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"Bangkok is the number one global tourist destination of 2013. The tourism industry accounted for 16.7% of the country\u2019s GDP in 2012. Since the military coup that overthrew the Prime Minister on May 22, Thailand has been under curfew and that\u2019s causing many to question whether it\u2019s safe to visit.\nPersonally, I get many overseas friends asking if they should cancel their Thailand trips or not. I reply that, in my view, Bangkok and the rest of the country are still safe to visit so long as you\u2019re not going into areas where there are protests \u2013 which results in a heavy police and military presence.\nPerhaps the nest way to gauge the situation on the ground is to do the same as locals \u2013 turn to social media. However, while hashtags like #Thaicoup and #Thailandcoup can be useful, it\u2019s tricky to filter out all the selfies, gossip, repetition, and confusion. So here are five Twitter users we\u2019ve handpicked as reliable sources of information about what\u2019s happening in Thailand as the coup rumbles on.\n1. Richard Barrow\n\nArmy ponders arrest for three-finger sign http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/413203/army-ponders-arrest-for-three-finger-sign\u00A0\u2026 #Thailand #ThaiCoup pic.twitter.com/LuO8Gg68mo\n\u2014 Richard Barrow (@RichardBarrow) June 2, 2014\n\nBarrow is a full-time travel blogger in Thailand, but he covers almost everything about Thailand. He also has a useful website.\nDuring the ongoing protests, he used his own drone to take pictures of the protest sites. He\u2019s also very active in reporting what\u2019s going on in Bangkok during the coup with an updated map showing which streets are shut down.\n2. Saksith Saiyasombut\n\nAnother view on Vic Monument looking east: empty! RT @CasnovaShim: @fm91trafficpro 16:00 \u0E23\u0E2D\u0E1A\u0E2D\u0E19\u0E38\u0E40\u0E2A\u0E32\u0E27\u0E23\u0E35\u0E22\u0E4C\u0E0A\u0E31\u0E22\u0E15\u0E2D\u0E19\u0E19\u0E35\u0E49\u0E04\u0E30 pic.twitter.com/DnkdlPqG7z\n\u2014 Saksith Saiyasombut (@Saksith) May 29, 2014\n\nSaksith is a political blogger who writes for Asian Correspondent. He posts pictures from the areas where there are protests and a heavy military presence so you know where to avoid. He\u2019s also good at getting political scoops.\n3. Andrew RC Marshall\n\nBanner depicting junta leader General Prayuth unfurled by anti-coup protesters in Bangkok today. pic.twitter.com/61JoWzxTzY via @JonahFisher\n\u2014 Andrew RC Marshall (@Journotopia) May 31, 2014\n\nMarshall works for Reuters. He won a Pulitzer Prize this year for his reporting in the region. Since he has been living in Thailand for quite a few years, he has some useful insights about the country. Even though he writes for a media outlet, he tweets about a lot more than just what he covers for Reuters, including a great deal of breaking news. He tweets as he sees things happen.\n4. Steve Herman\n\nOne of the more disconcerting images I snapped during today's rumpus around BTS Asoke/Terminal 21: #ThaiCoup pic.twitter.com/eDWDk4z1tG\n\u2014 Steve Herman (@W7VOA) June 1, 2014\n\nHerman is an Asia expert who\u2019s Voice of America\u2019s bureau chief in Bangkok.\u00A0He has been living in Asia since 1990, with time spent in Japan, India, and Korea. Now he\u2019s in Thailand tweeting about Thai politics \u2013 and now the Thai coup. According to his profile, he\u2019s a Shorty Awards 2014 finalist for best journalist in social media.\n5. Bangkokpundit\n\nThat is not 2 say lady in vid was not detained by undercover cops. Photos https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=628418583900600&amp;set=a.320717674670694.72898.100001973917485&amp;type=1&amp;theater\u00A0\u2026 + pic.twitter.com/aBSprhEoTQ suggest she was\n\u2014 bangkokpundit (@bangkokpundit) June 2, 2014\n\nBangkokpundit might not be sharing pictures from down on the ground all the time, but his tweets are timely and well-curated from a variety of sources around Twitter and other places on the web. His focus is mainly politics, so you can learn about the background political issues as well as get updates on what\u2019s happening on the streets.\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/06/03/twitter-sources-thailand-coup/>