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| | Email this article • Print this article | The Foss family's extended adventures in Thailand
by Connie Bickman
When Kim and Ron Foss and their 10 year-old son, Gus, rural Dennison, set out on a family vacation to Thailand on November 13, they expected to fly back right after Thanksgiving. They had no idea they would be caught in the midst of protesters who closed down the airport in Bangkok, affecting all flights in and out of the country.
Protesters took over the two airports in Bangkok on November 25. The Foss family had no indication of what was going on because they had been in Chiang Mai in North Thailand for a week, traveling to Ayutthaya to take in the ruins of the ancient capitol, and then went on a two hour cruise on the Chao Praya river into Bangkok. They heard the news when they arrived back at their hotel.
"Our immediate reaction to the protesters was concern, and fear that it could turn violent and our safety would be compromised," Kim stated. "But we were fortunate to have a friend from Minneapolis who is opening a donut factory in Bangkok. He talked to us about how the Thai government operates, and the unlikelihood of violence. Even though it affected our plans, it did put our minds at ease."
Kim explained, "A political group (P.A.D.) did not like the newly elected Thai prime minister who won the election in a landslide. So a P.A.D. opposition group took over the airports in Bangkok, shutting down all flight operations. Their primary purpose was to prevent the return of the prime minister from meetings in Peru. Except he just flew into Chiang Mai instead. The takeover was, for the most part, peaceful with only a few casualties. The prime minister ordered the army to regain control of the airports, but the army leaders support the P.A.D. So, the police were given the directive to remove the opposition group. About 200 police officers went in with riot gear and police vehicles, but they were quickly sent fleeing with the riot gear left behind and vehicle tires slashed. The P.A.D was kind enough to return the riot gear."
She continued, "As an outsider, it was very difficult to understand what was going on. The Thai people are known for their smiles, their friendliness and courtesy. They are nonconfrontational and always agreeable with tourists. They say yes even if the answer is actually no. Disagreements are resolved calmly. Saving face for all parties is of prime importance. All of this played into the prolonged resolution of this conflict."
While this is all going on, life in Bangkok was business as usual, except near the Governor's House which the P.A.D. had also taken over and into which grenades were occasionally lobbed. Kim said they avoided areas where there were government buildings. "We tried to make the best of our situation, so during this time we continued to go sightseeing, shopping at the weekend market, to movies, out for dinner, etc... all the things you do when on vacation.
"Bangkok is a fascinating, busy, noisy, hot and humid, polluted city of 19 million. You get to see the best and the worst of life. Anything you want you can buy. It is a great place to visit . . . for a few days. But, after a week of this and no end in sight, we decided we needed to do whatever we could to get home."
Along with the Foss family, there were about 600,000 tourists stranded in Thailand. There are two other international airports, one in Phuket and another Chiang Mai, both 10-12 hour bus rides from Bangkok. Some airlines were busing passengers to Phuket and sending planes to pick them up. An air force base just outside of Bangkok started accommodating a small number of international flights each day.
In daily calls to the American Embassy and Northwest Airlines, Kim and Ron found that Northwest was not going to add flights to Phuket or Chiang Mai to get their passengers out because of security issues. They would, however, fly them home from their other Asian destinations. They had to determine the most likely routes out - take a bus to Malaysia, Cambodia, or Vietnam. "At first our goal was to get to Tokyo," Kim said. "The concierge at the hotel was very helpful trying to make travel arrangements. We were able to get three seats from Phuket to Tokyo, but the bus ride to Phuket was 12 hours and the airline tickets to Tokyo were $8,900!"
Meanwhile, protesters were going to close the airports until the prime minister stepped down. Neither party was going to give in. The king's birthday was approaching and the situation had to resolve before his birthday!
So the prime minister's political party was charged with voter fraud and found guilty. His party was forced to disband and he had to step down. The protesters finally left the airports, which then needed to go through a recertification process before they could resume full operations, that would take weeks.
The family finally secured a reservation with Northwest out of Hong Kong to Minneapolis, and then went to the Thai Air office to buy tickets to Hong Kong. "We got in line with ticket number 752, and the current number was 445. Many hours later, we were able to book a flight to Hong Kong, but this process took literally all day."
When the Fosses checked in at the convention center the required seven hours before departure to go through security for their Hong Kong flight, there were thousands of people in one big room. "It was a sea of people standing with their bags mashed together. There were nine buses for our flight and they formed an escorted motorcade. The buses pulled up plane side one by one and we walked a few steps directly from the bus onto the airplane. I shed a few tears when the plane finally was airborne."
They arrived in Hong Kong and did as much sightseeing as they could in the city before their flight left the following day for Minneapolis, on December 6.
The more pleasant consequence of this whole experience was the camaraderie of travelers. Everyone had a story about where they had been, when they were supposed to have left and what they were doing to get out. "At our hotel, we met a woman from Maple Grove, MN, who was traveling alone. We had dinner with her on Friday evening and when I called her room on Saturday morning she had checked out. Later she contacted us via email. She was in the lobby of the hotel at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday and saw two couples who were leaving the hotel. They had hired a driver to take them to Cambodia where they would catch a flight home. If she could pack in 20 minutes, she could go with them. She did."
Kim stressed, "The rest of the vacation was great and those last few days will never overshadow the fun experiences we had. Gus was an excellent traveler, although food was an issue for him. Who would of thought that there were so many Kentucky Fried Chickens in Thailand? Ron and I would seek out our gastonomic adventures after Gus had his fill. (Gus, a 4th grader in Cannon Falls, didn't really mind his vacation being unexpectedly extended. In fact, he thought it was great that he got to miss more school.)
"Our vacation lasted an extra nine days - which seemed like an eternity when you are trying to get home. But the experience makes one appreciate the less-than-perfect democratic process we have here," Kim stated, " It was so good when the wheels hit the runway in Minnesota."
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