Hello All
Normally at this time of the year, I would be in Asia, probably Thailand for about six weeks. However, as we all know, the covid-19 virus has put a damper on most foreign travel for almost a year now. It is expected that Thailand will, early in the new year open to tourists from Canada, albeit with restrictions. At this time, a quarantine period of 14 days will be required, along with a lot of other security measures. It appears that there will need to be some major changes to the present rules before many of us go there, at least for now. For example, Thailand, at this time requires that as part of the Visa application process, a copy of the prospective traveler's Bank Statement be provided. This is against Canadian law, and, as my bank confirmed, they will NOT protect anyone who submits this document, then loses money by doing so. Even after a Visa is granted, one must then request a Certificate of Entry, which seems to be another name for another Visa type document. To get this, one must register at a Government approved hotel for the 14 day quarantine period, paid in full by credit card....on an unsecure website. Some of my contacts in Thailand have suggested to me that the hotel assigned is directly related to the amount in the bank statement. I have no evidence of this. I have been in email contact with the Tourism Authority of Thailand in an attempt to get these issues corrected, if possible. Another problem is the fact that some travel insurance companies will not cover the expenses for the airfare, hotel and related charges, if the Certificate of Entry is not granted.
With the Canadian winter holiday season well upon us, time is running out for those who had intended to do a trip to Thailand this fall and / or winter....we can thank "The Virus", for that. I believe Cuba or another southern destination will be the benefactor of all this....from the people who have contacted me for information.
I hope to do an update in mid January, once we know how the Vaccination programs go, and rules change to take that situation into account....maybe no quarantines, etc.
Have a safe happy holiday season.
