Cambodian nationals who hold foreign passports will likely welcome the government’s decision to do away with the requirement for a US$3,000 deposit to cover Covid-19 costs, along with the compulsory US$50,000 health insurance. But a report in TTR weekly says the changes only apply to Cambodian citizens with foreign passports and a Visa K entry permit.

Following the move by the country’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, entry requirements have been updated at all Cambodian airports, but the health insurance requirement and hefty deposit are still mandatory for all foreign visitors. The SSCA adds that Cambodian citizens are still required to show a medical certificate that proves they have tested negative for the Covid-19 virus.

“Cambodian nationals holding foreign passports with Visa K are still required to possess a health certificate indicating a Covid-19 negative status issued by competent health authorities of their residing country no more than 72 hours from the departure time from their residing country.”

In addition, all international organisations in Cambodia, including foreign embassies and consulates, must confirm that staff and diplomats entering the country are free from Covid-19 and ensure they fulfill the mandatory 14 day quarantine period.

SOURCE: TTR Weekly

In a joint operation, authorities in Thailand and Myanmar destroyed 25 tonnes of illicit drugs valued at more than 62 billion baht (US$2 billion) in Ayutthaya and Yangon. The move comes as drug cartels in the Golden Triangle boost supplies and seek new channels of distribution. The Golden Triangle, where Laos, northern Myanmar and Thailand meet, has been a hub of illicit drug traffic for decades. Authorities say production there is now taking place on an industrial scale.

In Ayutthaya, about 80 kilometres north of Bangkok, Thai authorities marked International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with a mass burning of drugs. Police guarded boxes of drugs unloaded from trucks while bricks of heroin and bags stuffed with methamphetamine pills, known as “yaba,” were thrown into dumpsters for incineration. In Yangon, meanwhile, plumes of black smoke filled the sky as sacks full of drugs were set ablaze. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.

Thai authorities say Covid-19 travel restrictions and checkpoints helped reduce smuggling, but the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said last month that the trade continues to thrive. Thailand’s deputy national police chief says drug criminals are getting more creative, and the internet is becoming a growing outlet for the illicit drug trade.

“Our children are making the wrong decision to order narcotic drugs online. And the dealers send the drugs to them.”

Rising heroin use among young people is among several worrying trends. Though opium cultivation and heroin refining have dropped, methamphetamine production in Myanmar’s northern regions has increased dramatically, with armed ethnic groups collaborating with organised crime elements. Thailand is used mainly as a conduit and distribution point, with some drugs sold domestically, but most smuggled onward.

Jeremy Douglas, the UNODC regional representative, says online drug sales represent a worrying trend, with an oversupply of meth pushing prices down and adding to more drug abuse.

“Above all we are looking now at an increase in drug availability. Very dangerous. Frankly speaking, Myanmar has become the transit place of narcotic drug distribution to Europe and Asia.”

SOURCE: Reuters

If you’re thinking about planning a trip to Cambodia soon, reconsider, unless you’re willing to put down US$3,000, a fortune for a backpacker in Southeast Asia. The country wants foreigners to make the deposit at a local bank upon entering to make sure any potential medical or quarantine costs can be met. And that’s just the start.

Even if you have the money, it’s still tricky to get in. Travellers need to have a medical insurance valued over US$50,000 and a health certificate deeming them free of the coronavirus, issued 72 hours before entering the country. Then, they start deducting from the deposit.

Travelling to south east Asia as a tourist has largely been put on hold by most of the countries keeping strong control over their borders in the immediate and medium future. Travel bubbles are being seen as a way forward for reciprocal ‘low risk’ countries to re-introduce travel across their borders.

Cambodian media say testing may need to be done before a traveller can enter which would be US$100 for a swab test, US$30 for overnight accommodation while results sent to the lab, $30 for food and extra expenses for transportation. This would be taken out of the deposit made at the bank.

Once the travellers has gone through all that rigmarole, then they must self isolate for 14 days at their hotel, reporting to medical officers each day. Another swab test would be done on the 13th day of isolation. In another scenario, where a passenger on the flight tests positive for the coronavirus, then everyone on the flight would need to go into quarantine, with costs involved taken out of the bank deposit. Worse case, those who get sick need to pay all costs involved.

Even death has costs. US$1,500 would used for cremation and funeral costs.

Have a great time in Cambodia!

SOURCE: TTR Weekly