THAISiDE|PRAJUMSOOK.COM

The red shirt protests in Bangkok have been going on for about a week now. By world standards, this must be one of the most peaceful mass protests ever. Only the Thai people can protest but keep smiling at the same time. The rally site is more like an outdoor concert at times.

The time finally came for Miss Noot to graduate. That meant an early morning to the hairdresser’s for make-up and of course her hair done. It wasn’t too bad as Noot didn’t have to be there until 5.30am.

The red shirt protests have been going on in Bangkok for 4-5 days now. Countless thousands of protesters have been camped out along the Royal Avenue. The news hasn’t received that much attention yet in the international press, mainly because there hasn’t been any violence. Thailand is not like other countries as the citizens are mainly Buddhists.

Over the past few days, the red shirts have been streaming into Bangkok to join the protest site on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. On Sunday the red shirts from Samut Prakan came together to join the protest. The local red shirt radio had been broadcasting for several days the schedule for going into Bangkok. A total of 60 coaches had been arranged to pick up the protesters from ten different locations around Samut Prakan Province from 7 a.m

Red-shirted supporters of fugitive Thai former premier Thaksin Shinawatra hold boards and shout slogans as they join a mass rally in downtown Bangkok on March 14, 2010. Tens of thousands of red-shirted supporters rallied amid tight security in Bangkok to demand that the government step down.

First of all, there is an upside to things here when red shirt gathers. The traffic on roads this period is surprisingly pleasant.

A total of 5,000 red guards are believed to be deployed at the rally site in Bangkok and at 30 other locations in the area. This includes 200 mobile units on motorcycle.

Sompien Eksomya (Thai: พ.ต.อ.สมเพียร เอกสมญา), superintendent of Yala’s Bannang Sata district police, and three subordinates were seriously wounded in a roadside bomb attack in the district yesterday. Sompien had recently asked the premier for a transfer to a safer area before his retirement next year.

The mass red shirt rallies organized to topple the Thai government have now started. Today, red shirts from provinces surrounding Bangkok took part in mini rallies in their local areas. Tomorrow, they will march into Bangkok to be joined by countless thousands of red shirts from every region of Thailand for the big rally starting on Sunday.

Anti-government rallies are being planned by the red shirts in Bangkok from 12th-14th March 2010. They are hoping for a million protesters though the final figure is expected to be less than half that. However, it is still a sizeable protest and precautions should be made by both residents and tourists.

The Thai government over the past few years have been so focussed on first the yellow shirts and then the red shirts that hardly anyone has noticed the rampant increase of drug use in Thailand. It is almost getting to epidemic proportions as nothing much is being done to bring it under control. The drug of choice is “yaba” which is the Thai version of amphetamine

I have been busy of late trying to wrap up everything at school and start relaxing until the 10th of May. All the marking is complete and the endless and at times senseless paperwork is done. Today I submitted all my paperwork and new there would be trouble with some of it as I had not passed a few students in my classes. There is a well known saying of “No student fails in Thailand and this is pretty much true.” Kids in upper secondary can miss 50% or more of their classes, fail all their tests and not submit any work throughout the year

It is probably not a good idea to venture outside at the moment if you are living in some areas of Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lumpoon, Maehongson, Nan, Phayao and Chiang Mai due to the bad air quality. You should also consider wearing face masks in Chachoengsao, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Saraburi. The chart above is released by the Pollution Control Department and shows the air quality index for yesterday

The world’s first male elephant twins were born in Surin’s Tha Lad area yesterday. After 21 months of gestation, 35-year-old Phang Thong Khun delivered the first baby elephant at 1.09 am and his brother at 3.09 am amid a cheering crowd, mahout Prapai Mokhom said. The twins have yet to be given names, he said. The sire was a clever bull named Plai Pus Deen

A few days ago, a user called “musicxpresso” put up for sale on ebay a wanted poster for Thaksin and his wife for a mere 99 cents. The photo showed the massive banner used as the backdrop for one of the yellow shirts stages while they occupied the Government House area.