I think we know someone who did that, too. The person you know, was that a semi-retired university professor and his family by chance?
You mean, if the PAD decide to take over Phuket Airport AGAIN. They did just that for a few days a few months ago. They do pretty much whatever they want with impunity.
But good luck to you (as well as to Flying Rat). You must be on your way down now. I know a New Zealander here in Bangkok who likes to argue that the 13-hour bus ride is actually as fast as or faster than flying. He points out how early you have to arrive at the airport, and then the flight is almost always delayed, especially if it’s not Thai Airways but often with them too, etc, so that you’re actually not saving that much time if any with the plane. I’m not sure I necessarily buy into all of that, but having encountered an eight-hour flight delay in Chiang Rai Airport before for a 90-minute flight to Bangkok ourselves, it’s maybe not far off the mark.
Good luck with the touts, too. They are merciless. And I’m afraid the TAT is indeed a worthless organization.
It’s good to be back in Melbourne - earlier than expected too!
The bus ride from Bangkok to Phuket wasn’t too bad. The bus was very comfortable, there were 3 food/bathroom breaks, and I slept about 50% of the time. Between the bus check-in, airport check-in, waiting on standby and customs, I must have spent 5 hours or so waiting or in queues.
My husband and I were booked for the December 4 flight but on standby for the December 2 flight and were fortunate enough to get seats, so we got to bypass the Phuket taxis altogether. The Australian branch of Jetstar was pretty inefficient at getting the word out, so lots of people didn’t even know the flight was leaving from Phuket, and thus missed the plane (my husband just received an email informing us about the December 2 transfer bus - almost a day after it departed. Very helpful). The Jetstar staff in Bangkok and Phuket were working very hard to fix the problem, and it was unfortunate that some people were taking their anger out on them.
There were at least two people I spoke to who originally paid for business class QANTAS seats who were given economy Jetstar seats. One was quite put out by it and the other was just grateful to be going home at all. I wonder if they were given refunds.
For the Thai Dopers, is there any truth to the rumour that the PAD demonstrators were promised money for protesting? I heard the figure of 700 THB a day, which apparently some people quit their jobs for, and of course aren’t receiving now.
Yes, I’ve heard many accounts of paid protesters, groups of PAD people at the entrance of sois (secondary roads), markets, rural villages, etc. About 500 to 700 baht (25 to 30 USD) is the usual quote given.
Pretty ballsy for a group ranting about a government made illegitimate by buying votes in the election. Which just goes to show that electoral monkeying is not what actually has them in a fit.
Yes, it is true that many, many PAD protesters were paid to participate. The same with the red shirts, the government supporters. It was the same with the pro-Thaksin rallies back when he was battling to remain prime minister. This often seems unusual to Westerners, but it’s quite a common practice here. Every time it happens, the news media point it out, then the organizers of whichever rally threaten to sue the news media for fabicating “lies,” but the suits never materialize, because the organizers don’t want this looked at too closely.
It should hardly be surprising in this particular case. The leaders of both factions are puppets of higher-up, more invisible elite who are battling for real control. It is imperative that they turn out huge crowds for show. I hope it is true that the PAD protesters really are having difficulties getting paid. Serves those scum right.
Chalerm Yubamrung and one other cabinet minister – Mingkwan Saengsuwan, actually a much less controversial figure – are apparently in the lead to be the next prime minister. The third paragraph in one big newspaper story yesterday (Wednesday) conspicuously pointed out Chalerm was the favorite choice of Thaksin and his “ex-wife”; that says a lot. He is the worst choice for prime minister – for those of you who have heard of his antics over the years, and those of his sons, you already know I’m right; for those of you who don’t know him, you would think I was making stuff up if I started going into it. He would be the most entertaining choice, that’s for sure; that’s what I said about Samak when he threatened to become PM, and I sure was right that time. A brief analysis of the dilemma facing parliament now is here.
I will say this about Chalerm, who was public-health minister in the recently dissolved Somchai government. News reports said the night before the October 7 violence that Somchai called a snap cabinet meeting to discuss what to do with the protesters, who were threatening to besiege parliament the next day. By all accounts, Chalerm was drunk and strongly advocating heavy lethal force. The replacement for the ruling PPP, the Puea Thai Party, is due to name its leader on Sunday, and the new prime minister is expected to be named on Monday. If Chalerm or the other front runner for the post is named prime minister, the PAD have vowed to return.
Which they will anyway. Every time a demand has been met the last few months, a new one has taken its place. Somchai is no longer PM. Now the demand is for the cabinet to go. If they go, there will be a new demand. There seems to be no satisfying or stopping these thugs. It’s a sad, bad time for Thailand now.
On the brighter side, Thai Airways wants to sue the PAD for 20 billion baht (US$56.34 million). See here. Suing anyone in Thailand works only if you have a LOT of money and a LOT of time, say a decade or two at least. Thai Airways has both. And the police want to press terrorism charges on the PAD. Story here.
And glad you and your husband are back home safe and sound now, Kayeby.
Another typical gimmick, similar to paying supporters but much more funny to watch, is the “spontaneous” offering of flowers. Thaksin did not invent this, but he really honed it into an art form. He would pop up somewhere out of the blue, such as a shopping center, and everyone would “spontaneously” offer him single roses they just happened to be carrying with them. Now, how many people do you think would just happen to be carrying a single rose, and what are the odds they would all by chance happen to be in the very spot Thaksin pops up in? But it looked great on camera.
The truth is, of course, that Thaksin’s advance men preceded him to hand out roses to give him “spontaneously”. Toward the end of his prime ministership, just before he was overthrown by the military and at his lowest popularity, more and more people refused to take the flowers, which was rather embarrassing for him.
Here’s an odd twist. The US Embassy sent this message out yesterday:
“The Department of State is evaluating whether to charter aircraft to facilitate the onward travel of American citizens seeking to depart Thailand. Americans who would like to take a U.S. government chartered flight from Bangkok to another airport in the region, such as Singapore,
where they would then make their own arrangements to connect to onward flights, are requested to read through this message and respond as noted below.
Under U.S. law, an American citizen receiving U.S. government transportation assistance is required to pay for the cost of travel at the rate of the most recently available full fare economy ticket. Therefore, American citizens who choose to fly on this charter must either pay prior to departure with a personal check or sign a promissory note (an Emergency Loan Application and Evacuation document <We apologize for the inconvenience... - United States Department of State; ) for the amount stated and reimburse the U.S. government for the flight within sixty days. ** Cash and credit payments can not be handled** … We anticipate that the charter flight will cost approximately $550 (though this may change depending upon the transit point destination).”
What king of organization does not take cash or credit cards, but only accepts payment in personal checks and promissory notes?
That is a very good article, but I must point out the one very small factual error. Thaksin did not build the Skytrain, as it predated him. He became prime minister in early 2001, while construction on the Skytrain began in, as I recall, 1995. The Skytrain opened officially for service on December 5, 1999, nine years ago today. They timed the opening for the king’s birthday, but there had been several test runs in the preceding months when people could ride for free. (Plus, the subway did come in under his watch, but while it may be true he accelerated it, it had been planned for years.)
What a crock! Thaksin’s bitch, Pojaman, flew back into Bangkok last night (Friday night). I didn’t think I’d ever be sorry the PAD was not occupying the airport. She was on the lam from a three-year prison sentence; now suddenly it’s she’s “out on bail,” but before they had said she skipped bail and was a fuguive. Grrr! :mad:
She’s supposedly here to visit her sick mother, but by coincidence the replacement party for the formerly ruling PPP, the Puea Thai Party, or however they’re spelling it, meets tomorrow to select its leader, who will probably become prime minister. She’s obviously here to make sure the right person is selected. Story here.
And the PAD, bless their souls, is denying responsibility for damage caused to Government House during their siege, Obviously, they say, burglars and vandals took advantage and ransacked the place. :rolleyes: Story here.
Tonight, I shall make a personal inspection of the live lesbian shows, to ensure that those remain unaffetced.
Good analysis here about how the PAD has become a bona-fide cult, complete with brainwashing.
Excerpts: “So the prophet said it over the weekend: ‘If by dying the country will improve, let death visit us today. It’s better than being alive otherwise.’ These Davidian-like words were from no other than the supreme prophet, Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the self-styled anti-Thaksin and anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy on Saturday, as he anticipated a possible clash with the police as the government tried to recapture Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, invaded and occupied by the protesters.”
“After months of mutual brainwashing, and with the majority of Thai mainstream media nurturing and uncritically supporting them, these people no longer dwell in rationality, law and responsibility. By now, it has grown into a self-righteous semi-fascist monster propelled by its own intolerant political cult willing to ruin Thailand in order to achieve its elusive political ‘salvation’. They may have left the airports now, but in their victory statement, the leaders didn’t even offer any word of apology or contrition for the immense damage they have caused. The question now is what to do with these people who may return to the streets sooner than anyone expected?”
Alas, no. Tasted more like I’d been licking out a dirty ashtray. Let’s just say I had a late night. HUGE-ass elephant in Soi Cowboy, the largest one I’ve seen in the city for quite some time. I hate seeing elephants in the noisy, polluted city, it’s a terrible environment for them.
Some interesting reading. This piece in today’s (Sunday’s) Times of London says many travel insurers are not paying up for the civil unrest that tourists found themselves caught up in.
The Aussie press has been raking Thailand over the coals. Here and here are a couple of stories of interest.
But it looks like chances of the Democrat Party leading a new coalition government are good. See here. That’s good news, although I have my doubts about how long that can last. We’ll find out tomorrow. The problem is that while they’re considered the Good Guys of Thai politics, every time the Democrats have been in power, the administration has failed to get much done, plus the lower levels are pretty corrupt despite the upper echelons having a reputation for integrity.
And now there’s going to be another big rally tomorrow morning in front of the Stock exchange of Thailand, protesting an alcohol company’s stock listing. That always ties up traffic all over the city whenever that happens.
The British Foreign Office has issued a warning against air travel to Thailand for the foreseeable future. They say information regarding the status of Bangkok’s airport is contradictory. And of course, the Times article in my previous post mentions the warning along with concern that the airports were reopened with “unseemly haste” without a proper safety assessment.
Perhaps worst of all, our red-light districts are suffering. See here. And indeed, in my recent forays into the bars, the girls were all complaining to me about the drop-off in trade. You just can’t support the family water buffalo back home on the pittance they’re getting now. (But I’m not sure I believe the part in the story that says they’re offering it for half price.) So if you plan to defy the Foreign Office warning, I would advise you that Viagra is available over the counter in Thailand.
And while it’s true the Democrats look able to wrest the premiership away from the Thaksin crowd, Thaksin’s not going down without a fight. The Pua Thai Party, or Pheu Thai or however they’re spelling it – you see different spellings in different sources; I’d spell it pheua myself, but whichever way, it literally means the For Thais Party – is working hard behind the scenes. And they could pull it off. All they have to do is offer the right emolument, and Thaksin has some very deep pockets indeed. Story here.
There’s not going to be a parliamentary vote today, but they expect it this week with the Democrats winning. However, the new party that replaces the now-defunct PPP seems to be in a position to dissolve parliament and force a new general election, in which it would win, and if so we’d be right back where we started. I hope that’s nt what happens.
However, if the Democrats end up leading the government, Thaksin’s red-shirt backers are threatening to … wait for it … take over the airports! They’re threatening to perform the same antics as the PAD. :smack: So maybe it doesn’t matter who the prime minister is.
Maybe there’s still hope for another military coup.
And the protesters at the stock exchange managed to derail the alcohol company’s listing again. Sheesh!
Oh, and two Germans got caught having sex in an ancient temple in Ayutthaya province today. Story here. Fined 500 baht (US$14). “They stopped when the park official, Phaithoon Puengthong, blew his whistle while running toward them.”
They’re just glad the whistle was the only thing the guard blew. (Or is “blew his whistle” some sort of newfangled, modern slang for something else?)
Thaksin’s youngest daugher bought a house in Hong Kong for US$5.83 million last month. I guess that’s an indication of where Thaksin will end up. He already has a mansion in the Beijing area. (I have to admit, his daughters are a couple of real babes. His youngest sister, too.)
Now that the protests and rioting have died down, the PAD members are jinesing. See here. Seems protesting is addictive, and they’re already waxing nostalgic over the “good old days.” :rolleyes:
But there may be plenty of opportunity for them to return to the streets. The vote for prime minister is due tomorrow (Friday), and the Democrats are poised to win, thanks to lots of Machiavellian back-room politicking. That would be the best for the country, but the problem is the Democrats weren’t voted into power by the public and will almost certainly lose any new general election in the future. Plus the new incarnation of the formerly ruling but now-disbanded PPP is alternately offering millions of baht to party defectors going over to the Democrats and threatening to dissolve parliament and call a new election. Plus those anti-liquor protesters are vowing to camp out in front of the home of the Thai Beverage chairman until he promises not to list his company on the stock exchange.
So we may have lots of fun yet to come.
And they found a stinking body in one of the airports. They think it may have been one of the PAD “guards.”
Oh, criminy! The anti-alcohol brigade is at it again. Just received this from the US Embassy:
**"This warden message is being issued to alert U.S. Citizens traveling to and residing in Thailand that approximately 300-plus individuals have gathered in front of the GPF Witthayu Building on Wireless Road to demonstrate against the Beer Chang Company and its desire to be listed on the Bangkok Stock Exchange. Buses continue to drop off demonstrators at Lumpini Park who are then walking down Wireless Road to the GPF Building. We ask Americans to exercise caution if you are going to be in this vicinity or in the area of any demonstrations.
“We wish to remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.”**
The embassy is right there on that road, too. What’s next, they’ll bust into the bars with little hatchets and break the places up? :mad:
There is an excellent story in this week’s issue of “The Economist.” Unfortunately, that issue has been banned in Thailand. I would not want to link to the story myself and risk 15 years in prison, so I’ll have to pass and not do it.
Say, speaking of “The Economist” some interesting reading in the December 4 issue. I don’t mean any particular story, though. Nope. Just interesting reading in general. December 4. But nothing specific.
What king of organization does not take cash or credit cards, but only accepts payment in personal checks and promissory notes?
See 
(Or is “blew his whistle” some sort of newfangled, modern slang for something else?)