When I told my father that I was traveling to Thailand, to put it mildly, he was not too thrilled. After all we read that there was a military coup in Thailand and it must not be safe. But as the invitation was from Tourism Authority of Thailand to attend Thailand Travel Mart I was willing to go. I knew they would carefully look at the situation and only then invite people. So here are my experiences of traveling to Thailand post military coup.
I have now traveled to a few places in Thailand and I have to say it is a different type of coup. I did not see any military personnel up to now. In fact when the governor of TAT was addressing media he showed an image of the people that felt amazing to me. Here it is.
The message from the governor was a plea to tell other tourists that Thailand was safe for travelers! As for the political situation in Thailand I am a complete novice but as a traveler I saw nothing that alarmed me. And if you are cursing me for using TAT and TTM, TAT is Tourism Authority of Thailand and TTM is Thailand Travel Mart,a trade event held annually in Bangkok.
Talking of Bangkok, we went on a dinner cruise and it was quite an experience. There are many cruise operators that operate dinner cruises and they are quite memorable. In fact each of the small snippets are going to be full posts once I come back on Sunday.
On the cruise I managed to click Wat Arun at night. It was a magnificent sight. The cruise had good entertainment which included traditional Thai dances as well as contemporary music. But there is a night curfew in Bangkok from 12 mid night to 4 am which did not affect me at all. I hardly ever venture out during those hours anywhere.
I have now moved beyond Bangkok to a place called Khao Yai which has a national park. We stopped for lunch at Sala Khao Yai (I know it doesn’t sound complimentary in Hindi :D) which was a beautiful place. On the way too we faced no problems.
As I am wrapping this post, it is raining as it rains in tropical countries. I hope my visit to the Khao Yai National Park remains unaffected.
Oh ! Being their during that time of crisis must be an experience of a lifetime !
And what a name ..really sounds notorious in Hindi 😀
Beautiful photos..as always..
Thank you Maniparna, as Maansi also says we could not figure out it was an interesting time. It was business as usual in most areas!
Hi Maniparna,
I travelled with Mridula on this trip and I must say that someone who hasnt read about the military coup wont believe there is one even if you hit them over the head with the newspapers. I even walked around bangkok at night and saw no signs of unrest or martial force. Bangkok is as amazing as ever.. just, sadly, a little empty of the tourist bustle.
Thanks for pitching in Maansi.
Lovely photos. Enjoy your trip.
Thank you Lady Fi.
I heard that there were curfews after 10 pm, even for tourists, is it true ?
Avinash when I was there the curfew time was 12.00 midnight to 4.00 am for everyone.
The pool at the end looks so tempting..! Wow gud to hear that Thailand is safe 🙂
Thanks Anki, the tourist areas felt safe, there was a big convention going on as well the TTM.
Such colorful pictures. Happy that all that media projects are not real. It looks a happy place.
In the tourist areas it was fun!
Good to know about Thailand and I am sure that after reading this travelogue, people will understand that all those media news are all just an hype.
Krishna, it was certainly a different Bangkok than what I expected.
Well it is good to know that Thailand is good and safe to travel.. one of my favorite countries in the world…
Mine too Prasad.
This is very interesting Mridula…I actually thought things would change after the coup! Nice clicks…
Thank you Siddhartha, I too was surprised to see things being quite normal for tourism.
Ah! That must have been a very different experience! Many people won’t even think of visiting a place in that situation… Daring you!
Loved the amazingly beautiful captures!
Regards,
Sindhu
Tantu
The Arts & Me
Sindhu as I was invited by Tourism Authority of Thailand I knew they would access the situation very carefully. There was a travel mart going on with buyers and sellers from all over Asia and beyond.
Such an awesome & different experience 🙂
The Tourism Authority has invited you & all will be great 🙂
Be blessed. Enjoy!
Thank you Anita. I did have a wonderful trip!
Lovely pics …glad to know you thoroughly enjoyed the trip and that the unrest reports were hyped. Loved the pic with the famous umbrellas the most!
Thank you Kokila. There was a curfew in Bangkok from 12.00 midnight to 4.00 am but then I am anyway asleep during those hours!