Trip Reports - Trying to leave BKK during a coup

It's a little after 5:30 AM in BKK, and I've been up for the past three hours. My cell phone rang at 2:30 this morning and it was my wife telling me to look out the window. I'm at the Sheraton Grande and I see nothing except rainy streets. She asks, "do you see any tanks?" Nope, nothing. We hang up and I turn on CNN. Apparently we still have CNN (but not the BBC) while most of the city does not. While sending an e-mail to friends letting them know I'm OK, I hear gun shots from a distance a burst of three rounds. OK, this doesn't look good, so I'll try to get out today.

I'm booked on CX and figure that their BKK res office is closed, so I try HKG - no luck, my call can't go through. So since I booked on AA.com, I can get through to the US and get the EXP desk. The EXP angel books rebooks me on an 11ish flight BKK-HKG-SFO and then onward to QX to PDX. I know that the 950AM flight has an aircraft that gets in the night before, and I ask if I can move to that leg; again no problem. I head downstairs to the lobby and inquire about moving my check out to a few hours away and get a limo to the airport. The desk clerk acts like coups happen here all the time (well they do happen a lot) and gets me a limo for 6AM.

I'm packed up and ready to go. Supposidly the airport is running normally. I'll report in as the day progresses.

Wow... Keep us updated and good luck!

Safe travels! The Portland FT community will be happy buy you a few beers after your return.

I'm happy to say that I'm currently ensconsed in the Pier. So I'll pick up where I left off...

After ending the original post, I heard one more single gun shot; again it was from a distance. I made my way downstairs where there were quite a few people that just woke up and were trying to check out. Apparently, there was a little wait for taxis. I did purchase my airport departure tax ticket at the hotel figuring that it would save time.

Since I reserved the limo a couple of hours before, it was waiting for me when I checked out. It was just becoming light as we left the hotel. The streets were empty. I've gone to the airport at that time of morning, and we have always had a little bit of traffic, but the cars were few and far between this morning. We made it to the airport in under 20 minutes which is definitely a record for me in BKK. I did not see any military vehicles at all during the ride, and didn't see any from the hotel either.

I finally saw traffic when we got off the expressway at Don Muang airport. There were a lot of taxis/limos at the departure level; security at the airport though seemed lighter than normal. I was at the CX counter by 6:25 for my 9:50 AM flight and check in was already open. There was no one in the F line, and I got my boarding passes very quickly; the agent confirmed that many people had shown up trying (successfuly) to change flights to leave ASAP. I went through immigration breathing a sigh of relief.

I saw on the departure board a few flights canceled, but for the most part flights were leaving on time. I noticed that the CX flight at 8:20 to HKG was showing on-time, so when I went to the CX F lounge, I asked if I could switch to the earlier flight (just to get out of Dodge). The agent said the flight was full, but I could check back 40 minutes before departure. Figuring if lucky I would have a middle seat, I said that I'll just hang out and keep my window seat on the 9:50 departure. Ten minutes later the agent told me a window in J was available on the earlier flight, and a new boarding pass was handed to me.

The flight turned out to have 10 open seats in J, I did not check Y. Luckily, this will just turn into a story to tell in the future while I show my copy of the Bangkok Post around with the large black headline "Coup D'Etat."

And for those interested, the entree choices on CX 700 this morning was a choice of an Asparagus Omelette with veal sausage, rissole potatos and roast tomato, OR a stir fried turnip cake with shrimp and chili paste.

On to SFO and PDX in a few hours.

OR a stir fried turnip cake with shrimp and chili paste.

Yum. :D

I went through immigration breathing a sigh of relief...... Luckily, this will just turn into a story to tell in the future while I show my copy of the Bangkok Post around with the large black headline "Coup D'Etat."

Why all the drama? The airport is continuing to operate normally. The coup was entirely peaceful and did not affect travellers at all (aside from one report I saw of tourists getting detained at a check-point for not having their passports). Last night thousands of people were gathered peacefully at Government House watching the coup going down. Women were pictured on TV, standing in their street pyjamas, photographing tanks with their cellphones.

You write (very articulately I might add) as though you got out by the skin of your teeth (from your luxury hotel in your limo), just ahead of a foreign invasion or Prague August 1968 or something.

Oh, and the reason the traffic was so light is that the Provisional Authority declared today a holiday, so government offices and banks are closed (although shops and businesses are open as usual). Not that people were afraid to go out or something.

Why all the drama? The airport is continuing to operate normally. The coup was entirely peaceful and did not affect travellers at all (aside from one report I saw of tourists getting detained at a check-point for not having their passports). Last night thousands of people were gathered peacefully at Government House watching the coup going down. Women were pictured on TV, standing in their street pyjamas, photographing tanks with their cellphones.

You write (very articulately I might add) as though you got out by the skin of your teeth (from your luxury hotel in your limo), just ahead of a foreign invasion or Prague August 1968 or something.


I have actually been in a situation of political unrest and while it is typically "business as usual" for the most part it absolutely IS unnerving. There is always a possibility that travel to and from will be restricted and that is not a place you want to be. If you have ever been through a similar situation you would know what the "sigh of relief" was all about, waranted or not.

I have actually been in a situation of political unrest and while it is typically "business as usual" for the most part it absolutely IS unnerving. There is always a possibility that travel to and from will be restricted and that is not a place you want to be. If you have ever been through a similar situation you would know what the "sigh of relief" was all about, waranted or not.
Not to mention that sometimes things that begin on a small and peaceful scale sometimes grow rapidly out of hand... it has happened time and time again. The OP certainly had every right to be apprehensive.

I have actually been in a situation of political unrest and while it is typically "business as usual" for the most part it absolutely IS unnerving. There is always a possibility that travel to and from will be restricted and that is not a place you want to be. If you have ever been through a similar situation you would know what the "sigh of relief" was all about, waranted or not.

I do have to repeat the question: Why the drama? It seems to stem from the fact that you are not familiar with the history of Thai uprisings. Since the 1932 coup, famously known as the bloodless revolution, 18 puschs have taken place in Bangkok. And all have been peaceful and did not gravely hamper the lives of the locals and foreigners. (oh and the airport remained open)

Another thing: You said you heard several gunshots. But several media, including Reuters, reported otherwise:

"Not a shot was fired in the coup and the streets of Bangkok were quiet on Wednesday with very little military presence except around Government House and nearby army headquarters."

Could it be that it's all in your head? :)

Give the guy (or gal) a break!

The closest most Americans have come to experiencing a coup is when Al Gore challenged the US election results a few years ago.

Third world country, tanks, government overthrown...yeah, a bit of trepidation doesn't seem out of line to me.

All the commentary and pictures I've seen show infantry / cavalry troops carrying unloaded assault rifles. Only the guys going over the walls around government buildings, and standing outside at their gates had magazines loaded. Who knows, maybe they didn't even have ammunition in them.

What is the gun crime like in BKK though? Could easily explain gunshots, if it wasn't just something else that sounded similar.

In Bangkok, Ive witnessed both the horrible events of May 1992 when they were shooting in the streets in Bangkok (mass student and middle class protests against the military regime then in place, which did not hestitate to shoot) and the calm peaceful coup of last night....

at times it IS unnerving (but mostly its more psychological than real because of the unknown and unexpected)...the sight of tanks in the streets and military transports with gun emplacements and full army units is not a normal tourist sight for most in the west.. :( so its understandable...

[but note, these sights were in the immediate government area---all day today I travelled around the city and saw no other sights or even hints of a coup, other than lighter than normal traffic because of the holiday announced today--the shopping malls were busy...]

but having said that, I feel safer in Bangkok psychologically and in reality (and in any district) at any time of night walking alone, than I do in say many places in Los Angeles or New York at normal times... so please dont get a distorted view of Bangkok...you will see what I mean if you visit Bangkok and get to know it (other than a quick visit) ^

Since the 1932 coup, famously known as the bloodless revolution, 18 puschs have taken place in Bangkok. And all have been peaceful and did not gravely hamper the lives of the locals and foreigners.

According to this article in today's Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/19Sep2006_news005.php), it's true enough that the coups themselves did not involve bloodhsed. The same cannot be said for the after-effects, however: "The last military coup, in 1991, was extremely unpopular and was overthrown by violent opposition in the streets."

Seems to me that the OP acted prudently and reacted reasonably.

It's a little after 5:30 AM in BKKI......I head downstairs to the lobby and inquire about moving my check out to a few hours away

:confused: :confused:

I don't understand - why would anyone inquire in the morning to see if they could check out a few hours early? Hotels have a time before which you can't check out?? The night before, yes, but earlier the same morning??

Almost home - in SFO at the AS Boardroom.

Actually, I wasn't scheduled to leave until Thursday, so I did need to verify early checkout. I actually considered staying, until I twice heard the gun shots (yes, this is a peaceful coup, but I know what I heard, just like no shots were fired in '92). Could it have been celebratory? I know that I didn't want to find out. And since a "holiday" was declared, I wouldn't have been able to get my work done anyway.

There is also a weird feeling you get when you are visiting a country when martial law is declared.

I like Thailand, and look forward to returning once normalcy returns or whatever passes for normalcy.

Almost home - in SFO at the AS Boardroom.

Actually, I wasn't scheduled to leave until Thursday, so I did need to verify early checkout. I actually considered staying, until I twice heard the gun shots (yes, this is a peaceful coup, but I know what I heard, just like no shots were fired in '92). Could it have been celebratory? I know that I didn't want to find out. And since a "holiday" was declared, I wouldn't have been able to get my work done anyway.

There is also a weird feeling you get when you are visiting a country when martial law is declared.

I like Thailand, and look forward to returning once normalcy returns or whatever passes for normalcy.

Glad you're almost home, and thanks for the checkout clarification - all makes sense now.

According to this article in today's Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/19Sep2006_news005.php), it's true enough that the coups themselves did not involve bloodhsed. The same cannot be said for the after-effects, however: "The last military coup, in 1991, was extremely unpopular and was overthrown by violent opposition in the streets."

Seems to me that the OP acted prudently and reacted reasonably.

Well, of course the guy's entitled to cut and run if he feels uncomfortable or threatened, but what I found absurd was reporting on it as if he barely made it out by the skin of his teeth, when in fact he was checking normally out of his luxury hotel, driving to the airport in a limo on the toll highway and boarding first class onto a scheduled flight, which left on time from a normally-operating airport.

I personally have been caught in situations where real warfare or civil unrest was going on, and there was no option to take a limo to the airport. If the OP was watching CNNI that night, he would have seen that this was all happening with a large peaceful crowd watching it unfold at government house. And the shots were either in his imagination or a motocy' backfiring or something.

I made it home OK except for some ATC delays arriving PDX.

Well, of course the guy's entitled to cut and run if he feels uncomfortable or threatened, but what I found absurd was reporting on it as if he barely made it out by the skin of his teeth, when in fact he was checking normally out of his luxury hotel, driving to the airport in a limo on the toll highway and boarding first class onto a scheduled flight, which left on time from a normally-operating airport.

I personally have been caught in situations where real warfare or civil unrest was going on, and there was no option to take a limo to the airport. If the OP was watching CNNI that night, he would have seen that this was all happening with a large peaceful crowd watching it unfold at government house. And the shots were either in his imagination or a motocy' backfiring or something.

I was also only in J ;) and if you know hotel limos, you know that they are not really "limos," but upscale cars, and it happened to be included in my hotel rate.

I'll quote what the woman checking out next to me said this morning "I've been in many countries as a visitor when coups have broken out. It's always best to leave for a little while so things settle." If that's cutting an running so be it.

maybee the 'gunshots' u heard was a tuk tuk backfireing, a very usual occurance in Bangkok

I hope that I am wrong about the gun shots since by all accounts everything so far has been fairly peaceful. Those three rounds though at 3:20AM were very suspicious though.

The closest most Americans have come to experiencing a coup is when Al Gore challenged the US election results a few years ago

Gosh, and I thought a coup might be when the guy with less votes gets "elected" by a bunch of judges. ;)

You have become the laughing stock of Bangkok. The whole expat community is reading it in amusement.

I am sure walking through some seedy suburbs of NY or Washington would have been a thousand fold more dangerous.

Sounds like a good story for your friends i bet !

Welcome to FT ThailandBangkok. :)

Up until that moment, I have always felt safe in Bangkok, and as I said earlier, I plan to return.

I think you did the right thing. What did you have to gain by staying? Very, very little. Perhaps expats who truly know people and the lay of the land have more to lose, but, IMO, you absolutely did the right thing to cut short by a couple of days and come home.

Saying "it will be peaceful" sounds great in hindsight...but in foresight has a great potential to become "famous last words."

Steve

I think you did the right thing. What did you have to gain by staying? Very, very little. Perhaps expats who truly know people and the lay of the land have more to lose, but, IMO, you absolutely did the right thing to cut short by a couple of days and come home.

Saying "it will be peaceful" sounds great in hindsight...but in foresight has a great potential to become "famous last words."

Steve

Its not the fact that he went home early which makes him a joke, its the way he relays this story, as if there were bullets flying past his head while he slid into the first class lounge, escaping great peril.

Its not the fact that he went home early which makes him a joke, its the way he relays this story, as if there were bullets flying past his head while he slid into the first class lounge, escaping great peril.

I guess some of us just don't see it that dramatically. Me, I would have waited for the sigh of relief until the aircraft was clear of Thai airspace. Until that point, you never know exactly what might happen.

Steve

Me, I would have waited for the sigh of relief until the aircraft was clear of Thai airspace. Until that point, you never know exactly what might happen


Maybe I am wrong buts it not a case of Ha Ha Ha on the guy who chooses to leave, we all have to do what feels best for us and no can argue that

I havent lived in TH that long and its not really a case of it being an "inhouse" joke from people who have lived here for a while

I found out hours later than you probably did, I looked at how all the news agencies were reporting it, if I looked online I could read CNNs headline
"Thailand in Chaos after Military Coup" which was very differnt to how Reuters or BBC, or other agencies were reporting it 7hrs after the event

And CNNs version was as close to the truth as I am to Venice Beach

And still no one does know what will happen, and for someone who pops in and out TH it would freak them out

The decription of events was well written but read like the script to the next indiana jones movie

Be 000's of miles away from your home and tanks on the streets be concerned

Gun fire, tanks on the street, lucky escapes just all sounds very entertaining

And yes a limo in TH is just an "upscale car" but outside of the US limos are tacky and a Limo service from a good hotel is something German

Breathe your sign of relief as you leave the airspace and why not you did not feel comfortamble - but at least try and get a better understanding of the situation - I dont mean oh well there have been coups on the past but at least spend 20 mins trying to understand what is a credible version of news

Thailand is not zimbabwe and is not a 3rd world country (as some have suggested) , developing maybe but not 3rd world

I was actually quite disappointed in the coverage that I saw on CNN while I was there. I'm not a first timer to Thailand; quite the opposite it was my 19th visit. My wife really wanted me out of there and my family and friends were sending me emails/ims advising the same.

Although this coup has so far been peaceful, it still isn't over. I'm not going to debate Thai politics in this forum, but if Thaksin does decide to leave his hiding place in London and return to the county, things could change in a hurry.

As dave111223 put it so well
"Its not the fact that he went home early which makes him a joke, its the way he relays this story, as if there were bullets flying past his head while he slid into the first class lounge, escaping great peril."

Mr. ak333, could you kindly respond why you wrote your original tale with such a sense of impending peril when you were nowhere near in any danger? You made yourself look silly, not for leaving Bangkok early, but for the dramatic way you wrote your story.

Just had to add that the title of the OP's story slays me: " 'Trying' to leave BKK during a coup" as though he was trying and failing, trying again,...dammit so dangerous here with the bullets flying...let me try again...OK, folks, I'm OK now...I made it out of the warzone...

Why all the drama?
What drama? Are we talking about the same thread here? The OP's first two posts on this thread were pretty calm - no panicking, no drama. About the only thing he said was that he wanted to leave to be on the safe side. That doesn't sound "dramatic" to me.

I do have to repeat the question: Why the drama?
I have to repeat my question as well: what drama?

...but what I found absurd was reporting on it as if he barely made it out by the skin of his teeth,
Where did you read this? Can you link to the trip report you're talking about, because it sounds a lot more exciting than the uneventful, unemotional one I read.

I'll quote what the woman checking out next to me said this morning "I've been in many countries as a visitor when coups have broken out. It's always best to leave for a little while so things settle." If that's cutting an running so be it.That seems reasonable, but I see where the first posts could seem dramatic to those who have been through this a few times.

Anyway, I want to welcome all the newcomers in this thread to FlyerTalk. Hope you'll stick around, and look around at the other forums here; you'll find its a great place, with a wide range of info and perspective. And perhaps add your own trip reports.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kagehitokiri
All the commentary and pictures I've seen show infantry / cavalry troops carrying unloaded assault rifles. Only the guys going over the walls around government buildings, and standing outside at their gates had magazines loaded. Who knows, maybe they didn't even have ammunition in them.

What is the gun crime like in BKK though? Could easily explain gunshots, if it wasn't just something else that sounded similar.

Kagehitokiri-san, you might be thinking of DC or possibly Manila ;)

by the way, today is the start of the first weekend after the coup and the traffic and tourist crowds are even worst than normal...high tourist season (roughly Oct/Nov through April) is creeping up....

it is normal and completely understandable for a visitor to want to leave on short order if they heard a military coup was in progress in a country they were visiting...so please be understanding & not so critical ;)

but I agree that the international media CNN and to a slightly lesser degree BBC, really made it look and sound much worst than it was (and just showed upclose pictures of army carriers and guns immediately around government house (which to be honest is away from sight, sound or even knowledge of 99% of everyone going about their daily lives)...

I got dozens and dozens of emails from family and overseas friends and even clients asking me to leave because of 'immediate danger to my safety'....I had to send LOTS of reassuring emails (and started to cut and paste the same message)...I can only imagine what they were seeing on TV.....

I am speaking frankly to say that the real danger here is the traffic (car and motorcycle accidents and ped accidents :( now that is pretty chaotic and dangerous (especially if you are used to driving in California) but that is not very interesting to the media or even my friends or family....but ironically thats where the real danger is and no one sending me an email message on that... )

Let me provide another point of comparison. In January 1994 I was living at what became the epicenter of a 6.6 earthquake in Southern California.

Now, looking back, it was clear that, aside from some structural failures and some tragic deaths, the damage was not specifically dangerous.

However, in the darkness of that morning, where we were, it wasn't nearly as clear. What we knew was that our area had no power or running water, that some major streets were flooded with water from broken mains, and, punctuating the darkness was a large fireball that rose in the sky when a broken gas main was ignited. I'll admit that my first thought was to see which was the wind was blowing -- thinking of the Oakland firestorm of a few years earlier.

Our home suffered significant structural damage as did the surrounding homes. Fortunately we had a truck in the driveway, as we couldn't get vehicles out of the garage.

As dawn came and the redio reports became more comprehensive, and we were able to talk to people (relaying messages through my brother in Kansas, as it was actually much easier to get a long distance connection than a local one), and we realized that the majority of great damage (I-10 aside) was confined to a small area around us, things returned to a sense of normalcy. Odd, but normal.

However, those intervening couple of hours certainly gave a distorted view -- but none the less stressful. For many of us, a lack of situational awareness is very stressful.

Steve

I am speaking frankly to say that the real danger here is the traffic (car and motorcycle accidents and ped accidents :( now that is pretty chaotic and dangerous (especially if you are used to driving in California) but that is not very interesting to the media or even my friends or family....but ironically thats where the real danger is and no one sending me an email message on that... )

Actually, Trajan it's funny that you mention that. As I was headed north on the expressway to Don Muang, southbound was backed up by a multiple car/motorcycle accident.

I did have to explain to my wife (who has been to BKK before as well) that my hotel was nowhere near where all the "festivities" were occuring, and that explains why I didn't see any military vehicles at the time.

According to today's Bangkok Post, Thaksin's wife did not leave the country after all; this could make things more interesting.

I have removed a number of comments from this thread that either deal with political commentary or personal attacks. Neither of these are acceptable on Flyertalk. Any further violations may result in escalated action taken against the offenders.

Thanks
Sean (B747-437B)
Moderator
Trip Reports

Actually, Trajan it's funny that you mention that. As I was headed north on the expressway to Don Muang, southbound was backed up by a multiple car/motorcycle accident.

I did have to explain to my wife (who has been to BKK before as well) that my hotel was nowhere near where all the "festivities" were occuring, and that explains why I didn't see any military vehicles at the time.

According to today's Bangkok Post, Thaksin's wife did not leave the country after all; this could make things more interesting.

yes, we will have to see how everything turns out, but things look a bit optimistic right now ^ yesterday His Majesty, the King formally endorsed Gen. Sonthi and the entire Council, which will undoubtedly unite all and sundry factions...His Majesty is highly revered, respected and loved by everyone :)

when you get the chance come back and visit the new airport (which is opening soon) and Amazing Thailand :D

I have a friend that was stationed at a USAF base in Thailand, '70s. He was in Bangkok when tanks rolled in and began firing! Bloodless coups can turn bloodly in an instant.

We don't know yet how close other army units were to fight back. The talks with the other army units were still ongoing when the OP made the decision to leave. The junta could have easily closed Thai airspace at any time. They have already closed the borders with Burma and Laos.

The OP was there on a biz trip that was cut short by the coup. Why stay? Better to leave and see what happens with the police and military leaders.

I have a friend that was stationed at a USAF base in Thailand, '70s. He was in Bangkok when tanks rolled in and began firing! Bloodless coups can turn bloodly in an instant.

We don't know yet how close other army units were to fight back. The talks with the other army units were still ongoing when the OP made the decision to leave. The junta could have easily closed Thai airspace at any time. They have already closed the borders with Burma and Laos.

The OP was there on a biz trip that was cut short by the coup. Why stay? Better to leave and see what happens with the police and military leaders.


Well, I suppose that if someone had no clue about the USA, I can see the same happening

" I was in washington on a business trip and the USA declared war on Iraq / saddam, it was so scary, there were pictures on CNN about tanks and troops being shipped out. I did not bother to check out, put $1000 on the receoption desk and said " i am outta here", and took a limo to the airport. There was a bad jam, not sure why, but I suspect it was all the tanks too........... " .

Point is, if you dont understand the country and context, you can make a clap of thunder out of a fart.... after all, that how news papers sell in the first place !

Well suppose the OP isn't the only one who left. From popb!tch weekly digest:

Upside to Thai coup: it interrupted Nic Cage's new
movie. Cage got a private jet and persuaded the
producers of Bangkok Dangerous to send everyone home.

Personally I don't blame the OP for wanting to leave. You never know how these things can pan out.

maybee the 'gunshots' u heard was a tuk tuk backfireing, a very usual occurance in Bangkok
This had me LOL'd

Anyway .. glad you made it home safe.

Personally, I would carry on with my vacation as if everything is normal. I won't want my vacation to be ruined and shortened because of it :o

This had me LOL'd

Anyway .. glad you made it home safe.

Personally, I would carry on with my vacation as if everything is normal. I won't want my vacation to be ruined and shortened because of it :o

If it was a vacation, I would have done something different; I would still have left (I still think that I made the right decision, even though my Thai friends are razzing me), but I would at least go somewhere else other than directly home.

I am headed back to Asia in three weeks, this time to the "safety" of Singapore. ;)

I think you did the right thing... one, if nothing else to make your family and loved ones feel better.

Better safe then sorry... in cases where you might be stuck for good.

If I had been in your spot 20 years ago I would have most likely stuck it out. Now with a wife and kids, why chance it?

As for those here on FT giving you a hard time... meaning, those with under five posts, I doubt they will make it to 10 posts since they apparently only came on to give you a hard time. (Trolls...)


IMO, those Thais or people living in Thailand who are poking fun give me a more negative picture of the place then hearing about the coup did.