Thailand: reopening on 1 November 2021

As foreshadowed, Thailand is opening to fully immunised tourists from 46 countries from 1 November 2021, with the following provisos:

• You have to be fully vaccinated, enter by air and spent the last 21 days in one of 46 countries listed (see below)
• Have a RT-PCR coronavirus test with negative test result 72 hours prior to travel
• Have a RT-PCR coronavirus test on the day of arrival, and remain in hotel until a negative result is received.
• Have Medical insurance – minimum coverage US$50,000

Ok after all of that, remember that Thailand still has a 10 pm curfew, bars are closed, and restaurants don’t serve alcohol. That may all change – but worth noting.

. . . and the 46 countries are:

• Australia
• Austria
• Bahrain
• Belgium
• Bhutan
• Brunei Darussalam
• Bulgaria
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States

Peninsula will be open from 8 November

However, it should be noted that my favourite hotel in Bangkok, and possibly the world, the Peninsula will open from 8 November, although its Thai and Chinese restaurants will not be open.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is another timely reminder to wear your seatbelt when seated. Holding you close to your seat will protect you from the sort of injuries sustained on this flight, when unsecured passengers flew to the ceiling of the aircraft, and then came crashing down once the ‘drop’ ceased.

The hope will be that this is an anomaly – a ‘freak accident’ in casual parlance. If it is a systemic error either mechanical or electronic, then this is a larger concern for the airlines that fly Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Let’s hope it isn’t. If it is, it will pile on the woes to Boeing’s existing stack.

With daily diagnosed cases of over 9,000 and over 60 deaths a day, I’m not sure I’d be attracted to visiting Thailand at the moment. However both of these rates are trending down, and vaccination rates are around 50% single and 40% double dose, which is not bad.

On the grounds that currently you should not visit a country with a vaccination rate lower than the country you come from – I in Australia (60% double vaxxed adults) would not be visiting Thailand at 40% double vaxxed.