Notes from a Thailand ASQ Hotel.
Hi there, I’m Steve and I travelled back to Thailand to be reunited with my wife Susie and our dog Harry on the 13th of December. For all of you considering returning to Thailand and contemplating the thought of 2 weeks quarantine, I wanted to share my experience of Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) to hopefully enlighten you and help you on your journey.
There are many ASQ hotels to choose from and they vary in price, size and standard a lot. The best way to narrow down your choice is to make a list of your needs, choose your price range and then post your information in one of many ASQ groups on Facebook. The ASQ hotels monitor these groups and hotels meeting your requirements will flood your post with offers. This is much quicker than emailing each hotel individually!
Do bear in mind that the price quoted by the hotel is inclusive of all the hospital’s costs, such as the covid tests. The covid tests alone are worth over 10,000 THB so the prices might seem like a lot of money for a 2-week stay but a lot of the cost goes to the hospital, not the hotel.
I chose Lohas Residences which provided me with a 45 sqm mini-apartment, including kitchen with microwave oven and washing machine.
When you arrive at the hotel you will be checked in by the hotel reception and also by their partner hospital staff who will take care of all the medical aspects of ASQ such as the covid tests and temperature checks.
Once I had checked in I was shown to my room. One of the 1st things you should do is read the hotel information which I know most people don’t normally do but it’s worth it in ASQ because it tells you useful extra info like how to contact the nurses if you are sick, when you can start to book time outside the room and even how to deal with your garbage!
Of course, because you are confined to the room for most of the time, boredom is your number 1 enemy so it helps to have a routine. Meal times are standard so I planned each day around eating! The twice daily temperature checks are also little events in the day so in total there are 5 visits a day. That means the time in between each visit is only a few hours so I tried to plan an activity for each of these times. I exercised each day by running around the apartment, I did yoga/stretching (the hotel helpfully provided an exercise mat), I took long soaks in the bath, I read books via Kindle, sometimes I simply enjoyed the Bangkok skyline (get a room on the highest floor possible!) and I watched a combination of TV via the hotel satellite and movies/Netflix via my Amazon Firestick. A streaming device is a great investment! My hotel offered Netflix and a PlayStation but at an extra of 500thb/day each. Don’t forget when booking to make sure the TV is equipped with HDMI ports so you can connect your streaming device.
For the most part the food was very good with a choice of western, veggie and Thai each day. The food arrives in boxes with plastic cutlery but my hotel provided proper plates and cutlery on request. Having a microwave was a godsend so I could reheat the food if I wanted to eat later. Even though the food was enjoyable I wish I’d brought treats for home comforts. My hotel offered a list of items from 7/11 like noodles, crisps and chocolate but they charge for delivery. Your own brand of tea and coffee is a good idea too, as well as washing-up liquid/washing detergent if you have a kitchen/washing machine. A laundry service was available but was expensive.
Once you’ve had your first covid swab you get freedom! Well 45 minutes of it at least 
I even looked forward to being swabbed for this reward! It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing the 2 Covid tests as negative things but try to look at them as major milestones along the 15 day odyssey. Seen that way, they help to break the whole period into manageable sections so the whole 15 days don’t seem too daunting. And yes, it is a 15 day duration because the 14 official days of quarantine must be 14 complete days. The day you arrive isn’t a whole day so is referred to as day zero.
I found that by using the tips I’ve mentioned, the time passed quite quickly. I was on Day 7 before I knew it. I found day 9/10/11 the hardest but once you hit the 2nd covid test on day 12 the fog lifts completely because you are near the finish line! Yes, there are times when you get a little frustrated but just remind yourself why you’re doing it; the reward that follows of seeing your family, friends, pets is worth all the effort, believe me. You can do it! 
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