anddy

not only is all that absurd, it is also counterintuitive. Wouldn't you expect preferential treatment for commonwealth countries by giving them the indexation, and not giving it to non-commonwealth countries? That would seem at least somehow logical (though not justified in any shape or form). Looks like absurdity squared...

I believe I am friends with that friend as well.... if that is so, I can explain how he, as a farang, got the appointment. It was not "via the private hospital" but through the THAI registration app MorPhrom, done by a Thai person who simply labeled him as a "family member". I think what probably helped in that was that the farang friend has a pink card, but not sure it that was entered into the app. The appointment was originally scheduled for the vaccination site at Siam Paragon, but later could be moved to that private hospital within the app itself. Upon inquiring in person at the hospital about a week or so ago, the appointment was confirmed to the farang friend. Now, I went to that same private hospital this week to inquire, and was told NO registration was possible, neither for the government program nor any eventual private and paid one by the hospital. All I was offered was filling out yet another questionnaire (they already had one or two such surveys in the past) where I was forced to chose which route I wanted, the government program (free) or the private one (paid). If selecting the private option one could select a favorite vaccine brand out of the ones approved here. However, one could select only ONE, which is stupid because there may be several I'd be ok with. So what I did was select the private option and put multiple vaccine brands in a "remarks" field as well as that I'd also be happy to accept the free govt. vaccine, whichever comes first. So, nothing concrete at all thus no chance of getting it here in Thailand any time soon.

There you go, everything already thrown into question, surprise surprise. Prayuth's "announcement" was not an "announcement" of actual measures at all, just of more wishful thinking & pipe dreams.

yup, that and only that is really the key takeaway from that speech and offers some hope for future developments. Specific promises, such as "will open in October" are pretty meaning- and worthless. As you correctly point out, timetables have to be flexible, not by choice but by necessity. A million things could derail that promised opening, plus it might be just as fraught with red tape and uncertainties as the Phuket Sandbox. Therefore, I am personally unable to bank on it for my return to Thailand from a tentatively considered trip to Germany over the summer

There must be a "not" missing in that sentence Why would you make an effort to fly that particular aircraft after it had just crashed? Or is that sentence also missing a "not"? On the 737max, I agree with you about that odd engine/wing constellation, which is the root cause of all that has happened with the crashes. If I understand things correctly it was this design that gave rise to the need for that faulty MCAS system, meaning without the MCAS the plane is nowhere near airworthy. Now I understand that electronic safety and other support system are of great benefit and reliability, but using them in a manner of electronic sorcery to make a non-airworthy plane fly at all is not really a trustworthy concept to me. I hope I'll be able to avoid this model in the coming years.

that may well be, but @macaroni21's point was, that a "contract" that doesn't even specify the price is, in fact, not a legally binding contract, meaning the whole "purchase" may still fall through. I was going to post the same observation, but Mac beat me to it

I guess part of the reason might be that not all dirty deeds and dodgy dealings are criminal offenses. And in business dealings, things can be absurdly complex and evidence gathering very difficult. Just my 2 cents. I'd rather see him actually, physically behind bars sooner than later!

seems BBC didn't do their homework.... As for the travel bubbles: they have been touted many times since last year, none have worked. Not surprising as they are unworkable. A new outbreak big or small in one of the participants and boom the bubble bursts. Or the restrictions are too onerous to make travel in the bubble unattractive. Phuket is a case in point for the latter, being kind of a one-way bubble

That's true too, and it is the case in Thailand, the numbers are not really high, even if multiplied by a TiT-uncertainty factor of, say, 5. Though in reality the virus seems to be everywhere here.... What I'll probably do is register when it becomes possible for me and then wait and see. If the Germany window opens up I can cancel the appointment, if it doesn't I go get it here.

yes it would, though I hadn't really considered that (yet). Plus i wonder how the bureaucratic part about vaccination would work out in that case, i.e. get an "official" vaccination certification. Neither place can really issue that, not having administered both shots themselves. Could lead to headaches when traveling maybe? I would and will make sure my vaccination will be entered properly in my yellow vaccination book, but will that be sufficient? If an electronic one becomes the norm, could I get that and how? Besides, in Germany I could easily get Pfizer or Moderna, which would be quicker than AZ, so no need to try the two-country strategy. The 16 week gap in Thailand was done to stretch supplies to allow more first shots to be given faster, same rationale as the UK did a while ago. It may actually be a good thing from a virological/immunological point of view, as a longer gap leads to better protection. So shortening it, as you are looking to do @spoon, may not be such a good idea...

...and drowned? A divemaster? Yeah right.....

A (farang) friend of mine got an appointment some weeks ago through the Thai registration app, because a Thai person (forgot how they relate) put him in as "family". First it was supposed to be at the Siam Paragon vax center, but later he could move it (within the app) to BNH Hospital, where the farang friend is regular patient anyway, so very convenient. Friend went to BNH about a week ago to inquire about the appointment, and yes indeed it was in the system and the lady confirmed it. Will wait and see what happens when the day comes.... I'm not eligible under the foreigner application website yet. So being able to register will take some more time, and the actual appointment will presumably not be before late July, or even August. In which case I'm thinking I'm better off waiting for October and get the Moderna shot then, because for AZ they do a 16 weeks (!!) gap here, so a July/August 1st shot will have the second in November/December! Would be the same with a 1st Moderna shot in October. And of course even better with J&J. And while I wait for October, an opportunity may arise to go to Germany and come back fully vaxxed with more reasonable hassle than under the stupid Phuket Sandbox model.

It should read "Charges for exceeding weight allowances MUST also be paid on the spot" (or else your won't go through). Machines are unforgiving, whereas check in staff can and very often does waive any excess fees, often not even taking notice of the weight (maybe because it's a bureaucratic hassle for them? No idea, just guessing). I've tried to use such a machine (I think it was in Singapore) when travelling with a friend who had too much, of course it didn't allow it. Went to a counter and through it went with no issue, no fee, no nothing. I'm with @NIrishGuy here, nobody will like such machines for the reasons he gave....

maybe in preparation for the big bang on Monday, when the REAL vaccination drive starts?

Why does everything have to be about race these days? This has nothing to with race, it is just an entirely different card for different purposes and with different requirements and eligibility criteria. As I see it, the pink card is something for someone with residency and ownership of a house/condo (hence the need for the tabian baan (house registration) whereas the white card has more to do with workers from neighboring countries. Now those workers are indeed treated differently from so-called "expats" and possibly higher-level employees from those same countries (last point is just my guess). Different treatment is entirely justified, because (a) they are ASEAN whereas most "expats" are not, and (b) it's a way of dealing with masses of low level, low income workers where the usual "expat" procedures wouldn't be suitable. Race is simply not a factor.

true too!

you are one of the few lucky ones then, congrats!

If I read the post correctly, he didn't say the civil partnership had any bearing on the vaccination. It was requested in the application for the pink card (don't see the relevance there either, really, as treveller123 also wondered, but so be it), which in turn was requested for the vaccination registration. Needs reforming, yes, but I think you and most here on the board are well aware that the concepts of "logical" or "no useful purpose" do not apply here or at best have rather bizarre meanings. Hence, no sensible and beneficial reforming will happen.

maipenrai

That Sandbox will have the same fate as the "Special Tourist Visa", it's a non-starter. It is so complicated and still has so many restrictions, nobody will do it. So typical. They think - quite correctly - that many people are longing for a nice beach vacation, and Thailand and Phuket are clearly popular. But wanting to come doesn't mean accepting all and every burden the Thais think they can just heap on the potential tourists.

5600m/9000km Though since the vast majority of people obviously live in their country of birth the possible distance depends on the size of the country. Can't go far in, say, Luxembourg

I'd rather go for the CLOUD CAPSULE!

OMG.... short haul flight maybe, long haul flight no fucking way, especially in the upper seat, impossible to bear and probably prone to resulting in thrombosis

The key phrase here is "who have registered" - that has been impossible for the vast majority of foreigners so far

correct. Might be reachable by BTS, or by BTS plus a mosai ride. Will have to find out the actual location...