Thailand Life

Thailand (Land of the Free), known as Siam until 1939, is situated in South-East Asia, and covers an area of 513,115 square kilometres - roughly the size of France. The country is bounded by the Andaman Sea to the west, Myanmar (Burma) to the north and west, Laos to the north and north-east, Cambodia and the Gulf of Thailand to the east and Malaysia to the south.

The Mekong River, the longest river in South- East Asia forms part of the border between Thailand and Laos.

Thailand is divided into four geographical regions: Central Thailand (including Bangkok), Northern Thailand, North-eastern Thailand, and Southern Thailand and the Eastern Region which is often included into the Central Region.

Language

Thai is one of the oldest languages in East and South-East Asia. It is a monosyllabic language which uses five tones (high, mid, low, rising, and falling tone) to alter the meaning of a single syllable. This makes it rather tricky to learn for many westerners unfamiliar with tonal languages.

The Thai script, said to have been introduced by King Ramkhamhaeng in 1283, consists of 44 consonants and 48 vowels, and is of Sanskrit origin.

Bangkok

Bangkok became the modern capital of Thailand (Siam) in 1782 by order of the first of the Chakri dynasty kings. Internationally, the name Bangkok (which means 'village of the wild plums') remains the common name. The Thai themselves, however, refer to the city as Krung Thep – often translated as 'City of Angels'. This is the abbreviation of the name given by the first Chakri King to his newly established capital city.

Bangkok is one of the safest capital cities of any “Newly Industrialized Countries”. While there are scams designed to take advantage of foreign visitors, considered rich by local standards, it is generally no problem to walk the streets at night. Bangkok is an inexpensive city while at the same time can provide excellent standards. Bangkok has a population in excess of 6 million.

See and Do in Bangkok

Bangkok is an around-the-clock razzmatazz of snap, crackle and pop. Restaurants, bars, nightclubs, shopping malls, open markets, golf courses, temples, parks and odd smells all combine to provide a riotous experience.

Needless to say, people who live in Thailand's capital city and commercial centre will find themselves with plenty to see and do. A weekend in Bangkok can blaze by in a blur, and whether you choose to take the tourist route and sightsee your way through the city's countless side streets, or whether your prefer to settle in and sit shoulder to shoulder with the locals, dull moments are always at a minimum.

Shopping

From the bits and bobs found at the famous floating markets to the haute couture of high-end fashion, Bangkok has it all. Expats must merely decide if they're in the mood to search for their favourite “White Rabbit” or if they'd prefer the air-con and easy access of the mega malls, which house anything and everything, from boutiques, to cinemas, to bowling alleys and even huge food courts.

Language

Thai is one of the oldest languages in East and South-East Asia. It is a monosyllabic language which uses five tones (high, mid, low, rising, and falling tone) to alter the meaning of a single syllable. This makes it rather tricky to learn for many westerners unfamiliar with tonal languages.

The Thai script, said to have been introduced by King Ramkhamhaeng in 1283, consists of 44 consonants and 48 vowels, and is of Sanskrit origin.

Bangkok

Bangkok became the modern capital of Thailand (Siam) in 1782 by order of the first of the Chakri dynasty kings. Internationally, the name Bangkok (which means 'village of the wild plums') remains the common name. The Thai themselves, however, refer to the city as Krung Thep – often translated as 'City of Angels'. This is the abbreviation of the name given by the first Chakri King to his newly established capital city.

Bangkok is one of the safest capital cities of any “Newly Industrialized Countries”. While there are scams designed to take advantage of foreign visitors, considered rich by local standards, it is generally no problem to walk the streets at night. Bangkok is an inexpensive city while at the same time can provide excellent standards. Bangkok has a population in excess of 6 million.

See and Do in Bangkok

Bangkok is an around-the-clock razzmatazz of snap, crackle and pop. Restaurants, bars, nightclubs, 

shopping malls, open markets, golf courses, temples, parks and odd smells all combine to provide a riotous experience.

Needless to say, people who live in Thailand's capital city and commercial centre will find themselves with plenty to see and do. A weekend in Bangkok can blaze by in a blur, and whether you choose to take the tourist route and sightsee your way through the city's countless side streets, or whether your prefer to settle in and sit shoulder to shoulder with the locals, dull moments are always at a minimum.

From the bits and bobs found at the famous floating markets to the haute couture of high-end fashion, Bangkok has it all. Expats must merely decide if they're in the mood to search for their favourite “White Rabbit” or if they'd prefer the air-con and easy access of the mega malls, which house anything and everything, from boutiques, to cinemas, to bowling alleys and even huge food courts.

Maldives opening soon for tourism !

The Indian Ocean island nation is planning to open itself up to tourists from around the world with no covid19 reservations whatsoever starting as early as this July. This is a total reversal of the number of Covid-19-related travel restrictions the country had announced less than two weeks ago.   

Starting July, tourists from all countries will be able to visit the Maldives visa-free, with no Covid-19 testing on either end of their flight to the destination, stay for as long as they like and not bother about self-quarantine either. So, in effect, it is back to business-as-usual in the tropical paradise, it seems. The Ministry of Tourism put out a notice saying “see you in July” when it says “the sun will shine in the Maldives again”. 

This marks a departure from the requirements  the government was mulling only late last month. These included many firsts: a tourist visa that would cost around $100 (Rs7,600), a minimum 14-night stay, as well as producing a Covid-19 test result from no more than one week before arrival. Tourists would have had to be tested again when they arrived in the country at an additional cost of $100. They would then have to quarantine in their hotel or resort room till they got their test results back in a few hours time.  

Arrival at the airport:

* Tourists travelling to Maldives will be provided a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival.
* A health declaration card will be required as part of the on-arrival procedure.
* All arriving passengers should wear masks
* Physical distancing should be ensured.
* Hand sanitization at entry to the arrival terminal.
* All arriving passengers must undergo thermal screening at entry.
* Tourists will not be subject to any quarantine measures upon arrival to the Maldives.
* Tourists will not be required to submit any medical test results for entry to the Maldives. However, travellers presenting with symptoms of Covid-19 upon arrival will be subject to a PCR test at the traveller’s cost. The tourist will be sent to a designated facility for isolation. 
Isolation will be done at a designated transit facility or at the tourists’ destination resort (depending on the resort policy). If the result of the PCR test is positive, the tourist may continue isolation at the resort or will be transferred to a designated state-run isolation facility.

Departure from your place of stay:

* Tourists will have to undergo an exit screening prior to departure from the place of stay.
* The exit screening questionnaire should document any history of fever or respiratory symptoms such as cough or shortness of breath within the prior 14 days. It should be ensured that the guest is not under quarantine or isolation. Temperature should be checked to exclude fever.
* Routine testing for COVID-19 is not required prior to departure, however during exit screening if any tourist is found to have fever or symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 within the prior 14 days, they should undergo PCR testing for COVID-19.
* Testing services are available in the Maldives for tourists who require Covid-19 test results to return to their countries of origin or another destination.

Maldives government website 

https://twitter.com/MoTmv/status/1270734855672922113?s=20Maldives