vaughn

Krubb sauna has a gym, i've only seen photos so I can't give a recommendation if it is good but might be worth checking out.

Krubb Bangkok (@krubb_bkkth) and VCK Cool Space (@vckcoolspace) are the only two I know of, they both are on twitter with opening times and prices etc.

I've heard some people who arrived last time ATK day 5 was required to just take the ATK test as soon as their PCR day 1 test result was negative, then just uploaded the photo on day 5. I'm not encouraging anyone to do that, but it's something I heard of happening from a few people so they aren't anxious about results for 5 days.

https://thepattayanews.com/2022/02/22/thai-prime-minister-to-join-general-covid-center-meeting-tomorrow-to-discuss-covid19-restrictions-including-international-arrival-measures-for-tourists/ Thai Prime Minister to join general Covid center meeting tomorrow (Feb 23) to discuss Covid19 restrictions, including international arrival measures for tourists Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O’Cha will chair the Center of Covid-19 Administration Situation (CCSA) at a large general meeting tomorrow, February 23rd, to primarily discuss some measures adjustments and the trends of the current Covid-19 pandemic situation in Thailand. According to the Government House, the Prime Minister had acknowledged some topics to be introduced at the meeting tomorrow, including the current Covid-19 situation reports and the return of on-site learning at educational institutions proposed by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health. The adjustment of preventive measures upon international arrivals to the country, proposed by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of Tourism and Sports, would also be introduced at tomorrow’s meeting as well as the vaccine allocation plan by the Ministry of Public Health. As of today, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told the Associated Press that the Ministry would also discuss the proposal of the cancellation of RT-PCR testing for international travelers visiting Thailand from March 5th onwards, reasoning that the test was not necessary, the infection trend was likely to decrease, and most infections are domestic, not imported. This, of course, was a discussion and not a guarantee of lifting the incredibly unpopular and expensive on-arrival testing, especially a day 5 test that also mandates a stay at certified hotels while waiting for results. Anutin has dismissed rumors of a lockdown, saying that these measures are antiquated and not on the table, despite rising cases of Covid-19 in the country and some provinces, like Buriram, implementing stronger provincial restrictions like the closure of service venues focused on alcohol sales and restaurants that have live music.

The 10 days exceeding your stay was a suggestion from the TAT about a month ago. I don't have the post handy where they mentioned it but it wasn't a requirement for test&go approval, moreso a suggestion to help travelers avoid issues with insurance. I don't blame the writer for getting it wrong, the communication from TAT, CCSA, PM and Health Minister often contradict each other and announce 'possible' amendments to the scheme. If you're not following it closely it would be clear as mud.

The process at a basic level is this - Take a seat, buy a drink and survey the talent on stage, a mamasan will be hovering around and will either pester you to bring a boy down off stage or will wait for you to ask - When you pick a boy either point him out or they will be wearing a small badge with a number on it to help pinpoint him, the mamasan will get his attention and bring him down. In some gogos, you can just wave him down, but if there is a mamasan I just use them to get him on a seat next to me - Now you're expected to buy him a drink while you talk, I will usually get the mamasan a drink (if they help and aren't annoying me) but that's up to you. A mamasan can be a necessity if he does not speak English at all, they will help translate and even make suggestions on who might be your type based on what you like. - You can ask the mamasan or the boy what the off fee is, it is the standard fee to take the boy from the bar - You ask the boy what he is up for, top/bottom/both, and the cost of short time (~2 hours usually) or long time (overnight) - If you are interested tell him you want him to come with you, you will get a bill in your bin for the off fee and he will go get changed - I usually tip the waiter between 50-100 baht, if I haven't bought the mamasan a drink I'll tip them the same if they are helpful - Don't pay the boy upfront, when the deed is done and he is in the hotel room you pay him his fee. My notes from 2019/2020 on prices might not be accurate right now because covid could have changed things, but in general, prices will be somewhere around this mark. Massage shop fee: 400-500, full-service tip to the boy 1000-1500, bj/hj somewhere around 500 BKK gogo off fee: I don't have notes, but I think it is usually somewhere between 300 to 700 baht ST and LT is up to the boy, usually something like 1000-2000 ST, 2000+ for LT I'm fairly new to the Thailand scene, but happy to answer any questions that I can

Great report!

@abidismaili The 2 main providers I have found with coverage specifically for the Thailand travel market are below, but the terms are coverage for medical costs. If you are admitted to hospital even if assymptomatic i believe you should be able to claim that, but if you are ordered to quarantine in a hotel (hospitel) then they would only cover the medical expenses like PPE and doctor checkups and scans at most. Make sure you read the full policy statements, from my reading the Luma policy provides better coverage. AXA is very explicit about only paying out for medical neccessity and inpatient care. I have not found any policy that will cover all costs of hospitel for assymptomatic positive cases, so essentially we are expected to pay that out of pocket. https://www.lumahealth.com/travel-insurance/covid-insurance/covid-insurance-faq/ https://www.axa.co.th/faq-sawasdee-thailand-inbound

I am inclined to agree, it makes for a great conspiracy theory but I don't know if I would put any weight to those claims without some proof.

I wouldn't want to start that precedent, 2-4% is a very low number, we might not like the result if we start looking at a country by country arrival positive test rate.

That is welcome news, no one wants to be put into a hospital covid ward when they are asymptomatic. If i get to pick a hotel to self isolate for 8-10 days, I see it as a compromise.

I saw that as well, I think it is probably because there is some confusion for people who might not follow the Thai news as closely that they are forcing asymptomatic people into quarantine for 10 days. There are also reports of hospitals not admitting people until they pay a deposit or the full fee in case insurance won't cover it, but also not allowing them any other options. I'm more worried about the test I need to take to board a plane and go home. If I get asymptomatic covid at any time during that holiday, you will be put into quarantine for 10 days and forced to change flights. I'm going to make sure I have insurance coverage 15 days past my expected departure just in case.

I wonder when they note this time, is it 18:00 when your flight lands, or 18:00 when you get to the immigration officer? My flight is scheduled to land at 17:15... I might be able to rush to immigration because I'll be in business so departing the plane first. Any minor delay now means I have to change 2nd test appointment, change my domestic flight from HKT to BKK, extend my hotel stay, and reduce my other hotel stay. I wish they would simplify 'test and go' again, it seems like they're just adding rules for the sake of looking like they're doing something.

Loving your report, it is a very nice read. One question, are you willing to divulge your tailor's shop name? I'm always interested in finding quality tailors.

Grindr seems to have a lower amount of advertising for the first weeks you download it, then suddenly the obnoxious ads start. I am pretty sure it is against the app store ToS for Grindr to do what you're describing on IOS, but the full-screen ads often forced me to completely stop the app process and open it again because it got stuck on the ad. I caved and bought the subscription, I hate giving in to companies with such poor advertising practices and the shady data mining that Grindr does in partnership with its Chinese owner... but the alternatives are all worse.

https://www.shathailand.com/list/Pattaya/ This looks to be an incomplete list but might help.

I now have a reservation at Le Meridien Phuket, it is 4-5km away from the paradise complex so I will be relying on transport, but it has a private beach, lots of outdoor spaces for dining, and being a hotel brand I know and trust will help ease the anxiety of the sandbox stay. Unless my plans change (again) I will try and give a good summary of the current Patong scene in my trip report in April.

I'm sticking to my Phuket sandbox plans, I feel like a day 5 test in Bangkok is too high a risk for me.

I'm guessing AXA would be one of the first to meet the requirements https://www.axa.co.th/en/axa-sawasdee-thailand-travel-insurance The wording from the CCSA is so vague though, there's no chance an insurance company would ever say "all contingencies".

I'm not sure that this is a good announcement for me, while I would want to know if I did get covid so I can keep away from bars/crowds, the added PCR test raises the risk of asymptomatic hospitel/hospital. I understand the day 1 test, but what does a day 7 test accomplish when there is already so much community transmission. It seems like the health ministry might still be stuck in the mindset that they can isolate away cases and reach covid zero again, or it is a cash grab. The way they are describing the desire to increase testing and make sure everyone has lots of insurance coverage, with some of the Health Minister's previous comments about farangs, maybe I'm cynical but it gives me a bad impression of the motives.

Very well written! I look forward to the rest of your report, I hope everything works out ok for both of you.

That would be nice if they do return it, I will certainly use that over the sandbox if available. I have lost a bit of confidence in it though, not necessarily because they revoked it at such short notice but because the comms were so horrible and if I were traveling around the 15th of this month it would have been very stressful to navigate what was happening.

Great report Vinapu! It was great to read and helps to inspire confidence that even in the dark hours of covid closures there are still glimmers of light to be found.

That is a long time in the air, I hope for your sake you can sleep better on planes than I do. Please let us know how the process goes for you on the ground, I am still holding onto plans for April and might need to use the sandbox as well.

It is a problem for the company I work for, I've delayed as long as I can, but finance is on our backs because large amounts of unused annual leave is a liability. My plan b is staying home, it's hard enough coming up with plans to cover all of the possible outcomes of getting to Thailand let alone trying to work out other countries. I have circumstances I can't get into on here, but my work limits where I can travel/transit. I'll wait and see what happens, we're in a better position than we were this time last year.