This is not scaremongering but reality for me as a Belgian anyway. I landed in Phuket from Belgium on July 16, 2021 for the Phuket Sandbox. Everything okay, papers okay, test done at the airport after a long wait (+/- 11 hours) in the hotel found negative.
Leaving Sandbox hotel and I was able to explore Phuket. I have a house here and a Thai girlfriend and visited some good friends. During the day a little tourism and at night according to the rules sleep well in the hotel.
But after day 4 the hotel owner says: oops mister bad news for you on your Etihad flight nr xxx turned out to be an infected person. Result either now to an ASQ hotel for 15 days in Kata at 44.000 Baht or now flying back to Belgium, that hit hard.
After some negotiation and the hotel owner really did his best to call around, I was allowed to stay in this current hotel. No room service, no cleaning room and food has to be put at the door by my girlfriend, towel service and garbage bags are also put out in special packaging and may only be picked up and brought by the hotel owner.
I still had to do my prepaid swab test in Kata, but was brought and collected by a safe taxi, which entailed some extra costs. I didn't have a passport because I had gotten my visa year stamp and was not allowed to collect it until the afternoon. After contact, immigration exceptionally brought my passport to the hotel so that I could do my swab test.
So now for me and all occupants of the famous flight, the sandbox turns out to be ASQ quarantine after all.
I'm not sick at all, not showing any symptoms but, all in all, happy to be cooped up in this hotel. If I still remain negative at the 3rd test on day 14, I can go back to my home. How it can suddenly turn…
Submitted by Rick
Pfff you don't want to go to Thailand like that
I have already canceled the trip in January and with these measures I unfortunately still have to stay in the Netherlands.
It could be a long time before you could go back to normal (there is a lot going on
little vaccinated or they are not there) And now the infections just keep rising
We would like to go again but not in the way described above
I'm afraid it won't work again this year
That is why it is so important that Thailand first vaccinates its own population as soon as possible. If necessary with the help of other countries. But this way Tourism will never come back. I have always thought that Tourism is so important to Thailand.
That should have been done from the start, of course, and with enough vaccines.
Now the sandbox project is being killed by wanting to vaccinate 70% of Phuket's residents (including the healthy ones) first (because tourism is so important) and also putting the risk groups in other parts of the country, including Bangkok, on the second plan .
The result: the number of infections is increasing to such an extent that Thailand is an unsafe country, so that tourists no longer (can) come.
Well, a bit stupid, Maxima would say.
Tourism is not coming back just like that because the government is letting entire parts of the business community go to ruin. Result: bankruptcies, closure of hotels, restaurants, etc., larger debts, loss of faith in the government, disillusionment.
I think the biggest challenge for the new tourism is not the new flow of tourists but the decline of the tourism companies.
Entry ban for Thailand and Rwanda from Thursday
Thailand and Rwanda will again be subject to an entry ban to the Netherlands due to the deteriorating corona situation. From Thursday 22 July, people who have been in these two countries for a longer period of time will no longer be allowed to travel to the Netherlands. In addition, from July 24, returning travelers from these two countries must have themselves tested, unless they have a valid vaccination certificate, outgoing justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
So nice if you are not a tourist for a few weeks, but stay here for a long time.
It may be a long time before the expats like me can buy a vaccine, I can't say, it's scheduled for the 2nd quarter of 2022, so I'll just take it as it is
Thanks for sharing what happened to you, Rick. I had already come across such experiences on social media, but it is good to see it confirmed now. In my opinion, this is a not inconsiderable additional risk that you cannot influence yourself. Thinking about my return trip later this year, I will still take this into account in my choice between ASQ in Bangkok and the 'Sandbox'.
I was planning to use the Sandbox scheme, but it doesn't work anymore. but now that Thailand has been put on orange in Europe, insurance statements are no longer issued. Not even by Allianz anymore. Where this is still possible for a considerable contribution, there are age restrictions ranging from 65 to 72 years. All very annoying. But yes it is no different.
Unpleasant but I don't really see the problem. In terms of cost, Phuket is no more expensive than BKK. In BKK you know for sure that you have to stay in your room for 2 weeks, in Phuket there is a risk that it can happen, but the chance is much higher that you can just walk around freely.
If you don't see the problem, it's time to put on your glasses - and no, not those pink ones. Someone deliberately opts for the Sandbox concept and then ends up in a 4-day quarantine after 15 days, while not infected. Now Rik is lucky that he was allowed to stay in his hotel - besides his girlfriend, without any provision for food and drink - but all the other experiences I've read resulted in a move to a quarantine hotel costing around 50.000 baht .
It's like a lottery: if you're lucky none of your fellow passengers test positive and if they do, you're the cigar.
It's really quite simple Cornelis but you have to look closer.
BKK is comparable to HKT worst case (as Rik unfortunately had to notice) but for 95+% of the people who choose HKT the better option because they don't stay locked up for 14 days.
I understand that if you book HKT expecting to be able to roam freely, it will be disappointing when that is not allowed.
But if you just assume that HKT worst case is not worse than BKK while you have a very high chance in HKT (as the numbers now show) that it will turn out much better than BKK then HKT is still just the better choice.
Unless you can't handle the uncertainty, choose BKK
It doesn't matter financially because if you still have to quarantine in HKT, your Sandbox hotel will pay back.
The risk on Phuket is many times greater. Rik is supposedly lucky that his risky contact was on the same flight and he can therefore spend his original 14 days in quarantine. If you have a high-risk contact on day 12 because an asymptomatic person is sitting at the table next to you in a restaurant, for example, and tests positive the following day, you can be in ALQ for 14 days as a high-risk contact from the moment you entered the restaurant. So you will only be “free” on day 26! Of course entirely at your own expense and regardless of whether you have symptoms at all or appear to be infected.
Risky contacts on Phuket are determined based on GPS tracking data. GPS is certainly not accurate to the centimetre; not in buildings at all.
Given the reputation of the thai government and the degree of ruthlessness in which they operate, it is therefore not unlikely that they consider the group of high-risk contacts too broad rather than too small.
All in all, the sandbox project, especially with the rising contamination figures in Western European countries, is a kind of lottery that you don't want to win, but in which you have a significantly higher chance of winning the "grand prize" than in the average state lottery.
Hopefully Rik will fare well in solitary confinement in the coming days and he will be able to return to his house and girlfriend soon after the next negative test results.
Ooo,
Also a return ticket from BKK > AMS > BKK with Etihat. return flight on August 1 (arrival August 2).
The Phuket Sanbox also seemed like a great opportunity to me, to have a little freedom.
So booked a Hotel in Phuket and rebooked to Phuket with Etihad. Because Etihad doesn't fly every day, few days later.
In the Netherlands I now have 2 pieces of Pfizer vaccines.
But given the whole development in Thailand, we decided yesterday to postpone the flight for only a month, the Netherlands is nothing, but going to Thailand is nothing at all. Rik still lives in Phuket, but I live in Chiang Mai and how do you get from Phuket to Chiang Mai?
In Belgium they would say; what a misery, what a misery.
Greetings
Geez! What a bummer for you!
Glad you were able to stay in your hotel.
Now the ASQ feeling.. what a shame!
Glad you share this.
I expect that Thailand will deal with this differently later in the season.
For vaccinees, an infection, as it now seems, will have less serious consequences.
Like everywhere, constant changes in travel policies, we will have to adapt and wait and see.
Good luck in this phase!
In this case, the person concerned is not even infected….
Dear Rick,
I am very sorry this happened to you. However, I heard from a friend that there was also an infection on his flight. But he didn't have to go into Quarantine. Because he was more than 3 rows away from this person.
So has the whole plane really been quarantined?
I fly in 5 days. And I'm taking the risk because I'm looking forward to seeing my girlfriend and vice versa.
May I ask which airline you flew with?
If you read the story carefully, you know that he flew with Etihad. 🙂
as said in the article with Etihad, I do not know whether the entire flight or some seats or rows of the infected person have been quarantined, in the meantime I have already taken swab corona test no. 2 and it was still found to be negative.
Annoying for you Rik, but if something like this happened to me I would really like to know the ins and outs about that infected person and let's be honest, are you sure there was an infected person? do not forget where you are, Thais are very savvy and these kinds of measures can also act as a kind of earning model …… 50000 baht is a lot of money for a Thai and easily earned………
No, the hotel owner took care of it for me thanks to him I don't have to go to a much more expensive ASQ hotel and can I stay here for the amount already paid
How can you be sure that it is not a very smart hotel owner who is trying to make up for the lost income of the past year. Of course he will stand up for you, if you were to go to an ASQ hotel (which in the case of a very smart hotel owner is therefore not the case at all) he will not earn anything from it. In any case, I would try to find out through the airline whether there has indeed been an infected person within a distance of 3 rows near you. Or ask the hotel owner for an official document (and have it translated). Also ask for written confirmation from him that you are staying there with the reason being the infected person on the plane.
If you're talking about revenue model, I don't think you're far off the mark. And I'm afraid that's also the case in the
will remain this way for the foreseeable future. Even if things improve a lot with tourism and the pandemic. The number of visitors of 2019 million, as in 40, will no longer be achieved for the time being. numbers of visitors.
You said it yourself: 50.000 baht is a lot of money and easy to earn.
I have a weird feeling about that test. Just the thought of them asking $100000 insurance got me thinking. They may say you're positive, but a counter test would be in order. Don't trust it, checkout for the hospitals
Dear Edward,
I have the silent impression that the whole corona thing in Thailand is just about money, money and more money.
They want to encourage the population to vaccinate. Numbers are thrown from left to right.
Whole lies and half-truths are thrown at us. It is to become despondent that many people think of simply throwing in the towel.
What used to be labeled as “the land of smiles” is now being dubbed “the land of a thousand questions,” where each question contains several answers, but where the single answer remains obscure.
In short, they just don't know anymore. It is just being modded. Everyone in government services is doing their part. The more "stars and stripes" on their shoulders, the more imposing their answer, which in turn is misunderstood by the lower echalons, or exaggerated according to their own interpretation or proclaimed ignorantly, whereby the questioner or person involved is at the mercy of the one who a piercing terrifying look, you speak.
Now regarding that vaccination;
Called my wife this morning. So far everything is fine with her, but she had a small problem. To register for 3 vaccines in a hospital (not a private one), she must pay 6000 baht in advance. After being registered on the list it would take about 2 months before she will be invited for the first shot.
Now my question is: is all this correct?
If every Thai has to pay 2/injection for each complete vaccination, in proportion to the number of injections 3 or 2000, given the number of inhabitants per family and the monthly income, how long will this vaccination hassle take?
Here in Belgium I already had my 2 injections of Pfizer and it was free.
Is the woman's story correct?
Not that I want to make a drama out of it, but with me the rule is still, honesty is the best policy.
Not that my wife's health doesn't leave me unmoved, let me be clear on that,
but….. you understand.
Regards, Dre
Yes, in Thailand they have to pay for their vaccination if they want the Moderna, Pfizer or AstraZeneca. The amount you indicate is also correct. I've already spoken to several people. Who would like a vaccine. But have to wait and, for example, don't have the money to vaccinate the partner or relatives.
This is not right.
My girlfriend runs a large vaccination center in bkk.
Sinovac and AZ are free.
Moderna, which is not there yet, has to be paid for and goes through private hospitals.
Pre-registration is possible, but when delivery is not certain. She has registered and paid for several hospitals.
Pfizer donation probably delivered by the USA next week,
The list for that one is already full, and she's at the top of that list.
Other Pfizer probably 4th quarter.
At the moment they are through all their vaccinations, and when they will be delivered again is uncertain.
Vaccination prioritization is a complete mess. All her students, including the foreign ones, have had their shot, but not the weaker ones in society.
The hospitals are overcrowded, and even her elite friends are not admitted.
And these people want to pay cash in advance, because money is not the problem.
There is a significant dropout among the staff.
Thailand has now bought some doses of Pfizer, but delivery is not expected before the last quarter. What I hear from Thailand is that the population has little faith in the Chinese vaccine. You can accuse the Thai government of anything, but not of a proactive approach to vaccination. At least 5 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated. 16,6% received at least one dose. The government led by Prayuth is energetic in closing shops, restaurants, etc., but the Thai can forget about compensation. At this rate I don't see a trip to Chiang Mai happening for the next 12 months. On the other hand, I fear that the number of suicides is increasing.
Unfortunate, but still lucky that you were allowed to stay at the hotel. I wish you the best of luck and that everything will be over soon, so that you can walk around normally again.
Hi Rick, that's probably bummed.
It seems like a bit of a lottery, but hopefully you can just go home after the quarantine.
I wish you the best..
I'm flying with KLM to BKK next Tuesday..
I've already received all the papers for two weeks and I'm also going to stay there in an ASQ.Hotel for 2 weeks.
Have also been vaccinated 2x, which is stated on the COE form.
Hopefully, the day I leave the hotel, I can take the documents along the roadblocks home with a save taxi. Go 350 km NW towards Kamphaeng Phet.
I think in previous cases only those who were close to the infected passer were quarantined and not the entire plane. The first case, a family/group of 13 people from Dubai, also involved a German woman who had the misfortune to have been sitting next to the infected person. So then it was about 14 people who were on the plane together. Are you sure all passengers are quarantined?
No, I don't know if everyone or just those close by should be quarantined, I didn't get that much explanation, I hope not the entire flight, it's enough….
But you write that all passengers have been quarantined. Still makes a difference when it comes to this risk.
No Willem, afterwards I said that I actually have no information about this, everyone or only those close to them have to be quarantined, I did not receive that much explanation, hopefully not for the entire flight, it's enough already….
In the meantime I have already done my second swab corona test in Kata and the result is still negative, but I have to stay in the hotel….
Rik
And soon the last test will suddenly be positive…to hospital for ? to soften
Then something would be wrong how can I become positive alone and lonely in the hotel…
an insurance setup??
I wonder how official this all is with experiences like this? As far as I read correctly it was the hotel owner who gave the bad news, shouldn't this be an official body?
I personally wouldn't accept this just like that, given the far-reaching (financial) consequences.
In Thailand you are at the mercy of the system.
In our eyes it is very amateurish. And yes, actually it is. Going there under these circumstances is not suitable for people who like structure. What is possible and what is not and do these rules still apply the next day?
The hotel owner recorded it for me otherwise I would have to go to an ASQ hotel again for 15 days, here I can sit out my days at no extra cost, so definitely + 40000 B savings…
Thank you for sharing this. With this I send you a heart under the belt.
Hello Rick,
I hope you're not that Rik I talked to this week in a bar/restaurant on Rawai beach road.
In any case, you are unlucky and I wish you strength with this unpleasant experience!
Hope to meet you again soon!
Marcel
yes Marcel O. it's me idd we spoke in the C. bar idd see you after the 30th of July bad luck can you idd
Many do not yet realize that traveling in these times does not guarantee a successful holiday. A lot of preparation work, constantly changing Corona circumstances, often changing government decisions of the destination country and the country where you are leaving, and the risk that you will end up with an infected person during transport or at the airport. I can't begin to imagine how much I would love to travel to Thailand for a holiday and to visit my in-laws. Even my Thai wife realizes, according to her own insights, that it is currently not recommended.
I sympathize with people who have to miss their (future) life partner. I can understand why people still travel due to the lack of their partner.
On March 16, 2020, Macron spoke the dramatic but prophetic words “Nous sommes en guerre” (We are at war.). It is better not to travel during a war, not even during a pandemic.
I personally set my leave period in January for the second half of September, because with the information at the time, the pandemic would have been over in September. Wrong. We have both been vaccinated, but the Delta variant is there, and Thailand has assessed the Covid problem even worse than Europe.
Suppose you are on Phuket at the end of the 14-day quarantine (quite loose) and your last test is positive.
Do you still have to stay in an ASQ hotel for 2 weeks before you can continue to Thailand?
That will be a nice cost picture all in all.
After a positive test, you will be admitted to a private clinic and isolated for at least 14 days. Regardless of whether or not you have symptoms. So if that test is on day 14, you will only be a free man on day 28 (at the earliest). You can only leave the hospital after several negative tests and that can take a while in some cases.
That is also the case when you do ASQ in Bangkok.
I have been in Thailand for over 2 months now, 2 weeks asq in bkk, changed province so 2 weeks in home quarantine, then I had to go back to bkk for 2 days for a doc from the embassy and again 2 weeks in home quarantine. Everyone abides by the rules here wmb. I think we were in a shopping mall in bkk where there was really no one, but the market was busy and the city buses were overflowing with people. Strange if you then close the malls or have to sit 3 meters apart in the mac.