Acivities in PAD protest

There's been a lot of negative news coming out of Thailand lately and obviously with good reason. The PAD took over Suvarnabhumi Airport, the tourism and export industries took a major hit and the political situation has still not been completely resolved. However, there is some GOOD news to report on.

First, there was almost no violence in the mass demonstrations that took place at both of Thailand's airports. The occupiers left peacefully when the demonstrations were over and there was no vandalism or any destruction reported at either airport. In fact, Suvarnabhumi was in such good condition that flights were landing right away and some carriers started up their regular flight schedules again only two days after the airport was vacated by the demonstrators. Things are not completely back to normal yet but they are definitely on the way.

Second, even though there has been a great deal of political unrest here in the last several months there is never much violence here in Thailand. It just isn't in the Thai psyche. Yes, there were some confrontations with the police that left some people injured, some badly. There is no disputing that. But considering the numbers of people involved and the heated emotions that were stoked up, it's amazing that there was as little violence as there was.

What most people outside of Thailand don't realize is that there was no security breakdown at the airports that allowed the demonstrators to take over. The army and police here knew full well what was going to happen and they sat back and let it. They are in favor of the PAD and want the last remnants of Thaksin Shinawatra's elements out of power. There is an enormous chess game being played behind the scenes here that is very difficult to figure out as you have many different factions jockeying for position. I'll try to keep up on things as they develop. 

And another important point is that there was no violence directed towards any foreigners nor were any foreigners ever at risk during the entire time. The demonstrations and confrontations were confined to a very small part of Bangkok at all times and if you didn't read the news reports on what was happening here you wouldn't even have been aware of any problems. Even when the demonstrators occupied the airports they were respectful of the tourists that were there and provided them with food and water. Many people who were stranded in their hotels were given free rooms and every effort was made to make their ordeal as bearable as possible.

Thai people are naturally friendly and generous (which is why many people come here in the first place) and there have been news reports of foreign tourists praising some of the help that they received from the Thai people. No, all is not 100% rosy here but it's getting better fast and it's still a great (and inexpensive) place to have your holiday. If you come here you definitely will not regret it.  

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