What did you do when the yellow shirts blockaded the airport.

[ultimate weapon]

This question is for those that had this happen to them when they were in thailand at that time. Did you have to extend your stay? Maybe you travelled to another province and took a plane from there?

For me i wasn't in thailand so it didn't affect me i did see on the news how some thai lady i think an airport staff was explaining to some pissed off farang how they were the land of smiles and i suppose trying to convey to him they don't usually do something like this instead of just saying sorry.

[Travel2003]

There will always be angry people when their flights are cancelled or delayed.

They tried their best to direct traffic to other airports.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Many people took flights to other airports that accept international flights, both in Thailand and across the border. Then travelled overland. Some flights diverted to places like Utapao, too.

These days there are even more international flights to regional Thai airports; many more flights into Chiang Mai, Phuket, etc.

It would still take some determination, of course. Many airlines just cancel flights instead of divirting.

[meom]

LOL.

Yes I rmember that.

Was supposed to fly to Bangkok from Bahrain.

Instead went to KL , from there to Phuket and with the bus to Bangkok.

[CharlieH]

What did I do ? Absolutely nothing ! None of my business and had no effect whatsoever on me or my family, just like the current hoards in Bangkok, carry on, they are too far away to bother me in my little backwater village.

[manarak]

I was supposed to fly home when the airport was blockaded.

I was already near the PoiPet border when Austrian Airlines finally replied that they has a seat for me on a flight from U-Tapao...

I flew home from Siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur, Paris before finally boarding a flight home.

The Cambodia stunt had been very uncomfortable, but is an unforgettable experience, especially the night in the 1.5 $ hotel and the ride to the airport at 5 in the morning on the back of a Cambodian tuktuk - motorized rischka is more appropriate.

[ultimate weapon]

LOL.

Yes I rmember that.

Was supposed to fly to Bangkok from Bahrain.

Instead went to KL , from there to Phuket and with the bus to Bangkok.

Why did u want to go to bkk?

[meom]

LOL.

Yes I rmember that.

Was supposed to fly to Bangkok from Bahrain.

Instead went to KL , from there to Phuket and with the bus to Bangkok.

Why did u want to go to bkk?

To see the Gf, get drunk etc.

[ultimate weapon]

LOL.

Yes I rmember that.

Was supposed to fly to Bangkok from Bahrain.

Instead went to KL , from there to Phuket and with the bus to Bangkok.

Why did u want to go to bkk?

To see the Gf, get drunk etc.

wow even in those times you wanted to enjoy yourself?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

wow even in those times you wanted to enjoy yourself?

LOL.. of course.. Life doesn't stop because a bunch of yellow shirts want to stage a protest.

It's an inconvenience if you actually need to pass through the airport. If you don't need to pass through the airport, it was no inconvenience at all.

Same as right now; it affects a really small part of the country.. Why would anyone suspend their lives for the political quarrels of others that have nothing to do with you? Life is too short for that.

That doesn't mean I'm politically completely apathetic; I can see the core merits of the argument of both the yellow/Dem and red/PTP sides, but both camps include completely insane extremists that I have little time for, and most certainly won't let influence my daily life.

[Sunny Day]

Sat back with a house full of food and JWB and had a bit of giggle at Thais showing themselves to be so Thai on the international scene.

[sustento]

Had an extra week's holiday then flew Chiang Mai - Singapore - Colombo - Dubai - UK.

[NanLaew]

LOL.

Yes I rmember that.

Was supposed to fly to Bangkok from Bahrain.

Instead went to KL , from there to Phuket and with the bus to Bangkok.

Why did u want to go to bkk?

To see the Gf, get drunk etc.

wow even in those times you wanted to enjoy yourself?

Amazing huh?

There IS an alternative to watching canned internet news and entering into keyboard jousts on internet forums with others that are similarly devoid of enjoyment.

[Ratsima]

I was in LA visiting family and wanting to get back to Thailand. My flight (on EVA to Suvarnabhumi) was cancelled. I called daily for several days and was finally given a reservation on a flight that included a long layover in Taiwan and an onward flight to U-Tapao. The Taiwan layover eventually lasted 15 hours which I spent in the EVA lounge eating free pizza and drinking gin & tonic.

The flight arrived at U-Tapao quite late in the evening. It was complete chaos. There was a long wait for baggage and customs and immigration. Outside the terminal building was a giant circus of people waiting for flights out, volunteers providing free food and drink and a massive stage with some sort of concert.

Surprisingly, getting a taxi was easy. I decided to go all the way to Bangkok. I arrived before the bars closed.

That's all I remember.

[Thai at Heart]

Sat in a hotel waiting to get to utapao nearly missing my mother's funeral.

I don't have much sympathy for the yellows.

[Jasun]

Forced me to postponed a flight to Mumbai and the Taj hotel, on the eve of the terrorist attacks.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[meom]

LOL.

Yes I rmember that.

Was supposed to fly to Bangkok from Bahrain.

Instead went to KL , from there to Phuket and with the bus to Bangkok.

Why did u want to go to bkk?

To see the Gf, get drunk etc.

wow even in those times you wanted to enjoy yourself?

LOL

After two months in Saudi without booze and getting laid there was not much stopping me.

Nearly missed the flight in Bahrain though because the getting drunk part started right there in the airport bar.

Anyway got on the airplane and arrived early morning in KL where I checked in to the airport hotel for a shower and some sleep.

The flight to Phuket departed something like 10-11 at night so when after check out from the airport hotel in the afternoon the rest of the day was spent drinking beer and shuttling with the train from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 and back.

The shuttling part was a bit weird but somehow I could not locate any smoking area in the terminal from which the flight to Phuket departed. I knew the one in the other terminal so I went back and forth several times with the train that connects the two terminals.

Phuket was a bit of a mess when I arrived there with a huge number of people waiting to clear immigration which gave me the impression that I wasn’t the only one who had changed airports in order to enter Thailand. Because I didn’t have a place to sleep I asked a girl in the airport if she knew something near the bus station. She gave me the name of a hotel and showed me a Van outside that would take me there.

That was all ok and after a good sleep I checked out early morning and walked to the bus station to take the bus to Bangkok. Or so I thought; all buses to Bangkok were full and there was only a bus available that went to Chumpon.

Whatever I though as long as it drives in the general direction of Bangkok I didn’t mind so off I went.

The scenery from Phuket to Chumpon is quite nice so I actually enjoyed the bus ride.

At night the bus arrived in Chumpon and after a few minutes of walking around I saw a hotel, got a room and went out for some food. On the way back bought a couple of beers and called the GF telling her I would reach Bangkok probably the next day.

Bit later than expected but the whole trip wasn’t too bad actually.

[Ulysses G.]

What did you do when the yellow shirts blockaded the airport?.

Lost a bunch of money when tourists stopped coming here and it looks like history might just repeat itself.

[A1Str8]

I defecated all over the place as a sign of appreciation.

[bobo42]

Ha! I remember it well. I was taking a taxi into Suvarnabhumi just as the PAD mob was shutting down the roads. Barely made it into the place, and got onto one of the last flights out before they shut down flights. It was pretty intense on the way in. I kind of wish I would have missed the flight, the only reason I was flying out is for work, I would have liked a few extra weeks off.

[bkkden]

I remember it well. I was working in Singapore and my wife was visiting me there. She had to get home for family business so she had to fly Singapore to Koh Samui, spend a night there and then a bus to Bangkok the next day?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[h90]

First I was scared of our FedEx shipments, but it turned out that FedEx isn't silly. They brought everything to KL. +2 days. Not nice, but some normal locations in other countries are serviced slower, so no problem.

And let us remember that the PAD negotiated with the airport to let Muslims fly to Mecca as they saved a long time for this flight and the airport refused to let the airplanes start. Most probably to cause anger by the Muslim community against the PAD. Luckily that didn't work.

[jackr]

Sweet FA

[pieeyed]

I had just came out of Yemen after a long shitty time. Flew to Dubai and was stuck for 3 days. Finally got a flight to KL and Phuket. The wife drove from Bangkok to fetch me. Totally pissed me off.

[PeterSmiles]

They shut the airport down exactly the day after I left for a visit to my home country, and my return flight was on the first day that flights into Suvarnabhumi were allowed again.

[Lakegeneve]

I took the 2nd to last domestic flight out of DMK before it was also blockaded and shut down 90 mins later. It was funny seeing a TG flight from London on the Domestic Arrivals screen.

Some people really freaked out which is of course normal human nature. It is amazing how easy travel is these days such that when a spanner is thrown in the works or normal operations break down, some peoples comfort zone goes out the window and they don't cope so well. In that sense it can be a good lesson. Personally, I couldn't understand most people being worried about being stuck in BKK or Thailand for an extra few days or a week. "Ah sorry boss but I can't return to work tomorrow as I am stuck in Thailand. Yeah, I know it really sucks as I'd love to come back to the start of winter......".

It is not like people were stuck in a humanitarian disaster area or a war zone. That is the more serious end of the scale.

One thing that really shocked me was after the airport blockade/sit-in was lifted after 8 days, reportedly not one item was missing or damaged in the whole terminal! I was flabbergasted! All that alcohol and chocolate was just begging to be consumed. I would have drunk copious amounts of duty free especially given my dim view of King Power and their monopoly.