Showing posts with label 2020. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2020. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

#Malaysia closed to tourists for the rest of the year


 KUALA LUMPUR, 1 September 2020: Malaysia looks ahead giving travelers warning that the country’s Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) that maintains strict travel restrictions will remain in place until 31 December 2020.

As long as the RMCO is in place foreigners who have a ‘social visit pass’ (tourist visa) that expired after 1 January 2020 will be permitted to leave Malaysia without incurring any fines or penalties. The concession does not apply to social visit passes that expired before 1 January 2020.

Neighboring Thailand gave foreigners a much shorter grace period that ends on 26 September. Foreigners will need to apply for a visa extension or leave Thailand to avoid penalties by the deadline.

Travel to Malaysia will continue to have strict controls with foreigners needing to obtain a Letter of Undertaking and Indemnity’ approved by the nearest Malaysian consulate or embassy in addition to an appropriate visa. However, leisure travelers will not be permitted to visit Malaysia as long as the RMCO is in place. Entry is limited to travelers who have families in Malaysia and for essential travel linked to business and investment activities.

All travelers who are permitted to enter Malaysia must undertake mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Thailand follows similar protocols, strictly applying the 14-quarantine rule but offering travellers arriving in Bangkok what it calls “alternative state quarantine” in certified hotels that are linked to hospitals. They charge around THB70,000 to 50,000 for the 14-day stay, including three meals a day and Covid-19 tests.

Thailand is currently confusing overseas tour operators with contradictory statements by leaders who in the space of a few days suggest they are opening the borders gradually to limited travel and then contradict themselves just days later by suggesting the opposite.

There are various programmes bandied about by the media, but due to the 14-day quarantine rule, they would appeal only to long-stay visitors (six months or more) repeat travelers who are prepared to buy into expensive schemes to return to Thailand.

Soorce  - TTR Weekly

Saturday, December 28, 2019

And they're off! Hundreds of thousands leave #Bangkok for New Year break


Hundreds of thousands of Bangkok residents have already started heading out of the capital, headed to various Thai provinces to welcome in 2020 in the company of friends and family. The long weekends starts from tonight with many Thais being granted a public holiday on Monday, in addition to the Tuesday and Wednesday public holidays. It seems many also took today off to make it a mega long weekend.

Thai PBS World reports that the police are monitoring the highways out of the city, to make sure traffic continues to move smoothly, with CCTV units along all major routes having been checked over to ensure they’re working properly, and road works suspended until after the holiday period.

It’s understood that the Ratchaprasong intersection, in the Pathum Wan district of Bangkok, will be closed to traffic from 2pm on December 31, in order to allow police to carry out security checks ahead of the New Year countdown being held in the busy shopping area later that night.

A number of extra buses are being laid on until December 28, taking the total of state-run buses from 5,419 a day to over 8,200 in an effort to cope with what is expected to be around 160,000 travellers a day over the year-end period.

Transport officials recommend passengers arrive at bus terminals at least an hour before departure, adding that tickets should only be purchased from official ticket booths, to avoid being scammed by con artists selling fraudulent tickets. Alternatively, passengers can book in advance by going to www.tansport.co.th or calling 1490.

Source - The Thaiger
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