I am scheduled to go to Bangkok tomorrow, on my way overland to
Cambodia.  The news from that part of the world is terrible, and
although I see that the tsunami did not hit the part of the country I
am planning on visiting, I am having second thoughts about going at
all.  On one hand I do not want to make a bad situation worse, by
adding to the numbers of people in Bangkok that are there to hasten
the relief efforts, and on the other hand I do not want to make the
situation worse when not to visit destroys the tourist economy of a
region I love.  Whay say you???

Dear james1352-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.
Speaking sensibly, your economical contribution to the area is indeed
honorable, but would not be nearly as beneficial as you might think.
Since many businesses, buildings and people have been destroyed in the
region and fundamental services and resources such as food,
electricity and water are in short supply, unless you are able to
contribute millions of dollars to the economy it is probably in your
best interest (and theirs) to postpone your trip to Thailand at least
until the economy can support you and appreciate your meager
contribution. Undoubtedly many of those who survived the cataclysm on
the coastal areas are going to be moving inland which means that the
country?s infrastructure even in those regions directly unaffected by
the tsunami will be greatly stressed in an effort to accommodate those
refugees? needs.

Though there have not been many examples of this level of destruction,
generally speaking the opportunistic crime and disease levels tend to
skyrocket in the period shortly following such a disaster.  It would
seem then that your best contribution at the moment would probably be
avoidance of the area on the basis of this fact alone, at least until
it is once again in a position to appreciate your visit and the
contribution you might make.

The US State Department has issued a travel advisory urging people to
avoid travel a number of locations in Thailand and if they are in
those areas to leave as soon as possible.
The warning goes on to say that Americans living or traveling in
Thailand are encouraged to register with the US. Embassy in Bangkok
through the State Department?s travel registration website at
https://travelregistration.state.gov American citizens may also obtain
up-to-date information on security conditions by calling
1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, and
317-472-2328 from overseas.

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
http://travel.state.gov/travel/thailand_announce.html

In short, the best thing that could probably happen right now is for
as many people as possible that have no urgent need to be in the
region, and who have the means to leave the area, to do it (or avoid
going there to start with), if for no other reason but to make room
and be one less consumer of goods and services for those who will be
most assuredly migrating to unaffected areas for the basic necessities
such as food, shelter and medical care. In my opinion, which appears
to be what you are asking for, your trip to Thailand would be much
more reasonable under better circumstances, both for you and the
country you?ve grown to love so well and that your decision to avoid
travel to anywhere there would be the wisest move.

I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

DEFINED ABOVE


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

THAILAND

TSUNAMI

STATE DEPARTMENT

TRAVEL ADVISORY

---

Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 28 Dec 2004 13:11 PST

FOX NEWS is reporting that 1.2 million people have already cancelled
previously scheduled trips to Thailand meaning a loss of about $750
million in tourism revenue so any effort on your part to try and save
the country's economy by taking a risk yourself now seems to be well
beyond your control. Your contribution would now be so miniscule that
it, I'm sorry to say, would matter little on the big scale.

tutuzdad-ga

Frankly, although the answer was thorough, it was entirely the wrong
advice.  I went on the trip anyway, despite the strong advice from
this researcher, and it was absolutely the right thing to do.  Those
people need our money and our support, and that sentiment was
expressed to me by the locals throughout.

One way you could help is to donate the money you would have
spent there to the Red Cross or other relief organizations.
On the Red Cross website, you can designate it to go specifically
to the Asian relief efforts.

james1352, Thailand is a big country, and Bangkok is a good 500 miles
from where the start of the Disaster Area.  Tutuzdad-ga is right that
many people have cancelled their vacations, mostly because they were
traveling to the affected area to enjoy the beach which is not longer
possible in southern Thailand.  But if you are indeed traveling away
from the affected area, I don't see any real problem with your trip
since Cambodia and Thailands Gulf of Siam were not affected at all by
the Tsunami.  In the end, it is your choice, but if it were mine, I
would still go there.

~Stephen~

To give a Researcher a one-star rating merely because you disagree
with his findings is extremely harsh.