{"id":5093,"date":"2013-08-19T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2013-08-19T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/?p=5093"},"modified":"2013-08-18T16:31:46","modified_gmt":"2013-08-18T20:31:46","slug":"is-it-safe-to-travel-to-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/2013\/08\/19\/is-it-safe-to-travel-to-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It Safe To Travel To Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"

A common question among people considering a visit to the land of smiles, Thailand. \u00a0Is It Safe To Travel To Thailand?\u00a0Whenever you travel, you have to consider your own personal safety, especially when you’re traveling abroad. \u00a0Every country has it’s security challenges, and Thailand is no different.<\/p>\n

Thailand regularly experiences political and civil unrest which can create challenges for travelers.\u00a0Political demonstrations take place with some frequency.\u00a0\u00a0Many are scheduled on the anniversary of political events, and others happen with little warning. Demonstrations can attract tens of thousands of participants and often cause severe traffic disruptions, especially if they include processions from one site to another. I experienced this on my last trip this July\/August. \u00a0Planned protests lasted throughout the week and created unbelievable traffic jams.<\/p>\n

Between March and May 2010, political protests throughout Thailand resulted in the deaths of at least 91 people and injuries to over 260 people. \u00a0 Interestingly, I was in Thailand on one of my earlier trips during this time but left before any significant violence erupted. Anthony Bourdain, TV personality, was in Thailand filming<\/a> an episode of his show during some of the dangerous days and described it as a state of siege in his blog.<\/p>\n

In Thailand, people literally wear their politics on their sleeves, or shirts – red shirts and yellow shirts. Thailand’s “red shirts” are an anti-government group that supports the country’s deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The “yellow shirts” support Thailand’s current prime minister. \u00a0It’s a good idea to avoid wearing either color while you’re in Thailand, and especially while you’re in Bangkok.<\/p>\n

The Department of State advises all U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to Thailand to monitor events closely, to avoid any large public gatherings, and to exercise discretion when traveling within the country.<\/p>\n

By law you must carry your passport with you at all times. Tourists have been arrested because they were unable to produce their passport. \u00a0To be safe, keep a photo-copy of your passport in your hotel safe, in case it’s lost or stolen, and make sure a family member or friend at home has a copy as well. This can help with getting an emergency replacement passport if needed. \u00a0I keep a scanned copy in my phone for convenience (if you do this, make sure you have security set up on your phone for added protection.)<\/p>\n

Over the years, Thailand has been the site of domestic and international terrorism. \u00a0In\u00a0February 14, 2012 an explosion occurred in central Bangkok and a man, linked to the explosion, threw an explosive device at a taxi. The Thai authorities linked them man to an Iranian group.<\/p>\n

The far south of Thailand has been experiencing almost daily incidents including incidents attributed to armed local separatist groups. And while it’s been more than a year since there’s been a significant attack, there are regular reports of smaller scale crimes and uprisings.<\/p>\n