Early Friday, March 13th, 2020, in the garden of a guesthouse in Puerto Princesa, our luggage lying on the soil, we were loitering in the shade while waiting for the time to pass and head to the airport. It was the day we were scheduled to fly out from the Philippines, bound for Thailand. It was then the innkeeper appeared, striding hastily towards our part.
“When is your flight?” she asked with a worried look in her face.
“In the afternoon,” we responded.
“You are alright then. It’s been announced that Manila is going into a lockdown starting tomorrow. All flights suspended.”
It wasn’t that straightforward alright. Although our flight from Puerto Princesa was in the early afternoon, our flight from Manila to Bangkok was at 00:05; which was technically tomorrow.
This was the first time the bell rang with regard to being affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Although we had attended closely the developments of what the WHO declared as a pandemic just two days prior to that day, we had experienced too little of its consequences throughout the past two months we had spent in the Philippines. Apart from observing an increasing number of people wearing masks in the streets, being taken our temperatures at ports, and hearing of the odd Chinese tourist in some hospital in Manila, everything seemed just normal.
Now it seemed a very realistic scenario that we get stuck in the Philippines. We checked with the airline and got informed that our flight is scheduled to take off as normal. We were totally aware that it’s highly likely that we’d end up stuck in Thailand instead of the Philippines, but we deemed that to be a much better scenario. Better being stuck in a cheaper, continental country, with more possibilities to leave by land or air, instead of being locked-down in some remote island or the chaotic metropolitan area of Manila.
Indeed, we flew and landed in Bangkok early morning on the 14th. We flitted through immigration and were granted the casual 30-day visa exemption without hassle whatsoever. We underwent no health check other than temperature screening.
After crashing in the airport for a couple of hours, we got on the train which was as crowded as ever; only that there was hardly any person not wearing a mask. Downtown Bangkok, everything seemed also totally normal, save for it being exceptionally bereft of tourists. Only during the next couple of days, we noted the police taking to the streets and shutting down bars, restaurants, and various other businesses. Every day that passed, Bangkok came to more closely resemble a ghost town.
We spent five days in the Thai capital until we obtained a Burmese visa. Myanmar had up to date zero confirmed (or reported, at least) cases and no travel restrictions. We got an overnight bus to the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border crossing. We arrived in Mae Sot late at night and pitched the tent in the bus station to crash until dawn.
Morning 20th of March, a cup of coffee, and we caught a cab to the border. A huge crowd of local folks was queued before the Thai immigration office. But absolutely no sign of foreigners. We positioned ourselves at the rear of the queue and waited… not for long. An officer soon called us to proceed ahead. They have a separate office for foreigners, was my first thought.
But then: “Sorry, no foreigners allowed since this morning,” he let us know very kindly. Myanmar, without any prior notice, had imposed a complete prohibition on non-resident arrivals at all its land borders on that very morning. He also told us that we were still allowed to enter via the airport. However, the whole situation seemed extremely volatile and we decided not to risk booking a flight that would either be canceled or lead us trapped in Myanmar instead of Thailand. By now (Monday 23rd of March), Myanmar has stopped issuing visas.
We opted for staying stuck in Thailand. We briefly examined the prospect of flying back to Europe but this seemed like a rather unwise choice. To begin with, the situation in Thailand is currently much more favorable in both terms of the epidemic’s severity and movement restrictions. Everyone should be rather grateful to be now in Thailand instead of Europe.
Then, even though some flights still operate apparently, it is extremely precarious to book one of them. Airlines cancel their flights as if they were gigs in the neighborhood’s pub. One country after another ban incoming flights with little or no notice. Many countries, such as Singapore, began denying even transit to travelers. Even if a flight ends up to operate as normal, there are big chances one will not be allowed to board due to various restrictions imposed by the inbound or any of the in-between countries, in which case, travelers should not qualify for reimbursement. Given the inflated cost of the tickets, I think it is a terrible idea to attempt to fly until things calm down.
Then there is also the visa issue. Of what I’ve read on thaiembassy.com, visa exemption can be extended for a second 30-day period for a THB 1,900. Furthermore, it has been announced that travelers who have overstayed, given that they have exhausted all possibilities of legal extension and present either a document proving their flight was canceled or a letter issued by their embassy, will be granted a fee-free visa extension at all immigration offices in the country.
That gives us plenty of time to wait for better days to come. For now, we have come to Chiang Rai. Though somewhat deserted and somber, it is still a great place to keep on with one’s life. Many shops are closed but we easily obtain everything essential and move around freely. We’ll be probably heading down south to some beach by next week.
Accommodation and Activities in Thailand
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