Escalation!
For anyone who is interested, I thought that I would write a short update on the situation here in Bangkok…
The weekend was a bit of an uncertain one; while there were hints that something big would go down, aside from a tear-gassing episode things remained largely peaceful on the surface. On Saturday morning Gabe and I had gone out to the protest area to check it out – it was bizarre and could have easily been mistaken for a festival were it not for all of the helmet-wearing and stick-wielding. We didn’t stay too long – there were definite tensions just under the surface and we were told by some ‘tourist police,’ in no uncertain terms, to get away. We decided it was best not to stick around and left.
On the way home I received a text message from my boss saying that school would be canceled on Monday due to the protests and uncertainty over what would happen during scheduled government meetings on Sunday, so Gabe and I immediately decided to jump on a bus and head back to Khao Yai for some quiet, some nature and some pool time!
We boarded a bus on Sunday morning and enjoyed an extremely peaceful 24 hours; we didn’t bother going back to the park or anything, just read and relaxed and basked in the solitude and scenery. Between the internet and the television translations from Tommy (see my older post about Khao Yai), we were able to follow what was going on back in Bangkok.
Trains were still disabled, the meeting on Sunday produced no results (the PAD refused to acknowledge it and Samak refused to resign, even at the government’s recommendation) and there was talk of strikes at various municipalities, including the electricity and water companies. I kept hoping for another message from Aron that would let us stay one more day, but no message came and we reluctantly headed back to Bangkok yesterday evening.
There wasn’t too much new news as of last night (Monday), although the strike threats had turned into a very real plan of 200,000 water/electric workers going on strike as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday. They claim that it would only affect police stations, government agencies and the residences of select government officials, but I couldn’t help imagining how miserable our little box would be with no electricity or water!
Just as I was leaving for work this morning, I got a call from my friend Raina saying that her school was closed for the day and to check on ours. I hadn’t gotten any messages from Aron and my coworkers were waiting downstairs for our ride, so we all assumed that it would be a normal workday for us; Raina’s school is very near the protest area and had been closed several days last week. My internet wasn’t working so I wasn’t able to check on the latest news…
We came to school a few hours ago and things were quiet, though there were some students here along with all of the teachers. I was finally able to read the news and found out that a PAD protester was killed early this morning by a government supporter, a state of emergency has been declared for Bangkok (meaning that the military will now step in, override the constitution and censor some media) and that the strikes are still planned for tomorrow unless Samak resigns. There will be selective electric and water shutoffs and whereas trains have resumed service (the executives all resigned yesterday), as of tomorrow there will be no buses.
We got a call about an hour ago saying that the school decided to cancel classes and was sending back the students who had shown up, as they don’t want to be responsible should anything happen. Unfortunately teachers are not allowed to leave, so I will be killing time here until 4:00. I don’t foresee there being classes tomorrow if these strikes actually occur (no buses = no students!), so I’m prepared for a week of reading and catching up on various projects! With any luck, I won’t actually have to show up…
It seems like things will get interesting, though hopefully not violent. I’ll keep this updated and, if you are interested in learning/reading more, http://www.bangkokpost.com will have info for you. Until next time…
Tags: bangkok, culture, government, PAD, politics, protest, school, strike, thailand, transportation, Travel
allisonrae
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:41 am
What an adventure your having!! I would really LOVE to see you turn your experience’s into a book!!! You are very talented and could create a number 1 best seller. Maybe a mystery or a suspense and don’t forget the romance. 🙂 Stay safe.
Love ya
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
[…] Original post by allisonrae […]
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Allison,
Thanks for the updates and for the link to the Bangkok Post. I cant help but be fascinated that it is all written in English! Stay away from the fray and be safe. Love you,
Dad
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Oh, it’s not that fascinating – 25% of Bangkok’s population is made up of foreigners and I guarantee that very few of them can read Thai! In certain areas you forget what country you’re in…
We’ll be safe, don’t worry!
September 5th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I’ve been watching all this and wondering how it would affect you both. Stay safe and away from the fray. Never know what might happen. I appreciate the updates! John