Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Andaman!
It was a good read but it still sounded to stressful for my liking.
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We only received our CoE on the Wednesday and we were flying on the Friday. To be fair, the Thai Embassy were very helpful as we uploaded documents only to find that ‘human error’ meant that we had to start all over again – 4 times!
And considering that their plans involved a trip to Bangkok...
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Bangkok is now in strict lockdown and all domestic flights are cancelled! So, we’re stuck in Phuket! We did consider moving to Koh Samui, but decided against it, as the journey home could be complicated enough.
I think the same as Gerefan2, 4 months is a long time and I hope they can improve the vaccination process.
Lastly, I hope that we foreigners are taken a bit less for granted. I see many YouTubers that have invested interest talking about how great Thailand is, but I always had a them and us feeling. We are them, the farang. A total different mindset than for example Vietnam. I'm not trying to be too controversial, it was just something that came to mind because I still enjoyed each and every visit.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Andaman!
Honestly, I'm not sure how upbeat that is. That sounds horrible.
I much prefer Malta. Show up with proof of vaccination and a negative test within he past 72 hours, and that's it. You don't even need to alert them you're coming, you just show up and get stamped in for 90 days.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
vnman
This guy seems to have done everything possible to make his trip a failure.
He attempted to arrive on the first day of the scheme & then, if I'm paying attention, only stayed for a week or so. After flying from Seattle via Doha.
Our own risk of problems is much lower if we allow people like him be the guinea pigs. Monitor how they get on for at least a week, via various sources, then when we understand how the scheme is operating in practice, get our own trip booked.
I'll happily use one of these sandbox schemes in the winter, if Thai covid cases & restrictions are on a downward trend & if it's the best holiday option I can see.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
I much prefer Malta. Show up with proof of vaccination and a negative test within he past 72 hours, and that's it. .
So just about the same access rules as a whole heap of other European Countries now then too ? And so with all those wide ranging choices available to you, you picked "Malta" as your choice !? Hmmmm ok.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
Thanks for the link, vnman. I watched the entire video (the information could have been transmitted in half the time in written form), and that confirmed my subconscious premonition that the COE, with uploading various documents for pre- and then final approval, is bound to have some bugs. When dealing with people, you can figure it out, but with a computer program: ERROR!
The craziest is the requirement to pay for covid tests in advance, and submit the receipt that you get from your hotel to obtain your COE. That's micromanagement, worse than kindergarten!
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
goji
I'll happily use one of these sandbox schemes in the winter, if Thai covid cases & restrictions are on a downward trend & if it's the best holiday option I can see.
I agree, but it would have to be a last minute arrangement.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
vnman
I agree, but it would have to be a last minute arrangement.
Agreed totally.
Loosely monitor the situation for a few months.
Then about 4~6 weeks in advance, check out the rules and people's experiences in detail.
Sort all the bookings & paperwork in the 3 weeks beforehand.
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Originally Posted by
christianpfc
Thanks for the link, vnman. I watched the entire video (the information could have been transmitted in half the time in written form), and that confirmed my subconscious premonition that the COE, with uploading various documents for pre- and then final approval, is bound to have some bugs.
Back in December, my visa arrived just before lunch.
I did the first stage after lunch, which was approved early in the evening.
I then submitted the second stage, which was approved by about 10 pm.
The COE application website was less clunky than the visa application website.
I suspect the requirement to pay for the covid tests before the COE is a way of making sure they get paid.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Nirish guy
So just about the same access rules as a whole heap of other European Countries now then too ? And so with all those wide ranging choices available to you, you picked "Malta" as your choice !? Hmmmm ok.
Yeah, what's wrong with Malta? Lived there for 6 months before, and it was great. Good weather all year around, very safe and peaceful, really friendly people, loads of expats and making friends is really easy, about half the price of Canada, English speaking, et al. I can't really goto any of the non-English EU countries, as that's just not going to work with the whole blind thing.
Plus I can easily get a residency VISA. Prove 2700 EUR/month in contracts from out of country sources, medical insurance, condo lease, and that's it. 1 year residency VISA renewable each year.
I have no idea about the gay scene over there, but that's not why I'm going. I'm a 40 year old blind guy, so I'm not exactly hoping for a cute Maltese twink to be sitting on my lap wearing nothing but a towel. That will have to wait another year until Covid settles down, and I can get back to Asia. Hell, by the time this pandemic is over, I might be allowed back in Thailand already.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
"Phuket should be considered as a green list travel destination from the UK, separately from the rest of Thailand, according to local tourism leaders.
As Bangkok grapples with rising numbers of Covid infections, KP Ho, executive chairman of Banyan Tree Group, said it was imperative for Phuket to be given ‘green’ destination status.
He called on policy-makers in Europe and around the world to support Phuket as a separate green zone.
But governments need to recognise it as a safe, self-enclosed destination, rather than combining its travel status with the rest of Thailand.
That was the message given to European envoys, airlines, senior officials and business leaders, at a meeting on the resort island."
https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/...y-leaders-urge
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Brad the Impala
"Phuket should be considered as a green list travel destination from the UK,
It must be a "Rip Van Winkle effect".
Nothing is open on Phuket.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
I wonder how they expect the UK to know tourists have only been to Phuket ?
The stamp in the passport will be for Thailand.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
Agree with goji...more fantasy.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Dodger
Nothing is open on Phuket.
Not exactly! There are some fabulous five star resort hotels with beaches and multiple facilities and at hugely discounted prices with lots of handsome staff. I know that perversely you want this to fail, and perhaps you can't countenance a holiday without sleaze bars, but 300,000 room nights booking suggests you are in a minority.
https://pontevedrarecorder.com/stori...ng-covid,13336
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
goji
I wonder how they expect the UK to know tourists have only been to Phuket ?
The stamp in the passport will be for Thailand.
Not true.The stamp in your passport is unique to the port of entry. It says Immigration Suvarnabhumi Airport Thailand if you entered at Swampy and Immigration Phuket Airport Thailand if entering there. Even if your flight transits through BKK, you clear immigration at your destination (Phuket). The land boarder to the rest of Thailand is currently closed, but self-declaration should be all that would be necessary for travel to Phuket to be given 'green' status even if the rest of Thailand was on an amber list.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Dodger
Nothing is open on Phuket.
Not true. There are plenty of tourist attractions and restaurants open serving the sand-boxers.
There are many YouTube videos about life in Phuket every day and this guy (Don Kiko) regularly posts a helmet-cam video as he cruises around Patong on a scooter. This one is from yesterday, shot a night as he rides up Thaveewong Road and then around Sainamyen Road. Some restaurants are closed (including McD's) but many are open, with customers. It's quite dark north of Savoey Restaurant with everything closed there, but Sainamyen Road is quite busy all the way into the non-touristy heartlands of Patong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHrgqysXz_Q
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Brad the Impala
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I know that perversely you want this to fail,
I've never wanted anything to fail that would be in Thailand's best interest, and you couldn't be farther off in your thinking.
I've been saying since the beginning of this half-baked Sandtrap that TAT churned up would fail because of the timing. Nothing more, nothing less. I couldn't see, and still can't see any reopening in Thailand happening successfully until the Delta Variant that's still sweeping across Thailand is under control - and the majority of the population over here has received a covid vaccine.
The majority of tourists who signed on to TAT's Phuket scheme believed they could quarantine on the island for 2 weeks and then travel North to their beloved Thailand, and are now very sorry they came. Those are the voices that you should be listening to when touting your support of this premature opening...not mine. Thailand isn't ready to open its doors to anyone yet, and it certainly wasn't prepared back in July either.
It's easy for you to sit back on your porch sipping lemonade in the confines of a controlled environment - where the reported cases of the Delta Variant have plateaued and the majority of the population has either received the vaccine, or at least has the opportunity to get the vaccine if they want to. That's not the case over here. There are protests which have now transitioned into violent riots going on daily in Bangkok stemming from the governments inability to protect its people, and I can assure you, as much as the Thai people want the economy rolling again, the most important thing to them right now is their personal safety and the wellbeing of their family members.
Farang, like yourself, who are only concerned with one thing and one thing only, and that's getting back to their "boys" in Thailand, are narrow-sighted and self-serving in those regards. What's happening over here now is a matter of life or death, and the last thing the residents over here want, including me, is to allow a flow of tourists coming in before a healthy portion of the population is vaccinated and protected. To be blunt, you should be ashamed of yourself.
TAT's next scheme to reopen Pattaya in September has now been totally scrapped, in part because of what happened in Phuket. Why Brad?...because the time is not right, and now they know it!
If you find it impossible to comprehend these things, I'll wager it's because you don't want to understand these things. You're only concern is for yourself and that limp piece of meat that's dangling between your legs...and that my friend is "perverse".
If you can't get that through your head - too bad.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Dodger
Farang, like yourself, who are only concerned with one thing and one thing only, and that's getting back to their "boys" in Thailand, are narrow-sighted and self-serving in those regards. What's happening over here now is a matter of life or death, and the last thing the residents over here want, including me, is to allow a flow of tourists coming in before a healthy portion of the population is vaccinated and protected. To be blunt, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Seems to me you are addressing several other posters who have regularly expressed such sentiments, however I have not been among them. I see one of them even "liked" your post!
Regarding the benefits and usefulness of the Phuket Sandbox, I have linked in this thread to other more qualified commentators than yourself who have explained this. Unfortunately you don't seem to be able to take this in, or perhaps your current emotional state prevents you processing this. Even if the Phuket Sandbox closed tomorrow it will still have benefitted the majority of tourists for whom it has been a success, the businesses for which it has provided some income in difficult times, their employees and their dependents. Most importantly it has demonstrated a methodology for opening up in the future both for Thailand and elsewhere.
If you want to argue against the benefits of the Phuket Sandbox, although why would you want to, it would more effective if you didn't use such demonstrably false statements as:
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Originally Posted by
Dodger
Nothing is open on Phuket.
You expected the Sandbox to be a failure, you didn't think that it would open on July 1st, and you are still desperately trying to persuade anyone who will listen that you were right. However instead of making your case based on facts, you are coating your comments in personal vitriol, while trying to make it an issue of morality!!
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
Brad. Please don't go down the path of getting your knickers in a twist over 'likes.' It leads to frequent, steviewonders, mrgiggles etc and I'm sure you don't want that.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
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Originally Posted by
Brad the Impala
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You expected the Sandbox to be a failure, you didn't think that it would open on July 1st, and you are still desperately trying to persuade anyone who will listen that you were right.!
"Desperate"..."Persuade"...such strong language.
You seem to be forgetting that I live in Thailand and have absolutely ZERO personal concerns over what happens during any these TAT Sandbox Schemes.
You, on-the-other-hand, have a reason to be "desperate"...and have chosen to continue cherry-picking ads saying that the Phuket Sandbox was a good thing as a means of giving "yourself" hope that you will be able to return again soon. You don't like me slamming these TAT schemes, because these schemes are the only thing you have to draw hope from. I understand this, but still see it as being shallow and self-serving.
We (the people who actually live here) believe that if the reported cases of the Delta variant go down, and the majority of the population has been vaccinated, that things could start opening up again - and tourists returning - in mid-2022. Any attempts to reopen before it's safe to do so will suffer the same consequences as were suffered in Phuket. Plain and simple.
Enjoy your lemonade.
Re: Phuket Sandbox open; TAT awards “Amazing Dodgems” moniker
"The Phuket Sandbox, Thailand’s program that allows foreign travelers to enter the country and stay in Phuket without needing to quarantine, has been given the green light by the Thai government to expand. The expansion means that those who enter as part of the sandbox scheme will be able to visit other destinations in the country, including some very popular tourist hotspots."
https://www.traveloffpath.com/phuket...-destinations/
"Thailand’s ‘Phuket Sandbox’ scheme is a ray of hope for Asia’s tourism industry.
The pilot scheme sends an important signal for the rest of Thailand and other resort markets
When Asia’s zero-tolerance policy is proving unworkable, the sandbox scheme recognises that a new approach is needed towards an increasingly endemic virus."
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion...urism-industry