Political Unrest in Thailand

Any thoughts on the trouble in Thailand? We are scheduled for the December 16th trip. I have called Tauck and the person I spoke to was unaware of the potential for a government overthrow. There have been demonstrations in the streets with some government buildings being occupied and/or having power and water shut off. I did put in a request that someone from Tauck assess the situation and get back to me. Here is an article from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/world/asia/thailand-government-protests/

Comments

  • Hi drayton,

    I do hear your concern. While I respect the news gathering and dissemination expertise of CNN (really! I don't believe the label some Americans apply to the initials!:)) ), in this case you need to take the advice of your State Department. I hate to use a very old joke, 33 and ⅓ revolutions per minute, but this really does apply to politics in Thailand. Some situations boil and subside. Others boil over. It could actually be argued that this particular situation has been on the boil for some years and is nothing new at all. But for you, that view is irrelevant. The State Department's analysis and advice is what Tauck is monitoring now.

    I know it's hard to be patient. It's also hard not to project personal preconceptions on to foreign situations. But Thailand really is a strange and distant land! Hang in there and wait for that expert advice.

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • You may be right, but I think this level of confrontation is abnormally high. See NY Times today: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/world/asia/thailand-protests.html?hp&_r=0
    I just would feel better if Tauck communicated to me that it had some contingency plans if things got out of control or if the airport was shut down.
  • My thoughts are that Tauck will have plans in place. Their number one priority will be the welfare and safety of their guests and employees. That's why we travel with Tauck!
  • I am sure that Tauck has contingency plans even if they do not communicate them to their guests. When the crisis arose in Eygpt a few years ago, I read in my local newspaper an article about people from my area who were with Tauck in Eygpt at the time. In the article they stated that Tauck had them out of the country before even the US Government said to get out.
  • Hi drayton...I echo Jan's comments. Tauck will be on top of things...and your safety will come first. We had the same situation when we went to Kenya in 2012. Not only did Tauck monitor the entire situation before we left, our Tauck Trip Director called her local contacts before we left for every new destination. They had contingency plans every step of the way.

    To monitor the situation yourself, go to www.Travel.State.gov. and select Thailand for more information. I just checked and although there has been some violence it is quite localized. The Thai government has not implemented a curfew. However, people are being advised to remain at home from 10:00 p.m. Dec 1 through 5:00 a.m. Dec 2. Even so, "the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok will be open on Monday as usual."

    You can either check the Travel.State.Gov feed from the U.S. Embassy daily or register your upcoming trip on that website. If you do the latter, you will automatically receive updates. I register every trip we take. We went to Egypt this past spring and the information we received was very valuable.

    Good luck and travel safe...Leo M
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