So you're saying you were forced to hand over cash? I was just forced to burn loads of cash to book another last minute flight (and detained for 10 hours while waiting for that flight).

(minus the extortion)

happened to me too. Nobody tells you there is a limit to how many tourist entries or months in a year. There seems to be no clear rule, just some IOs wield the power to assume someone is working illegally (not true in my case, so definitely no evidence needed) and block them from entering if they did so as a tourist a number of times that they arbitrarily decide is too many to be anything other than undeclared work.

@Robert *********

I think by extorted he meant deported?

@Garrett **********

showing online banking available balance always worked for me, didn't have to have a massive wad of cash

there are many situations where people have to show sufficient funds for the duration and purpose of entry to Thailand. Often it seemed to be at the IO's discretion before, but now I think everyone entering has to do so.

@Bobby *******

and often the answers are nonsense. A lot of people who don't know 1st hand have a tendency to parrot other people who pretend to know. Somehow we've "evolved" to only require 1 other person to share an opinion for it to become "our truth" haha

not that anyone should root for that scenario. It would come with a lot of death and illness of course

@Edward *******

not necessarily. Quarantine is to keep something out that is only outside (or some inside but contained). If a state is reached where covid is everywhere here, the benefits of the return of tourism might outweigh the limited benefits of quarantine (i.e. they might scrap it)

@Garrett **********

unless they fail to contain this new outbreak and it runs riot. Not much point of quarantine if the virus is already everywhere in the country