Hello from Bangkok!! We arrived yesterday afternoon after a long journey from Casablanca, Morocco (approximately 15 hours of travel). We flew from Casablanca to Dubai which took about 7 hours. Then had a 2 hour layover at Dubai airport. Then another 5.5 hours flight to Bangkok. Besides being exhausted from the long journey, everything went pretty smoothly and I didn't get sick on the flights. Now we're settled in our quarantine hotel in Bangkok and I'm enjoying the whole experience so far. We received very good service from the start, and the staff here really do everything they can to make the quarantine enjoyable.
So in order to enter Thailand now we needed a Certificate of Entry, negative PCR test, approved travel insurance (that covers COVID related emergencies), Fit to Fly Certificate, and confirmed ASQ hotel booking. I think that was all. We had a slight issue when checking into the flight as the attendant told us we required a return ticket as well. Since we don't know how long we will be in Thailand and where we will go after, we didn't have one. Eventually they let us in. It was a stressful moment (of many throughout this application process). From that point on, everything went smoothly.
Pre-flight lunch at Casablanca airport
Arrived at Dubai airport! We considered visited Dubai before but then the COVID cases starting rising a lot there.
Back when I was younger, I was a fan of Arsenal FC so I've always wanted to "Fly Emirates" lol. This was my first time finally flying with them and I had a good experience! Both flights were on time/earlier than scheduled and they didn't lose our luggage! All the flight attendants wore a lot of PPE (more than all the other airlines we've gone on this trip so far) and they gave each of us this little hygeine pack that includes a cute hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, wipes etc.
This was on arrival at Bangkok airport. I was amazed at their system. Comparing it to all the other airports we've visited so far during COVID, it is like a difference of night and day. It's no wonder the Asian countries have the pandemic a lot more under control. They had a lot of staff guiding all the arrivals. I didn't take too many photos as I wasn't sure if I was allowed to..but they had HUNDREDS of chairs set up like this in rows and a ton of staff in full PPE. All the new arrivals had to take a seat and then we each got a designated staff member coming to check that we had all the required documents and filled out all the correct forms.
Then we were each given a tag to wear, specifying which quarantine hotel we were going. After that, we got our temperatures checked and documents checked again. Then we had to sit in more of the chairs and went in groups to customs. Before customs there was another check point where they checked and verified our Certificates of Entry, and to confirm where we will stay after quarantining. Then we got our fingerprints and photos taken. Finally we arrived at the luggage pick up.
After getting our luggage, we were guided to our hotel shuttle van. Throughout the whole process, we were never left "alone" as they had to ensure we were brought straight to the quarantine. It was a very efficient process and everyone was really friendly.
Free airport water! So cute.
Shuttle to our hotel. It was super spacious and comfortable. It was a 7-seater and they marked which seats we must sit in.
Some scenes along the way. They have some really interestingly-designed buildings.
Arrived at our hotel! We had to enter through the back entrance. We were asked to stay in the car until they finished sanitizing our luggage. At every step of the way (including this man sanitizing), there was a man taking photos. I think they had to document each new arrival and show that they've done all the procedures correctly.
Then we were allowed out of the car and had to put on shoe covers right away.
Then finally, we were brought straight to our room where snacks and juice were waiting for us! Here we get three meals per day delivered to our room. We don't get to choose the meals but so far, everything has been delicious and I love the surprise of seeing what we get each time.
Views from our room!
Our room is actually very spacious and larger than most basic hotel rooms. We did book the largest room option though which was a good idea. I actually didn't expect it to be as big so I'm happy with it. We have a bedroom, large bathroom and another room that has the exercise bike.
Soooo happy to finally have a bathtub! (last time I took a proper bath was back in Toronto)
So well stocked!
First meal was lunch - chicken and rice. Super delicious!
Then a nap
We got woken up when our doorbell rang for dinner delivery. This was really good as well but we didn't realize until almost finishing that we were supposed to put the noodles into the sauce container to eat (we were having it separately thinking the sauce was soup). I really love the fruits here. They are all so fresh.
Twice a day, we have to take our temperatures by ourselves and send it to a nurse at the hospital.
This morning's breakfast! The rice was sooo good. Our hotel has really good service. They gave a Whatsapp number for us to communicate with and they are very prompt with responses and anything we ask for. For example we asked for some bathrobes and coffee packs and they delivered them within 10min to us.
We are staying at the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel. Before we booked a hotel, I contacted and checked all of them and found this to be the best one. They were always prompt with communication and their website (along with documents they sent me) were very informative in regards to the quarantine procedures. They even made videos of the check in process which I was pretty impressed with. It's also one of the few that offer exercise bikes (for a fee) and the chance to go out on the rooftop pool after the first test comes back negative. Also, they had sample menus of the daily meals so I knew the food would be good. I've heard that some hotels don't really offer good food. So if you are reading this, planning your trip to Thailand and looking for a quarantine hotel, I highly recommend Centara! They really care about their guests' comfort during the stay. The cost is approximately $2000 per person (for 2 weeks) which includes all meals and airport transfer.
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