Milk78

I did head over to Paradis for a massage. It was ok. Not great, and certainly not poor - middle of the road. After a busy today today (more in a minute) I have Nut coming over to give me a massage tomorrow. I am sure others have mentioned Nut - maybe not the same person, but I am hopeful that he will deliver... I wandered about a bit last night to get my bearings again. It was still quite early in the evening but even so, it was very quiet. I can confirm that @vinapu selection of Chicken and Cashew at the multi-award winning Foodland is excellent.... I wandered around for a bit and ended up The Balcony for a couple of drinks. It was probably 8pm ish by this point and there were maybe 6/7 others in there. The rest of Soi 4 was also pretty dead. It may have livened up later but I was really tired. I stopped at 7-11 picked up a couple of beers and retired to the hotel. I slept well and was down to breakfast at 8am. The breakfast here is fantastic. I will do a more considered review of Banyan Tree in a day or two when i have had chance to check it all out. After breakfast I got moved out of my Day 1 PCR room to my original room booking. A higher floor with great views over the city and much newer i think. It looks fresher (particularly the carpet!) and has a more luxurious feel to it. Possible too nice - I could have easily stayed in my room and not bothered going out! Having thought about various options, I headed over to the Jam Factory to see what that was like. Sad to say, that there is virtually nothing there anymore. I had heard and read that it was a great place to spend some time combined with some potential for interesting shopping. Not so much anymore. The cafe and bookshop are great (well, the bookshop looks great - lots of interesting titles but all in Thai so nothing for me) but that is all there really is now. Covid seems to have hit hard. I wandered over to IconSiam which 5 min walk. Much quieter than my last visit two years ago. The food market was as tempting as it was last time, but i had filled up on breakfast so wasn't really in the mood for more food. On a recommendation I headed over to Kathmandu Photo Gallery. What a fantastic little place. I did not know Manit Sriwanichpoom's work before going to his gallery. I really liked it and wanted to buy one of his books that was on display. Unfortunately, it was the only copy of the volume that they had in stock and they wouldn't sell it to me. I will certainly be looking him up and seeing what else I can find out about him. Again, on recommendations, I headed to another shop that was close, The House of Chao. Very disappointing. It is an antique shop but the object in there were not that special and inflated prices in my opinion. The day was not turning out as I had hoped. Two of three recommendations were pretty duff. In the case of the Jam Factory, I am sure that pre-Covid there would have been more of interest. I really wasn't feeling any appetite for boy hook-ups. I headed back to the hotel, had a shower (it was really humid today and when the Thais seem to be feeling it as well, it must be pretty full on) and flopped on the bed to get some sleep. I didn't really sleep, but after an hour I switched on Grindr "just to see what was about"... Of course I ended up hooking up with a local (not a money boy) and had a very nice couple of hours testing out the bed in the new room. Grindr is proving really good for me. So much so, that I haven't bothered with the clubs tonight. After working up an appetite I headed over to Mango Tree for dinner. I knew I should have known better when the waiter asked if "I liked a bit of spice?", which I do - I can handle a bit of chilli heat. This nearly blew my head off. I really enjoyed it, but it was very spicy! The waiter was very cute and got a red note for his attentions. Now to bed, more soon.

What time are the boy bars, I mean restaurants, opening? Are they opening earlier to compensate?

I have finally made it back to BKK! It is two years since I was here last, my first time in the city, and I have had to cancel the trip at least twice during that period because of Covid. I long debated whether i would come this time with all the restrictions still in place and the danger of testing positive and ending up in a hospital for 10 days! I arrived at 5am this morning, was in my room and tested by 6.30am. The test results came back all clear at 1.30pm. Not a bad turnaround I suppose. In June last year I picked up an amazing flight deal which worked out at 50% of the normal price of return Premium Economy with Swiss. It turns out that the tickets were in fact Business Class, so probably only about 20% of the usual cost. Swiss Business is not the best in the world, but still comes with a lie flat bad so it was plenty good enough for me, that and kick starting the holiday with very many glasses of champagne, there are worse ways to begin a trip. I have done a similar flight a few years ago to Vietnam and the experience was a smooth as it was then. A short hop from London Heathrow to Zurich and then the 10h30 flight to BKK. I was glad that I had printed off all the documentation - Thai Pass, Pre-departure PCR test certificate, Vaccine certificate, Hotel booking, Health Insurance cover note, as they were scrutinised at 5 different points along the route. And I mean scrutinised! At each point the documents were really looked at to make sure they all checked out. I was a little nervous because whilst I had timed everything within the rules, my pre departure test was right on the line. I could see the check in guy at Heathrow doing the maths in his head.... When I booked the flights, I also found a stunning deal for the Banyan Tree. Whilst the first night is in their "basic" room for the Day 1 test, I was able to upgrade the room for a fraction of the cost. For the week it is working out at about 50% of its usual price. The Day Test here was more expensive than elsewhere, but the service I have had has been extremely efficient. I have now had the all clear and am free to go about my business.... And get to business I have. I just had a guy from Grindr come over which was fun. I am thinking about heading over to Silom to get a massage at Paradis. A boy from there has been messaging me since I opened up Grindr. They don't appear to have had any customers today. I will wander over soon to do my bit for the local economy. After that, I think I will visit @vinapurecommended 5* eating experience and then, depending on the time, check out what the scene is like and what is open. That is, as long as the jet lag doesn't hit hard. I have had quite an exhausting day already.....

I am arriving in BKK on Monday and looking for restaurant recommendations.... Definitely visiting the @vinapu rated 5* venue and will be taking the chicken and cashews. Where are the other reasonably priced star venues? I can go eat high end and I am sure I can get great food on the street - I am looking for those places that are not flashy or trying to hard. Somewhere I am not going to feel out of place wearing whatever I want to wear... and ideally close to the boys in Silom, but not exclusively if I can get there easily...

Wow - those numbers really are tiny. I am amazed there are any businesses still going. I will be doing my bit soon - arrive on the 28 March as long as I manage to avoid the plague pre departure!

That's a good point. I am an idiot and had not thought this through! Consensus seems to be to buy once released so that is what i shall do!

But that is also one of the issues - I will need to get it at the airport or get one in the UK as I will be holed up until test results come back...

Thai Pass all sorted so fingers crossed I manage to avoid the UK Covid spike at the moment and I get on a plane on the 27 March! To anyone who has been to BKK recently, what is the best advice getting a Thai Sim Card for use - am i better ordering one in the UK to be delivered to me here or waiting and getting one at the (BKK) airport? If the airport - where do I find the best shop?

I agree! Cases in the UK have shown a sharp increase this week - 120k Monday, 66k yesterday, but the hospitalisation and deaths is not nearly in line with those numbers (as compared to previous first and second waves in 2021). Population in UK now roughly 3/4 triple vaccinated and that is clearly having an impact on the (lack of) severity of Omicron. I have decided to go ahead with a trip to Thailand at the end of March. Fingers crossed!!

Anyone know if I have to buy my lateral flow test for Day 5 in Thailand, or can I bring my free NHS ones and use that?

True, but the Day 5 test was, for me, the most contentious. Yes, you could still test positive with a lateral flow of course, but the restriction of location and additional cost was annoying. In truth it is probably not that much of a reduction in restrictions, but it does feel like a bit of a shift and somehow less anxiety inducing.

Is ATK a Lateral Flow Test? Can I bring my own tests with me, or do i have to get them in Thailand? Do you have to document your result somewhere - or is it just on the individual's say so that they have taken it/ had a negative test result? Lots of questions, but seems like good news!

Just seen this posted. Can anyone else confirm or has more information? https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/thailand-test-go-update-no-more-day-5-pre-paid-hotel-or-pcr-test

I am staying at Banyan Tree and they are saying that if you get a test with them before 6pm then the result will be through that night. After 6pm it will be the next morning. Whether this turns out to be true or not is another question..... I too am arriving late March but my flight lands at 5.15am so very much hope I will be done and released before the evening! I am going ahead and booking the tests in the next couple of days so I can get Thai pass sorted. I don't want to leave it last minute. It might mean I end up paying for something that I don't need but better safe than sorry.

I am staying at the Banyan Tree in late March. Booked the room last July as the deal was incredible. I have recently been in touch to find out about the PCR tests and will, I am sure, book directly with them. Day 1 PCR - 3,500 bht Transfer to hotel in private hire taxi - 2,000 bht

Banyan Tree have offered me car and test. 4-6 hours results back for Day 1 test. Does anybody know if I am allowed to bring a few lateral flow tests with me in my luggage? If so, I will order a few before I fly out and take them with me.

Thanks @vinapu for you rich and through report! A really great and useful read. I am heading to BKK and then Chiang Mai at the end of March for a couple of weeks. any issues with joiners at Phor Liang Meun Teracotta Arts in Chiang Mai? I AirBnb last time i was in Chiang Mai but the hotels all have really good rates so might do that this time.

Thanks, that's helpful.

I have a trip booked at the end of March so plenty of time for things to change on the Test and Go front (both positively and negatively!) but could do with some advice on my travel planning. Any help gratefully received! I land in BKK on 28 March at about 2pm. My initial plan was to then hop on a flight to Chiang Mai and spend a week there before coming back to BKK for another week. The current Test and Go, if i have got it right, requires a PCR on Day 1 and 5. Do I have to take the Day 1 PCR in BKK, as that is the first point of entry, or can I get on the flight to Chiang Mai and take the tests there? If I have to take the Day 1 test in BKK are there hotels close to the airport that i can use so I don't have to spend all the time getting into BKK just to come straight back out to the airport again? Presumably it would be ok, if i have to stay in BKK for Day 1 test, to take Day 5 test in Chiang Mai? So take test, travel, take test in new location?

Thanks for the report @vinapu! I am hoping to get back to BKK and Chiang Mai in March. My first trip to LOS was January 2020 - right before Covid hit properly. I was in Chiang Mai for Chinese New Year and it was just starting to become a major thing. I found the scene in Chiang Mai to be really poor but I did hook up with a local student. We had an amazing few days, he was not a money boy, we hooked up on an app and we are still in regular contact. When I am back in March (all fingers crossed) we will hook up again.....

British Airways announced they were stopping their direct routes to Thailand again. Today there are reports in the Guardian that quarantine free travel is being considered. Not sure if they are quoting local media or whether they have their own sources.

In case anyone is interested for future reference, I have had confirmed from the hotel that joiners are allowed at the Banyan Tree in Bangkok.

Thanks for all the comments. I think I am going to Airbnb it in Chiang Mai. I met a local university student when i was there in January 2020 and plan to hook up with him again for the week. I am going to spend a week there and then back to down to Bangkok for another week. I have secured a great deal at the Banyan Tree at something like 35% of their usual price so hope it will be alright to have joiners there. I have taken advice previously given and booked the room for two adults. I might send them a separate enquiry about joiners. I can cancel up 24hrs before the first night with no penalty so nothing lost if they have an issue. I can just cancel and book somewhere else when i see a good deal. The deal i got was too good not to get onboard with.

Thanks. Having a look at options the Airbnb scene there is better and cheaper than Bangkok so may very well do that and avoid the issue completely. There is a boy I met when I was there in early 2020, just before it got pandemic. He is local student I met from an app, not a bar boy. I am hoping we'll spend the week together.....

Does anyone know if there are any issues bringing joiners back to hotels in Chiang Mai?