I heard they had a special visa, but I sent an email to the tourist office recommended and just got a reply back saying wait for further news. I wonder if being from the UK is a turn off for them as it is a āhot spotā I guess. I told them I was a Taiwan resident and hadn;t been to Europe in 5 yearsābut maybe they just go by passport? I know this STV is very expensive and and includes quarantine. But I have my break in January.
Related info.
Have a nice trip
Thanks and I guess I;'l wait. I read the Bangkok Post most days and they have been remarkably quiet about tourism for a whil. Today it was mentioned that around 4000 tourists have been admitted during the pandemic. But they didnāt mention the STV. 4000 is a drop in the ocean anyway.
That āDraft process for special tourist visaā flowchart is comedy gold!
Yes itās insane!
There most be many people struggling at the moment in Thailand, seems like the government have managed to stop the stories from reaching the media.
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Iām impressed the tourist continues to smile through that. Iād have thought heād be holding a gun to his head by stage 25 or so.
Seems they forgot the last step.
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Anyone tracking current or upcoming vaccination, quarantine, Phuket sandbox, etc. requirements?
We are going to Bangkok for a convention but we will have 4 days that we are free to do what we want. We are thinking of taking a short trip to either places to enjoy the beach in June. Any advice on which one is preferred?
We are interested in nice beaches and food. I know Pattaya is probably better for nightlife but thatās not important to us.
Pattaya is busy, low class. Hua Hin is less seedy, more sleepy. Pattaya being busier will have more variety of nicer restaurants and other things to do. The Hua Hin beach is nothing special. Why not fly to one of the islands?
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Ko Pi Pi is a little more genteel. Pattaya is pure euro trash and the dregs of the Americas.
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If just wanting to go by land, and not air, and wanting beautiful beaches and water, Pattaya it not the spot. Go on past Pattaya to Koh Chang or other island, or day trips from Pattaya to the Koh Lan. All great beaches, but not ābeautiful beaches with beautiful clear waterā so to speak.
Hua Hin, nice beaches of course, beautiful, but still not the best.
For best and most beautiful, still need to go further south.
Itās all relative, as most all beaches in Thailand could be considered nice and beautiful.
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Yes, to the above. Hua Hin is sleepy, much less seedy. Thereās Royals living in the area also. And yes, the beach is nothing special. And yet, Iāve been 5x.
If youāve already ādoneā Thailand, bkk, the north, the islands, Pattaya, etc, then Hua Hin isnāt any of that excitement, itās where you go to unwind. Thereās a great nightmarket which is wonderful after a day doing nothing at the beach, maybe reading a book. Maybe catch an early night and do the same the next day.
Hua Hin is boring, really boring. For me thatās great.
Yes, thereās bars, bar girls, ladyboys, kickboxing, but on a much smaller, and subdued scale.
Bonus, i usually took a taxi there and back from bkk.
Donāt go to Hua Hin, itās boring 
.
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Cicada, not the one near the train station
If you go past Hua Hin a bit the beaches get nicer. Itās quiet there, but thereās always seafood and easy to drive to HH for other food etc. We liked Khao Kalok Beach this time. Really good German/Thai-run restaurant right there. Or go down to Koh Chang as suggested for somewhere a bit nicer.
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Any recommendations?
Iām open to the idea, itās just that these places are relatively close to Bangkok. Iām been to Phuket before as well.
Iām not a beach lover, and mostly traveled by motorcycle, so didnāt do all the islands. Koh Chang has come up a few times on the threadā¦
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Iām looking at Ko Samui, flights are actually pretty cheap if I get them now.
Anyone with any experiences there?
I appreciate the bluntness so I can avoid it. I had a feeling as much.