Flooding and a political battle in Bangkok
The list of flooded areas and districts in Bangkok is getting longer.
Today there was also an important tourist destination: the Chatuchak district where the world famous weekend market is held. Chatuchak or Jatujak (Weekend Market) is very popular with tourists and foreigners, but also with the Thai themselves.
Don Muang
Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the floodwaters moved faster than expected and reached the Don Muang district. Bangkok's second airport is also located in this area. The airport is also used as the headquarters for the crisis team. On Monday, roads near the airport were flooded, but one lane was still passable. Thai television showed residents rushing out of their homes with necessary luggage. Air traffic at Don Muang and Bangkok International Airport on the other side of the city are operating normally.
Political struggle
It is now clear that Mr. Sukhumbhand has an agenda of his own. He has already acted a number of times, contrary to the advice of the crisis center (Froc). He would also not have opened all the floodgates in Bangkok, against the order of Prime Minister Yingluck. Mr. Sukhumbhand is a prominent member of the opposition and thus an opponent of the current cabinet.
Hoarding
After Yingluck Shinawatra's press conference, in which she made it clear that the flooding could continue for at least another six weeks, the residents of Bangkok have started hoarding again. The result is empty shelves in the supermarkets. Drinking water, batteries and canned food were bought en masse. Some supermarkets are out of stock.
Economic consequences
Bangkok province accounts for about 40 percent of the country's economic output Thailand, the government is trying to protect the business center at all costs. Moody's, the rating agency, estimated on Monday that the floods would cost Thailand more than Bt200bn ($6,5 billion).
The industrial heart of Thailand, north of Bangkok, has already been flooded by the advancing water. As a result, more than 1.000 factories have to close, with the loss of more than 600.000 jobs. These include Japanese car manufacturers and hard drive manufacturers. This will lead to a worldwide scarcity of this important computer component.
I'm curious about the situation in the center though. Is the skytrain area still completely dry on the street?
The palaces had to stay dry anyway, is that possible?
@ The center is still dry. Problems will only arise if a dike breaks.
ratchada pisek is now flooded, so the water is getting closer
Why don't the governments make a decision and issue a negative travel advice. Does it really have to go completely wrong first so that all travel insurance policies have to pay out???
Too sad for words that Bangkok continues to be flown with these circumstances!!!!
So now you just have to fly and hope that there is a return flight when the airport is flooded!!! People need to think...
Completely agree with you. Flying there is 1, getting stuck and not being able to leave with all the problems that entails is 2. It's not just water that will bother you. But you can also encounter diseases, animals, food and drinking water shortages.
Our flight was supposed to depart on October 17, but fortunately we were able to postpone it (to December), because we had no confidence in the reporting. Minbuza also seems to be sleeping and says casually that Thailand has to deal with floods every year and the government solves that perfectly…
Well Leon and weijermans, . It's up to you whether you want to go or not. Beasts and diseases and not being able to go back, I don't believe in that at all. I have been going to Thailand for 14 years and now again. Very bad for the victims, but the people who are not in the water also want to move on and if we all stay away, then there is nothing left there. And there (I've said this before) there is no social service. They have to do work for every bath. So no tourists, no work and no baths. Stick to the Christmas tree with your turkey.
Quite a strange reaction Ruud. I don't go to Thailand to financially support the local population. It may sound very harsh, but I go there to relax and enjoy a carefree holiday. I don't have those prospects at the moment. You then say that I should go anyway because the local population is so poor/bad. Then you can go on holiday all year round, there is poverty almost everywhere in the world. If I get stuck there for weeks, my own company in the Netherlands will simply fail, and I will not take any risks with my safety or health. Ending up in a (natural) disaster is bad enough, why would I go looking for that? I understand that you are concerned about the well-being of the local population and that is your right. Based on the same idea, I also have a right to be concerned about the health and safety of my loved ones and my own.
Ok everyone has their own way of thinking. Just see how different people think. I hope you can enjoy a carefree holiday later.
You are indeed right. We fly to Bangkok tomorrow but with mixed feelings. It's all exciting, it's also our first time backpacking and our honeymoon. I would have preferred if the flights were cancelled.
Just go!
Over there they really need the money from the tourists!
I'm leaving next week too!
For the third time…. also problems in Thailand for the third time.
First there was the political situation between the “red shirts” and the “yellow shirts”, then I couldn't get there because the airport was closed.
Still managed through a neighboring country.
Second time had to stay 9 days longer because of the ash cloud in Europe, then I stayed 200 meters from the riots in Bangkok!
And yet I'm going back now...
I can't bear the thought of the flight being cancelled!
Tourism is very important !
Don't worry Glenda. You can just enter the center of Bangkok. To be on the safe side, you can take a flight south straight from Suvarnabhumi, where you can relax on the beach. Happy Holidays!
It sounds annoying for the people who are really affected by the floods or are likely to be, but where the real problems are or are likely to occur is only a small part of Thailand. The entire south has no problems with water and Phuket Airport is an international airport.
The north-west (Chiang Mai and surroundings) no longer has any significant problems and CNX is also an international airport.
The north-east (Isaan) does have problems with water in a few places, but these can certainly be overseen or avoided for a tourist.
Surivabhumi airport may be located in a lower-lying swamp area, but when it was built 15 years ago, it was raised quite a bit and it is close to the sea, so water drains away relatively quickly.
And yes BKK will just be flooded, but you can just skip that, right?
No, what threatens to become a bigger problem on the long run is supplying the entire country. Central Thailand is the hub of distribution. And there are many stock centers of large supermarkets, for example. That is no longer the case. But how long is even?
Chang Noi
Hi Chang,
You indicate that there are no more significant problems in Chiang Mai. But it was also under water there, wasn't it? Are the consequences already gone? No smelly mud, millions of rats, empty shelves and rubbish everywhere? We would like to go there, but I find it so difficult to estimate what it is like there now.
I live in Chiangmai and can assure you that there are no problems at all in the city.
There are no more problems in Chiangmai, so welcome to our beautiful city and surroundings.
Eliza, there is absolutely nothing going on in Chiang Mai, no rats, mud, empty shelves...yes they will come, the distribution centers have been affected, my wine from South Africa is currently difficult to obtain, but there you come. Not for Thailand, right?
and enough is grown and produced here in northern Thailand, even wine….
but fly from BKK to Chiang Mai , the roads and rail lines are a problem everywhere from Bangkok.
.
Yesterday I arrived in Chiang Mai from Amsterdam via Bangkok. Enjoying it here again! No sign of the flooding anymore. It was, incidentally, limited to the flooded night bazaar next to the river. Everything is spic and span again after everything has been cleaned by combined forces. The rainy season is over here anyway, beautiful sunny and warm weather.
What good news! Let's quickly arrange a ticket to chiang mai!
Maybe a tip, you can rebook your ticket for € 50 to a later time. Not fun, but better than getting into trouble. We also hope for a negative travel advice, otherwise we will also book it to January.
Hallo,
We traveled to Thailand last Tuesday, also with a bit of a knot in our stomach. From Bangkok we flew directly to Krabi, because of all the misery there. Nothing noticed at Bangkok airport and everything went smoothly. Krabi and Ko Lanta everything is fine and Chang Mai, where we fly to tomorrow, should also be.
So, if it makes you feel better, just leave Bangkok immediately after arrival (Air Asia, online up to 48h in advance, otherwise ad counter; more expensive), because in the rest of Thailand (south and north) you will notice little of it, it's a big country. Hopefully it's reassuring 🙂
Greeting!
Indeed, it is sometimes forgotten that Thailand is as large as France in terms of area. Happy honeymoon and holiday!
Unfortunately we leave for the Netherlands on Thursday. We spent 3 weeks in Thailand and had no problems, except rain showers, but that was not even bad.
We have been allowed to stay in BKK, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin. Nothing going on in Chiang Mai. Now in Hua Hin (200 km below BKK) and how hot it is here! It would be a great pity if tourists stayed away from Thailand because of the coverage. And as Paul points out, Thailand is big enough not to be affected by the flood. If there is something in the north of France, it does not mean that they suffer from it in the south! JUST GO ALL!!!! No tourists, no income!
Ruud, think carefully, we are outside; foreigners are very important, we are not Thai, so just think how quickly you can catch an illness, the heat, the humid climate, etc ... and you will write no problem,, are you sometimes inmum me not I'm looking forward to the six years I've been here
What worries me the most right now is that the Chao Praya will soon (in two days) overflow its banks. Then the turnips are really done. The length of the river is 38 km (the part that flows through Bangkok). Times two, that means 76 km of riverbank where sandbag barriers have to be erected in a hurry. Impossible task.
latest news: Don Muang closed, According to a latest update in the BangkokPost from 30 minutes ago, the whole of Bangkok is now affected by water from 10 cm to 2 meters. Neatly indicated on a map with the article.
An American aircraft carrier with 3 other ships is now on its way to Japan. Waited more than 1 week for an answer from the Thai government whether they should help. In the absence of a yes or no for help, now on the way to Japan.
Today we fly to Phuket and visited Bankok last year during the floods. The Thai do everything they can to make it as smooth as possible for the tourists in their own way.
And getting sick??? Diarrhea maybe, but most people get that anyway. Don't think that as a tourist you will end up in the same shit as the Thai have to go through.
Negative travel advice….don't make me laugh. You can always rebook to Phuket or something. They are certainly not going to issue negative travel advice because Bankok has flooding. Sounds more like typical Dutch selfishness to me!