vaughn

Kangaroos mate

Great news! I had to laugh at the 12am closing time though, I have been to 1 bar that actually stopped serving drinks after 11. Those land borders need to open and scrap the security theater of SHA+ scheme for nightlife to really return to normal, but Thailand Pass has always had more pressure from the tourist sector so it makes sense for it to be the first to go.

A boy I was with in Phuket 2 weeks ago mentioned the Paradise Complex bars are busiest on Friday and Saturday, YMMV depending on the types of guys you like but I wasn't finding much action there. I would focus on Bangkok or Pattaya for boy fun, and Phuket for beaches and touristy things. I've got a live-ish trip report going right now, second post is a summary of the Phuket scene. Might be of interest if you haven't seen it already.

I just checked out of Poseidon in Jomtien Complex, they do ask for ID, but when a boy I had back only had a photo on his phone the night manager was ok with it as long as I was. Another boy I had back did have his physical ID and it was the usual situation of call when he leaves to make sure i'm ok. I was ok with it, they're willing to compromise if a boy lost his ID so no problem.

Sorry to hear that, I hope you get better quickly and without problems.

If we don't have someone on the ground sooner I will try to do a open/closed numbers check next week when I'm in Bangkok. Not 100% sure I'll be going to VCK but I'll at least do some reporting on Patpong 1&2 and surrounding sois. VCK Cool Space twitter shows they are open, but unsure on what the boy situation is.

If they are hot and reply to me they are a money boy 😅 You can just ask where they work, if they say student, restaurant or regular shop 50% chance MB, if they say bar or massage 100% chance. Then they will sometimes just tell you they are a money boy, or you can ask if they want money to come to your hotel. It's not seen as a rude question in my experience as long as you don't make it weird.

In Phuket there is a man with a microphone that you tell your hotel to and they call it out so a person responsible for that hotel waves to you, then the representative calls your driver for them to pull up. I could imagine if BKK had multiple full flight arrivals at the same time being a bit more chaotic.

If you're staying at almost any luxury hotel I would be shocked if they say anything to you about bringing a guest, I think mid-priced hotels trying to give the impression of luxury are usually the ones with more problems. I stay at mostly in Marriott Bonvoy properties but have never had so much as a sideways glance at walking in with guests anywhere in the world. You could email prior to arrival and ask if there is a guest policy, but I would just bring the guest in and walk straight to the elevators. In my view you're paying a premium for privacy and service, so I expect that.

You must be reading my mind, first installment of the report is about to be posted

my hotel didn't provide one either, i think it is expected to buy your own. They're only 100baht or so from most boots or convenience stores. I haven't heard of anyone having issues if they just ignore it, but that's not to say a future thai pass application could be affected. Hopefully this whole process will just be gone soon. I bought 2 yesterday in case i tested positive i would do a 'water sample' on the second to upload then just self isolate. thankfully the first was negative so no need to worry about anymore testing this trip.

I'm now on day 9 and still had not received a notification, i opened the morchana app and just refreshed the notifications tab by dragging down and it showed up. I guess i should go out and pickup a test and submit it now, but that app is a buggy mess so YMMV.

I have just arrived to Phuket under test&go, at the airline check-in counter they checked all of my documents but after landing they only wanted 2, the thailand pass QR code document and the Day 1 PCR test booking (booked through PSAS, test taken at the airport). I got my results within 4 hours, they give you a slip to register for email notification. It was all fairly simple and streamlined on arrival. I will have a live-ish trip report started for Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok in the next few days.

Here are a few suggestions from my to-do list, they're scattered around but everything is close enough to a train station or other attractions. I think almost all of them are casual restaurants or street food, some of the list was made pre-covid so check google maps if they're still there. Mango Tree Silom Square Food Center Prachak Roasted Duck Yong He Dou Jiang Bangrak Food Center Meng Phochana Chicken rice Sala Rim Naam Inter Thai Food Savoey Favour Café Make Me Mango @ Tha Tian Krua Khun Puk Krua Apsorn - recommended for tiger prawn curry with lotus stalk Ruen Urai The Emporium Shopping Mall - Recommended food court ปู๊ตี่บะหมี่เกี้ยวกุ้ง หอศิลป์วัฒนธรรมแห่งกรุงเทพมหานคร Wonton / Char Sui Pork - Level 3 ICI.BKK Desserts - Desserts Michelin Guide Baan Khanitha & Gallery - Highly Rated Som Tam Jay So

I hadn't thought of that, I just looked and the AIS tourist plans are all eSIM compatible. https://www.ais.th/travellersim/ 300GB/30Days/5G for 1250 baht and I can keep my existing SIM in for calls from home with data turned off. Thanks for the suggestion

I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure the arrival test in Phuket is done at the airport and does not have any hotel/private-hospital affiliation because it is booked through the PSAS (Thailand Department of Disease Control) system. That's how I have booked mine for my arrival in 2 weeks, so I'll find out soon I guess. The day 5 tests used to be hotel/hospital-affiliated but that's no longer a thing with ATK being day 5. Arriving in BKK you have hotel/hospital arranged testing though, so your point is still a valid concern.

Contrary to some others here I usually just get one at the airport so it's one less thing to chase around on day 1. The arrival hall for test and go has booths for AIS, DTAC etc before you get to the hotel pickup. in 2019 it was 1200 baht for 20GB/30 days at DTAC

I have just got my Thailand pass, a 48-hour turnaround from when I applied. One thing that I thought was going to cause a problem but didn't was listed on the required documents that the hotel must itemize the day 1 stay, transport, and the day 5 atk test on the prepaid receipt. My hotel didn't mention an ATK but was approved anyway, so I assume I can just buy a test from a pharmacy on day 5 or maybe they will hand me one when I arrive in Phuket. Overall I found it to be fairly easy once you get all of the required documents in order and take screenshots to upload in jpeg format.

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!