-- It's sure that it's not TELEPHONE PUB. '... the oldest and most famous gay bar & restaurant in BKK. ... .' that will be celebrating its 12th. b'day. next month, is it?

Oldest & most famous....
 

Wrong!

Many many gay bars (some since gone to cock heaven) started well before Telephone.

Most famous? Well that might be your opinion.

I think Telephone Pub is the most famous. It's old and well-known. Also, it seems that young tourists know about it (not just old tourists). But personally I don't like Telephone Pub because it's just a place to sit. Do people meet other people there? I check TP out often but leave quickly because I can immediately size up a place and know if it's a total waste of time. I heard you can meet Thai there, but I don't see it. Just a place to sit and sip a drink for a LONG time.

-- Actually not my opinion; I put the words in 'inverted commas' to indicate that it was a quotation, but apologise :o for not including the source: monthly & freebie mag. Spice - #52..
-- With the MINIMUM age for entry to a pub. being 20 yrs. I remember jokes being made about the T'PHONE. having its 20th. anniversary and now being legal in Silom 4.!
- In my desk's drawer I have Seven & Eleven years' buttons from the BALCONY PUB.; my time track suggests that BALCONY is about due for its 12th. yr.

I find if you go inside on the ground floor there are many approaches from Thai guys. You just scan the patrons and make eye contact with likely lads and quite often will score :)

"The 35 year old manager" Balcony? The managers might wish they were 35 years old, but not quite.

It's not Telephone that is having 12 year anniversary, it Balcony, on the 6th, 1800 to 2100.

This is the Bangkok Post, it's probably made up. The same edition had an article on keeping gold fish and it had many glaring errors. A few of which could have been cleared up if they had a 7th grade biology book on hand.

dubious
 

Add me to the list of locals that are a bit wary of believing everything that the Bangkok Post publishes. I've been reading that paper for the past 18 years and they just can't resist a good stereotypical and/or sensational article, especially if its about what they consider to be sex tourism, or the local gay bar scene. It's been a few years since their last scandalous expose, so maybe the're to unleash another "hard-hitting" report. Not what I would call quality journalism.
Of course what they print is not all trash. They do employ a few good editorial writers and reporters, and sometimes manage to report a story accurately ... but it doesn't happen with enough consistency. I know I'm getting off subject here a bit, but then again accurate reports about what is happening with bars in the Silom area would be much appreciated. I have the itch to go out bar hopping again (it's been several months since I've hit the bars) but if there isn't much happening (depleted ranks of dancers) I'd rather wait.

is it that unsafe to be in Bkk now? Im supposed to fly to Bkk this Sunday, but Im not committing much other than a flight ticket just yet. has things simmered down?

This is very true. I've also met someone at least once who was serving drinks on the terrace. He now lives in Paris.

-- Today, (06th.), it was raining fairly hard here in Cent'l. BKK. from approx. 06.-08.oo.hrs. - possibly it may have cooled some of the hot heads and started persuading some wavers to think about returning to MORE permanent shelter in their home-country?
- From an entry in > The Baht Stop < * I have been given to u'stand. that the gen'l. hygiene conditions in the area around LUMINI PK. leave something to be desired; the rain will not improve them and again might encourage some who are MORE easily discouraged, either by the elements or because of other reasons?
- Possily Mother Nature and Olde Father Time will succeed in dispersing the red shirts & their supporters where the gov't. and its supporters have failed?

-- * Thread: 'Red shirts accept Abhisit's road map ... '; posting #3., (E&OE.. Usual disclaimer.),.

-- Today, (06th.), I left SILCOM. at approx. 11.30hrs. and walked counter-clockwise around to the TAWANA BKK. HTL.,
- Along Tnn. Si Lom fewer mil'y. seen on-duty - a good few, (without fire-arms.), out shopping; but o'side. the line of shops by the DUSIT THANI HTL., (wch. incl. the AU BON PAIN shop that had a window blown-in.), a strong force of riot-gear clad police. No obvious & overt police-presence was seen in that htl's. grounds, and no police-presence across the tnn. by the former ROBINSON'S.
- MRT. Silom has been RE-OPENED.
-- Not too much of a police-presence seen along Tnn. Rama IV. until the HENRI DUNANT i'sect.: a mixed gp. of about ten mil'y. & police seen around the ROADHOUSE and a possibly equal number cater-corner under a tent.
-- Along Tnn. Suriwong small gp. of mil'y. seen seated in the small soi by the JIM. THOMPSON shop.
- A gp. of about thirty mil'y. seen between P. PONG 1. & 2.;
- A gp. of about ten mil'y. opp. the MERIDIEN HTL.;
- A small gp. of mil'y. along Tnn. Than Tawan/SiLom 6..

-- As for Soi Twilight, - off S'wong. rd. - (at approx. 12nn.), YELLOW MASSAGE CLOSED, BUNNY, BKK. & MARIO had their doors OPEN but no masseurs seen sitting o'side.;
- DICK'S. CAFE. OPEN, but no customers seen.

-- While the sit'n. has the potential of becoming very volatile I'd say that right now the existing scene appears to be quiet.
- Visitors to BKK. would be most welcum; but should take good care to observe a few fairly obvious & safety precautions for their own good.

thanx a million for the info, sextile... i shall be flying to bangkok this Sunday then:)

-- Today, (O6th.], evening most of the poor but honest side-walk vendors along tnn. Si Lom & S'wong. & stall-holders in P. Pong I. night mkt. had set-out their stalls.
- One might suppose that were there the slightest indication that the red shirts might make a sortie from their encampment and along tnn. Si Lom then the stall-holders' sensitive antennae would pick it up.
- At the Skywalk from BTS. Sala Daeng, (S2.], to MRT. Silom the mil'y. have pulled-back their barrier several yds. - thus allowing access to the small shops thereon.

-- I think that a lot will depend upon how PM. Abhisit's road map is perceived and how it will work-out actually in practice; the two main & opposing parties are still quite some distance apart from any signs of a meaningful agreement/reconciliation.

I wonder how the Euro crisis has been affecting (or will affect) Thailand tourism. As an American, I always wondered how Europeans and British could take all that holiday time. I wonder if it's a whole new world now.

It's partly why the Euro is in crisis :p

-- On this moring's, (07th.), Yahoo! news'-bar I see that with the prospects of a well-hung Parliament in GB. the GBP. has fallen against the USD.; :( possibly we'll see the same against the THB.? One hopes not.
- Reportedly in Euroland GB. is 2nd. only to Greece in the o'all. size of its public debt; observers have noted and reported on that fact and that none of the three leaders of the British political parties has told the electors how he proposes to handle this massive debt - is their silence golden, I wonder?

Easy for GB to handle its massive debt, just print more GBP to pay. The US did already in the recent financial crisis. The Greeks cannot devalue its currency by printing more Euro, they are not the sole owner of Euro.

-- Retournons a nos moutons!.

-- Today, (07th.), forenoon - workers were seen dismantling the plyboard barriers & scaffolding fronting SILCOM. along tnn. Si Lom;
- SILCOM. has reverted to its 21.oo.hrs. CLOSING time.
- Noted many MORE people lunching. in the various eateries. :D

-- A rough & ready head-count of soldiers seen during my walk-back at around 12.nn.:
1.- O'side. SILCOM --------------- 03;
2.- Tnn. Thaniya ----------------- none;
3.- 'tween. the P. Pongs ---------- 24;
4.- Opp. LE MERIDIEN HTL. -------- 09;
5.- O'side. 7/11./tnn. Than Tawan - 06.

-- Possibly a s-l-o-w return to the 'Status quo ante demonstrationem.'?

-- At 17.oo.hrs. we walked from SILCOM. to CHAMCHURI SQ.; this time - noting an INCREASE in the mil'y. presence along the way - I made a rough & ready head-count of the riot-police seen:
1.- O'side. SILCOM. -------------------------- 14;
2.- At i'sect. with Tnn. S'daeng. -------------- 14;
3.- O'side. ZUELLIG BLDG. -------------------- 28;
4.- In the DUSIT THANI HTL. forect. -- possibly 3O+?
5.- Opp. & o'side. former ROBINSON'S - possibly 3O+?
6.- At the Henri Dunant i'sect. ---------------- O5.

-- Walking past BB. INN we were o'taken. by about 5O or so mil'y., who were foregathering in the car-pk. by MRT. Sam Yan.

-- At approx. 2O.15.hrs. we passed-by the DUSUT THANI HTL.
1.- INCREASED mil'y. & police presence on both sides of tnn. Si Lom;
2.- A score or so of mil'y. sitting in the ROBINSON'S car parking exit;
3.- MORE mil'y. o'side. the CHARN ISSARA I. TOWER;
4.- At the start of tnn. S'wong. the mil'y. had set-up lanes separated by water-filled & orange barriers; tfc.was being waved through by mil'y. carrying red-lit batons;
4.- INCREASED presence o'side. the JIM. THOMPSON SHOP;
5.- As we passed-by the a/m. shop a file of some 7O+ policemen - soft & black caps, green neckkerchiefs, white tee-shirts & dk. brown trousers - came-out from the small soi and walked along tnn. S'wong. away from tnn. Rama IV.;
6.- INCREASED mil'y. presence between the P. Pongs;
7.- In Tnn. Than Tawan a small barricade across the st., with the mil'y. waving through tfc. with their red-lit batons.

-- Noted plenty of civilians eating at the side-walk eateries along tnn. Rama IV. & S'wong..

thanx for the update, sextile:) hope everything is fine from now:)

Although you don't see police and soldiers, I think there are probably a lot of undercover people, hidden cameras, etc. I read somewhere over a year ago where someone posted that there are undercover police in Patpong area (so be careful about going after underage people, etc.).

Looking on the bright side (and the selfish one), maybe Europe will be affordable to an American again in the near future.

-- Two items of possibly GOOD NEWS! -
1.- Y'day. an unattributed source within the Nation Gp. reported that after performing rites for the dead the UDD. would be expected to start dismantling their defences and to start the trek back to their home-country on 12 may.
2.- Today's, (O8th.], headlines in the BKK. Post. 'paper.: 'Reds back Abhisit's road map.'.
- But reading further on into the article both the PAD. - (the gp. that illegally occupied S'bhumi. Int'l. Airport not too long ago, and who still have not been brought to Justice!], - and Dr. Tul's No-color party are opposing this road-map for their own reasons.

-- While one, or even two swallows, might not make a summer possibly: 'Hope springs eternal in the human breast.'?

is it true there was a bomb blast yday which killed two policemen?

Newspapers say that on Saturday one drive-by shooting killed one policeman and injured a few other persons in Silom Road between Sala Daeng station and Bangkok Bank, and a grenade tossed from somewhere near Sala Daeng intersection killed a policeman and caused other injuries at entrance to Lumpini Park.

-- Reportedly, at approx. 22.45.hrs. or thereaouts, 1 policeperson was shot in the stomach and killed, two other policepersons were injured as were a couple of civilians.
- Then, approx. 3hrs. later, a grenade was fired into the UDD. encampment in the gen'l. area of the KRVI. statue.
- A BBC. Radio 3. news' b'cast. at 07.oo.hrs.GMT. reported that two policepersons were killed in this a/m. event.

-- Today,(08th.), forenoon tee rak & I walked past the scene on tnn. Si Lom: apart from AU BON PAIN the rest of the ZUELIG BLDG's. frontage was barricaded-off, the KRUNG THAI BANK had one window shattered. Some score or so of riot-clad police were sitting-down in a relaxed fashion o'side..
- An INCREASED police presence o'side. the former ROBINSON's store.

-- An official spokesperson was reported as saying that gen'l. security would be INCREASED; but with both the PM. & the UDD. so firmly committed to the road-plan this latest incident would not derail it.

-- Today, (O8th.], evening tee rak & I went for a walk in LUMPINI PK.;
- We entered by MRT. ent'ce./exit#1., where a red shirt traffic marshal was controlling the tfc's. flow quite efficiently; we entered the pk. by Gate #4., (behind the KRVI. statue.],.
- Queues were forming-up for the evening's issue of supper: a std. sized p'styrene. container of meat, rice & some veggies.
- Inside the pk. we noted that the police had taken-over the LUMPINI YOUTH CENTRE; but police & red shirts seemed to be co-exisiting quite amicably within the pk. itself.
- Only a few joggers; swimming pool OPEN; people playing tennis on the nearby courts; no aerobics gps. seen.
- We went-out of the pk. by Gate #5. and walked along R'damri. rd. until the barrier compelled us to re-enter the main part of the red shirts' encampment and to go-out as we had entered.
-- Although we saw a few people sweeping-up, and quite a few black & plastic garbage bags put-out, there were still many piles of garbage just swept-up loosely and left in situ. Equally, on entering the pk. proper one could not help but be aware of the strong smell of urine. The red shirts should concentrate on a bit MORE camp-hygiene - there are MORE than enough of them doing nothing in particular who could be MORE usefully employed. Equally, they might regain some public good-will by cleaning-up their own & others' garbage etc. etc. inside the pk. itself.

-- Looking at the generality of the red shirts' faces, body language and suchlike I was not all that struck by an o'all. sense of HIGH morale & purpose - rather a certain amt. of lethargy, hum-drum resignation & acceptance of whatever the future might hold and bring.
- The leaders' rhetoric might still be being played full-blast on the large screens, but we noticed that many people, instead of listening & watching transfixed by the oratory, prefered to lie-back and indulge in relaxation & rest.

-- Today, (12th.), forenoon and walking along soi Than Tawan/Silom 6 I saw no soldiers until I walked-by CP. TWR. wch. had a couple of armed soldiers at either end; outside SILCOM. was a piquet of approx. 18 or so mixed riot-police & soldiers all sitting-down along the kerb-side. However, along soi Than Tawan the two sand-bagged pos'ns. are in place still and coils of razor-wire are coiled-up and ready for use, if req'd.. Along tnn. Si Lom the coil of razor wire across the side-walk on the SILCOM. side & by the BTS. escalator has been pulled-back to allow free passage along the side-walk, but that o'side. SILCOM. is in place, still.
-- Two mil'y. vehs., the smaller with red crosses on it, in the MANGO TREE car-park; another & larger mil'y. truck o'side. SILCOM.

-- Walking-back around 12.30.hrs. no tps seen in tnn. Thaniya and none along tnn. Suriwong.

-- Glamcing out of the corner of my eye at today's BKK. Post. 'paper's. headline I read: Irked PM. says: Rally ends today..
- The CRES. has announced that after midnight today it will cut-off power & water to the R'PRASONG. AREA; access for rd. vehs.will be denied - hence a blockade of that area. (source: > The Baht Stop < .),.

-- E&OE.. --

In Pattaya Jomtien the little fishing boats that have been flying red flags for the last few weeks have reverted to the the traditional thai flag.

Meanwhile Jomtien beach is DEAD ! There's more people moving in the local cemetary. The blue chairs today completely empty and only a handful of farangs in the other colours. The only thai boys seen today were "handbags" for farang friends. Never seen it so quiet.

- Today, 13th, at approx. 18.3O.hrs., I took the BTS. from On Nut, (E9.], where both printed and oral announcements info'd. us PAX. that BTS. Ploen Chit, Chit Lom, Siam & R'damri. stns. were CLOSED; usual apologies etc. etc..
I detrained at BTs. R'thewi., (N1.], and walked-back.
- At the side ent'ce. to SIAM DISC'Y. CNTR. a small scuffle as some man wearing. a [COLOR = "SeaGreen"] green & knitted hat [/ COLOR]. tried to force his way IN and was being restrained by IN-house gds.; riot-police siting nearby disregarded that.
- Basically from the start of the red shirts' encampment at SDC. all the way to the R'damri.: Rama IV. i'sect. plenty of people walking hither & yon - nottoo purposefully for many of them, possibly MORE as something to do, I thought; but from time-to-time small gps. of men, with many wearing m/c. crash-helmets & carrying either batons or staves were walking either towards the R'prasong. i'sect. or away from it & towards tnn. Rama IV., (wch. put me in mind of The Grand Old Duke of York, ...!].
- I was struck by the gen'l. & pervasive. smell of urine, pools of water on the gd. & piles of rubbish, especially o'side. the POLICE GEN'L. HOSP'L. at R'prasong; an o'all. lack of public hygiene.
- Street-lighting along tnn. R'damri. turned-off.
- Several large screens shewing red shirts' orators speaking and, in one case, singing; but v. few people watching, although one could not help but hear what. was being said.
- Every so often barriers ready to be drawn across tnn. R'damri., with mostly black clad gds. at hand, that became MORE noticeable the closer I approached. the ent'ce./exit. by MRT. Silom; quite often I was taken by the hand & conducted along the way; the word Farang serving to act as an 'Open, sesame.' and to get me through the barriers until I was on tnn. Rama IV ..
- Little if any rd.-tfc. in the area of the DUSIT THANI HTL ..
- MRT.Silom CLOSED; tee rak info'd. me that MRT. Lumpini & Sam Yan were CLOSED, too.
- No police or mil'y. seen in the gen'l. area of the DT. HTL. & o'side. the former ROBINSON'S; although three Black Marias were parked o'side. the ZUELIG. Bldg ..
- Along tnn. Si Lom. [COLOR = "Orange"] orange colored & plastic barriers [/ COLOR]. across the rd. by Tnn. Saladaeng. Similar barriers at intervals across both carriage-ways father along; a greater & armed mil'y. presence farther along, too.
- Most of the shops along tnn. Si Lom were CLOSED, although Pizza Hut & 7/11. were OPEN.
- Silom 4. was dark; P. Pong 1 night mkt's. stalls. were. being taken-down as were all of the poor but honest side-walk vendors' stalls along tnn. Si Lom; P. Pong 2 at its Silom end was dark but appeared to be in business towards tnn. S'wong.?
- In Silom 6 only the Indian & the Ch. eating houses were OPEN; PRIME MASSAGE had barriers across its frontage. MANGO TREE was OPEN, but COCA REST'T. was CLOSING-DOWN as we passed-by at approx. 21.3O.hrs..

-- Possibly the above was 'All sound & fury but signifying nothing.'?

-- E & OE .. Apologies for any typos., but gremlins seem to have taken control of my laptop, despite several attempts at editing in an endeavor to get rid of them!

Wow, Sexytile - that was hurting my head trying to decipher it...

I am arriving at Bally Suites on Sunday - are you suggesting that I should cut short my stay and head down to Phuket straight away?

Silom/Surawong, evening of Thursday 13 May 2010
 

Looks like I was in the area about an hour after Sextile. My observations reported here:
GAY THAILAND FORUMS - GAY ASIAN FORUMS &bull; View topic - March 12th - ?? - Bangkok Protests (pics & videos)

Many thanks for the reports and link.
Take extra care.

-- My report was as I perceived matters at that time.
- But here in BKK. there is life outside the Silom area, isn't there?
- However, as you've asked, I'd suggest keeping a close eye on events and having a Plan B. - just in case events might get out-of-hand.

silom
 

Despite my report that Silom was looking better on Wednesday, things have gone down hill quickly.

Bally Suites is not in an area I would want to be staying as of Friday morning.

Check back this evening

-- As at O9.hrs. today, 14th., the gen'l. Silom area v. quiet - especially as the gov't. has requested all businesses in that area that can to release their staffs from coming-in to work today; an offer that few employees will resist, I'd guess.
- SILCOM. was barricaded & shewed no signs of coming to life; many of the small food-shops were [color="Lime"]OPEN[/COLOR ; in CP. TWR. Watson's was OPEN but the 24/7. McCafe was CLOSED; many of the usual stalls were selling b'fasts. & other foodstuffs along tnn. Si Lom; in UNITED CENTRE DeliFrance was OPEN.
- A couple of 'buses. seen along tnn. Si Lom; but BTS. Sala Daeng, (S2.], CLOSED.

-- Running across the TOP of my DTAC. cell-'phone. is the msg.: EMERGENCY CALLS ONLY.

-- A rpt. on today's - 1406.oo.hrs. GMT. - BBC. R3. news was of gov't. tps. firing tear-gas into red shirts protesters.
- > The Baht Stop < reported that the a/m. occured in the area of the LUMPINI NIGHT BAZAAR at approx. 141215hrs. BKK. time, where previously some red shirts had seized a couple of water-cannon trucks, wrenched-off the water-cannons and were using one of them to fire rockets from behind a sand-bagged point taken from the mil'y..

-- Today forenoon I walked along S'wong. rd., (where, on the other side of the rd. a gp. of some 50 or so riot police were proceeding.), and about 100yds. along Henri Dunant rd. to where the mil'y. had set-up road-blocks on both carriage-ways and were conducting rather cursory searches of all vehs..
- In the gen'l. area of the DUSIT THANI HTL. nothing unusual observed.
- At approx. 11.oo.hrs. 2 gps. of armed mil'y. were seen proceeding along Si Lom rd. towards the DT. HTL..

-- Up-dated to 1417oo.hrs.: on Si Lom amongst the places CLOSED were - all outlets in ZUELLIG BLDG., SILCOM., McCAFE in CP. TWR., SECRET RECIPE, BUG & BEE, CHANG MASSAGE, SILOM MASSAGE, COFFEE SOC'Y., PARADIS DAY SPA. SUKOTHAI MASSAGE & all outlets in the former ROBINSON'S STORE;
- OPEN included: ANKOR MASSAGE, DELIFRANCE in UNITED CNTR. & NOODI.
- Walking along Rama IV. rd. at around 12nn. several small piquets of either riot police or mil'y. seen.
- In Soi Twilight, this around 12nn., DICK'S. CAFE. was OPEN, as were BUNNY & BKK. MASSAGE.
-- At 1417oo.hrs. CHAMCHURI SQ. was observed as CLOSED.

-- At around 141652.hrs. tee rak & I were just about to pass by the former ROBINSON'S at the DUSIT THANI HTL. i'sect. when we heard what sounded like gun-fire coming from father along Rama IV. rd. and towards MRT. Lumpini pk.. A crowd of news-hounds, sensation-seekers and others scattered quickly enough, either on their m/cs. or on foot. We stayed there for approx. half-an-hr. or so before walking-on and along Si Lom rd. where the orange colored & plastic barriers were deployed along with coils of razor-wire. A stronger mil'y. presence o'side. SILCOM.; with plenty of riot-police resting in the gen'l. area of Silom 4..
- P. Pong night mkt. was not set-up. In P. Pong 2 FOODLAND was OPEN as was the small & 24/7. cafe./rest't. next to it.

-- On the 0630hrs.GMT. BBC.R3. news it was announced that the British Foreign Office had CLOSED the British Embassy. Possibly, although it was not announced, there might be some sort of EMGY. svce. set-up for any Distressed & British Nationals? Any bets, anyone? :-(

Friday 14 May 2010, noon - 1 p.m.
 

Friday 14 May 2010, noon to 1 pm: Against my better judgement and my own advice to others to stay away (ha ha, doesn't that make me a fool?), I took a leisurely walk near "ground zero" this noon. It had to be a slow stroll because it was very hot today.

The BTS Skytrain is not operating on the Saladaeng/Chong Nonsi segment. I don't suppose the MRT train is stopping at Silom station either. After being closed last night, Silom Road was open to traffic again, though few vehicles ventured in. Some 80 - 90 percent of shops were closed, including most currency exchange booths. The fast food outlets, including both the McDonald's "Open 24 hours" cafes at the corner of Rama 4 and Silom and opposite Patpong, shut tight. California Wow was closed. Silom Complex remain boarded up, with barbed wire in front. An intrepid handful of foot massage places, e.g. Apsara and Paradis, were open, but clearly had no customers. Coffee Society was open with 3-4 patrons, who looked like journalists and camera crew using the space to cool off while they waited for developments.

Amazingly Rama 4 Road was also open as was Ratchadamri Road. This means people could drive alongside the Red Shirts' barricade, and I guess, they could turn into their encampment wherever there might be a gateway through their barricade.

The soldiers had pulled back, and the military lines are now along Thaniya Road, about 100 -200 metres from the Rama 4/Silom intersection, and roughly where Saladaeng station is.

At the Surawong side, Henri Dunant Road (which leads up to the Siam Paragon area) had orange-coloured traffic cones and light plastic barriers across it, but since there were neither soldiers nor police enforcing the blockade, motorbikes and even cars weaved through them. I saw a man drive up to the barrier, get out of his car and push aside one of the orange pieces, get back behind the wheel and drive through!

I don't understand the military's strategy. If they are to clear out the protesters by Monday so that school can reopen, they will need to apply more pressure than what seems to be the case. I don't mean force of arms, but the strategy of isolating the siege areas by cutting off water, and preventing deliveries of food and fuel (which is the correct strategy) has to be better enforced. There should be a "no go" buffer zone of about 50 - 100 metres on all sides of the protest area. No one should be able to enter the buffer zone. Right now, the only people not entering the buffer zone are the police and troops. Passers-by, vendors, gawkers and cute massage boys - and potential Red Shirt sympathizers - clearly can.

Sextile reported above that his DTAC phone service was restricted to "emergency calls only", but my AIS service had no such restriction, with a full strength signal to boot.

Another thing that struck me was not only that the soldiers had pulled back to leave a "free to enter" buffer zone, they were really quite few in number. Walking around Silom and Surawong, I don't think I saw more than 50 men in uniform. If the Red Shirts choose to break out of the siege, where are there enough men to stop them? That being the case, the few men, fearing being outnumbered will get panicky and be quick to resort to live ammunition.

I can't understand why the miilitary is not using an "overwhelming force" strategy, why everything looks halfhearted... unless it is intentional on the military commander's part.

However, things are extremely volatile. At breakfast, the hotel waiter told me that fighting had broken out just a few minutes (hours?) before near the Lumphini MRT station and the Suan Lum night market. This morning's newspapers also reported that at around 10 pm last night more fighting and shooting broke out, I presume near the Silom frontlines, though by then, I was safely in a taxi heading away.
.
.

-- As I saw things at around 1412oo.hrs. the red shirts were checking all tfc. going-along Rama IV. rd. Eastwards from the DUSIT THANI HTL's. i'sect. and towards the LUMPINI NIGHT BAZAAR; in gen'l. m/cs. seemed to be allowed through but other vehs. were being turned-away.
- As for R'damri. rd. from the DT. i'sect., it's OPEN on both carriage-ways but only as far as tnn. Salasin, (wch. forms the N. boundary of LUMPINI PK.), where the usual red shirts' barricade has been erected; this is to allow vehs. entry to & egress from CHULA. HOSP'L..
- Agreed, not all that many mil'y. and/or riot-police seen out in the open; possibly thy're tucked-away and out-of-sight for the present?

-- I u'stand. that Khun Veera - a moderate leader of the red shirts - has quit the leadership and is seeking to leave the Kingdom; this will leave the hard liners MORE in control of the protesters.

-- Tee rak has just arr'd. at my appt., (141530.hrs.), all footsore & weary after having walked hither from Chan rd. - from say approx. 1M. S. of BTS. Surasak,(S5.); he told me that no 'buses. are running along Silom rd. now. In fact both of us saw a #115. 'bus., at approx. 1417oo.hrs., at the DUSIT THANI HTL. i'sect. being waved around and along Rama IV. rd.

A well placed thai friend of mine with military contacts believes there will be a determined effort soon, and that the army expects up to 250 red fatalities.

It's likely therefore to get worse before it gets better and I for one will be staying put in Pattaya !

-- Tee rak & I left the appt. at approx. 14193O.hrs. primarily to see what places might be OPEN for a meal?
- Along soi Than Tawan a couple of JP. girlie bars, TAWAN CLUB & INDRA MASSAGE;
- Along S'wong. rd. TARNTAWAN MASSAGE, 66PROUD MASSAGE & the PERSIAN REST'T., SARIKA CAFE., SIP REST'T. & BAVANA 24/7. CAFE./REST'T.;
- Looking at Soi T'light. many of the bars' neon signs were lit; but at that earlyish hr. not many people seen;
- Along Rama IV. rd. all were quiet;
- Approaching the former ROBINSON'S we were directed to go through the car-parking area rather than around the outside;
- Along Si Lom rd. - where there were the orange-colored & plastic barriers across the rd., some of wch. were reinforced by coils of razor-wire - all were CLOSED, except for the smaller 7/11s. & FAMILY MARTS;
- In Silom soi 6 there were MARSALA ZONE, the Ch. rest't. & LA TANA.
-- For most of the way - in fact until the soi Convent tee-junc. - we were just about the only & civilian pedestrians.

-- We supped - not too cheaply - in MARSALA ZONE.

-- Afterwards we retraced our footsteps but were stopped by the mil'y. at Silom 4 and asked not to proceed any farther;
- We walked through P. Pong 2. where possibly about half of the girlie bars were OPEN, as were FOODLAND and the next door 24/7. cafe./rest't.. I noticed that none of the TVs. was shewing any football or other sporting event, instead all were shewing a serious faced police colonel making a longish announcement & occasionally consulting his written notes;
- Looking along P. Pong 1 only some of the bars in the bldgs. either side were OPEN.
- Back in si Than Tawan TAWAN BAR had CLOSED for the night.