The Nation online has received many e-mails from stranded travellers, who want to share their unforgettable experiences during the Suvarnabhumi airport shutdown. The followings are some of their stories and feelings.
** Bryan **
I am a expat of 12 years and I invited my mom and sister to Bangkok for my wedding with my Thai fiancee. Due to thePADprotest,my sister is no longer able to come, and my mom has had to fly toSingapore, where she will then fly to Phuket and take a 12 hour busride to Bangkok. My mom will miss our earlier Thai ceremony and theextra cost is over 25,000 Baht. While I am thankful my mom can makeit, I am angered that this has to happen and I am voicing my anger atPADto anyone who will listen.
** Kurt Gruen, Chiang Dao **
Hello,My name is Kurt Gruen. My wife and I have just picked up our friend,James Curnew, from Chiang Mai. He had to take a taxi to Chiang Mai,from the military airport near Bangkok, after arriving from Japan oneday late.
He was in good spirits and said he didn't mind atall, sharing the taxi with two other travellers from the US. It costthem 3000 Baht each.
After seeing a video and pictures of the violent attacks of the Government on October 7th 2008, against the peacefulPADProtesters,he felt that is was nothing to be a little inconvenienced in hisholiday, while helping to see this corrupt and violent government getdefeated.
As for my wife, Mon and I, we were in Bangkok recently and attended thePADrallyat Government house. We were made to feel very welcome, with manysmiling faces and people offering us their seats and free food, water,etc.
The site was very organized, with Pharmacies, medicaltents, etc. set up and proper security, searching for bombs, weaponsand alcohol. (The site was alcohol free, as far as we could tell).
The peacefulPADdemostrationseemed filled with people from all walks of life. Many of whom arevery good English speakers of high intelligence.
So weapologize to any foreign travellers, who are inconvenienced by theairport closures and hope that you can forgive the PAD, who are puttingtheir lives on the line every day, protesting to remove a violent andcorrupt government. Please try to make the best of the situation andtry to enjoy your time here, while you are stuck.
TheGovernment is offering free medicare for anyone stuck because of thisand there will also be no overstay fines to worry about. Thegovernment is also offering 2000 Baht per day to stranded travellers.
Pleasebe supportive of the PAD, even though you may be greatlyinconvenienced. This is probably one of the longest peaceful civildisobedience movement ever. ThePADhas protested peacefully for over 6 months now.
Pleasekeep your comments polite two and show respect to our Thai Monarchy. People on both sides (except for a very small minority) love their kingand are very disturbed by negative comments that have been made againstour great Monarchy.
His Royal Highness will celebrate his 81st Birthday on December 5th. Please help it to be a positive event
** Dieter Bofinger **
Abusiness partner from Germany was on his way to Bangkok on November 27.His plane was not able to land in Bangkok and had to head for KulaLumpur. He was stacked their and the scheduled meeting in the EasternSeaboard had to be cancelled. This sends an extremely dangerous sign tothe outside. If things are getting out of control, laws are not obeyedanymore, the industry and food suppliers can not export anymore,tourists fear about the instability than the country is on it's waydown.
All sides shouldn't talk that they are acting for thebest of the country if the people suffer because of the consequences oftheir doing. If the outside has to consider that Thailand is going toend up in chaos (it started already to be that way) the internationalmoney, the foreign industry and tourists will stay away. Can anyone ofthe involved parties imagine what that means for Thailand - the countrywill be pulled back 20 or 30 years. Huge number of jobs will disappearin the tourist industry, an even bigger number in the export industry(mainly automotive) and consequently many shops will go down and morepeople are leaving their job and income. If a society is incapable tocome up with compromises than it will simply die. The damage for thecountry is already enourmes, shall it come to the point of no return?All say no coup anymore, but do the conflict parties leave anyalternative?
Thailand wake up, you have already lost yourimage of the country of smile, what else do you want? It doesn't takelong to destroy everything which has been built up within the last 30years. Face it, the country has been developed with foreign money,outside experts and a huge number of tourists. It is for sure alreadythat the number of tourists will decrease dramatically in 2009 with allthe consequences for the jobs. The automotive industry is alreadydramatically effected by the world wide crisis, but it seems to be notenough for Thailand. Does it has to ruin the country before it comes toa halt? Thailand wake up, you are standing on the brink of disaster.
Consideryour Buddhist background and the lessons from Buddha, which seemed tobe completely forgotten. You all go to the negotiation table and settleyour conflict in a peaceful and acceptable way if you are really doingit for the good of the country. Don't talk about democracy if you arenot willing to accept given laws and institutions, this applies forboth sides. It is a drama to sit there and see this going to a point ofno return.
Think about your competitors in the area. You aresurrounded by them and they will easily take over the industry whichmay leave Thailand because of it's uncertain future.
No one willinvest or spend vacation in a country which is unstable the wayThailand is since quite a while. For what do you wait? No one will win- all will loose this way, is that to difficult to understand?
Don'twake up one morning and see your country going bankrupt and blame theoutside. It is all your responsibility and none of others outsideThailand!
There is no time left to return to a civilised way since the damage to the country is already unspeakable.
** pes911 ** The events of Tuesday November 25 th will be etched in Thaihistory not just because of the seizure of the airport by a mobrepresenting the PAD, but also because it was the day when ThaiAirways, as the Nation's flag carrier displayed a completeirresponsibility towards it's paying customers.
On that night Iflew from Phuket to Suwanabumi arriving at 10pm, with an onwardconnection to Europe ,. When the plane docked at the sky bridge allseemed normal. The Thai aircraft were all docked at Gates C and E asusual awaiting boarding for the long flights to Europe and Australia.
Onarriving at the airport the duty free shops were being closed and astaff of one of the outlets advised me that there was 'a mob outsidethe airport'. When I reached the Thai Airways lounge it was business asususal .It was only when Thai Airways flights started to come up on theTV displays as delayed and then one by one canceled that passengersbegan to=2 0understand the gravity of the situation.
All theother airlines continued to take off and it became clear that Thai haddecided very early on to close their operations for the night. Thetransit desks were deserted and the passengers were left to themselves.I was fortunate to be able to have access to the lounge which wasmanned by a small number of staff who did their best to take care ofus.
When the sun came up on Wednesday I was amazed to see thatthe gates at C and E which had been full with Thai airways aircraft theprevious night were now empty. These aircraft had either been flown outempty by Thai or parked somewhere out of sight, I suspect it is theformer.
The rest is documented, we were all herded out 15 hours after the initial occupation by thePADtothrough immigration, baggage and customs with appalling organization.We stood for almost tw o hours outside the arrivals area in the heatwith thePADsinging three levels up and withPADsupporters looking down on our plight. A grenade could easily have been hurled causing carnage.
The exodus was shambolic, no organization whatsoever. My feeling is that Thai Airways demonstrated its support for thePADbyleaving it's paying passengers in a lurch, with no security, no carefor their safety and zero organization. Thai, you are a disgrace, Ihave flown you for 20 years and will never fly with you again. Shame onyou! **
Thailand deserved outright economiccollapse. After 4 days stranded and 80,000 baht later, I finally madeit to Phuket airport. I needed to get back to Bangkok to run mybusiness which pays large taxes and hires a handful of Thai employees.Expecting to be welcomed and helped back to Bangkok - I, and hundredsof others were thrown to the mercy of the well-known Phuket airportmafia. After being massively inconvenienced for days, I was forced tohaggle for both exchange rates and transport back to Bangkok.
Isthis how Thailand treats its tourists and foreign investors? Leavingthem at an international airport to haggle like a watch buyer atPatpong Market? It is clear to me now - Thailands wealth with tourismin the past has been luck... A dead peak-season, ailing economy and apolarised people are what Thailand DESERVES.
I get sick to thestomach whenever I see advertisements of friendly thai people, waiingand dancing traditional songs. The bottom line is this - Thais will ripoff foreigners and Thais alike at any chance they can get. This willnever change as long as those in charge are being paid off. This is theUNSEEN THAILAND. ** Wanwisa Kisalang **
I had theoriginal flight booking to Thailand since Nov 26, 08 in order to go tovisit friends and family. I haven't been back home about 5 yearsalready since I have moved to Seattle. I have been calling the airlinescompany everyday to reschedule the flight day by day.
Until nowDec 1, I am still in Seattle, cannot leave yet. I have only 2 weeks ofmy vacation, I already wasted 4 days and maybe more. So I cannot waitanymore, I will try to get the flight which will go to our neighborcountries such Singapore or Hong Kong, then I think I may have a chanceto catch the flights back to Thailand easier. This will cost me moremoney to for the extra ticket.
My mom is so sad and so worriedthat I may not be able to go back home this year. I have not seen mynephew since he was 2 years old, I hope he still recognize me as hisaunty.
I do not see or hear anything about Thai government tryto help out Thai people who want to go back to Thailand. I used to beso proud to be Thai, but now it is so embarrassed when people ask meabout what happening right now. Our leaders are so weak andirresponsible.
I really hope that I could go home soon, wish the situation will be improved soon too.
** Michael Breeze **
I was due to return to Bangkok from Hong Kong last week on Emirates following a two week trip to Hong Kong and China.
Emirateswere a little slow at providing information on its website but finallydid so but the information was both limited and unclear. It would havebeen clearer had it divided the information into three parts, onedealing with travel from Dubai to Bangkok (where it offered Singaporeor Kuala Lumpur as alternatives to Bangkok), another dealing withBangkok to Hong Kong where there were no solutions other than to haveto wait for the reopening of Bangkok airport and another dealing withHong Kong to Bangkok where there were no solutions other than to haveto wait for the reopening of Bangkok airport. Worse still the Emiratesoffice and telephone reservation system only works Mondays to Fridaysin Hong Kong.
In the event I thought I would see if Cathay Pacific couldaccommodate me on one of their special flights from Hong Kong toU-Tapao and to my surprise they offered me seats on 1st December forthe next day for the cost of HK$ 1100 per person. Cathay Pacificimmediately sent an email with full details and subsequently telephonedme to check whether I had received the email. Full marks to CathayPacific.
Emirates have merely said that no special arrangementsare being made for their Hong Kong/Bangkok passengers, which I estimateto be at least 100 per flight, the estimate based on numbers embarkingfrom the flight which i use quite often.
So I shall be arriving in U-Tapao on Tuesday.
Guess which airline I shall be using on my next visit to Hong Kong! //Michael Breeze, Nonthaburi, Thailand ** Axel **
My story is probably the most unspectacular story there is!
Iwas on a trip back from Jakarta with a stop over in Singapore onSaturday. I wanted to go back to my family in Bangkok and to some work,too. I thought that Utapo and the Southern Airports would be to busy,train to long, etc. So I decided to take a flight from Singapore toChiang Mai on Sunday.
Chiang Mai airport was almost empty. I wanted to check withThai Ticketing for options and went to the counter there. Having 3-4Foreigners in front of me, being unusually happy for foreigners (Iassume they found a good way home) and a Thai women stronglycomplaining to a Thai hostess making her cry.
I thought bymyself, how much grief this costs people everywhere. I really feltsorry for that TG officer there and what ever it was, I am sure it wasnot her fault. While I speak Thai, I was not close enough to hear theconversation though. I made a point to be very friendly and askedanother TG officer for any option this night and she said flights toUtapao only on Stand By.
Anyway, TG had no good choices. I thought about trying theTrain to Bangkok or Bus, but then figured I best drive (my originalthought since before the weekend). I rented a car and drove down analmost empty high way from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. I was home aroundMidnight and it went much fast then I thought.
It was actually a good trip and I am planing to take care todrive up north, but during day time to see the beautiful environment.
That's it! A collegue of miny just right now, showed me themoon over Bangkok: Very funny. It has two stars and the moon arelooking like a smiley : )
What does this tell us? ** Andreas Oberleitner **
I amforeigner living in Bangkok for six years now.I operate a smallbusiness for luxury tours in Thailand. Unfortunately, we have receivedcancellations from all our customers for all current bookings. Thiswill put us out of business now.
The consequesnces of this fact will be:
- we will have to let go our five Thai employees
- we will resigne from our office contract and the landlord will lose a paying customer
- we will no longer need our accountant, the accounting company will lose a client
- we will no longer need our lawyer and legal consultant, they will also lose a client
- we will no longer need our marketing company who is doing our website and brochures. They also will lose a client.
-and last: we will no longer bring tourists to Thailand whcih means lesshotel bookings, less consumption at restaurants, less spending on spasand golf courses, less sightseeing, less shopping and lessrecommendations from returning customers.
This is just to sum up how this very tragic situation is notonly hurting tourism, it really affecs all other industries as well.
Ifeel deeply sorry for the millions of people who will lose their jobsand I am very sad that I will now have to leave Thailand after havinginvested over 10 million Baht in my business.
Furthermore, Itruly hope that people will understand and realize the sever effectsand that the people who have caused it will be held accountable for thedamage.
It is still absolutely unbelievable for me how a groupof people cann terrorize an entire nation in such a drastic way andnoone has the power or the courage to stop this and to bring thecountry back on track. ** Salam Alaik **
I had my share ofthe impact of the closure of Survanabumi Airport in Bangkok. My flightback from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur on 30th November 2008 was routed toU-Tapao Airport almost 190km away from my Hotel.
I woke up at 4am to start packing my stuff, at around 8am iwas already at U-Tapao Airport, the journey from my hotel took nearly 2hours, although previous reports mentioned that it can take up to 4hrsdepending on the Traffic. It cost me 2000 Baht for this trip (thanks toKun Nuch that help arranged this travel trip)
When i arrive there are already thousands of people crowdingthe entrance, it is chaotic, there is just no information, no body toprovide or address information, this is at 8am I cannot imagine what isgoing to happen when the sun is out and everybody is tried.
After waiting for several hours, we managed to get someinformation by combining notes from other travellers. First you have towait outside here, unless you are Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlineyou go to the counter at the next building.
You have to wait for your airline to be called before allowingentering the building, if you queue up and your airline is not beingcalled the guards is going to throw you out of the door. After severalhours of waiting, then Finally "Malaysian Airlines" was called, so Iwith a few found friend starting to queue.
Once inside the building, you are suppose to get you check inluggage x-ray. Here is confusion; there is only one x-ray machine toserve the thousand of luggage. They first called Malaysian Airline,then they called Aerofloat. So imagine the both of the airlinepassenger trying to get their baggage x-ray some of the pictures insidethe waiting area. It is not a big airport. ** Stranded Passenger 25 November **
Hello, I am a female Canadian Citizen who has been stranded inChiang Mai since November 26 due to the airport closure. This is myfirst trip to Thailand, and my first experience travelling overseas. Ihave been travelling completely on my own during my stay here.
At first the airport closure didn't concern me much. I wasmore concerned for the people trapped in the airport than the situationI was in. But, as tensions seem to rising each day I am growing moreand more concerned.
Although I am not in Bangkok, it has not made my chances ofleaving any better. For the first couple days I didn't even have theoption to fly to neighbouring countries because all Thai airlinesweren't flying period. So I was told. I could take a bus, but thiswould provide for almost 24 hours of travel, and being a solo femaletraveller in the wake of a country in crisis, my family was very uneasyabout this option. For my own safety my best option was to stay put andhope it all blows over.
My airline failed to notify me, as promised, that they hadallowed for free re-routing from select neighboring Countries. By thetime I had figured it out, my best option was to wait another week asthere were no seats available on any airlines. I was very grateful tohave a local Thai travel agent help figure out a way home, and sheexhausted all of her resources. We tried everything from flying toSingapore to booking an entirely new flight to either Canada or theUnited States.
I'm still having a hard time understanding why people, likeme, who have been stuck here since the beginning of the airport closureare having to re-book at a first come first serve basis. I feel asthough more should be being done to get all of us home and to ourfamilies.
This situation is very frustrating for me. I am upset that Ican't get home to my family and boyfriend who I left behind 3 monthsago. And, I'm upset that although I have been informed theTATisgoing to help with accommodations and food, there are restrictions andcan they can not help me at all because I have a new flight bookedhome. Although things are relatively cheap for me in Thailand, I do nothave a source of income right now and can not afford to stay here muchlonger.
I feel as though there should be more financial helpavailable than there is, and hotels should consider giving strandedpassengers free accommodation. Doing so would not only re-confirm thekindness of Thais, but will help re-assure that the stranded passengerswill leave feeling like they were looked after during a veryfrightening time.
Which will increase the chances that they willgo home and tell their friends and family of the hotel and thepossibility that they or their friends will return to Thailand and stayat theses hotels.
Being someone who worked in the Tourism Industry in my ownCountry I know how vital it is for Thailand to keep up their rapportduring such an devastating blow to their economy. The best way that theindustry can bounce back is by being understanding and forgiving topassengers. Offering free accommodation to travellers who have beenhere since they beginning will help the industry a great deal. I willsay that the staff at my hotel have been very kind, but have beeninstructed that they can not offer to give me free accommodation oreven a discount for that matter.
I am growingly increasingly concerned for the situation inBangkok, all the people in and around that area and how this could allend. I hope for the sake of your Country and the safety of everyone,that it ends in a peaceful manner and as soon as possible.
All of this aside, all of my stress and worries and fearaside, I love Thailand. My journey here has been an incredibleexperience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. The situationin Bangkok right now is very unsettleing, but I would like all Thais toknow that this has not ruined my impression on your Country.
Ithas put a damper on my travels home, and made things more difficult inthis manner, but it has not put your Country on my bad list in anyway.I wish there was more being done in order to get us all home, but Iwant you to know I will come back to Thailand someday. I can assure youthat. ** Faizlyiana A. A, Studzinski **
I am a Singaporean and my husband is German. My husband was supposed to fly back to Singapore last Friday to be with me.
Andtogether, we will head back to Bangkok by end December. Now, I have noidea when my husband and I will see each other again. It's veryworrying. I am always checking Nation's breaking news every 5 minutes.
It's been a week and I am still waiting for AirAsia to contactme and announce a rescue plan out of Bangkok for my husband. There isonly one flight out of U-Tapao daily.
I have Thai friends here who are also frustrated as they are not able to return home. I would like to say:
1) PAD, you have demonstrated that the government is useless. Perhaps congrats to you.
2) However,PADyou besieging the airport is no different than hijacking a plane.
3) There are thousands of people, whose lives you have affected due to the airport siege
4) And thousand or million more people whose lives you may have already destroyed as they will lose their jobs.
Proving the government is inept is one thing, but please openyour eyes and also see the consequences of YOUR action. I hope to seemy husband again. I hope Thailand would be a land of smiles again, forthe people's sake, for the King, for the economy and for the wholeworld.
Thank you Nation for this space to have my voice heard.
** Tourists from Russia (Natalia Mouravieva, Marina Sapoznikova, Vitaly Saprikin) **
I would like to tell our sotry about stranded becouse of the crisis in Thailand.
Myfriends and i came to Thailand to travel to its beautiful north part,to visit Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and then go to south. We havearrived to Thialand on November 20th and then traveled alot around theThailand's north part. On November 26th we were supposed to fly fromChiang Rai airport to Bangkok and further to Krabi to pick our friendwho was supposed to come from Moscow but didn't and get a rest after anice travelling.
Unfortunately, once we have arrieved to theairport in Chiang Rai, we found out that our flight and all othereswere canselled. We didn't even thing that it could last for long, andjust rebook our flights with airasia for the next day. Anyway, when wered the news oboutPADat the airport we were shoked that something like this could ever happen in such a great country.
Westarted thinking about the way we get to Krabi, and what we shpuld donow. All our summer clouth( swimmig suits, shorts, etc) were left forsafety in baggage service once we arrived at the Bangkok's airport onNovember 20th, and wich we were suppoused to pic up when we go transitfrom Chiang Rai to Krabi.
But since no flights were done, we hadto take a bus at Chiang Rai and go to Bangkok in a hope that it will beopend by our arrival in 12 houres. Well, it was not. So we didn't havea cahnse to recieve our bags which we realized since the airport wasoccupided and the roads were blocked, and we decieded to go to Krabi bybus, without bags with our summer cloths, which took us 12 more hourse.
Thatis a really bad feeling that we cannot do what we have planned longbefore our travel to Thailand. Anyway, our back flight to Russia is onNovember 9 th We have airasia tickets to Bangkok and than on 10th Thaiairlines to Moscow.
Now we feel very frustrated about what isgoing on in Bangkok and wondering why there is no mesurues are taken bythe Government and politicians. Even know that every day cost millionsdollars for Thailand! Do people of this county will be able to affordit? Too bad that the tourism rate will defenitly go down. What doesGovernment think about it?
Well, as for us, we are worriedabout getting back home on time. Moreover, our warm clouth fur coats,boots. hats- everything in Bangkok!!! and in Russia it is now 20degrees bellow zero. We really hope, that the crises will be solved andmeasures were taken, Thailand stops loosing money from this mess andall people will get the places they planed!
Besides, Thailand should think about building one more international airport in a case smth like that crices repets.
Thank you very much for your attention. Would be nice if some of thosePAD'scould have the feelling that they are rounig first off all their's country economy and reputation! ** Matthew Cole **
My name is MatthewCole, I am the managing director of a publishing company here inBangkok. I cannot vent enough frustration about the PAD and theattitudes of many people towards them. Whatever their cause, Thaksin,Samak, Somchai, the constitution, what they are doing now is causingdamage to Thailand on an unprecedented level.
A keen photographer, I have visited the Government House andBangkok airport on several occasions. I cannot understand why thelocal and international media have not drawn more attention to theillegal activities of the PAD. I have numerous photographs and video ofPAD guards with a range of hand weapons (knives, clubs, bats withspikes).
Many carry guns. On a recent visit to the Bangkok airport, I witnessed onePADguardwith an SLR rifle. On one occasion, he fired 5-6 shots from the riflebecause he thought he saw police approaching. In Australia, where I amfrom, this is attempted murder. Should any of the shots hit and killedtheir target, it would be murder. I also have grave fears for anypolice or others that attempt to evict the PAD.
Lining theRama 9 Road entrance to the airport are dozen of cases of molotovcocktails. The entire road stinks of petrol.Whether it be the army,police or Mr Somchai himself, there is an obligation to remove thePADfrom the airports as soon as possible.
Perhaps even more importantly, thePADshould never have been allowed to take over one of the biggest international airports in the world.
Thereactivities are clearly illegal and have invaded the rights of Thaipeople and foreign tourists. I would like to end by describing how theairport closures have affect me and my business.
My bother, and business partner, was in Brunei at the timethe airports closed. He was forced to pay for a new flight viaRoyal Brunei Air to Singapore. He then spent 3 nights in Singaporewaiting for the situation in Bangkok to change.
Upon hearingthat the airports could be closed for some time, he purchased a one wayticket to Phuket for about 5 times the usual fare. From Phuket he tooka car for 10,000B to Bangkok. The whole trip taking almost a week.
Weare an educational book publishing company and usually send and receive many packages from the Asia region each week. All of these havestopped and work is almost at a standstill.
Another friend of mine is a clothes exporter. In a recent telephone conversation to me, he mentioned that he may now have to close as he has been unableto send any order overseas and has lost many loyal customers.
Perhaps someone can explain to the expatriate community howsuch as disaster could occur. I think it is no longer a case ofwhether you do or do not support the PAD. They have clearly crossed theline. Next year the true damage of their actions will be known.
PAD, shame on your for destroying your own country. Mr Somchai, find a way out of this mess immediately. ** Chachawal Orchid **
Our company can not export agricultural products to our customersworld wide. The Gowers had no market to sell their products. Sincemost of products are grown on contract base with our company and serveto cusotmer in foreign countries.
Any conflict should be solvedsoonest. The protesters were not wrong to protest the goverment but Ithink they used wrong place. The Internation Airport is a door ofcountry. Closed the airport means shut down Thai economy.
I hope thatPADwill leave from the airport before Dec 4.
** Daniel Cole **
Thailanddeserved outright economic collapse. After 4 days stranded and 80,000baht later, I finally made it to Phuket airport. I needed to get backto Bangkok to run my business which pays large taxes and hires ahandful of Thai employees.
Expecting to be welcomed and helpedback to Bangkok - I, and hundreds of others were thrown to the mercy ofthe well-known Phuket airport mafia. After being massivelyinconvenienced for days, I was forced to haggle for both exchange ratesand transport back to Bangkok.
Is this how Thailand treats itstourists and foreign investors? Leaving them at an internationalairport to haggle like a watch buyer at Patpong Market? It is clear tome now - Thailands wealth with tourism in the past has been luck... Adead peak-season, ailing economy and a polarised people are whatThailand DESERVES.
I get sick to the stomach whenever I seeadvertisements of friendly thai people, waiing and dancing traditionalsongs. The bottom line is this - Thais will rip off foreigners andThais alike at any chance they can get. This will never change as longas those in charge are being paid off. This is the UNSEEN THAILAND.
** Dieter Bofinger **
A business partner fromGermany was on his way to Bangkok on November 27. His plane was notable to land in Bangkok and had to head for Kula Lumpur. He was stackedtheir and the scheduled meeting in the Eastern Seaboard had to becancelled. This sends an extremely dangerous sign to the outside. Ifthings are getting out of control, laws are not obeyed anymore, theindustry and food suppliers can not export anymore, tourists fear aboutthe instability than the country is on it's way down.
Allsides shouldn't talk that they are acting for the best of the countryif the people suffer because of the consequences of their doing. If theoutside has to consider that Thailand is going to end up in chaos (itstarted already to be that way) the international money, the foreignindustry and tourists will stay away. Can anyone of the involvedparties imagine what that means for Thailand - the country will bepulled back 20 or 30 years.
Huge number of jobs will disappearin the tourist industry, an even bigger number in the export industry(mainly automotive) and consequently many shops will go down and morepeople are leaving their job and income. If a society is incapable tocome up with compromises than it will simply die. The damage for thecountry is already enourmes, shall it come to the point of no return?All say no coup anymore, but do the conflict parties leave anyalternative?
Thailand wake up, you have already lost yourimage of the country of smile, what else do you want? It doesn't takelong to destroy everything which has been built up within the last 30years. Face it, the country has been developed with foreign money,outside experts and a huge number of tourists. It is for sure alreadythat the number of tourists will decrease dramatically in 2009 with allthe consequences for the jobs.
The automotive industry isalready dramatically effected by the world wide crisis, but it seems tobe not enough for Thailand. Does it has to ruin the country before itcomes to a halt? Thailand wake up, you are standing on the brink ofdisaster.
Consider your Buddhist background and the lessonsfrom Buddha, which seemed to be completely forgotten. You all go to thenegotiation table and settle your conflict in a peaceful and acceptableway if you are really doing it for the good of the country.
Don'ttalk about democracy if you are not willing to accept given laws andinstitutions, this applies for both sides. It is a drama to sit thereand see this going to a point of no return.
Think about yourcompetitors in the area. You are surrounded by them and they willeasily take over the industry which may leave Thailand because of it'suncertain future. No one will invest or spend vacation in a countrywhich is unstable the way Thailand is since quite a while. For what doyou wait? No one will win - all will loose this way, is that todifficult to understand?
Don't wake up one morning and seeyour country going bankrupt and blame the outside. It is all yourresponsibility and none of others outside Thailand!
There is no time left to return to a civilised way since the damage to the country is already unspeakable. ** Rakesh Kapoor, Managing Director, Summit Information Technologies Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, India **
I ama regular business visitor to Bangkok but I'll not forgive yourcountry's Govt for the experience I had last week. I reached BangkokSvarnabhumi airport on a Thai Airways flight on Monday 24th Novembermorning as usual and went about with my work for next 2 days. I was toreturn back to New Delhi on 27th November, but on 25th night I heardthe news of Airport closure. I assumed that Thai Govt will act swiftlyand restore the order in a few hours.
But to my surprise, nobodydid anything. Your PM could not land at Bangkok and was playing golf onSaturday in Chiang Mai while Bangkok was boiling and hundreds ofthousands of foreigners were suffering in your country with ourfamilies back home even more worried about our safety and health.
ThaiAirways was least helpful. Despite spending hours in Thai office on 3consecutive days, they could not assure us how and when they intend tosend us out of the country. I gave them the option to fly me out to anydestination outside Thailand, but Thai Air was least equipped andunconcerned.
Indian Govt was finally able to evacuate me toMumbai on an Air India flight on Sunday 30th November. While doing thatI had to spend more than 10 hours at U-Tapao airport trying to getmyself and my baggage on the plane. The experience resulted in a severeback strain coupled with hyper-tension that will take a few days ofmedication and rest to cure and recover from.
How can Thai Govtlet this happen? You're not a banana republic! How can Thai people dothis to foreigners who have always loved to come to your country despiteTsunami" target="_blank"> TheTsunamithat they faced a few years back?
** Swede **
PAD is no better than that footbollhulligans they destroyedThailands reputation for a very long time and make many Thaipeople tolose job and chanse to earn money.
** maaaadddd **
By following PADs reasoning in their struggle for 'democracy'all countries should open their public transport system up for abombing or two or a hijacking or whatever really whenever those whodont make the decisions or feel marginalised get annoyed and have nopolitical legitimacy (ie they have not been elected by anyone). Wot yousay? So we should just let terrorists run riot - after all they wanttheir own version of government as well. I dont see the difference tobe frank.
** A frequent traveller **
Thailand is creating more problems for them. I was planning totransit through Bangkok by Thai Airways.... No more Thai for me, I willtry to avoid this airline in the future because of the internalpolitical problems.. Delete
** inside out **
We have been stranded outside the country for two days - we haveonly just gotten a ticket for the one and only flight back home today.WhatPADaredoing is against everything that we have ever worked for, democracy,equality, freedom. They are closing the country and hurting everyone init and calling it our duty to sacrefice for them and their ideals. Itbegs the question as to why nobody is able to touch them. les majestewhat? Delete
** Alesik **
At our own expense, we took a train fromBKK to Chiang Mai two nights ago and made it out with no problems thismorning on a China Airlines flight to Taipei. There were empty seats onthe 747. PLEASE, if you are as frustrated as I was...consider goingnorth. I am now at home. The cost of the flight may be worth your peaceof mind.
** tg gold **
The events of Tuesday November 25th will beetched in Thai history not just because of the seziure of the airportby a mob representing the PAD, but also because it was the day whenThai Airways, as the Nation's flag carrier displayed a completeirresponsibility towards it's paying customers.
On that night Iflew from Phuket to Suwanabumi arriving at 10pm, with an onwardconnection to Europe,. When the plane docked at the sky bridge allseemed normal. The Thai aircraft were all docked at Gates C and E asusual awaiting boarding for the long flights to Europe and Australia.
Onarriving at the airport the duty free shops were being closed and astaff of one of the outlets advised me that there was 'a mob outsidethe airport'.
When I reached the Thai Airways lounge it wasbusiness as ususal.It was only when Thai Airways flights started tocome up on the TV displays as delayed and then one by one canceled thatpassengers began to understand the gravity of the situation.
Allthe other airlines continued to take off and it became clear that Thaihad decided very early on to close their operations for the night. Thetransit desks were deserted and the passengers were left to themselves.
Iwas fortunate to be able to have access to the lounge which was mannedby a small number of staff who did their best to take care of us. Whenthe sun cam up on Wednesday I was amazed to see that the gates at C andE which had been full with Thai airways aircraft the previous nightwere now empty. These aircraft had either been flown out empty by Thaior parked somewhere out of sight, I suspect it is the former.
The rest is documented, we were all herded out 15 hours after the initial occupation by thePADtothrough immigration, baggage and customs with appalling organization.We stood for almost two hours outside the arrivals area in the heatwith thePADsinging three levels up and withPADsupporterslooking down on our plight. A grenade could easily have been hurledcausing carnage. The exodus was shambolic, no organization whatsoever.My feeling is that Thai Airways demonstrated its support for thePADbyleaving it's paying passengers in a lurch, with no security, no carefor their safety and zero organization. Thai, you are a disgrace, Ihave flown you for 20 years and will never fly with you again. Shame onyou!
** st **
i was the few fortunate ones who managed to getout of Bangkok before the airport was fully closed. my flight ontuesday was at 6:30pm. when the taxi i was in reached reached near tothe airport, we suddenly realised we were in a middle of a massivetraffic jam. the protestors have started closing the road to theairport. you can see poor tourists getting off the taxis and draggingtheir luggages along as they raced on their feet to the airport. I hadto alight from the taxi and dragged my bags and made my way across avery busy road to get to the other side and somehow some taxis wasbringing people into the airport via another route. but there were manymen carrying steel rods shouting at the tourists to get into the taxis.the drivers were charging high prices. 100 baht for less than 5 min'sdrive. shortly after my flight has departed, the airport was closed.There is certainly no more smiles in the Land of Smiles...at least forthe stranded tourists. Delete
** stevey **
I too need to attend business meetings in Singapore andAustralia...for me its a 12 hour bus to Hat Yai then 3 hours to Penangbefore getting a flight.....thanksPADfor your ignorance
** Kimba **
I am reading that many countries are sending planes in to getthier people out . How come the U.S is not sending planes? How comethey are not reporting this crises on the news over here? We want ourpeople to come home too.
** Thai fresh producer **
Our company can not exportagricultural products to our customers world wide. The Gowers had nomarket to sell their products. Since most of products are grown oncontract base with our company and serve to cusotmer in foreigncountries.
Any conflict should be solved soonest. The protesterswere not wrong to protest the goverment but I think they used wrongplace. The Internation Airport is a door of country. Closed the airportmeans shut down Thai economy. I hope thatPADwill leave from the airport before Dec 4. Delete
** pippo **
I go struck in Shanghai for 2 days. Took 20 hours to come back.Shanghai - Kunming - Vientiane and than Vientiane to Bangkok by road.All the customers planning to visit us during the month of decemberthey cancel their trip. WhatPADhas been doing is just the tip of the iceberg of their unlawful actions carried on for few months now.
It is a huge crisis on the institutions and it will take years to recover.PADshould learn the positive point of thePPPandmake their own political platform and contest the election, rather thanbeing a ruthless gang of thugs and try to achieve their goal bydestroying the country and creating hardship to the Thai and foreignpeople.
** GeGe **
Hello from Stuttgart / Germany What a mess...need to fly to Lampang or ChiangMai, but no flight, no connection...all flights to Phuket now and no connection flight to the North... sosuck! Delete
** bkk resident farang **
Got stuck in Indonesia, not being able to return to my familyliving in Bangkok. It took me 22 hours to get from Jakarta to Bangkok,after not being to take my flight as scheduiled. I feel sad to see thatThailand is dropping to the list of most dangerous countries.
Iam seriously thinking of relocating my family asap as the situation isprogressing. Permanent damage to Thailand, as the Land of Smiles, is onthe agenda to come. Anarchy is just a step away and i hope thatauthorities step up and take charge of the situation.
Blockade the Government, block airports, what is next? Riots, civil war?PADisobviously allowed to block major airports, thus holding people againsttheir will, thus holding them hostage in order to get the government tostep down........... Land of Smiles turning into Land of riots andviolence?
* nothappy **
Our travel company is losing lots of money because of thisinsanity. This is our peak earning season and if you have not noticedthe world is in an economic crisis! We will not be returning toThailand soon and neither will any of our customers nor will our staffthat had to be let go because of the lossesPADhasinflicted on us. If you have political issues keep them out of theairport and in the places of government (which is not an airport). Ifall the leaders ofPADhad clean hands they would not be behaving so badly.
** a sad hotelier **
What do you want us to share more !!! the damage is done and thebusiness is gone !!! do all these "well educated politicians" thinkabout the consequences ??? as usual people do first and think after !!!they all need a real kick in the ... s they will not be able to wlk forthe next 2 years , and please do not point fingers on farangs again,this time you have to blame yourself a hotelier who will have to movewith his family good luck and enjoy your dream
** christao **
I've had several guests stuck here and many friends and guestsunable to get into Thailand because of this mess. As a residentforeigner and business owner, I don't claim to understand Thai politicsand won't insert my opinion about whether the red side or yellow sideis in the right, but I can tell you this: both sides are ruining thingsfor the 92% of the country who are stuck in the middle.
Takingthe capital's airports hostage for a week (or more!) is insane. Failingto do anything to stop the situation or resolve it is equally crazy. Itis like a race to the bottom.
** Dr.Hartono Taslim, Indonesia **
We have planned to attend IOF World Congress of Osteoporosis atBangkok which will be opened on 3 December, but because the closure ofthe airport, the most important congress for us have to be cancelled.Really sad and angry because we have planned this trip months before.How can a smiling nation behave like this? Unbelievable!!!
** Murat UZEL **
54 proffessors from Turkey, were about to attend the ' 2008 IOFWorld Congress on Osteoporosis ' which was scheduled for 03-06 December2008. Due to the closures at the airports in Bangkok - we had to cancelthe trip.
** Danny Koo **
The current airport standoff on the part ofPADpartywill only seriously hurt the nation of Thailand in every way. This maygo down as the most unwise act by any civilized country in modernhistory. This again proves Thailand will continue to remain as apathetic laggard in terms of future economic development, even tralingcountries in the likes of Cambodia and vietnam.
** Marja Schilstra **
My husband was stranded in Johannesburg since last Friday. TheThai Air flight from Johannesburg to Bkk could not leave. He was notallowed to fly to Singapore, even though there was a seat available onthe flight. He had to stay there till today, Monday, and has justboarded on a flight to Kuala Lumpur, where he has to wait for manyhours. Tomorrow late in the evening he can take a flight to U-tapao.From there he has to go to Bkk. Probably by bus or taxi. Next week myfamily has planned to come to visit. They might not be able to get herewhich is very sad :-
** FE **
I flew into U-Tapao airport on Saturday afternoon from Hong Kong(via Phuket). The arrival hall was chaotic but departures reminded meof scenes outside the American embassy at the fall of Saigon in 1975.This being Thailand, there was the surreal addition of a katoey cabaretshow being put on to entertain the passnegers.
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โพสเมื่อ 4-12-2008 08:44
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