cnn poll, Would martial law in Thailand stop you visiting?

[Tony125]

As an adult I do not want to be told to be home by 10 pm that's when the night life starts

I also agree, I am living here with Thai wife but if I was thinking of visiting now I would not as who wants to come over for beaches , clubs, nitelife.whatever and be told at resturants ect Have to leave now where closing kitchen because of curfew. Have to be back at hotel by 10 PM? No way I would go somewhere that put that restriction on me.

Plus blocking TV, internet ect I would and have advised any friends to skip coming over now till this curfew and stuff is over. Not worth the hassell.

[Tony125]

Have started selling up and getting ready to retire in Thailand, not seen anything to worry me as I am in bed before 10pm anyway. I am still intending on flying out in October, I have been all over the world working and touring and understand the keep safe way of travelling and understanding other peoples way of life. Martial law in Thailand seems safer than a lot of places I have been to over the years. London, Moscow, New York, Manchester etc etc can be very dangerous if you go to the wrong place and the wrong time.

In bed by 10 PM ? Goodnite gramps. So guess no matter to you if you get hugry want a coke or buy a newspaper but you can't go out to get one?

[Smurkster]

at this point I would advise tourists to stay away from Thailand regardless coup or not.. In this day in age with all these new countries opening up their doors to tourists, there are IMHO loads of better, more interesting, more friendly, more unspoiled places than Thailand..

In fact other than maybe flying into Bangkok, I don't think I would rank a trip around Thailand on the top of the list if I were to prepare an itinerary for South East Asian travelers. With places like Siphandon in Laos, the beaches of Vietnam, the Khmer Temples in Cambodia or the pristine Islands of the andaman sea in Burma....very soon thailand is just not going to be as relevant or special for tourists... I mean who really wants to walk around trash laden beaches and tourist packed islands when there are plenty of OTHER places open to them now, its not like the 90's when these countries were closed off

the last few friends I had travel around SEA all ranked Thailand at the bottom of their list after a plethora of other countries including Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Indonesia.....

Edited May 26, 2014 by Smurkster

[Guest]

No i would not and it has not i have just made travel arrangements for coming to thailand in 4 weeks and i have no worries at all about the situation at this time, and unless it worsens dramaticly i won't.

i personally think the situation is better now than it was several weeks and months ago.

[ggt]

Martial Law...NO...curfew...Yes!

[connda]

yes I would have left last month, and as a tourist I am definitely leaving in just a couple of days, you guys can have this place I was overall not impressed by the three cities I visited. (Phuket Town, Patong and Chiang Mai)

Watch the door on the way out.

[kokesaat]

I live here, and I'm not concerned. But if I didn't leave here and googled "countries with juntas", I wouldn't come.

There's something nasty about even saying that word, let alone what it means.

[jmccarty]

If I knew about this curfew, no way would I come here. Living here, I have no choice really. But also no way I would encourage anyone to visit here at the moment.

[samuijimmy]

As an adult I do not want to be told to be home by 10 pm that's when the night life starts

You should read the Samui forum.... things are hopping here after 10 pm..... Try heading out a bit more Just don't go to 7 11 or Family Mart

Only seen one police man since this all started, and he was headed down the street with no helmet......... Certainly no soldiers about ...either .... .

I was here I think my second visit to Thailand, when there was a Coup,.... no problems then traveling around , none now to speak of .... even CNN, BBC and Sky News say easy to avoid problems in BKK ...

[arjunadawn]

I live in Brooklyn. Bedford Stuyvesant... Plenty of muggings and Kids shooting each other over gangs and drugs.

My office was 14 blocks from the World Trade Center and I heard the first plane and watched it fly into the building.

I also watched the buildings fall down.

3,000 dead.

I will be in Thailand in a month.

Brother, I love your perspective. Yea, your correct; nothing for you to worry about.

[thaigold]

Go Hawaii / better beaches and clean.

Well let's weigh the problems:
You have to be in your hotel room by 10 PM (and can't even go out for a 7-11 coke, as they are closed also)

Police and army presence after dark.

Your travel insurance probably will not cover you for anything that may happen, especially if it's coup related. (because your country most likely put up a traveler's advisory)

Possibility of a civil war.
Rainy season (OK bring it on, but it is that time of year)

Why would anyone choose Thailand after reading all the news?

In the meantime, let's all enjoy the light traffic, good surf, and uncrowded beaches. (maybe even a bit cleaner water in the klongs, aye?)

Coke in hotel fridge, curfew will not last much longer

Army presence , great keeps the ratbags of the streets

Travel insurance will still cover you for most things as long as you do not get involved in things you should not

Now the army has taken over there is no possibilty of civil war, all the trouble makers are locked up or have gone home

Love the rainy season

Phuket is not Bangkok and in a week or so Bangkok will be back to normal

Travel Insurance companies often use the Travel advisories as reasons not to pay out if there is an incident in the country/region concerned.

Read the fine print.

[oneday]

If anyone knows anything at all about Thailand there is a big difference between "Martial Law" and "Martial Law with a Curfew". The only thing that bothers me right now is this totally unnecessary and economically damaging "Curfew".

It was poor question framed by "CNN" who obviously does not understand Thailand and their "coups".

[marcusd]

Well let's weigh the problems:

You have to be in your hotel room by 10 PM (and can't even go out for a 7-11 coke, as they are closed also)

Police and army presence after dark.

Your travel insurance probably will not cover you for anything that may happen, especially if it's coup related. (because your country most likely put up a traveler's advisory)

Possibility of a civil war.

Rainy season (OK bring it on, but it is that time of year)

Why would anyone choose Thailand after reading all the news?

In the meantime, let's all enjoy the light traffic, good surf, and uncrowded beaches. (maybe even a bit cleaner water in the klongs, aye?)

as a few business owners said to me, its low season so lucky. Time yet for things to change

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

[DoctorB]

I don't know why so many on this forum think the curfew will finish any time soon.

My suspicion is that it will be here for a long time. It gives the police or whoever the complete flexibility that the anti-nightlife brigade have long sought.

It was only earlier in the month that the Bangkok deputy police chief was proposing a serious crackdown; now he's got it.

Even here the cocoa-boys are endlessly telling the the rest of us how thay are always in bed by ten, blah blah.

A friend of mine arrived here in Pattya on Monday having saved for months for his 25 day holiday. I doubt the curfew will be lifted before he goes home. And before you all start, he's neither a ratbag or any form of the alky scum that the know alls of Nakhon Nowhere constantly imply about Pattaya holiday makers

[jimbeam1]

If I was coming as a tourist. Yes it would stop me coming over. Plenty of other places to see and enjoy.

jb1

[jimbeam1]

a certain kinf of people will come to visit places annually like pattaya or phuket, because they feel the need to be a 2 week millionaire and they can secuce any girl for the night, for the right fee, what they cannot do in their home country

If that is what they want there are other countries to go to where the cost would probably be about the same or, less.

jb1

[glcdc]

I live here, but wouldn't spend fun/vacation money when the vibe of country i disrupted..go somewhere with life at the moment..politics suck.

[jimbeam1]

No i would not and it has not i have just made travel arrangements for coming to thailand in 4 weeks and i have no worries at all about the situation at this time, and unless it worsens dramaticly i won't.

i personally think the situation is better now than it was several weeks and months ago.

i personally think the situation is better now than it was several weeks and months ago.

If you are not here. Why would you assume that?

jb1

[nexus99]

If you are on this forum... it wont stop you. If you are a normal tourist that has never been to Thailand before I bet it makes you think twice.

[mdmayes]

Martial law - no

Coup de tat - yes

HELLO VIETNAM!

[excelchain]

Yes.

[Ulic]

The martial law is not such a big deal, but the curfew would affect most people on vacation who want to have some fun.

Also if travelling alone it would not be as big an issue as travelling with a family or even a group of friends.

Lots of other options if you have not made plans and booked your flight and hotels . So I expect tourist numbers

to drop significantly unless this is resolved very quickly. Only those who are familiar with Thailand and the political

realities will understand what is happening and continue live/vacation and enjoy there time there.

[MoNewYork]

I've been planning my trip to SE Asia for months, and Thailand is a big chunk of my trip. It's a gift to myself for graduating from law school and taking the bar exam. Plane tickets already purchased, some hotels already booked, but those can be easily canceled.

Now, I have 2 months before I depart. I will continue to monitor the situation. The only nightlife I wanted to experience was the full moon party. So, the curfew might suck, but it won't be that bad for me. Furthermore, I'm not looking to go out drinking at night; if anything I plan to just walk around and eat at night. In many of the locations I plan to visit, that's currently an option, the curfew isn't being observed. Many tourist have posted pictures from the beach saying the coup and curfew have not affected them. However, I take this all with a grain of salt...they are tourists.

I don't plan on making a decision until August, but as of right now I still

plan on coming. If anything I will fly into BKK and leave right away for another SE Asia country, which I already plan to do on my month-long trip. So I refuse to cancel my flights like others are doing. Things can get worse, but at least I have options.

I live in NYC, I can get shot going to the movies or hit by a bike walking across the street. Someone just went on a killing rampage in California. There are always risks, some greater than others. But if there is a significant increase in violence over the next couple of weeks, or the situation appears to get worse, I will cut Thailand out of the trip. I won't get this opportunity to travel like this for a very long time (thanks to lousy vacation time in the US) so I think I'm willing to take more of a risk than others.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[peppa]

I would still come over, just not to Bangkok or the far south of the country. The curfew doesn't worry me, my day is well and truly finished by ten.

[Absolut]

As an adult I do not want to be told to be home by 10 pm that's when the night life starts

You should read the Samui forum.... things are hopping here after 10 pm..... Try heading out a bit more Just don't go to 7 11 or Family Mart

Only seen one police man since this all started, and he was headed down the street with no helmet......... Certainly no soldiers about ...either .... .

I was here I think my second visit to Thailand, when there was a Coup,.... no problems then traveling around , none now to speak of .... even CNN, BBC and Sky News say easy to avoid problems in BKK ...

And that is why I have no plans to cancel my August 8th ticket, well that and the fact the GF would be very upset

Never once thought about changing my plans.

I can however see how many families might not feel it safe in other locations of Thailand and change their plans.

[Jimi007]

My wife, my dog and I will be back on June 10th for at least three months. It's my second coup, there wasn't a curfew in Phuket during the first one. But I like it quiet, so maybe it will be a nice change? I didn't go out much after 10 PM anyway. I bet Icon and Laguna bars aren't liking the current situation though, unless that's been sorted through connections...

[peppa]

yes I would have left last month, and as a tourist I am definitely leaving in just a couple of days, you guys can have this place I was overall not impressed by the three cities I visited. (Phuket Town, Patong and Chiang Mai)

Why? What was the main problem? I'm interested, as a tourist I like to get feed back from other travellers, if they see a problem with certain areas.

[RawaiPlaBoyz]

I have thought this thru and even slept on it. It's a great question but the hypothetical is not valid (defective) in that there should be two categories of response. One for residents and one for non residents.

Issue is that one couldn't reasonably conclude the hypotheses because we can't come as we are already here. Remember, one test for the validity is the possibility of the proposal occurring, again we are already here.

I think a lot of value would be gleaned looking at it for both sides.

This overview of the "hypothetical question is more western law. British Common" rather that eastern style.

My vote as an expat is I would come because there is no indication of concern. Bars close.. Start early!

I would like to see the comparison of expats v punters!

"Foot note to one who is watching my post. Don't get into uncharted lands in this one. I know what I talking about!"

[johnbits]

Give all the recent events, I wouldn't come to Thailand for a vacation right now.

I wouldn't be very concerned about my safety, as things stand right now I don't see a problem for tourist.

I just don't think Thailand is going to be a lot of sanuk right now. I would rather come when so many locals aren't worried about the current situation.

[hawker9000]

Members will argue endlessly about the portion of the economy actually represented by tourism, but WHATEVER that portion, between the immigration crackdown and this curfew, Thailand is doing tremendous damage to its tourism industry. I don't think "martial law" per se will matter so much, but people don't drop a couple of thousand US on air tix, lodging & food just to be told when they have to go to bed. And come August, it won't take more than a few making the world news being detained or turned away by immigration for having too many stamps in their passports (etc., etc., etc.) to damage the national reputation as a travel destination further. Thais are confusing their right to make these decisions for themselves with the failure to consider the longer term consequences. Some smug expats think themselves secure in their current situations. Well, the thai government can wipe that silly grin off their faces in the wink of an eye & with a mere stroke of the pen.