File photo//Wikipedia

 

A meeting conducted by Surat Thani deputy governor Sakdaporn Rattanasupha on Saturday noted that 345 foreign tourists had entered the Samui Plus Model reopening plan in the first 15 days since it began.

 

This was 134 tourists who arrived in Samui. Seven had found their way to Koh Phangan and 3 to Koh Tao under the 7+7 day scheme.

 

Of the arrivals in Samui 211 had come from the Phuket Sandbox after completing enough time there. None arrived from there on Saturday, however.

 

Only one of the 134 had tested positive for Covid-19 after an initial test. 

 

Fourteen domestic Covid-19 cases not connected to the Samui Plus Model were reported on Saturday in the three islands in Surat Thani.

 

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Highly successful then.....

They might still be wondering why nobody is coming to holiday in country with this high of an infection rate and dozens of restrictions. 

I will be in a sandbox hotel in Phuket in a few days only to find out that my 4 star hotel doesn't have a in-house gym and the governor ordered all gym and pool hall closed now... any idea where to find an open gym in Phuket's Patong, Amphur Kathu or near by?...

9 minutes ago, Shuya said:

They might still be wondering why nobody is coming to holiday in country with this high of an infection rate and dozens of restrictions. 

This is a once in lifetime opportunity to experience Thailand without the over the top tourism.   I've been traveling now for 9 months and experiencing Thailand in a way that will be impossible in the future.  Actually feel guilty - best year of my life.  The restrictions are what has made this year possible.

 

Some think Thailand will endure lasting tourism issues but these same individuals also have convinced themselves that Thailand has been struggling for years prior to Covid. A different type of tourist now comes to Thailand and spend much more money in total than us Farangs.  Sadly, the hordes will return and Thailand will be happy to take their money.

 

The Thailand I fell in love with be extinct in 15 years.  At least I can travel now and not constantly be reminded of how successful tourism has infringed on my dreams.

6 minutes ago, ezzra said:

I will be in a sandbox hotel in Phuket in a few days only to find out that my 4 star hotel doesn't have a in-house gym and the governor ordered all gym and pool hall closed now... any idea where to find an open gym in Phuket's Patong, Amphur Kathu or near by?...

That stinks! I ordered lots of different strength band on Lazada and was able to maintain strength.  Not as good IMO as weights but kept me sane and semi motivated.

Quiz question: 221 tourists from Phuket and 84 journalists the first day.... How many tourists are left??? 

Each greeted with a personalized plaque and flower wreath.

So basically 221 people who needed to return here, have business here or live here and didn’t want to be locked in a room in Bkk so took the alternative slightly better way !

The rest arrived via Bkk on a practically empty plane with 1-5 people on board over the 15 days ! ????

2 hours ago, atpeace said:

The Thailand I fell in love with be extinct in 15 years.  At least I can travel now and not constantly be reminded of how successful tourism has infringed on my dreams.

Whereas the Thailand I fell in love with became extinct about 15 years ago.  Obviously it depends on what you want and I won't wax lyrical about the difference between being a tourist and a traveler.  Rural Thailand still has some of it's charm, but you are never far away from the scammers, con men, or kamikaze drivers.

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, petermik said:

Highly successful then.....

Rolling in Baht again... yeahhhh.

The first time in 35 years of Thailand, that I believe published figures ......... 

And there most probable all ex pats who chose the Phuket sandbox rather then being holed up for 14 days in Bangkok . At least inPhuket they were allowed to go out rather than feeling like a prisoner my friend arrived back yesterday from Phuket after more than a year being stuck in France 

..... and they generated 950 trillion baht, I suppose...

30 minutes ago, mrfill said:

..... and they generated 950 trillion baht, I suppose...

Cowpad

Wow, thats very little.

 

Is this to the detriment of domestic tourists?

 

That said the extortionate price of Bangkok Airways will always be an Achilles heel to any tourism rebound.

5 hours ago, dunroaming said:

but you are never far away from the scammers, con men, or kamikaze drivers.

I thought that you were talking about the UK then - until I realised that you had not mentioned illegal immigrants.

Seriously - scammers, con men, and kamikaze drivers exist everywhere. Why should Thailand be different?

Samui plus is more restrictive than Phuket Sandbox but there are no available flights to Phuket which do not involve transit through UK Red Zone countries therefore although would like to holiday in Thailand this for me is presently not an option as would mean a very expensive hotel quarantine upon return to the UK. 

Thai Airways from London Direct Flight?

15 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I thought that you were talking about the UK then - until I realised that you had not mentioned illegal immigrants.

Seriously - scammers, con men, and kamikaze drivers exist everywhere. Why should Thailand be different?

You might want to make a comparison with 25,000 killed on thai roads vs 1750 in UK for a similar population. Questions of degree are relevant.

On 8/2/2021 at 1:00 PM, atpeace said:

This is a once in lifetime opportunity to experience Thailand without the over the top tourism.   I've been traveling now for 9 months and experiencing Thailand in a way that will be impossible in the future.  Actually feel guilty - best year of my life.  The restrictions are what has made this year possible.

 

Some think Thailand will endure lasting tourism issues but these same individuals also have convinced themselves that Thailand has been struggling for years prior to Covid. A different type of tourist now comes to Thailand and spend much more money in total than us Farangs.  Sadly, the hordes will return and Thailand will be happy to take their money.

 

The Thailand I fell in love with be extinct in 15 years.  At least I can travel now and not constantly be reminded of how successful tourism has infringed on my dreams.

So you like the Thailand with no bars, no nightlife, limited sales in restaurants that change daily, no swimming pools or Gyms, no hairdressers, no beach without a mask, no entry to a mall without a mask or a supermarket?

 

No domestic inter province or island travel in tourist places?

 

A different type of tourist comes to Thailand and spends much more money? 

 

Yes, they are called masochists that enjoy misery! They can't be spending much money as there is nothing open.

 

Some people have strange ways of enjoying themselves.

 

Give me no Covid and mass tourism back, I know how to avoid crowds!

5 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

So you like the Thailand with no bars, no nightlife, limited sales in restaurants that change daily, no swimming pools or Gyms, no hairdressers, no beach without a mask, no entry to a mall without a mask or a supermarket?

 

No domestic inter province or island travel in tourist places?

 

A different type of tourist comes to Thailand and spends much more money? 

 

Yes, they are called masochists that enjoy misery! They can't be spending much money as there is nothing open.

 

Some people have strange ways of enjoying themselves.

 

Give me no Covid and mass tourism back, I know how to avoid crowds!

Never said any thing that resembled your rambling.  What I did say is this is it is a once in lifetime opportunity to experience Thailand without over the top tourism.  Miss the gym, restaurants and the constant hustle but it is what it is at the moment.  Decided to take advantage of what opportunities were available. 

 

Visited places that I gave up on years ago because of huge crowds. Experienced Thailand's beautiful mountains and resorts with few to no tourists.  Been a blast and  met a beautiful woman before leaving that has been with me from day 1.  Yes, it has been a dream year.

 

You state you know how to avoid crowds?  The above activities you mentioned make me doubt this but why not just state you like crowds? Time and place for everything.  

 

I'm confident you will get your wish.  Mass tourism will most definitely return and I'll still be having good times.  Cheers!

On 8/2/2021 at 7:54 AM, ezzra said:

any idea where to find an open gym in Phuket's Patong, Amphur Kathu or near by?...

Many SHA+ hotels have open gym. May ve you can try one of those.

 

They are probably open for people in sandbox program. 

On 8/2/2021 at 7:43 PM, Dialemco said:

would mean a very expensive hotel quarantine upon return to the UK. 

You can fly to Phuket but return from Bangkok. 

 

I'm doing it with Qatar Airways, but there are more options. 

 

On 8/3/2021 at 4:25 PM, atpeace said:

Never said any thing that resembled your rambling.  What I did say is this is it is a once in lifetime opportunity to experience Thailand without over the top tourism.  Miss the gym, restaurants and the constant hustle but it is what it is at the moment.  Decided to take advantage of what opportunities were available. 

 

Visited places that I gave up on years ago because of huge crowds. Experienced Thailand's beautiful mountains and resorts with few to no tourists.  Been a blast and  met a beautiful woman before leaving that has been with me from day 1.  Yes, it has been a dream year.

 

You state you know how to avoid crowds?  The above activities you mentioned make me doubt this but why not just state you like crowds? Time and place for everything.  

 

I'm confident you will get your wish.  Mass tourism will most definitely return and I'll still be having good times.  Cheers!

Absolutely a good time to travel. Pictures are of the Emerald Cave and beach just next to it in Koh Mook, Trang province in January  It's normally heaving. We were the only people there. 

A fantastic time to have a place to yourself. 

On 8/2/2021 at 1:49 PM, ikke1959 said:

Quiz question: 221 tourists from Phuket and 84 journalists the first day.... How many tourists are left??? 

As you doing a quiz, how did you come up with the number of 84 journalists arriving in Samui on the first day? 

1 hour ago, huberthammer said:

As you doing a quiz, how did you come up with the number of 84 journalists arriving in Samui on the first day? 

read the news of the first day of the opening of the sandbox of Samui

 

18 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

read the news of the first day of the opening of the sandbox of Samui

 

Can you share the source pls?