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Published: January 30th 2014
Sunday, Jan 12 The 2014 Bangkok Shutdown was supposed to start on Monday, Jan 13, but instead it started mid-afternoon on Sunday. Most people are calling for this to be a peaceful protest, only causing numerous traffic jams around the city, but leaving the airport and public transportation unaffected.
My Thai teacher has already canceled my lesson for tomorrow, just in case. While I'd prefer to think positively, being realistic is more my speed, and I was grateful that he did. I didn't want to seem like an over-anxious
farang.
How long will it last? No idea, but everyone says it will be days, maybe even a few weeks. I'm just hoping it stays peaceful and ends sooner rather than later.
Tuesday, Jan 14 I spent a large chunk of time yesterday just watching my twitter feed--so much was happening it was almost like reading subtitles for a movie. There were large crowds, all of them peaceful, and unless you were in the areas, you had no idea anything was happening.
Today I spent the day at home, having an "internet free day" as I call them. I find having one every week
or so really helps with my stress and is like a mini-vacation. That said, when I checked tonight, it now seems that while today had fewer people out, things heated up around midnight.
Friday, Jan 17 Well, today was business as usual for me. Reports I read online after work indicate that there was daytime violence today, a first for the protests. Shirt colors to avoid wearing now include white and supposedly orange, in addition to the yellow and red. Tonight, people all over the city and elsewhere are lighting candles for peace. None of this is happening down where I live, and I'd have no idea anything out of the ordinary was happening without reading it online.
In other words, I'm staying away and staying safe. I'm glad it's easy for me to do so.
Tuesday, Jan 21 Today the protesters finally made their way west to Chong Nonsi and headed south. Traffic was snarled for miles. But luckily, they were just passing through. I went to the movies today over near Siam and the crowds and chaos are far less than anticipated. But since major roads are still blocked
(at Siam and Sala Daeng), people have erected little shops selling whatever you can think of in the middle of the road. It's a bit strange, since the roads are usually bumper to bumper cars for several lanes, but as a pedestrian it certainly is easier to cross the street!
I've been reading online that the Emergency Decree has been invoked, starting tomorrow, and will last for two months. What that means, I'm not exactly sure, but I have the impression that it's simply away to take more extreme measures (like curfews) with short notice.
Thursday, Jan 23 Last night was the coldest weather in Bangkok in 30 years. It got down to a chilly 15.6 C/60~F last night. My Minnesota roots tell me that it's not that cold, but for here, it was. I woke up cold, and I'm inside. The protesters and everyone else involved in all of this were out all night. But the cold hasn't cooled their determination.
Sunday, Jan 26 Today is the first day of advance voting. Voting days mean no alcohol sales from the night before for 24 hours. I'm wondering if one of
the reasons for this is because since the pre-dawn hours, just as the roosters started to crow, trucks having been repeatedly driving through my neighborhood blasting music and announcements in order to get people up and out of bed.
I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed that.
On the way to work, I had to reroute and detour because the protesters had cut off my route in their attempts to block the voting. It only added a few minutes to my trip, thankfully, but considering how tired I was it might as well have been a few kilometers. I guess I now know who woke me up. And now I know to be aware when I see a lot of the city's trucks and equipment parked in the recreation lot, rather than in their parking lot.
Today, reports say that protesters were quite successful with their blockage, despite the risk of fines or jail for doing so. A few people were hurt and one leader killed as well. Fortunately, that's an isolated incident and the others were all peaceful.
Elections are next Sunday. I'm already planning to take the long way
to work.
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