In July 2021, Thailand opened back up to foreign tourists. This was a phased opening, that focused on the popular island of Phuket. Before the Sandbox, people entering Thailand would have to be quarantined in a designated facility like a certified hotel room for 14 days. With the Phuket Sandbox, people would still have to complete a 14 day quarantine, but instead of being confined to their hotel rooms, they could roam around their hotels and even roam around the entire island.
I happened to be in Phuket for a conference in July 2021 and had the chance to briefly see the Sandbox in action. Nonetheless, Phuket was quiet and lots of shops had been closed. However, there was some optimism amongst those dependent on the local economy that this was a step towards a pre-pandemic Phuket.
I stayed at the Dusit Thani Laguna in Bang Tao Beach and had a great stay. It rained almost throughout the few days I was there but what can you do?
You can check out the video of the Dusit Thani Laguna and a few other stops in Phuket that we made.
For those interested, I shot everything on my GoPro Hero 8 Black 8. Easy to use and travel with. So convenient, that in fact I have shamelessly added a link so you can get one too!