People often ask me if I have a favorite country that I’ve visited. While I don’t really have an answer to that very difficult question, if I had to choose a few, Thailand would definitely be on the short list.  Experiences from that trip really hooked me on a region filled with friendly people, cheap (but great) sites & activities and overall changed my views on travel.

After visiting Thailand, I was hungry for more. We’d return to SE Asia for a trip which included a short visit to Vietnam and a longer one to Cambodia. Both (so to speak) definitely hit the spot. (We also had a brief one night stay in Bankgkok and also visited Hong Kong & Macao during that trip.) Since then we’ve also visited more places in Asia like Singapore, Bali, Malaysia and Japan.

I haven’t read much into the politics of what is currently going on in Thailand but I do know that it’s had a huge, negative impact on tourism.

Thailand hopes to get tourists to return by inviting them to visit for a new experience.

According to an article from BBC News, “Officials in Thailand say they are preparing to add martial law to a list of tourist attractions”. Sounds a bit ridiculous, right?

A tourism campaign being prepared by the Tourism Authority of Thailand is being called 24 Hours Enjoy Thailand. The TAT governor Thawatchai Arunyik feels the campaign will attract foreign visitors to come to Thailand and feels “martial law actually benefits tourism because it ensures that foreigners are safe round-the-clock”.

Are you interested in visiting Thailand while under martial law  to see what it’s like? Or, would you prefer to hold off on visiting until it is lifted?

The last time we were in the country, it was during a military coup. There were soldiers/ police all around but it didn’t seem to have any affect on tourists or feel like a dangerous place.

Find out more in the BBC News article here.