Australians Travelling to Thailand

After my last post about travelling Thailand, I have found out that martial law has been imposed throughout Thailand due to a six-month long political crisis that has claimed nearly 30 lives.

Thai soldiers take up a position on a main road in Bangkok after the army declared martial law on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

If you have already planned and paid for your trip to Thailand this can mean that you are now panicking about if you should still go.. In truth, it is up to you if you feel comfortable going, but I would suggest doing a bit of research before throwing your trip down the toilet.

If you have plans to head to Bangkok and you're worried about if the issue escalates and not being able to get in or out of the city, then you may want to think of a contingency plan, perhaps changing your flight from flying into Bangkok to one of the other airports. Depending on who you fly with the charges can vary.

Usual cost of re-ticketing can be around the $100 mark, then you may have to pay the difference for the cost of flying into a different airport. Although if you have booked directly through the carrier (say Thai Airways) and not through a travel site (travelocity, wotif etc) then the fee may be waived depending on circumstances.

Depending on your accommodation, and the amount of notice you have upon cancelling your reservation, you may just lose your deposit, keep an eye out on sites like lastminute.com.au to get a good deal on hotels elsewhere in Thailand that may be safer then the Capital. If you already had plans to stay in some of the touristy areas like Phuket or Koh Samui, then at this point your holiday shouldn't be affected too much, just be cautious and aware of any military actions, road blocks, protests and curfews that may be imposed.

Regardless of where in Thailand you are travelling, there is martial law everywhere and the threat of the issue escalating so make sure you keep a close eye on http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Thailand and keep informed. In the event that your trip needs to be cancelled then I can only hope that you invested in travel insurance!

If you want to learn a bit more about whats going on in Thailand then have a look at some of these links:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/world/asia/thailand-martial-law-explainer/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-04/timeline-of-the-lead-up-to-thailands-political-unrest/5234094
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-essentials/travel-news/thailand-martial-law-tips-for-australian-tourists-20140520-38lpl.html