The quote "Pot Smoking Tourists Not Welcom In Thailand"recently comes from the Thai Health Minister. Updates and a throwback to a walkabout in the shopping districts during a visit in 2017. Bangkok is coming back with an estimated 7-8 million visitors expected in 2022. Still a far cry from the 40 million visitors it saw in 2019. Things are improving as far as more flights heading for the capital of Thailand with Bangkok Air adding direct flights from Da Nang beginning September 1st. In this episode I talk about the changes to the street food scene since the government swept the sidewalks of food carts back in 2016. A shame but there is a street food scene and neighborhoods that still have plenty of food carts. It's far from being discounted as a once food mecca.
Thanks as always for your support!
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This past summer was not the experience I was hoping for. What was to be outings and short visits around the country has turned into weeks of nursing colds, sinus infections, and now Covid. Fortunately I've been lucky to have only experienced cold symptoms with C19. But my isolation has taken me back to the feelings experienced a year ago when we were all under some form of lockdown here in Vietnam. My apologies for the lack of output of new content and episodes but I am hopeful going forward I will have many more stories to tell whether here or on my YouTube Channel but I do appreciate your patience.
Good news this past month for Da Nang making in on Travel + Leisure's top 10 cities to visit in Southeast Asia. Vietnam's two biggest cities, Ho Chi Minh and Ha Noi both made it on the list as well. In this episode I'll also go back to the Batu Caves in Selangor, Malaysia from a 2019 visit.
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It's so glad to be back after a long break due to a cold and sinus infection. In the episode I'll discuss dealing with a common flu or cold after not having one for 2 years. Also more importantly what travel is currently like and the most recent updates for East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
It still looks like it may be still some time before East Asia like Taiwan or Japan reopens to independant travelers.
Nepal is open with few travel restrictions if you're considering a trek in the fall. Bhutan will reopen to travelers beginning September 22nd. Thanks again for listening!
Thanks as always for your support!
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In this episode I take you for a walk through the Han Market in Da Nang, Vietnam. You'll immediately notice lots of interaction with local sellers as this market is geared a little more tourists than the Con Market in the last episode.
These markets are always alot of fun to visit and in terms of food they really give you insight into what people eat here. The food stalls in any of these markets are always worthy of a visit with usually excellent examples of local classics at a much lower price than tourist style restaurants. As I said in the walk-through you could easily knock off this market and the Con Market in a morning or afternoon. I came down with a cold a couple of days after the recording of this walk through so unfortunately I'm not able to bring you much more than this segment in this episode. I tested myself twice for Covid-both tests came out negative. Colds are going around again as people venture out. This is the first time I've been sick with anything in 2.5 years. Peace, love, and safe travels!
Thanks as always for your support!
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It's official as of July 1st, no more uploading documents for a Thailand Pass. Proof of vaccination or for the unvaccinated a negative PCR test is all that's needed now to visit the country. This should further open up travel in the region expanding flights to Thailand and from Thai airports to other destinations in Southeast Asia. I will also discuss cost of flights within the region as they are still high in some circumstances. Vietnam is now the only country that is fully open to vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers. Myanmar is now open to tourists but as civil unrest continues under the military junta most countries are advising do not travel to the country. Peace, love, and safe travels!
Support the podcast:
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Very tragic news out of Nepal this past week with another Tara Air crash on the Pokhara Jomsom route. The last crash on this flight, another Tara Air plane was in 2016. Although this route doesn't get as much attention as the the Kathmandu/Lukla flight in the Everest region it is still a very dangerous airport. I'll share my experience and thoughts. As well I'm getting out again reporting on location from various locations-this week from Non Nuoc Beach that is home to many 5 star resorts in Da nang, Vietnam. Thanks again as always for your support!
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Vietnam along with several other countries have decided to drop pretests for fully vaccinated visitors. That makes entry to Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam relativeily easy to enter now with no required pretests for fully vaccinated travelers.
It's now possible to have an extended stay in Southeast Asia with the least amount of restrictions since the pre-pandemic days of traveling. Vietnam has yet to authorize stays longer than 30 days but if you were looking to spend more time in Vietnam it would be very easy to break up your long stay with trips to Cambodia, Thailand, or even Laos allowing you to start a new 30 day eVisa cycle in Vietnam. Still no word on when the country will reinstate 3 month tourist visas. As always your support is greatly appreciated!
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A short two night trip was the perfect way to transition into travel in pandemic, and perhaps soon to be endemic times. Cambodia currently is the easiest country to enter in Southeast Asia with no pre-uploading of info and no pre-arrival or arrival testing. In this episode I'll run through this recent experience and share with you the highlights. As well some more lifting of restrictions taking effect this week in Malaysia and Thailand. Thanks so much for your support!
f you'd like to support the channel there are two ways:
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Cambodia has taken the biggest step in lifting requirements for entry with the elimination of a negative test result upon arrival as well as the dropping of the antigen test. This will not only make an entry into Cambodia easier but will also allow for less restrictive movements back and forth between Vietnam and Thailand. Also in this episode, the tourists are coming back to Vietnam and Malaysia is now open to tourists without requiring a sandbox type scheme to Langkawi Island. Southeast Asia is slowly returning to a tourist friendly destination. East Asia is still however closed to tourists with the exception of South Korea. Thanks again for listening and subscribing to the podcast!
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Vietnam opens to tourists for the first time in 2 years this week. Rules, protocols, and visa availabiltiy are still unclear at the time of broadcast. Officially citizens from 13 countries have been granted 15 day visa exemptions valid until 2025. Unverified reports of people receiving visas through Vietnamese embassies or consulates are slowly surfacing in various social media groups. In this episode I will cover off everything so far in regards to the opening of Vietnam to tourists as well as Malyasia's wide opening and Bali's long anticipated reopening. Something to keep in mind when booking your travel is the possibilty your plans could change should you contract Covid. Airlines currently are not allowing passengers to board that are infected with the virus. For long term or long stay travelers this is not as much a concern as it would be for short stays. Check the country policiies as well on quarantine. Some countries will allow self-isolation at a hotel or home of your choice. Other countries will require you to stay in a approved hotel which could be alot more expensive than your budget is used to. As well check to make sure your insurance will cover costs for a quarantine stay.
Thanks again as always for your support!
If you'd like to support the channel there are two ways:
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Donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/JohnASaboe
Help build the Far East Travels Podcast community by giving a review in Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/far-east-travels-podcast/id1079513943?itsct=podcast_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1

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