Filed under: News, People, politics, Thai news | Tags: airports, anti-government protests, army, arson, arsonists, Bali, Bangkok, Bangkok Post, banks, bars, Black May, civil war, class war, curfew, Daily Post, dominoes, Don Mueang, education, First World, food, hotels, Hua Hin, Isaan, looters, looting, Malaysia, malls, military, Mother Nature, newspapers, Nightlife, PAD, People's Alliance for Democracy, Philippines, protests, Ratchaprasong, Red Shirts, resorts, restaurants, salons, Scandinavia, self-harm, September 11, shopping, shops, soldiers, Songkhran, spas, Suvarnabhumi, Suvarnabhumi airport, Thai history, Thai New Year, Thai people, Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, Third World, tourism, UDD, United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, Vietnam, Wales, war, yellow shirts
- Downtown Bangkok goes up in flames, May 19. (Photo by http://www.benowenbrowne.com)
As Bangkok burned, I made good my escape. Evacuated from my workplace as Red Shirts descended on the road to my office, with their brothers bombing and torching dozens of important and iconic buildings around the city, I met my girlfriend Waew and together we headed for Hua Hin, a seaside retreat a couple of hours’ drive south.
Filed under: News, politics, Thai news | Tags: Abhisit Vejjajiva, anti-government protests, army, Bangkok, Bangkok Post, barbecue, BTS, Chit Lom, civil war, commuting, dancing, democracy, Dusit Thani Hotel, elections, hotels, Khattiya Sawasdipol, military, MRT, News, newspapers, Phahon Yothin, photos, politics, Rama IV Road, Ratchaprasong, Red Shirts, Sala Daeng, Seh Daeng, Silom, singing, skytrain, soldiers, subway, taxis, terrorism, terrorists, thai elections, Thai news, Thai politics, Thailand, trains, UDD, United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, war
Red Shirts on Silom Road
Front-page headlines from the past few days in the Bangkok Post which are in no way an exaggeration.
The anti-government protests by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), or “Red Shirts”, have been going on for two months now, and friends and family back home who’ve seen dramatic news footage have enquired about my safety, to which I had always replied that “it looks much worse than it is”, and that I was completely safe so long as I stayed away from the demonstration zones.
Not anymore. (more…)
Filed under: Culture, Outside Thailand, Travel | Tags: Thailand, tourism, Beer, tourists, British, Bangkok, beaches, coral reefs, coral, resorts, Chinese, seafood, Nightlife, guesthouses, monkeys, Malaysia, Penang, Brunei, Miri, South East Asia, Asian travel, South East Asian travel, Langkawi, Georgetown, Chinese food, Muslims, Jalan Penang, Broadway Budget Hotel, Rough Guide, Batu Ferringhi, car hire, Cenang, seaport, ferry, taxis, Kuah, Pantai Kok, luxury resorts, luxury tourism, AB Motel, swimming, octopus, Langkawi nightlife, Cenang nightlife, beach bar, reggae, reggae band, reggae music, live band, live music, tropical islands, Seven Wells, river, waterfall, hiking, mountain, cable car, stingray, Pulau Payar marine park, Pulau Payar, marine park, tourist attractions, snorkelling, scuba diving, fish feeding, fish, sharks, mangroves, seabass, grouper, Penang nightlife, Fort Cornwallis, colonial Malaysia, military, fort, Malaysian people, Indians, Malays, Thais
I spent last week in Malaysia wth my girlfriend, Waew. It was our first proper holiday together and my first proper trip to Malaysia (I did a brief border hop from Brunei in 2005 but that was essentially just to tick another country off the list). It was also my first proper holiday in South East Asia since moving to Thailand last year, having so far failed to live up to my promise to myself to see as much of the region as possible while living here.We flew in and out of Penang, where we spent half of the week. The other half we spent in Langkawi. It proved a decent mix of city and countryside, culture and relaxation, with stays in three locations.
Thrills and refreshment at Langkawi’s Seven Wells
CENANG
The morning ferry from Penang to Langkawi necessitated a pre-dawn wakening in order to drive from Batu Ferringhi to Georgetown, drop off the hire car and walk to the port (no taxis being available at that time) in time for check-in 45 minutes before departure. Consequently we got to drive through a pretty sunrise and negotiate a sleepy Georgetown before the city and its inhabitants fully woke.
