Entering Thailand, one of the first Asian countries to reopen to international tourists, looks like a sci-fi movie these days. Before departure, a thick file had to be gathered: PCR test in English, entry certificate issued by the embassy, health declaration, vaccination certificate, health insurance certificate, SHA certified hotel confirmation, proof of payment in advance of the first PCR test to be carried out on site, proof of a return flight, not to mention your passport photocopy… And the list is not exhaustive. If the Thai government plans to relax on November 1, and in particular the end of the mandatory quarantine (replaced by overnight isolation pending the result of the second PCR),the paperwork required for entry into the country should remain in force. We were able to experience what looks like an obstacle course.
SEE THE FILE
- Thailand: the
Figaro
travel guide
Heavy checks on arrival
By setting foot at Phuket International Airport, five consecutive checks await the traveler, who must first wait in a room occupied by hundreds of white plastic chairs, carefully separated by the regulatory meter.
For about an hour, nothing is spared him.
Administrative checks by employees in full suits, soldiers on duty, through the PCR test, carried out standing in front of a window through which the caregivers put their arms ... Good to know: a PCR test comes back to Thailand to around a hundred euros.
It remains for the motivated tourist - once installed and configured MorChana, a mandatory government tracking application - to go to his hotel.
There, he is asked to lock himself in his room until the result of his test is sent to him by email, within a theoretical period ranging from 8 to 24 hours (6:45 am precisely in our case).
The sesame once received, the island of Phuket, and from November 1 a dozen other provinces, opens to him.
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A paradise ... without tourists
A large majority of hotels, restaurants and shops on site are closed.
Mladen ANTONOV / AFP
Passed the test of arrival, the tourist can - finally! - take advantage of a country completely emptied of the 40 million annual tourists it received before the crisis. Since July and the start of the Sandbox program, reopening the island of Phuket to visitors, only 4,500 French people have gone there. A thousand foreigners a day are entering Phuket right now. A grain of sand compared to 2019 and previous years, in this hotspot for Asian-style mass tourism.
There are dozens of foreign tourists on site. For this French-speaking guide established in Rawaï, it is a return
"to the Phuket of 30 years ago".
On the sublime islands of Ko Kacha Yai or Ko He, which received several thousand people every day, facing the sunset from Cape Promhep, popular with Instagramers, as in the once bubbling nights of Patong, all is now only tranquility. Booking an excursion aboard a Ruea Hang Yao, the traditional boats, or enjoying a Thai massage, everything becomes much easier for tourists. Be careful, however, not to forget to go to a "swab center", a medical checkpoint where to carry out the PCR test necessary to visit other provinces or to take your return flight.
Visitors should also be aware that a large majority of hotels, restaurants and shops on site are closed.
Those who have reopened are prohibited from selling alcohol after 10 p.m.
Wearing a mask, or even protective plastic gloves, remains mandatory and is highly respected, both indoors and outdoors.
And if in Phuket, the vaccination rate climbs to 80% (2 doses of Chinese Sinovac vaccines and very often a third dose of AstraZeneca), it is closer to 30% for the whole of Thailand.
Things to keep in mind to fully enjoy the land of smiles and its deserted beaches this end of the year.
