General Reports

[QUOTE=AirlineCrew;2451858]Just finished a 48 HR layover in BKK, obviously no foreigners are allowed to enter Thailand at this moment except Airline staff and as my name suggest I am exactly that. Wasn't allowed to leave my hotel room and certainly wasn't allowed any visitors. That meant I had to hold my cock and watch pornhub for my stay there which is utterly depressing. So what have you guys been up too? ...... Oh never mind I'm not getting mixed up in that......[/QUOTE]Welcome to Paradise.

A world without temptations where one can remain chaste. Stay in our room, in our house without being tempted by the forbidden pleasures.

All in all, I think I prefer hell.

[QUOTE=NattyBumpo;2451848]And I love it when someone purposely takes a word or phrase that I used out of the self deprecating context in which it was originally used and tries to apply a different more negative connotation to the word in an offensive manner to gain an advantage in an argument. But it's all good. We both know where the other is coming from.[/QUOTE]Which word or phrase was that? I don't know. I re-read your post and mine but honestly don't see what you are referring to.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2451651]
For those of you who do still plan on trying to get to Thailand as soon as the borders reopen the above is an example of why you may want to consider flying in to another SE Asia country and not fly in to Thailand directly. All may look fine when you board your 20 hour flight from USA but between leaving USA and arriving in Thailand immigration rules may change and you will be turned away at Thai customs. What this would mean is you have to fly back to your original departure city meaning you get to enjoy another 20 hour flight back to USA. At least if you come in from say Ho Chi Minh or Phnom Penh you will only have to take a 1 hour return flight if you are stopped at Thai customs. Then you can stay there or fly to Jakarta or PI to continue your sexcation.[/QUOTE]I fully share this point of view. It's a great suggestion. Nothing says that Thailand will open wide its doors to American and European nationals.

We will therefore have to consider other destinations and plans B (or even plans C) until we can return normally to Thailand.

I'm a bit newbie on the site, I don't know if I say something stupid but maybe ISG could be in this case a platform for exchanging good plans. We could exchange the good alternatives and the wrong destinations within the specific framework of covid-19.

[QUOTE=Pimpampoumpipo;2451878]..............We will therefore have to consider other destinations and plans B (or even plans C) until we can return normally to Thailand.

I'm a bit newbie on the site, I don't know if I say something stupid but maybe ISG could be in this case a platform for exchanging good plans. We could exchange the good alternatives and the wrong destinations within the specific framework of covid-19.[/QUOTE]It seems that most of our preferred destinations have closed their doors to foreigners. I think a major factor in our decision making should be how the particular country has dealt with their covid fighting operations. Vietnam looks increasingly promising with 300 odd cases and no deaths and what about Cambodia with just 122 cases and no deaths.

I had a round trip flight from Tokyo to Bangkok scheduled this month. I was just going to write it off but luckily I decided to Live Chat with AirAsia and see what my options were. AirAsia gave me full credit that I have 730 days to use. Hopefully Thailand international borders will reopen within 2 years so not all is a total loss. Then again, staying longer in Japan would by far not be the worst thing to happen.

[QUOTE=Breadman;2451657]I have read that several Vietnam airlines would like to start direct flights to North America but who knows when or if this will happen. [/QUOTE]

Hope so. Would be great to have a direct flight to SE Asia. I do agree that Ho Chi Minh airport is a mess. I paid extra for one of those Express passes and it still took over an hour to get through Customs. Da Nang airport OTH is great.

[QUOTE=Turgid;2451896]what about Cambodia with just 122 cases and no deaths.[/QUOTE]Cambodia has reported zero active cases. Whether that is true or not doesn't matter. For us who want to monger, bars have reopened in Phnom Penh. Now if they would just reopen international borders.

[QUOTE=Pimpampoumpipo;2451878]I fully share this point of view. It's a great suggestion. Nothing says that Thailand will open wide its doors to American and European nationals.

We will therefore have to consider other destinations and plans B (or even plans C) until we can return normally to Thailand. [/QUOTE]Well you have come to the right place, the INTERNATIONAL Sex Guide, to consider other destinations and back up plans, Pimpampoumpipo. Personally I think all the SE Asian countries that we have an interest in are playing a game of chicken in that no SE Asian country wants to be the 1st country to reopen it's borders to foreigners and then face the possibility that it's Corona numbers spike up again. So what is probably going to happen is a bunch of countries will make similar announcements concerning foreigners returning at approximately the same time. The key question is when will these openings occur and the answer is it's anybody's guess.

In the meantime we can research various other countries here on the ISG platform and think about various back up plans just in case some areas open up sooner than SE Asia. My #1 backup countries are Brazil and Columbia. These are two prime SA mongering destinations and there is a ton of info on them in their respective threads. Other Board Members like Germany a lot and still others are very fond of Kenya and Madagascar. It is a matter of taste. Madagascar is of some interest to me, but I have no desire to go to Kenya. It is anybody's guess when any of these alternative destinations open as well. So international travel as we now experience is on hold and has become a waiting game.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2451899]I had a round trip flight from Tokyo to Bangkok scheduled this month. I was just going to write it off but luckily I decided to Live Chat with AirAsia and see what my options were. AirAsia gave me full credit that I have 730 days to use. Hopefully Thailand international borders will reopen within 2 years so not all is a total loss. [/QUOTE]I still have two Air Asia flights with pending CC refunds. These two CC refunds have been "in progress" since March 22. (555) I had 3rd Air Asia flight that could not be refunded for one mysterious reason or another, but a full Air Asia credit was issued to my BIG Air Asia account within a week after I requested it. (Another big 555)

[QUOTE=NattyBumpo;2451914]I still have two Air Asia flights with pending CC refunds. [/QUOTE]I was never offered a CC refund at all. I had 2 options. To reschedule and fly by Fall 2020. That's a guaranteed loss of my ticket right there. Second option was the one I took. Credit and 2 years to use it. Since I fly AirAsia at least 12 x per year when I am doing my Thai visa runs I figured it was as good as cash.

[QUOTE=NattyBumpo;2451911]Well you have come to the right place, the INTERNATIONAL Sex Guide, to consider other destinations and back up plans, Pimpampoumpipo. Personally I think all the SE Asian countries that we have an interest in are playing a game of chicken in that no SE Asian country wants to be the 1st country to reopen it's borders to foreigners and then face the possibility that it's Corona numbers spike up again. So what is probably going to happen is a bunch of countries will make similar announcements concerning foreigners returning at approximately the same time. The key question is when will these openings occur and the answer is it's anybody's guess.

In the meantime we can research various other countries here on the ISG platform and think about various back up plans just in case some areas open up sooner than SE Asia. My #1 backup countries are Brazil and Columbia. These are two prime SA mongering destinations and there is a ton of info on them in their respective threads. Other Board Members like Germany a lot and still others are very fond of Kenya and Madagascar. It is a matter of taste. Madagascar is of some interest to me, but I have no desire to go to Kenya. It is anybody's guess when any of these alternative destinations open as well. So international travel as we now experience is on hold and has become a waiting game.[/QUOTE]Thank you Natty Bumpo, I had an idea on sharing information thanks to ISG and I thank you for confirming it.

Given the special situation right now I am ready to share all of my informations that maybe some people would not yet have, of course in the right newsfeed. For Hong Kong, I think that ISG Internet users know even more than I do, even though I worked there. I can share information about Havana dating from my last visit 2 years ago. I also worked as an expatriate in Senegal and Togo but more than 10 years ago. Just like in Havana, even for old people like me (I'm 62). Despite that I hate flirting in the street, it is very easy to have contact in the street just with a smile with beautiful very welcoming Cubans (but beware with the police) and I am a huge fan of fabulous Cuban music. I also know Marrakech, there are very young and pretty girls, but I would only recommend it moderately except for those who like to play cat and mouse with the police. Personally I am a little older.

For the countries that I don't know, I am very tempted by Jakarta and Madagascar. I have a lot of French-speaking relations who fell in love, especially in Nosi Be which seems to have dream beaches (perhaps also interesting for diving enthusiasts).

Ultimately, opportunity will make thieves. Everything will depend on the order in which the borders are opened. Of course while waiting for the situation to normalize in Thailand.

[QUOTE=NattyBumpo;2451914]I still have two Air Asia flights with pending CC refunds. These two CC refunds have been "in progress" since March 22.[/QUOTE]Mine is the exact same date. March 22. Same status. Pending. If they don't go bankrupt, I would guess I'll get the refund eventually.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2451917]I was never offered a CC refund at all. I had 2 options. To reschedule and fly by Fall 2020. That's a guaranteed loss of my ticket right there. Second option was the one I took. Credit and 2 years to use it. Since I fly AirAsia at least 12 x per year when I am doing my Thai visa runs I figured it was as good as cash.[/QUOTE]What a coincidence: I just received the following email from Air Asia concerning my CC refunds, "Dear guest.

We have received your request for a refund of your flight booking, and it is now being processed. Please do note that the refund process may take between 12-16 weeks from the date of this email, due to the overwhelming volume of queries and requests we are handling. ".

So good news. Ha Ha. But I was never that concerned about a refund or account credit except for the possibility that the company might seek bankruptcy protection. I like to fly Air Asia for short inter-Asian flights primarily because I can't stand arriving or departing from Swampy. I always buy a premium 1st or 2nd row seat so I can leave the plane quickly and get through immigration fast. I have never had a problem with Air Asia service. I like their girls.

[QUOTE=NattyBumpo;2451960]What a coincidence: I just received the following email from Air Asia concerning my CC refunds, "Dear guest.

We have received your request for a refund of your flight booking, and it is now being processed. Please do note that the refund process may take between 12-16 weeks from the date of this email, due to the overwhelming volume of queries and requests we are handling. ".

So good news. Ha Ha. But I was never that concerned about a refund or account credit except for the possibility that the company might seek bankruptcy protection. I like to fly Air Asia for short inter-Asian flights primarily because I can't stand arriving or departing from Swampy. I always buy a premium 1st or 2nd row seat so I can leave the plane quickly and get through immigration fast. I have never had a problem with Air Asia service. I like their girls.[/QUOTE]No one company uses the "Bus Gate" more than AA. You pay for Prime time seats and they put you on a crowded bus. Then when you reach the destination, they put you in another bus to the gate. We can hope that with social distancing they will stop the use of the bus gate.

The reason for the Bus Gate is that it saves AA in that they do not pay for the expansion ramp. Keeps airport costs to AA low, at our expense.

Another pet peeves I have is that the exit door seats in the center of the plane are "Prime Seats". You pay more for these seats. But they are usually empty. So you have no one to pull the doors open in case of an emergency. Attendants are always in the front or rear of the plane. This could be a class action if someone wanted to pursue.

RL Trapped in Phuket.

[QUOTE=RobertLong;2452012]The reason for the Bus Gate is that it saves AA in that they do not pay for the expansion ramp. Keeps airport costs to AA low, at our expense.[/QUOTE]Not at all. Some airports do not have enough gate space to accommodate all the planes so some have to park on the pad. Take Avianca, Colombia's flagahip carrier, for example. In Bogota most of their domestic flights operate from the pads so they put you on buses. It has nothing to do with saving money by not paying for gates.

[QUOTE=RobertLong;2452012]Another pet peeves I have is that the exit door seats in the center of the plane are "Prime Seats". You pay more for these seats. But they are usually empty. So you have no one to pull the doors open in case of an emergency. Attendants are always in the front or rear of the plane. This could be a class action if someone wanted to pursue.[/QUOTE]Wrong again. If there was some type of incident where you needed to get out quickly, then you would have to wait until the pilots shut down those engines before you could use those exits anyway. That is unless you would rather get sucked into or blown away by a jet engine. So if someone could not walk to the next row by the time it takes to shut the engine down and being given instructions to leave out that way, then...Those are some of the worst seats in the house by the way. I don't know how they trick people into paying extra for that or those seats where you have a wall directly in front of you. Different does not mean better.

A Nida Poll strongly suggested that Thais, fearing a second wave of cases due to the corona virus pandemic, are strongly in favor or keeping bars and pubs shut.

In fact more than three quarters said keep them closed with less than a fifth in favor of opening.

The poll asked 1,259 people nationwide their opinions under a banner of "Freedom vs Health". The poll was conducted from 11th to 13th May before some changes were enacted.

Some 78.87% chose health over freedom when it came to bars, pubs, clubs and discos.

They cited such places as dangerous dens where close proximity would lead to a resurgence of the virus with potential health problems for non-drinkers.

Only 18.03% said open the bars again.

Maybe ways to unblock the situation and how it could happen at airports.

1 - Paris:

In a note given to Augustin de Romanet, president of ADP, LE Point unveils the main lines on which Aéroports de Paris is working to envisage a deconfinement in complete safety.

Among them: temperature control on departure and arrival, wearing a mask, putting on protections in places with human interaction, neutralization of one seat in two in waiting areas or specific organization for avoid queues.

Aéroports de Paris believes, according to "LE Point" that "air traffic can only resume if the passengers benefit from a sanitary habeas corpus, that is to say the guarantee of not being placed in the fortnight arbitrarily" .

Among the solutions mentioned are also the presentation of a negative test result at Covid-19 or the implementation of screening tests from airports.

Invited by BFM Business, Augustin de Romanet said last week: "The generalization of accessible and rapid tests could allow the moment to test passengers before they take off".

For Alexandre Demaille, associate director of RapideVisa, this solution would greatly facilitate the work of professionals and would meet a double constraint: reassuring travelers and responding to formalities that third countries could put in place to ensure that the virus does not enter not again on their territory.

In a column published at the end of March 2020, the director of RapideVisa already mentioned this line: "Travel agencies and airlines would benefit, because they would not have to repatriate possible refusals of entry.

Such facilities would enable the French to regain, as soon as possible, their freedom to travel, which is essential after a heavy confinement. ".

We would like checks to be made in the terminal before the check-in phase, even outside as far as possible, to make the airport a place of health security.

2 - Emirates already carried out tests in April: "Emirates is already testing its passengers in Dubai.

Others did not wait for access to new generation tests. As of mid-April, Emirates tested Covid-19 passengers at Dubai airport who were boarding a flight to Tunis.

A blood test was performed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the results were available within 10 minutes, the company said. This screening test was carried out in the check-in area at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport.

"We are working to increase screening capabilities in the future and extend them to other flights, which will allow us to conduct on-site testing at the airport and provide immediate response to Emirates passengers traveling to countries that require COVID-19 "test certificates," I said the company in a press release.

3 - Vienna. Austria:

Vienna-Schwechat Airport is now offering passengers a covid-19 test to avoid placing them in the fortnight.

On arrival, passengers who wish can undergo a virological test called PCR, for 190 euros, and obtain the result in two to three hours. The test is not mandatory. Otherwise, those who do not pass the test are placed in the fortnight. Also, passengers who are able to present a health certificate dated at least four days and indicating a negative covid-19 result avoid the fortnight.

The test for covid-19 is also offered to passengers departing from Vienna so that they have a health certificate upon arrival at their destination. As Austria begins its deconfinement, Vienna airport, still almost stationary, operates some regular flights to Doha, Dortmund, theüsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Lisbon, Minsk and Sofia, as well as charter flights and business travel.