On Wednesday evening, I felt I didn’t know what was going to happen next. Was the unrest going to become far more widespread? Was the country even on the verge of civil war? But the tougher approach from police and army seemed to quieten things down rapidly. I’ve seen no disturbance at all since Wednesday evening.
A curfew was declared in Chiang Mai on the Wednesday evening and subsequently extended. I can’t say about other parts of the country, but even the curfew seemed to be enforced in a curiously Thai way. I actually ended up staying out later than I normally did throughout much of the curfew, because an English friend of mine had just arrived on holiday and there was no way the simple matter of a curfew was going to stop him from enjoying himself.
Some businesses were closed but many were still operating. We enjoyed foot massage on the footpath by the side of the street, sitting in reclining chairs watching police vehicles go by. Later we ate noodles, again in the street. It was about 1.00am and police pick-ups passed by regularly – some with soldiers on the back, but they were happy to let us go about our normal business.
Whilst we were at the noodle stall, a Thai woman in her thirties started chatting to us. After a time I asked her where she was from and she said Bangkok. I asked where in Bangkok and she replied “Ratchaprasong”. I knew this was where the ‘red shirt’ demonstrators had been located. Then she told me a shocking and sad story of how she had come up to Chiang Mai to stay with a friend after her female house-mate had been killed just outside their home. I could see now that she was tense and upset. She said they hadn’t been able to go to work for several days because of the situation. Her house-mate then decided to go out to a shop in the early evening. She went outside and within minutes had been hit in the back of the head by a bullet. I don’t know any more than that. It seems amazing to me that I so easily met someone who was that close to someone who died, especially considering that officially only about 80 or so people had died.
That was a terrible and sad story, true. However, for Westerners, as a place to be Thailand continues to feel very safe. The political instability involves energies being directed by Thais on fellow Thais. As a place to visit, Thailand is going to be very quiet for months and maybe several years to come, in many ways it is going to be a great time to visit. I certainly have no worries about continuing to live in Thailand from the perspective of personal safety.
An interesting additional: acting as an agent for a customer who had ordered some products, I went to see the supplier one evening. She said the products were still not ready because the craftsman who was able to make them had been in Bangkok demonstrating for the ‘red shirts’. She said about 500 had gone from that village to Bangkok to show their support and hence production of many of the products had simply stopped. When I visited her later (the demonstration now over), she said he still hadn’t returned back to his native village along with many others – she thought he was probably been held for questioning.
