Thailand: Violance, Hostile Actions and Opression Currenttly in Several Areas??
 

I am not an alarmist but the BBC (generally reports "real" news) reported the past few days of several outbreaks of violance, oppression and more. A major new exclusive hotel in the south is temporarily closing Jan.1 because of lack of reservations and cancellations.
Current travelers in Thailand and Thai residents how bad is it??
We are adventurous but with plans to go to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket with day outings 75+ miles out of the the main cities we are concerned. I am not talking about the problems of 2+ months ago but right now.
We leave shortly and are concerned! Please give me all the details and sources-not the Tourism Bureau-"All is Well". Thanks.

you should have no worries in those areas. the terrorist only make random attacks in bottom 3 southern provinces.

you guys outside of thailand probably know of whats going on then those of us in bangkok or in the most of thailand.. it really feels like a distant matter, but maybe thats what cousing the problem...

hey don't worry the Queen/government had the thais make millions of oragamy (sp) birds which were dumped out of a airplane over Hat Yai.. SO that should take care of everything..

The BBC did report the floating of the birds but what is the significance, especially to insurgents or rebel groups? Look at Iraq!
Further, BBC said the gov't trucked off a number of captured rebels and 20+ died prior to even arriving at a dention point.
That does not sound MINOR to me.
I especially would like to hear from travelers that were there this week or US/UK/AUSSIE residents and Thai's not concerned about the impact of this problem on their own business, like the multi-million dollar hotel that is closing it's door's in less than 3 weeks.Thanks again.
Thanks.

We just returned from Thailand last week. We were in all 3 of your destinations. There was no visible effect from the troubles in the South. NONE. We did read several stories in the Bangkok Post about the steps the Prime Minister was taking to quell the "disturbances", but these were clearly whitewashed reports. We were not worried at all.

I am living in bangkok and I posted whats basicly the feeling over here.. yah I made a couple of those birds in thai class. and hope no one had one drop on thier head since mine looked more like a jet fighter.. "WE declare war"..

like I said it seems like a far off isue like me back in the USA connecticut (northeast) giving a damn on what happend in IOWA.. I personly know it's a big issue since im into political science but as of now it's an isolated matter well atleast as described on the local news and how it's feels on the street.

Again, just to set the record straight, I was incorrect, 78 suffocated when they were rounded up by the Thai army a week ago.This is not the Oct. incident.

The paper birds were in affect an attempt by the goverment to show they want peace and to communicate to locals and tourists that "All is Well".

If you go to the BBC site and click on "Asia-Pacific" you will get a full accounting of their report. I do not know if is 95%, 75% or 50% accurate but as I said in my initial question to the forum, the BBC has a high credibility rating from what I know.

Stan, it looks like you should stay home. You have obviously read the news and voiced your concerns. Others have given their opinions but your worries overshadow the reports they have given.

SamH; I think you are right. Our group of 26 will cancel this weeek. Thanks.

If you are heading to Phuket, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, you really have nothing to worry about. The problems are confined to the south. Phuket, the nearest that you are going to the southeastern border area, is more that 400 km away.

There have not been any problems in the areas you mention. Although it is an unfortunate situation, not improved by the Government’s heavy-handed tactics, outside of the immediate area nobody is concerned about their personal safety. Here in Chiang Mai, 1,500 km away, we certainly are not.

To not come, would be like not visiting Scotland because the IRA were active in London, although Scotland is a lot closer to London than Bangkok is to the south, or not visiting Orlando because of terrorism in New York.

I was with my family in Phuket just a few days ago. We stayed there for a week and went around the islands. I don't see any problem or what so ever there. If you feel uncomfortable, just choose another destination near your area.

Stan...I can't believe you're going to cancel the whole trip. Happy Travels!

Look, BBC makes its living by making mountains out of moles. Incidentally, BBC Asia Pacific recently ran a story called "Dark Side of Australian Tourism" (you can find the story on http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4012357.stm). The story turned out to be a report about several backpackers killed in Australia, one of them being a cult suicide. I don't think this will make anyone cancel their trip there.

The chances of a terrorist attack in Phuket and Bangkok are slim at best; the chances of this happening in Chiang Mai in the far north of the country are infinitesimal.

Yes, the risk is always there, but it can happen in your own background - NY is a case in point.

Don't cancel; go and enjoy yourself.

By the way, not to sound overly pedantic or anything, but your spelling of 'violence', 'oppression', and 'currently' made me roll my eyes! :-)

Stan Don't cancel - it would be such a waste. I'm a Brit and going next week to 140 miles south of Bangkok and have no fears what so ever. Can't wait to get there to chill out on the beach and enjoy the finest seafood in the world

P.S. I would like to add that I went to the Land of Smiles in May of this year - two weeks after a carnage in the south (in which 100 people were killed) and a couple of months after the outbreak of the avian flu.

At no point was either news event an issue, as expected. I came back alive alive and kicking!

Thanks for all the input.I have 2 weeks to cancel. Our trip insurance carrier has said the situation is not a problem either but is one that we will a refund of 90% of our costs.
RazzleDazzle-I thought this was a "chat room" not an english class. As a hunt and peck typist and no spell check, I think the typos and spelling errors you pointed out minimize the value to us all of the "real" purpose of this forum.
In an earlier life I was Sr.V.P. of a large chemical firm not an english professor.

StanKase-I'm sure you will decide whether to go based on your level of comfort. Having said that, I reiterate that on our recent trip, there was no hint of discord in BKK, Chiang Mai or Phuket. We did not feel like it was a volitile situation. None of the Thais to whom we spoke mentioned it at all. It felt exactly as it had on our previous trips. We felt very welcome and were again taken with the Thai hospitality.

I was referring to the three typos you made in the title of the thread - certainly not the typos in the text as ALL of us without exception make these. This was in good spirit and certainly not intended to offend you.

It's unfortunate that that was the only thing you picked up my responses to your question.

Terrorism is a problem in many countries including the U.S. and England but often the western press plays up whatever is going on in non-western countries more than in their own. I mean, people still go to Spain, people still come to New York and people still go to London (and did in the 80s when the IRA was bombing frequently). Somehow when there is terrorism in our own country we send out the message that all is well -- "come visit and show your support." But when it is "over there" we raise the alarm and don't much care if terrorism ruins their economy.

I am leaving for Thailand this week and it never entered my mind to cancel my trip. However, if you are going to spend the whole time worrying you should probably cancel. Only problem is I'm not sure where you will find that is "safe" these days including most of the places where we live.

glorialf; I hope you enjoy your trip. I did not raise the issue other than to gain input for our group.We are visiting Bali,Indonesia (even I realize East Timor 1,000 miles away has problems to this day), Thailand and Malaysia. But with each of us the 26 of us spending about $3000+/- each in Thailand alone over 14 days I want us to be comfortable in the places we visit. I am not a travel agent, but, simply the designated travel director our my friends annual journey's around the globe. Several folks eliminated Loas and Burma (former name-because of the significant oppression to 95% of the population).Enjoy! If you are going for 2-3 weeks I would be interested in your observations. We have to cancel by Jan.2 to have the insurance we took out cover our expenses paid to date.This is an $7500/person outlay per person for the whole 23 day trip.That is the reason for my sensitivity for I always try to insure we have 99% perfect trips.