While I was shopping for tickets, I began to see some worrying news about Thailand:
Governments have warned their citizens about traveling to Thailand during the current wave of protests and blockade of international airports.
And while few governments have explicitly told their citizens not to go to Thailand, many warn it is something to be approached with great caution. (source)
Er, wait, what? The international airports are blockaded? I put off Thailand — land of mango sticky rice and relaxed days of climbing on the beach — for years, and just when I finally decide to go, they shut down all the airports?!
Well, according to miscellaneous websites, the blockade was expected to clear by Monday, only outgoing flights were blockaded, and everything sounded very non-violent. As an outsider, violence toward me seems extremely unlikely and, to be honest, the idea of witnessing such an historic event is appealing. So, with quite the case of nerves, I purchased the tickets.
Unfortunately, I discovered this on the US Embassy website just after making my purchase:
American citizens travelling or living in Thailand should be aware that the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has entered and forced the closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports in Bangkok. All incoming and outgoing flights have been cancelled. We do not know when flights will resume. (source)
In retrospect, it seems obvious that ingoing flights couldn’t continue indefinitely. Why would carriers fly planes into Thailand, only to come back empty?
More news came in as Monday drew to a close:
Protesters solidify grip on Thailand airports…
The general manager of Suvarnabhumi said it could take a week to resume operations when the protesters finally leave, because security and computer systems had been compromised during the blockade. (source)