A Covid Odyssey

[durhamboy]

Almost a year ago, just as covid was starting to bite in the UK, my Thai wife and I decided that after living happily in the UK for 8 years, we had had enough of the UK Immigration System. My wife was still subject to immigration control, paying out thousands of pounds in visa and NHS fees (the nhs surcharge is now more than the visa fee but it amounts to the same thing i.e. get money out of foreigners). We also had to go through a number of hoops to maintain her status e.g. fill in huge forms, travel about 100 miles to submit documents and show letters addressed to our home as proof we lived together. Bottom line was that she couldn't pass the onerous Life in the UK test. I don't blame her – most Brits couldn't do it.

 

So we put our house on the market and found a buyer. The housing market was extremely busy despite covid. The stamp duty holiday helped. However owing to hold ups in the chain the actual completion only went through about 6 weeks after we arrived in Thailand!

 

We left our home in Devon on my wife's birthday Thursday 17th December taking the National Express Bus to London Victoria. We were the only ones on the bus and didn't pick up any more passengers until Somerset. More joined at Bristol but the bus was less than half full. Checked in at Premier Inn Victoria for 3 nights to have my covid test nearby (my wife being Thai didn't require one!) and both get Fit To Fly certificates. This was all part of the Thailand Covid Requirements in which, in addition, I had to get a Certificate of Entry, 90-day visa, Special Covid Insurance, Book and Pay for 15 nights quarantine in a Bangkok hotel (my wife got her quarantine free) plus numerous forms to fill in. Btw, I got an email from Premier Inn a couple of days before saying our booking would be invalid if our visit was for leisure purposes. Was never questioned about this when we arrived. Sign of the Covid times – the Prem Inn was only £50 a night, probably 3 times that in normal times.

 

Next day went for my covid test. Cost £159 and you don't get the results that day because the test has to go to a special lab. I was worried on 2 counts – firstly that the test would be positive but more concerning was would I get the result in time for our flight 2 days later on Sunday? Next stop was an appointment with a doctor to get our Fit To Fly Certificates. Another £98. Lady doctor was very nice and issued the certs there and then rather than emailing them to us.

 

So that left us with 2 days in London waiting for my covid result and our flight. No restaurants or pubs open – takeaway food only. I was shocked that only around 50% of people were wearing masks. For the rest of Friday I met my lifelong friend who lives in London. But there was nowhere to go so we ended up eating takeaway falafel on the concourse of Victoria station, went for a walk and ended up having a can of beer under one of the Thames bridges. We weren't tramps but felt like we were doing a very good impression!

 

On Saturday, my wife and I went out for a long walk around central London. Again shocked at the number of people not wearing masks. Demonstration in Parliament Square by about 2,000 people wanting their freedom back – freedom not to wear a mask and die! The numpties followed us up to Trafalgar Square which made us feel even more uncomfortable. 8pm that night I finally got my covid result via email – negative thank God! So I actually didn't know I was definitely on Sunday's flight until then! That night London moved from Tier 3 to Tier 4 and the BBC News said Paddington Station was closed! I was worried that maybe we wouldn't be able to get to Heathrow. Again we were on a National Express bus and it was actually no problem.

 

Sunday got to Heathrow and managed to check-in after showing them numerous documents. Actually that day was the date my wife's UK visa expired – one more day could have cost me about £2,700! Lady questioned me about my covid insurance and was happy with my answers. The plane was packed. Not a single spare seat as it was a repatriation flight run by Thai Airways only twice a month. We later learned that there was a family from Kent on our flight who actually brought the so-called UK covid variant into Thailand. We were very lucky we didn't get covid on the flight. Felt sorry for the flight attendants who were fully kitted up in PPE and masks etc for the whole 12 hour flight.

 

Flight was ok and we managed to sleep. Arrived next day in Bangkok. We were almost immediately separated – Thais ushered into one queue whilst foreigners into another. Loads of medical and immigration staff again in full PPE and masks. Temperature checks every few minutes. Felt like we were aliens arriving from outer space! Have to say though, it was very well organised and friendly. Eventually after about 3 interviews I got through all the formalities and got my luggage – never saw my wife again in the airport. Managed to find the driver for my quarantine hotel (my wife and I were in different hotels). Needless to say the driver and his assistant were in full PPE. I was the only passenger in the minivan. Looking out of the window on the way EVERYONE in the streets was wearing a mask.

 

Arrived at my hotel. All the staff in PPE. Had to put plastic coverings on my shoes. Was led to a special lift reserved for me! Got to my room. Home for the next 15 days! Maintained contact with my wife via Facebook video chats. She found the quarantine tough going. I found it ok but the middle of the second week it started to get to me a bit. It was the Christmas and New Year time as well so not the best time to be totally on your own. Had 2 more covid tests plus had my temperature taken twice a day – I actually looked forward to the nice young lady coming to take my temperature! Pity she was always fully kitted up in PPE!

 

We agreed that after quarantine we would head to a popular beach resort for a few days. However, covid once again raised its ugly head. There were a few cases near to the resort (actually minuscule compared to the UK) so the Thai authorities shut everything down. So we thought we'd have a few days in Bangkok instead. Same story, a few cases and everything was shut down. So we decided to go straight to my wife's sister's place just outside Bangkok. Then we started to hear about covid roadblocks to stop people leaving Bangkok! Finally got “released” from quarantine and I asked the hotel to get me a taxi. Eventually one arrived. The driver started talking to the hotel staff. Much scratching of heads and looking at maps on phones. Went on for about 20 minutes and eventually he just drove off. Maybe there were road blocks. Hotel called another taxi and fortunately the lady driver was very good and drove me straight to my sister-in-law's without any problems. My wife arrived shortly after.

 

We still needed to get to our ultimate destination of Khon Kaen in Northern Thailand. Because of the covid problems in Bangkok some places in Thailand were placing restrictions on people travelling from the Bangkok area – even putting people in 14 days isolation! So we got the earliest flight we could get to Khon Kaen in the hope there wasn't a shutdown. Eventually we arrived in Khon Kaen on the 8th of January – 22 days after leaving Devon!

 

Since arriving in Khon Kaen we have taken a 6 month rental of a small condo in the centre of the city. We found a lovely house to buy near the airport and have secured it with a small deposit. It is a newbuild – 4 beds, 4 bathrooms, gated community, clubhouse with swimming pool, fitness gym and pool table etc. Cost around £130,000 – would be about £400,000 for an equivalent house in Devon. Everything is open here in Khon Kaen – bars, restaurants, shops, schools etc. Everywhere you go people are wearing masks and virtually every place you go in has a temperature machine and track and trace system. At one point recently there were 6 known cases in Khon Kaen and the authorities said they would close everything down if the number of cases reached 10. It hasn't yet so everything is still open. Khon Kaen has a population of over 100,000.

 

So was it all worth it? I guess only time will tell in the long run but right now it most definitely feels like we have done the right thing at the right time. By coming in these horrendous times of covid I think we have managed to secure a lovely house at a price which would have been a lot higher if there were foreign investors around. Because of covid there are virtually no foreigners arriving here – who wants to pay for 14 days in quarantine? Also I've managed to save between £10,000 and £15,000 in UK visa fees for my wife plus all the hoops we would have had to jump through. Don't get us wrong we both loved Devon and England – I am just appalled at the UK government's attitude to foreign spouses and its disgraceful record on covid which, in my opinion, amounts to criminal negligence.

 

Total covid deaths to date – UK +117,000, Thailand 82 (not 82,000 just 82). Put another way, 1 death in Thailand = c.1,400 deaths in the UK. The countries have about the same population. Makes you wonder doesn't it? Also, I'm not saying Thailand gets everything right and UK gets it wrong e.g. average number of road accident fatalities per day – Thailand 60, UK 5.

 

Hope you found this interesting. I would appreciate any thoughts, questions and comments.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Jonathan Fairfield
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[hobobo]

Very informative and interesting reading. Glad you're back here, safe and sound, and in an environment that is so much less oppressive than UK. Wish you both the best of luck for the future! 

[faraday]

Thanks, I enjoyed reading it, very interesting.

 

I speak with my sister in the UK quite frequently, & it sounds horrendous. People not wearing masks & wanting "freedom".

 

The mask wearing & temperature checking isn't bothersome, but then as you say, look at the numbers of UK cases.

 

Bet you're glad you missed the vile UK winter they're experiencing at the moment.

 

Chok dee!

[MarleyMarl]

Sounds like you made the right decision, for the short/medium term anyway. I have my fair share of gripes living in Bangkok, but it's not that bad.

Did you live in Thailand previously? Was it not possible after 8 years in the UK to get your wife permanent residency? 

[cormanr7]

Great read, hope it works out for you.

Regarding mask wearing, the USA only mandated compulsory mask use on all public transport starting Feb 2nd, 2021, though individual states/companies may have had different policies prior to this.

[durhamboy]

1 hour ago, MarleyMarl said:

Sounds like you made the right decision, for the short/medium term anyway. I have my fair share of gripes living in Bangkok, but it's not that bad.

Did you live in Thailand previously? Was it not possible after 8 years in the UK to get your wife permanent residency? 

Yes we lived in Thailand for over a year c.2012 whilst we got married and sorted her initial UK visa e.g. English test etc.

 

It was not possible for my wife to get ILR (permanent residence) until she reaches 65 years old. Up to that point she would have to pass the Life in the UK test (LITUK). She studied it for 2 years and took the test twice and failed. She got around 50% when the passmark is 75% so she was well short of it. I didn't want to put her through it anymore. The thing that really bugs me about it is that the vast majority of Brits (at least 90% I would say) could not pass the test without any preparation so the UK Govt is expecting foreigners to know more about the UK than its own citizens! Absolute disgrace. Btw, I don't have to do a Life in Thailand test - there isn't one.

[timendres]

22 minutes ago, durhamboy said:

Btw, I don't have to do a Life in Thailand test - there isn't one.

 

You are living the test ^_^

[Kiujunn]

Even I have a profound knowledge of the UK (after all, I once spent almost 24 hours there, when I was a kid)  I failed LITUK. I confused Charles and Phillip ...

But i got 66.67% (Christianity started in the UK in the 3rd and 4th century,  not in the 2nd and 3rd century or in the 4th and 5th century - that's rather obvious, isn't it? Didn't your wife learn this at school in Khon Kaen??)

 

I heard Big Joke is currently designing a test Life in Thailand.

To be taken when you report 90 days. 

[Kiujunn]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:41 PM, durhamboy said:

freedom not to wear a mask and die!

Well said