bypass BKK

[thrillbill]

I live and work in Thailand. If you are visiting LOS for a "gay vacation" I would advise you to stay away from BKK... I thought the Reds would go away after PM Abhisit"s "road map" and elections on Nov. 14, but the Red thugs decided not to agree and stay put. Meanwhile, grenades and shootings have occured in the Silom and Luphinie park area ..killing two people and injuring many (May 7) There are some thug heads out there to cause problems :occasion9: . Maybe soi Twilight is ok..but soi 4 and soi 2 is basically dead ...so is Babylon. My suggestion is to come to Pattaya -Pattaya..or Phuket.

Yes, by all means PLEASE give Bangkok a miss.

[Beachlover]

Oh FFS... what a pain.

[cdnmatt]

The red shirt leaders have more than proven now they're complete morons who definitely don't deserve any say in the leadership of Thailand. These guys constantly change their mind every hour it seems, let alone every day. Not to mention the death & violence that continues to ensue, country economy & reputation badly damaged, plus they've been offered the largest olive branch from Abhisit they could ever hope for. And they just slapped it away.

Not to mention, it's quite obvious now they're looking to take over the government, and not for a democratic vote. They're only one segment of the population, but they talk as if they should be on a level playing field with the entire government of Thailand. Fuck 'em, they're not about peace either, so send a couple dozen of these babies in. That should disperse the protest quite quickly, I would think.

[youtube:r17l9690]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoL47s9XvRY[/youtube:r17l9690]

PS. No, I'm not serious.

[Beachlover]

Red shirt leaders might be the ones between a rock and a hard place now... Keep the protests going and the level of tolerance for them (from government and the population in general) may drop fatally... But stopping the protests and agree to Abhisit would put themselves (personally) in the shit.

[cdnmatt]

But stopping the protests and agree to Abhisit would put themselves (personally) in the shit.

They're already in shit. Now it's at the point where, leave peacefully (in cuffs for the leaders), or leave in a box. Take your pick.

After two months of protesting, they managed to get Abhisit to take the election date down to 6 months, from the original 21 months. And they're still not happy??? Again, these aren't leaders who are looking for peaceful negotiation and compromise. They want Thailand, not a democratic election. Abhisit on the other hand has proven he has the desire and will to work for all facets of Thai society, even if it is an extremely unpopular thing to do, which I believe is highly commendable.

I live and work in Thailand. If you are visiting LOS for a "gay vacation" I would advise you to stay away from BKK... I thought the Reds would go away after PM Abhisit"s "road map" and elections on Nov. 14, but the Red thugs decided not to agree and stay put. Meanwhile, grenades and shootings have occured in the Silom and Luphinie park area ..killing two people and injuring many (May 7) There are some thug heads out there to cause problems :occasion9: . Maybe soi Twilight is ok..but soi 4 and soi 2 is basically dead ...so is Babylon. My suggestion is to come to Pattaya -Pattaya..or Phuket.

I also live and work in Thailand - in Bangkok, not huddled away scared to leave a home in Pattaya and relying on rumors. The Silom sois are definitely not dead - here is first hand information.

I was in DJ station last weekend and it had 300+ guys in there on Saturday night, 200+ on Sunday night. Last night, even after the shooting at Krung Thai Bank at 1045pm, and almost opposite Silom Soi 2 there were at least 250 guys in DJ's and the police were not preventing people from going in.
Soi 4 has been busy too, last weekend Telephone & Balcony were both packed and during the week they had good crowds.

I will report again later what the situation is tonight - Saturday 8 May.

Here's another first hand account from a guy who was out last night: (taken from the 'Massive Army deployment on Silom' thread)



I'm thinking of heading to Bangkok for this weekend... have there been many people in either DJ Station or G.O.D?


To answer my own question, I went out last night. In Soi 4, The Balcony and Telephone bar seemed pretty busy, with most tables outside in the soi taken. DJ Station was pretty full, and GOD was about as busy as it usually is at 3AM on a Saturday morning.

I guess Silom is a bit too thrilling for old thrillbilly

OK so here is my report from my Saturday night visit to Silom - Saturday 8 May 2010

I took a taxi from my apartment in Sukhumvit to Silom. We were stopped 1 time by an Army check point outside Silom Complex. They checked the trunk and shined a flashlight around the inside.
I arrived at around 11pm and Soi 4 was as busy as I have ever seen it in the low season with the outside seats of both Balcony & Telephone full. Some of the other small bars had people outside also. Soi 4 is business as usual.
I left there at 1215 with some guys and walked up Silom to DJ station. Many of the street vendors on Silom are working as usual but between the Japanese Soi and Burger King it is very quiet with a lot of Army and Police around. The food stalls outside Soi 2 are working as usual.
Soi 2 was very busy and all the bars had people in them but DJ Station was packed full with guys on the ground and 1st floors. I estimate at least 300+ downstairs and 150+ upstairs.
We left after 3am and there were still a lot of guys around in Soi 2 and hanging about outside on Silom by the food stalls. Very easy getting a taxi on Silom to get back home.

So Bangkok people are still going out and are not terrorized into staying away from the nightlife. Next time thrillbill wants to spread alarm via the web maybe he should check his facts!

[bucknaway]

When I read opinions that the Red Shirts are thugs it forces me to roll my eyes and sigh. Sure the Non-Thai who are there to retire or to have fun with the guys are upset with the Red Shirts. I have yet to hear any of my Thai friends offer any negative opinion of the Red Shirt movement. That could be because they try to reflect my position of understanding and hoping for the best outcome for the Thai people.

I am happy that those in power were able to work out a map for peace and in doing so I am ready to plan my October visit to the kingdom.

One thing I would like to say is that I was talking with a friend of mine and we were wondering if those separatist in the south have infiltrated the Red shirt to quietly use them for their own bidding? And if they didn't, why not? If I were a southern separatist, I would feel that with the people out in mass and the army mobilized and all cameras on Thailand, now would be a perfect time to play my hand; whatever hand that may be.

When I read opinions that the Red Shirts are thugs it forces me to roll my eyes and sigh. Sure the Non-Thai who are there to retire or to have fun with the guys are upset with the Red Shirts. I have yet to hear any of my Thai friends offer any negative opinion of the Red Shirt movement.

If you were living here, you wouldn't be rolling your eyes.
The majority of the red shirts are not thugs, just normal people, but there is a group within the red shirts who are obviously there to make trouble. There also appears to be another group who have attached themselves to the red shirts and are intent on causing anarchy, using the protesters as human shields.
Plenty of my Thai friends here in Bangkok are anti-red, including some from outside Bangkok. Even some of my friends who were pro-red before are sick of them now. You just have to look at people's expressions when the BTS goes past Ratchaprasong and they look out at the protest site to see that many people in Bangkok share that sentiment.
While the red shirts may be an inconvenience to many people, both Thais and ex-pats, a lot of Thai people here are losing money as their workplace has had to close because of the protest.

[TrongpaiExpat]

[youtube:2z402thu]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRdgRHTless[/youtube:2z402thu]

Go to U tube if you want to see all 6 segments. The idea was good but too bad he did not engage any of the people inside the encampment and ask a few questions with his basic Berlitz Thai for travelers ability and trusty official press card.

When I read opinions that the Red Shirts are thugs it forces me to roll my eyes and sigh. Sure the Non-Thai who are there to retire or to have fun with the guys are upset with the Red Shirts. I have yet to hear any of my Thai friends offer any negative opinion of the Red Shirt movement. That could be because they try to reflect my position of understanding and hoping for the best outcome for the Thai people.

I am happy that those in power were able to work out a map for peace and in doing so I am ready to plan my October visit to the kingdom.

One thing I would like to say is that I was talking with a friend of mine and we were wondering if those separatist in the south have infiltrated the Red shirt to quietly use them for their own bidding? And if they didn't, why not? If I were a southern separatist, I would feel that with the people out in mass and the army mobilized and all cameras on Thailand, now would be a perfect time to play my hand; whatever hand that may be.

1. You're a Republican -- the American equivalent of the red shirts (you know...ill-educated, mouth-breathing morons);
2. The Southern separatists are the arch-enemies of the red shirts.

[DamienZ]

When I read opinions that the Red Shirts are thugs it forces me to roll my eyes and sigh. Sure the Non-Thai who are there to retire or to have fun with the guys are upset with the Red Shirts. I have yet to hear any of my Thai friends offer any negative opinion of the Red Shirt movement. That could be because they try to reflect my position of understanding and hoping for the best outcome for the Thai people.

I am happy that those in power were able to work out a map for peace and in doing so I am ready to plan my October visit to the kingdom.

One thing I would like to say is that I was talking with a friend of mine and we were wondering if those separatist in the south have infiltrated the Red shirt to quietly use them for their own bidding? And if they didn't, why not? If I were a southern separatist, I would feel that with the people out in mass and the army mobilized and all cameras on Thailand, now would be a perfect time to play my hand; whatever hand that may be.

I am open to correction on this. My way of asking aren't these the same guys? Did you or your Thai friends miss this one Buck?
I take this into account when sympathizing and I do not think this should be forgotten when all is said and done. :cussing:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/blogs/index. ... e-?blog=63 (http://www.bangkokpost.com/blogs/index.php/2009/02/24/rak-chiang-mai-51-a-pride-or-a-disgrace-?blog=63)

[Patexpat]

When I read opinions that the Red Shirts are thugs it forces me to roll my eyes and sigh. Sure the Non-Thai who are there to retire or to have fun with the guys are upset with the Red Shirts. I have yet to hear any of my Thai friends offer any negative opinion of the Red Shirt movement. .

My staff have been recruited locally in Chonburi, Bangkok and some originate from I-san. Without doubt a few weeks back there was considerable sympathy with the red shirts, but now all I hear is 'bad for Thailand' and one of my guys even went as far to say 'I think we may be failed state same Uganda'. I was very surprised to hear a him use this phrase.

My experience is what little tolerance is left for the Red Shirts by Thai society in general in Bangkok is waning rapidly. Even my bf who was an avid supported is now very quiet on the subject and wants Thailand to recover and move forward.

[thrillbill]

When I read opinions that the Red Shirts are thugs it forces me to roll my eyes and sigh. Sure the Non-Thai who are there to retire or to have fun with the guys are upset with the Red Shirts. I have yet to hear any of my Thai friends offer any negative opinion of the Red Shirt movement. That could be because they try to reflect my position of understanding and hoping for the best outcome for the Thai people.

When I wrote "thugs" I would assume the readers on this forum would realize I didn't mean all 6000+ "Red" demonstrator but the few "bad sheep" that are hot tempered enough to do anything. For us who work in Thailand, we all know great people from Isaan and the North. :sign3:

[Beachlover]

Even some of my friends who were pro-red before are sick of them now. You just have to look at people's expressions when the BTS goes past Ratchaprasong and they look out at the protest site to see that many people in Bangkok share that sentiment.
While the red shirts may me an inconvenience to many people, both Thais and ex-pats, a lot of Thai people here are losing money as their workplace has had to close because of the protest.

I can imagine the protests destroying entire livelihoods...

One of my Thai friends here was telling me how the businesses in the protest areas in Bangkok have closed. They don't know when they will re-open so lots of them let go all their staff with no pay and have said something along the lines of... "if we're still in business and can afford to re-open when the protests finish you can have your job back".

[thrillbill]

I live and work in Thailand. If you are visiting LOS for a "gay vacation" I would advise you to stay away from BKK... I thought the Reds would go away after PM Abhisit"s "road map" and elections on Nov. 14, but the Red thugs decided not to agree and stay put. Meanwhile, grenades and shootings have occured in the Silom and Luphinie park area ..killing two people and injuring many (May 7) There are some thug heads out there to cause problems :occasion9: . Maybe soi Twilight is ok..but soi 4 and soi 2 is basically dead ...so is Babylon. My suggestion is to come to Pattaya -Pattaya..or Phuket.

I also live and work in Thailand - in Bangkok, not huddled away scared to leave a home in Pattaya and relying on rumors. The Silom sois are definitely not dead - here is first hand information.

I was in DJ station last weekend and it had 300+ guys in there on Saturday night, 200+ on Sunday night. Last night, even after the shooting at Krung Thai Bank at 1045pm, and almost opposite Silom Soi 2 there were at least 250 guys in DJ's and the police were not preventing people from going in.
Soi 4 has been busy too, last weekend Telephone & Balcony were both packed and during the week they had good crowds.

I will report again later what the situation is tonight - Saturday 8 May.
************************************************** ***

I wonder if SilomRimmer is still stolling around Silom?

I wonder if SilomRimmer is still stolling around Silom?

Not tonight "Frilly Billy" for reasons even your small brain might understand.

Last weekend - Yes, and I stand by every word said then.

Next weekend - let's wait and see.