My wife and I scrapped our travel plans back to the states (near term). We had planned on staying 1.5 months of which I would work from there for some of it and then vacation the rest. All was approved by corporate. But the constant variables make it extremely complicated and costly. We want to book airfare early for better pricing but airlines are scamming people now and they say you can book and its fully refundable if you cancel 7 days prior but that is not the case. They do not refund your money, they allow you to move the flight but that has a shelf life so it could be a "Use it or lose it". We are now reluctant to book the flight early which means we would have to book closer to the date we want to fly and prices are much higher. Then you have all the documents and Covid proof tests before departing. For us the current 14 day quarantine upon return is really the deal breaker for us. While we understand the control its just not worth it. A bit back it appeared that if we had the vaccination completed in the US with a proof test prior to flying that we should be Ok but then Thailand made a blanket change and no matter which inoculation you get the 14 day stands. My wife and I both agreed that it simply isn't worth it even if we would get to have the Pfizer or Moderna inoculation. The 14 day quarantine isn't cheap either.
Life as it is now, all of this could change in a few weeks.
Take care driving, I hear there is a risk of death, even in some civilised countries.
Likewise, Thai food. Did you bring a month and a half's supply with you?
I would suggest only western manufactured masks, but do they still make them?
Don't slip on the soap whilst showering ....
Or:
Last edited by OhOh; 06-05-2021 at 10:03 AM.
A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.
^Live what life gives you, day by day.
I hear you, I would not do it right now also. We wanted to come to Thailand for the longer time and would not do it because of the 14 day quarantine . Then they announced 7-day quarantine if vaccinated, and they said after day 3 if tested negative you could freely move among the ASQ grounds, use the Gym , seat at their restaurant, So we though no Problem, we can do that. Then they went and retroactively changed things.
I could understand if they said "because of the new covid situation, anyone applying for a COE after X day, will do 14 days" so people can decide if they want to do it or not, but they did not , they went back on their word to those who had already made a decision based on their promises.
So you cant trust anything they say.
The same insurance document they happily accepted at the Washington DC embassy for me, they rejected for someone else I know at the LA branch,
If I was you I would wait a few months more until things with covid settle down a bit, which is what I should have done.
As far as Airline refunds are concerned, we were able to get a refund from Qatar, but they charged us $200 each cancelation fee. An amount we happily paid to be able to change our travel plans and avoid the 14 day quarantine.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.
I am still trying to recover the money I paid over a year ago to Vietnam Airlines. Not sure if the credit card company will be interested as the airline has not actually refused to pay, it is still 'processing'.
And when, eventually, I make a trip to Luang Prabang, I shall visit the Pullman Luang Prabang and ask to see some suites and take pics and then I shall discuss with the manager the matter of his refusal to refund my prepayment last year and then I shall spend some time on social media. Revenge, a dish best served cold.
Originally we were scheduled to arrive May6th on a 7-day quarantine. When they changed it to 14 days , we also changed or travel plans for an earlier departure, the challenge was to get a new COE dated before May 1st.
Made it just under the wire, We got our new COE April 30th one day before the May1st deadline.
Started our 7-day quarantine May 4th, and we are scheduled to be released into the wild the 11th as early as 6am if we have an early flight to KKC.
I don't think we were " told that pork pie " 18 months ago, 12 months ago, 6 months ago, I have been monitoring the situation for the past year. There were many proposals, but nothing official. It just became official last month . I understand that the covid situation is fluid, and the need to make changes as situations change , but you can not make changes retroactively, because if you do you lose all credibility, that's why serious countries have "Grandfather laws" next time they say something , do you think I will make an investment based on what they say ever again? They say, they want to attract wealthy retirees to invest in the country. Do you think those "wealthy investors" became wealthy by being stupid?
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Well done.
Mind you, having a vindaloo in the room you'll be needing to get out quickly. Most Thai women seem not keen on the smell of Indian food, is your wife okay with it?
All the years I travelled I very rarely ate in the hotel room, I never liked that stale food smell the next day. Not that you have many choices in quarantine.
When I left Thailand for the USA in early April I got a Covid test at Bumrungrad for 4750 baht. The airline reviewed it. It was not reviewed by US Immigration.
I am now fully vaccinated and have a vaccination record from the CDC which was issued when I got my shots.
Hopefully, when I return to Thailand this summer a negative Covid test and my vaccination record will suffice. I hope the 7 day quarantine will not be required by then.
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I had a vouched like that from continental Airlines a few years ago, I never used it also.
To redeem it you had to purchase your airfare directly from them, and even with the vouched it was less expensive to purchase my airfare on line from third party companies than it was to buy from Continental direct.
No wonder they went out of business.
Continental , as are many other US airlines, also maintained the minimum number of pilots , and every time there was a storm or other delaying events, their Pilots would run out of hours, without another pilot to replace him, flights would get canceled.
Which is how I got my voucher in the first place, and why that other than domestic flights or when I don't have another choice, I would never fly with an American company.
The Thai government said that by October 1st quarantine will be eliminated, and I believe them because we all know how much the Thai governments word is worth.
But being the eternal optimist, I am hopping the same. Late August early October we want to travel out of Thailand and we don't want to have to go trough quarantine again when we come back.
Talking about optimism. As I type this I am watching CNN and they are showing the riots in Columbia.
The Police is hitting the protesters with water canons, and there is one guy in the front lines with an umbrella
Now that's what I call optimism.
Got to Pai. Roadblock where they pull you out for a temperature check and enter your ID and hotel into a database. They never mentioned the contact tracing apps. All very pleasant.
Day six pf our 7 day quarantine . Just got the results of our covid test, Negative.
We will be flying back home (KKC)Tuesday morning. We toyed with the idea of renting a car and driving, but being unfamiliar with all the restrictions we did not want to chance it.
Cant wait to get out of this hotel.
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I like Pai. Lots of places closed but I managed to be in one so F1 and Footy sorted.
1 am and I cant sleep, even after seven days here, I have not been able to adjust my hours to Thailand, not easy to stay awake during the day when you are laying around in bed all day at the ASQ hotel.
Our quarantine is officially over, but we will not be leaving the hotel until this morning to catch our flight to KKC.
Wife jokingly asked if we could expand our quarantine to 14 days, she is happy as a pig in shit, laying around in the hotel , talking with her friends on the phone all day, and ordering food on the Grab app.
Me on the other hand cant wait to get out of here and head for khon Kaen. When I get there it will be all rainbows and Unicorns
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