On Friday evening, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel advisory to parts of Thailand and Cambodia, following recent fighting in the border areas.
Ingrid Eriksson, 61, from Gothenburg, chose to leave Koh Chang, one of the tourist-dense islands in Trat province that is subject to the advisory, on Saturday. When she heard about the advisory in the morning, she and her party chose to leave the island immediately.
"We didn't hesitate to pack up and look for travel options from the island. We thought we would follow the advice so that, among other things, insurance applies if something happens, plus that safety comes before money and pleasure," she writes to TT.
“Scary”
Ingrid Eriksson booked her trip last summer, but says she wouldn't have done it if the fighting had broken out at the current scale. She heard the fighting herself from Koh Chang, but at first thought it was thunder.
"The locals said it was the fighting we heard, and they had been hearing it for a few days. It was still a bit scary, because we weren't prepared for it."
According to journalist Kim Wadström, who is in Thailand and covering the conflict for SVT, among other things, many travelers are worried, and she thinks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' travel advice came too late.
It should have come a little earlier, now it came a little too close to the trip for many. The US tightened its restrictions earlier this week, for example, and there were battles closer to Koh Chang on Monday and Tuesday, she says.
Take it seriously
Around 10,000 Swedes are in Thailand. Around 600 are in the border region, most of them in Trat province, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Around a hundred may also be in Cambodia.
Many tourists, both in Sweden and on site in Thailand, are currently wondering what to do with their trip. But Kim Wadström thinks the unrest in the area should be taken seriously:
"It's unfortunate when many people on the ground say it's completely calm. More and more people are telling us that they've heard the fighting in recent days. It's escalating all the time and getting closer and closer," she says, continuing:
You have to look up from your deck chair and understand that just because it's quiet here right now doesn't mean it will be quiet tomorrow. A conflict is brewing and there's no telling how it will develop.
Sara Haldert/TT
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' travel advice
TT
When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel, it is a signal that the security situation is serious and that you should carefully consider your decision to travel. Normally, travel insurance does not apply if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel.
Due to the security situation, all travel within 50 kilometers of the border with Cambodia, including the islands in Trat province, such as Koh Chang, Koh Kood and Koh Mak, has been advised against since December 12.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also advises against non-essential travel to other parts of all provinces along the border with Cambodia.
Non-essential travel to the provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani and Songkhla has previously been advised against.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
