Planning To Be In, And Traveling Around, Thailand 2/6-3/7... Naive Not 2 Worry?

[idiot farang]

As title says, I will be in Thailand for a month starting 02 February. I'll be in Bangkok 1/2 of time and hope to hit Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin whilst I am there.

My nature is to kind of downplay the thought that the political situation and upcoming events will disrupt my holiday, much less be dangerous to me personally. Am i being naive? The only thing i have questioned is going to Chiang Mai, as i know that is red shirt land. Then again, never really read about issues there last time there was violence, so maybe it's not an issue.

Basically, just looking to gauge whether those of you who live there have any anxiety level about the coming month and whether it would give you pause if say a relative of yours was about the come for a similar visit.

thanks.

[tonititan]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. The media seems to make it look worse than it really is. IF there is any violence, it is between Thais, and should not be directed towards you at all. I would have no problem inviting my friends and family to visit Thailand this spring.

[idiot farang]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. The media seems to make it look worse than it really is. IF there is any violence, it is between Thais, and should not be directed towards you at all. I would have no problem inviting my friends and family to visit Thailand this spring.

Your reply is exactly the way i am viewing it, even knowing the whole Thaksin thing mid month. Only started to take notice when the PM started talking about impending red shirt violence.

[tonititan]

Yeah, as long as you don't do something stupid like joining in on a protest or arguing with the reds/yellows, it should be no big deal. I had visitors in town last Songkran when there was the protest downtown. They knew nothing about it the whole time. The international media was calling BKK a "war zone" and talking about the chaos. I was like, "huh...I was right down in that area and didn't notice anything."

[Tonto21]

No worries! But I think you still need to excise care, as you would anywhere in the world you’re not familiar with…. Have a good one!

[idiot farang]

bumping to try to get a view more opinions in light of the stepped up rhetoric coming out now.

also, given that Chiang Mai is red shirt ground zero, would you give that a miss for this trip?

finally, do you think Bangkok will be the only area really affected, or do you envision protests and/or violence in areas outside of BKK like Hua Hin, Phuket, etc?

thanks (now due to arrive in a week)...

[geriatrickid]

Hua Hin is hardly a hotbed of political strife. You should be ok there. The downside is that if there are protests, i.e. highway blockages typical of protests around the world, then getting back to BKK may be a hassle. Chiang Mai should be ok since it is redshirt territory and they won't have anyone to fight with. Same thing for Phuket except its yellow shirt land and no sane red would protest there. Best part of HKT is that it is easy to escape to SIN or KUL. The only place I anticipate idiocy is BKK, which is where it belongs. Be prepared for farang panic though. The day there is bloodshed or the military takes to the streets, Thailand's airports will be mobbed by foreigners rushing to leave.

[idiot farang]

Hua Hin is hardly a hotbed of political strife. You should be ok there. The downside is that if there are protests, i.e. highway blockages typical of protests around the world, then getting back to BKK may be a hassle. Chiang Mai should be ok since it is redshirt territory and they won't have anyone to fight with. Same thing for Phuket except its yellow shirt land and no sane red would protest there. Best part of HKT is that it is easy to escape to SIN or KUL. The only place I anticipate idiocy is BKK, which is where it belongs. Be prepared for farang panic though. The day there is bloodshed or the military takes to the streets, Thailand's airports will be mobbed by foreigners rushing to leave.

thanks for the reply. yeah, i was wondering about that (CM being a safe place since both sides are not there). only problem with CM is that if it hits the fan, i'd rather be south than north. my thinking is, worse comes to worse, i'll take the train down to Phuket and on to KL (never been there, so it's part of my plan b to drift towards SIN). i assume if BKK airport is a mess, my airline will let me rebook out of SIN (or so i would hope).