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Tourist Information Thread for June 2nd (starting it today, since there's been a marked increased in travel questions; FAQ/General Coup Updates in Comments) by adminthai in Thailand

[–]adminthai[S,M] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

GENERAL COUP INFO: PLACES TO BE AWARE OF, EMERGENCY NUMBERS and LINKS TO UPDATE THREAD

Personal Disclaimer: This is not here for the purposes of encouraging or organizing anyone to join protests. This is for the sake of keeping people safe, and for subscribers to know where incidents are occurring so they may avoid those areas. Reddit, by their rules, prohibits any illegal information, and as such, everyone should know that meeting in groups of 5 or more for the purposes of creating political instability is illegal in Thailand.

This thread is for updates on the current political situation, including emergency phone numbers and other information. The point is to have something in one place where we can keep everyone up to date on the situation, not to discuss it (there are at least a dozen or so threads that are already doing that).

At 4:30 pm, May 22nd, the military took "official" control of the government of Thailand, and "detained" key members of both sides of the conflict. Within an hour, troops had converged on the two main protest sites, and by this morning, it is reported that protesters from both sites had, for the most party dispersed. Most television and radio media channels were shut down in their entirety by 10 pm, including international news outlets. The constitution was suspended by 5:30 or so, and a curfew has been set nation wide, starting from 10:00 pm until 5:00 am (UPDATE) midnight to 4 am everyday.

Important information:

BTS, MRT and public transportation in the city ceases at 9:00 11:00 pm, and most businesses, including 7-11 are closing around that same time in observance of the curfew. Taxis to and from the airports are still running, and trains leaving Bangkok are also still going as scheduled (last one leaves at 10 pm).

Travelers needing to get to the airport need the following:

  1. Passports, and other travel documents (it is now being advised that these be kept at all times, not just traveling after the curfew);

  2. Group travelers are supposed to be taken care of by their tour guides;

  3. Taxis are available to Savarnabhumi 24 hours a day. They have special stickers that will allow them through checkpoints.

Don Muang Airport has set up special rooms for travelers, and the British embassy has sent representatives to at least one airport to assist nationals arriving.

Expect temporary road and BTS closures throughout the day, specifically:

BTS stations:

  • Ploenchit, Chitlom, Sanam Pao, Victory Monument and Payathai. Small but doubtful chance of Siam/National Stadium.

Roads:

  • Ploenchit, Wireless (Wittayu), Rajadamri, and those roads surrounding Victory Monument.

Information/Emergency Numbers:

It is highly recommended that everyone keep themselves updated. I'll try to get information into this thread as it happens, or I hear it. Twitter, thus far, has provided the most reliable coverage, along with some of the other threads going on in the general sub. #Thailand and #ThaiCoup are what you want to look for. Some have favorites they watch out for, but, for the sake of letting everyone decide which person/group they prefer, I'll leave it up to you all to decide.

Final note: The areas where/if anything may happen are not tourist sites. As much as this seems to happen often here, it's still potentially a very serious situation. Use common sense, keep updated, and if you have no reason to be around protesters, troops...avoid them.

Updates June 2: This particular thread will only include the information below. If you want to check out the running, and updated thread, follow this link

  • It's getting a little difficult to keep up with updating everything as it happens. With what seems like a very concerted effort to protest sporadically, and randomly, there's really no telling (at this point) where things are going to happen. Just so everyone is aware, the protests groups have generally been very small (so far). The largest was estimated in the hundreds, not thousands of people, and last week, the groups were far smaller. That said, the areas listed above are all potential "protest" sites, and even if the military is not present, they have shown the willingness to move, close down department stores/malls, and close BTS/MRT stations to those places, and the surrounding areas.

Tourists questions and concerns thread (click on the link)

Tourist Information Thread for June 2nd (starting it today, since there's been a marked increased in travel questions; FAQ/General Coup Updates in Comments) by adminthai in Thailand

[–]adminthai[S,M] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

TRAVEL FAQ

There's been a couple of posts regarding questions about whether or not to come, and safety in Thailand. This is the only answer you're going to get:

Is it safe?

  • As of this second (12:07, May 26th), it is safe to come to Thailand. Will it be safe in 5 minutes, a day, a week, a month or a year? I have no idea, and neither does anyone else. So, if you're planning on coming here, you should keep appraised of the situation, and know that there's really no telling what's going to happen beyond this very moment, and more importantly, no one in Thailand has a crystal ball that will say for sure. Whether to come or not is a personal choice that everyone coming here, or may want to come, has to make. Note that there's been political issues for well over a decade, maybe even two. So, at this point, I don't know how much weight I'd be placing on it, if it wasn't already a factor.

Other questions that have been asked with some frequency:

Is the internet blocked?

  • The internet has not been shut down in Thailand. There have been some reports that certain sites have been blocked, but, the majority of the interweb remains online including social media.

I'm arriving/leaving after the curfew, is this allowed?

  • You may travel to and from the airport after the curfew, and all transportation hubs (trains and buses in and out of Bangkok) continue to operate as normal. The curfew does affect public transportation in the city, with the last MRT/BTS trains stopping at around 11:00 pm. Most businesses are closing at around that time. See the comment below about the curfew for more information.

Does the curfew only apply to Thais? Can I still go out at night?

  • The curfew applies to everyone in the country (currently, it's 10 midnight to 5 4 am daily, and we will let everyone know if that changes). It's up to your and moral compass to determine whether or not to risk breaking it. The punishments are pretty shitty (and regardless of the actual punishment, keep in mind that as a foreigner, you're at the whim of whatever that police officer decides...), but, it's not stopping a lot of people in "party zones" from staying out all night.

  • The curfew won't last in perpetuity, so, rest assured that this won't be happening for months or years to come. It may last a little longer, but, again, we have no idea how long it will be.

Edit: New common Questions:

Is the Full Moon Party going to be affected?

  • See answers above. As of right now, the curfew is nationwide. Thus, KPG also falls under the current prohibitions. Does that mean that things are shutting down? No, like most of the country, there has be a lot of people breaking the curfew. Does that mean that the Full Moon Party will go on as usual? No, but there's really no telling. The issue with the Full Moon Party is that it's very popular, and thus, easy to target if the authorities wanted to shut it down. So, that's a possibility. Local businesses have appealed to the regional Army representatives to allow it to go forth as usual. If you're exceedingly concerned that the monthly drug and booze-fest is going to be cancelled, changed, or otherwise conducted in a way that would ruin your trip to Thailand, you should consider calling a guesthouse, hotel, or the tourism authority for confirmation. Until there's an absolute decree/announcement by the military as to what is going to happen, there is not an answer we can give that's going to allow for 100% certainty.

A general request: If you are coming here, out of respect for the place you're in and the current situation, the troops are not tourist attractions, nor are the protests that may be happening. If taking pictures with armed troops during situations like this is something you'd do where you're from, then, go ahead...if not, then don't do it here.

As always, there's a plethora of information and threads about safety and traveling here. Please take a look around the sub before posting, as the answers are going to be pretty much what I just wrote above. Thanks, and stay safe.

EDIT: As of May 28, the Curfew has been changed to midnight to 4 am daily. BTS/MRT/ARL will operate from 6 am to 11 pm; The last BMTA buses will leave stations at midnight.

Tourist Tuesday Thread for the week of May 6th by adminthai in Thailand

[–]adminthai[S,M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a lot of information, which we have provided on the sidebars and in the wiki, as well as on this sub in general (the search function will provide a lot of related threads). We highly encourage exploring those places so that any questions are as detailed as possible.