12km Walk Of Protest Site To Give You All The Fects

[Gaccha]

Strictly speaking nothing happened on Khao San, as the 5 killed were on the road right next to Burger King (about 3 metres from where Khao San starts...)... It is obvious because 5 bamboo marked shrines have been set up. Here is a map of the event site as can be inferred from the detritus on the ground:

Multiple vehicles with bullet marks all over them and shop metal shutters bullet-ridden. On the walls at the intersection there is considerable damage by what looks like rubber-bullet damage. The road sign has two bullet holes. It seems bizarre that the army chose this route to reach the Redshirts. Perhaps it was intended to surprise them but the route is so narrow and so close to tourists...

On the next road across, there are seven abandoned armoured personnel carriers as well as overturned mini-humvees:

The army must have left in an awful rush since the vehicles are still facing towards Democracy Monument.

Edited April 11, 2010 by Gaccha

[Gaccha]

Further facts:

The Redshirts have expanded North up towards the Royal Plaza. It is odd that there are no army blockades to be found, except one (I think this is the road that General Prem lives on). The First Army HQ has no soldiers visibly on guard.

The Redshirts from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning seized Pinklao Bridge. They captured a considerable number of army vehicles (buses and mini-humvees). The soldiers of those vehicles sat around on the West side of the bridge. Only two police officers were visible within 50 metres of the bridge, but one was quite high-ranking.

A military vehicle that drove by the boundary of the Redshirts at 10pm on Sunday was rammed and crippled by a Redshirt jeep. A police tow truck within 5 minutes towed it away.

The Redshirts have now retreated back from there but they are considerably further extended than they were on Saturday morning:

[MiG16]

cheers for that Gaccha

[Gaccha]

cheers for that Gaccha

Thanks Mig16. I think it clears up some issues (was there gunfire on Khao San or not) and also places question marks on the maps provided on the mainstream media.

People when interviewed after these sorts of events say that it was 'just like a movie", but it is exactly not like a movie; there is no dramatic music to indicate the coming danger, there is no narrative build-up, it is just random mayhem. The way you can walk from a place of safety into the danger without any warnings always interests me (I have done it many times in such places as the West Bank, Kosovo and Algeria). The banal mechanics can be quite odd. I remember paying my 10 shekels (or whatever) to catch a bus to Ramallah where I was then shot at... There was, of course, no "PG warning (Parental Guidance)" like a cinema movie would have. I just got on the bus with the Arab residents.

[simcity]

Thk good info, if Pinklaow bridge is close, commuters must use Rama VIII bridge, how is the traffic there with Wisutcasa and Prachatipatai road ? any info please

Edited April 11, 2010 by simcity

[britmaveric]

Good info!!! Well done.

[londonthai]

rama8 was closed yestarday as well - back to normal today

[Meridian007]

Thanks for that Gaccha.

I would suggest that people use Krung Thon bridge, I think that although the Rama 8 bridge is open, it is difficult to get anywhere from the corner of Visut-Kaset and Ratchadamnoen Nok.

You can check routes here: http://traffic.thai.net/

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks for something relatively new, interesting, and different.