Closed? Best check for yourself., Bangkok

The Yellow shirt part was against the gove back in 23 Nov 08.
After which they closed the Intl Airport for 1 week and forcing many tourist got delay and stuck in Bangkok.

Some of the photo taken while I was on my way out of Bangkok and the yellow T shirt people started to block the highway toward the Intl airport.

Glad that me and my family got out in time, the "Last flight" out of Bangkok

While now, as of Jan 09, the yellow T shirt team is now the gov of Bangkok.
Then the former gov supporter, Red Tshirt team is protesting against the current gov.
wondering if the history will repeat itself again.

Hey fellow travellers,

I brought some friends from overseas to Bangkok. We just got back from there this morning. We went over last week, stayed somewhere near Petchaburi soi 35. Stayed a few days, did all things a tourist will do.

I've visited Bangkok umpteen times and I believed the Thais are not violent people. I am not saying that the Thais in Bangkok are friendly either.. Haahaa.. 2 of friends have never been to Bangkok so, they are rather excited about it.

Before we go over, I've checked with friends from Bangkok who told me that it was safe. They told me that the local and tourists still shop, traffic still as busy and everything is fine, nothing unusaul happen. So, we went over. During our stay, we did see 1 or 2 policemen directing the traffic.

We even went to the Grand Palace(1 - 2km away from the riots took place)and Wat Pho. Along the way, we saw some tents and some policemen sitting around chit-chatting.. We went past some Govt. buildings, nothing unusual, except 1 or 2 guards guarding the gate..

This period is good to travel to Bangkok, lesser tourists, meanings good for us to take pictures and taxi also cheaper.. Haahaa...

My last visit was on the 17Jan 08, from what i have seen these few days, basically, nothing change. Though lesser tourists now, there are still as many street hawkers like before along the roads.. Wholesales markets in Chinatown are also very crowded.
People in Bangkok still shop, eat, buy, go massage etc.. Traffic is still as congested like before.

3 things to do before leaving to Bangkok if you still feel uneasy after reading the above.
1)Please register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you leave the country. This will enable the Ministry and your Embassy in Bangkok to contact you and render the necessary consular assistance in case of emergencies.
2)Always monitor the local news diligently and be prepared to face inconveniences during travelling(if travelling to other places than Bangkok)
3)Purchase comprehensive medical and travel insurance.

Have a good trip.

I think this is true of major sights such as the Grand Palace and Wat Pho but as soon as I started to get near them (I was walking from Khao San Road) I had various people come up to me and explain to me that they were closed and to come back later. The strange thing was that they didn't offer anything else for me! What was their motive for telling me if they didn't have something to gain? Well, I decided to ignore them and check for myself and lo and behold, they were both open! I still can't figure out why these people told me the sights were closed with no motive for themselves, but perhaps they truly think they are closed? Who knows?

After we alight @ N8 Tha Tien stop, we tried finding our way to Wat Pho. Jus as we saw the road sign indicating Wat Pho, we were stopped by a friendly uncle who told us that Wat Pho is closed for "ceremoni" till 3pm. He suggested tat we visit after 3pm & even offered to bring us elsewhere. Luckily, we did sufficient "research" to know tat we should jus ignore his "advise".

One of the common scams aimed at tourists in Bangkok is to tell them that a particular attraction is closed…and then attempt to lure them elsewhere for a small fee!

I encountered this a number of times during my visit to the city in September 2007.

The first time I came across this scam (and fell for it!) was on the Monday morning that I went to visit the Grand Palace. An official looking man in a yellow uniform standing outside the grounds of the palace told me that the Grand Palace is open only for locals on a Monday morning. Hadn’t I noticed all the locals in the yellow shirts? Yes, I had. Well, they were all making their special Monday morning visit to pray at the Grand Palace. I should return at 1pm when tourists would be allowed to enter.

So, what was I going to do for the next few hours while I waited for the palace to open? Not to worry…the ever-helpful “official” was on hand to recommend other sights to see….the giant standing Buddha at Wat Intharawihan, the Golden Mount, the Thai factory outlet…

And how would I get to these sights? Again, the official would be only too happy to beckon over a passing tuk tuk driver and arrange for him to take me there for only 40 Bahts.

Now, I wasn’t going to be fooled into jumping into a random tuk tuk on a stranger’s recommendation, but I did believe him that the Grand Palace was closed to tourists.

So instead, I hailed my own tuk tuk and arranged a fee of just 20 Bahts (avoiding the 20 Bahts commission for the helpful official!) and set out to see the sights.

This is when I encountered the scam for a second time. Apparently, just like the Grand Palace, the Golden Mount was also closed to tourists on Monday mornings. So, instead of taking me there my driver would take me on a tour of small, lesser-known temples where helpful locals would attempt to sell me various things, all of which were available at these “low prices” for that one day only!

If you are told that an attraction is closed, check for yourself and you’ll probably find that you’re being lied to!

This will probably happen to most of the tourists who walk from the Grand Palace to Wat Pho. Along the way, there would be a couple of 'nice' guy who try to inform you that Wat Pho is closed for religion ceremony today until 3pm. He would 'advise' you to take a cheap tour to other temples by tuktuk. Just thank them, and then INSIST on walk to check it out for yourself. I met a very persistant guy who even tried to block my way to Wat Pho when i tried to check for myself. But i snapped at him and had to just ignored him and walked straight ahead. And that's when i was glad i did because Wat Pho was opened and full of tourists!!!

Hi. I don't know if you know about the scams in BKK. Here are some very common ones, happen all the time. When you get to the Grand Palace someone will tell you that it is closed (see, look at the windows:). Then a Tuk Tuk driver will conveniently pull up to take you to some place that is open (we ended up at the laying down buddha place). Then you end up at a jewelry store where the tuk tuk driver gets a commission, especially if you stay a long time or buy something. Then you go to a Tailor, etc...It's awful. Almost got a divorce over the whole thing. I didn't like the Sukhumvit area. Too many big Western guys with little Thai girls or boys. The road going thru Suk is a mess, that's why you have to take the sky train. If you don't stay in that area a cab is the way to go. Tuk tuk's can be cheap and fun but they are devious at times. If you are young, stay near Khaosan road. It's fun! All the backpackers from all over the world are there. Check out my Thailand pages. www.newsiam.net We stayed at new siam II. It's by the river too where you can take the river taxi. It's 20$, has a pool, restaurant, a/c, and own bathroom. Loved it! Grand palace is only 10 mins. away.

Everybody by now have read about it. Scam artists approaching you and telling you that the Palace is closed and offering you an excursion of some sort and will take you back to the Palace once it reopens.

Well, in one morning, we were approached by 4 different scam artists. And here are their reasons. Some of them are quite creative, I give them that...

1) Today's Wednesday and the Prime Minister visits the King every Wednesday morning.

2) The Palace is closed for a private tour.

3) The King is meeting some dignitary (I cannot make out the name of the dignitary though)

4) The Palace isn't open until 10am - no reason given.

So, when you visit, do your homework and be careful.