Following the assault upon, and cancellation of, the “ASEAN plus dialogue partners” meeting of Heads of State in Pattaya, Thailand last week by the red-shirted followers of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai government announced, late on Thursday 9th April, that there would be a closure of all government offices on Friday 10th.

This unscheduled holiday preceded and joined with the scheduled Thai traditional New Year (Songkran) holiday occurring from Saturday 11th April to Wednesday 15th April. These dates included closure of all Government and Post Offices within Thailand.

Following the violence and civil unrest that broke out in Bangkok over the Songkran / Easter weekend, instigated by the same red-shirted factions, current Democrat Party Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva instructed, on Tuesday 14 April, that Thursday and Friday 16-17 April would be an extension to the national holiday, in order to give the government time to make central Bangkok safe for people to return to their workplaces.

For the irregular overseas British traveller, commercial shocks begin at the airport of departure. Long haul flights generally require that you register a few hours before take off and this places you, especially at Heathrow, at the mercy of the ‘duty-free’ vendors and concessions in the departure area.

In this series, originally written nearly a decade ago and now updated, I’m going to present both my experiences, and some thoughts about money saving tips, as well as some sound advice for first time (or even second time) arrivals in Thailand. These are likely to save you money, and overall, facilitate an easier and less stressful holiday, and that I am sure is a priceless bonus …

Rail Chaos Follows Derailment
Foreign Tourists Stranded 500 Km from Destination

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – 4 May 2002 - Early this morning a cargo train derailed and overturned just north of Lopburi in central Thailand. This was the second major derailment in as many weeks and it brought chaos to rail travellers at the start of the annual Coronation Day holiday weekend.

Despite the best efforts of State Railway employees, dozens of passengers were stranded in the historic city’s rail station with no onward travel options.