Should we put off travel due to floods?

[voracious 31]

Ratchada & Sukhimvit still fine. Chinatown flooded a bit yesterday.

 

Right now, with the exception of superior shopping mall and movie choices, it's probably better to be in Pattaya.

 

If arriving this week, I don't know that the extra travel cost and time would be worth one night in Bangkok up front. Perhaps better for those coming to go direct to Pattaya and tag on your Bangkok shopping days at the end of your trip.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

 

Of greater concern to me is the anger that is building among the displaced, and the tearing down of flood walls and such.

 

It would be most unfortunate if the flood turned into something.... more.

 

edit: (someone on scene said they were estimating Chinatown would be drained by early yesterday evening. I did not go back to check.)

Edited October 31, 2011 by voracious

[joekicker 53]

Yes, Yaowaraj is dry. It flooded (barely) at highest tide Friday-Saturday because it's right beside the river. So did other areas like Wat Phra Kaew (Grand Palace) and parts of Sathorn. Those aren't floods though, they're barely large puddles in the scheme of things -- compared to some other areas. They could happen again this week, too, with the tides high again -- although the highEST is now over.

 

Central Bangkok where tourists and visitors go is dry. The airport is dry. From airport to tourist areas is dry. Has been all along. It's possible but unlikely that "angry residents" will manage to tear down enough flood walls to affect that in the couple of weeks of water left. Never say "never" about that. But it would be quite a task and I believe authorities could control it before it got out of hand. Note: "believe".

 

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[voracious 31]

Yes agree about it being puddles compared to other places. Just updating for the sake of tourists. Devastation on the other side of the banks, particularly to the north where people have been swimming for (some) close to a month now is tragic.

[joekicker 53]

Yes agree about it being puddles compared to other places. Just updating for the sake of tourists. Devastation on the other side of the banks, particularly to the north where people have been swimming for (some) close to a month now is tragic.

 

AND the west, poor buggers. The North has been going longer, the west (Thon Buri) seems more spectacular. These are from some of the fishwraps over the past couple of days, from west of the river. And that phone works!

 

 

 

 

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[voracious 31]

I'd worry about electrocution in her place. so many loose wires...probably the biggest thing I worry about here, lol. Even in bangkok, just walking down the street you can often see wires tapped in and then cut and hanging just over head level some are taped off. ah well time to get off the comptuer and go get something to eat. headed to chinatown today. should be ok i think.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Yes agree about it being puddles compared to other places. Just updating for the sake of tourists. Devastation on the other side of the banks, particularly to the north where people have been swimming for (some) close to a month now is tragic.

 

And, of course, once the waters recede, the real work begins with the clean up. In Hat Yai, some of the worst affected businesses from last November's floods (those in basements) are now just reopening.

 

 

 

[voracious 31]

Was in Chinatown from one end to the other today. With the exception of a few low spots forming deep puddles, it's dry and all is ok there now.

 

Train station seemed pretty normal (not sure how much time added on to the chiang mai train, but it's running). My language skills were insufficient to figure out any delays.

[joekicker 53]

I'd worry about electrocution in her place. so many loose wires...probably the biggest thing I worry about here, lol.

 

The actual flooded areas, they generally turn off the power. Places the water goes up and down -- not what I'd call a real flood - including Pattaya, electrocution is a real danger.

 

EDIT IN: Just noticed a story in The Fishwrap that of the 384 people confirmed killed by the floods up to today, "at least 50" were electrocuted.

 

And, of course, once the waters recede, the real work begins with the clean up. In Hat Yai, some of the worst affected businesses from last November's floods (those in basements) are now just reopening.

 

That brown stuff is very corrosive. Terrible! Cleaning up a home or shop house or office -- sometimes it seems you're better to start all over!

 

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Edited November 1, 2011 by joekicker

[mmaaarrrkkk 41]

There were reports that Suk 50 were flodded for a while. No news since then and I am wondering if the Pattaya-Ekamai bus is taking normal , faster (due to less Bangkok traffic) or slower (due to the water)?

[joekicker 53]

There were reports that Suk 50 were flodded for a while. No news since then and I am wondering if the Pattaya-Ekamai bus is taking normal , faster (due to less Bangkok traffic) or slower (due to the water)?

 

Soi 48 and 50 were flooded by a local breakdown, but they are pretty remote in the grand scheme of things, and the water didn't hit the main road at all, so far as I know. Ekamai buses are running -- pretty much unaffected by what people tell me. Bear in mind that that whole Bang Na-Bang Pakong sector is VERY busy at the moment because it's dry. People from Bangkok come down there, loop around southeast, and then head back north to Isan and the North, so it can get all jammed up very quickly and your bus ride from Ekamai can be very slow.

 

But on that general subject the southern bus terminal is flooded and closed, service over there in Thon Buri is very hit and miss, and the waters are currently going up, creeping in. The southern trains don't even come to Bangkok - the terminus is currently at Nakhon Pathom, which is a heck of a hike from the city.

[mmaaarrrkkk 41]

thanks Joe, I'll go to the airport and catch the Bell bus then.

[joekicker 53]

thanks Joe, chogdee I'll go to the airport and catch the Bell bus then.

 

I was right on the verge of offering that as advice, actually. It'd be more reliably faster. But first, you have to get to the airport, that's the rub. But if you have a good shot at the airport, this would almost always be superior to Ekamai, which is a total crap shoot.

 

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[mmaaarrrkkk 41]

Thanks again Joe. Airport shouldnt be a problem as the skytrains are still operational. Ekamai is a little more hassle but the trains thru Makkaasan are nowadays so packed , I dont mind taking the Ekamai bus.

 

Also something about the Ekamai Bus Station I like , maybe its the laid back atmosphere , the half hourly schedule or the fact that my first ever trip was thru this method.

 

Any more updates on the bangkok floods? My friend in Sukhumvit now reports it as completely dry.

[joekicker 53]

Any more updates on the bangkok floods? My friend in Sukhumvit now reports it as completely dry.

 

The thing is that it's out of date in a forum by the time you post it. AS I POST on Thursday afternoon, Sukhumvit is dry, and by the by we quite expect it to stay that way. BUT there are several places in Bangkok that we expected to stay dry and they are chest high or worse as I write. One place that has little tidbits of flood news as they flow in is the "Breaking News" column on the front of the Bangkok Post website, Bangkokpost.com

 

Generally speaking: The main airport is dry. Ratchada, Sukhumvit, Silom, Cowboy, Patpong.... all dry. The main tourist area around Khao San Road and the Grand Palace area and Chinatown - dry. The latter two MAY get shin high again in the season's last high tides next week but nothing serious.

 

And EVERYTHING above is always on tenterhooks, and depends on sandbags holding, watergates doing their jobs, and most unpredictably whether those "angry residents" of the local front pages tear down weirs and protective banks.

 

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[MM 6,562]

Reduced passenger numbers, especially from the scaredy-cat East Asian nations is going to mean less wandering tour groups.

 

Earlier, someone posted that the Saudi government had made it a criminal offense for travel agents to book or advertise vacations in Thailand.

 

I doubt a little water in BKK will slow down a determined monger though.

 

From http://www.bangkokpo...at-main-airport

Passenger numbers dive at main airport

• Published: 3/11/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: BusinessThe severe flooding coupled with foreign governments' advisories against travel to Thailand has begun to take its toll on passenger traffic through Suvarnabhumi airport.

Passenger numbers at Bangkok's main airport started to decline during the last week of October, falling by 7% year-on-year, and the decline is likely to become more pronounced as flooding problems intensify, scaring more international travellers away.

 

"The drop-off in passenger numbers started on Oct 25 after holding steady over the previous 24 days," said Somchai Sawasdeepon, a senior executive vice-president of Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT).

 

Before the deluge began affecting Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi was handling about 130,000 passengers on 800 flights per day.

 

Airline executives have also begun to see falling bookings and cancellations for travel to the country, where flooding is being perceived internationally as on the same scale as Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans in 2005, thereby fostering fear.

 

Several carriers have already slashed their frequencies through Bangkok, and further cutbacks are looming on the horizon.

 

Cathay Pacific has reportedly halved its Bangkok-Hong Kong service to two flights a day, while Orient Thai Airlines has suspended its daily flight on the same route covered by a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

 

The moves come as more Hong Kong tourists cancel their journeys in the wake of their government raising its travel advisory bar for Thailand to "red".

 

"We are witnessing a virtual standstill of traffic from North and East Asia _ China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong," Udom Tantiprasongchai, the founder of Orient Thai Airlines, which concentrates on that region, told the Bangkok Post.

 

The flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) is pondering a similar move, possibly cutting back service on some routes such as to Colombo and Hat Yai, said an airline official.

 

Suspension of the Bangkok-Athens route is also being considered, but that is due mostly to the economic crisis in Greece.

 

Mr Somchai of AoT conceded it would be difficult to woo back traffic.

 

"The message we're trying to put across is that not all of Thailand has been flooded. Tourists can still use Suvarnabhumi to hop over to their favourite destinations such as Phuket and Chiang Mai, which are flood-free," he said.

 

AoT is also trying to dispel the grave perceptions abroad that Suvarnabhumi is next in line to be flooded after Don Mueang airport was forced to close a week ago.

 

"We're highly confident that our flood protection will prevent any halt to the operation of Suvarnabhumi," said Mr Somchai.

 

He added that experts from Japan and Germany endorsed that statement after inspecting the flood protection barriers just days ago.

 

[joekicker 53]

Earlier, someone posted that the Saudi government had made it a criminal offense for travel agents to book or advertise vacations in Thailand.

 

It's a little misleading in this context. The Saudi travel ban dates back to the mid-1980s, and concerns a huge jewel theft and several dead bodies in Bangkok. To put it another way, it has nothing to do with Thailand's reputation for non-Islamic festivities, let alone floods or anything timely.

 

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[aussiechic 209]

I think you are doing your friends a disservice by asking them to change their plans when there is very little likelihood of existing flood problems by then.

 

 

Well our friends made their trip in oct/nov flew in to Bangkok and then caught the next flight to Vietnam went to Halong Bay and Hanoi. Then flew to Vientiane caught a boat cruise going back up the Mekong to Luang Prabang. While they were there Dave wasn't feeling well with flew symptoms so they went down to Pattaya for 5 days then to Bangkok for the last two days the worst of the flooding was over by then.

 

They both fell in love with Thailand and Dave was making plans to join us next year 2013 for the Pattaya bike show. Just days after we arrived in Pattaya we got the news that Dave had died. He got offered a last minute boat trip to the reef, he landed a Giant Trevally grab his arm and said I don't feel good and was blue before he hit the deck. Apparently busted and Aorta value and nothing could have saved him.

 

Rest in peace Dave 1961 to 2012. Today would have been his birthday. 51

[jacko 8,766]

Well our friends made their trip in oct/nov flew in to Bangkok and then caught the next flight to Vietnam went to Halong Bay and Hanoi. Then flew to Vientiane caught a boat cruise going back up the Mekong to Luang Prabang. While they were there Dave wasn't feeling well with flew symptoms so they went down to Pattaya for 5 days then to Bangkok for the last two days the worst of the flooding was over by then.

 

They both fell in love with Thailand and Dave was making plans to join us next year 2013 for the Pattaya bike show. Just days after we arrived in Pattaya we got the news that Dave had died. He got offered a last minute boat trip to the reef, he landed a Giant Trevally grab his arm and said I don't feel good and was blue before he hit the deck. Apparently busted and Aorta value and nothing could have saved him.

 

Rest in peace Dave 1961 to 2012. Today would have been his birthday. 51

Darn, bad thing to read early in a morning. Young at 51......