Thread by @RichardBarrow

I’ve landed safely at Suvarnabhumi Airport. We disembarked from the airplane at 6:05am and were in the van leaving the airport at 6:49am. This is a THREAD of my experience of arriving with Thailand Pass and then the hotel. Overall, it was fast and efficient. I give them 10/10.

[2] A short distance from the gate we came to this area where there were many chairs set up. We just kept walking to the far end. However, if there are several flights landing at the same time, you might have to sit and wait here.

[3] I reached the queue for checking COE and Thailand Pass documents at 6:07am (3 minutes after disembarking) and I was finished here by 6:12am. Very fast. Though mainly due to only one flight landing and only 100 people on our flight.

[4] At the counter, I told him I had a QR Code and handed over my negative Covid test and my passport with TM6. He then asked for my vaccine certificate. That was it. He didn’t scan my QR Code. He didn’t ask for my insurance or my hotel booking. But they did for the COE people.

[5] Next was Immigration. All counters were manned and there were no queues. I arrived here at 6:14am and left at 6:30am. The reason it took so long was because the dates on my re-entry permit were stamped in the wrong place and she had to call her supervisor.

[6] Next up was baggage claim. My bag was one of the last to come out at 6:37am, about half an hour after disembarking from the airplane. Which isn’t bad at all.

[7] After Customs, there was an area set up with desks where people were waiting from various hotels. They checked my name and then called the hotel transfer van.

[8] My hotel had a choice of shared van or private limousine. The driver was dressed in protective clothing. He sprayed our luggage and we sat in the back of the van. There was a plastic partition between us and the driver. Total time from plane to van was 45 minutes.

[9] As it was a shared van, I was concerned about air quality. The CO2 reading started at 559ppm but quickly rose to 2066ppm. Which meant I was breathing in air that had been in someone else’s lungs. I asked the driver to turn off recirculating air. It then improved quite quickly

[10] I arrived at my hotel in Bangkok at 7:31am. Check-in was done in an area outside. She asked for my passport and departure card.

[11] Next was the RT-PCR test. This was done by someone from the hospital. This was slightly more painful than the one I did in London on Monday. She also gave me an ATK test to do myself on day 6-7. She said I should take a picture of the result and email back to the hotel.

[12] I was in my room by 7:43am. You have to stay here until the results come back. She said at around noon tomorrow. They don’t give you a keycard so you cannot leave the room.

From airplane to my hotel room, it took 90 minutes. Overall a good experience and no real hassles.

[13] In my hotel room, I scanned a QR Code to order my three meals. I had choices between Asian and Western. I could also choose time slots for the food to be delivered. They then knock on the door when they deliver. When I went out, I saw just the food in front of my room.

[14] The meals are included in the hotel package. My first meal back in Thailand was appropriately, stir-fried basil and minced pork with a fried egg. For dessert I had mixed fruit. I had also brought some snacks with me from London #Thailand

[15] Someone sent me this from yesterday (bottom) which is a big difference to my arrival today (top). He said four flights arrived at the same time and as everyone had COE, there were multiple documents to be checked. He said it took more than 3 hours to get out of the airport.

[16] During booking, my hotel said if I arrived before 8am I could get results the same day. My test was at 7:39am but now they said I must wait until the next day. Other hotels are quicker. One person told me his test yesterday was at 10am and he checked out at 6pm the same day.

11:28am on Day Two: The hotel reception just called to say my test results are back and that I can now check out. Someone has to come up to get me as she said the lift doesn’t work without a room keycard.

I landed in Thailand at 6am yesterday and I took the test 28 hours ago.

My SHA+ hotel was Hyatt Place in Bangkok. I give them 5/5 for food and room, and 2/5 for communication. The hotel was really slow in answering emails during booking. Plus said test results will be same day for our flight. But that’s really fault of partner hospital who I give 1/5

[19] I asked my taxi driver if he was worried that I had just arrived in #Thailand. He quickly replied by saying “no” as he’s fully vaccinated. He then added he’s more scared of ordinary Thai passengers than foreign tourists as foreigners had been vaccinated and tested properly.

[20] I also talked to the driver about the need for better ventilation in his taxi. The high level as soon as I got in meant I was breathing air from someone else’s lungs. I asked him to turn off recirculating and within 10 minutes it was a good level #COVIDisAirborne #CovidCO2