is on Friday the 5th. It's a holiday. Possibly there will be some improvement before then.

flying out of Chang Mai? My dad mentioned it to me in conversation today..apparently it's an int'l airport?

Might be a bit of a bus ride, but you'd get to see the locals again :-)

-5.75,-4.05
"God gives men a brain and a penis, and only enough blood to run one at a time." -- Robin Williams

Posted: 01 December 2008 1551 hrs

BANGKOK - Thai anti-government protesters Monday ended a three-month sit-in at the prime minister's offices, redeploying to help demonstrators tighten their paralysing grip on Bangkok's airports.

Leaders of an alliance trying to force premier Somchai Wongsawat to resign said they were abandoning Government House because of recent grenade attacks which have killed two protesters and wounded dozens more.

But in an apparent climbdown in the stand-off, which has left 350,000 travellers stranded, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) allowed 37 empty aircraft to fly out of Suvarnabhumi international airport.

"It's too risky to stay at Government House because of repeated attacks against us," PAD spokeswoman Anchalee Paireerak said. "All of us have started to move now."

An AFP reporter saw hundreds of supporters carrying plastic bags and sleeping mats leaving the heavily fortified compound, last hit by a blast on Sunday that wounded 49 people.

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(CNN) -- Governments have warned their citizens about traveling to Thailand during the current wave of protests and blockade of international airports.

More than 100,000 travelers have now been stranded at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports since anti-government protesters erected barricades and forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights last week.

And while few governments have explicitly told their citizens not to go to Thailand, many warn it is something to be approached with great caution.

On its Web site, the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok advises U.S. citizens that all incoming and outgoing flights have been halted from the two airports, and that while it has conveyed its "deep concern" to the Thai authorities, "ultimately it is a situation that can only be resolved by those involved."

It also advises citizens against going anywhere near protests or becoming involved. "Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence," the embassy advises. "American citizens are therefore urged to avoid areas of demonstrations, and to exercise caution within the vicinity of any demonstrations."

It reminds travelers that the Thai Foreign Ministry has arranged for 2000 Thai baht (around $55) credit compensation for stranded foreign nationals, available at hotels that are members of the Thai Hotel Association.

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Now they say from Thailand that the airport must be closed for weeks, because it must be checked after the protesters leave. (Can't trust Thais ...)

-- Storm brings only richness with it