Should I Come To Thailand (bangkok) Right Now?

[TAWP]

As mentioned, avoid the streets in question and you will hardly notice something is going on.

[HereIAm]

Well, Here I Am -- in Bangkok, finally. Came in on Friday morning to see the girls at the immigration counter spraying water on each other gleefully for Songkran. The ride from the airport to the centre of the city was, as reported earlier here by the OP, as calm as any other day with nary a hint of trouble in the city. There were, of course, a couple of army trucks positioned on the expressway but that aside it was normal life. As the cab swung from the exit of the expressway into Sukhumvit, I looked right towards ChitLom to see if any Reds had spilled over this far. Nah. Life was normal, absolutely normal. People laughing and selling their wares, eating on the streets, tourists and cabs, and buses and tuktuks, and the usual congestion that makes life what it is on the Suk. Not a single shop was closed. Heartening.

It's now almost two days that I Am Here, , and nobody, but nobody, has uttered a word about the unrest. I am in a cybershop in one of the Suk sois now with girls chatting on msn, music in the background, a live band playing as usual in Zanzibar, cabs crawling up and down the soi, traffic whizzing on the main Suk, Subway a little further up at its usual cheery self. At PP last night, the clubs were in full throttle, live bands at RadioCity, Twilo, Muzik, to name a few, and, of course, "sounds of laughter everywhere and the dancing girls swinging to and fro." I had taken the skytrain to get here, mainly so I could peer down on RajaPrasong on the way to Siam. It was pretty late in the evening though when I rode the train so couldn't see much in the darkness as the train hurrid past but at the Gaysorn intersection I saw that sea of red and, I remember, for some reason I briefly felt sick looking down at that mass of humanity there. Frightening, perhaps. From what I could see in that narrow view that the moving train afforded beyond the rim of the bridge, they lay strewn all over the place right up till Siam Paragon. A voice on a megaphone was keeping the crowd awake.

After the latest headlines ("army plans fresh action," etc) I am wondering if all this is the lull before another storm. Time will tell. And I hope I am able to report optimistic stuff soon. After all, it's not just Thais who love Thailand.

Edited April 17, 2010 by HereIAm

[kurtgruen]

All the protests so far, seem to have been in specific areas. Like many said already, just stay away from those areas, keep reading news updates, to get an idea, about possible movements of different coloured shirt groups and warnings from the Government.

This certainly doesn't affect my travel plans to Bangkok. Now if the Reds took over Swampy Airport, that would be a different story, because I would not want to walk into that airport, with Reds controlling it.

Personally, I think your chances of getting run over by some drunk, are a million times higher, than getting injured by the reds or yellows or any other colour. You are more likely, to be on the receiving end of violence, from some other foreigner, than getting caught up in the demonstrations, as long as you stay clear of them

[kurtgruen]

Well, Here I Am -- in Bangkok, finally. Came in on Friday morning to see the girls at the immigration counter spraying water on each other gleefully for Songkran. The ride from the airport to the centre of the city was, as reported earlier here by the OP, as calm as any other day with nary a hint of trouble in the city. There were, of course, a couple of army trucks positioned on the expressway but that aside it was normal life. As the cab swung from the exit of the expressway into Sukhumvit, I looked right towards ChitLom to see if any Reds had spilled over this far. Nah. Life was normal, absolutely normal. People laughing and selling their wares, eating on the streets, tourists and cabs, and buses and tuktuks, and the usual congestion that makes life what it is on the Suk. Not a single shop was closed. Heartening.

It's now almost two days that I Am Here, , and nobody, but nobody, has uttered a word about the unrest. I am in a cybershop in one of the Suk sois now with girls chatting on msn, music in the background, a live band playing as usual in Zanzibar, cabs crawling up and down the soi, traffic whizzing on the main Suk, Subway a little further up at its usual cheery self. At PP last night, the clubs were in full throttle, live bands at RadioCity, Twilo, Muzik, to name a few, and, of course, "sounds of laughter everywhere and the dancing girls swinging to and fro." I had taken the skytrain to get here, mainly so I could peer down on RajaPrasong on the way to Siam. It was pretty late in the evening though when I rode the train so couldn't see much in the darkness as the train hurrid past but at the Gaysorn intersection I saw that sea of red and, I remember, for some reason I briefly felt sick looking down at that mass of humanity there. Frightening, perhaps. From what I could see in that narrow view that the moving train afforded beyond the rim of the bridge, they lay strewn all over the place right up till Siam Paragon. A voice on a megaphone was keeping the crowd awake.

After the latest headlines ("army plans fresh action," etc) I am wondering if all this is the lull before another storm. Time will tell. And I hope I am able to report optimistic stuff soon. After all, it's not just Thais who love Thailand.

Welcome back! Just noticed this post, after I wrote my last reply.

Yes, you seem to be experiencing the same as most other people in Thailand. Except for the demonstration areas, life goes on normally, with most people not even wanting to hear about the demonstrations (Thai people, I am talking about). Very sad, that more than 20 people died in the clashes. Then again, hundreds die every year, just in the week of Songkran, as a result of drunk drivers, etc.

It might sound cruel, but if people continuesly put themselves in harms way, sooner or later, trouble will find them. You can't take over one of the major business areas in Bangkok and expect to remain there, causing millions of dollars in damages every day. Peaceful or not, demonstrations like that, could not be allowed to go on indefinitely like that. (and they have been far from peaceful anyways)

Anyways, glad you made it back to the Land of Smiles

Cheers

[HereIAm]

What an "unusually normal" 24 hours I have had . After my previous post, we had dinner at a Suk restaurant, where I tried to get the manager to talk about the unrest. Yes, you are right, Kurtgroen, none of the Thais wants to really talk about this. It's almost as if they are too embarassed by this standoff and wish tourists just continue to smile, eat, drink, party, shop and have a good time and that they continue to view Thailand as their favourite destination. It is so evident in their demeanour. So last night after dinner we headed off to a Suk club and partied until 2 am and all of today we were out at Platinum Shopping. It was only at the Pratunam intersection that I noticed the road upto Ratchaprasong was blocked. And then there is all this talk of the yellow and multicolour rallies in the media. To those keen to know if shopping in the Pratunam area is unaffected well as of today yes. But the mood is "no bets on tomorrow." So depending on which way events unfold I suppose the shopowners in Pratunam will take a call each day. The mood though (judging from whomever I could talk to) is clearly one of embarassed silence.

Wish you well, Thailand, I hope fervently all this will pass off as a bad dream and you will wake up soon in relief to find all Thais are waking up too to reality.

[hawthorne]

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

So the answer is come now, no problem, just stay away from all showers

[reallyok]

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!

I was up there from Samui for 8 days last week to attend Bumrungrad hospital, staying near Sukumvit 1 where there was a big rally.

Being 'nosey' i went along and walked amongst several hundred protesters and police to take pics. Except for them trying to 'smile' me to death, i felt in no danger whatsoever ! A carnival atmosphere reigned and the redshirts moved amongst the police handing out water and food and shaking hands. After a few hours the police commander decided to take the boys back to barracks. The cheering and clapping redshirts then formed an aisle for the police to file back to the busses as they passed there was much shaking of hands and 'back slapping' with the police waving back....................NOW ! on the other side of town the ARMY were in charge and it was a completely different story with several deaths ????

Anyhow it was good to get back home on peaceful Samui. And dont tell me its more expensive down here where i can get a breakfast for Bht90 and Khao phat for Bht60 as opposed to Bangkok where breakfast Bht 180 and Khao Phat 120.

Like i said ..........happy to be home on KS.

[reallyok]

Some very irresponsible posters here. To those saying that tourist areas are safe I'm sure people were saying that around Ko san. The fact is that wherever the protests may be now, should fighting start again then the fighting can spread in any direction people consider tactically viable (ie to escape or gain the upper hand over the opponent). Whether tourists are there won't factor into decision-making when people have bullets flying at them.

The fact that the CEO of CAT was kidnapped shows that the government, army and police are not presently in control of Bangkok, and the red mob can do anything they like, and they are doing exactly that. They're doing stop-and-search on people they don't like the look of etc. I would also point out that there are some right nutters in the red movement, Arisman being an obvious example but you've got someone much more violent in the shadows, Sae Daeng, with his paramilitaries armed to the teeth. If one side can gain advantage by shooting a tourist and claiming the other side did it do you think they'll hold back and think "no we can't we'll hurt the Thai economy"? We've seen already they don't give a dam_n about the tourist industry because they're killing it right now before our eyes.

I would suggest holding off til more peaceful times if you must visit Bangkok. If you come, and move to another area, have an escape plan ready (ie exit via Cambodia or Laos or wherever if the airport is inaccessible). I'm currently planning and getting everything ready in case I need to do one quickly. It's unfortunate but that's where we are right now.

As someone who visited Krung Thep last week .........In my opinion it is safe provided you stay away from areas occupied by the Army !

[reallyok]

Excellent post, SantiSuk. The best advice I've seen yet. You are site specific for the OP. Bangkok is a HUGE place and unless you actually know where the protestors are rallying then it's impossible for a foreigner to make plans to avoid it. Nothing seems to be happening in the outlying districts.

However, all protests and public events in EVERY country seems to bring out the creeps and thugs who like to hide behind the anonimity of a crowd.

Sorry Ian, i was in that area for 8 days living down the bottom of soi 4, i had no problems or worries (safety wise) at all except for the kids (big & small) at the top end with their water playing antics.

[reallyok]

One needs to approach this question from an arm length's perspective and not allow a personal like or dislike for Thailand bias the decision.

I cannot speak for other regions, but it is quiet on Phuket. The beach chairs are showing 25% occupancy. That might reflect the world's economy, but I think it is more a function of the scorching heat. My AC conked out friday.

I believe that Bangkok is a place to be avoided and that it will probably get worse before it gets better.

The airport Saturday and Sunday seemed secure and calm to me. Outside of the protest zones, tourists are safe, for now.

Based on the ongoing turmoil, only a fool would travel to Bangkok in the next week at minimum. Stay away. If you go and there is a problem, you are responsible. Do not look for help from your government as it most likely has a very stern warning now posted to avoid travel.

Don't be so sure about the airport as i see that the bloody yellow shirts are talking of coming out again !

[reallyok]

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

My advise,stay home where you come from,and never visit Thailand,Tourists with their curiousity only get killed by stray bullets/scrapnells.

besides,Reds dont like Foreigners/Falangs especially.

Oh f's sake - am sorry - but that was a load of BS.

Your living place is in Pattaya - ruddy 200 km from the "raving zone" - and how could you give a comment like that? Like you are living next to the protesting area.

Unless you have been encountering what you have said in your reply or you are now living right next to the spots, I think you are just being too pessimistic or dramatic mate.

Am living in Sathorn area - not too far from the Rajprasong - but, seriously mate, the only thing right now that is pssing me off big time, is that the stupid kids already started the water war!!!

Ugh!

Serves you right...............you should pay the girls !!!

[marquis22]

Why do you have to stay in Bangkok ?

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

Agree. I have been in Isaan the last 8 weeks, life is as normal as it was last year.

If you are worried for your own skin, just stay out of the very small 'war' zone area of Bangkok.

The only worry you will have though is from falling bullets from the army warning shots into the air.

If you are still worried, bring your own helmet .... They're all sold out in Bangkok