Suvarnabhumi means “golden land”. But not much remains of the glittering displays in Bangkok’s major airport of the same name. Large parts of the promenade are boarded up like before a flood disaster. Where the masses of tourists used to push past brand shops is now a ghost town. Last year only 200,000 tourists arrived, compared to almost 40 million in 2019. Flights are canceled in rows, the once tireless loudspeaker announcements have given way to a great silence in January. Thailand, Asia’s most popular holiday region, lures in the pandemic with empty dream beaches. The number of corona cases is also significantly lower than in Europe.
Although the main travel season has just begun, Thailand, formerly ridiculed as the Mallorca of the East, is in a state of shock. In the popular labyrinth of islands around Phuket, hundreds of excursion boats bobble unused in the warm water. What is missing are the Chinese tour groups, whose participants go swimming with brightly colored life jackets and loud screams. The overcrowded full moon parties are also history. For nature lovers, the silence becomes the actual travel luxury – apart from the cicadas that sound like screeching train brakes. The winter refugee may treat himself to a separate hut right on the beach, including a shaded terrace – of course only to reduce the risk of infection. Individual holidays must have felt something like this 50 years ago.
What matters is where you fly to
However, the way to Thailand is barricaded with a lot of bureaucracy. That may be the reason why there are fewer young people who have left the country than three years ago, but all the more well-organized families. First up is the clan chief with a briefcase or bulging transparent envelopes under his arm.
With a briefcase to Thailand – to a holiday region that is considered tolerant, relaxed and service-oriented? In autumn, the most popular travel destination for Germans in Asia advertised a relaxation of entry rules. But just before Christmas, the Test & Go program was tightened again. Even fully vaccinated and recovered people have to be in quarantine for seven to ten days if they do not land in one of the so-called sandbox regions by direct flight: In addition to Phuket, these also include the regions of Krabi, Phang-Nga (Khao Lak) and Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao).
The destination is worth the effort: Beach on Koh Samui. Quarantine-free vacation for vaccinated tourists is possible here as part of the sandbox program.
(Photo: Tolga Bozoglu/dpa)
The decisive factor here is the arrival airport: Anyone who (as in most cases) lands in Bangkok has to go into isolation in a hotel room for at least one week. The only exceptions are those who received their Thaipass QR code before the new regulation. Only after successful quarantine with two negative PCR tests can you move freely in the country. The fever to travel has died down accordingly – and the rows of decommissioned aircraft on the Suvarnabhumi runway are getting longer and longer.
What remains of the all-round carefree holiday feeling? First of all, the fear of not being stranded at the sea but in an overpriced quarantine hotel. Neither frequent flyer status nor a credit card help against exam anxiety during the corona test after arrival: Was the person sitting next to you in the overcrowded plane contagious, even though he had to present a current negative PCR test before departure? The question came up again and again in the days that followed. Thailand’s testing staff remains as accommodating as ever, even in antivirus space suits. But a positive finding would of course throw the rest of your vacation planning upside down, and possibly a large part of the travel budget would also go to waste.
Many travelers are very nervous
Whether at the airport, in the village hospital or on the fifth floor of a multi-storey car park in the capital: the feverish ghost of the guest plagued by jet lag gazes at white plastic chairs in the cold neon light. As improvised as many test centers may seem: Thailand’s health authorities apply strict standards to the test program, meticulously check all documents and threaten substantial fines in the event of violations. In addition, the guests must agree that not only their data is recorded, but also their movement profiles using the MorChana app. The price of wanderlust in Corona times is the complete transparency of the data.
Internet forums show how nervous many travelers to Thailand are. The Thaipass procedure acts like a kind of ludo game in which the rules are constantly changing. Travel tips from those who have already entered the country can quickly become obsolete in view of the new legal situation. Problems with overwhelmed quarantine hotels messing up booking confirmations? Or unnerved reports of flights being postponed or canceled without passengers being informed? Little things – at least from the perspective of the airline. Because the fine print says that as a passenger you have to be up to date at all times.
Wearing a mask is compulsory in public.
(Photo: JACK TAYLOR/AFP)
There are enough hurdles on the way to immigration. In order to get the Thaipass QR code, a whole series of documents in the correct data format must be uploaded and printed out as a backup copy when the application is submitted. That explains the many briefcase carriers at the airport. Among other things, precise documentation of the vaccination status for each traveler plus travel health insurance with at least USD 50,000 coverage, which also includes Covid 19 treatment, are required. The quarantine hotels must also confirm that the PCR test was paid for in advance immediately after entry; the state will bear the costs for the second test after the end of the quarantine.
Flights with a Corona travel cancellation protection are also recommended. Every rebooking still costs a lot of money, and the airline hotlines seem totally overloaded. In view of the administrative effort, you meet a surprising number of compatriots in Thailand. Around early in the morning at the pool of the quarantine hotel. At the end of December, the consumption of alcohol was forbidden during the 12-hour quarantine period. But the negative PCR test result was obviously a reason to celebrate: early in the morning, cranky and feverish from sunburn, the young Germans occupied all the loungers in the pool on the 30th floor. What counted was the supply of breakfast beer, the view over Bangkok became secondary. Some things just never change – neither in the real Mallorca nor in that of the East.