[AsiaPacific]

All TV channels blocked now – local anyway.
Night curfew for ENTIRE country just announced 10pm to 5am which will severely disrupt travel to airports etc.
SSome unconfirmed reports of shooting at political rally sites.

[AsiaPacific]

The army just detained a lot of press so if she’s not familiar with how things operate here … suggest she keeps well away from it.

[TiredOldHack]

I’m going to text her now – she was heading back to her hotel, and her laptop had run out of batteries…

[AsiaPacific]

ALL TV channels now blocked except direct feed satellite.
So if yr coming to Thailand. Expect to be staying in yr accom from min 10pm to 5 am. Most outside restaurants / shops now closing at 8pm. Public trspt off at abt 9pm. Hope you enjoy hotel rooms and food as no options. Also no tv , so early nights.
Maybe not such a safe & pleasant place to visit just yet.

A good lesson here…. don’t post too early that everything’s normal. This time things are appearing very different to previous coups and expect many other big announcements soon we fear.

[JohnPhelanAustralia]

BKK airport is unaffected by the curfew, and people needing to travel to or from the airport during curfew times are exempt from the curfew(provided they are carrying their passport and a ticket/copy of their itinerary).

Taxis are also exempt if carrying passengers to or from the airport.

[MartynSinclair]

I spoke to British Airways this morning about the situation in Thailand. Whilst I do feel comfortable about my safety, the fact remains that

1. There is military coup in place

2. There is a 10pm – 5 am curfew… at the moment

I also heard the British Ambassador (on Sky news) confirming travellers should still come to Thailand, but should monitor the situation carefully. Both BA 9 and 10 are operating on time (today).

So where does this leave travellers. In my case, if the situation remains I would choose not to travel. BA advised that they are not “currently” allowing passengers to change without paying the appropriate fee.

I am checking with my travel insurance, but it does seem slightly bizarre that under these unusual circumstances, passengers are not able to change the date of travel….

[AsiaPacific]

Just home after 6 1/2 hrs Bangkok traffic — all caused by the coup and curfew. Organisation hopeless. All police ordered off the street by the army – so no one organising things and army is AWOL. Crazy situation.
Seems like the planning for this was done by Baldrick – a cunning plan. Mostly no ryhme or reason for most things being demanded. All TV off still and immigration was not letting foreigners in over land borders eg Lao or Cambodia again creating chaos. Hope it gets better soon. Sorry for the whinge but this is starting to get my goat.

[SRP]

Just got back home to Shanghai from Bangkok tonight. No issues today getting from Shangri La to my morning meeting then onto the airport at lunchtime, traffic seemed quite light if anything. My China Eastern flight home was only 10 mins late leaving too which was a miracle in itself 🙂 Yesterday my colleague and I had no disruptions as we toured round various facilities during the afternoon. The only mild panic was when news of the curfew broke late evening by SMS and he had to do a runner to the airport for his night flight home, which meant he left a half finished G&T as the sum total of collateral damage, otherwise no issues…

[AsiaPacific]

Thought I’d update things in case ppl believe things are ‘normal’. Anti coup demos increasing in number and ppl attending. No violence to date thank goodness. Travel disruptions as various roads and BTS stations randomly closed for periods. Multiple arrests of various people – appears mainly activists but also some jounos. Curfew still in place. Cable tv relaxed a bit but all overseas news still blocked as well as an increased number of websites incl Dailly Mail – so not all bad 🙂 lets see what will unfold in the next few days.

[IanFromHKG]

Well, I’m here in BKK with the Memsahib and Senior Offspring for a couple of days, only planned a few days ago (we don’t let little things like coups deter us! lol). The curfew has been reduced (or eliminated in some tourist areas elsewhere in the country). Traffic I have seen appears to be moving normally. There is much in the newspapers about the junta (yes, they are actually calling it that in the local newspapers) now trying to work on PR and encourage foreign visitors back to Thailand. I take AsiaPacific’s point about the situation being far from normal (although a letter writer to the Bangkok Post yesterday was taking the view that coups are so normal in Thailand they should be regarded as a lawful and normal part of the political scene!), but from our own limited perspective it is very much the same Bangkok we know and love. The flight was lightly loaded, and many of the pax were clearly continuing on to Colombo, and the hotel isn’t busy, but then again neither were empty.

The level of fawning at the Peninsula has definitely gone up a notch, with one of the management staff seeking out the Memsahib over breakfast (I was saving the sala by the pool!) to thank her especially for coming back and supporting them. Apart from that, and the fact that some websites are blocked, we see little difference in our experience as tourists. Now, time for me to go and order a beer….

[AsiaPacific]

Have to agree with yr comments Ian. Although hotel occupancy is through the floor. Mandarin had only 65 rooms earlier in the week and abt 8-10 tables occupied at breakfast on the terrace. And they are doing well. The Peninsula has been offering suites at sub USD$200 incl brekkie etc so things are tough as that’s 2004 rates or less.
Life goes on although its not the same. Even some hand gestures are now banned apparently. Enjoy yr stay.

[Moadweeb]

Dear Ian/Asia Pacific..

I have a trip planned for Phuket end of this month, I read somewhere that the night curfew in Phuket has been lifted..Is this true, is the Millitary OUT of Phuket completely ?

I am a bit surprised that the hotels there have not reduced their tariffs considering that its the monsoon there + a coup is ongoing..

I expect it to be absolutely safe to go to Phuket by end June..

Cheers,
M

[LuganoPirate]

If you do go and fly Thai Airways, look at this beautiful picture of the 787.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Thai-Airways-International/Boeing-787-8-Dreamliner/2452082/L/

My friend who has a home in Phuket says it’s fine there. He’s had no problems at all.

[flyingcanadian]

Hi Moadweeb,
I see that you started this thread last year, and of course Thailand has changed since you started it. My son (12yrs) and I go to Phuket 6 times a year, and as LP says, there is no trouble in Phuket. Sometimes, you would hardly know that there was trouble in Bangkok. The only time we had trouble was in the Sept before they closed BKK airport, when they closed Phuket airport for 4 days. The curfew has been changed to 12 midnight to 4.00am in Phuket. In Patong for the days after the curfew, the streets were empty, and of course shows like Fantasea and the “Simons Cabaret” were ALL CLOSED AT 9.00PM so staff could get home. The hotels reduced their rates after the TSUNAMI but this time they are holding out for better rates! Enjoy your vacation.

[HarryMonk]

Moadweeb

“I am a bit surprised that the hotels there have not reduced their tariffs considering that its the monsoon there + a coup is ongoing.”

In my experience, Thailand doesn’t follow the usual ‘rules’ of supply and demand, less customers equals higher prices there.

[Author]

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