daydreamer

Just recently, there was a plan to renovate the old building for use as a museum. Now it sounds like that may not happen. The first sentence of the Bangkok Post article says "the land on which the station is located might have to be cleared to make way for commercial development".

Thailand currently requires the RT-PCR test before arriving in country under the Thailand Pass rules. I have looked up numerous testing locations in the US, and have been left confused over RT-PCR, regular PCR, rapid test, etc. I recently found the following explanation of the RT-PCR test from someone with a licensed background in the medical field very useful. It clearly explains to those of us who are not scientists or work in the medical field what may have been perplexing. I was also confused after reading some references as to to the "RT" in RT-PCR being referred to to as a Rapid Test, and in other instances called Reverse Transcription. There certainly is rapid testing, however that refers to the timeframe that the test results are forwarded to you, and is not what the RT in RT-PCR means. The RT means Reverse Transcription which is explained below. Yesterday I called a local CVS pharmacy, and they confirmed that although their website states they give only PCR and Antigen tests, they told me their PCR tests are in fact RT-PCR tests. In the US, there are far more testing locations that advertise PCR tests than RT-PCR tests. Looking at the US CDC website, there are a dizzying variety of tests that can be used to detect Covid. You almost need to be a scientist or a Philadelphia lawyer to decipher and understand their explanation of tests. The following info from a Thailand based expat Registered Nurse who is a regular poster on the aseannow message board may help to clear up any confusion over the Covid test currently required before entering Thailand, and what you should look for when seeking a test. This is from the poster named Sheryl, who is also a moderator of the aseannow message board. She explains it better than I can: "RT = reverse transcription. It is a process whereby RNA is used ("transcribed") to produce DNA. PCR tests identify the presence of DNA. The COVID virus contains only RNA so it is impossible to do a PCR test for it without the RT step. All COVID PCR tests are RT-PCR. There is no other way it can be done. The only time a PCR test can be done without the RT step is if it is identifying an organism that contains DNA. COVID does not. However most non-medical people do not know this - certainly airline staff, Imm officers etc do not -- and labs do not always state "RT-PCR" on their reports. It will have been an RT-PCR though, for sure. So before using a particular lab find out how their results will be worded. If not including the phrase "RT-PCT" then ask if they can specify it. Just a matter of wording, no difference in the tests, but given the way Thailand's requirements are phrased it is an important one. Of course there is a difference between plain PCR and RT-PCR but what I was explaining is that all COVID PCR's are RT-PCR even if not explicitly stated as such. It is a physical impossibility to do a COVID PCR without the initial RT step. Because the COVID virus does not contain any DNA, only RNA. So it is not a matter of needing a special sort of test, any place doing COVCID PCR is doing RT-PCR. But for entry into Thailand you need to be sure the results will clearly state RT-PCR." In another post, Sheryl mentioned that she received her test for return to Thailand at a CVS pharmacy, and it stated RT-PCR test in the written results: For US residents traveling to Thailand, CVS gives free Covid tests, either billed to your health insurance, or billed to Uncle Sam if you have no insurance. I have read that Walgreens does the same. From what I have learned, some testing centers still offer a "Fit to Fly" certificate along with the test results, and some labs even charge an extra fee for this certificate. Many testing facilities in Bangkok are currently offering this "Fit to Fly" certificate, and a few I have seen in the US are also. I understand the Fit to Fly certificate was a previous Thailand requirement earlier in the pandemic, however as of April 1, 2021, foreign travelers are no longer required to provide the fit-to-fly certificate, as long as they present the COVID 19 RT-PCR test result under the Thailand Pass, or if required upon departure from Thailand. Neither airlines nor the Thailand Pass or Thai checkpoints on arrival or departure require this certificate. On arrival, they only want the test results. On departure from Thailand, a test is only needed if your country of arrival and/or your airline requires a test. So don't go out of your way to get a "Fit to Fly" certificate, or pay any extra for it, as it will just be an obsolete souvenir for you. The US requires no Fit to Fly to return home from overseas. Citizens of other countries returning home should check the requirements of their home countries and airlines. I wasn't trying to complicate this or overthink the situation, but to me, this cleared up a lot of uncertainty. I know I went in great detail here, but I like definitive answers, not hearsay, hot air, and speculation. The results of Sheryl's test for her recent return to Thailand and her lucid professional explanation that she shared with the message board provided me the clarity that I was seeking in this sea of confusion over testing requirements. I have been searching for a clear explanation of this info in planning a future trip of my own. So just verify that your test results will clearly state RT-PCR, not PCR, before getting a test and you should be good to fly and enter the Kingdom. I am posting this extensive explanation so it may help other potential travelers to Thailand, and make it a bit easier to understand the rules.

I have read that there are two Bangkok Bank branches that are often more lenient as far as opening an account for farang without a visa. One is located on Pattaya Tai, right next to the corner where Walking St begins. If you are facing the Walking St overhead sign, it is just on your left. The other branch is also Bangkok Bank on Pattaya SaiSong (Second Road) across from the end of soi 6. I have no experience with either one. I got my K-Bank account many years ago in Chiang Mai with just a passport and my hotel address. If the bank asks for proof of residence, your friend can obtain written proof of residence from the immigration office, even if staying in a hotel. Hotels send the info to the immigration police for all hotel guests, so they can easily verify the address of residence because it's already in their computer system. I would suggest not wearing shorts, rubber flip-flops, and a Singha Beer T-shirt to the bank when asking to open an account without a long term visa, even though it is Pattaya.

I would rather see the RT-PCR pre-departure test changed to a regular PCR test. Regular PCR tests without the RT (reverse transcription) are much easier to find in the local area than RT-PCR tests are. As far as a doctor's letter, the lab test results from a completed PCR test should satisfy the travel requirement, with no need for a doctor's letter. I think having to get a doctor to issue a letter within the 72 hour window would complicate the process, at least in the US, where doctor's offices run at the speed of cold molasses.

This tweet from Richard Barrow is interesting - the viewpoint of a Bangkok taxi driver on his concern of transmission of Covid from his taxi passengers:

I read yesterday that it is taking several days for approval of the Thailand Pass (at least 3 days) if a QR code is not submitted for the vaccination card. As the US does not routinely issue QR codes when receiving the vaccine, the timeline of 5 days for approval for @GPAPA sounds about right. The item I read said it takes longer if the copy of the vaccination card is received without a QR code, as the Thailand Pass people will then verify the vaccination record. I can't provide a link. I don't remember where I saw it since I have read so many articles and websites about the entry requirements in the past 10 days.

Richard Barrow is reporting today that a new rule says if you are sitting next to a passenger on a plane who tests positive, you will be carted off to a hospital for 10 days, even if you tested negative. I haven't seen this new rule published yet.

From what I have read, both sandbox and quarantine free visitors must pass two tests in Thailand. One test upon arrival, and another test after being in Thailand one week. For the quarantine free visitors, the second test is an antigen test, while for the sandbox tourists, it is a second RT-PCR test. This is from the Thai PBS article @readerposted a link to on another thread. https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thailands-main-airport-runs-tests-ahead-of-countrys-reopening-on-monday/

Photo from Richard Barrow's website showing passengers wearing raincoats and gloves as PPE at Suvarnabhumi Airport on October 26, 2021:

I'm sure the news that @readerreported in another thread about international airlines returning 80% of their landing slots through March 2022 will make them realize not everyone is coming just to visit temples and spend their holiday money in high end shopping malls. As you said "heard the message loud and clear".

In reply to @macaroni21, I'm not sure about receiving the yellow card in the US by going back to the vaccinator. Good idea, it may save people a lot of anguish when submitting their paperwork. Maybe somebody knows?

That may be the case if you receive the vaccine in Thailand, however the great majority of Americans trying to enter Thailand are not in Thailand, and they did not receive a yellow card when vaccinated. The information in the video is indeed correct if you received your vaccine inside the US, no passport number, and no nationality are listed on the white CDC card issued in the US. I merely posted this information in case it might help someone who is trying to submit paperwork to enter Thailand in the near future.

Check out this video at 45:50. This guy had major issues submitting his proof of vaccination using the standard US CDC vaccination card. So much difficulty, he gave up and hired a Thai agency to submit his paperwork. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xynAgAN87nY&t=2750s

More than 70,700 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan as of Tuesday evening (Aug 24th). https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/us/politics/afghanistan-evacuations-kabul-airport.html So does this mean you "must surely be living in some sort of cloud cuckoo land" ?

The coconuts article @readerposted the link to says "To reach Krabi’s three sandbox destinations, you’ll have to use SHA Plus-certified boat or ferry services."

Yes, it includes the translators etc. It is called Operation Allies Refuge. News media in the US are reporting that the 3,000 troops will aid in evacuating US Embassy personnel and visa applicants. From the US Defense Department website: As part of "Operation Allies Refuge," by the end of the month the U.S. is expected to begin relocation flights for eligible Afghan nationals and their families who are currently within the Special Immigrant Visa program, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said during a briefing today at the Pentagon. https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2694515/defense-department-will-provide-options-for-operation-allies-refuge/ From Wikipedia: Operation Allies Refuge The operation was unveiled on July 14, 2021 by the Biden administration. At least 20,000 SIV holders and applicants are in the process of being relocated. On July 30, 2021, the first group of 200 Afghan interpreters arrived at Fort Lee, Virginia for SIV processing. On August 12, 2021, the Biden administration announced that 3,000 troops would be deployed to Kabul to assist with the evacuation of embassy personnel as well as civilian SIV applicants. Additionally, 1000 personnel are to be deployed to Quatar to assist with processing the SIV applicants.

I agree with PeterRS. I never saw any exploitation of underage boys in the areas in Bangkok that were frequented by westerners. The only time I was personally aware of under age boys in a bar in Bangkok was a small hidden away boy bar on the Sutthisan side of Phahonyothin Road, a short distance away from Saphan Kwai. I know of this because I was walking on Pradipat Road one night, and a tout from the under aged boy bar approached me. When he told me the ages of the youngsters, I made it clear I was not interested. Needless to say, I did not go to the bar, but I did see the location when he pointed it out across Phahonyothin Road. The Sutthisan area, east of Phahonyothin Road was and still is a local Thai nightlife area. I have gone past the bars many times in taxis, and I never saw any westerners in the Sutthisan area. When the tout approached me was during the late 1990's, so before Thaksin and Purachai were in power. All the boy bars in Saphan Kwai employed only 18+ year old boys.

The one who masterminded and implemented the new social order campaign in 2001 was Interior Minister Purachai Piumsomboon. He was famous for personally heading up a team of police and reporters and raiding bars, looking for reasons to close them down. Yes, he seemed more focused on the boy bars rather than the girlie bars. A Thai boy I used to off regularly at the time told me that Purachai took out his anger on the boy bars, because he had a son who was gay. I don't know if this is correct, but that's what I was told at the time about twenty years ago. Anyway, Purachai no longer lives in Thailand. He moved to New Zealand many years ago.

Yeah, they had some real quality control issues in the past. Here's a quote from a CNN story about Egypt's Stella beer dated 1997 - "We had a lot of incidents with the Stella beer, we used to call it the surprise bottle because sometimes we found matches, sometimes nails, sometimes cockroaches, also flies, lots of flies. And sometimes just slimy stuff," said pub owner Nihah Sursock." The article mentions how customers were playing Russian roulette when they drank a bottle of Stella. I remember when I lived there, always asking for an unopened bottle, and holding it up to the light to check for "extras" before opening the bottle. Like I said above, it's not for the timid. It's part of living in a backwater country. In Cairo the donkey cart is still used to haul rubbish, it's cheaper than buying garbage trucks. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9708/12/fringe/egypt.beer/index.html

I'm guessing the Stella lovers mean Stella Artois, the Belgian beer. Stella beer without the "Artois" is brewed in Egypt. It's not for the timid, as every bottle is different. I drank it occasionally when I lived in Egypt, but only if there was no other option. The company has been sold since I lived in Egypt, so I don't know if their quality control has improved lately. It has been brewed under the Stella name in Egypt since 1897. The label on the right below is the new version since being sold.

No, I wasn't a member of the BT forum before the merger. In the past 24 hours, all I have done is log in a couple times, like and reply to a couple posts, and start this post. I did not knowingly join the members club.

Actually, I had 10 posts months ago, long before the merger, so it's not that. I think there are gremlins in the board software. I have no idea how in the past few hours my user name was added to the "secret society" members club.

Same here, I'll patiently wait until the quarantine ends before visiting again.

I know the two boards were recently merged, and there are new things to get used to. I noticed that some posters have a "Members" tab in the upper right corner of each of their posts. It appears that when the members tab appears, the post also has a brown highlighted border. What are these posters members of? I'm guessing it was something that carried over from the boytoy site during the merger?

I too like the bars also over choosing a boy from a photo on a screen. I enjoy the atmosphere of the bars, and being able to view the whole group of boys firsthand. I don't let the mamasans bother or intimidate me. I talk with some of them, as some have useful information. If a mamasan is obnoxious or annoys me, I simply ignore them as if I'm deaf.