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?

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

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

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-- 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.

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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

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-- 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.

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-- 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? :-(

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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.
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-- 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.

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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 !

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