radjag

Married for 30 years - then he enjoyed a BJ and a whole new world appeared!

Excellent responses, thank you all so much. I already wasted about $100 applying to the "background check" agencies in UK as required by the Thai Embassy - that "rabbit hole" just leads to further document SNAFU's if you are not actually resident in the UK - lesson learned. Great, I will just fly back to Thailand and follow the route described above - excellent!

No doubt this question has been asked many times previously - I apologise for my inability to find it via a search. I am a UK passport holder, 67, but when not in Thailand I am in the USA. I had a Retirement visa for several years, then the double whammy of COVID and the sudden, unrelated passing of my Thai missus, and I was not able to get back to Thailand in order to renew my Retired Visa before it expired. Thai consulates seem to have changed the rules, only USA Nationals can apply for an O-A visa from a USA Consul. I am told that I must apply in my country of origin, UK. Not lived there for over 40 years, only visited once, briefly, in more that 20 years. I started the application process, but the online document verification system is difficult. I am working on it, but it would be much less tedious if I could simply go to Thailand, visa on arrival and then "convert" that to a Retirement pass. Is that possible?

Several A340's were very foolishly bought by Thailand years ago to serve very long haul routes (e.g. BKK-JFK direct), but they are one of the most fuel inefficient planes in the market. Most airlines (including TG) stopped using them for commercial flights years ago. Most of them are sitting in arid desert storage yards waiting to be scrapped. As to why they are now talking to the USA - most likely to do with the aircraft leasing company that the General's favour (ask no questions.......) since they are unlikely to want to deal directly with the manufacturer.

I did the "normal" ASQ last December at a small hotel in Pattaya, it was OK, balcony with a nice sea view, but obviously gets really boring the second week. The Phuket Sandbox is much, much better. The very nice hotel I'm using in Kamala is great and ridiculously cheap at THB800/night. The three mandatory C19 tests had to be pre-paid for THB8,000 - almost as much as the hotel, but still much cheaper than the cost of (less efficient) tests in USA. I flew SQ from SFO to SIN (on an older A350 with very few passengers and VERY expensive), couple of hours in the almost eerily quiet Changi airport, then SQ to Phuket. As long as you have got all of the paperwork in order and have already loaded MorChana App in your phone the processing at Phuket Airport was remarkably efficient and well organised - no problem. I got the result of my C19 test (swabbed on exit of Airport at about noon) that same evening and was then free to go out and about in Phuket every day since. In the small town of Kamala there are several "restaurants" that are open. The excellent Lillo seafood place on the beach and the Aussie Pub being two notable examples. Had to visit Patong the other day to get my second swab. The whole of Patong area looks like a ghost town with the majority of places along the "golden mile" shuttered and depressing. I would not choose to stay in that area before or now! All of the golf courses are open for business, but generally very quiet. Some are offering very attractive rates, others must have a lot of rich members, or the management are just dumb, possibly both, and have not lowered rates to attract current visitors. Ho hum. Most of the "tourist" attractions are shuttered.

Many Thai's are now getting a 3rd booster shot of AZ or Moderna after previous 2 shots of Sino. Farangs can now get whichever they prefer. Testing centers are very well organised and busy.

I arrived via Singapore on SQ last Monday. The flight was quite full, maybe 40 or 50%. The document checking and Immigration process was very smooth. Commendable in fact. The C19 swabbing facility at the terminal exit was very professional. Got my negative result at the hotel that evening and was then able to go out and about. The airport transfer was very good. I am at the Resotel in Kamala. Modest, but newly decorated and very comfortable. Only THB800 per night. Excellent. Overall extremely happy with the Sandbox.

THB8000 for 3 rapid PCR tests in Phuket is actually comparatively good value. Last week I had to pay THB9,000 in USA for just one rapid PCR test.

Now I have a red face! nd I have wasted 4 working days. I did not realise that I had to click the "upload" button under each file to be attached to the application. Because I had not done that it kept telling me that my vaccination certificate is not uploaded - because that is the first file required by the form. OK, my fault, I just did not read the instructions carefully enough.

So I got no response from the LA Consulate to my polite email. I called them this morning and actually got to speak to an Operator - she then told me that the Visa Section Officer was not at his desk - please call back after 4pm (which is a bit strange, given that their "customer" office hours end at 4pm). I tried again just now at 16.30 and this time dialed 230 to jump straight to the Visa Section. A real person then answered, but the line was so crackly and distorted I could not make out what was said, then the line jumped to a ringing tone and to the voice mail system again. Voice mail box still full, not possible to leave a voice message. I have tried starting the CoE Application over using both the Washington DC portal and the LA portal. I have tried several different picture formats. The system will just not accept my Vaccination Record. This is very, very frustrating.

Wow! OK. I have to try again. Very pleasantly surprised. Thanks.

OK, but I cannot complete the online application, it will not accept the official Vaccine Record (with QR Code) or the Certificate issued by the Health Agency. Wait and see if I get a response from the Consulate tomorrow I guess.

The online CoE Application system requires that you upload a copy of a valid Vaccination Certificate, but in USA the only thing that is normally available is a Vaccination Record which, if you register online through the Pharmacy Portal where you got the vaccination (in my case Walmart), you can download a record card which states your name, date of shots, name and batch number of shots. The CoE form wants a Certificate that indicates passport number and Nationality. I went to my Primary Health Care Provider (Doctor's Clinic) and the Receptionist tried her best - took 3 days - but after she uploaded my Vaccination Record into the CDC VAMS System she was then directed to the State of Oregon Health Agency who she had to call to get them to issue a Certificate - it is useless - even less information than is on the Record Card. I've now sent an email to the LAX Consulate. Has anyone found a solution - especially for Oregon. HELP..........!!!!!!

I need to return to Thailand by the end of September. I did ASQ in Pattaya (where I have a home) last year, then travelled again in March. This time I would prefer the relative freedom of the Sandbox for the mandatory 2 weeks. I am double vaccinated and am hoping (not confident) that I might even be able to get a booster before I travel. I have read that it is mandatory to arrive Phuket via direct International flight (from Singapore for example) - is that true? My current ticket is to BKK. I have also read that, currently, most domestic flights are suspended and it is not easy to fly from Phuket to BKK (and then Limo down to Pattaya at the end of the 2 weeks. Is that the case? Where can I go to check the rules online?