Readers are concerned about Thailand
The readers of Thailandblog are increasingly concerned about the situation in Bangkok. Like Cor van de Kampen, who sent in this message.
It is now no longer about discussions and small disagreements on the blog. It is clear to me now: we all love this country. Otherwise you don't feel so involved. What is happening here is a humanitarian disaster. It is not the same as the tsunami in Phuket or earthquakes in the rest of the world.
Certainly in those disasters, such as in Japan, many victims fell. It was a one-off event. After a month, the victims were known. Mind you, I'm not going to tell you that what happened there isn't a drama.
Here in Thailand more than 30% is affected. Already more than 500 dead. The rice crop has been largely destroyed. The industry where many 100.000 thousands of Thais work is screwed up. Then, months later, it becomes known that many people have been affected by all kinds of diseases. No more blood transfusions. No more kidney dialysis available.
The economy is screwed up. Almost no tourists anymore. Foreign investors are withdrawing. It is already known that in the most positive scenario it will take at least another 3 months before all the water has flowed to the sea. The only thing I want to add about Japan is that the radiation hazard will still affect many people.
In our village Bangsare, people are driving around from the affected areas. Ask for a place to stay overnight. With the whole family in an old car. Left behind everything that is dear to them. If that still has to take months, where will it go?
As emotional as I am, sometimes I can't hold back my tears.
I fully understand readers' concerns. Are they worried that their planned trip to LOS will fall through? That they can't do the expected excursions?
That they have to pay more to get from one place to another? Just recently a few ex-colleagues were visiting here and from Chang Mai they were going to Bkk and then to Pattaya. A disaster because the railway was closed and they complained that they had to book a flight.
These people hadn't asked a single question about how are people doing here.
How big is the disaster, but an expense of more than 3500 baht for the flight.
I understand the tourists, they book a trip here, it's certainly not cheap and then they can't make the planned trips, which were foreseen in the package. A disappointment in their trip. But do they ever think of the suffering, the loss of those people here, NO !!!!.
Selfish thinking, my journey is crazy. Shame.
Well, Luc, he can do it again. Such people exist, me me me me. I really think most of us experience it very differently. Those poor people have to endure a lot of suffering. They are not there yet, once the water is gone you will get the diseases.
The inability of the government has made it all worse. A disgrace !!!
In this way you are not helping the people there and you are passing on a whole stream of negativity to the people who want to come to Thailand.
I would say try to get the message across in a different way.
and thailandblog is a big brake for me and many people who read all this.
What is true and what is not ?????? the press is always out for a sensation ………!
It is not true that Bangkok is under water for more than half, although we are heading in that direction. You already reported that Bangkok was half under water while at that time it was less than 20%. Plus that things were just said that weren't right. In addition, there is the relevance for the average Thailandblog.nl reader: very small, because it is just not in the areas where the water is. This is also evident from the reactions of tourists: 'where is all that water?'
The disaster is huge, no one denies that. But I'm also not very happy with the way facts, speculation, and opinion about the flooding are sometimes intertwined here. Doesn't take away the fact that there are also very good pieces in between!
@ robert. Although no tourists will drown, they will find a desolate Thailand. Empty shops (in some places), empty entertainment venues, deserted hotspots, sandbag shops on your doorstep. The streets around the Grand Palace and Chinatown are flooded. Ayutthaya and Sukothai cannot be visited. The sea stinks in many places because of the polluted water. Some cities are full of 'water refugees' and there are no hotel rooms left. Is that the Thailand you want to introduce the tourists to?
@Peter – Can't visit Sukhothai? That's funny, because my girlfriend happens to be traveling to Sukhothai just today. And your response underlines once again what I have problems with. Too many half-truths, exaggerations and speculation in the midst of (fortunately mostly) also very good and useful information.
Another bold absolute statement that tourists (just?) will not drown, but will find a desolate Thailand. It's just not true! The average tourist has so far not encountered a desolate Thailand, not even a desolate Bangkok. Also read the surprised 'where is the water' reactions from those who live in NL, regularly read this blog, and who have arrived in BKK in recent weeks.
I run a team of 12 people here, 3 of whom are affected. Those affected, 1 of whom still lives at home with 1 meter of water, just come to the office every day by public transport, and everyone has enough food and drink. Aside from keeping an eye on the news, making a few tweaks here and there, and having alternatives on hand in case the office floods, it's business as usual so far.
I certainly do not want to downplay the enormous disaster, because that is what it ultimately is, and the affected areas and all the personal dramas involved. That's really terrible. But I really think that you are unintentionally painting the wrong overall picture. Most of Bangkok, let alone Thailand, is (still) functioning normally.
'from a tourist perspective' I should have added.
Hello, I have been in Thailand for 2 weeks now and we have not had any problems (As a Tourist) with the water. If I post that here on the blog, I will immediately be accused of whether I think the disaster is a hoax.?
Well no so I am not blind , but I did not ignore Thailand and just went . And I was wrongly worried about our situation / and possibilities this trip.
I have been following Thailand blog for years and have been coming to Thailand for holidays for years. However, people with a somewhat flexible travel schedule do not have to ignore the country.
There should just be some more positive tourist info/possibilities here instead of: “Beer crises in Phuket” nice and important you drink something else. There is certainly something to get somewhere and empty shelves are usually replenished within a few days. Such a message just comes across as "Don't go to Phuket because there won't be any beer there soon".
I just have the feeling that there are a few people here from the Netherlands, posting mindless sensational messages. These are often untrue or half true. These messages unfairly scare tourists. Now that Bangkok is completely impassable and serious diseases are breaking out, you should not be naive and discourage tourists from going.
The fact of enjoying a nice holiday while disaster strikes is worth contemplating
but I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. Tourism is just less at the moment and by spending your euros here you provide income for the people who live off tourists. Every tuk tuk ride we take here in nongkhai is bread on the table for the driver (who I don't think have a very good income), and they are really not busy with a dozen or so tourists staying here at the moment. (Sin Nong Khai is super laid back).
Anyway, we will continue in this beautiful country for the next 2 weeks.
@Michael, I bet you mean well. But it will be difficult to book tourists who want to go to Bangkok to NongKhai. That would be the same if we asked tourists who want to go to Amsterdam to go to Zwolle. And that under the heading: Zwolle is also nice…
@ Robert, that Sukhothai could not be visited, has been confirmed by the TAT itself. The situation may be different now, of course.
You do not answer my question whether you want to introduce tourists to Thailand in this way? Actually you say there is nothing wrong for tourists, just come. I wouldn't want to take that on myself. Because I mentioned a number of facts that you also do not go into.
We have not written anywhere that tourists should not go to Thailand. Everyone makes that decision and consideration for themselves.
About contradictory reports, that the information in Bangkok Post and The Nation is sometimes incorrect, we all know that. That certainly applies to the information in the media here.
I do understand your reaction. You have your own agenda. But I get so many e-mails from friends and acquaintances from Thailand who confirm that it is certainly not optimal for tourists in Thailand. Maybe a half truth?
Peter, I respect that you don't share my point of view, but please don't accuse me of having an agenda. My only agenda is a realistic representation of the overall picture and not to harm Thailand even more with panic stories. I believe that some tourists report 'non-optimal' conditions. However, there is a world of difference between that and the 'desolate Thailand' you describe.
@ Fine Robert. But a comment about half-truths pisses me off. Maybe consider your choice of words a bit more?
By the way, I also looked up the travel advice of the ministry:
Non-essential travel to the center of Bangkok, the Bangkok conurbation and the area north of Bangkok up to and including Ayutthaya is therefore not recommended.
It really says Bangkok Center….
Panic story?
I have been saving every penny for a holiday to Thailand for over a year now.
Fortunately I haven't booked anything yet because I certainly don't want to go there as a disaster tourist.
I think I would just get in the way there at the moment and occupy a sleeping place that the residents themselves desperately need right now.
It doesn't really matter to me whether I go now, in January or in March. First of all, let the own inhabitants have all the space they need to make use of the logistics that are still somewhat present.
They need it the most right now.
Just for the record. I am also a reader, but not a vacationer.
I have been living in Thailand for quite some time after my retirement. Don't react so negatively
on people who go on holiday to Thailand and who may have been coming to this country for years. They should have some security. Might as well have everything
set aside for their vacation. At least they don't let Thailand down..
People with so many comments, what have you already contributed?
Improve the world and start with yourself.
Cor.
Hey Cor,
I am very happy with your response, you indeed understand what I mean. and those last sentences were just what I couldn't express very well.
Thanks
One last comment though. Sometimes sometimes think people like us more
involved in what is happening here in this country. You're a little ashamed
to go on vacation anyway. While if we don't go you'll damage this country a lot more
harmed. But then the Thai. They have the guts to just party.
In the rest of the country it's just Loi Krathong. As if there is no major disaster
happened and not hundreds of thousands of people lost everything and many people
being sick or deceased. I would be ashamed of myself.
We don't have to reproach ourselves. I'm not joining that party.
In those days I think of all those poor in spirit who are having a party.
Cor.
I just responded to Luc, I find him rather cynical. Of course we must not abandon the people in Thailand. If you want to go on holiday to Thailand, you can easily fly to another part of Thailand. The international airport is open.
The disaster is incalculable for the population. No more work, house / household goods gone, no water, lack of food, no medicines and so on. There are plenty of relief supplies in hangars that do not reach their destination. How will all this continue for the population? So complete chaos.
I returned from Bangkok last Thursday and I had little inconvenience from the water at that time. But now it appears that the water is gradually starting to flow throughout Bangkok. My friend told me that there is a big exodus and there are no bus tickets available for the next 3 days, everyone is leaving for the north, she is now going to try to get a train ticket.
People who have saved for a Thailand trip can just go, there is more than just Bangkok. If you travel to the northeast (isaan), you will arrive in a beautiful green area and there is a lot to see for a tourist. You also help the less fortunate people from the isaan. Everything is cheaper there than in Bangkok. So travelers go to Thailand right now, the temperature is ideal there now and you help the country. Have fun traveling
@ Leo, in endorse what you say. But the average tourist has nothing to do with Isaan. It is beautiful but also monotonous. I can only hold out for a few days. The Isaan is not set up for tourists and there is often not even English signage. Not many Thai in the Isaan speak English. I usually stay in a hotel in Kanthalak (SiSaKet) well, you shouldn't put a spoiled tourist in there, because then you have dolls dancing…
Exactly, there is more to bangkok, much more even. I have been coming to Thailand for years (my girlfriend lives in Ubon-Rachathani) and as far as Bang Kok is concerned, I have only seen the airport. Get to know the country and its people, it's definitely worth it and you can look back on it for years to come. Have a safe trip and take your time!!!
greetings ben.
I have been coming to Thailand for years, and then always travel around, so I can say that for a farang who goes on holiday there, I know Thailand well, from North to South and from West to East, I love this beautiful country, but it is blissful.
By that I mean to say that you can assume that the coming tourist season will be completely gone. Of course there will be tourists but that will be significantly less. Tourists cancel their trip, or book another one, that's just how it works.
Looking at the situation like this, I don't expect the whole thing to be dry again before the end of December, and then you're still left with diseases and other misery.
I always go sometime in January (god willing) but I'm waiting for this moment......
That much is under water is one thing that is certain, that a disaster is taking place that is also certain, it is also certain that recovery will take a long time. I regularly see the video clips here and recognize what is under water.
Yes, I can cry too.
I was able to evacuate my girlfriend who worked in Bangkok in time, she just managed to get away. The factory where she worked is now also under water. It's 1 great tragedy.
Why can't I hear the broadcast stations? Why no action? Again I can cry.
Well, unthinkingly posting sensational messages? Don't you read the Bangkok Post or The Nation? Don't you watch Thai TV? You would know exactly how the (news) fork is on the stem. With 529 dead and 1,5 million Thai affected, you can't believe we should just post promotional hosanna messages. TB represents the reality in Thailand. They are sometimes positive, but sometimes also critical. You can still have an excellent holiday here, but don't close your eyes to the harsh reality in an area the size of the Netherlands and with more inhabitants.
I have already ignored many blog comments, not read them, so I have a bit of positivity.
Now I'm typing in Korat in my room,
It was early Saturday morning, November 5, when I arrived in Korat. An hour later I was in my bed.
Korat is so very normal!
shortage of rooms? how many would you like to book and also for the normal price.
is 10 euros ok?
flooded with panicked evacuees, where are these people? Food and beer shortage didn't notice anything. The taxi that transported me from the airport was a happy person and a nice load
after all, well deserved. I am also satisfied.
on my flight Seoul -Bkk. 3 seats in a row for myself, slept well!
I would like to explain more but why, this says enough I thought.
Just a little positive keep the courage in it, don't you think?
What I'm going to wonder if this will be posted?
Gr. yo.
john,
A reply to this,
Regularly I noticed that my saying was not moved from there.
if my comments sometimes INSTRYKT against the hair.
I don't think I'm sending falsehoods, but my well-meant opinion
which I think is good to be read.
This is my explanation John.
gr. yo.