Day 199 - Shutdown and Restarting Democracy in Thailand

After getting sidetracked yesterday, I told myself not do do the same thing again but get my visa done first and then see about the photography.
Well, once I spotted some barbed wire and more signs of the protests it all went out and I went back into photography mode and forgot about everything else.

I walked around the main protest headquarters from the looks of it but (understandably) I was not allowed inside to take more photos.

Afterwards, I took the boat to the main shopping district where the demonstrators have taken over whole intersections and roads. I have to say, I spent almost all day there and think they have done a remarkable job and the way everything is well organised is very impressive.

Unlike the 'Occupy' protesters which were mostly just a bunch of bums camping in the city center, the people here all do something, they sell things, create things to sell, provide massages and so on. Not only that but they created a pedestrianized zone and street market right on one of the busiest roads in Bangkok.

If you ask me, they have actually improved the city by blocking the roads and in some way I hope they keep the street market there no matter the result of this demonstrations.

It was hugely impressive and I have never seen so much red, white and blue before.
The stages they set up always provided something, either a speech, music or prayers and so on. The different stages also all had different things going on.

There were a lot of things to buy and food stalls, drinks and so on, the prices were also very reasonable and it meant a lot of people were shopping and wandering around even if they had nothing to do with the demonstrations as such.

Overall this was a very interesting day and shows how protesting is done. If the 'Occupy' protesters were even half as organized and did actually think of trying to shut down a city by blocking major intersections they would have had a lot more success and support from the public.
Just imagine blocking a few intersections and bridges around the City of London and you do shut it down because London almost shuts itself down every morning from the normal traffic.
I would certainly support anyone making the city of London into a pedestrianized zone with a street market and showing the government who has the power while doing so.

This was my last day for now in Bangkok and tomorrow, I will be heading north to Sukhothai for a few days and then on to Chiang Mai.

Day 198 - The Day After the News in Bangkok

After arriving with the train at 6 in the morning, I walked to my hotel and chilled for a few hours. Once I was out on the street looking for a place to get breakfast, I got to see what happens the day after the news and the aftermath of what I saw on TV before leaving Pakse.

There were overturned cars, people were painting in the national colours, leaving notes on them and some just posing in front of them for photos.

It was all quite interesting and I kept taking photos while completely forgetting to go and get breakfast. But this is the kind of thing I like photographing, something you can't find in a guide book and something current.

After a while people started blowing their whistles and rushing to a side street so I headed there, too. It turns out the forensics police team and news teams arrived in front of one of the barricades.

They came to investigate the shootings and killings that took place and gather evidence, the protesters were showing them around and allowed them to go where they needed to do their work.

I kept taking photos and at some pint I guess  even made it on TV when everyone with the camera teams were walking past and around me to go to another one of the crime scenes.

This was one of the most productive days in terms of photography and I not only filled up my SD card but also had to go back to the hotel and charge my camera in between.
For me it was a very interesting day as I also got to chat with some of the people around, although briefly as their English was not always perfect but they were all nice.

I walked through some other areas in Bangkok where they have the demonstrations but for the post, I decided to keep it all from one place.

Getting sidetracked with the protest photos meant that I did not make it to the Myanmar embassy to gt m visa so will have to stay another day in Bangkok but this is not such a bad thing.

City House

RD1, f1.7, 1/111, ISO 1600, RAW, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7 35mm)

Cut Protest

When I decided to go into town it was with the intention to have a coffee and work on my GXR A12 28mm review. It was not to take pictures of a protest or I would not have carried my notebook around and would have planned the day different. Overall I did not spend too mcuh time taking pictures and it was more while coming across it on my way to get coffee, the restaurant and then finally on my way back to the train.

The protest started in the usual calm way with people marching and waving their banners. This is till the usual yobs and troublemakers came and started smashing windows in and setting fires to bins. I would say if the police would arrest everyone from the start who wears a hoodie and covers their mouth there would be no trouble. There should be no need for anyone to cover their face in public and if someone does they should be arrested because they have something to hide.

I decided to post yet another series, this time a slightly bigger one to show the day and night cycles of the protest as I have seen it.