastructure of checking!

 

I'm considering myself doing a drive from Sisaket to Bangkok and back to seek a specialist (non-Covid) medical consultation. Driving would be far less risky from a Covid viewpoint than using our regional airport and taxis around Bangkok. With a valid reason to travel I would be willing to take the risk that checkpoints would let me through and that the worst they could do would be to turn me back on my outbound journey. My call. Up to you how you assess the risks/rewards.

 

Information local to me in case anyone is travelling Sisaket/Ubon provinces. There are two main routes that connect Sisaket and Ubon provinces:

1. From Bangkok and along Highway 24 thru' Lower Isaan and up to Ubon City on Hwys 2085 and 2178. A friend has been driving this route between Kantharalak and Ubon City regularly (including 3 days ago) delivering bakery products. He reports a checkpoint on 2178 that now tests temperature but asks no other questions if no fever. Previously it was a 'wave-through' checkpoint.

2. From Surin through Sisaket City and on to Ubon City - Hwy 226. My wife drove the part of this route that goes through the Sisaket/Ubon border 2 days ago. There were no checkpoints.

[SantiSuk]

See also the replies to the post in this Isaan forum "Can I now drive Loei to Sakaeo". Like I said if you ask officials (posted by Tayida) you'll get rules that might dissuade you. If you wing it (posted by Isaan Farang) you will probably be ok. In Isaan at least. Phuket, Southern Thailand, Pattaya (?), Bangkok/Nonthaburi - higher risk areas, possibly less straightforward.

 

[Michael Hare]

Yesterday, my wife and I drove from Ubon for a meeting with our contract farmers in a village in northern Roi-et province and then back to Ubon in the afternoon. Took us through Yasothon province. Not one single check-point. There would have been 50 farmers at the meeting outside in the village temple grounds and all farmers were wearing face masks. Tomorrow we will drive to Mukdahan and Kalasin province for similar meetings in two villages. Again just a day trip. 

[mikebell]

1 hour ago, SantiSuk said:

See also the replies to the post in this Isaan forum "Can I now drive Loei to Sakaeo". Like I said if you ask officials (posted by Tayida) you'll get rules that might dissuade you. If you wing it (posted by Isaan Farang) you will probably be ok. In Isaan at least. Phuket, Southern Thailand, Pattaya (?), Bangkok/Nonthaburi - higher risk areas, possibly less straightforward.

 

Thank you for such a lengthy & helpful answer.

[nightfox]

Could try Pattaya utapio airport Air Asia flights to Koen Kean then a minivan from bus station to Kalasin.

[SantiSuk]

Check out the cautionary notes in this article before committing to fly domestically

 

https://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2020/05/fly-and-be-grounded-for-14-days/?fbclid=IwAR2Su17UIDvkW-s1Lrq7HLThKkqjY9dwo8lMXJeSeOM5u3XD_eXRfDzHJsU

[DJ54]

7 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

Check out the cautionary notes in this article before committing to fly domestically

 

https://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2020/05/fly-and-be-grounded-for-14-days/?fbclid=IwAR2Su17UIDvkW-s1Lrq7HLThKkqjY9dwo8lMXJeSeOM5u3XD_eXRfDzHJsU

Thanks for sharing the detailed report.... it wouldn’t fun to arrive and off to the quasi clink for 14 days.....

[ubonjoe]

Here is a list of the privinces that have a 14 day quarantine.

"Passengers have been advised to get the latest information before travelling to six provinces -- Phitsanulok, Buri Ram, Udon Thani, Trang, Krabi, and Nakhon Si Thammarat -- as travellers have to be quarantined for 14 days, while Nakhon Phanom allows only passengers to enter the airport terminal. Foreigners can enter these provinces if they have permission from the provincial governor."

Source: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1163340-airport-agency-urges-passengers-to-update-info-before-making-travel-plans/

 

[Michael Hare]

Early this morning, with my wife and I in one pickup and my staff in another pickup, we drove from Ubon up to Amphur Nong Sung in Mukdahan province. A big police check point at Nikhom Kham Soi on inbound traffic. Every one had to get out of their vehicles and get their temperatures taken. They asked where we were going and we said to Nong Sung, a day trip, and returning to Ubon in the afternoon. We had to down-load an app on to our smart phones and fill in a questionaire. All in Thai. Other travellers  were sitting at desks filling in forms. I am not sure why. Most were older people so they probably they didn't have a smart phone. Once done, we were allowed to be on our way. In Nong Sung there was another check point, but only for taking one's temperature. No questions were asked. 

[mikebell]

 

16 hours ago, Michael Hare said:

They asked where we were going and we said to Nong Sung, a day trip, and returning to Ubon in the afternoon. We had to down-load an app on to our smart phones and fill in a questionaire. All in Thai.

Thai solution to starting up local tourism.

[Speedo1968]

On 5/7/2020 at 2:26 PM, SantiSuk said:

Difficult to get good information out of ThaiV members on what is happening in practice on the ground - I've tried in respect of Buriram and Nakhon Ratchasima, with no joy to date. I suspect it is because our fellow forum members are not travelling inter-provincially.

 

I very much doubt you would be asked to self-quarantine anywhere along the way or in Kalasin if:

1. any checkpoint that did stop you and temperature-checked you found you both to be without fever

2. any such checkpoint believed your story that you personally are in transit (ie not stopping in Kalasin) and that your step-daughter is returning to her normal residence.
 

The rules applied by individual provinces differ and if you were to believe that therules that apply rules are being implemented in practice, or if you phoned the individual province City Halls, you would most likely collect a barrage of requirements that would put you off form traveling. From local experience here and other comments I have read on ThaiV it seems as though implementation of rules is much laxer than the principle of their design, particularly in Isaan where there are few Covid cases to start with and even less cases that are still live. Checkpoints seemingly often wave traffic through or are not particularly intense in their questioning - or are non-existent. Nice trick by the military government and local governors to have frightened people into reducing their travel without having to erect an immense infrastructure of checking!

 

I'm considering myself doing a drive from Sisaket to Bangkok and back to seek a specialist (non-Covid) medical consultation. Driving would be far less risky from a Covid viewpoint than using our regional airport and taxis around Bangkok. With a valid reason to travel I would be willing to take the risk that checkpoints would let me through and that the worst they could do would be to turn me back on my outbound journey. My call. Up to you how you assess the risks/rewards.

 

Information local to me in case anyone is travelling Sisaket/Ubon provinces. There are two main routes that connect Sisaket and Ubon provinces:

1. From Bangkok and along Highway 24 thru' Lower Isaan and up to Ubon City on Hwys 2085 and 2178. A friend has been driving this route between Kantharalak and Ubon City regularly (including 3 days ago) delivering bakery products. He reports a checkpoint on 2178 that now tests temperature but asks no other questions if no fever. Previously it was a 'wave-through' checkpoint.

2. From Surin through Sisaket City and on to Ubon City - Hwy 226. My wife drove the part of this route that goes through the Sisaket/Ubon border 2 days ago. There were no checkpoints.

If you are concerned about traveling could you not ask the hospital in Bangkok to send you an appointment slip ?

[Michael Hare]

Yesterday we went up to Mukdahan to five villages in Nong Sung district. Two check points to check temperatures. On the way home, getting near to Ubon, another check point but this time the police were only interested in vehicle registrations and helmets on motorbike drivers. Back to their old tricks.

[SantiSuk]

Only just seen your post Speedo. Yes - I would have obtained/ will obtain an appointment slip.