flighing in on the 24th... hows the traffic going to be and advice

[driedmango]

Hi, will be flying in on the 24th, spending the night in a hotel just 5-10 minutes from the airport, are we going to be affected by the protest, and then in the morning was supposed to go to hua hin, wonder if that will be easy enough, perhaps we could go east..

what do you guys think ?

Thanks

[impulse]

That's 2 days from now and it's hard to predict what's going to happen later this afternoon. Follow today's thread on the topic to see just how dynamic the situation is.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691045-thailand-live-sunday-22-dec-2013/?utm_source=newsletter-20131222-0831&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

I'd suggest adjusting your trip so you don't have to go through the center of BKK. But that's in abundance of caution and strictly traffic related. So far, the protests have not been ominous at all for bystanders. But they have locked up some pretty busy streets.

Heading east sounds like a good option if you go far enough. I'm not a fan of Pattaya, preferring to slow down only once I'm 3 or 4 miles past Jomtien. But that's just a personal preference- you may love the place. A lot of people do.

Edited December 22, 2013 by impulse

[driedmango]

ya that is what i am thinking, we are just travelling for a bit, was hoping to get to hua hin still as we reserved a room, but i am sure they will cancel it, they did take passport number, but not sure what they will do with that.

[wayned]

Are you driving or using public transport? If driving you can take freeway all of the way and avoid the streets, or if you want, you can completely bypass Bangkok by using the ring road, route 9.

[ukrules]

You don't need to go anywhere near downtown Bangkok where the protests are being held.

You can get a taxi directly from the Airport to Hua Hin or one of the new luxury buses which also go straight to Hua Hin from the Airport. I would recommend taking the taxi.

I'm in Hua Hin right now, nothing's going on here, it's business as usual from what I can see.I was in Bangkok a few days ago before the new protests popped up along the Sukhumvit / Victory monument area but that was the middle of last week and things appear to have been stepped up since then.

This is what I would do :

You can leave the airport and head for Highway 9 (Bangkok Eastern Outer Ring Road - Toll Road) which leads to Highway 35 (Rama 2 Road) - from there you head West past Samut Sakhon (you're already well clear of Bangkok at this stage) and further on past Samut Songkhram all the way to the Phetkasem road where you turn left - then you continue on the same road until you get to Hua Hin avoiding going anywhere near downtown Bangkok at all.

Edited December 22, 2013 by ukrules

[whybother]

As suggested above, to avoid central Bangkok take the outer ring road. It would be the most direct route to Hua Hin regardless of what was happening in Bangkok anyway.

Even if you were to take the express ways through Bangkok, there has been no suggestion that the traffic has been heavier than normal, and the protests haven't directly blocked them, although some of the exits may be congested.

[driedmango]

thanks guys ! should be ok, I think the worst was on Sunday from what i read..