bangkok Travel Guide
Tags: Airport Art / Suvarnabhumi Airport / Bangkok Travel / Weird Travel / Airports / Airport News / → All Tags
Beware Of The Unlucky Demon Statues At Bangkok Airport
Checking in at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is about to get a bit weirder, not mention more unlucky. How is this possible, you ask? Well, airport management has decided to move twelve "demon statues" from the arrivals area to the check-in area.
Officially, the airport says they are moving the statues so that passengers can "appreciate the statues' beauty". But the real reason behind the move—which will cost them around $50,000 and take three months—is that shopkeepers in the arrivals area blame the statues for the bad luck which has plagued them since the airport opened, including the protests which closed the airport for more than a week last year.
So if you end up unlucky at the check-in counter, like with no good seats left on the plane or an excess baggage charge, then at least you will know that you can blame those demon statues for it.
Related Stories:
· Bangkok Airport Moves 'Unlucky' Demon Statues [The Age]
· Thai Airport Standoff Proves World Is Indeed Flat [Jaunted]
· Bangkok Travel Guide [Jaunted]
[Photo: antwerpenR]
Tags: Scams / Bribes / Security / Borders / → All Tags
Chicanery in Bangkok: Tourists Falsely Accused of Shoplifting at Duty Free Stores
Most travelers accept that low-level graft, bribery, and off-the-books transactions are an unavoidable part of visiting certain foreign countries. Sure, the security guard in Zambia might suggest you give him a few kwacha to "buy a beer" if you want to gain access to a government ministry, or the border agent in Latvia may hint that a ten-euro note folded into your passport might help you make your ferry in Tallinn on time, but rarely does this chicanery rise to the level encountered by a number of tourists in Thailand recently. As the AP points out, the governments of several European countries have put out warnings to their nationals to be wary of a scam in Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport in which tourists browsing in the duty-free shop are falsely accused of shoplifting, and then shaken down by seedy intermediaries for sums of up to $10,000 or more to win their freedom.
Tags: Airport Hell / Crimes / Bangkok Travel / Airport News / → All Tags
Bangkok Airport Police Target Westerners In Frightening 'Zig-Zag' Scams
Don't touch that duty-free bottle of scotch just yet; you better intend to buy it lest airport security at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport catch you browsing and nab you for shoplifting. This is what happend to two UK travelers, who, shopping at the airport before their flight back to London, were hauled in by airport police and held in the jail until they withdrew and handed over £7,500 (approx $12,250) to clear their charges of stealing a wallet.
The details of their ordeal are the stuff of travel nightmares, as the couple, speaking to the BBC, said they were kept in "a hot, humid, smelly cell with graffiti and blood on the walls" with their passports taken away from them. After they withdrew all they could on one day for "bail," handed over to sketch interpreter working with the police, the couple was allowed to sleep in a motel while the police threatened to imprison them in the "infamous Bangkok Hilton prison" should they get any ideas.
Tags: Zoos / Animals / Pandas / Elephants / Thailand Travel / → All Tags
All of Thailand Is Mad for Pandas, and the Elephants are Hopping Mad
The very happy nation of Thailand joined the panda-monium craze this week as the Chiang Mai Zoo in Bangkok introduced the country’s first every baby panda. After six years of feverish attempts to mate their two adult pandas, including a mock wedding and widely circulated “panda porns” of the pair attempting to reproduce, the country finally became just the fourth in the world to ever breed a panda cub in captivity.
Eager Thais finally got to see the six-week-old cub this week, and the cuddly critter has proved so popular that there were more than 500,000 entries in a contest to name it, and the zoo is building a pricey new snow house for the happy new family.
But not everyone is psyched about the panda craze. Zookeepers in the elephant kraal have grown incensed that no one is stopping by to see their pachyderms—Thailand’s national animal—and in protest this week they took to watercolors and painted the elephants in panda garb. Hilarious, until Peta hears about it. Maybe they’d have more luck if they made some elephant porn?
Related Stories:
· Will this stop the pandamonium? [Daily Mail]
· Thai zoo's 1st baby panda goes on display [AP]
· How To Cuddle a Baby Panda [Jaunted]
[Photo: Reuters]
Tags: Protests / Thailand Travel / Political Travel / → All Tags
Bangkok Protests Continue, Thailand Warnings Start Again
Thailand, Thailand. You're so beautiful, so why do we have to keep writing these bad news stories? Unfortunately it looks like the internal political problems, while completely unrelated to travelers and the tourism industry, are going to stop thousands of visitors to Bangkok and Thai islands again.
While last week it sounded like even the ASEAN meeting of regional leaders might still go ahead, it's now been canceled and protests have become violent. Despite the government declaring a state of emergency, protesters have continued to gather in Bangkok and there are now armed soldiers on the streets.
Countries including Britain, Canada and Australia have already issued travel warnings advising its citizens to review their travel plans to Bangkok and to avoid the area if they are already in Thailand. At this stage the airports are still open, but remembering last year's chaos would definitely make us think twice about assuming it'll stay that way. Can we suggest neighbors Vietnam or Cambodia instead, as long as your flights don't connect in Bangkok?
Related Stories:
· Thai Protesters Clash With Police [NY Times]
· Travel Warnings For Thailand After Weekend Mayhem [Reuters]
· Thai Travel Might Be Tied Up Again [Jaunted]
· Thai Airport Standoff Proves World Is Indeed Flat [Jaunted]
[Photo: Y Not ?]
Tags: Amazing-Race-14 / Amazing Race 14 / Chasing Racers / Television Travel / TV Travel / → All Tags
Rooting Around in People's Mouths Could Be Unpleasant
Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 14 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr
photo pool to get in on the fray. Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map
--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.
This week, the Racers take off from Phuket, Thailand, the seventh Pit Stop
in this race around the globe. The competition is really heating up, and with only
five teams remaining, sights are set on the final legs of the race and the one
million dollar prize. Who has the skills, smarts and strength to make it all the way
to the finish mat?
LET'S FIND OUT!
Tags: Protests / Thailand Travel / Political Travel / → All Tags
Thai Travel Might Be Tied Up Again
Just when we were thinking it must be safe to go back to Thailand after last year's airport closures, we're starting to wonder again.
This week there were anti-government protests in Bangkok, with 100,000 gathering near the Prime Minister's office and taxi drivers intentionally blocking traffic in the city. With the ASEAN summit being held over the weekend, some authorities are getting a bit worried about security for all those VIPs.
Whether this is the precursor to another airport lockdown to strand thousands of tourists or just a small political glitch remains to be seen but we'd be checking the latest news carefully before booking our Thai flights.
Related Stories:
· Thai PM Says Peaceful Protest OK [Reuters]
· Thais Trying To Turn Tourism Tide [Jaunted]
· Thailand Travel Guide [Jaunted]
[Photo: Yan Pritzker]
Tags: Hell No We Won't Go / Airport Hell / Airports / BKK / → All Tags
Thai Airport Standoff Proves World Is Indeed Flat
Suvarnabhumi Airport has finally reopened, though it promises to be a total disaster in the near-term as hundreds of thousands of tourists try to flee Bangkok. The eight-day standoff illuminated how important airports are--and how their closure, for whatever reason, can cut off entire countries from the outside world.
For every inconvenienced tourist, it seems, there was a FedEx package that couldn't get through. The International Herald Tribune reports that ritzy hotels had to shake up their menus without fancy imported food available and orchid growers had to dump inventory on the domestic market, at one-third the price they're used to getting. Japanese restaurants ran out of sushi, and wine reserves were going fast because people "don't have much else to do these days" the food and beverage director of the Four Seasons told the newspaper.
But perhaps the most globalized industry of all, tourism, took the biggest hit, with officials predicting a 30 to 40 percent drop in vacations this holiday season. Worries about the future of the $17 billion-a-year industry--both because of the airport closure and the on-going political crisis--even forced the country's central bank to cut its interest rate by a full point Wednesday. As the head of Thailand's tourism office told a local paper: "Even the tsunami was over in just one day."
Related Stories:
· Bangkok Feeling the Pain of Isolation [IHT]
· Bangkok Airport Resumes Operations [NYT]
· Bangkok Airport Crisis coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: JasonDGreat]
Tags: Hell No We Won't Go / Airport Hell / AirAsia / BKK / → All Tags
Had Enough? How To Get Out Of Bangkok
Possible further airport hell averted! The latest reports out of Bangkok have it that Suvarnabhumi could be reopen as early as December 5, though other estimates say rebooting BKK could take at least another week or longer.
Don't order your last celebratory bowl of Pad Thai just yet, though: With as many as a few hundred thousand other people clamoring to get out of the country, flights are bound to be the definition of overbooked for days if not weeks. What's the best exit strategy, then? For now, it's the Vietnam-era U-Tapao airfield, a 90-mile drive south of Bangkok, which is currently operating some international flights.
Among the carriers making connections to international airports that won't be total nightmares for the rest of 2008 are AirAsia, Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines. AirAsia in particular has lots of flights, including departures to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Shenzhen and Singapore.
Related Stories:
· AirAsia "Rescue Flights" [Official Site]
· Bangkok Protests: What to Do if You're in Thailand [Telegraph]
· Bangkok International Airport Still Protest Central [Jaunted]
[Photo: AirAsia]
Tags: Hell No We Won't Go / Airport Hell / Airports / BKK / → All Tags
Bangkok International Airport Still Protest Central
These People's Alliance for Democracy protesters don't quit! Almost a full week after seizing control of both airports in Bangkok, the PAD is still occupying Suvarnabhumi and no commercial flights are arriving or departing, though some empty planes are being moved to other airports in the region.
The tourism minister of Thailand says the PAD's actions have stranded 240,000 tourists, though as an employee of the current government, we're a little dubious of the accuracy of that figure. Still, there's no denying that several thousand holidaymakers have been inconvenienced by the airport closure. PAD is handing out water as a PR gesture, but most of the reports from BKK we've seen show passengers more interested in getting the hell out of Thailand than hydrating.
Even if protesters clear out of Suvarnabhumi today--and that doesn't seem likely, does it?--it'll be at least another week before it's back in business, the director of the Airports Authority of Thailand has said. In the meantime, regional hubs Changi Airport in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur International in Malaysia are open as usual. If you can get the change fee on your ticket waived because of possibly-coup-inciting protests, let us know!
Related Stories:
· 240,000 Tourists Stranded in Thailand [The Nation]
· Thai Protesters to Focus on Airports [NYT]
· Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport Still Shuttered [Jaunted]
Tags: Airport Hell / Airports / BKK / → All Tags
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport Still Shuttered
Protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat overwhelmed Suvarnabhumi Airport Tuesday night, some bombs reportedly exploded nearby and BKK remains closed today, with People's Alliance for Democracy camped out in the terminal. The New York Times described the scene:
Confidently striding across a makeshift stage, Mr. Sondhi added: “Are we going to stay here tonight? The answer is definitely, Yes!” Stranded passengers were evacuated by airport staff from the terminal throughout the day Wednesday, many of them sent to Bangkok hotels. “Canceled” flashed across the flight schedule screens and check-in counters were empty.
Protesters set up cooking equipment and prepared vats of food in the terminal building, giving parts of the building a festival-like atmosphere. But with tension running high among both demonstrators and government supporters, the possibility of further violence remained high.
Reportedly PAD supporters have even occupied the control tower. Airport officials are now calling on the army for help to restore order and get Suvarnabhumi open again.
Related Stories:
· Thai Army Chief Advises PM to Quit [NYT]
· Thai Protests Heighten Crisis [WSJ]
· Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport Shut Down by Protesters [Jaunted]
Tags: Airport Hell / Airports / BKK / → All Tags
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport Shut Down By Protesters
Departing flights out of Bangkok's international airport have been canceled, news wires are reporting, though BKK's website makes no mention of service interruptions.
Protesters affiliated with the People's Alliance for Democracy swarmed Suvarnabhumi International and forced its closure, an airport spokeswoman told Reuters, while other PAD supporters rallied at Don Mueang International, also in Bangkok. If you're scheduled to fly, now would be a good time to call your airline to confirm your seat--or rebook.
Despite the seemingly endless protests and at times violent clashes between the PAD and its political rivals, parts of Thailand's capital remain as safe as usual, says Bangkok-based blogger Newley Purnell:
It’s the early evening, darkness has fallen, and people are heading home from work. Taxis cruise by along the road outside my window. People jog around a scenic park. And motorcycle taxi drivers ferry people about. It’s business as usual.
Related Stories:
· Reports: Bangkok Airport Shut Down [CNN]
· Thai Flights Disrupted as Protesters Storm Airport [Reuters, via WaPo]
· Bangkok Protests: Shots Fired [Newley.com]
[Photo of BKK: rogerwp]
