Bangkok Administration is doing what it can to prevent the city from flooding with barriers and sand bags surrounding the city to divert the mass of water. The Chao Phraya River is set to reach its highest level this weekend as sea tides are expected to be unusually high. The flood level will depend on how well the government can manage the water flow but the highest risk will be areas along the Chao Phraya River and the floodwalls along its banks.

All airports in Thailand with the exception of Don Muang are operating as usual. Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport is unaffected by the floods and has been heavily fortified. The Thai government has repeatedly promised to take all the necessary steps to protect the country’s main airport from floods.

Major tourist destinations such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Sukhothai, Kanchanaburi, Ratchburi, Pattaya, Ko Chang, Rayong, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Ko Samui are all experiencing normal weather conditions. The exception is the ancient city Ayutthaya, which has been badly hit by the floods. All tourist attractions there have been temporarily closed.

Given the uncertainty in Bangkok, Exotissimo is advising clients to avoid staying in the city from today until Monday 31 October. All clients currently scheduled to stay in Bangkok during this period have been contacted and alternative plans made.

Exotissimo recommend clients do not cancel their trip if scheduled to visit Thailand in the next 7 days, clients should avoid staying in Bangkok but we suggest them to transit through Bangkok onto alternative locations such as Chiang Mai, Phuket or any of the other safe areas.

The government has announced public holiday for government offices and schools on Thursday, Friday and Monday, however this does not affect the private sector, all financial institutions including banks will remain open over these days. Exotissimo office will remain open also.

Our staff are working hard on rerouting and rebooking existing files ahead of processing new requests. We endeavour to respond to all enquiries with priority but you may experience some delay during this time.

Exotissimo team continue to monitor the situation closely and will update you as necessary. Our 24 hour emergency number in Thailand is: +66 818672806

Areas of Tonle Sap are currently inaccessible for tours. We are in contact with all clients booked on these trips and making alternative arrangements.

More rain has been forecast for tonight and later this week. We can expect localized flooding to continue for the better part of this week though this presents only a minor disruption to transfers All major roads are operating as normal.

The funds needed to put on the popular Water Festival, due to take place in the capital from November 9 to 11, would be better spent helping the tens of thousands of families affected, said the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday

“If we don’t spend the state budget for the (festival) preparations in Phnom Penh… we can save some money to improve the living standards of our people and repair the damage,” Hun Sen said in a televised speech. He also said the precariously high water level of the Tonle Sap River that flows through the city would present a ‘high risk to festival goers.

More than 270,000 families nationwide have seen their homes or livelihoods waterlogged in two months of flooding caused by heavy rain that has resulted in the Mekong River bursting its banks, according to official estimates. Hun Sen said the government, the Cambodian Red Cross and several other relief organisations were racing to provide emergency aid to the victims, reaching more than 76,000 families so far.

At this stage all Exotissimo tours in Bangkok are operating normally but we are monitoring the situation very closely and ready to make changes or adjustments to any tour as necessary. Safety is the number one priority and we are taking every precaution to ensure clients are looked after. If required, and where possible, we will make alternatives plans so the clients can continue to enjoy their trip.

The whole city of Ayutthaya is flooded and inaccessible, it is likely that clients will be unable to access the city and historical sites until early November. Overnight cruises on the Chao Phraya River are cancelled. Highway number 1 northbound is inaccessible around Ayutthaya and central plains, currently no vehicles can pass through this area. Some vehicles are diverting via Suphan Buri but the route is slow and crowded. Northbound train line is flooded and all trains departing Bangkok northbound are cancelled until further notice.

The situation north of Uthai Thani is better and all tours can operate as normal. Sukhothai and Chiang Mai are OK with only minor flooding in some areas however this is not affecting any tours, the historical park in Sukhothai is open and operating as normal.

For overland tours travelling northbound from Bangkok we are suggesting to divert clients to spend a night in Kanchanaburi with visits in this area. Then one full day drive to Phitsanulok / Sukhothai using outer ring road via Supanburi, NakornSawan (avoiding Asian Highway through AYU) and north on highway 11. Please note that this route will take up to 9 hours to drive.

Alternatively we are suggesting that clients can fly from Bangkok to Phitsanulok with Nok Air or Sukhothai with Bangkok Airways and continue overland to the north, or fly Bangkok to Chiang Mai and include extra options in CNX and the north to fill in the itinerary – flying will be subject to the supplemental charge.

Currently the situation in Bangkok is ok and the city is operating as normal, however it is expected it may get worse towards the end of the week. We are currently operating all river tours including dinner cruises and Klong tours as normal with high caution. The guides are instructed to monitor the situation and water level carefully before boarding any boats and to change arrangements if there is any uncertainly over client’s safety.

Should the situation become worse towards the end of this week and flooding appears in the streets around the river and Bangkok, we will provide alternative tours to locations outside of the flooded areas.

Floating Markets and Kanchanaburi are operating as normal with minimal or no impact from the floods. The main riverside hotels including The Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Millennium Hilton, Anantara Riverside, The Chatrium have informed us that the situation is all okay with no flooding yet, they have built the retaining walls and put up the sand bags to protect against the water which may rise in the coming days.

Please note that we are monitoring progress closely and are in regularly updating clients affected by the floods. All of the above actions will be reviewed if the situation changes.

Please contact marketing@exotissimo.com for more information.

Heavy rain in the Northern provinces has caused the water levels to rise which has resulted in some localized flooding in Siem Reap. This is limited to river front properties, downtown Siem Reap and Tonle Sap access points. All hotels are fully accessible and operational apart from Villa Kiara whose access road is blocked. The floating villages of Chhong Kneas and Kampong Phluck are currently not accessible and our clients are rerouted to Kampong Kleang. Further services that are currently suspended are the quad bike adventure, microlight flights, horse back riding and the camping experience at Wat Amphil, as well as some restaurants along the river. All other services continue to operate as normal and all major Angkor temples are open for visits. In order to protect the UNESCO World Heritage from erosion, only small vehicles of less than 25 seats are currently allowed on the roads around the Angkor Park.

In Phnom Penh the water levels of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers are high but have not resulted in any flooding and the Cambodian South Coast is not affected by floods. Low lying farm land is flooded along the Northern parts of the Mekong. However, access to tourist destinations is possible in all areas. Sambor Village Hotel in Kampong Thom will remain closed in October for renovation because of previous flood damage. Please rest assured that travel in Cambodia is still possible with little disruption and we are taking the best possible care of clients who are affected by any changes in their itinerary and will augment or upgrade services where possible. Whilst the situation is changeable, our operations team are constantly monitoring and will keep you updated on any developments.

Please contact cambodia@exotissimo.com for more information.

Until further notice we will provide group tours by coaster (25 seater bus) only. This means that any FITs will be grouped together with their individually assigned guides in coasters. We will only provide one group tour to the central temple complex of Angkor Wat and the National Museum as this is the only itinerary we are currently able to operate. The reason for this is the use of smaller vehicles such as minivans and cars are at risk of stalling in the flood water.

We will do all possible to keep all other services such as restaurants the same, though some services are limited so there may be some changes.  No extra charges will be incurred.

As soon as the situation improves and we can access more of the temples and attractions we will resume normal operations.  Please see below for the current restrictions:

• The central temple complex of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Angkor Thom are accessible and will remain so. All other temples are off limits until further notice.
• The airport road is only partially flooded and can be accessed by coaster. The main international hospital is still accessible via road 6.
• Operations in the northern provinces are off limits inclusive of Kampong Thom, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kratie and Steung Treng.
• Land transfers are being carefully monitored near Kampong Thom on route 6. The situation is changeable. If the route becomes impassable we will advise clients to remain in Siem Reap or transfer by air to Phnom Penh.

We anticipate these conditions to ease after 3 to 5 days after which limited services will resume as normal.

Our operations teams are on 24h standby to assess the situation and we are remaining flexible with clients who may wish to amend their travel plans and continue onto their next destination.  We are in close contact with the airlines and are able to make or change flight bookings if required.

All agents with clients in country will be contacted by a member of the Exotissimo team today. We will send another update on the situation on Monday.

For emergencies the operations team can be contacted on +855 (0) 12 907 097

Best Regards,
The Exotissimo Team

Mount Merapi is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes and Indonesian scientists had warned of a pressure build up in the dome of the volcano. As a result of these warnings authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of local people to temporary shelters outside of this radius. The official status from the Institute for Research and Volcanic Technology Department has changed their classification of the situation from ‘Standby’ to ‘Beware’ and has called for all people living within a 10km radius from the summit of Merapi to evacuate. All climbing activities, feeding of livestock and mining within this area have also been stopped. At this current stage it is hoped that the energy that has built up will release slowly, with immediate signs indicating towards this.

No Exotissimo clients have been impacted by this event, with lines of communication being kept open for them and our operations office on Java in regular contact. We will of course be closely monitoring the situation and will keep you updated with any developments.

A minimal amount of flood water has now reached the outskirts of Bangkok, though all possible measures are being taken to prevent the flooding reaching the central Chao Phraya areas, with water flows from the Chao Phraya, Pasak and Rama VI Dams being controlled to manage the water volumes. 2.5 meter high dykes have been set up along parts of the river and the gates to the canals have all been closed to prevent excess river water getting into the inner parts of the city. The next 48 hours will be monitored carefully with the high tide is due on Wednesday and Thursday.
Inner Bangkok areas, including the Grand Palace near the river, business districts and big shopping malls are currently unaffected and safe. As of this morning our Klong Tours were still operating in the city. Out of the city, specifically in the Ayutthaya region, we are currently recommending to any clients to avoid cruise trips, as the waters are running high, though some suppliers are still operating these trips. In Ayutthaya the main roads and tourist sites are unaffected, with Wat Phanang Cheng and Wat Chai Wattanaram still open for tourists as usual. In Khao Yai, the main road can be used as usual, allowing visits to the Khao Yai Historic Park and Moo Baan Dan Kwen. However the Pimai Historical Park and Baan Prasat are currently affected by the flooding, with reports anticipating they should return to normal in a week.

All clients affected by the flooding have been contacted with arrangements amended as necessary. We will continue to keep you updated with any developments in the coming days.

There have been warnings that the flooding in Thailand may spread further South, though all possible is being done by the authorities to prevent this, and we will monitor this situation closely. All Exotissimo tours are continuing to operate as normal, and the weather conditions yet to affect any in country clients, with all of our operations working as usual.

To brace for possible flooding, triggered by northern run-off, rainfalls and high tide, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has closed all 157 sluices to prevent the water from the Chao Phraya River flowing into canals, and all 157 water pumping stations are prepared to pump water from areas along the Chao Phraya River. Flood prevention dikes, which are 2.5 metres high and 77 kilometres, and sand embankments were built in preparation to brace for high water levels.