Talk about perfect timing. Just as people were gearing up for holiday seasons and New Year vacations, this new variant disrupted our fragile world and mental health yet again, causing countries around the globe to close down borders in droves.

But I was over it. To be precise, I BEEN OVER IT. Even WHO said in a recent statement that travel bans are not effective.

Earlier in the year I suspected Thailand would reopen to international tourists and made speculative bookings to the Kingdom. For a country whose one quarter GDP is reliant upon tourism, Thailand sure enough announced the new Test & Go scheme starting in November of 2021, where vaccinated travelers from certain countries can travel with a one-night hotel quarantine.

Our original itinerary was to fly Singapore Airlines from New York with a three-day stopover in Singapore. Singapore was one of the first countries to introduce a special travel scheme for vaccinated travelers. However, we ended up not being able to go to Singapore because of a rather infuriating incident at check-in at JFK, which I’ve written a separate post about under Getting Ready - Thailand Pass and Singapore Airlines Saga.

In this post you can find the links to the following reviews from our Omicron trip to Thailand:

Getting Ready - Thailand Pass and Singapore Airlines Saga

Review - Intercontinental Boston

Review - Japan Airlines Business Class B787-9 Boston to Tokyo Narita

Review - Japan Airlines Business Class B787-8 Tokyo Narita to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

Review - The Athenee Bangkok, A Luxury Collection Hotel

Review - Le Méridien Chiang Mai

Review - Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa

Review - The Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui

Review - Emirates Business Class A380 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Dubai

While we didn’t start our journey smoothly, it ultimately became one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I’ve been to Thailand a half dozen times, but roaming around this otherwise often overrun (with tourists) nation with virtually no competition was surreal. We extended our stay in Koh Samui, which was my first time on this gorgeous island.

We tried out some great hotels and buzz-worthy airlines, so stay tuned and subscribe for the hottest reviews as they come out!