After closing its borders to international travelers for the past 2 months when COVID-19 hit, Thailand's tourism industry, which contributed almost 22% to the entire country's GDP, was completely obliterated in a matter of weeks.
The pandemic left many tourist attractions deserted, local guesthouses emptied, and restaurants out of business as the economic recession followed. It was an unprecedented time, as the effects of the pandemic reverberated throughout the world. No one knew how long the pandemic would last and what life was going to be like from then on.
After 2 months of extensive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, it looks like Thailand has come out on top with no new domestic cases for the past 30 days. The lockdown is being lifted slowly but surely, and tourist attractions are finally open to visitors again.
As Thailand is expected to open up all of its tourist attractions around the country by the first of July, I have decided to visit some of the famous tourist attractions around Bangkok to see how much of an impact COVID-19 has had on the area.
Equipped with my trusty camera, I went out and captured what I saw while visiting the Chatuchak Weekend Market, Wat Pho, the Grand Palace, and Chinatown.
It was shocking, to say the least, and it is best for you to see it for yourself. So, here is what Bangkok tourist attractions look like after COVID-19. Let's begin with the often crowded Chatuchak Weekend Market.
Chatuchak Weekend Market
As I got off at the Mochit BTS Station, the first thing that struck me was how few people actually disembarked from the train. Usually, on weekends, there would be a ton of tourists getting off at Mochit to visit the Chatuchak Market, but there were barely any people getting off.
I continued and walked down the platform, and as I approached the exit, I stopped and looked out at the street that was usually full of people heading to the Chatuchak Market. It was empty as well. There were more taxis waiting desperately for clients than there were people themselves.
Usually, there are several entrances to the market, but now there were only three main entrances on each side, all of which have signs indicating the preventive measures the market is undertaking to prevent the spread of COVID-19, along with instructions on how to enter.
In Bangkok, an app has been implemented that everyone must use to check into a place with a QR code scan. The app, Thai Chana, is surprisingly well implemented and extremely fast to operate, something I honestly did not expect 😅.
The app only requires my phone number to set up, and all I had to do was scan the QR code and show the check-in page to the security while they took my temperature. Since the app works well, there weren't any long queues at the entrance as people swiftly scanned, checked in, and walked in without delay.
Within Chatuchak Market, it used to be that the entire road was packed with people from one end to the other. However, now, the road is being used by cars going in and out of the market, and only a pocket of people reside on the side of the road instead.
Restaurants are mostly empty even at noon, with waitresses and owners of these places hanging out together, hoping for more customers. Surprisingly, I did see some foreigners whom I believe were either expats or got stuck here in Bangkok after the international flight ban. Lucky them 😉.
Signs warning visitors to maintain social distancing are hung everywhere around Chatuchak Market. However, despite some shops being open, I can't help but notice that many of the stores I often frequent are still closed.
Who knows how long these small shops will be closed? The area, once filled with street food trucks and shops by the Chatuchak Clock Tower, is now mostly deserted. Unused street carts were shoved away in the dark corners of the market, while some shops remain hopeful and discount their products to attract customers.
I knew COVID-19 would impact Thailand's economy in a negative way, but after the lockdown was lifted for the past few weeks, I imagined that people would be back in droves to visit these places. However, I was wrong.
There were a few local people, sure, but that will not be enough to kick-start the economy, not without international tourism. Without the foreign tourists, the Chatuchak Weekend Market has a long way to go in recovering from this economic downturn.
Wat Pho
After spending a few hours at Chatuchak Market, I continued on my journey into the heart of Bangkok's Old Town, starting at one of my favorite temples in Bangkok: Wat Pho. It is home to one of the largest reclining Buddha statues in the world.
As I walked into the temple, I saw a foreigner sitting outside the entrance. I did not pay attention to him until I noticed a sign forbidding foreigners from entering the temple.
Apparently, only Thais were allowed into Wat Pho. I asked the lady at the checkpoint the reason behind the decision, and they said they were still unsure about COVID-19 coming from abroad. Therefore, they decided to bar them for now. However, the lady assured me that foreigners will be allowed into Wat Pho by the first of July.
One of the reasons why I love Wat Pho so much is because of how few tourists it gets compared to the Grand Palace. Now, there were even fewer people in the courtyard that used to be full of people, all empty. Wat Pho finally feels like an actual temple!
With fewer tourists, you can finally walk around Wat Pho calmly and peacefully while appreciating the intricately designed patterns of one of the many beautiful pagodas, without being shoved to the side by some "travel influencer" who wants to get that "perfect gram" shot.
There was not a single soul around when I walked towards the hall where the large Reclining Buddha statue is located. With fewer tourists, the temple finally took the opportunity to start repainting many parts of the wall inside the Reclining Buddha hall.
If you have ever seen the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, you know how massive and extremely detailed the wall paintings are, and the tremendous effort required to repaint them all is almost unimaginable.
That said, I am actually glad that the temple is using this downtime to their advantage to maintain these works of art so that future travelers can appreciate them in their full glory.
Seriously, I have never appreciated these little details of Wat Pho until now. With hardly anyone around, it almost feels like I have the whole place to myself to enjoy.
There were still locals in Wat Pho here and there, but most were there to pay respect to the Buddha Image, which is what a Buddhist Temple is for. So, I am actually quite glad to see Wat Pho going back to its roots during this trying time.
The Grand Palace
After visiting Wat Pho, we made our way to the Grand Palace, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangkok. The Grand Palace used to attract over 8 million visitors annually, earning it the title of the fourth most visited tourist attraction in Asia. So, you can only imagine the expression on my face as I reached the gate of the Grand Palace.
Throngs and throngs of tourists who used to wait in line to enter the Grand Palace are now reduced to almost nothing. There were no lines at the entrance, nor at the ticket booth, nor at the temple's gate; it was a bizarre sight to behold.
The last time I was at the Grand Palace, I remember quite vividly how crowded it was. There was no place for me to stand at the entrance courtyard leading to the large Gold Stupa up the stairs.
Everyone was trying to get their picture with the stupa, and all I could do was stay clear of the area. But now... there are only a few locals, and that's it. I can actually see the floor tiles in the courtyard!
I never really liked the Grand Palace, mostly due to the excessive crowds one has to go through to get anywhere, but now I can truly see why it is the 4th most visited tourist attraction in Asia.
The amount of detail that goes into carving these beautiful walls and pillars of the temples inside the Grand Palace is astonishing, and I am glad that many Thais are actually interested in seeing their tourist attractions now that they are bound here for the time being.
There are hopes in Thailand for domestic tourism to sustain the economy until the border is open. Even though it won't match the money coming in from international tourists, at least I hope it will put us on a more sustainable path than before COVID-19 happened.
Not all parts of the Grand Palace were open, though, as many areas were under maintenance when I was there. But this is certainly a great sign that the country is utilizing this downtime to improve upon these stunning places.
As I walked out of the gate, I was met with yet another sad reality. The stores that used to be in front of the temple, renting out long pants for unprepared temple visitors, were 90% closed. Not even the restaurant at which I used to eat was open now, which is really depressing to see.
Wat Arun
After visiting the Grand Palace, I took a ferry across the Chao Phraya River to Wat Arun, the famous temple that has the honor of adorning the back of the 10 Thai Baht coin.
To my surprise, the temple was not yet open, which is something I am now expecting to see more of around the country after the 1st of July. Not every tourist attraction will be open, despite what the country claims, so prepare to be flexible if you are planning to travel in Thailand during this time.
Not to mention, many of the popular restaurants may have already gone out of business by the time you can travel here from abroad, which makes the future look rather bleak, to say the least.
Since the temple ground was closed when I was there, I only got to enjoy Wat Arun and its beautiful pagoda from the outside. I was hoping to climb it for the sunset like I used to back in the day, but since there wasn't going to be a sunset anyway due to the rainy season, I decided to hop on a ferry back to Bangkok's Old Town and visit the last destination, Chinatown.
Chinatown (Yaowarat)
After seeing all the deserted places around Bangkok, you would probably expect the same for Chinatown. I did too, but the moment I walked out from the underground station, I was met with hundreds of locals, mostly young people, out and about, feasting on all the food that Chinatown has to offer.
It was a total flip from the other places I had been to. The streets were full of food carts on both sides of the road, and there were no social distancing measures whatsoever. It was a crowd that I did not expect to see post-COVID-19.
Sure, there were fewer people than there were before COVID-19, but still, seeing this many people rubbing shoulders together as they devour their way through the market is a little disturbing.
That said, most of the people were wearing masks, so that was a little more reassuring. While I was there, I observed many street food carts around the market, and they were mostly using gloves to handle food, which is a good sign.
Although there was one particular place, which is also extremely popular due to the long queue I observed in front of the cart, it had me a bit worried as the guy wasn't using gloves to handle the roasted duck.
I'm not gonna lie, I was caught off guard by the number of people who were out and about in Chinatown that day. One side of me is happy that people are finally out and about again, spending money to support the community and ramping up the local economy, but on the other hand, I am still a little cautious about it.
It is great that we do not have any new domestic cases for a month, but the moment we open our borders, one bad apple in a place like Chinatown, and it could create an unstoppable ripple that will result in another spike of COVID-19 cases, which will further impact an already suffering economy.
No one knows what is going to happen in the next few months, and I really hope for the best for the world. I cannot wait to travel again, but without caution, we might be heading into another wave like so many of our neighboring countries. Who knows how much another surge of cases will impact the economy again.
I feel like I am only scratching the surface of the impact of COVID-19 here in Thailand. I am planning to travel around Thailand a bit more in the upcoming weeks as the economy opens up, and I can't wait to start talking to the locals and hear firsthand how COVID-19 has impacted them. Hopefully, I'll be able to provide you with some insights on how we are doing here in Thailand.
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2 Comments
It's such a shame I've been to Thailand many time s and was about to live there that was ,4months before the virus hit!!!! I love Thai people but was shocked about what I saw on your great post. Wish I was stuck there during the virus. .I was told once by a Thai here in Australia that keep your memories because it won't be the same anyway thanks for the great information and keep it up
Thank you Gerry! This post was a while ago and things have improved a bit. Not much as I was in Krabi and many shops and restaurants still remain closed and parts of the town seem abandoned. It's gonna take a long while before it is back to normal if it is even possible!