STAY INDOORS, IT'S HAVOC IN BANGKOK
Misleading headlines about the current situation in Bangkok are yet again painting a false picture of what's happening in the vast majority of the Thai capital right now. If you believe some of what's been published you'd think the streets of Bangkok are a no-go zone. Sadly the truth for most people is a lot less exciting.
Fact: Bangkok is indeed under a State of Emergency , and not martial law as suggested by Bloomberg BusinessWeek. I've lost count but I've been here coming up for four years and I think this is the fourth I've been through.
Fact: It's not going to make headlines, but my journey to work this morning was extremely uneventful - the same as it is every day.
Fact: It's business as normal for most people in Bangkok, including me.
Fact: I work in central Bangkok about four miles from the Rajaprasong intersection where the red shirts have camped out. I've not been affected in any way.
Fact: On the way to a meeting this morning (as I said, it's business as usual) my taxi drove past the Prime Minister's home. No security checks, no army, and barely a policeman in sight.
The situation in Thailand is not getting any better but it's not chaotic as some media headlines would lead you to believe. And as for the U.K.'s Daily Express, which claims "British tourists were told to stay indoors" ... oh really? Who told them?
9 comments:
Is it safe for tourists to come in then ? Do you think they'll block/close the airport like last year. I have tickets for next week and the trip is supposed to be a relaxing/shopping trip, but I'm not so sure now.
My view is that Bangkok is no more dangerous than any other city. As long as you're sensible and keep yourself updated about what's happening then you'll be fine. Yes, there's the potential for things to take a turn for the worse so take a look at the advice being offered about travel to Thailand by your government. And check your insurance policy too, A lot of policies will not include coverage for anything that happens as a result of civil unrest.
Some - but not all - of the shopping centres have remained closed this week since the anti-government protesters arrived in the centre of the city. Places like MBK, Pantip and Emporium have remained open, and of course there are numerous malls just outside the city which have seen increases in visitor numbers this week.
Let me know what happens.
The governments tend to shepherd their citizens quite ferociously in Europe. I sometimes wonder whether the governments' reactions are based in the exaggerated news reports of the various papers and agencies, which the BKK Bugle rightly highlighted.
I've been photographing the events in Central since Sunday and it has been a rather joyous event, so far. The situation changes daily though and even we, expats who live in Bangkok are victims of bad press, or should I say inadequate reports in English in this city and have to rely on rumours, information from the various Thai news broadcasts or friends to get a decent idea what is really going on.
Props for the bugle for highlighting the insurance issue!
Cheers for the post. All news concerning the city of confusion are much appreciated!
A.
I was taking photos and videos during the first days of the Red Shirt rally and it was a party atmosphere. I'm not into blood, so I bailed out at that time.
Yesterday I went to my hairdressers. I called a taxi driver I trusted as I wasn't sure what to expect.
Bangkok was peaceful with NO traffic.
My hairdresser is stressed out because his clients are listening to the reporting and canceling their appointments, ruining his business running up to Songkran.
The last time I saw his salon so dead was when the Yellow Shirts sat at the airport. Sad.
On the way back from getting my hair done, I went looking for the Red Shirts in the Paragon area. I drove right through the rally, no problem at all. They were busy eating lunch and waving at a news helicopter (I believe) flying overhead.
I passed one barricade in BKK but it did not stop traffic as the Red Shirts allowed us to drive around it.
It was so quiet on the roads, at 12.30 I decided to head over to Suk to pick up my favourite whisky. And from Paragon to Suk during what is usually crunch lunch hour traffic on a Friday, there was NO traffic.
The outrageous reporting is what is ruining businesses. So if you are a BKK resident reading this, get off your sofas and get back out there.
To find out if the situation changes for the worse, check twitter or blogs, not the news channels.
AL and Catherine, thanks for your comments. Much appreciated.
I get so frustrated when I see reports which are plainly false, or hyping up the reality of what's happening in the vast majority of Bangkok.
As an expat you can usually judge how badly Bangkok is being portrayed by the number of phones calls, emails and messages you get from concerned family and friends around the world. This week's been relatively high - on a par with the 2006 coup and the Songkran unrest last year.
Bad news sells, I know that having spent 18+ years in the media, and as I said yesterday 'Man has uneventful commute despite State of Emergency in Bangkok' just isn't going to sell newspapers or attract readers.
I am looking forward to my business trip to BKK on 21st April.
Bad press will not stop me!
I have booked the flight on 20th April to Bangkok , but now can't decide ..
i want to travel bangkok n pattaya in coming week and i m really worried whether it would be a safe journey or not ? please help me......
Hi there,
I got my 2 days stay in bangkok, Royal Hotel, 60 min travel from Suvarnabhumi Airport while going back to India. Is it a good idea to shop around in the current situation. I'll be there on 30th of April.Any kinda advice will be really appreciated.
Thanks
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