Today’s Bangkok Post: Yellow shirts target key city locations:
The People’s Alliance for Democracy is threatening to occupy key city sites on Friday to increase pressure on the government over the Cambodia issue.
The nationalist movement is refusing to say where it will go, although police are promising tough anti-riot action if the group attempts to take key government installations such as parliament or Government House.
Just for kicks: Here’s a lighthearted CNNGo story I wrote recently. It’s called “8 things you might not know about Pantip Plaza.”
From the intro:
Pantip Plaza is Bangkok’s most infamous IT-related shopping center. Located in a drab, five-story building on Petchaburi Road, it houses hundreds of shops selling computer hardware, software –- both pirated and legit — accessories and other tech-related gadgets.
Nearly every Bangkok resident, not to mention tech-loving tourists who have done even a tiny bit of research, knows that if you need new gear for cheap, go to Pantip. But while the shopping center is well-known to many, the fluorescent and neon-lit space still holds a few surprises.
Here are some of Pantip Plaza’s lesser-known qualities.
And one of my favorite tidbits:
8. Pantip is featured in the chorus of a popular Thai rock song
Several years ago, Thai band Loso — as in, the opposite of “high so,” or “high society” — recorded a popular tune called “Pantip.” In the chorus, the singer says he’ll go shopping with his girlfriend anywhere in Bangkok — except Pantip, since an ex-girlfriend works there.
Check out the video above. An english translation of the lyrics can be found at www.ethaimusic.com.
RSS readers: If the embedded video doesn’t show up here, you can find it on YouTube.
Here’s a cool Thailand video (embedded below) by Joerg Daiber. The tilt-shift technique gives the various scenes an interesting, miniature-like quality.
Toy Thailand from joerg on Vimeo.
(Via CNNGo.)
Those who enjoy street fashion blogs like The Sartorialist may be interested in a new-to-me blog called Siam Stylista.
(Image: Siam Stylista on Flickr.)
In the wake of Sunday’s rally, two different takes — one a news account, the other a sendup — on the ongoing red shirt protests at the Rajaprasong intersection.
First, from today’s Bangkok Post:
Red shirt rallies are making us broke, say angry retailers
Business operators, vendors and residents at the Ratchaprasong intersection have urged the government to regulate political gatherings, complaining that the shopping malls and other businesses in the area were being badly hit by the red shirt rallies.
About 2,000 business operators, vendors and employees yesterday gathered in front of Gaysorn Plaza shopping centre at 11.30am to oppose the use of Ratchaprasong intersection as a protest venue.
Putting aside the irony of protesting in Rajaprasong against protests in Rajaprasong, the UDD gatherings in the vicinity are a very real concern, and not just for a government that may feel jittery about continued displays of red shirt unity. I’ve spoken with people who work in the area, and the last several red shirt gatherings, while peaceful, have been quite disruptive. And certainly those residing in the nearby areas are feeling nervous, as well.
(Side note: I’ve heard speculation that the government intends to deal with the threat of red shirts blockading parts of the city again by simply not allowing them to mass in the way they did last year: That is, they would nip future Phan Fah bridge or Rajaprasong rallies in the bud, before demonstrators can seal off the areas. But couldn’t one of these Rajaprasong protests, some might wonder, quite easily turn permanent? What would the authorities do if the red shirts refused to leave?)
Then there’s an item today at Not the Nation, an Onion-like Web site that satirizes Bangkok’s English language daily The Nation:
Rajaprasong Vendors Demand Reds Buy More Handbags
Retailers urge penniless protestors to step up consumption of luxuries
After suffering another weekend of lost sales due to large-scale UDD protests, the vendors of Bangkok’s Rajprasong shopping district have assembled for their own protest, demanding that future gatherings of red-shirts promise to buy more handbags, accessories, and high-end fashion items.
Calling themselves the Patriot’s Rajprasong Anti-Demonstration Association, or PRADA, the vendors asked for a “fair balance” between the political rights of the UDD and the mercantile rights of luxury retailers.
“We proudly serve this nation’s richest and most influential people and their need to pay 300% markups on ostentatious designer brands,” said Suksana Meechaiprap, the PRADA spokesperson and co-owner of Zenith watch shop in Gaysorn Plaza. “Our way of life, which is a cornerstone of traditional Thai culture, is under threat.”
On a more serious note, the next Rajaprasong rally is reportedly planned for Jan. 23.
I’m a few weeks late in noting this, but I wanted to point out that Bangkok-based journalist Roger Arnold has won the 2010 Rory Peck Trust award for his video news reporting.
The awards, which were given out last month, go to freelance cameramen and camerawomen.
Roger captured some compelling footage for the Wall Street Journal during the Red Shirt protests last spring.
This WSJ video, embedded below, contains some of his work.
I also suggest checking out this BBC story and accompanying video, in which Roger discusses covering the events.
I know it’s been all-Thailand-flooding-all-of-the-time in these parts, but a quick note: This will come as no surprise to readers here in Bangkok, but the weather in the city has been absolutely delightful for the past week or so.
We’ve been spared the daily downpours as the rainy season has come to a close, and patches of bright blue have begun peeking through the normally overcast skies.
But what I’ve loved most of all is the relatively — and, if memory serves, unseasonably — “cool” temperatures.
We have been enjoying, if you can believe it, lows in the low 70s Fahrenheit (low 20s Celsius) in the mornings and at night. And it’s been even colder in northern Thailand.
Okay, so it’s hardly frigid here in Krungthep, but for a tropical climate, this dip in temps means the option of occasionally wearing long sleeve shirts. It means walking long distances without perspiring. And — at least for me — it means the ability to open the windows in my office and enjoy the cool breeze, rather than having to rely on air conditioning for a comfortable working environment.
(Oh, and in case you’re wondering: As of yet, we have not forced our adopted street dog to bundle up with a sweater due to the cold, though other pooches in the neighborhood have not been spared such indignities.)
I’m not the only one who’s taken note of this meteorological change, of course: See the #ThaiCold Twitter hashtag for others’ reactions (mostly in Thai).
Here’s to the “cool” temperatures. Fingers crossed this weather holds through February.
Here’s an AFP story from Saturday: Death toll from Thai floods hits 100:
The death toll from severe floods in Thailand has risen to 100, including at least three foreigners, although the waters have receded in some areas, officials said on Saturday.
Six more people have died in the disaster, which began on October 10, the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand said in its daily update.
Among them was a 38-year-old Dutchman, named as Harald Vusser, who was electrocuted or drowned in Ayutthaya province just north of Bangkok on Friday, it said.
Local media reported he was helping his Thai wife move her belongings to a dry place.
The other foreign victims were a 44-year-old Cambodian woman who was killed in a mudslide earlier this month on Koh Chang island in Trat province, and a two-year-old Burmese boy who drowned in Phathum Thani.
Authorities said 22 of Thailand’s 76 provinces were still flooded, while the waters had receded in 16 others.
And there’s this, about Bangkok:
Bangkok has been on standby with thousands of sandbags and pumps as flood water from the north runs downstream and could coincide with high tide.
So far the capital has avoided major flooding, although more than 1000 homes along the Chao Phraya have been partially submerged.
Another story to have emerged in recent days is this one, from Saturday’s Bangkok Post: Graft agency checks flood cash:
A graft busting agency will step up its investigations into claims of corruption in the relief effort as billions of baht pour into flood-ravaged provinces.
Ampol Wongsiri, deputy secretary-general of the Public Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), yesterday said five teams of investigators would head to flood-hit provinces to ensure transparency in flood relief spending.
Their focus will be on provinces that require funds of 50-100 million baht as emergency assistance for flood victims.
A recent PACC investigation found that less than 10% of disaster relief funds reached those in need.
For more, see this Siam Voices post: Flood relief opens new opportunities for corrupution.
And just a reminder: previous posts about Thailand flooding are here.
(All emphasis mine.)
Image: Bangkok Post.
MCOT reports that the death toll in ongoing flooding here in Thailand has risen to 68:
The Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand on Thursday reported a total death toll of 68 from this month’s flooding, including 54 men and 14 women in 19 provinces Oct 10-28.
The highest number of deaths was recorded at 11 each in Lop Buri and Nakhon Sawan provinces and nine deaths in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Here’s some raw video — embedded below — of the flooding, courtesy of Thai network MCOT via CNN:
For historical perspective, embedded below is some footage that I understand depicts flooding here in Bangkok in 1942:
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in donating to help victims, the Bangkok Post has published account numbers for various groups providing relief.
(1942 video via @suthichai and @babyfishie.)
Widespread flooding continues in northeast and central Thailand — and now parts of Bangkok near the Chao Phraya river have been flooded, as well. The death toll has risen to 41, with more than 2 million people affected.
Al Jazeera English: “Floods prompt Bangkok evacuation”
Residents living near the main river that passes through the Thai capital Bangkok have been evacuated due to fears that the Chao Phraya could overflow following two weeks of flooding that has claimed at least 38 lives across the country.
Bangkok Post: “Flood relief gets a boost as damage tops B10bn”
The government is planning to ease spending regulations and set up a relief centre as damage from the flooding tops 10 billion baht.
…and: “Flood toll rises to 41”
At least 41 people have died in heavy flooding in 16 provinces since Oct 10, the National Institute of Emergency Management (NIEM) reported on Monday.
And earlier, The Nation had this: “Evacuation set to start”
A plan has been drawn up to evacuate residents from riverside communities in 13 districts as the flood crisis intensified in Bangkok yesterday.
For ongoing info, see the #thaiflood hashtag on Twitter.
Previously: Here’s the Thailand flooding Google Map, and earlier posts are here and here.
Image: Bangkok Post.
