My Chiang Mai

A firetruck is set alight by protesters in Chiang Mai

After red shirt protesters blocked the main bridge into the city with burning tyres yesterday mid-day, the government announced a night time curfew in Chiang Mai, as well as Bangkok and other cities covered by the ’state of emergency.’

No-one should be on the streets between 9.00pm and 5.00am until Monday morning.

Traffic chaos broke out yesterday when the Nawarat Bridge was blocked, along with the main road into the city from the railway station, where the ‘reds’ erected a stage a week ago and have been assembling since.

Airport Shopping Plaza and Kad Suan Kaew shopping mall closed early afternoon and were followed by Carrefour a few hours later. It is not known if these moves were made due to specific threats, or simply as a precautionary reaction to the burning of the Central World mall in Bangkok. Government schools and many international schools have been closed this week, along with banks and some petrol stations.

Yesterday, a government spokesman gave almost unprecedented English language advice to foreigners on Channel 7 TV.  He said that the problems in Bangkok were being contained, that travel within Thailand was unrestricted and reminded people that, according to Thai law, foreigners should carry their passports with them at all times.

Soldiers inspect the damage at the provincial governor's residence in Chiang Mai

The British Embassy, Bangkok, now closed to the public, yesterday extended its warning “to avoid all but essential travel” from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, mentioning ” a number of violent incidents, some involving gun fire.”

Editor’s Note: The atmosphere in Chiang Mai now is one of quiet frustration rather than tense anxiety. We have had no reports of violence against persons and no gun fire. Some expats here feel that the British Embassy warning is greatly over-cautious with no grounding in fact.

In the early hours of Monday, May 17th, 2 home made bombs were thrown at banks near Chiang Mai city centre.

City police chief Maj. Gen. Sommai Kangwisaisuk said that “futher incitement to the political sitation” was behind the attacks on Siam Commercial Bank, Chang Puak, and Thai Military Bank, Nong Hoi. No injuries and limited damage was caused.

Editor’s Note: Minor night time attacks on banks in the capital have been ascribed to enmity towards the banks major shareholders. The atmosphere in Chiang Mai remains calm and Foreign and Thai tourists are still in evidence.

Thai and expat residents of Chiang Mai were surprised last evening (Thursday) to find that their peaceful province had been included on a list of 15 to suddenly have “emergency law” imposed upon them.

Within a few hours of the shooting of a prominent “red shirt” leader in Bangkok, Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) announced that Chiang Mai and the neighbouring provinces of Chiang Rai to the north and Lampang to the south were now under the “state of emergency.”

The aim of the decision, which enables army and police to restrict people’s movements and gatherings of over a few in any one place, was to “prevent possible red shirt protests”, he said.

Over the past few weeks, small red shirt crowds have briefly – and politely – interrupted traffic flow on minor city streets close to their headquarters hotel near Wat Phrasingh. No other disruption has been seen and the only daily visible signs of local solidarity with the anti-government, pro-Thaksin “reds” are red flags and streamers flying from some local taxis and private cars.

Despite a desperate plea by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the UK Foreign Office is advising against travel to Thailand, including Chiang Mai.

The advice on the FCO website reads:

We advise against all but essential travel to the whole of Thailand due to the increasingly volatile and tense political situation.  Violent incidents of an unpredictable nature are occurring in many parts of Thailand.

and

In the last week, protests and violent incidents have taken place in other parts of Thailand including popular tourist destinations such as Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ayuthaya and other locations. See the Terrorism Security section of this Travel Advice.

As a result ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) has warned travelers that if they travel to Thailand in spite of the FCO advice their  travel insurance policies will be invalidated.

The TAT said: ‘We accept the advice against traveling to Bangkok. Although the protests are not aimed at tourists, there is major disruption. But we do believe it is excessive to advise against travel to the rest of the country.’

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