I just had to. The irony was too tempting to be ignored. On saying that, I'm feeling a tad bit antsy over the situation in Bangkok, just a tad. Hopefully, there'll be no need to postpone, or even cancel, my trip. I'm hoping the spirit of Buddha will prevail upon the good senses of the Thais, and they'll resolve their political mess before Wesak. Otherwise, I'll have to sort out the refund mess with Air Asia.
Some sort of a deja vu, this whole incident. The 2006 army coup occurred just a couple of months before my most recent visit there; luckily, it was more of a cordial and festival-like atmosphere.
This time around, things look pretty nasty, what with the Redshirts bent on provoking the powerful military. Still no sign from the Palace as to where their support lay. It doesn't help that the former owner of Man City is openly calling for a revolution; based on the revolution in Man City, I don't think it'll be create that much of an impact.
I think the one overriding lesson to be learnt here is that mob rule begets mob rule. Yellowshirts, Redshirts, Blueshirts, it doesn't matter. All it takes is precedence, and everyone starts getting delusions that wearing a certain coloured T-shirt and demonstrating around town will topple a government and bring about a new one.
Democracy, and the ballot box, may not be the solution to every political, economic and social woe, but it's the best system as yet. It's just the implementation of the system that's creating room for discord and dissatisfaction. All that this turmoil will only achieve is the total loss of income from tourists, like moi; estimated to stand at around THB 2 billion (correct me on the figure). Ultimately, it's a lose-lose situation for everybody involved, from the roadside hawker all the way up to the aristocrats.
And the many loyal tourists who make their annual visit to the Land of the Buddhas.
So yeah, fingers crossed, spirits appeased, coconuts shattered.
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