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Published: November 9th 2008
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So, I flew to a country that was:
Engaged in a border war with its neighbour (Cambodia),
A terrorist insurgency in the south (muslim extremists set off bombs almost daily - http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h6FC576282bpOmKZwOXl25-yEYGQ )
Has an opposition party causing riots in the capital and attempting to overthrow the government to install a non-democratic regime (the PAD have their own television channel)
An exiled former leader who stole the nations wealth and who is now residing in my own country and city (Wakky Takky in London town)
Yet nearly everyone on travelblog would agree that Thailand is still a safe place to go to through all of these problems.
People in Bangkok told me how they hated the PAD - the economy has been hard hit by the other Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong telling their tourists to avoid Thailand. A trained massage lady in Bangkok said she charges 200baht for an hour massage, 100 of which goes to the shop owner. Last year she may do 2 massages a day, this year she may do 1 every 2 days. She blamed the political upheaval for this and told me how the PAD
routinely insult the current (democratically) elected leader by saying he is ugly and looks like a buffalo!
The Thai Baht has strengthened recently against other currencies - 3 months ago it stood at 70B to the pound, now it bumps around 52B... a loss of nearly a 3rd of tourists spending power. This, i feel, will be the real dagger that stabs the tourism trade here.
In Cambodia, people on the street are well aware of the border war, but are not hateful of the Thais. They can see that the Thai leader needed to do somehting to appear strong in the face of his opposition at home.
Less people seem to support Manchester City than they have in the past, since Thaksin sold his football team to an Arab country.
The most worrying thing is that no-one will mention or even knows about the bombings in the south, near the border with Malaysia.
AFP says "More than 3,400 people have been killed in rebel attacks by shadowy insurgent groups operating in the region since January 2004"
The bangkok post newspaper regularly reports the attacks, but tourists and local people draw a blank on this, failing to see that this is where the real danger will come from - how much longer until someone drives up from the south with a fertilizer packed pick-up and recreates the Bali Bombing on Pattaya or Phuket, or even in Bangkok?
Never, I hope.
For, even as Snobby Westerners may sneer with disgust at the older Farangs in love with young Isaan farm girls, eating their awkward breakfasts on the beach resorts, or may complain about how the Thais would rather see Thaksin return to their country to join his son in-law run the country again, and Backpackers may complain about how every ram-shackle beach bungalow has been ripped down and built over with poured concrete, air conditioned condos, Thailand is still a free democratic country with a great people, proud of their culture, foods music, and making their own decisions about how to live their lives.
No-one should be bombed for that.
Peace is a state that Thailand would like to have back.
I think it may take some time until that happens though.
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