Should I Come To Thailand (bangkok) Right Now?

[Dancali]

I've had my ticket for a while, and I brushed off the general protests as not much of a concern, but with people dead and injured, things are different.

I speak as someone who has lived in Thailand for several years and can speak pretty good conversational Thai, so I'm not exactly fresh off the boat.

Yes, I know that if I stay away from the protest areas everything will be fine and life is pretty much normal. But I also know that Thai people are people too. And mobs of people doing anything are unpredictable and dangerous, especially in the middle of a major political struggle.

I was going to come back to Bangkok and live there for a year as I expanded my business (largely centered around exporting Thai products). I was going to stay in a hotel in the On Nut area as I looked for a 1 year condo lease.

Since I don't absolutely have to be in Thailand, even though my planning is all set up for me to be there, maybe I should change my plans?

At the very least, maybe I should hang out in Phuket for a while until Bangkok issues calm down?

Edited April 11, 2010 by Dancali

[onlycw]

Well, it will be your decision. Just watch the France 24 news footage.

[Ijustwannateach]

Read the political threads (if you dare- the pinned and closed 'news updates' might be more pithy)- and decide for yourself. The disturbances have been very localised. I am resident in Bangkok but I am not currently required to be in the affected areas- the worst it has been personally for me is some lost work, and temporary transportation difficulties.

[sokal]

I doubt people are forgoing tickets that they paid decent money for but maybe I am wrong. Do you have cancellation insurance ?

[Dancali]

I doubt people are forgoing tickets that they paid decent money for but maybe I am wrong. Do you have cancellation insurance ?

Money is not really an issue. I can change my ticket date for a $50 fee. Or I can arrive in Bangkok and hop on Air Asia to go somewhere else without leaving the airport.

[balo]

Why do you have to stay in Bangkok ?

Just take a flight to Chiang Mai or some other peaceful areas and enjoy it.

[xxes123]

My Thai GF is currently sick and i wish to travel to Bangkok on 13/04-16/04, to see her and take care of her temperory and maybe bringing her out of the country if there a need. I intending to stay over at the below hotel for my stay,

Bangkok City Suite 1 Petchburi Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand

Could anyone kindly advise me whether this area is affected by the protest?

[needforspeed]

Dear OP,

I would cancell my holiday and go back another time.

Traveling / goin around with restriction in Bangkok, not happy mood as you can understand , reason enough to just wait a few months till it is all settle.

Why take any risk or less enjoyable holiday if it costs you only 50 us to change your ticket.

Cheers

[Ping]

Why do you have to stay in Bangkok ?

Just take a flight to Chiang Mai or some other peaceful areas and enjoy it.

Agrred - use it as an opportunity to see some other parts of the country. You'll be doing yourself a favour.

[Ulysses G.]

Chiang Mai is very mellow right now unless you are afraid of water. Everyone (other than the old grouches ) is celebrating the Song Kran Holiday and having a good time.

[JackSterling]

Everyone is right.. There is no real fear here.. only stupidity from those who hang around that urban pool of <deleted> called BKK

Bangkok is the same as south central LA.. if you like that.. you'll be fine.

There are so many peaceful places here and yes... CM is one for sure. I was in the middle of all the RED SHIRTS in CM at the Town Hall on Sunday and everyone was doing it all peacefully.. no gunshots or teargas.. but I did not stick around long as i had to get home to tend to my daily duties. when I got home my girl friend turned on the TV and was running to me saying 4 dead in BKK and then she was glued to the Thai TV. I went on with my doggie duties to come later to read of all the crazy goings on in BKK..

Do not fear.. You will arrive and then jump on a domestic flight and go to the beaches or up here in the mountains of northern Thailand.. the rest of Thailand all looks the same..

fear not .. Thailand is awesome still.. forget about those few loonies and just head out of BKK

[siamamerican]

Everyone is right.. There is no real fear here.. only stupidity from those who hang around that urban pool of <deleted> called BKK

Bangkok is the same as south central LA.. if you like that.. you'll be fine.

If all the protesters returned to your rural wonderland, BKK would be much calmer. That is not going to happen and I'm not going to judge the Reds without really understanding all the details.

Heading to BKK tomorrow to join the masses of stupid people that spend time in the "Urban pool of <deleted> called BKK".

[TallForeigner]

I would not worry too much. If you plan to stay around On Nut you are far enough away from any hotspot to even notice what is going on in other places in Bangkok. The only thing that would have been of relevance in On Nut was the suspension of the skytrain service for about 1 day.

I happen to live in an appartment right in the middle of the Ratchaprasong area and from my windows I can see the action going on down there. In order to go on with my life as normally as possible I have no other choice than to dive into the red masses from time to time. I always take a strictly neutral approach and don't condemn or judge anyone. If I am approached by friendly people I don't care what color they wear. With this attitude it is actually not an unpleasant experience at all to go down there and dive into the red crowd, taste the varieties of food they offer, listen to some music sometimes, watch many people dancing and cheering and so many still just being happy while I try to neglect all the political propaganda around. People are warm and friendly and many approach me even apologising for the inconveniences they cause; people offer me some specialities from Issan, drinks, ice coffee... Even after the terrible events that happened at Phan Fah the people around Ratchaprasong are still friendly, happy and mostly smiling.

Should I rather sit like a grumpy farang in my apartment and keep complaining about the noise and the mob, stay out of my neighbourhood and hope the government will send in troops to continue to "enforce the law" and spill blood in front of my doorsteps? I have chosen not to do that and I try to make the best out of the situation without joining a particular group.

In one sense I have no other choice than to sort of joining the rally and the people down there to go get some food and maybe some entertainment at times but I am certainly not joining the political propaganda rally - I am not wearing red.

Here a link to some pictures I have taken during the last couple of days around my neighbourhood:

Ratchaprasong

[Ulysses G.]

Should I rather sit like a grumpy farang in my apartment and keep complaining about the noise and the mob,

Isn't this traditional behavior for farangs during the Song Kran festival all over Thailand? It certainly is in Chiang Mai.

[yabaaaa]

YES COME Id say the covergae the BBC are giving is total crap, heavily biased for the reds and the claims its all "widespread" total nonsense. Very small locations 99.9% of Thailand unaffected.

[phetaroi]

Why do you have to stay in Bangkok ?

Just take a flight to Chiang Mai or some other peaceful areas and enjoy it.

You need to get out more. Chiang Mai was not exactly a haven of peace yesterday.

[Tumbo]

I agreed with all above.

You have to decide it yourself mate - if you feel uncertain about the situation here and fear to have less enjoyable holidays, then the $50 ain't too pricey to change the tix at all and you can come a few months later when all have settled down

Or, you just come - no one is doing anything harm to the airport now (well, touch wood!) and hop to the domestic flight str8 to the beaches in the south, or head north for the water-splashing Songkarn days - and I meant DAYS!

There is a plenty of places here mate that you can really have a great time for holidays.

So, to sum it up - it's your call mate.

Cheers

[seasider]

YES COME Id say the covergae the BBC are giving is total crap, heavily biased for the reds and the claims its all "widespread" total nonsense. Very small locations 99.9% of Thailand unaffected.

I am just about to book a flight for early May, my only concern is that they don't try to take over the airport!

[Ulysses G.]

Why do you have to stay in Bangkok ?

Just take a flight to Chiang Mai or some other peaceful areas and enjoy it.

You need to get out more. Chiang Mai was not exactly a haven of peace yesterday.

How so? The only problems I've heard about is the foreign tourists who started throwing water two days early.

[needforspeed]

Everyone is right.. There is no real fear here.. only stupidity from those who hang around that urban pool of <deleted> called BKK

Bangkok is the same as south central LA.. if you like that.. you'll be fine.

There are so many peaceful places here and yes... CM is one for sure. I was in the middle of all the RED SHIRTS in CM at the Town Hall on Sunday and everyone was doing it all peacefully.. no gunshots or teargas.. but I did not stick around long as i had to get home to tend to my daily duties. when I got home my girl friend turned on the TV and was running to me saying 4 dead in BKK and then she was glued to the Thai TV. I went on with my doggie duties to come later to read of all the crazy goings on in BKK..

Do not fear.. You will arrive and then jump on a domestic flight and go to the beaches or up here in the mountains of northern Thailand.. the rest of Thailand all looks the same..

fear not .. Thailand is awesome still.. forget about those few loonies and just head out of BKK

What are you talking about, as the OP said he has his business in BKK.

[chadintheusa]

It's still a good time to visit Thailand you might even get better deals with the number of cancellations. However I would recommend traveling outside Bangkok at the moment. All Songkran festivities are canceled and the skytrain is hit or miss when it comes to stations that are open. Khao San road is in the middle of the danger area. Go ahead, come to Thailand, but you'll enjoy your vacation more outside the Capitol.

[coutsa]

I am in the same boat. I am due in on April 29, 2 nights in Bangkok staying near MBK and then 10 nights Pattaya.

I am keeping an eye on thigs, but any thoughts people?? Think it will simmer down by then??

[Tumbo]

Oh and regarding the place where you'll be staying, On-Nut, as above comment said, it's pretty far from the hotspots. So no worries about it mate. Really.

Unless there will be a serious <deleted> going on again, the Skytrain should be running as usual, then everything around your area will be absolutely fine mate.

One bad thing though, the shopping-malls in Siam-square area aren't yet operating in normal hours.

You never know when the malls are to be closed for the day despite being said to be 6 PM.

It's the only thing that annoys me to be honest.

[simpathy]

come on over.

for the tourist, its all about nothing. of course use common sense and dont go near the "party zone:"

I AM MUCH MORE AFRAID OF GETTING WET!

[needforspeed]

come on over.

for the tourist, its all about nothing. of course use common sense and dont go near the "party zone:"

I AM MUCH MORE AFRAID OF GETTING WET!

Te only place you getting wet this year is under the shower

[simpathy]

if you are saying songkran has been cancelled, i may have to throw a few baht the reds way....................lol. do they have a site where to make donations,

[Ulysses G.]

That's a good one!

[Taurua]

Definitely come! It is safe here, unless you go to the places where there is fighting between the red-shirts and government troops. I live less than one kilometer from Rajaprasong, which is one of the two centers where the protester are holding up. But I feel very safe. If you stay at any hotel outside of Rajadamri (NOT the Hyatt, 4 Seasons, Holiday Inn or Intercontinental) then you are totally safe.

Use common sense and do not walk into the combat zones.

The shopping centers for the most part are open. Heck Chatuchak market has been open and the deals have never been better... sure, Central World is open, but that is only a tiny part of Bangkok.

Now, there are hotel and shopping deals galore. Believe me, you should take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts. Yes, there is continued fighting, but that fighting is contained. I feel 100% safe and love it with so little traffic!

[needforspeed]

if you are saying songkran has been cancelled, i may have to throw a few baht the reds way....................lol. do they have a site where to make donations,

Yes they have, here are the details

Branch: Bangkok bank Silom road

Account name: Needforspeed

Accountnumber: 007 2233007

Thank mate,

Appreciate it

[needforspeed]

Definitely come! It is safe here, unless you go to the places where there is fighting between the red-shirts and government troops. I live less than one kilometer from Rajaprasong, which is one of the two centers where the protester are holding up. But I feel very safe. If you stay at any hotel outside of Rajadamri (NOT the Hyatt, 4 Seasons, Holiday Inn or Intercontinental) then you are totally safe.

Use common sense and do not walk into the combat zones.

The shopping centers for the most part are open. Heck Chatuchak market has been open and the deals have never been better... sure, Central World is open, but that is only a tiny part of Bangkok.

Now, there are hotel and shopping deals galore. Believe me, you should take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts. Yes, there is continued fighting, but that fighting is contained. I feel 100% safe and love it with so little traffic!

Are you thinking we all blind here on Thai visa.

And central world was close.