Thailand and no drone
I have just returned from what can only be described as a holiday of a lifetime that consisted of multiple stops in Thailand from the Southern Islands to the far reaches of the Golden Triangle in the North of the country and two nights in Hong Kong.
Before We left ( Officially it was our second honeymoon ) I had attempted and failed three times to apply for drone registration in Thailand online with the CAAT, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. The form is complicated and if you incorrectly fill in one element of the application, you cannot amend that particular element. You have to re-apply from scratch. Slightly easier if you keep a copy of the original application, something I failed to do with my initial application!
The other thing I had against me was time. The application can take two-four weeks for approval and I just did not have the days left to re-apply once my third and final attempt failed. The final time it failed as I did not have my entry visa?? This left me totally exasperated at which point I gave up!
So I accepted that there wouldn’t be much drone time as we left for Hong Kong one very cold winters morning. But ever the optimist I packed the little DJI Spark, just in case.
On our arrival into Hong Kong we were greeted by the most amazing Sunrise from the plane. It has been slightly filtered to remove window glare but it set the tone for what was to be a holiday full of colour and vibrancy.
So here are two images of a quick 5 minute flight taken on the island of Ko Yao Noi, after we had rented a scooter and managed to get into the jungle, well away from anyone. This was the only flight of the two week holiday. I accepted that the risks far outweighed the benefit and was happy to capture this amazing culture from a standard ground view as you can see in the other images.
Just before we left for Asia, the drone registration had just been implemented here in the UK. Thankfully it was much easier to navigate than the Thailand scheme and a lot quicker. For more information on Drone Registration go to the CAA website here. Although within the community this scheme has generated quite a debate, as a holder of a current permission, it was something that I have to adhere to. I was keen to do it before we left as I wanted to order the stickers that will be used on my drones to display my operator ID, so that they would be waiting for me upon our return.
So my advice to anyone travelling abroad as a tourist - do check the country that you are travelling to for regulations regarding drones. And if there are schemes in place that you need to adhere to then give yourself lots of time to research the application process properly and get your application in early! Don’t be me!!!