Test & Go

The relaxation of the previous day only lasts a short time. Today the mandatory program is on again - Pcr test, the third and final mandatory test on the 6th day after arrival is scheduled.

We have to appear at the hospital for testing before 11:00, which is a challenge for us late risers. Also, we don't know exactly where the hospital is, so it is recommended to leave a little earlier.

However, the scooter rental company does not understand this and calmly fills out its forms and is not disturbed even when I tell him that we are in a hurry and have an appointment. Then he demands my passport as collateral, which I can't do because I need it for this official test. So he asks for 5000 Baht as compensation, which I also don't want to give him. But since we don't have time and no alternative, I finally give him the money. In the meantime, he has already crossed out the completed forms and now they have to be filled out again.

I'm flipping out .... We have an APPOINTMENT!

But there's no choice but to stay calm and fill them out again. Finally, we choose 2 helmets and I ask where the nearest gas station is because the few drops in the tank will not be enough to reach Thongsala. He sends us to Chaloklum, which is in the opposite direction. Now I can hardly hold myself together and I am about to burst. Finally, he understands our pressure situation and conjures up a liter of gasoline from the cupboard. Finally, we can start, we are still on time, but nothing can go wrong now.

Of course, we looked at the map beforehand to see where we need to go, but reality is, of course, different from a map. We can't find the hospital. It can't be far away, but the people we ask don't understand English, not even the word hospital. Now it's really tight.

Finally, at a gas station, we get the right hint and the hospital is just 100 meters behind the turnoff. No sign had pointed to it.

There are several testing stations set up in front of the hospital. For people like us who belong to the Test & Go program and have to take a Pcr test, there is a separate testing station outside the hospital in the fresh air, luckily covered and in the shade. We register, documents are checked, and we are handed a questionnaire to fill out. Questions about which flight we arrived on, which seat..... - how should I know that now?

All this data was collected long before the trip in the Thailand passport and summarized in a QR code, which had to be shown at all possible checkpoints during the trip, but not here.

After that is done, we have to wait... wait for what?

There are no waiting test subjects in front of us. The testing staff is also there, but they sit behind their booths and stare at their phones.

Everything is there, but nothing happens. Okay, I think they're taking a break and leave them alone. But it continues and continues.

After half an hour, I approach the person who took our data - she is the only one who speaks some English - to ask why we're waiting. She explains to me that they have to retrieve some sticks from inside.

I don't understand why it takes so long, but I'm satisfied for now. It will probably take another 15 minutes until someone finally appears from the hospital with the necessary utensils for the test, packaged in sealed plastic bags for each test person. Finally, things start moving.

The person who takes the swab steps into a booth, at the front of which a transparent plastic pane with two arm-width passages is attached. Long, yellow gloves are attached to the passages, into which the tester from inside the booth sticks his arms - like in a high-security laboratory!

From the outside, he gets 2 layers of gloves put on - they are very precise, not to say they exaggerate enormously.

Then I am allowed to step forward, directed to the pane or pushed in front of it from behind. Head back and then the swab goes into my nose.... I've had more pleasant sensations. When the swab is finally pulled out again, it is immediately taken over by the person standing behind me and I am asked to remove the outer gloves from the tester and throw them in a nearby waste bin. That's it.

We are supposed to receive the result the next day by email or QR code or something like that - I didn't really understand. But anyway, THAT is done for now and now the vacation can begin - provided the test result is negative.

We sit down happily and relieved on our rented scooter and leisurely drive along the coastal road towards Sritanu, where we want to check out our next booked bungalows.

I have been there before, but still can't find it right away. But at some point, we finally stand at the nice sea resort and because there is no one at the reception, we walk straight to the beach restaurant to have a drink first, which we urgently need after the testing procedure.

Darshi immediately complains because the beer is so expensive, and besides, the sand is too fine - even a slight wind blows it around your ears....

I don't even react to that, I already know it, it will settle down. I thought I was the big complainer, but Darshi can do that too.

... and then later he even loses his ring while bathing. Well, that's a great start before we even move in. He didn't even want to go to the actual beach because you have to climb over a few rocks.

Okay, it's not his day today.

But he's not taking it out on me and calms down quickly.

Since no one can show us our future bungalows yet, we set off again.

Originally, we had planned to move from Sritanu back to Mae Haad at the Cove on January 22nd, but we immediately canceled the reservation after the disastrous first night there. That's why we want to use the scooter now and check out potential candidates for the next place on other beaches. We had already done that 2 years ago and therefore have some candidates in mind, but we have to find them again.