And 1000 baht a day is still quite good money for most Thais. It was admitted a while back that Thaksin was funding maybe 70% of the red-shirt activities, but it’s unclear what the percentage is now.
Meanwhile, the traffic-police booth at the Nang Lerng Intersection has been set on fire, and three men have set a cooperative shop in the Sua Pa area on fire.
The police are warning petrol stations that they may become targets for being set on fire.
CNN story here.
All city bus service has been cancelled.
As for train service to upcountry, trains will leave from small commuter stations in northern Bangkok and just outside if anyone can get to them.
At least it’s fortunate that today through Wednesday is the three-day Songkran holiday. Government offices and many businesses are closed anyway, and lots of residents left for home upcountry before and over the weekend. I suspect the festivities may be rather subdued this year.
The wife will be safe at home for all three days, but I find that I must venture out into the city myself. I’ll be sure to avoid the hot spots.
:eek:
Holy crap, Sam! Make sure that you and Mrs. Sam stay safe, mmmkay?
Hey, I leave town for three days and all goes to hell in a handbasket.
Sam, I’m dissapointed by your handling of the situation… 
I’m at Vietnam right now, I’m going to Laos tomorrow but I’m thinking about going straight back to Bangkok instead, I wouldn’t want to get stuck outside the country if they close the roads, bridges and/or rail lines.
Yeah, I’m just a slacker. 
I wish I could say for sure that you should go on to Laos, but it’s still not clear how this is going to play out, although the government seems to be getting the upper hand. The Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Laos was blocked yesterday (Sunday), but I don’t know what’s going on there now.
What a day we’ve had today. About 11:30pm now, and I’ve been home a little over an hour. I did manage to avoid central Bangkok, where are all of the action is. Outside of that area, it’s pretty darned quiet. Eerily so, considering this is Songkran. I saw a little evidence of festivities, but it’s not like before. Or so it seemed to me.
Whew! I don’t even know how to describe the day’s activities. We know someone who lives off of Si Ayutthaya Road, and he said he and his family had soldiers shooting and fighting at the end of their small lane.
Once the red shirts started burning the buses they’d commandeered, the soldiers started going into action. They cleared the area street by street and seem to have largely pushed the protesters back, although even now they keep popping up elsewhere. Like when you step down on a bump in the carpet, and another bump appears elsewhere.
The most despicable act of the protesters was to take a big natural-gas tanker park it in the middle of a crowded slum tenement and threaten to blow everyone sky high. And they’re calling this a “revolution for the poor people.” Scoff The residents came out and started fighting with them. Local residents in several neighborhoods came out and fought with the red shirts.
The prime minister charged today that many of the fighters seemed well trained. They’d poured petrol into the street and rigged up wiring to it leading from a detonator they held. He’s calling this “urban terrorism.”
The red shirts tonight were seen throwing a Molotov cocktail into the Education Ministry. They then denied it was them and said a “third party” did it. There was a fire in the ministry last I heard, and the red shirts were blocking firefighters from getting to it.
CNN interviewed both Prime Minister Abhisit and Thaksin. Thaksin claims the army murdered 1000 protesters and spirited the bodies away. He’s claiming the Thai army is exercising unsurpassed brutality. Folks, don’t you believe it for a moment. He is lying. Period.
That’s about it for the highlights, but so much more happened all day long, and it may not be over. We’ll see what happens tonight. A deputy prime minister has warned of sabotage in the night.
Siam Paragon and the five Central shopping centers that were closed today will decide tomorrow whether to stay closed again. This is a major holiday shopping period for them, and their losses from only one day closed are enormous.
One small correction: Shortly after it was announced bus service in the city had been halted, the official in charge of the service came out and said that was only for central Bangkok. Still, I don’t think I saw any buses anywhere today. I never fool with buses during Songkran, that’s a good way to get drenched with water, I always take taxis for this holiday. But I’m sure I did not notice any.
An updates here. The public is becoming really fed up with the red shirts. Thaksin does not stand a chance.
I have to be out and about the next couple of days, too, but I should be okay.
The problems there are starting to hit the news. They are such a back burner issue in America ,that them getting coverage implies it is serious now.You are in a dangerous and interesting place.
“The gift of Bangkok is that it never bores.” – Local author William Warren. Amen to that!
Ale: I would really hate to see you miss out on Laos. I say go for it.
I should say here that Thailand is normally a great place to be. Bangkok is usually not dangerous. I frequently wander small, unlit, deserted streets at all hours of the early morning alone and never have any qualms.
New updates before I toddle off to bed to rest up for another day amid rioting and general mayhem. Here and here.
Tuesday morning, and the situation seems to be stabilizing to a certain extent. The red shirts continue to hold certain streets and areas, but it’s somewhat calmer. The army is at this moment preparing to take back Phitsanulok Road.
It is transpiring that many of the protesters had wanted to leave but were forced to stay by certain other, more hardcore red shirts. In the West, this is called “kidnapping.”
Another good analysis is here.
And since this has been a crappy holiday for most people this year, the government is considering extending it through Friday. Songkran normally runs from April 13-15 and so would end tomorrow (Wednesday).
I am going to be out and about today and don’t expect to be back until late so probably won’t log in again until around this time tomorrow. So don’t worry if you have not heard from me for a while. I plan to avoid the hot spots. 
Where in Laos are you supposed to come? If it’s LP, we could have a mini-Dopefest to celebrate not being in Bangkok… 
It’s awfully nice here right now!
Ah, I forgot that Government House is ON Phitsanulok Road, so that’s the main rally site they’re talking about. They’ve just announced they will negotiate with the red shirts to clear out for good, and if that does not work, then tear gas and water cannon will be used.
The army is moving on the main protest site RIGHT NOW. Local residents were advised to leave for their safety less than an hour ago. They’re blaring over loudspeakers that any protesters wanting to leave can use buses being provided, and then anyone left will suffer the consequences. There are only a hardcore 2000-3000 left right now.
It sounds like the red-shirt leaders are recognizing the futility of further resistance and are advising protesters to leave.
This may all be cleared up today.
It appears to be over. The red-shirt leaders have ordered their protesters to disburse and agreed to surrender themselves to the authorities. Thus ends this round of strife. That means no more hot spots at the moment.
I’m off now. Should be back on tomorrow morning.
As always, thanks for the updates.
Sam:
You may be embarrassed (or surprised) to learn that your country’s situation has made the local papers - from two cities with population under 100,000 set deep in the heart of the Illinois corn fields.
In other words, about a light year away from you.
One more update as I step out the door. The logistics of the surender are still being discussed, but an interesting development is three men have been arrested for plotting to torch Bangkok Bank’s main headquarters and the CP Tower, both on Silom Road. The torchings were to have taken place last night (Monday night). (Not sure how they expected to burn down these big-ass buildings completely; probably just general damage and mayhem were planned.) They had been hired specially to oversee the torchings. They ended up in turn hiring an undercover police informant who had infiltrated the red-shirt ranks.
The three men have been presented to a press conference, and at least one has spilled his guts about everything.
Wednesday morning, and it’s over. Or at least, this round is over. The protesters dispersed, and most of the red-shirt leaders turned themselves in to police. Two leaders, however, have disappeared. One spoke to reporters by phone and vowed never to surrender; the other has not been heard from, but the first one said that while he did not know that one’s whereabouts, he knew he was safe.
The government has extended the Songkran holiday two more days. Instead of ending today like normal, it will now extend through Friday. Counting all four weekend days and the extra holiday declared last Friday, that makes a 10-day-long official holiday! Man, I love this country :D! The two extra days are mainly for government officials. Banks, the stock exchange and many businesses will be open. (There’s a law restricting the number of days in a row that banks can be closed, and they’ve already been closed since last Friday.) I suppose part of the rationale for extending the holiday is that it’s been such a sucky one so far. But a big reason is that with so many people returning to Bangkok from celebrating with family upcountry, there’s a fear they may join any renewed demonstrations, especially students. (The main two-month school break is on right now.) It’s not at all certain the red shirts have given up for good, and Thaksin is a wily bastard.
Because of that uncertainty, too, the state of emergency for the greater Bangkok area stays in place for now. A hardcore of about 500 are refusing to give in and are hanging around Sanam Luang without red shirts on, a large park near Khao San Road and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, haranguing passers-by about the injustice done to them. :rolleyes:
And speaking of Thaksin, there’s an amusing YouTube video of a recent address of his to a red-shirt rally in which he says something about him running the country again would be better than everyone having to line up and collect their 500 baht a day, and then someone off screen tells him he can’t say that, but of course it’s too late :D. (I guess the rumors of they’re being raised to 1000 baht were untrue.) The video is in Thai, but it lasts just over a minute, and the pertinent parts are subtitled in English, appearing about halfway through. See it here.
And also, in his recent CNN interview, while the ticker at the bottom of the screen said “undisclosed location” (as presumably prearranged with Thaksin), the caption at the top of the screen said “Dubai”! So now his secret is definitely out. More of his family left Thailand yesterday, too, his youngest sister and her daughter. The Criminal Court has issued new charges and arrest warrants for Thaksin – on top of the exisitng ones, of course. He’s already on the run from a two-year prison sentence handed down for corruption.
All shopping malls are now open.
So… Thailand looms on the edge of doom while an attempt to overthrow the government through violence and protest is thwarted in the nick of time.
Great gosh!, does that mean, could it really be, that it’s Wednesday already??? :eek:
I’m in Pakse, Laos at the moment, going to some place or the other tomorrow, out in the sticks, has a pretty waterfall and yet another temple or whatnot… should be fun.
By LP you mean Luan Prabang, sorry, I’m not heading that way, I’ll leave the country more to the south, at Ubon.