Seems The Problems Being Reported Worldwide Are Having Some Effect

[imaneggspurt]

Well i suppose i cant blame them as they have 3 small children but i have friends that have just told me due to the NEWS they feel it unsafe to come here now,. Another couple have also cancelled,.seems a shame as i feel this will blow over well before they were due to come, but after reading the newspapers in the uk i can see their concern, .any of you had similar happen ?

[Wrong Turn]

Well i suppose i cant blame them as they have 3 small children but i have friends that have just told me due to the NEWS they feel it unsafe to come here now,. Another couple have also cancelled,.seems a shame as i feel this will blow over well before they were due to come, but after reading the newspapers in the uk i can see their concern, .any of you had similar happen ?

I think it depends on why they cancelled.

Because of potential power cuts and cancelled trains, and flights....OK.

Because of Thailand not being "safe," I'd think that is jumping to conclusions.

But then again....they do have kids.....

[Maverell]

Well i suppose i cant blame them as they have 3 small children but i have friends that have just told me due to the NEWS they feel it unsafe to come here now,. Another couple have also cancelled,.seems a shame as i feel this will blow over well before they were due to come, but after reading the newspapers in the uk i can see their concern, .any of you had similar happen ?

I have had 7 people contact me via my website asking if they should come - it appears the media in the UK is painting a picture of widespread violence !!! I have emailed the Daily Mail and Times and pointed out they are sensationalising events for what ??

[imaneggspurt]

Well i suppose i cant blame them as they have 3 small children but i have friends that have just told me due to the NEWS they feel it unsafe to come here now,. Another couple have also cancelled,.seems a shame as i feel this will blow over well before they were due to come, but after reading the newspapers in the uk i can see their concern, .any of you had similar happen ?

I think it depends on why they cancelled.

Because of potential power cuts and cancelled trains, and flights....OK.

Because of Thailand not being "safe," I'd think that is jumping to conclusions.

But then again....they do have kids.....

Well im sure part of the reason is the pics of a guy with a huge knife and another having his head stamped on ( independant yesterday ) .that along with a warning not to travel in certain provinces at all, i live here ( thailand ) and im sure its localised ,however to others that dont it may seem scary,

[Jeddah Jo]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

[imaneggspurt]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

I agree,but how do you know which reports to ignore, if in the SUN then yes treat it as fiction,but all the papers are saying pretty much the same thing,.and say if you hadnt been to thailand before how would you access the risk for yourself ?

[toybits]

Thai Media is also prone to painting a bad picture about neighboring countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia or Singapore. Foreign media is just returning a favour.

Well i suppose i cant blame them as they have 3 small children but i have friends that have just told me due to the NEWS they feel it unsafe to come here now,. Another couple have also cancelled,.seems a shame as i feel this will blow over well before they were due to come, but after reading the newspapers in the uk i can see their concern, .any of you had similar happen ?

I have had 7 people contact me via my website asking if they should come - it appears the media in the UK is painting a picture of widespread violence !!! I have emailed the Daily Mail and Times and pointed out they are sensationalising events for what ??

[mgjackson69]

Well i suppose i cant blame them as they have 3 small children but i have friends that have just told me due to the NEWS they feel it unsafe to come here now,. Another couple have also cancelled,.seems a shame as i feel this will blow over well before they were due to come, but after reading the newspapers in the uk i can see their concern, .any of you had similar happen ?

I have had 7 people contact me via my website asking if they should come - it appears the media in the UK is painting a picture of widespread violence !!! I have emailed the Daily Mail and Times and pointed out they are sensationalising events for what ??

Bad news sells

"If it bleeds it leads"

[bkkjames]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

I agree,but how do you know which reports to ignore, if in the SUN then yes treat it as fiction,but all the papers are saying pretty much the same thing,.and say if you hadnt been to thailand before how would you access the risk for yourself ?

I guess there is some truth in what you say. But quite honestly IMO, I think (at least hope) that the average intelligent person could decipher what's sensationalism by some media outlets (SUN, STAR) may in fact be overstating the actual situation on the ground. Gotta sell those papers!!

I mean one person killed, 40 injured, sounds like an hour or two after a saturday football match in many countries.

[yabaaaa]

Judging by todays article in the UK Mail which was ridiculous firstly talking about the problems in Bangkok and then going on to say Brits have been advised not to go near yale and all the other southerly hotspots !! The two things are not even linked but in the report it talks as if they are one and the same place.

[PhilHarries]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

Somewhat difficult to assess the risks for themselves without actually being there. Therefore the media is the only source of freely available information on which to base any judgement. With young kids thrown into the equation people are duty bound to err on the safe side.

At the moment the trouble is confined to a few locations but at any moment it could flare up anywhere and all it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time and we'll have a thread full of "RIP to the family " posts.

I assume the people cancelling were due to travel November/December. Chances are in two months this will all have blown over but you can't be 100% sure.

[imaneggspurt]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

Somewhat difficult to assess the risks for themselves without actually being there. Therefore the media is the only source of freely available information on which to base any judgement. With young kids thrown into the equation people are duty bound to err on the safe side.

At the moment the trouble is confined to a few locations but at any moment it could flare up anywhere and all it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time and we'll have a thread full of "RIP to the family " posts.

I assume the people cancelling were due to travel November/December. Chances are in two months this will all have blown over but you can't be 100% sure.

Actually oct/nov phil. i did try and tell them this but it seems the uk media has made a big thing of this, i just had an email from a friend in aus that says the government has advised their citizens to avoid thailand right now,.this from yesterdays uk independant ,...http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/state-of-emergency-declared-in-thailand-916866.html

[bravingbangkok]

The size of that knife ! you could skin a whale with that thing

[singa-traz]

...

I agree,but how do you know which reports to ignore, if in the SUN then yes treat it as fiction,but all the papers are saying pretty much the same thing,.and say if you hadnt been to thailand before how would you access the risk for yourself ?

You would ask someone you know, based in the region or in the country, to give you his side of the story.

You could tell you friend that he was more chance to die in the Taxi ride from the Airport to the hotel, than from the demonstration in the street ...

[imaneggspurt]

...

I agree,but how do you know which reports to ignore, if in the SUN then yes treat it as fiction,but all the papers are saying pretty much the same thing,.and say if you hadnt been to thailand before how would you access the risk for yourself ?

You would ask someone you know, based in the region or in the country, to give you his side of the story.

You could tell you friend that he was more chance to die in the Taxi ride from the Airport to the hotel, than from the demonstration in the street ...

Yes i didnt know which is worse !

[Scott]

During the last stand-off with Thaksin that led to the coup, I ran into some of the same sort of stuff. People emailing me about possibly canceling their trip. Once the coup was over and they saw the pictures of people handing out flowers to gun-toting soldiers and everyone riding on the tanks, most thought it seemed like a rather interesting place to visit!

One couple with kids, felt differently, however.

[Cuban]

Just been discussing this in the office here - showed the pictures to the staff - they are shocked.

If the holiday booking was a first time trip - I understand - the repeated news of the 2yr old millitary coup sounds like news from wild Africa with the death toll in the '000s.

Thailand doesn't understand the non-Thai view. Look at Pattaya's recent tourism review atr local government level - the finding was: '...let's update the web site.'

Well done Thailand - you have many well educated native speakers from many countries that you target for tourism living in Thailand - and you do your damnest to ignore the ideas and experiance of everyone of them.

[/rant]

[jackyseymour]

On the bright side, there will be far fewer UK tabloid reading tourists littering Thailand for the foreseeable future.

[12DrinkMore]

Well done Thailand - you have many well educated native speakers from many countries that you target for tourism living in Thailand - and you do your damnest to ignore the ideas and experiance of everyone of them.

Par for the course.

Another example : the local businesses will spend thousands on printing signs, menus etc. And do they have the spelling checked by a native speaker first?

"We'll do it our way"

[Losangels]

The size of that knife ! you could skin a whale with that thing

It was a loaner from one of the Japanese sushi chefs working here

[bangkokrick]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

Well you get the Star award for generalisation for including the entire British population in one offensive remark. I have been watching the CNN and BBC International news and in my opinion they have given factual information regarding the situation in Thailand, Probably more factual than the Thai channels who are certainly politically affilaited.

Given the fact that most Brits can afford one holiday a year why would they risk that time in travelling to a country that has a state of emergency? I certainly would not and i would not recommend that my friends did either.

You or no one else knows how this situation will end up and that including the PPP and the PAD leaders. We can only hope that the situation is settles in a peaceful way, but looking at the history of these events i doubt that very much.

To the poster i think that your friends have probably made a balanced decision given the facts that they have available to them and in my opinion its the correct one.

Cheers, Rick

[Theyreallrubbish]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

Well you get the Star award for generalisation for including the entire British population in one offensive remark. I have been watching the CNN and BBC International news and in my opinion they have given factual information regarding the situation in Thailand, Probably more factual than the Thai channels who are certainly politically affilaited.

Given the fact that most Brits can afford one holiday a year why would they risk that time in travelling to a country that has a state of emergency? I certainly would not and i would not recommend that my friends did either.

You or no one else knows how this situation will end up and that including the PPP and the PAD leaders. We can only hope that the situation is settles in a peaceful way, but looking at the history of these events i doubt that very much.

To the poster i think that your friends have probably made a balanced decision given the facts that they have available to them and in my opinion its the correct one.

Cheers, Rick

I'd agree. They have the whole world to choose from, why choose a country where there is political violence, widespread strikes and airport closures?

Criticising Brits for not choosing Thailand and calling them chicken is ridiculous. Why should they choose a definitely risky location over all the others?

And with everyone worried about their jobs and paying the mortgage why risk missing work if another airport is shut down?

Those of us who are here regularly, live here, have an emotional investment in the place will assess the risks very differently to someone looking at the globe and choosing where to go.

[Jeddah Jo]

Well you get the Star award for generalisation for including the entire British population in one offensive remark. I have been watching the CNN and BBC International news and in my opinion they have given factual information regarding the situation in Thailand, Probably more factual than the Thai channels who are certainly politically affilaited.

If they are not scaring people why am I getting loads of e-mails asking me if I am safe and OK?

Anyway my remark was plainly not offensive, it was merely a statement that in my obversation the British population are fed a diet of scare stories from the media designed to cower them in to some paranoid state where they are unable to assess risk for themselves.

As one poster said you are far more likely to die on the taxi ride from the airport than in any political disturbance here. Thai politics is for Thais, Farangs vacationing here are not the targets.

JJ.

[bangkokrick]

Well you get the Star award for generalisation for including the entire British population in one offensive remark. I have been watching the CNN and BBC International news and in my opinion they have given factual information regarding the situation in Thailand, Probably more factual than the Thai channels who are certainly politically affilaited.

If they are not scaring people why am I getting loads of e-mails asking me if I am safe and OK?

Anyway my remark was plainly not offensive, it was merely a statement that in my obversation the British population are fed a diet of scare stories from the media designed to cower them in to some paranoid state where they are unable to assess risk for themselves.

As one poster said you are far more likely to die on the taxi ride from the airport than in any political disturbance here. Thai politics is for Thais, Farangs vacationing here are not the targets.

JJ.

I did not state that they are not scaring people as it is a potentially scary situation. I suppose that you are receiving e mails from abroad because people want to know what the situation is like on the ground. It is very much up to the individual as to what they believe in the British press and you sound to be paranoid about the Britsh media in general.

My main concerns would be the possible disruption to the transportation system and the services. I don't think that anyone would want to spend their annual vacation in an airport. Why take the chance when there are equally attractive places to visit in Europe, which obviously also has the advantage of being much nearer home.

Cheers, Rick

[imaneggspurt]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

Well you get the Star award for generalisation for including the entire British population in one offensive remark. I have been watching the CNN and BBC International news and in my opinion they have given factual information regarding the situation in Thailand, Probably more factual than the Thai channels who are certainly politically affilaited.

Given the fact that most Brits can afford one holiday a year why would they risk that time in travelling to a country that has a state of emergency? I certainly would not and i would not recommend that my friends did either.

You or no one else knows how this situation will end up and that including the PPP and the PAD leaders. We can only hope that the situation is settles in a peaceful way, but looking at the history of these events i doubt that very much.

To the poster i think that your friends have probably made a balanced decision given the facts that they have available to them and in my opinion its the correct one.

Cheers, Rick

Thanks rick, i was thinking exactly what you wrote but you did a much better way of expressing it than i could have,.

[dingdongrb]

I just finished checking the US State Dept Travel website to see what 'warnings' there might have been posted in regards to traveling to LOS.... Nothing...nilch...zippo

[bangkokrick]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

Well you get the Star award for generalisation for including the entire British population in one offensive remark. I have been watching the CNN and BBC International news and in my opinion they have given factual information regarding the situation in Thailand, Probably more factual than the Thai channels who are certainly politically affilaited.

Given the fact that most Brits can afford one holiday a year why would they risk that time in travelling to a country that has a state of emergency? I certainly would not and i would not recommend that my friends did either.

You or no one else knows how this situation will end up and that including the PPP and the PAD leaders. We can only hope that the situation is settles in a peaceful way, but looking at the history of these events i doubt that very much.

To the poster i think that your friends have probably made a balanced decision given the facts that they have available to them and in my opinion its the correct one.

Cheers, Rick

Thanks rick, i was thinking exactly what you wrote but you did a much better way of expressing it than i could have,.

No worries mate i thought it was a very unfair comment.

Cheers, Rick

[dumball]

...

I agree,but how do you know which reports to ignore, if in the SUN then yes treat it as fiction,but all the papers are saying pretty much the same thing,.and say if you hadnt been to thailand before how would you access the risk for yourself ?

You would ask someone you know, based in the region or in the country, to give you his side of the story.

You could tell you friend that he was more chance to die in the Taxi ride from the Airport to the hotel, than from the demonstration in the street ...

Well sing-traz , that statement would most definatly be more comforting , forget the demonsrations(riots) , just come any old normal day and take a taxi if you dare , you might just make it to the hotel , some get lucky .

[iainiain101]

Simply confirms my belief that people in the UK are no longer able to assess risk for themselves, and now rely on the media to scare them in to thinking presumably whatever the media want them to think.

One thing is for sure, the media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story so they are not exactly impartial.

JJ.

I agree,but how do you know which reports to ignore, if in the SUN then yes treat it as fiction,but all the papers are saying pretty much the same thing,.and say if you hadnt been to thailand before how would you access the risk for yourself ?

I can assure you that the report of my daughter being shot two weeks ago with a 9mm bullet that appeared in The Sun are acurate.

[iainiain101]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1593350.ece