Restrictions entering Thailand from Japan ?

[Nirish guy]

I'm visiting Japan in April and then straight on to Bangkok and Patts for Songkran, but as I'm watching various Governments impose differing travel advice and restrictions and read "something" about Thailand advising their own Citizens to have caution re visiting Japan etc I'm just wondering is anyone aware of any actual hard facts re same and if there may be any issue when landing at DM in Bkk etc ?

Also just wondering of the likelihood of will the Thai authorities even maybe trying to curtail the larger Songkran activities in some way too maybe to try and reduce the gathering of large crowds etc ( as i see Venice has just cancelled their own annual festival for similar reasons it seems.)

All in all a bit of a pain holiday planning wise, not to mention having to factor in "what if" and I end up in a bloody Thai hospital quarantined for two weeks over probably nothing but being worn out for too much partying and looking like shit on arrival ! :-)

[pong]

As for now, this from the Thai news here: it is planned (dk if already done) to medically SCREEN pax coming from JPN + 1 other country (probably South Korea-with JPN highest on list of infections corona) and to put those with high fever or symptoms in quarantaine for a while. OTOH newspprs also report that JPNese are very frightened to travel here and have cancelled en-masse their booked vacations. OTOH2 the Chinese now come again to Th as they have simply nowhere else to go left open in this region.
Apr is still nearly 2 mnthes from now and only farang think that far ahead. Or are even able to do that?! Also this being Th it seems to me near impossible to ´cancell'that awful water throwing. There might be an escape though; there is a big shortage for water now, so simply turn off all the taps and the prapa muang (=watermains). But then there are still rivers and klongs with sewerlike water in them.
But then a possible cancellation of those white parties or circuit or whatever it is named for the dear SIN gymbuddies-that looks quite well possible if nr of tickets sold is too low. There have been several last minute cancellations in festivities that attract normally big crowds lately due to this.

[Zebedee]

[QUOTE=Nirish guy;All in all a bit of a pain holiday planning wise, not to mention having to factor in "what if" and I end up in a bloody Thai hospital quarantined for two weeks over probably nothing but being worn out for too much partying and looking like shit on arrival ! :-)[/QUOTE]


You might need to consider your travel insurance as well eg Corona is now a "known event" and it may void your insurance if you catch it and need to be quarantined or hospitalised. I have to say i'm only speculating here regarding the insurance,but given they try to weasel- out on paying in normal circumstances I suggest you check into it.
Honestly, you should really consider postponing your holidays for a while,currently its a very volatile time everywhere,anything is liable to happen regarding travel restrictions ,especially in Asia.
You will get people saying Corona is no more an issue than the flu,but we are familiar with the flu, Corona however is still relatively a new virus and not fully understood i.e. its fully impact has not yet been determined.
Up to you.

[Nirish guy]

You are right I agree Zebedee unfortunately however my entire trip including flights, hotels etc was all fully booked and paid for a few months back now so cancelling will be an expensive option to factor in before deciding to go or not. Had I not have rebooked you're right I absolutely would have positioned my trip.

As you say things across the world are in flux and the (Latin) view of "so what has the world gone mad" etc doesn't factor in your correct view that as a new virus, which could mutate instantly into something much worse IS in my view something that always should be considered. The various Governments around the world, who no doubt are being told more than we'll ever know aren't taking the steps the steps they're taking, that they know will really hurt their economies, for no good reason I'm sure.

Re Insurance again that's a tough one as normally a Government issues their official "we advise no travel to" what Country is involved and that activates the clause in your insurance to allow for claiming costs for cancellations etc, HOWEVER, this time it appears that China have applied a lot of diplomatic around the world and are saying to issue such a notice would be 'unhelpful" to them, hence most Countries seem to be stopping stop of issuing the "actual" notice and just advising "caution", which is no good for get an insurance payout, BUT as you rightly say could be enough for your insurance to try and wiggle out of their cover by saying "well you were warned and still went!"

Pong you had mentioned that only a farang would be thinking months ahead like this, I'm not sure is that was a positive thing or not you meant, but first my trip is only about 6 weeks now or so and speaking personally due to various work commitments that always is roughly the time ahead I need to plan an extended break away from the office . Likewise when talking to my office manager and complaining how the travel hassles might be a pain it was she who pointed out (before I'd even considered it) "hang on boss, never mind the travel hassles but have you not considered what if you DO catch it when there and ARE ended up quarintined for X amount of weeks, what happens here in the office in the office!" So, as you can see, forward planning such as this IS a necessity sometimes and not just a paraniod flight of fancy of "but what if's'. Trust me I'm very much more of a "fuck it, lets go and we'll sort if it happens" kinda gay, but when other peoples imcomes depend on me NOT getting it wrong and making over stupid decisions then sometimes such forward planning is a must I'm afraid.

Well, so far i'm still going and I'll watch as things develop over the next few weeks. My BF is actually also flying back to the Philipines over the same period via Singapore and he too is also having the same thoughts as me - and he's Asian, so it seems it's not just farang who are thinking ahead perhaps on this one. Lets hope it all sorts itself out soon, but its certainly not looking that way for a short while yet it seems. :-(

[a447]

The total incompentcy of the Japanese when faced with disaster has been demonstrated once again.

When things go well, they go perfectly. Life is bliss. But when a spanner is thrown into the works, those in charge fall into a heap and then run around like chickens with their heads cut off, looking for someone to make a decision.

Nirish, it would be a shame to cancel your Japan trip, but having friends who were on the Diamond Princess, you need to be careful you don't find yourself quarantined somewhere. That would be a worry, especially as you don'tspeak the language.

Having said that, the Japanese are fastidious when it comes to hygiene, and face masks are worn all the time, especially in winter. Also, they are very obedient and would scrupulously follow any medical instructions, which could help slow the contagion.

If there's a country which has a good chance of stopping the spread of the virus, I think it would probably be Japan. So if you can't postpone your trip, I'd still go ahead if I were you.

But only after I had ascertained whether or not Thailand would let me in.

[Nirish guy]

having friends who were on the Diamond Princess, you need to be careful you don't find yourself quarantined somewhere. , if you can't postpone your trip, I'd still go ahead if I were you. But only after I had ascertained whether or not Thailand would let me in.

Sound advice, and it's actually the quarantine risk part that's giving me more case for concern than catching the actual virus as I'd hate to get caught up by some over zealous airport guard with a body scanner deciding to be (overly) cautious and pulling me out of a queue for little reason solely as i'm just deplaned from Japan perhaps - THAT would be a bigger inconvenience that actually catching the damned thing I think.

I guess I'll just have to watch and wait and see how things develop over the next few weeks.

[Josan]

Yes, I am watching too. Plan to go unless some big changes!

[Zebedee]

I guess I'll just have to watch and wait and see how things develop over the next few weeks.

It goes without saying we all expect an in-dept report with graphic detail on any and all interactions with hot Japanese guys. The ones that look like brown gods in the porn movies. Don't worry about shocking me, I'm sure I will recover.