Trouble in Thailand

Many of you have been asking if I am alright with all this turmoil in Thailand so here is a quick update.

As I hopped in a taxi and directed it to my friends place, we zoomed down the highway towards town and I noticed what I thought was a parade going the opposite way. Flags awaving and car-fulls of people jammed the road. "What is that?" I pointed and the taxi driver casually answered, "The mob". "The mob? What mob?" He just smiled. I learned later that I had narrowly missed these anti-government protesters taking over of the airport, trapping thousands of passengers inside and stranding hundreds of thousands that were scheduled to leave in the coming days.

They say that an average of 30,000 people arrive at that airport every day and with that many people cancelling flights, hotels, tours, not shopping or eating out - not to mention the planes carrying food, mail and other products into and out of Thailand - this standoff is crippling. The trouble is, most of the yellow clad protesters (you wear red if you support the current government like highschool tug-of-war teams) are from the villages and are there just to boost the numbers. They are getting paid 500 a day to be there versus their average 100 baht income so why not? It's not hurting them at all! Most probably don't have any idea of the repercusions for their country. The government and military don't want to admit anything is really amiss and also want to avoid any violence so they continue to throw pebbles, ie not do anything that has any effect and life goes on as usual in the city.

Will there be a coup? No one knows. Will it get violent? The 'state of emergency' declared guarantees the military can get away with more, but no one wants that so... Who knows. All I know, is that my parents were supposed to arrive on Friday for a much needed vacation and have had to be rerouted all the way down to Singapore so I am off on a two day train ride to meet them. What a hassle! Wish me luck riding through malaysia which itself does not have the best reputation for travelers... all part of the adventure right?!