Happy Halloween

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Carless

Not driving is great. Moving around by sky train, subway, and taxis more these days. And today, the boat.

Took the Chao Phraya Express Boat from Taksin Bridge to Siriraj. 18 baht and a 25 minute ride. Not bad. Felt a bit touristy, passing all the temples and colonial-style buildings, but it was pretty fun.

Makes you realize that central Bangkok isn't really that big. It just takes forever to get anywhere by road.

While it saves time, PT costs more than buying gasoline as we usually have to switch from one mode of transport to another to get to most of our destinations. But so far, it has been worth it. Less road rage. Yay us.

Siriraj

Last Thursday, we went to Siriraj, where H.M. the King is recovering from a stroke. He's been here since October 13th. According to the news, he's recuperating and will be discharged soon.

We were actually at the hospital because Mai's mom had a knee replaced (it went well, and she's recovering). While waiting for her to come out of surgery, we wandered around the hospital grounds.

The monarchy has such an overwhelming emotional grip on people... Hoards of yellow-clad well-wishers were in the courtyard, signing the get-well books, singing, and praying. People surrounded television reporters, waving pictures of the King. Hundreds of policemen loitered about, homeless people camped on the lawn, and a blind saxophonist belted out H.M.'s compositions. Officials passed out free food and drinks.

Visitor numbers surged toward the end of the week as it was announced that the King's sister H.R.H. Princess Galayani Vadhana is not doing well. She's 84, suffers from cancer, and has been at Siriraj since June. It's quite sad and worrying. Can't help but feel nervous about what the future holds for the socio-psychological state of the nation.

Who?

Guess we're set for Dec. 23 elections.

Parties scramble to merge, members regularly defect from one party to another, and new parties, at least in name, emerge. It's kind of an interesting strategic game to grab the most seats in Parliament. Seems the contenders are either a guise of TRT, against TRT, or former TRT (but not necessarily TRT loyalists). Infinitely fascinating, I know. :P

Since no one cares about the parties' platform (a recent ABAC poll revealed that 2/3rds of Thais would exchange their vote for cash or gifts), we're going with the Party with the most creative name (yet to be decided):

* Democratic Party (Prachatipat) - more liberal and anti-TRT
* Thai Nation Party (Chart Thai) - massage parlor tycoon Chuwit's party
* Great People Party (Pracha Raj) - former TRT ties; similar populist agenda
* Thais United National Development Party (Ruam Jai Thai Chat Pattana) - former TRT ties
* Neutral Democratic Party (Matchima) - former TRT ties; similar populist agenda
* For the Motherland Party (Pua Paendin) - former TRT ties
* People's Party for Debt Forgiveness/Free Thai Party (Khonkhoplodnee/Thai Pen Thai)
* New Aspiration Party (Khwam Wang Mai) - incarnation of the old New Aspiration Party that merged with TRT
* Citizens' Party
* Social Action Party
* Mass Party/People's Alliance for Democracy - against TRT
* People Power Party (Palang Prachachon) - TRT proxy

I am sure there are some I missed. Meh.

Dispatch from NYC

Our NYC lawyer/cat correspondent sent a report from the Iams Cat Championship over the weekend. The highlight (for me, at least)? Spotted amongst the pretties at Madison Square Garden was a Zach-lookalike wearing a neck tutu. Hehehe. Cat in drag!

Mallrats

Another showery Saturday. Since breakfast, rain was coming down in sheets, with sporadic lightning accompanied by the distant rumbling of thunder. The cats went into hiding, huddling under the bathroom sink. It all encouraged a languid sort of mood but we decided to spend the afternoon at the mega-mall.

We caught the sky train at Asok, heading toward Siam Paragon, the self-proclaimed Pride of Bangkok, with the Refined Vision of Entertainment Civilization. Eh he he...(dull chuckle).

A cavernous monstrosity, Paragon has three Starbucks outlets on different floors. The hundreds of stalls and stores literally stock everything, from salapao and manga to designer handbags and Ferraris. Convenient, yes, but also grossly excessive, an understatement. Don't think there's any mall quite like this one, with an aquarium and IMAX theater in the same complex.

Despite its vastness and the muted din of live marketing schemes blaring the attributes of some product or another, Paragon has nice bookstores, especially Kinokuniya. Many of the books are encased in plastic, making browsing a challenge. In the end, we picked up books on cheese and yoga (two separate titles).

We grabbed an early dinner at Spice Story in the Food Hall. Because of the ongoing vegetarian festival, all offerings consisted of gluten disguised as meat. As with past kin jay festivals, the food (mock duck noodle soup, mock kao mun gai) sounded better than it tasted. Having satiated our consumerist urges, we hopped back on train for a quiet evening at home. No more Siam Paragon for awhile.

Exigent

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October 6 memories

October 6 came and went. And I didn't remember what happened on that date more than thirty years ago until it came up in conversation with two retired Thammasat professors. In their 70s, the professors remarked they did not see any public remembrances of Hok Tulaa (Oct. 6, 1976) this year, at least not in the media, and that the day passed quietly.

With little goading, the professors recalled what happened at the University during that turbulent phase in Thai politics. In 1973, a leftist student-led movement (supported by the urban middle class) paved the way to a democracy by ousting Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachon, representing the combined forces of the old ruling class and the army.

But subsequent elected parties failed to secure power. The oil crisis was in full swing, US forces withdrew from Thailand, and Indochinese neighbors fell to communism.

Societal polarization was growing, with protests erupting from both the left and the right. Phone lines were cut and professors were barricaded in their offices, listening for developments. No one dared wear any adornments to attract any sort of attention.

The growing tensions ruptured when FM Thanom returned from exile, under the guise of a Buddhist monk. Enraged student protesters and labor groups were labeled as communists by the army and other right-wing parties, sparking an anti-communist frenzy.

On October 6, paramilitary forces freely fired at students and civilians on Thammasat's campus. Captured protesters were forced to lie shirtless on the ground, some beaten, some already dead. Not only were bullet holes spattered on walls, someone had hacked at the buildings with an ax. Science labs were completely destroyed, a hole blown through the walls.

The professors said it was conducted like a lynching. Students were beaten, set ablaze, and/or killed, at times before a cheering crowd. Books were ordered to be torched publicly but professors tried to salvage important publications and historical records by hiding them in the rare books library.

October 6 truly constitutes a scary moment in modern Thai history. What's more, it is one not officially acknowledged with the resultant carnage. Without accountability, it is impossible to fully understand why things happened as they did. But without oral history, it would have long-slipped from public consciousness.

Crackdown in Burma

A photo that speaks for itself...