So, all going to kick off in Bkk soon or not then ?

[Nirish guy]

So, with reports on the BBC and other media today of up to either 10's of Thousands or up to 100,000 people (depending on who you believe) on the streets protesting ( which in a large city isn't as many as it sounds perhaps anyway ) and quotes ( in the BBC article below such as the following) are things actually quickly escalating or is this more going to be a long slow (and peaceful) campaign or tensions more likely to rise quickly and things kick off unexpectedly and maybe kick off bang in the middle of high season / holiday time for us tourists flying in to Kb perhaps ?

quotes......
"The Thai prime minister has invoked special powers in Bangkok and elsewhere after anti-government protesters forced their way into two key ministries." "Her decision to enforce the Internal Security Act enables officials to impose curfews and seal roads" "However she insisted the government did not want to see a repeat of the violence that led to dozens of people being killed in a military crackdown." "Our National Security service is now monitoring the protest and we are trying to handle the protesters without any violence," "Special security measures would now be enforced in large parts of the capital, Nonthaburi to the north and areas to the east that included the airport"

Mr Suthep said "Tomorrow [Tuesday] we will seize all ministries to show to the Thaksin system that they have no legitimacy to run the country," And elsewhere "40,000 government supporters held a separate rally in another part of the capital on Sunday"

Source :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25084013

[Jellybean]

On Saturday my female friend and I were going to visit the throne hall at Ananta Samakhom in the Dusit area and asked our door-boys to hail a cab for us. They then advised us not to go to that area because of the demonstrations. We took their advice and decided to visit Central World instead, which I hadnтАЩt visited since the fire.

On the Sky-train passing the Silom area we heard the noise of people demonstrating.

Hmm тАж we were very impressed with Central World and think IтАЩll need several visits to take it all in.

My friend then wanted to go to a market near the Indra Regent Hotel, close to Central World. After our visit to the market we got the airport train from Ratchapralop to BTS Phaya Thai and while on the Sky Train from Phaya Thai we looked on a long line of demonstrators. ThatтАЩs the full extent of how it has impacted on me so far.

Now I realise NIrish-guy is a delicate wee soul who, living in Northern Ireland doesnтАЩt know what a war zone really looks like, and who never gets into scrapes or rough and tumbles, even with bigoted Bangkok restaurant owners! So I suggest for your own health and wellbeing NIrish that you avoid Thailand this coming Christmas and New Year and follow Joe552 to the Canaries and save yourself a fortune on the 1,000s of baht you would have spent on prossies! LOL! ;)

[corky]

Next week is the birthday of His Majesty The King.
I believe it is unthinkable for most Thais to allow any sort of disruption during that period so whatever is going to happen, will happen by this coming weekend (30th Nov - 1st Dec) and thereafter things will be calm.
I was in Silom last night and there were no signs of any protests anywhere so my advice is pack your bags and come anyway. The protesters are not interested in tourists.

[Nirish guy]

Why thank you for your concern Jellybean and you're quite right that coming from such a quiet place as Northern Ireland it may all seem a little much - but I'm sure I'll manage :-) - actually my concern wasn't so much as to whether I would go or not as that's a given but like all good gays I was more just concerned that I bring the correct colours for this seasons range of matching body armour, as I don't know about you but personally I think there's just nothing worse than the wrong shade of black being worn in one's flack jacket when it so horribly clashes with ones best tight whitey "come fuck me" top - don't you think ! :-)

Actually so far I think we still win here ( unfortunately) as only last night as I was driving a Thai guy who's been staying with me for two weeks to the airport - and after my spending those same two weeks repeatedly reassuring him just how safe he was here now - we came upon a police road block, closing off the roads in front of us, all complete with a 60kg unexploded car bomb at the end of one of them for good measure ( where thankfully about an hour later or os as only the detonator exploded thankfully no real damage was caused anywhere - this time. But as the car had been abandoned right at the entrance to the shopping centre where we'd both been that evening for dinner and drinks with friends before he left - ha all of a sudden the airport sounded like a great idea again to him it seems ! So, yes apart from the likes of that then I'm sure I'll manage "somehow" in dangerous old Silom, where the biggest risk I fear will be getting back to my hotel with my wallet still intact perhaps ! :-)

[fedssocr]

I was in the Big Mango for a few days at the beginning of the month shortly after the protests got started. I really wanted to visit Loha Prasat which is quite near the Democracy Monument where the protesters have set up camp. Big crowds there even then with more arriving all the time in the evening. It really has snarled traffic in that part of town.

I happened to be staying at the Hyatt and there was some sort of big protest planned for the day I left at the office building next door to the hotel. I was not unhappy to have gotten out of town.

It's hard to see a solution. Both sides are polarized. I don't see what kind of compromise could work at this point. But they are certainly shooting themselves in the foot again as continued unrest will undoubtedly keep tourists away.

[Khor tose]

Why thank you for your concern Jellybean ..................... So, yes apart from the likes of that then I'm sure I'll manage "somehow" in dangerous old Silom, where the biggest risk I fear will be getting back to my hotel with my wallet still intact perhaps ! :-)

:D ROFL

Definitely, one of your very best post ever.

Yep now waiting for the Australian Embassy to issue there advice against going to Bangkok and my travel insurance being invalerdated by that announcement and me Xmas trip will be off.

[Nirish guy]

@ Brisbane guy - SSSHHHHHHH !! I am sitting here half waiting on the same thing but am working on the (usually failed) logic of if I don't think about it it's not really happening head in the sand plan.

But on a serious note as you make a valid point there, I'm hoping if things escalate that other Governments will maybe steer away from issuing a blanket travel ban ( as they KNOW so many if their own citizens will be heading that direction for Christmas etc) so if anything I we might just see some non specific "local area" advisories i.e. "some parts of Bangkok are to best avoided etc" rather than a Country wide ban perhaps - let's hope anyway as like yourself with no insurance in place would through a big question up as to whether to continue my trip or not - although I think in this case I just might this one time anyway.

[pong]

1.its always very wise to have travel insurance-not so much for lost luggage, but for the case you might need quick repatriation and hospital treatment after some serious accident
2.about none of any tr-insur. will cover protests and civil unrest or anything caused by it. in SOME countries-again noone should be so egoist to assume that all countries havesame rules- this includes anything that that govmt. has warned for. In mine it does not.
3.I have returned to BKK yesterday from SIN and stay again close by the protest area, which is the same as the then reds had 3,5 yrs. ago.But most of you wont even knowe where to find it on a map or have the slightest clue of how to get there, even if they had some interest in it. The area around parliament/mainly Dusit, is all fenced off with barbed wireand large concrete flabs. Thus many roads are closed and even though many schools and offices are closed, traffic is very slow.

[Smiles]

Nirish, bottom line is that you should be fine as long as you stay away from ~ as you put it ~ 'certain areas'.

Having said that, today (Wednesday morning) things have that 'coming-to-a-head' kind of feeling.
Mrs Yingluk went on TV yesterday stating that the protests (i.e. the Reds seriously protesting that the Yellows are seriously protesting ... or vice versa according to one's belief system) could go on, and that as long as the Rule of Law was acknowledged by all sides then all would be well.
Of course, this is Thailand so that's all pretty much blather.

The genie in the bottle ~ as always ~ is whether the Thai Army will intervene.
The Thai Police intervening when laws are obviously broken is one thing, but the Army entering the fray is of course quite another (and the Army has 'intervened' many times over the years).
Mr Prayuth, the Thai Armed Forces head honcho has made it quite clear that he can see no reason why the Army should do anything but watch. That's a good thing.
But that statement was made at least a few weeks ago when the demonstrations were only a possibility. Now that the mobs are in the streets, invading various government ministries and pushing pushing pushing, who knows what the army will contemplate.

Obviously it would be massively ironic if Yingluk's government (i.e. the Puea Thai Party + Red Shirts) would ask the Army for 'help', or that the army, by itself, would intervene on behalf of The Reds, when the shoe was on the opposite foot in 2008.

[CoffeeBreak]

My mind kind of switches off when I hear about these latest BKK protests. I sort of understood when there was the yellow and red shirts, but it sees those colors are muddled now. Can anyone explain to me in a few sentences what the current protest is really about. Who is 'left' and who is 'right', if that's appropriate? I guess its wanting to rid the country of anyone in charge with the name Thaksin or related to such?
So the current protesters are the former red shirts: correct or not?
Thank you.

[Jellybean]

... I don't know about you [Jellybean] but personally I think there's just nothing worse than the wrong shade of black being worn in one's flack jacket when it so horribly clashes with ones best tight whitey "come fuck me" top - don't you think ! :-) ...
Yes, I couldn't agree more NIrish-guy. And I also agree with Khor tose, one of your funniest posts yet.

I thought British members, who havenтАЩt already read the travel advice on the British Embassy website, might be interested in reading what the Foreign & Commonwealth Office advice is on the subject of the current demonstrations in Bangkok:

тАЬA number of political demonstrations have taken place in various locations in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand since the start of November 2013. Further large scale protests are taking place, with little warning, at various locations in Bangkok. The main ongoing protest area situated along Rachadamnoen Avenue including Democracy Monument in Bangkok has now expanded to include protests at a number of government buildings in central Bangkok. There have also been demonstrations at provincial halls in many provinces outside Bangkok, including Phuket.

On 25 November the authorities in Thailand implemented the Internal Security Act in all districts of Bangkok and Nonthaburi as well as the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan and the Lat Lum Kaeo district of Pathum Thani, which will lead to an increased security presence and possible disruption to traffic. You should avoid all protests, political gatherings and demonstrations.

British Embassy BangkokтАЭ

[Nirish guy]

WELL ! I don't know about anyone else but I read that quite clearly as the British Government clearly instructing their citizens to stay way from trouble and in fact just limit their activities and locations to bar, go go bars and general knocking shops rather than risk getting caught up in anything and if that instruction is coming all the way from HM The Queen and her staff then who and I to regard it ! You can take it as read Ma'am that I'll be following your advice to the letter ! :-)

Tourist numbers are down already and the fun has barely started - http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakin ... 20725.html (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Protests-cause-number-of-foreign-tourists-to-drop--30220725.html)

[danny99]

Yep now waiting for the Australian Embassy to issue there advice against going to Bangkok and my travel insurance being invalerdated by that announcement and me Xmas trip will be off.

Do not worry, Australia only issues serious travel advices 'not to go' to Bali and Indonesia. There were never any about England [IRA bombs and train bombs] Spain [bombs] or Japan [with lethal chemicals in train system]...nor were there any about Thailand when the bomb went off at NY at the World Centre, just Bali where the only problem and a big one has been at low-life drinking places where the Aussie rat pack go to get drunk and fight.

[fedssocr]

Apparently the gunfire started today. One university student killed by government supporters.

Basically the protesters seem to be middle class Bangkokians who have always hated Thaksin for a variety of reasons. When his sister's government tried to pass an amnesty law widely seen as paving the way for his return scot-free as well as granting amnesty anyone in the current government who might have committed some crimes lately.

Of course Thaksin's rural fans (red shirts) want to see Yingluck stay in power and she has a fairly big parliamentary majority. They've been organizing some smaller counter-protests.

So it's a sort of urban vs rural battle at the base level. But of course it's mainly all about who gets to be in power to line their own pockets.

The protesters plan a big demonstation Sunday to take over the PM's office. Lots of police and soldiers massed to repel them. So today could be pretty ugly.

The King's birthday is Thursday so I think everyone expects a cooling off period for a few days around that date.

I've always thought that the "old" establishment hated Thaksin because he kept them out of all their traditional opportunities to benefit through corruption by commandeering those opportunities entirely for himself. When in doubt, assume it's all about money.

For all Twitter followers I can recommend @RichardBarrow for factual updates. Apparently both Central World and Siam Paragon are closed today (he has just tweeted) - god knows where the Thai middle class are going to go for lunch :ymdevil: