In case you haven't heard, protesters crashed the ASEAN summit going on in Pattaya, a beach town south of Bangkok (haven't gone there yet; very touristy and beachy place). Asian leaders evacuated via helicopter and ferry, protesters were arrested, chaos ensued. Read http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/world/asia/12thai.html for a brief update.
I'm not going to dissect the issues here. But basically, red shirts support the ousted former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and the yellow shirts support the monarchy and current government. The yellow shirts shut down the airports in December. The red shirts have vowed to protest every day until the current prime minister resigns. (It is a crime to criticize or insult the king) Protests have been going on every day since last week causing traffic jams beyond what is normal Bangkok traffic. Furthermore, we are in the midst of Songkhran, Thai New Year. Monday is an official holiday and most Thais take the whole week off to go home to spend time with their families.
Complicated situation that I'm trying to get a handle on. But, it seems like I can't get away from protests and demonstrations that shut down the government whenever I travel abroad (see e.g., Bolivia). Hopefully the situation won't deteriorate that much. Bang Bua Thong is very peaceful by comparison and I'll be sure to avoid wearing a yellow or red shirt for the rest of my time here.
photo of the Rama IIX Bridge, the newest bridge in Bangkok honoring the previous King. taken from a riverboat cruise on the Chao Phraya River.
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