For those unaware, I have been traveling in Thailand for the past couple weeks (clearly an ill-timed vacation). Few news reports adequately convey the magnitude of what has happened here in Thailand. Such reports are excellent at telling you the number of flights canceled, the number of people affected, and the dollars lost. The statistics are interesting, but they fail to put the crisis in context—and it is a crisis.

So let's play with the numbers some more. The Associated Press reports that Bangkok's airports handle 100,000 passengers every day. It has now been closed for about five days, and likely for another three days, at least. Imagine if New York's JFK airport closed for that length of time—in fact, imagine if JFK and LaGuardia both closed, because that's the volume of traffic that Bangkok's airports handle. (See stats in Wikipedia to confirm that I'm right.)

When I first heard news that the Bangkok airport was taken over by protesters (the PAD), I was amused. How cute, I thought, a country that's 95% Buddhist has a protest movement. Unfortunately, Buddhism + political protest = prolonged stalemate. While the PAD peacefully (or mostly peacefully) sit at the airport, the police just as peacefully sit by and watch, unwilling to use violent means to remove them. And the rest of us sit and watch (less peacefully), wondering what the breaking point will be—and everyone has said for three days we're at the breaking point.

So now we have a fascinating human dilemma: What do you do with so many people who can't leave the country—particularly when there are no major travel hubs that can be easily reached over land? (Thailand is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia.) Of course, Thailand's cities of Phuket and Chiang Mai still have functioning airports (and an old Vietnam-era airport has started to service flights), but there's very limited service, and good luck trying to find a seat on any international flight, at least within the next week. Most airlines servicing these airports are adding more flights if they can, and filling the seats with their own delayed passengers from Bangkok who have been able to reach a different departure city. Some countries have nobly rescued their own citizens with special arranged flights, e.g., Taiwan. (Of course there were only about 500 Taiwanese stranded, according to reports.)

I knew I was really stuck when, in an e-mail to stranded Americans, the U.S. embassy in Bangkok included this bargain offer:

Orientskys is a private jet company who provides international VIP service flights. Mr. Trevor (director) wants us to let anyone know about his service since he just got permission from the Thai government in order to fly anyone who is willing to pay for this VIP service from Thailand to several destinations, such as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore. The cost would be around 25,000 US dollars per trip with a maximum passenger capacity of 8 passengers with VIP catering services, including limousine transportation service from Bangkok to U-Tapao Airport. Just in case anyone might be interested, they can call … [contact info snipped]

** Please note that this company is running their own business; their service has nothing to do with the U.S. government and the U.S. government will not pay for this service.

Thus, I am at the mercy of Northwest/Delta to get me out of here (not having $25K handy), and I can tell you they do not feel that this is "their" problem. Here's what one passenger said, in a comment on an online news story:

"They [Northwest] pointed out the section on Force Majeure which in fact is what the situation in Thailand is about. The clause all but allows the airline without liability to without notice, cancel, terminate, divert, postpone or delay any flight, right of carriage or reservation.

Lucky I was able to use miles and money to reserve a flight to KL on Malaysian Airlines which I hear flies their Bangkok flights into UTapao now.

Why don’t the airlines care about their passengers, I asked the purser on our USA to Tokyo leg of the NWA trip what their job was. She said to get passengers safely between point A and point B. Trouble is, if you can’t get to point B – then what?

While PAD is surely to blame for this mess, the airlines, without an emergency plan of operations is also to blame."

I am rescheduled to depart on Tuesday, December 2, but the situation looks bleak. News stories have recently emphasized how insecure the airport has been for nearly a week. On a Bangkok blog, one reader left the following comment on a CNN news story about the lawless situation at the airport:

The CNN correspondent makes a very interesting point. With no control whatsoever as to activity in and around the entire airport and all its various hideaways as well as around the large number of long distance aircraft and all the back-up equipment such as catering, fueling, buses, not to speak of all the Duty Free Shop items that might have been compromised, etc……it would seem possible that the International Aviation Authorities will demand that the entire airport go through a total head-to-toe re-certification process which could take days or weeks in order to re-assure all the other connection airports in the world aviation system that no terror related materials or people (or drug-related or some other monkey business related) will arrive in their own airports without having had any checks at the Bangkok source.

At this point you start to wonder: What's Christmas like in Thailand, and how big is my savings account to fund a month-long international stay? Or do I just spill a couple thousand dollars to fly short-notice on another airline? It's hard to know the wisest course of action, when it's impossible to predict when the airport will reopen.

Fortunately, the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) has done an admirable job of taking care of stranded passengers, given the sheer mass of people needing assistance. A call to their hotline revealed that a business hotel in the Sukhumvit area (Imperial Hotel at Queen's Park) was being used to accommodate anyone for free who had a flight on November 26 or later and could present evidence, plus a passport. (Later, it was announced the TAT would help cover costs for tourists staying at any hotel, up to 2,000 Baht per day.)

The scene here at the Imperial almost defies description. That the hotel hasn't immediately morphed into a refugee camp is stunning, but that probably speaks to the incredible hospitality and hard-working Thai staff at this very large-scale hotel (I believe it has nearly 2,000 rooms). The clientele who normally stay here (bankrolled businessmen) have nothing in common with the tourists who now lodge here in much greater numbers, and the hotel's hostesses—women who look like Greek goddesses in their long, flowing white gowns and gold sashes around the waist—politely clean up after tourist and businessman alike, in the lobbies, in the dining rooms, everywhere. And the TAT runs a staffed help desk at all hours in the hotel lobby, which is engulfed by people every time I pass, and overflows with signs and listings of phone numbers (for every airline and hotel known to man).

All stranded passengers have been given meal vouchers for buffet-style dining at the hotel's most basic restaurant on the ground floor. (The hotel has many restaurants, but mostly high-class ones.) The food is far better than what most of us would normally eat while traveling (e.g., sea bass, ox-tail soup, and other foreign specialties). The first day I arrived at the Imperial and had a meal, they had authentic pumpkin pie available on the dessert table. I was nearly moved to tears.

So here at the Imperial I remain for the time being, with free lodging and food, and really expensive internet access—it is a business hotel after all—$20/hour. But it's the one connection I have to the people back home (as I came here alone). And I thank you all for your encouragement, support, and kind messages. I hope it won't be much longer before I return home.