BANGKOK STATE OF EMERGENCY LIFTED FROM TODAY AND I AM NOW IN BANGKOK SO I ASSUME THE THAI PRIME MINISTER YINGLUCK SHINAWATRA LIFTED THE CURFEW IN MY HONOUR TO WELCOME ME!

KEE@FSWMAG.COM
I arrived in Bangkok yesterday as Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announced she was lifting the state of emergency in Bangkok! Anyway Bangkok has been back to normal since 10 days ago and it has been business as usual ever since.

I did not see any sign of demonstrations or road blockages or any dusturbances at all as we drove in from Ayutthaya after the Miracle Muay Thai festival from 13 to 16 March. 

Still, all hotels and tourist companies are relieved as the GM of Ibis Bangkok Siam hotel where I a staying instead of Mandarin Oriental or Shangri-La) told me her hotel occupancy was 20% and even now is just 35%. No wonder Ibis is offering a shocking RM 160++ plus breakfast but only for the next 30 days so come Bangkok NOW! All the other hotels are offering similar great deals!

Now the Thai Songkran festival (5-30 April) can proceed with gusto! 

Thai Cabinet lifts Bangkok's state of emergency effective from 19 March, 2014 Bangkok, 18 March, 2014 – The caretaker Thai Cabinet has today decided to end the 60-day state of emergency that has been imposed on Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Bang Phli district in Samut Prakan, and Lat Lum Kaeo district in Pathum Thani since 22 January, 2014. The revocation of the emergency decree will be effective from tomorrow (19 March 2014). In order to ensure peace and order in Bangkok and nearby provinces, the caretaker Cabinet has agreed to invoke the Internal Security Act, also effective from tomorrow. Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik, Governor of TAT said, “While the state of emergency has caused little inconvenience to travellers to Thailand, its lifting is a sign that things are fast returning to normal in Bangkok and visitors can look forward to travelling round the Thai capital with ease, as well as to the provinces for next month’s Songkran festival.” It should be stressed that over the course of the protests, all shops, hotels and shopping malls in Bangkok and throughout Thailand remained open as usual and were always easily accessible via the BTS Skytrain or MRT subway if not by normal transportation systems including plane, train, bus or car. Thailand offers a wide variety of tourist attractions, ranging from unique culture, abundant natural beauty and remarkable variety of activities, including soft adventure, spa, shopping and medical tourism, as well as year-round unique celebrations and festivals. The Thai New Year (Songkran) 2014 celebration will take place between 5-20 April, throughout the kingdom, and Thai people across Bangkok and elsewhere in the country are waiting to greet visitors with a friendly smile. In 2013, Thailand welcomed 26.7 million tourist arrivals, a 19.6 per cent increase over 2012. For 2014, TAT has set a target of 28.6 million tourists generating estimated foreign exchange revenue of 1.32 trillion Baht, up 13 per cent.