KEY POINTS:
New Zealand tourists remain stranded in Bangkok with no immediate prospect of the international airport reopening as anti-government protests continue in the Thai city.
At least four New Zealanders were believed to be at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday when around 1000 protesters arrived.
However, the mood was calm and there was no evidence of protesters carrying any offensive weapons, said Brook Barrington, New Zealand's ambassador in Thailand.
The airport remained closed and passengers were staying in hotels until they could travel again. Domestic flights out of Bangkok's old Don Muang airport were also grounded, all but severing air links with the outside world.
New Zealand student Matthew Backhouse, who was travelling through Thailand en route to Vietnam when the airport closed, said he would have to leave Thailand overland.
His plane arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport about 1am local time and he "proceeded as normal (though customs)", expecting to transit for five hours.
Passengers had been warned on the plane that there was a protest at the airport but did not realise the extent of it until leaving the building.
"We really didn't know what to expect," he told NZPA
He said the protesters were dressed in yellow, were singing and clapping and seemed "celebratory", not angry.
Security guards were present, but their tasers were still in their belt holsters.
About 560 New Zealanders were registered with the embassy in Thailand, but most people did not register and there were probably 1200 New Zealand residents and almost 2000 travellers in the country, Mr Barrington told Radio New Zealand.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) warned New Zealand travellers that there was some risk to their security in Bangkok because of the uncertain political situation.
Tourists were not being targeted by protesters, but Mfat warned New Zealanders to avoid all political rallies, protests and demonstrations because of the increased risk of violence at such events.
However, there was greater risk to safety in other areas of Thailand, such as in the Thailand/Cambodia border region, and in southern provinces.
One man was killed on Wednesday in the northern city of Chiang Mai in a clash between pro- and anti-government supporters, as tensions in the kingdom rocketed.
The protesters are pushing for the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's government, which they accuse of being a corrupt proxy for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.
- NZPA
