Yesterday the Red Protesters surrendered the battle in order to prevent further bloodshed. It was a brave move to make. Bravery is usually associated with taking a bullet but I think they did the right thing. Nobody believes that Thailand is the same country today as two months ago and if the battle for Bangkok was lost then the war against social inequality is surely entering a new phase and more importantly the Grenjai I've openly railed against for a decade now will not be an excuse for ensuring the piss poor continue to be seen but not heard.
The power went out in my apartment yesterday afternoon as a substation was set ablaze, and even though I've been very good at avoiding confrontation since the coup d'etat in 2006 I ended up taking a bike ride around the war zone and had one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I made it past a riot mob on Rama IV who were local Bangkokians venting their anger at a culture that gives them no chances for development and took it out on a Bank and any symbols of officialdom and wealth. I circumvented the razor wire road blocks (The KLEIN is the only bike to have in these circumstances as I can pick it up with one hand) and at times was the only person I could sense, right there, slap bang in the middle of a city of 10 million plus.
Just me.
First thing this morning as the curfew lifted at 6am I took the KLEIN out again and repeated much of my journey but filmed it this time for you. I'm the only one on a bike taking in the whole panorama on film so I think this content is a bit unique even though it doesn't really convey all of what I saw yesterday. I'm glad it's over for the time being and I hope his Majesty concurs with a foreigners view that an amnesty for the Red prisoners has merit as they are just a small segment of a majority of the population who aren't happy with a social inequality that seemingly only the uneducated are privy to.
