Unrest in Bangkkok, should I be concerned?
 

We leave for Bangkok in a couple of weeks should I reconsider?

Of course, that's up to you. I certainly wouldn't. Have you been keeping up on the news? If you are reading news stories in the US, they have been highly sensationalized. Here's the recent thread that has a few posts from people on the ground in Bangkok.
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ok-rallies.cfm

This rally appears to have been a failure for the red shirts. They couldn't garner their predicted crowds, even when they were paying demonstrators.

Thanks for the link, Kathie. I'd seen it but, didn't know what rallies they were referring to. I read an article in the WSJ today that made it sound pretty severe. I'll keep following that link. It's so much better to have first hand info.

That's like asking "Prayer in Vatican City? Should I be concerned?"

This is par for the course, unfortunately, in Thailand lately. Most people who aren't well acquainted with the long and sordid history of the whole ex-PM debacle usually think it sounds far worse than it actually is.

It has NOT affected tourist in any way, for the most part (save for the airport closure in 2008) and, as Kathie says, this one seems to be more dud than dangerous.

But, you never know. Keep an eye on the news and see how it plays out--but I sure wouldn't let it stop me from going. Hasn't in the past, won't in the future.

I was there for the worst of it last yaer. No problem.

Just got into Bangkok a few hours ago. The THAI people who picked me up arent worried at all. Too much newspaper talk, I feel.

We arrived in Bangkok as luck would have it on Saturday the first day of the political rally. You were advised to not go to a couple of areas near the main palace and one of the larger market places. Now on Wednesday it is still front page in the papers, but we have not run into any demonstrations anywhere we have ventured. We are using the sky train and the water taxis, as well as regular taxis. Do not think it will affect a trip at all in a couple of weeks. The people need to get back to work. Our concierge told us that is what ends most ralleys, the need to get back to work. Enjoy your trip.

It appears now thay the protests have virtually come to and end. The only kind of red-shirt gathering was at the residence of the PM this morning, but very small in comparison to the weekend. The only effect it had on tourists and locals was traffic congestion in a smallish part of Sukhumvit Road for a couple of hours. Yes, for most of us living in Bangkok, we haven't seen a thing in real life - just on the TV news.

Glad everything is back to normal and the airports in Bangkok weren't blocked.

Recent article here talks of bombings around the southern town of Surat Thani, a popular transit point for backpackers taking ferries to the holiday islands of Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tra...cle7068850.ece

The tiny explosions (can't call them bombs at all) happened miles and miles from the boat pier in Surat Thani, nothing to do with foreign tourists.