vaughn

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.

I certainly don't have a 'won't happen to me' attitude, I know the risks, and I know what I can and can't control. I'm at a point now where I have vacation days I am required to use, my last opportunity is going to be April, so I'm either doing the trip or sitting at home wasting them. I'll have to make that call by the start of March. I'm not worried if bars are closed or there aren't many boys, there's plenty for me to do in Thailand to keep me happy.

My worry is that when cases start to peak, they will see that 3% or greater case numbers (at that time) as an unnecessary strain on their health system. This might shut down travel entirely until it is under control or accepted as BAU. I hope I'm wrong, but there is an anxious population and a government with a tendency to react in unpredictable ways to case numbers.

Oh really, ok that's crossed off my list then. I guess the good news is there isn't exactly a shortage of hotels in the area. I will look at those options, thanks for the info @speedoo1 and @Boy69

Thanks @speedoo1 I was considering the paradise hotel because it is SHA+ but it really does have mixed reviews from recent guests, I might look at some other options in the area as well.

I'm weighing up some options for an April trip, and with the Phuket sandbox being my fallback plan I wanted to see if anyone has info on the Patong scene or any islands/areas near Phuket. Have any members been to Phuket in recent times? Is the area around Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong the only place to find gay massage and host bars? My search has come up with the area around GClub and My Way Bar, with some massage shops scattered around as well. I know the apps are always an option as well, but I am working out where to stay and what I'm likely to find on with boots on the ground. Any info or experience is welcome

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

Fantastic, If their pastries and coffee are good then it's likely to be my regular for my next trip. I'm the opposite with tea, I will take any old tea bag and have no complaints haha.

Always good to find somewhere serving great coffee, I have added it to my list. Is there much else out that way worth checking out, or was this a dedicated trip to that end of town for the coffee? Good coffee is one thing I had trouble finding on my last Pattaya trip, I ended up settling at Dicks Cafe most mornings which was ok. I saw that there is/was a patisserie cafe on the corner next to dicks in the complex now, so that was high on my list to try when I come back.

I will say that the trip reports from you guys and seeing some of the nightlife starting to come back to life has improved my hope that my trip in 3 months will still be possible and worthwhile. I think the Thais made a very good move with implementing the Thailand Pass, I just need to keep my fingers and toes crossed that things don't move backward too much with Omicron.

jackd is another one, though less popular than some of the others.

If you're looking at options it might be worth considering the current Le Meridien deal: https://www.marriott.com/offers/step-into-thailand-in-style-off-34608?propertycode=bkkdm They say that they do a drive-through test at the BNH hospital on the way to the hotel, so i would imagine that would significantly improve the turn around time. I stayed there for my last BKK trip and loved the hotel, no AUNTS in sight.

I had a quick look on Bonvoy last night and didn't see any mention, just the usual deals so it looks like the way you mention paying at the booth is the only way to lock in that rate. Thanks for the info. Marriott are typically the same in my experience, they do sometimes make exception to the blackout/quota if you're a plat or ambassador level.. but not at my peasant level haha.