To build a village

..within a city is apparently easy as long as you have the numbers. The red shirts are digging in, stubbornly.



I was greeted upon my commute by the sight of an entire red village built up on the streets of Bangkok. Some sights to share:

Food giveaway line:

The kitchen behind it:
Interestingly, monks are set up behind it.

Makeshift shower stalls:

Paraphernalia store:


Tent city residences:

Restaurants for those willing to pay despite the availability of free food:


As much as I want to say "I told you so" because I had been the contrarian of my group, convinced that the protesters would not disperse during the Songkran holiday, but build up instead. I predicted they would remain and grow over last week while many suspected the government would attempt to clean house by the holiday. Both predictions turned out to be partially correct.

Instead of earning bragging rights for my astute gauge of the Thai mentality, I now have a growing sense of foreboding that comes with the realisation that my next prediction is this stand-off will not end well for anyone as the red shirts dig themselves more and more into this.

Busy sign on my shop door

Dear Reader,

I feel I ought to excuse myself for my sporadic posting. I certainly am not lacking in topics to cover. But I'm finding it frivolous to talk about small things when we are in the midst of a contentious political crossroads.

The PAD occupation of the airports have been occupying my job and my state of mind a lot lately. There is something disconcerting about being trapped in the city of a foreign country, even if one does reside there. Ultimately, this is not my country and I can't help feeling a little trapped.

As a result, I have temporarily lost my sense of mild humour in observing cultural differences. The massive cultural differences are being highlighted in the current events, but with my current state of mind, a lot of it simply is not funny anymore.

I could blog constantly about the protests and what little news is associated with it. But I know many of you tune out on repetitious topics. More so if you can sense a constant irritable attitude.

So, please bear with me while I collect my thoughts, find my zen. I'll be back in full swing as soon as I find my better self.

Virtuous politics

The month after he was re-elected, the governor of Bangkok resigns because of corruption charges.

So much for my assumption of a smooth democracy. On the other hand, perhaps one can argue this is an example of a political system working (eh, protesters, anyone).

Reelections held in January.

Speaking of Election Day, alcohol cannot be sold or served, even meaning a complete shut down of the city's red light districts. Now, DC residents, how would you have dealt with that if that happened on November 4th??