We still have to catch up and write notes about our previous travels. We just thought we are going to do this in the meantime and now we want to describe our current travel and quarantine in Thailand. It’s because for us it’s the most exceptional travel. We came here for longer to work as teachers plus our story starts unusually because of Covid-19. Today we are going to describe how we got to Thailand during pandemic and closed boarders of the country. Nothing can stop us :)
Everything started in July
In July one school in Bangkok hired us as teachers in the primary school. In March we left Gdańsk where we used to live and work and came to our home town in Poland. We just wanted to see our families and move our stuff there. But we didn’t manage to get to Thailand because the boarders closed. And that’s why we had to wait. We were checking what’s the situation like in Thailand and we thought that the boarders won’t open soon. Now as we are writing this post, they still remain closed.
We asked the school to help us get to Thailand on Non-B Visa and to prepare all required documents for us. We had everything besides WP3 document that we could gain only from the Ministry of Thailand. It showed up that the school that applied for this document couldn’t get it for us. So they came up with the idea that the other school (their affiliated school) will apply for it (not in Bangkok) and they got it for us in August.
What we needed
We had all necessary documents to apply for Visa and Certificate of Entry and so our journey started. We had:
- Visa application form
- Declaration form
- Medical insurance covering a minimum of 100,000 USD medical costs in the event of Covid-19
- Covid-19 test
- Fit to fly certificate
- Copy of the Letter of permission to work in Thailand issued by relevant Thai government agency
- WP3 document
- Scan of the ID of the employer
- Copy of pre-work or work permit
- Letter from the employer in Thailand
- Employment contract
- ASQ reservation (quarantine in Thailand)
- Photographies
- Flight ticket
- Diplomas and certificates
- School license
- CV
- Clearance letter from the police or court
Of course there were some documents (covid-19 test and fit to fly) that we could do no longer that 72 hours before the flight.
We managed to get all these documents and could enter a special repatriation flight and what was the next step? The ASQ – quarantine in Thailand :)
ASQ – Alternative State Quarantine in Thailand
We had to undergo a quarantine but we couldn’t do it in our new apartment. We had to book the quarantine at the hotel. There were some hotels approved by the government for doing the quarantine and we had to choose one of them.
But how to get to the hotel?
We landed in Bangkok and it took us about 2 hours to get out of the airport. There were so many procedures and we had to check our temperatures, show all the documents, fill some forms and so on.
Then at the exit we were asked about our names and one person took us to a van that was already waiting for us. It took us to our hotel and then we just checked in.
Rules at the hotel
We had to stay 15 days and then we could check out on the 16th day. For the first seven days we couldn’t get out of our room at all. One exception: we had a covid-19 test on the 5th day. It was negative but we still had to undergo the whole quarantine. On the 14th day we had the second covid-19 test that was also negative.
So for the first 7 days we only went out for taking the test and then on the 8th day we could go out to the special facility area for half an hour a day. But we had to prebook it earlier. Oh and we also went out whenever there was a cleaning service and then we just had to wait in the hotel restaurant.
During our whole stay we got 3 meals a day. We ordered them on the prior they and for each meal always had two options to choose from. And for the lunch we always got some fresh fruits.
Contact we the staff
There was also a possibility of buying us things we wanted from 7/11 and they didn’t get any extra fee for that. We could just write them what we wanted and they brought it for us (of course we had to pay for the products – we always paid by transfer).
There was a special table in front of our doors and they put us everything there, knocked and hen we had to wait a minute to take it.
We contacted with the staff per line (mobile app) and also had to measure our temperatures every day in the morning and in the evening and send them the photos. We got the thermometers from them at the check in for this purpose.
Quarantine in Thailand – Our Feelings
We are lazy people so we loved our quarantine in Thailand :) Everyone thought that we will go crazy at the end but no – it was perfect. We could sleep long, watch movies and didn’t have to worry about the food. We also had a balcony so we could get some fresh air and yoga mat so we were practicing as well. Now when we have to wake up 5:40 to work we miss it so much :) :)
Hope you liked our post about the quarantine in Thailand. How about you? Would you manage to stay 15 days on a quarantine? Write us your thoughts in a comment below the post! Have a nice week :)