Due to go to Thailand on Honeymoon

BLT_2

shippers wrote: »

We booked our honeymoon 12 months ago with Thomson. We are due to travel to Bangkok on 12th June for 4 nights then onto Phuket for 10 nights. The foreign office are now advising against all but essential travel there because of a civil war. The British Embassy has also come out of Bangkok. We contacted Thomson to ask to change our destination to elsewhere but they wont let us!! Thomsons have cancelled holidays there up to 28th May but they say we might still be able to go! Today 5 shot dead and the main shopping mall blown up!! The news is showing Bangkok as a derelict city. Has anyone any advice on what we can say to Thomson to let us change our holiday to another destination. We dont only want to know where we'll be going a week before. Do people think it'd help to speak to a manager? Any advice appreciated

Some sort of bullet proof vest?

odowdchr

We're in Phuket now (well Khao Lak and back to Phuket next week).
Travelled during the lull on 13th May when FO advice was OK and landed in Bangkok just as they started shooting last Thursday night, which was nice.....
Stayed in an airport hotel and on to Phuket the next morning, no real interest or mention of the troubles. I wouldn't have known a thing if i hadnt gone for a paper in the morning.

Phuket is fine..apart from the slight downfall in European travellers who don't normally come here in the off-season anyway. Most of the current tourist trade is from Singapore, Hong Kong and KL....who can all fly direct to Phuket avoiding Bangkok. And there are rucks of Germans as well, for some reason....not many English.

The only mention I've heard since is the sensationalist reporting of the BBC in criticising the Thai government, avoiding mention of the fact that the red shirts were infiltrated by shady Shaksin-supporting terrorists with their own M16 guns, ammo and rockets. People here (the south) seem to be behind the government all the way....
The tone of BBC reporting seems to have changed since the maniacs started torching their own capital city though...

FO advice is worth listening to if it affects insurance...a lot of package deal insurances will just not take the risk.
If you were independent and wanted to come, there's no problem if you're just going for a beach holiday and transitting the airport.

rose28454

shippers wrote: »

We booked our honeymoon 12 months ago with Thomson. We are due to travel to Bangkok on 12th June for 4 nights then onto Phuket for 10 nights. The foreign office are now advising against all but essential travel there because of a civil war. The British Embassy has also come out of Bangkok. We contacted Thomson to ask to change our destination to elsewhere but they wont let us!! Thomsons have cancelled holidays there up to 28th May but they say we might still be able to go! Today 5 shot dead and the main shopping mall blown up!! The news is showing Bangkok as a derelict city. Has anyone any advice on what we can say to Thomson to let us change our holiday to another destination. We dont only want to know where we'll be going a week before. Do people think it'd help to speak to a manager? Any advice appreciated

My daughter has just spent three weeks travelling around Thailand with 3 stays in Bangkok. She was there last from 16th to 18th May staying near the Kao San road. She went out to the market and to a couple of bars with her travelling companions and said she saw nothing at all until she was in the taxi to airport early on 18th when she saw smoke and heard shots ( only because Taxi had to go near Red Shirts zone). She had a great time and would go back tommorow if she could. All her friends here were really worried about her due to the press reports but as she said the main things she was frightened of were the cockroach that landed on her neck in a restuarant, the fish in the fish pedicure tank and the shoal of Tuna that leapt out of the sea when they were snorkelling. I would say go for it but perhaps only stay in Bangkok for a couple of days. Hope it sorts itself out for you. By the way most of these travel companies are useless, She went with STA and although the trip was fab the girl she dealt with in the agency was useless.

Donnie

BritRael wrote: »

Thanks Donnie.

Is this the fella you were talking about earlier?

Yes, he was the one on the video.

dickydonkin

DKLS wrote: »

There is always one, for the record I will happily disregard FO advice, as that isnt much better than the standards of journalism offered up by Fox and CNN.

I remember being on the phone to my old lady when I was in the Gaza strip, when I told her where I was, she burst into tears and said "but they are killing each other", I looked around the phone box, hearing crickets chirrup, children playing with footballs, and generally scenes of normal life and I wondered exactly where is this trouble happening?

Now there is no way I would have gone there if I was american, now that would have been suicidal and a risk too far .

So are you suggesting that a sniper can ascertain your nationality through the crosshairs of a rifle scope or an exploding bomb can discriminate between Americans and other nationalities? Interesting.

There is always one, for the record I will happily disregard FO advice, as that isnt much better than the standards of journalism offered up by Fox and CNN.

Yes - I am the one! You are so brave! When you are lying on a hospital bed or a slab, wait until you or your relatives attempt to claim from your travel or life insurance if your self proclaimed good judgement goes tits up!

DKLS

dpassmore wrote: »

So are you suggesting that a sniper can ascertain your nationality through the crosshairs of a rifle scope or an exploding bomb can discriminate between Americans and other nationalities? Interesting.



Yes - I am the one! You are so brave! When you are lying on a hospital bed or a slab, wait until you or your relatives attempt to claim from your travel or life insurance if your self proclaimed good judgement goes tits up!

This site could really benefit from a yawn icon, either that or a pedantic !!!! icon.

dickydonkin

DKLS wrote: »

This site could really benefit from a yawn icon, either that or a pedantic !!!! icon.

Have to agree - I have just read some of your 'previous' very interesting posts.

Just for you......

Maybe I could add to your illustrious list - a 'head up ones own &r$e' icon!

Mr_Lahey

BritRael wrote: »

Also, as has been said, as a foriegner, you are far more likely to come to grief in the USA (or Manchester for that matter) than you are in Thailand.

Not true.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/north-central-america/united-states

0.03% of travellers to the US required consular help.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/thailand

0.10% of travellers to Thailand required consular help.