Bangkok Shutdown

The capital of Thailand declared State of emergency on January 23, 13 days after it's shutdown due to the nation protest to remove the current government body. I flew into Bangkok on January 24. That was actually my second trip to Bangkok during their state of emergency.

I had planned and paid the Bangkok trip with my friends before I left for Japan. Ever since the start of the protest, we were being hopeful that the protest would be resolved by then but it got escalated instead. My friends whom will be travelling with their kids became very anxious of the situation. We did received updates of the situation from local acquaintance that everything was safe hence proceed with the trip.

We managed a good deal for both flights and hotel separately. We got a flight with Singapore Airline since it's cheaper than budget flights however our actual flight was cancelled and moved to a later flight. Thankfully, the return flight remained unchanged. 

We stayed at Centrepoint Pratunam, minutes away from my usual stay at Baiyoke Sky, due to their facilities that caters to the kids that we travelled with. They had an accommodating swimming pool and a playroom to keep the kids entertain just in case we were hotel-bound. We were then upgraded to a suite all thanks to a friend who was working there.

Everything was normal upon arrival to Bangkok and checking into the hotel. There weren't any sign of protest until we ventured towards Centralworld. The whole road was cordoned by the protesters but they allowed people including tourist to enter by foot. We knew to stay away from such places but it seems more like a concert. There were a stage at the road inter-junction and people supporting with whistles and clapper which was sold by the street side. There were tons of other merchandises and food peddlers. It sure seem like a concert going on.

With the road closed, it seems like the surrounding shopping mall were closed but got to know that they were closed early. Shops were having sales just to draw customers into the mall. I went fanatic but got turned down by them not having my size. 

Other than Centralworld, we stepped into Siam Paragon, Siam Centre and MBK which shared the same faith of being inaccessible by vehicle due to the road closures. 

We made our way to Chatuchak on Saturday and the place was operating per normal with the protest going on. 

It's a whole new experience traveling with kids especially with infants. Settling down and getting ready was longer, ensuring they are entertained and bashing the busy street with prams is a challenge. The only advantage is getting priority on flights and trains. I may still travel with kids but for now, I enjoy more solo trips. 

Pictures of the shenanigans.