Absolutely amazing that Central World shopping mall is now destroyed. Didn't they have sprinklers? What was the army doing? I saw that they also set Century Park Hotel (near Victory Monument) on fire--but no details about how much damage.

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Big C, Ratchadamri, is now burning. Set ablaze early this morning. Can see smoke from my hotel window.

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-- I was afoot earlyish today morning, (2OO7oo.hrs.], on Si Lom rd. by the BKK. XTN. HOSP'L..
- No stalls selling b'fasts. seen, although there was one PU. unloading.
- Several small piquets of mil'y. and/or police seen.
- The mil'y. had a barrier across R'damri. rd. at its i'sect. with Sarsin rd., (northern end of LUMPINI PK.], and my progress was stopped.
- No signs of any mass clean-up operation underway.
- A large & red painted fire-truck & a PU. were making their way slowly along R'damri. rd. towards the R'prasong. I'sect..
-- Signs of normalcy returning, albeit slowly: on Suriwong rd. a street-cleaner seen at work; a man on a m/cycle. delivering the morning's 'papers. to the TAWANA HTL.; SARIKA CAFE. had staff inside; fresh laundry being delivered to the SIAM HERITAGE HTL.. Although no stalls seen providing b'fasts., just one stall selling cold drinks.

-- But I suppose that it will take the good citizens of BKK. many days to recover from the recent & traumatic events; doubtless those well-known twins called Health & Safety will be invoked & propitiated by having to checkout & certify the BTS., the MRT. and heaven alone knows what else?
- Maybe next monday, 24th., might see Cent'l. BKK. essaying to return to a MORE business type of life?

-- Life has been restored to my DTAC. cell-'phone., (possibly a mixed blessing?],.

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On information available at time of my posting would you recommend travel to BKK.I have a transit ticket and have kept my 4 day reservation.

I think CFS would have a different view from media and government warnings perhaps.

A suggestion has been made to me that Sukhumvit Soi 13 region may be able to be accessed.

Also what is the airport taxi situation ?

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I note that on April 12 someone posted within this thread this, "My Thai contacts in BKK are confident that the demos are running out of steam (and probably money.)" So much for predicting a revolution!

I'm sure our friends in Bangkok can offer very informed opinion, but for this worldly traveler (and I've been around!), I would NOT venture to Thailand right now unless it was essential for work or family. Certainly not to have fun! Instead, rent "The Year of Living Dangerously" and see for yourself what a revolution looks like in an Asian country.

For starters, the locals don't need to have to tend to the needs of outsiders right now. It appears that the stability of the nation is at risk. The Thai are so welcoming and I assume they'd be that way even now, but one doesn't always want to take advantage of hospitality just because custom dictates it.

I also have heard numerous comments from media and others that it would soon be over, the government will put it down, etc. Civil unrest just doesn't get turned off like a faucet. And to put this down will likely require far more bloodshed before it is over. And even when it is put down, what will be left could be a repressive regime doing all sorts of things to locals. Not exactly an atmosphere to enjoy yourself.

Let these people figure out how they want to be governed and then you can visit and share your hard earned money when they, too, can enjoy your company. It isn't safe, there are curfews in place, often sex joints come under greater scrutiny when the military gets worked up, and what if it really gets out of hand and you have to leave? Can you afford the cost of emergency evacuation?

Just my thoughts.

Keith

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Appreciate your considered response.I recall this Peter Weir/Mel Gibson drama too.

Any other opinions gladly weighed up.My no-cancel hotel ticket deal has been waived so I may do an Air Asia sojourn before moving on to my destination.

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In answer to Sextile my departure is May 29.

BTW Sextile re your coverage.Magnificent.

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1.- I don't see why not; but when are you proposing to travel? I might suppose that after next monday - 24th. - life might be returning, albeit slowly, to Cent'l. BKK.. However, I believe that last night the mil'y. imposed a curfew WEF. 2O.oo.hrs., one hopes that that's just a temp'y. measure and will be lifted soon.
2.- I'm sure that it does!
3.- That's out in BTS. Nana, (E3.], dir'n., isn't it? Should be safe enough, I'd think. But I suppose that life farther out towards R'hankhaeng. continues much as usual: plenty of massage parlors, saunas etc. etc. in that dir'n.!
4.- Sorry, don't know; although I've seen some Airport Express 'buses. running.

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-- CFS. - catholic though it may well be - is scarcely the place for a disertation on Fire-fighting precautions for public bldgs..
- The above having been written most modern & public bldgs. are built to quite stringent & published Codes: Earth-quake, Fire and so on.
- However, and from memory, the Code of Practice for Fire Precautions does not concern itself too much as to whether it's for an hawng nahm, (where there's usually little of a flammable nature.), or it's tins of food or flammable & fashionable goods that are placed beneath the sprinklers. The Code specifies a volume of somany cu. ft. for each sprinkler and the builders install the pipework and nozzles accordingly and in nice straight runs of piping; take a look the next time you'll be in a Dept. Store or similar. Many public bldgs. have an automatic alarm to the nearest Fire-bde. station, too.
- Also to be considered is the source of water and for how long it'll last?
- Looking-at the one example of the BKK. Fire brigade and its problems with its eqpt. that I saw made me wonder how often such systems are tested? Infrequently, I'd guess.
- It wouldn't be too difficult for a skilled arsonist to o'whelm. the IN-house sprinkler system - if only by turning it OFF in the Machinery Room or similar loc'n.!
-- End of sermon! --

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At around 11am this morning (Thursday) on Thai tv, the government spokesman was talking in Thai and English live and said the curfew had been changed to 9pm until 5am. I cannot remember exactly if he said up to and including Saturday or Friday night. He said to refer to the government web site for updates or call a hot line 02 something or other that sounded remarkably like that of True Visions!
Usually the same spokesman is shown live on CNN when speaking in English...so others may have seen it also.

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- Today, (20th.), a'noon. tee-rak & I walked-along Rama IV. rd ..
- In the area by the KRVI. statue a large work-force was busy cleaning-up: sweepers sweeping-up the debris: water-trucks hosing-down the pavings and plenty of others neating-up in their wake.
- We walked along to MRT. Klong Thoei stn. & noted the damage caused, (mostly to banks and to 7/11. stores - out of sheer bl**dy-mindedness, I'd suggest.), and the progress in cleaning-up being made. At the start of Soi Ngam Duplee, (where I had stood in red shirts' territory behind a barrier of tyres a few days earlier.), workers were puting-up plyboard sheets around the ransacked CIMB. branch; across on the other corner the K'KORN. BANK had been gutted completely - looking-at the three blackened ATM. & other machines I wondered just how fire-proof the safes are? Farther along, in the area of BON GAI, electricity board workers were hard at work in restoring power to that area; we stopped & purchased some bottled drinks, the good lady who served us apologised that they weren't cold, (but didn't offer us a discount for that.),. Generally along the length of Rama IV. rd. workers & mech. eqpt. were hard at work: 'dozers. picking-up tyres and rubbish and putting them into lorries, of wch. there must have been a score or so in that area, others manually sweeping & cleaning-up.
- About 100yds. into Wireless rd. the mil'y. stopped us: 'Dangerous.' was their reply to my question.
- We walked-back and turned into R'damri. rd. where again we were stopped after about 100yds..
- While there I chatted with an Aussie. who's been in business in the Kingdom for some 15yrs.. He said that y'day.,(19th.), he was o'side. CENTRALWORLD at around 14.oo.hrs., a time when there were only a couple of v. small fires. He said: 'You & I could have put them out by peeing on them.'; he shewed me some photos. that he'd taken at that time; indeed the fires were small.

- Walking-back along Si Lom rd. I stopped to look-at some APCs.. On the roof of one of them a soldier was banging-away industriously with an Hammers, ball-pein. I tapped the sides of one of them and was surprised to hear an hollow sound as of tapping on plyboard - and so it proved: the glassis-plate, sides and rear either side of the door were plyboard sheets on TOP of the armor; reminded me of the time when reportedly sometime prior to the 1939-'45. war during the wehrmacht's annual manoeuvres
some British civilian alleged that his car bumped into one of the German tanks wch. fell to pieces - being constricted of plyboard on top of some motorised chassis! On the back doors were pink triangles; the last time that that symbol was seen was some 65yrs. ago - but in v. different circumstances!

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-- According to a C'WORLD's. spokes-person the CRES'. order to disconnect all electricity & water supplies to the R'PRASONG. I'sect. area disabled C'WORLD'S. sprinkler system!

-- In today's BKK. POST. 'paper's. Business Section is a leading article about C'WORLD., wch. has 13B.Bh. Industrial 'All Risks.' ins'ce. and 1OOM.Bh. Riots & Terrorism ins'ce..
- Damage has occured to all 7fl. of ZEN with 528K.sq.ft. & to ZEN TWR. of 13fl. with 317K.sq.ft. of sales' space.
- CLOSURE is expected to last for some six months and to incur sales' losses of some 1.35B.Bh..

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I'll bet the smaller 100 million baht limit applies. I think that at least the land is owned by Crown Property Bureau. I wonder about the mall (who owns or has master lease on that). I'll try to find the Bangkok Post article now. I'm confident there will be litigation over insurance coverage. I know that if this was in the U.S., the insurance company would file a declaratory action (seeking a judgment that it's only liable for $XX).

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-- If indeed it can be proved, to a Court's satisfaction, that it was indeed the decision by the CRES. to order the shutting-OFF of both the electricity & water svces. to the R'PRASONG. I'Sect. that stopped the sprinkers etc. from acting as they should then surely the Ins'ce. Co's. might have a case.
- Also, it's been reported, that out of care for the fire-persons' lives the CRES. delayed in admitting the fire-fighters to that area.

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-- In today's, (29th.), BKK. Post. 'paper. there is a suggestion - if I read it aright -that the curfew for BKK. may be lifted during this week-end; the decision resting with BKK's. Finest.

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