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Bangkok: My wife, my two children and I landed at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at 9.30pm on Tuesday. As we left the aircraft, we could see a massive crowd approaching the airport.
Airport security advised us to leave the area immediately. With the help of our local contacts, we walked nearly 2km with our luggage to a spot from where a tour operator picked us up and dropped at our hotel.
Although a massive anti-government protest was in progress at the airport, life at most tourist attractions in and around Bangkok went on as normal. On Friday, we visited the Dreamworld water theme park. the place was packed with local and international tourists. Yesterday we were at Pattaya Beach, and there too life seemed to be unaffected by the airport siege.
But the story is different in downtown Bangkok. As the days pass, there are clear signs that fear and uneasiness is growing among locals and tourists. Most tourists, ourselves included, are becoming worried. According to local TV stations and newspapers, nearly 150,000 foreign tourists are stranded at various hotels across the city. By tomorrow, the number is expected to jump to more than 200,000.
Meanwhile, there have been reports that some airlines are using U-Tapao International Airport (a predominantly military airport near Pattaya) to airlift foreign visitors to safety via airports in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore.
We contacted our airline, Srilankan, yesterday. They haven't started operating any alternate exit routes. We are booked to fly out to Columbo tomorrow evening. With the protesters now well entrenched in the vicinity of the airport, local reports suggest that the siege could continue into next week.
"Once the People's Alliance for Democracy protesters leave the airport, authorities will need time to restart operations. If the protest is prolonged, stranded foreign visitors may reach 200,000-300,000," the Bangkok Post quoted Tourism Minister Weerasak Kohsurat as saying.
Meanwhile, Thai protesters forced riot police to abandon a checkpoint near the airport yesterday in a sign that the demonstrators are tightening their grip over the airport.
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is seeking to oust Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who is running the country from the government's stronghold in the northern city of Chiang Mai. PAD accuse the prime minister of being a puppet of ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
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