A new chapter?
To commemorate the renewal of my website hosting fees, it is only fitting to get back to blogging. Of course, it helps that I am back to my nomadic life. I don’t intend to regularly document my life, since this phase of nomadic living will be rather sedentary as I spend my days sitting at my computer rather than lounging on beaches or getting into adventures. Nevertheless, coming to Thailand in the midst of an Omicron outbreak was a bit of an adventure worth documenting for my loyal readership of bots and spiders. (Seriously, my site visitor stats would be depressing if I wasn’t treating this like a personal journal).
I’ve sold out, so to speak, and after close to two years without a regular paycheck and a short stint as a adjunct lecturer, I’m beginning a full time position as a web developer. Hopefully, I’ll still be able to carve out time for my passion project–the Chinese learning platform–that still isn’t developed enough to actively promote. Being a linguist and being in Thailand, I can’t imagine I don’t also end up dedicating a chunk of my daily life to gaining some semblance of literacy in the language (at least enough to read a menu). So, I really won’t even have time to provide semi regular spending reports, which is what I ended up doing for most of the Covid lockdown in Argentina, when the highlight of my day was cooking a meal and I dedicated a lot of mental energy to tracking fluctuations in grocery prices and the blue dollar.
Preparing to Travel
Thailand introduced some reforms in November to encourage more tourism to the country by making it easier for fully vaccinated travelers from select “low-risk” countries to enter under loose quarantine conditions. Once I decided I was coming to Phuket and I arranged a multiple entry tourist visa (USD 200), I applied for the Test&Go program under the Thailand Pass. I was required to stay one night in a SHA+ Plus certified hotel, have a negative RT-PCR test issued within 72 hours of my departure, pass a PCR test on arrival at the airport (2200 THB ~ 65 USD), and self-administer a rapid antigen test on day 5/6. After which, other than a contact tracing app, I would be free to travel Thailand. Compared with the closed borders and draconian quarantine conditions of other Asian countries, it seems like a very easy and reasonable policy. Compared with the open borders and shitshow of pandemic control pioneered by the USA, it seemed like a safe harbor to continue to “wait out the pandemic.” Seriously, did the US really wait until December 2021 to start requiring people to have a Covid test before entering the country? How hard would it be to require a rapid test in the airport before every domestic flight? Or a test on arrival for international flights? It wouldn’t solve the pandemic, but a few simple policy changes would go a long way towards controlling the endless swirling toilet bowl of pathogens that is 48 distinct state policies.
Everything was on track until I arrived at my testing center the day of my outbound flight (December 26) after family Christmas at my sister’s in the Maryland suburbs of DC. The Covid Clinic testing site was not there. I’m 50/50 as to whether it was a programming mistake (allowing me to make a Sunday appointment for a business that only operates Mon-Sat) or a quasi-scammy website. I wasted a bunch of time waiting in line at the wrong Covid testing site which happened to be at a park on the other end of the shopping mall where I was looking for the white van. Plan B–i.e., getting tested at the airport–also fell through because true to their word on their website, they were not accepting walk-ins due to the unprecedented surge in demand for testing. I missed my flight.
I had the misfortune to run into a confluence of factors. Because I had previously been able to get tested easily, by the time I was made aware of the importance of an appointment, almost all the appointments were taken. The reason no appointments were available was partly the timing. Leaving on the 26th when lots of business are closed for the holidays really makes it hard to have a test in the 72 hour window. This was exacerbated by the sudden outbreak of Omicron in Washington D.C. and its surrounding communities and all the stupid responsible people trying to get tested before spending time with their families over the holidays. So, if only I had originally booked a later flight (constrained by my sister’s original plan to also go on a tropical holiday on the 26th), or I had looked for appointments a week earlier, or Omicron waited two weeks to hit D.C. everything would have worked out as planned.
Luckily, I was able to reschedule my flight for three days later (paying only the price difference), book an appointment at a local testing clinic (with a permanent storefront), and stay at my sisters in the meantime. Due to Omicron, Thailand had cancelled Test&Go and all Sandbox programs other than Phuket as of December 21, meaning mandatory quarantine for entry. I would have been “grandfathered” in under my already issued Thailand Pass, but by changing my dates, I invalidated my Thailand Pass and could only reapply under the Phuket Sandbox program. The main difference in programs was that I need a 7-day booking at a SHA+ Plus hotel rather than the one day stay.
It was a stressful few days waiting for my new pass to be issued (considering they say it takes 3-7 business days to process), but it came in time. I also got good news from the Phuket Swab Appointment System that I could change my appointment to the new date (rather than eating the $65 cost). I did have to eat the 20-something dollar airport adjacent hotel I had booked. Even though they offered to honor the booking on a new date, I needed to submit something for the Thailand Pass and would prefer to be a bit more central if I was going to spend a week in a hotel.
In Transit
It amuses me how much of immigration control has been outsourced to airlines, where they have to go through a checklist to decide if you should be allowed on the flight (because they are responsible if the destination decides to deny you entry). I flew Qatar Airways and had an uneventful 4 hour layover in “The World’s Best Airport.” The gate for my flight was not determined until about an hour before boarding, so I camped out in one of the more remote corners of the airport. Drinking fountains were closed and every other seat was blocked off. So already, I was seeing more “covid controls” than Dulles. On the flights, the attendants didn’t just wear masks, but also had hospital gowns, surgical gloves, and safety goggles (if they weren’t already wearing glasses), and we all had “protective kits” (mask/glove/sanitizer) on our seats along with the standard flight amenities kit.
When the plane touched down in the early gray dawn of Phuket, they announced that we would disembark in groups to avoid crowding in the airport. The whole arrival process–a glorious mix of chaos and order–was designed as a series of checkpoints to usher people through the bureaucratic process.
Stepping from the airplane to the bridge, I felt something deeper than a sigh of relief. The ring of a bell and a frog plopping into mud.
Though I was seated fairly forward in the cabin, I made a beeline to the restroom to change from my travel pajamas, brush my teeth, repack my bag. So, unfortunately, I lost my advantageous position among the thirty rows of seats that the passengers were being filed into. We sat in the folding chairs while staff came through to check out documents. Apparently, I needed a printed copy of my negative PCR test, so I was sent over to a desk where we had to get it printed up. By the time, I had it printed, the entire airplane had been processed and was in line. I guess all the other people who need printing had friends to save them a spot in line, but I went all the way to the back.
With out documents in order, we went one-by-one to the health counter to get stamped so that we could then file through the normal passport control. I got called over to the diplomatic lane and made sure to tell the official that I had a visa so that I wouldn’t get stamped with the standard 30 day visa free entry. I passed another pair of currency exchange counters with the same awful advertised rates and because I needed 500 baht for my airport transfer, I exchanged $20 (@31.19 for 623 baht, a 6% difference from market price) and found my luggage waiting for me on a stationary baggage carousel.
I walked right through customs, which didn’t even want me to throw my bags on the x-ray machine. Where the international arrivals let out, stanchions created a single fork in the path: quarantine to the left and Sandbox to the right. I followed the path to the next checkpoint, which was payment for the PCR test in the airport. They checked my digital receipt and had me stand on line while passengers who hadn’t paid yet could do so at a table with a couple of laptops and employees. I was called through a set of glass doors to the test processing station, where there were at least 20 desks. At this station, they checked my passport, test receipt, and hotel booking confirmation to print the label with my name and stick it to a test tube. My PCR test had the wrong hotel name written on it (from original booking), but I was able to rectify that easily. With my test tube and medical ziploc bag, I went to another set of glass doors to finally exit the airport. There were a dozen swabbing booths with counters on two or three sides of the small square booths. The medical attendant was in full PPE and essentially sealed inside the booth, manipulating the swab and test tube through a pair of rubber hand-socks (like you’d see in a film where they manipulating radioactive materials on the other side of lead lined glass). They slapped a yellow sticker on my arm and I wandered to the exit.
At the exit, there were the long list of signs with people’s name and hotels on the metal railings and dozens of drivers on the far side. In a well organized fashion, before I could exit, they asked me which hotel and made an announcement. I was then directed to the right section of metal railing where someone shuffled through the papers to find the printed sign my name. I confirmed and they told me to wait in a little waiting area. A few minutes later I was called over, and followed one guy who handed me off to my driver and I got into my taxi/limo feeling like a big shot.
Just outside the airport we passed the hotel I had originally booked and I waved at it as we drove another 20 minutes into Phuket Town. It’s crazy the first hotel wanted me to pay 300 Baht for the airport transfer (1.5 km) when I only had to pay 500 Baht for a 25 km journey. I was able to relax in the back seat of the car on the ride and observe everything we passed. I haven’t been anywhere in Southeast Asia since 2017, but the trees, the narrow concrete buildings, the motorbikes quickly revitalized the old memories.
Quarantine Lite
My hotel, the Topaz Residence, might be closer described as a hotel-style apartment building. Towering above its surrounding residential neighborhood of houses and smaller apartment buildings, it is geared towards daily/monthly rentals. The rooms lack cooking facilities, but it does have a mid-sized refrigerator, lots of closet space, a desk and a balcony. At check-in, I was asked to email my Thailand Pass and PCR test receipt to the hotel. I don’t understand the point of making the Thailand Pass a QR code, if no one ever scans the QR code. Anyways, I downloaded the contact tracing app I was directed to and handed over my phone so they could set it up for me. The contact tracing app-Morchana-displays another QR code helpfully color coded according to my risk level. It uses location services to track me and bluetooth (which I can toggle on/off) to more accurately determine who I have been in close proximity to.
I was confined to my hotel room pending the results of the PCR test in the airport or about 8 hours, which gave me plenty of time to haphazardly unpack, shower, and rest.
In the evening, once I had gotten the all clear, I wandered 15 minutes towards the center of Phuket Town. Without needing to turn on mobile data, I could use google maps to navigate around. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the essential rule about keeping your eyes open and walked into a pole giving myself a welt on the forehead but no permanent damage. My priority was to get some pocket money, since the remaining 120 Baht would not last long and I wasn’t keen on fasting until January 3 or whenever businesses would be open again. I stopped at several ATMs on the way and found one that worked with my UnionPay chip card so I could pull out some money from my Chinese bank account, which tends to be less extravagant in fees than American banks (12 RMB international fee + 19.69 RMB other bank fee ~ $3.41). Including those fees and the ATM surcharge, I got an effective rate of 4.999, which is better than the 4.77 available at the airport, but I probably should have taken out the maximum amount, i.e. 30,000 baht instead of just 10,000 baht. At least, that gives me cash to spend until I find an exchange shop with a good rate (I want at least 33 Baht:USD or 5.2 Baht:RMB).
All things considered, the town was fairly quiet. Compared to last year, however, there was a lot going on. Only the occasional tourist was roaming the streets maskless, but everyone else seemed to be complying with the mask norms. There were plenty of restaurants and shops open and quite a crowd in one area, taking their selfies in front of a landmark building. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but when I passed a fruit market I stopped to buy some very green but very nice looking bananas (30 baht). Two blocks later on the way back to the hotel, I passed a big noodle place that smelled delicious and decided to get some food there.
I lot of Thai restaurants–at least the ones I prefer to eat in–don’t always have four walls. So the lines between eating inside and eating outside are a bit blurry. This place was a bit like an airport hanger with the corrugated iron roof elevated a good twenty feet, no front wall and only partially closed back wall. Being nearly 8pm, it wasn’t crowded and I could safely distance myself. Despite the plethora of options for different types noodles and soup flavors, I went for a chashao and Chinese sausage on rice meal (50 Baht) because I think that is what I was smelling that piqued my appetite. I accompanied it with an ice tea with lime juice (25 baht).
After my delicious dinner, I stopped in a small shop to buy some water and snacks. The hotel provided two small (0.6L) water bottles, but I figured it might not be enough. Being New Years Eve, I figured I should get some beer as well as some sort of rice cracker snack. That totaled 140 Baht, and reminded me that I always spent more on after dinner crap than on actual dinner in Thailand. The Chang beer (something like 55 Baht per 0.6L bottle) was not great and I wonder if after being spoiled in Japan, Europe, Argentina and the United State, if I will ever be able to enjoy the “cheap” beer in Asia anymore. The beer definitely looked tiny after a year and a half of buying 1L beers in Argentina. In any case, I need to take a break from the drinking and want to live as cheaply as possible.
The next morning I went to the front desk to get some hot water and the “breakfast” (oh crap, this hotel does not provide breakfast, but they have free crackers with their instant coffee and tea). They took my temperature and asked me to send the receipt for my second PCR test appointment. So, that is the final part of the Sandbox. I have to stay at the hotel for a week so that they can monitor my temperature daily and make sure I follow through on the day 5 covid test. I used a bottle that looked like a Nalgene to carry the hot water back up to the room to make real coffee and discovered that they weren’t kidding when they said (on the bottom of the bottle) not for hot water. The thing shrank three sizes. It’s so weird that people in Asia always drink boiling hot water out of paper cups or cheap plastic cups no problem, but the American plastic crumbles instantly. I probably needed another bag to carry more stuff–a mug, the spices I forgot to pack, snorkling gear. Oh well.
