Tourists can't wait to get home

One of them was 58-year-old Swiss woman Stengle Jutta. She and her husband were on vacation in Thailand from November 8 and hoped to fly out last night after Thai Airways International announced it would provide |31 flights from U-Tapao Airport to serve stranded tourists.

"We have to go back to work tomorrow [today]," Jutta said. She had queued up for more than two hours with thousands of other passengers at the airline's temporary counter at Centara.

Some of the passengers at the hotel were seen jotting down their experiences in their diaries. Others bought coffee at a department store nearby or chatted with friends or even strangers. A few were seen kissing loved ones goodbye.

Taiwan University lecturer Melody had come to board a bus to U-Tapao after she received confirmation of a seat on Eva airlines. "I don't know whether I'll be able to get on the bus quickly. Maybe I'll take a taxi to the airport," she said.

Many other couples from Switzerland also wanted to go back to their home country as soon as possible.

"We were supposed to head back last Tuesday, but we've been stuck here for six days since then," said 42-year-old Swiss woman Sabine Hartmann. "It is not good for the country. They [government supporters and the People's Alliance for Democracy] should talk and find a resolution to the conflict," she added.