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Air travel to and from Guam under Covid-19 restrictions

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On the plane to Hawaii

So if anyone is considering coming to Guam while we’re still under Covid-19 Restrictions, here’s a few things that you may need to note. Please keep in mind that your experience may differ from mine and that regulations may change. In any case, I hope you get a snicker from my ordeal. Here we go.

So I needed to fly out of Guam and get to Savannah, Georgia. The only real choices (financially as well as scheduling) was via United Airlines there’s a severe lack of options these days. The route I had to take was from Guam to Hawaii to Houston then finally to Georgia. Maybe I was a bit too lax and or inexperienced with flight travel in and out of the US but let me tell ya, it was truly a mind boggling experience.

Waiting To Go Hawaii

It starts off with my flight from Guam to Hawaii. Hawaii requires all inbound air passengers to have taken a Covid-19 test and a negative result. The test must be administered by one of their recognized partners, 72 hours prior to your flight AND you must register for an online account on their website and upload your test results PRIOR to boarding your flight. In Guam, I went to the Dept. of Public Health and for my return trip I used the drive thru services of a Walgreens. Here’s the link to Hawaii’s web portal to make your account and upload your test results: https://travel.hawaii.gov/#/. Here’s the info page: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/. After submitting your documents you should receive a QR code via email and it’ll show up in your account. You need to have that handy because as soon as you exit the plane there will be people checking your data. If you don’t have the QR code handy, the lines can get VERY VERY long. On my flight back to Hawaii, there was even a pre check line to check your QR code, afterwards you’ll be issued a paper bracelet and the people in Hawaii will be looking for that to help you get through to your next destination. I didn’t get to do that because the line was too long and I had to board.

Even from Guam, a US territory, when you land in Hawaii, you must collect your Checked bag(s) and drop them off where they tell you to. Then you have to clear customs and TSA search. So by the time I reached my gate for my flight to Houston, I had missed it. The departure terminal (G6) was VERY far away too! So back I went to exit the “secured” area and find the United Airlines counter. There was a line so I went outside for a smoke (you literally have to go outside, cross the street and smoke on the meridian). Came back and waited in line for what seemed like forever. So my new flight is gonna take me to San Fran then to Houston and then to Savannah! By the time I got to the gate It was almost boarding time already (maybe 15 min to spare).

Destined to miss my flight

Since I hadn’t eaten yet and United doesn’t serve food I decided to try to find some. No luck, for me, as the closest thing was a souvenir shop. I really didn’t wanna risk missing another flight.  Apparently, if you install United’s app and associate a credit card with it, you can order food. You have to do it before you board the plane though. They keep saying it won’t work when you’re onboard. If you don’t bring your own food, United passes out pretzels and cookies. I ate a lot of pretzels and those Lotus Biscoff cookies are yummy!!! I highly suggest installing United’s app (if you have data roaming or wifi access) because the gate numbers aren’t always available on your boarding pass and flight detail screens may not be as abundant as you would like especially when you’re trying to find your way around a huge airport and sometimes the United people just aren’t helpful at all.

My whole trip, both going to Savannah and coming back, my flights were back to back. I get off one plane and by the time I get to my gate it’s almost time to board! Oh, Houston’s airport is big and the walk to my gate was far. In case you’re wondering, no smoking areas in the Houston airport.

Can’t be in two places at once

I’ve never had a trip pan out so poorly before, the itinerary wasn’t even close to being accurate. Anyways, we’ll see what happens next time. I have to make the same journey in two year. I’ll be sure to check my boarding connecting flights next time!

In all the airports that I transferred flights from, they all had messages over the PA system saying masks are mandatory at all times. On all the flights, same messages. PLEASE don’t be “one of those” people who take off their masks or wear it improperly. The stewardess/stewards do a great job of enforcing but crap happens right? I wore mine almost all the time, taking it off only to drink my coffee, eat my pretzels and cookies. I still tested positive for Covid-19, 6 days into my quarantine.

After being interview by the “Covid Cops” they hypothesis that I got it in transit on the way back. I even requested a re-swab cuz I wasn’t feeling unwell. Anyways, maybe I shouldn’t have because that “revenge” re-swap was so much more uncomfortable than the first one! HAHA.

So what is quarantine like in Guam? First off, everyone will get quarantined for 14 days at the Dusit Thani Hotel, at the moment there are no costs involved, the Gov’t of Guam foots the bill for it all. When you exit the plane, get your bags, clear customs and then you get herded to the transit area, where some forms will be filled up and you’ll wait for enough people to fill the transports. When the handful of buses are filled, the convoy of busses will get a police escort to the hotel. At Dusit Thani Resort Hotel the National Guard will check you in and give you the rules. The side I stayed on was the old Outrigger side. You get daily temp monitoring and 3 meals a day.  After 6 days, you can opt to take a Covid-19 test. If you test negative, you can finish the last 8 days at your residence.

If you test positive they will move you to The Bayview Hotel for monitoring/quarantine. Someone from the Dept. of Public health will call and schedule your pickup time. When they come to pick you up, they’ll give you a set of stuff to wear (see picture below) and then they’ll escort you to the van.  At the Bayview Hotel they’ll come monitor your temperature and vitals twice a day. The difference between the two hotels is like night and day. So if you don’t have to, DON’T RISK TESTING OUT!!! HAHAHA.

Mandatory PPE’s issued prior to being transported

I’ll be posting a review on both hotels as soon as I can so stay tuned!

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I finally got to Ayutthaya, not according to plan at all. Ended up on a Klook Tour.

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A couple of months ago, I had planned to go to Ayutthaya and Sukhothai for a few days (by myself in each city) but those plans went up in smoke when my back gave out but it wasn’t all bad, I guess. I posted about that HERE. My original plan was to take the bus to Ayutthaya, disembark at the bus station, hop on the ferry to cross the river and rent a bike to ride at any venue that offered bikes. Then grab/tuk tuk in between venues. I was told that it was better to rent bikes after taking the ferry because you have to pay extra to bring a bike onboard.

Whilst planning my 2 day trip I was wishing I had more time to explore Ayutthaya but alas as luck/fate would have it, my plan now included my family and since my kid couldn’t get any time off work that week, we only get one day in Ayutthaya. Well, since one of kids can’t cycle and the other one is ok but rather ‘green’ we decided biking was out of the question (since I couldn’t find any info on the availability of tandem bikes). For some reason, I couldn’t book bus tickets online from Singapore, either there were no tickets or the payment page wouldn’t work. At this point I’m just purely frustrated so I just booked a tour package.

I booked the one day Ayutthaya tour from Klook, I’ve booked tours (in Japan) before and the tours were well organized and on time, but really, really rushed. So that’s what we were expecting. Our tour included these places: Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, Wat Chaiwatthanarm, and Wat Yai Chai Mongkol with Night Market at a cost of $48 SGD per person. The drop off point was Icon Siam mall (different from the pickup point) which none of has had been to so that was a bonus, I guess.

The meeting point was easy to find (Siam Paragon Mall) and the instructions given on the website were precise. Departure time was accurate and the bus was large and spacious (2 seats on either side). Having said that, they don’t allow large bags/suitcases, so for those who didn’t know, there are lockers around the corner for people to lock up their luggage. Backpacks are ok though but you’ll have to sacrifice some leg room which isn’t a problem as there’s plenty. I had my backpack and waist pouch (that fits 2 dslrs) on the floor and still had plenty of leg room.

The bus was an older one with lumpy seats but the aircon worked well, some people had to put on jackets while others closed the aircon vent. The seats looked clean and overall the entire bus looked well kept. Oh, there isn’t a toilet on board and no scheduled toilet breaks (although the trip is only an hour or so). Included in the tour was a complimentary bottle of water and a bun with some sort of filling (assorted flavors).

The tour had two guides, one did all the talking and spoke in both English and Mandarin. The two guides did great in making sure everyone was taken care of both in getting photos at all the venues as well as making sure everyone was able to order their lunch. The lunch venue was a strip of local “mom and pop” style restaurants outside one of the venues. Although we were free to choose where we wanted to eat, the one they recommended was really, really good! I had TWO portions of whatever it was, I think it was pork. I’m not in the habit of taking food photos, so yeah, regrettably I have none.

If you’re travelling by yourself (as in not part of a tour), you really should take into account transport because the venues we were taken to are pretty far apart. Although, if you knew where you were going, I suppose you could bike it but I wouldn’t want to (I carry a buncha camera gear, lol), plus a lot of the biking would be done on the roads, not so great for little ones or those not fully confident riding in traffic.

Overall, this tour and our guides were awesome! We weren’t rushed at all and my family and I found that although we could have spent way more time at each venue, we did have enough time to get the images we wanted in the allotted time. This included me setting up the tripod for family shots at each venue which is rare when we are on a tour. Although tips weren’t mandatory, we unanimously agreed that our guides and driver deserved it. Plus at the drop off point, Icon Siam mall, they got us an envelope full of discount coupons, not sure where they got them from but it was nice.

Thanks for viewing and best wishes!

All the photos (unless otherwise noted in the post) were taken by me and are available for sale. If you’re interested in buying an image or three, 😃 please don’t hesitate to contact me for more details.

Consider following me for updates to find not only my other (usually travel) bloopers, blunders and shenanigans but also photography related news/reviews and the occasional contest entry. I might even post a rant or two when I just can’t help myself, haha.

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The “NEW” Train Night Market: Ratchada

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Also known as New Rod Fai Train Night Market Ratchada, Train Market, Rot Fai Ratchada, New Rot Fai (and various combinations of those words). Why is this important to know? Well, there is another Rot Fai Train Market (on Srinakarin Street near Seacon Square) that is still in operation. My post about that is HERE and the directions on how to get there is HERE.

What’s the difference other than location? The Ratchada one has more bars (some two storey ones too) making it a bit more lively and the Srinakarin one has more vintage stuff. Both have a really good selection of food and the usual clothing / accessories shops. Ratchada’s premises is also way more crowded due to the tour groups, which are mainly Chinese from what I’ve seen/heard, the two times I’ve been there. Having said that, the main crowded area is only the entrance where the market’s signage is because that’s where the meeting point for the tour groups are, as well as the selfie point for all the other visitors. Once you get past that crowd in that area, it’s not so bad inside. You won’t have the run of the place nor will you herded around. It may get a bit squeezy in the shopping rows if some people wearing backpacks stop to shop.

While not as big as Chatuchak it’s still pretty big. Actually both Rot Fai Train Night Markets are big and spacious. A lot less narrow than Chatuchak (especially the inner covered areas). I like the layout of Rot Fai Ratchada the best, nice and straight rows of shops, making it pretty hard to get lost in there, even for me (I got turned around at both Chatuchak and Rot Fai Srinakarin), haha.

Although I wanted to have dinner at Bangcroc (first choice) to try the croc meat dishes or the seafood (2nd choice), I lost the vote 2-1 on both venues/dishes. We had ribs instead which was pretty good, tourist prices but not that exorbitant. We didn’t dine in the bar zone because my youngest wasn’t old enough, lol. Speaking of drinks, according to my kids there’s some interesting bubble tea flavors goin on at this night market.

The one thing my daughters liked most at this Rot Fai Train Night Market was the local artisans peddling their goods. For example, hand made, animal shaped, clay earrings that look like they’re biting your earlobe when you wear them. We hadn’t seen these anywhere else and found them quite “cute”. I can’t remember what the deal was and how much I eventually had to fork out (hard for me to resist cool looking local art especially when my kids ask for it), that’s how I ended up with orcas and sharks (my kids picked them for me to fulfill the deal), I was looking at something else already. Anyways, I bought a couple of sleeveless T-shirts from an artist (I like to support local talent whenever I can) and got an auto discount (I didn’t have to ask, when this happens I won’t bargain even though my Thai friends tell me I should). I even had a pleasant chat with the chap about Thai art and the local art scene!

Other shops we found were a couple of vintage shops and a toy shop (unboxed figurines) but I prefer the variety, quantity and quality of such items at Rot Fai Srinakarin.

I think both are pretty much the same (earring stall and embroidered sleeveless shop aside) on the new things. Rot Fai Train Night Market Srinakarin has a lot more vintage items whereas Rot Fai Ratchada has more bars that are actually in a separate section with age limit entry signs, making it more lively with the blaring music and the touting waitress’. Oh, if you’re looking for pets, the Srinakarin premises has more pet shops. That’s pretty much it, if you’re pressed for time and had to pick only one, I hope this posts helps you to decide. If you have time to visit both, why not? I think it’s worth it.

Thanks for viewing and best wishes!

All the photos (unless otherwise noted in the post) were taken by me and are available for sale. If you’re interested in buying an image or three, 😃 please don’t hesitate to contact me for more details.

Consider following me for updates to find not only my other (usually travel) bloopers, blunders and shenanigans but also photography related news/reviews and the occasional contest entry. I might even post a rant or two when I just can’t help myself, haha.

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How to get to Rot Fai Night Train Market Ratchada

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Don’t confuse this Rot Fai Train Night Market with the other Rot Fai Train Night Market. This one is in the Ratchada area and just off of Ratchadaphisek Road close to the Thailand Cultural Center. This one is also known as the new Rot Fai Train Night Market. The other Rot Fai Train Night Market is on Srinakarin Street and behind Seacon Square (a shopping mall, my post about that HERE). Directions to Rot Fai Srinakarin is detailed in my post HERE.

To get to Ratchada Train Market by BTS train, you will need to get to the MRT Station named Thailand Cultural Center (Blue line). If you’re on the Sukhumvit BTS line (light green) you will need to change trains at Mo Chit station or Asok station depending on where you are on the Sukhumvit Line. If you’re on the Dark green line (Silom line) you will need to change trains at Silom Station.

After you get off the train at Thailand Cultural Center, find exit 3 and head that way. If you see a bunch of Chinese people standing in groups, most likely blocking the way, you’re heading in the right direction, haha. When you exit the station go left if you’re facing the street. Most likely you won’t have a chance to go anywhere else but with the flow of people. It’s ok, y’all are going to the same place.

On the off chance there isn’t a crowd when you exit the station, walk towards the Esplanade shopping mall in the same direction that the cars are going. Just before the Esplanade Mall is a road you’ll have to cross to get to the mall. Don’t cross it, instead turn left and follow the winding road. Don’t worry, it’s pretty short. DO worry if you have smaller kids because further up the road (near the entrance to Rot Fai Train Night Market) the sidewalk runs parallel to a big canal and there’s no guard rail between the sidewalk and the ditch. So please watch your kids especially when there are a bunch of tour groups jamming up the sidewalk. It’s only a short distance but better safe than sorry, right? The canal is in between the hedges and the pink building in the photo below.

Anyways, when you reach the sign in the photo at the top of the post, you’ve arrived. Turn left and weave your way through the tour groups (towards the buildings) and you’ll be at the start of the Rot Fai Ratchada Train Night Market. I’ve been there once at 6:30 pm on a weekday and the way was not crowded at all. Info on the market will be upcoming, stay tuned. . .

Have fun! Thanks for viewing and best wishes!

All the photos (unless otherwise noted in the post) were taken by me and are available for sale. If you’re interested in buying an image or three, 😃 please don’t hesitate to contact me for more details.

Consider following me for updates to find not only my other (usually travel) bloopers, blunders and shenanigans but also photography related news/reviews and the occasional contest entry. I might even post a rant or two when I just can’t help myself, haha.

PS. If you want to check out my other ‘works’, you can find them here:

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Talad Rod Fai Night Market behind Seacon Square, a haven for vintage stuff

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Other names for this “Train Night Market” are Old Rot Fai, and Srinakarin Road Night Market and pretty much any combination of those words (and small spelling changes like Talat or Rot).  Why does this matter? Well because the “New” Rot Fai Train Market is located at Ratchadal. I’ll post about the Ratchada one shortly but I have to say, I like this one a lot better!

Once we got to the market, I understood why my daughter wanted me to check this place out. It’s full of vintage / used stuff. I found it absolutely amazing because I love looking at old/history stuff and I collect certain things (currently I’m looking for a Scottie Pippen Dream Team jersey and a Richard Brodeur ‘V’ Jersey, at affordable prices lol). Anyways, I was quite impressed as I found quite a lot of pro sports jerseys (NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB). There are big shops with a lot of really old things in them. Walking through some of them made me feel like a “picker,” you know from the TV show, “American Pickers,” haha.

Vintage vehicles are cool too. These are spread out all over the place, I’m not even sure I saw them all as, I got turned around (ie lost) a few times. Although not too crowded, it was lively and comfortable to walk around, shop and eat.

Aside from the antiques, the other unique thing I found in this night market are the pet stalls. These aren’t the SPCA baby animals on display asking for donations booths, but stalls actually selling kittens, puppies, bunnies and even hedgehogs!

There were two things that I saw in this night market that I’ve never seen (live and up close) anywhere else in the world, a scooter with training wheels.This little guy zipped by so quickly, I only got off 2 shots, this is the better of the two. I was too tired to get up and go get a better shot.

Anyways the second amazing first for me at Rot Fai Train Night Market was this . . .

WTF is that?! I couldn’t get a good picture because it was scampering around trying to avoid the kid that was trying to pet it. Then when it could find a spot to hide, the owner just dragged it back out, sometimes using his foot to move it. I felt kinda bad for it and moved closer to try to get a picture of it (because I still had no idea what it was at that point but it looked cool). As soon as I squatted down it ran over to me and stood up trying to climb up, I think? Or maybe it was asking me to pick it up, I don’t know. I put my hand down and it grabbed my hand with its’ two little paws and just stood there looking around. It was so cute! So I petted it for a while. Its’ fur was kind of rough except the belly, that was really soft. Then the kid came back and this rodent looking creature positioned itself so that my hand was between it and the kid, lol. Anyways, I stood up to leave and had to ask the owner what it was that I was petting and he said “prairie dog.” I walked away thinking how the !%@$@# did he get a prairie dog? I was greeted by my scowling kid and wife both trying to squirt hand sanitizer on my hands and legs. Apparently they didn’t think the prairie dog looked that healthy because it had some bald spots, most noticeably on its’ hind quarters. Other than that I thought it look healthy, felt bad for its’ situation though but what can you do? The owner is openly “walking” it through a busy night market, so it must be ok, right? I thought prairie dogs were indigenous to the Canadian Prairies so it’s not like I could swipe the thing and let it go in Bangkok, right?

Anyways, if you’re into vintage stuff you’ll want to come check out this night market, there’s lots of the usual things to see and eat but if you’re hunting for vintage stuff you’ll spend at least a whole night looking through racks and racks of stuff! Here’s some pics:

I think it’s best if you find something you like, not to show too much interest when asking for the price, as some of the shop keepers were very heavy handed in naming their price. A lot of the things we were interested in did not have a price tag and some shop keepers would not budge on their price. For example, my daughter wanted this wind breaker type jacket with a crocodile logo on it (I don’t know what brand it was but she did apparently) The shop keeper wanted $2000 BHT for it, I reluctantly offered $1200 (my daughter really, really liked the jacket…sigh) and the shop keep just said, “no.” My wife inquired about some other articles of clothing and still no budging on the prices. So we left. An aisle or two later my kid found a another jacket, as did I, and the price on the sign was $300 BHT, the lady dropped the price to $200 BHT when she saw we had a few items in our hands. We didn’t even have to ask which made my kid happy and instantly forget about that other jacket, lol.

Oh, I found a two story shop selling anime figures too, prices were relatively the same as in the Mega Plaza (my post about Mega Plaza, HERE).

Anyways, lotsa cool stuff with a wide spectrum of prices at Rot Fai Night Train Market, so look around before committing to something a bit too pricey. Thanks for viewing and best wishes!

All the photos (unless otherwise noted in the post) were taken by me and are available for sale. If you’re interested in buying an image or three, 😃 please don’t hesitate to contact me for more details.

Consider following me for updates to find not only my other (usually travel) bloopers, blunders and shenanigans but also photography related news/reviews and the occasional contest entry. I might even post a rant or two when I just can’t help myself, haha.

PS. If you want to check out my other ‘works’, you can find them here:

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