Life in sandbox Bangkok and after

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

I left Thailand before all hell broke loose and have been too busy until recently to give much thought to it. I have read a few reports about how the re-opening may be extended to other areas, including my home, Bangkok. Presuming it does open in November or December, how would a Bangkok sandbox work? Have there been any trial balloons floated as to where it would be? If it is similar to Phuket, what sort of square kilometer equivalent would that be? Also, assuming life goes back to not normal but pre-Delta, what was that like? For instance, were the food courts open at Robinson's or Terminal 21? Were people out at Lumpini Park? I don't hang out in the bars/drink booze and my biggest time-waster is going to Thai Language school so it's a pretty unremarkable life. I am trying to compare Thailand versus a winter in South America, where life is as close to normal as anywhere in the world. Thanks for the help

[CharlieH]

MOVED TO BANGKOK FORUM

[madmen]

Just go to Phuket for 14 days and you can fly to Bangkok. Will cost you 1k for a flight. Just do it.

It's an option that's tested and works. 

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

25 minutes ago, madmen said:

Just go to Phuket for 14 days and you can fly to Bangkok. Will cost you 1k for a flight. Just do it.

It's an option that's tested and works. 

Thanks for your suggestion but I prefer Bangkok because it's where I live and where my friends are.  I am confident there are many Americans (at least) who share my interests. I would like to keep this about Bangkok, please. 

[DFPhuket]

Based on my experience with the Phuket sandbox, my guess is that you'll be required to book an approved BKK hotel for 14 days and check in with a QR code once per day. You'll also have to take the required PCR tests.

 

You only have to stay in the hotel for a few hours after arrival pending the airport PCR test. After that you are free to go where you'd like. You also don't have to sleep in the hotel. If it's like Phuket, you could stay at your home and just go to the hotel once per day to get your QR scanned. 

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

5 hours ago, DFPhuket said:

Based on my experience with the Phuket sandbox, my guess is that you'll be required to book an approved BKK hotel for 14 days and check in with a QR code once per day. You'll also have to take the required PCR tests.

 

You only have to stay in the hotel for a few hours after arrival pending the airport PCR test. After that you are freeze ideal to go where you'd like. You also don't have to sleep in the hotel. If it's like Phuket, you could stay at your home and just go to the hotel once per day to get your QR scanned. 

OK, that would ideal. Thanks for your help. I thought the sandbox would limit your freedom to roam but I can't see how they're going to sandbox a city the size of Bangkok. 

[Stargeezr]

My cousin from Canada recently got back to Thailand. He had to quarantine in a Pattaya

Hotel, and stay the entire 14 days in his room. It did not have a gym room, or any good grounds

to get some exercise in, so if you do plan to go to Bangkok, you better hope that the 14 day

quarantine is over. Otherwise find a hotel that will let you use their grounds and exercise room facilities after 7 days.

   Good Luck to you.

Geezer

[arithai12]

12 hours ago, DFPhuket said:

Based on my experience with the Phuket sandbox, my guess is that you'll be required to book an approved BKK hotel for 14 days and check in with a QR code once per day. You'll also have to take the required PCR tests.

 

You only have to stay in the hotel for a few hours after arrival pending the airport PCR test. After that you are free to go where you'd like. You also don't have to sleep in the hotel. If it's like Phuket, you could stay at your home and just go to the hotel once per day to get your QR scanned. 

Can you confirm that you didn't actually have to sleep at your approved hotel, only scan?

I am planning a return to Thailand via Phuket sandbox. I have a condo in Rawai where I would be alone, the property is SHA but SHA+ is required. The nearest SHA+ I contacted told me that I MUST spend every night at the hotel.

If your SHA+ was around Chalong/Rawai, could you mention the name? Thanks.

 

(Apologies OP, I know you want Bangkok but this is quite interesting for me)

[DFPhuket]

4 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Can you confirm that you didn't actually have to sleep at your approved hotel, only scan?

I stayed at the DoubleTree Hilton in Patong. There was no one monitoring when I came and left the hotel. How would hotel staff even know if you went to sleep at 9pm, 11pm, 1am, 3am or 5am? With the sandbox you are free to come and go as you'd like.

 

The requirement is a daily QR scan, not an evening sign-in and sign-out. I slept at the hotel sometimes because I figured I might as well use their free air con and shower. I also pulled back the bedding. Whether or not I slept there, I had breakfast at the hotel and completed my scan then.

 

I had a friend staying at the Westin and the printed rules in the room said "you must sleep in the room each night," but there was no monitoring at all. 

[Espanol]

On 9/17/2021 at 2:52 AM, arithai12 said:

Can you confirm that you didn't actually have to sleep at your approved hotel, only scan?

I'm doing sandbox right now. 

If you have breakfast at hotel and do daily check at hotel, nobody will know where you sleep, unless they check app installed in your phone.

[FalangTingTong]

Not sure what your pre-Delta time frame is, but from Feb through Songkran it was totally manageable, enough of everything open that you could live a normal life just with  lot of mask wearing and hand sanitizer.

 

Same as Spain right now.  Stuff closed a little early, nothing officially open after midnight.  But plenty going on, no reason to be bored.

 

From May it was tough, I bugged out in June to get vaccinated and avoid lockdown, I’m also hoping for a November return.

[cormanr7]

On 9/16/2021 at 2:42 PM, DFPhuket said:

You only have to stay in the hotel for a few hours after arrival pending the airport PCR test. After that you are free to go where you'd like. . 

So where is the boundary then? At Phuket that is clear but in Bangkok?

[Espanol]

20 hours ago, cormanr7 said:

So where is the boundary then? At Phuket that is clear but in Bangkok?

In Bangkok now no sandbox. Only ASQ hotel quarantine. 

You must stay in your room 14 days.

[cormanr7]

15 minutes ago, Espanol said:

In Bangkok now no sandbox. Only ASQ hotel quarantine. 

You must stay in your room 14 days.

Yes, I am aware of that but that is not what I meant. If Bangkok 'opens up' on Nov. 1st or whenever what will be the boundary then?

[Espanol]

5 minutes ago, cormanr7 said:

Yes, I am aware of that but that is not what I meant. If Bangkok 'opens up' on Nov. 1st or whenever what will be the boundary then?

Nobody knows what's happening next week.

Regulations change nearly daily. Sometimes twice a day.

 

Bangkok was opening in October. Now they say in November. 

 

Nobody knows when will actually open and which will be regulations then.

And nobody will actually know for sure 1 week before. 

[bolt]

I’m sure the rules for Bangkok sandbox (or whatever the name is) will be

Stay for 14 or 7 nights at a SHA+ approved hotel Only.

Use SHA+ Approved, taxis restaurants malls shops etc, basically they will tell you and you will need to agree to only use anything that has a SHA+ approval.

 

I’m not going to comment on how this will be enforced, only what the rules will be to use the Bangkok Sandbox model.

 

Thailand SHA Plus refers to the certification issued by Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration

SHA+ means, the business has the correct percentage of staff double Jabbed.

 

Here is the website for SHA and SHA+

 

https://www.thailandsha.com/shalists/index?type=shaplus-SHA Plus +&province=83-ภูเก็ต

[drenddy]

9 hours ago, bolt said:

I’m sure the rules for Bangkok sandbox (or whatever the name is) will be

Stay for 14 or 7 nights at a SHA+ approved hotel Only.

Use SHA+ Approved, taxis restaurants malls shops etc, basically they will tell you and you will need to agree to only use anything that has a SHA+ approval.

 

I’m not going to comment on how this will be enforced, only what the rules will be to use the Bangkok Sandbox model.

 

Thailand SHA Plus refers to the certification issued by Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration

SHA+ means, the business has the correct percentage of staff double Jabbed.

 

Here is the website for SHA and SHA+

 

https://www.thailandsha.com/shalists/index?type=shaplus-SHA Plus +&province=83-ภูเก็ต

Perhaps current ASQ hotels will just change the name into SHA +.

As you will not be confined to the room and you will have to pay for the tests yourself, room price should go down, but this is Thailand, same, same, but different.

[bolt]

14 hours ago, drenddy said:

Perhaps current ASQ hotels will just change the name into SHA +.

As you will not be confined to the room and you will have to pay for the tests yourself, room price should go down, but this is Thailand, same, same, but different.

I’ve just had a quick look on the SHA website I selected Bangkok SHA +

https://www.thailandsha.com/shalists/index?type=shaplus-SHA Plus +&province=10-Bangkok

 

and for some reason Bangkok is showing ZERO for SHA +

if you check Chonburi or Phuket they both have gazillions business’s

 

I expect Bangkok has some places where they have staff vaccinated and spacing which meets social distancing rules, so maybe this will be updated for opening of Bangkok sandbox (or whatever they name it ) November 1^st 

 

what is the name of the Bangkok reopening ???

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

22 hours ago, bolt said:

I’ve just had a quick look on the SHA website I selected Bangkok SHA +

https://www.thailandsha.com/shalists/index?type=shaplus-SHA Plus +&province=10-Bangkok

 

and for some reason Bangkok is showing ZERO for SHA +

if you check Chonburi or Phuket they both have gazillions business’s

 

I expect Bangkok has some places where they have staff vaccinated and spacing which meets social distancing rules, so maybe this will be updated for opening of Bangkok sandbox (or whatever they name it ) November 1^st 

 

what is the name of the Bangkok reopening ???

It's hard to make a reservation for November when there isn't any hotel to book. That would suggest that they are not doing a sandbox and instead turning people loose. That's hard to believe since it makes PCR tests near impossible to conduct and verify. I think the answer as I'm sure you suspect is poor planning.

 

With the drop to one week on Nov 1, there isn't any sense starting a two week quarantine the last week of October unless they grandfather you in like some people are reporting in Phuket so that you could start on the 24th this month and get out on the first Nov. They're not making planning easy.

[bolt]

35 minutes ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

It's hard to make a reservation for November when there isn't any hotel to book. That would suggest that they are not doing a sandbox and instead turning people loose. That's hard to believe since it makes PCR tests near impossible to conduct and verify. I think the answer as I'm sure you suspect is poor planning.

 

With the drop to one week on Nov 1, there isn't any sense starting a two week quarantine the last week of October unless they grandfather you in like some people are reporting in Phuket so that you could start on the 24th this month and get out on the first Nov. They're not making planning easy.

Wait until the 11^th October, that’s the next date for  CCSA meeting.

Dont Book anything also unless you can get refund or free date change.

The Bangkok sandbox will go ahead next it just depends on 1^st or 15^th November.

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

16 hours ago, bolt said:

Wait until the 11^th October, that’s the next date for  CCSA meeting.

Dont Book anything also unless you can get refund or free date change.

The Bangkok sandbox will go ahead next it just depends on 1^st or 15^th November.

And they wonder why the tourists haven't come...

[bolt]

On 10/4/2021 at 10:56 PM, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

And they wonder why the tourists haven't come...

this year and last ALL major changes were done within 4-5 days 

so you're right for any long term planning its a waste.

 

I suspect the same for November New sandbox for 5 locations, 

the announcement will be october 25th or later starting november 1.

 

So Don't pay for anything until october 30th or later

[The Hammer2021]

On 9/26/2021 at 10:39 AM, cormanr7 said:

Yes, I am aware of that but that is not what I meant. If Bangkok 'opens up' on Nov. 1st or whenever what will be the boundary then?

Nobody knows! It's all pointless speculation!