JomtienEats

I think we all know who is living in a bubble.

I wonder how many of those are outside Thailand right now. I'd guess not so many. Cancel covid extensions and trying to get long stay visitors to run the gauntlet of test&go&return&test&go would probably juice the numbers a little, but at some considerable expense of goodwill.

Thanks for the report. Was your 60 day extension added, or does the 60 days start from the day it was issued?

Seeing as Omicron is already endemic and highly transmissible in Thailand, you've got a good chance of contracting covid between day 1 and 5. You're then treated to 10 days of non symptomatic hospital quarantine which your insurance is lucky enough to pay for, provided they are fool enough to insure you against such an eventuality, which they assuredly will not be. If you're lucky, you'll be out in time for your return flight. Let the madness end.

Tell us how it goes!

I've read that some offices start the 60 days from the issuing of the covid extension, rather than adding to existing date. I wonder if this has been standardised yet or if it still depends on the office attended.

I wonder how much each visitor is worth to the economy. Maybe not even 1 covid test. I do think its OK to ask visitors to bear the burden of the increased costs of travel in a pandemic, but with Omicron, all this is likely to be moot. I suspect the covid panic will soon be over, but I do wonder how long before entry restrictions will reflect it.

I think you've hit on something here. It might explain the 'difficulty' with American cards (US operators more willing to do chargebacks for non rendered services) and the requirements to book direct with hotels etc. They want to keep the money even if they provide no pass, no room, no tests. It's a pretty squalid way to hang onto a few bucks while trashing your reputation.

It gets quite confusing. Whether they want us here or not. I guess the actions speak louder than the words. But why all the words?

Yes, this is really the crux of it. None of the businesses are really invested in you having a successful experience either. The airline is happy to take your money for not flying you, the insurance is happy to insure you for a trip you never take and the hotel really makes bank, they're happy for you not to stay in a room and pay them for PCR tests that are never taken.

I believe there is something political going on. One fellow wants to re-open to tourists as that will be economically beneficial and popular with the thai people reliant on tourism. Another fellow thinks that might go badly, so wants to position himself as the fellow who was against it all along. Certainly no-one wants to take responsibility for taking any bold decisions.

My experience with TP was that it was key to make contact on the phone after submitting the application. My applications were stalled, and I waited days with the same uncertainty and frustration as others, but once I had someone on the phone, they were able to sign off on the application in less than 30 seconds. This was not easy, as all the phone numbers officially provided were not operational. The advice to contact an agent is likely pragmatic but also problematic - I doubt they do more than submit your documents and then know the right person to contact to have it processed in a timely fashion. It's essentially an application fee on a process that is supposed to be free of cost. I don't say any of this to apologize for the process - it was broken and wrong and a callous way to treat visitors. My main complaint is that all the risk is loaded onto the visitor - many items you must pay for in advance with no guarantee of success or a fair process, or a refund if things go wrong. So all the power and responsibility to get things right is with TP, but all the stress and costs are borne by the visitor. If the application is stalled for some reason, it may just be ignored. If you don't have your TP 24hrs before departure, you don't even know whether to incur the additional expense of a PCR test. I endured the process as a returning expat, but I don't think I would do it again. I would certainly recommend against it to any holidaymakers.

Thanks - however mine didn't look anything like this - it was more like a screenshot from the online system. It didn't look like much or have many details, but @ubonjoe said it would be enough, and the condo front desk said it would be enough and indeed it was enough for them.

I made some progress! Google play can be paid for by something called 'PromptPay' - this is on most thai bank apps, so a friend can pay the bill and you can reimburse them. Not perfect, but better. I haven't tried to pay promptpay at 711 yet but I dont see it advertised.

Many in asia are 'vaccinated', but with Sinovac, which is reportedly quite ineffective against Omicron. So even if you only care about the 'vaccinated', your sympathies might extend to the Sinovaxxed.