Cremation of the King of Thailand (25-29 October 2017): advice for tourists

The ceremonies of the cremation of late King of Thailand who died in last October will take place in a little more than one month and will have an impact on the stay of travelers visiting Bangkok at that time. There was no official announcement yet with instructions and advice for tourists but as the date is approaching and some of you are preparing their trip to Thailand, here are some recommendations and projections that I think can be helpful if you plan to be in Bangkok at the end of October 2017. Nothing official but I wrote this article after a few unformal exchanges with TAT officers and Bangkokians who were present to last year big tribute.

Cremation ceremonies in Bangkok

The day of cremation will be October 26, 2017 at Sanam Luang, the large esplanade in front of the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok, but the ceremonies will last from 25 to 29 October 2017. For those who would like to go there, I will detail later the exact program of the ceremonies when it will be official.

Impact on visiting Bangkok

Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) will certainly be closed from 25 to 29 October or even longer even there was no official confirmation yet.

UPDATE (21/09/2017) : it is official now, Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha will be closed from October 1st to October 29.

Wat Pho will probably be more difficult to access or even closed to visit too due to its proximity to the location where cremation ceremonies will take place. But once again nothing official yet. But reaching the temple will certainly be challenging anyway.

So better do not plan to visit this part of Bangkok from 25 to 29 October 2017.

Transport and traffic in Bangkok

It has already been announced in the news that  Chao Phraya Express boats will not stop at Tha Chang, Tha Phra Arthit and Tha Rajinee stations near the Grand Palace and Khao San on those days. Oddly Tha Tien, close to Wat Pho, was not mentioned (you can find a map of the Chao Phraya Express stops here).

Many Thai people will be traveling all over the country to be closer to the event even though the crematorium at Sanam Luang will probably only be accessible to officials. Traffic in Bangkok should be even more congested than usual, especially around the Great Palace, due to the crowd and security measures.

Subways and buses in Bangkok are also expected to experience record traffic and buses and taxis to be longer stuck in traffic. In short, there will certainly be a very huge crowd because the date of cremation is known for months and many Thais plan to come. The hotels near Sanam Luang have been sold out for months.

If you have to fly from one of the two airports in Bangkok between 26 and 29 October 2017, you can easily add one hour to what you would normally do and it is probably to prefer Suvarnabhumi even for domestic flights (Thai Smile, Bangkok Airways ) since it is accessible by metro which avoids the traffic jams.

Should we avoid Bangkok during those days ?

Avoid Bangkok maybe not but unless you want to attend this historical moment, avoid the area of Grand Palace and Wat Pho, yes ! For the reasons I mentioned above, traffic jams, big crowd, Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew probably closed, Wat Pho also closed or difficult access, security checkpoints…

You should be able to visit the rest of Bangkok without difficulty except maybe longer time to reach each monument.

Anyway, I think, it is better to plan to visit Bangkok  after the cremation to have access to all the main landmark of Bangkok.

Elsewhere in Bangkok, there should be some shops closed, their owners attending the cremation, bars will probably be asked to stop loud music and maybe close earlier (in Bangkok but also throughout Thailand but it will certainly be more followed in Bangkok).

If you decide to attend the King’s cremation, respect the mourning and dress in black. Have your passport on you all the time for security checkpoints.

If you have to go to Bangkok, book in advance !

There should be many provincials joining Bangkok for the occasion so a lot of people in trains, planes (some companies have already announced special rates) and buses heading to Bangkok on 24-25 -26 October 2017 and many people on buses, trains and planes departing from Bangkok the following days.

If you have to travel on those days, it is better to book your in advance. Personally, I tested and advised to book online on this website for bus and train and directly on airlines’ websites for flights.

The hotels in the Khao San area close to Sanam Luang are probably already in high demand, so if you want to stay in this area, book now through Booking, Agoda or directly. If you do not intend to attend the ceremonies, it is better to choose accommodation away from this area, you will be able to circulate more easily.

If you stay in Bangkok during this period, have your passport on you all the time, there will be security checks especially around the Sanam Luang.

Replicas in 85 cities in Thailand

There will be replicas of the royal crematorium in 25 cities of Thailand. I only know the location of the one in Chiang Mai (International Exhibition and Convention Center) but there will probably also be a lot of trafic and people around the places where they will be installed.

In general, the country will probably be not very active on October 26 since many people will follow the ceremonies on television. The day has also been declared a holiday. It means that administrations (including immigration offices) and banks will be closed. But transport will run as normal. Additional buses and trains will probably be set up to transport all the mourners. Again, if you have to travel by plane or bus, train to or from Bangkok at the end of October, book now to make sure you have a seat or sleeper.

As soon as I know more about the program of ceremonies and its “tourist consequences” or that official instructions for tourists have been officially published, I will relay them to you here and on Facebook and Twitter.