Following the Red Shirt Events in BKK

[Guest RichLB]

For those who have not stumbled across it, Aljazeera (available via cable TV)is covering the red shirt demonstrations/riots extensively and in English. Each 1/2 hour they seem to present reports with TV video coverage from BKK. They broadcast interviews with both red shirt representatives and government spokesmen along with their own analysts. It seems pretty even handed to me.

[Guest HeyGay]

Thailand: 'Tourists are safe', say authorities, as tensions rise .................................

 

Well I was out and about with friends last night doing my bit as a Tour Guide for visiting friends, the Grand Palace was well protected with Army out posts and we did see a few Red Coats charging around in Cars tooting there horns, but apart from that all was normal, with young guys still offering there services and even a couple of ARMY Guys chatting, as if they were ready to go with you and I'm sure they would have, if we did not already have a car full. All the Gay Bars doing a fair trade, with Soi 4 busy as usual. my 4 bedroom house all normal full of people, after quite a wild night of fun, all waiting for my special, farm house breakfast, Papa David eat your heart out, my Yorki Sausages are quite yummy. It would seem once you have been a Hotelier you cant get it out of your blood

 

I remember in 1992 I think it was, I was staying in he Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok, we went to a Bar when we came out we were actually stepping over what we thought were drunks lying in the road, as we were, but to find out they were students, that had been shot earlier. So nothing new now, keep out of the Hot Spots and your be safe, all Bangkok carrying on as usual, as I see it here. Apart from a few areas.

 

There will be areas you DONT GO but apart from that all is quit normal.

 

 

Thailand: 'Tourists are safe', say authorities, as tensions rise - Telegraph

 

Alturnative accounts

Thailand in turmoil after15 die in bloody clashes | Herald Sun

[Guest fountainhall]

I remember in 1992 I think it was, I was staying in he Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok . . . keep out of the Hot Spots and your be safe, all Bangkok carrying on as usual, as I see it here. Apart from a few areas.

 

There will be areas you DONT GO but apart from that all is quit normal

I was also in BKK in 1992 staying at the Hyatt. As HeyGay says, then the violence was confined to a several relatively confined areas quite far from most tourist areas. If you kept clear of them, you would never have guessed there as any trouble going on at all. But this year is not quite the same as several tourist areas are affected.

[Guest]

My BF lives in Chomburi and just got back to my place and he said that last night they were loading up baht buses full of red shirts going to Bangkok. It looks like more are getting involved instead of less. Am I wrong on this?

[Guest RichLB]

GT, a similar event happened in Jomtien last night. Around 10PM a parade of several pick up trucks loaded with red shirts was streaming past Jomtien Complex and seemingly headed for BKK.

[Guest HeyGay]

My BF lives in Chomburi and just got back to my place and he said that last night they were loading up baht buses full of red shirts going to Bangkok. It looks like more are getting involved instead of less. Am I wrong on this?

 

@ 1000 baht per day including food, they get, its good money, better than waiting in empty Go Go Bars for none exsistant Customers.

[pong]

I was also in BKK in 1992 staying at the Hyatt. .

Well-you must have paved the way then. According to several reports, the leaders of the red shirts are also staying at (a?) HYATT-courtesy of its owner, a good friend of old Thaksin. But it may have been another Hyatt at that time-or there may now be several.

But for the rest your remarks are right. Also learnt that today the BTS (aka skytrain) is only running on 3 outer ends-and not in the central section between rajdamri/Nana and via Siam till Rajvithi. The unserved section is right on top of the later red shirt protest site.

[Gaybutton]

it may have been another Hyatt at that time-or there may now be several.

As far as I know, in Bangkok there is only one, the Grand Hyatt Erawan.

[Guest fountainhall]

Well-you must have paved the way then. According to several reports, the leaders of the red shirts are also staying at (a?) HYATT-courtesy of its owner, a good friend of old Thaksin. But it may have been another Hyatt at that time-or there may now be several

You are right - there were two then. The Grand Hyatt which is the one by the Erawan shrine on Rajadamri. And the Hyatt Regency which was half way to Don Mueang (now the Sofitel Centara Grand). But there's only one in the city now.