Songkran and UDD

Well I certainly cannot say there isn’t much going on. If you’ve been watching any international news you are probably aware that the UDD (red shirts) in Thailand have essentially shut down the city. The road blockades started late last week but really escalated after the ASEAN Summit and specifically on Sunday night. Although some parts of Bangkok have no blockades, because my apartment is so close to Government House and Democracy Monument Sunday night there were city buses being used as blockades at every intersection and sometimes even at small ones like the one at the end of my road. Due to this, taxi’s cannot get into my area of the city and on my way to RCA (the club district) to celebrate Songkran, I had to walk about a kilometre to finally get a taxi. Once in the taxi getting to RCA was difficult as the UDD had closed off major streets all throughout the city. Nevertheless, I met up with friends at RCA and we celebrated Songkran with thousands of others by splashing and squirting water at each other for several hours. It is a great way to celebrate the new year.

Yesterday, Monday, the police were cracking down on the protestors and we were instructed by UN Security to stay in our homes. I did this to the extent possible except for when I had to get something to eat. Around my area there were tires on fire in the middle of the road about 100 meters from my place and the buses which had been used as blockades the night before were set ablaze. I saw the billowing smoke from my window when I woke up and later when I went for dinner say what remained of two buses placed in the middle of the street with about a hundred soldiers sitting around the area. There were lots of pedestrians looking at the mess and I guess talking about what was happening all throughout Bangkok as the scenes around my place were not too uncommon.

Today everyone has been instructed to work from home. My general sense of the situation is that it is in the last stages of being resolved. I would like to add to all of this that while I’m perfectly safe it is only because of the UN Security and I have not yet heard a word from the Canadian Embassy. This is similar to when the PAD had taken over the Airport. Why did I register with them? Someone is asleep at the wheel.

Andrew