SnipTheCat Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Anythingleft? said: Currently undergoing this process now, from where I am located in Africa getting all of the paperwork in line at the right time is a practical nightmare Covid tests etc are difficult to arrange and the ASQ are coming back as all full for the time being Extracting the requirements from the embassies was a painful experience on its own Thinking it may be a while before I get back at least, people in other locations will surely find it easier to arrange all of the requirements so good luck to all that are going through this at the moment......................... I wish you good luck... every step is a new mountain to climb, but only the ones that don't give up can have hope to make it... For me nothing is done until I am in thailand, it's a very stressful experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 1 minute ago, SnipTheCat said: I wish you good luck... every step is a new mountain to climb, but only the ones that don't give up can have hope to make it... For me nothing is done until I am in thailand, it's a very stressful experience. Can you give update on availability of rooms quarantine hotels. Reading some reports sounds like stumble at what you would think the easy hurdle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnipTheCat Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 UPDATE: Thought I only had to wait for a covid test and fit to fly certificate... but got a phone call from the embassy this morning... telling me the repatriation flight was open and I needed to book and pay it online (before I was supposed to pay at the counter at departure), and the route changed to go through paris... -> Flight not available for booking online (of course) -> Call center dropping the call with "the waiting time is more than 30 minutes, we as you to call back later" and call dropped, that after a long process going through their IVR system -> Tried to contact them through messenger and email, canned message... -> Registered for a guest account, and through the ivr chose the option "I am member..." enter my number... finally got someone -> Unfortunately they cannot take a booking and I need to go through the call center, and he was ashamed to say it was a big mess and I may have to go buy the ticket at the airport in amsterdam (I'm in belgium!)... he gave me a tip to shortcut the ivr system (I had already found), and gave me an email address, telling me to keep sending and sending email as they won't reply unless I keep sending... -> Started sending emails, while trying the call center again... -> Finally got a "waiting time more than 10 minutes..." and no call dropped -> 20 minutes later got someone... "We are sorry we cannot book repatriation flight over the phone"... huh??? "Please wait while I check where you need to go" -> 15 minutes of waiting : "The flight is innaccessible in our system and for our agency... I'm afraid you need to book it directly from Bangkok".... Here is the phone number -> Was going to call bangkok when the embassy called me -> They told me the flight was not bookable online, and I needed to purchase a flight on that route for ANY date, in business class, and after I pay and get the reservation, they will transmit it to the thai embassy in the netherlands that will change it for me directly with KLM.... -> Finding the correct route was a pain, price was not 100% like announced... but I did it... 3 hours of extra stress this morning.. If anything goes wrong, refund cost is 400€ Waiting for the next challenge... 1 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnipTheCat Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 41 minutes ago, DrJack54 said: Can you give update on availability of rooms quarantine hotels. Reading some reports sounds like stumble at what you would think the easy hurdle. All I know is that I probably got to get one of the last place available... beside that all seem fully booked until 6-8 August, only way to do is call them all, and follow up until you get a booking secured and paid... unfortunately, I don't see any better way... Good luck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anythingleft? Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 Movenpick Bangkok has just accepted a booking for myself on the 11th August so they are available...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unheard Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, Anythingleft? said: Movenpick Bangkok has just accepted a booking for myself on the 11th August so they are available...... And the airline tickets are not since the August schedule has not been announced yet. Will be tricky to coordinate if there are no available flights on that date. Edited July 19, 2020 by unheard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnipTheCat Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 3 hours ago, unheard said: And the airline tickets are not since the August schedule has not been announced yet. Will be tricky to coordinate if there are no available flights on that date. Only repatriation flights organised by thai government/thai embassies are allowed... They have opened "waiting lists" here in europe, that's how the thai embassy called me on last monday and said "We have a repatriation flight for you on July #24"... had applied for COE 16 days earlier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unheard Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 2 hours ago, SnipTheCat said: Only repatriation flights organised by thai government/thai embassies are allowed... They have opened "waiting lists" here in europe, that's how the thai embassy called me on last monday and said "We have a repatriation flight for you on July #24"... had applied for COE 16 days earlier I was responding to a prior poster who's just booked an ASQ hotel for August the 11th. The problem with that is the schedule of the August repatriation flights has not been announced yet (should be at the end of the month). So how's that going to work if there are no repatriation flights for him on that date? His hotel booking must start on the date of arrival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 On 7/16/2020 at 3:14 PM, jimn said: It is if you have a property in Thailand where you could quarantine yourself. There has to be a way via a tracking device that this could be an option. This ASQ is a complete rip off. Face facts, people cannot be trusted to self quarantine in their own places unless a personal guard on the door is supplied. Ankle bracelets don't prevent this, maybe deter. There have been a couple of incidents recently whereby this has proven to be folly. I must admit, a hotel breakfast for 2 weeks complete with butterflied deep fried cheap hot-dogs and snotty undercooked fried eggs disgusts me too. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimn Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 8 hours ago, jacko45k said: Face facts, people cannot be trusted to self quarantine in their own places unless a personal guard on the door is supplied. Ankle bracelets don't prevent this, maybe deter. There have been a couple of incidents recently whereby this has proven to be folly. I must admit, a hotel breakfast for 2 weeks complete with butterflied deep fried cheap hot-dogs and snotty undercooked fried eggs disgusts me too. Well they are going to have to do something at some point. What do you suggest, keeping the country closed forever, thats unworkable. At some point if they are going to allow tourists they are going to have to relax some of the measures for the people currently allowed into Thailand to create space in the system. If they start to allow Ellite visa holders, people on retirement extensions etc, where is the extra capacity to quarantine going to come from.? The answer is strict home quarantine like other countries with strict penalties if you break it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 15 hours ago, jimn said: Well they are going to have to do something at some point. What do you suggest, keeping the country closed forever, thats unworkable. At some point if they are going to allow tourists they are going to have to relax some of the measures for the people currently allowed into Thailand to create space in the system. If they start to allow Ellite visa holders, people on retirement extensions etc, where is the extra capacity to quarantine going to come from.? The answer is strict home quarantine like other countries with strict penalties if you break it. They seem quite content to do it for now and do it with their own nationals. I don't offer solutions just countered your comment wrt 'self quarantine' as an option. Why do you believe there is space required? At the moment they limit the numbers, and of course it is Nationals only, but I believe those numbers will drop so there should be space for those coming in on retirement extensions and other Visa types you mention. Thais approach to rules differs, they seem to tolerate and expect them being broken. Plenty of hotel rooms available, I stayed in a hotel over the weekend which could accommodate many, but had but a handful of guests... Thailand will start letting people in on its own terms, and the sentiment is keep them out at the moment. When other countries start to get on top of this pandemic (or it peters out) is likely when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anythingleft? Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 On 7/19/2020 at 11:25 PM, unheard said: I was responding to a prior poster who's just booked an ASQ hotel for August the 11th. The problem with that is the schedule of the August repatriation flights has not been announced yet (should be at the end of the month). So how's that going to work if there are no repatriation flights for him on that date? His hotel booking must start on the date of arrival. Flight is through Addis Ababa with Ethiopian on 10th/11 Aug All the arrangements being done through an agent as my company is dealing with this on my behalf, agents do have a habit of booking tickets to get the money without any confirmed details though as they just want the bookings regardless of the travel details or restrictions I'm sure that when the embassy checks all the details they will come back with firm dates. To complete the questionnaire you have to specify arrival dates and flight details on the forms for them to be processed, these I assume are just dummy flight details for that very purpose and the hotel will be reorganized on acceptance of the COE (if that gets approved) The whole thing is a bit of a debacle, now I just wait until I get word of the approval or rejection Paperwork went to the UK embassy on Monday, no idea of the time frame for replies...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnipTheCat Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 Update: I'm back in thailand ???? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 7 minutes ago, SnipTheCat said: Update: I'm back in thailand ???? Well done! At some point you may wish to read this thread and summarize your experience. Would be very helpful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 50 minutes ago, SnipTheCat said: Update: I'm back in thailand ???? Welcome back....now you can start counting down the days until you get out of quarantine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnipTheCat Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 2 hours ago, DrJack54 said: Well done! At some point you may wish to read this thread and summarize your experience. Would be very helpful. I made another thread with the details of my flight and arrival in Thailand 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now