The last couple of months here in Thailand have been rife with coup rumors. Every week comes a new prediction that the army will overthrow the government. Last month a bunch of armored personnel carriers were seen rumbling through a suburb of Bangkok in the middle of the night. The immediate assumption was that the long awaited moment was at hand. The next day the SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand) took a dive and the Army chief assured reporters that the APCs were merely being transported from Southern Thailand to a refurbishing center in Pathom Thani. Of course every time the head of the Army assures people that there will not be a coup confidence in the current government falls even further. However the general did not categorically dismiss the idea of coup at a another time.
Somehow I just don't ever remember the Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ever assuring reporters that no coup by the Armed Forces of the United States of America was imminent. Well, maybe my memory isn't that good, or maybe they just do things differently here in Thailand.
So will there be a coup or won't there? My personal money is on there not being a coup in the next six months or so. The last coup did not go as the the military wished. They got rid of a Prime Minister they hated, but certainly not his supporters. Thaksin continues to devil the country from self-imposed exile and his red-shirt partisans continue to rally throughout the country. The country is more divided than ever, and the stock of the military with the public has fallen to its lowest level since the Black May massacre in Bangkok in 1992.
So currently the military does not want to stage a coup, but if it feels its interests are in danger, they will stage a coup. I personally don't believe that will happen unless the current coalition government falls. In that case the Army may indeed stage a coup in order to prevent elections that would probably return the opposition Phua Thai party to power. The government coalition has frequently wobbled, but has proven to be remarkably resilient.
So, stay tune for upcoming developments.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Eclipse
I saw a partial eclipse of the sun today. In this part of Thailand about 79% of the sun's disk was covered (according to the NASA website clickable map). NASA Map
The sky darkened ominously starting about 3:00 PM. By 3:30 the eclipse was as full as it was going to get here. The sky was visibly darkened, although I coulld not see any stars in the sky. Perhaps away from the city, it would have been possible to see some. On the ground it was a little darker than 3:30 should have been, but not so much that most people noticed. In fact, I am entirely certain that most people in CM had no idea there was an eclipse today. It was really cool to look up at the sun and see most of it hidden by the moon. Only a rim on the upper edge of the sun was totally unobstructed. This was the most complete eclipse I have ever seen, and probably will be the most complete I ever do see. I am glad I didn't miss it.
The sky darkened ominously starting about 3:00 PM. By 3:30 the eclipse was as full as it was going to get here. The sky was visibly darkened, although I coulld not see any stars in the sky. Perhaps away from the city, it would have been possible to see some. On the ground it was a little darker than 3:30 should have been, but not so much that most people noticed. In fact, I am entirely certain that most people in CM had no idea there was an eclipse today. It was really cool to look up at the sun and see most of it hidden by the moon. Only a rim on the upper edge of the sun was totally unobstructed. This was the most complete eclipse I have ever seen, and probably will be the most complete I ever do see. I am glad I didn't miss it.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Breaking News
According to Thaivisa.com, there is a black panther on the loose on Chumpon Province, Thailand. Panther on the loose
Hmmmm. . . I thought that after Eldridge Cleaver died, they went extinct.
Hmmmm. . . I thought that after Eldridge Cleaver died, they went extinct.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Trip to Nakhon Sawan a Bust!
Unfortunately my trip to Nakhon Sawan did not work out very well. I left CM on the 27th, taking the Nakhon Chai Air bus to Nakhon Sawan. The trip lasted six hours. It was very comfortable, only 24 seats on the bus, two on one side of the isle, one on the other. So the seats are wide, well padded, full electric position control, individual TV for every seat, in flight meal, (although the pork in the pad graphow was a bit stringy in my opinion) in addition you get water, juice, crackers, and they have a perky hostess to top it all off. If you go by bus in Thailand and they go to your destination, Nakhon Chai Air is the way to go. They provide point to point service and have their own terminals, so they don't stop along the way. I had to buy a ticket to BKK (806 baht). They dropped me off on the side of the highway, one block from the Nakhon Sawan city bus terminal. But it is worth doing it that way, because the ride is so much more comfortable and quicker.
After arriving in NS I wandered around for a while and found a very comfortable hotel, P. A. Place Hotel. It was good sized, clean, quiet, with AC, cable, a fridge, and complementary morning coffee for 390 baht. Much cheaper than CM rates. That I wandered around the city a little, ate dinner and retired for the night.
On the next day I wandered around the riverfront and spent the early afternoon birding at Sawan Park, a large park in the center on NS with a really big lake in the midlle. I saw quite a few birds, including three new species for me, including the White Throated Kingfisher pictured below.
(Photo Credit: J. M. Garg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License)
After it got too hot to be outside I went to Big C for lunch and people watching. (People watching makes a nice change from bird watching). My plan was to go to Bueng Boraphet the next day. This was the reason for going to NS in the first place. I wanted to bird on and around this large lake. But it was not to be! About 4:00 in the morning I woke up with an urgent need to go to the toilet, a condition that continued to plague me for about 24 hours. Going out to a remote lake was out of the question. I spent most of the day in bed (When I wasn't in the bathroom that is).
The next day was the 30th, and I was feeling better, but I needed to get back to CM. I knew traveling at this time would be difficult, and it was. New Year's is a major holiday in Thailand, when everyone tries to go home to the province of their origin and spend a few days with family. I got to the bus station early, but was told "Bus full already, cannot go.!" I expected this, so I told them, I would wait, maybe another bus would come. Well, maybe there will be a seat on the second class bus. I was sold a ticket for 280 baht. When the bus arrived, about 20 people queued up for the half dozen open seats on board. (Well, queue probably isn't quite the right word, it was more like a rugby scrum outside the door of the bus.) I was lucky, they called for passengers traveling through to CM first, so I got a seat. People traveling shorter distances had to stand. After a few miles, people started getting off at the roadside to go to their little villages so more and more people got to sit. Of course the scene repeated itself at Kamphaeng Phet and at Tak. After Tak the crowds thinned out, and it was no longer standing room only. But traveling second class is still no picnic. The seats are hard and narrow, and the space between rows is small, so it becomes very uncomfortable very quickly. No in trip meal, no movies, no toilet, and no rest stops. the trip was almost 8 hours. So I sat for the entire period, only getting up once to allow the woman next to me to get out at Tak. Eight hours without a restroom break isn't easy, but I had prepared. No coffee that morning and only a couple of small bottles of water to get me through the day. Still, when I got to CM the first thing I did was head for the restroom.
I did have company for the first part of the trip, an older American who was traveling to Tak sat opposite me, (When he finally got a seat). He teaches English in BKK and we compared notes on our travels in Asia, and the experience of teaching in Asia.
Despite the difficulties, it was a good trip, and it definitely did me good to get out of CM. I will have to try and make a trip to Bueng Boraphet some other time.
After arriving in NS I wandered around for a while and found a very comfortable hotel, P. A. Place Hotel. It was good sized, clean, quiet, with AC, cable, a fridge, and complementary morning coffee for 390 baht. Much cheaper than CM rates. That I wandered around the city a little, ate dinner and retired for the night.
On the next day I wandered around the riverfront and spent the early afternoon birding at Sawan Park, a large park in the center on NS with a really big lake in the midlle. I saw quite a few birds, including three new species for me, including the White Throated Kingfisher pictured below.
(Photo Credit: J. M. Garg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License)
After it got too hot to be outside I went to Big C for lunch and people watching. (People watching makes a nice change from bird watching). My plan was to go to Bueng Boraphet the next day. This was the reason for going to NS in the first place. I wanted to bird on and around this large lake. But it was not to be! About 4:00 in the morning I woke up with an urgent need to go to the toilet, a condition that continued to plague me for about 24 hours. Going out to a remote lake was out of the question. I spent most of the day in bed (When I wasn't in the bathroom that is).
The next day was the 30th, and I was feeling better, but I needed to get back to CM. I knew traveling at this time would be difficult, and it was. New Year's is a major holiday in Thailand, when everyone tries to go home to the province of their origin and spend a few days with family. I got to the bus station early, but was told "Bus full already, cannot go.!" I expected this, so I told them, I would wait, maybe another bus would come. Well, maybe there will be a seat on the second class bus. I was sold a ticket for 280 baht. When the bus arrived, about 20 people queued up for the half dozen open seats on board. (Well, queue probably isn't quite the right word, it was more like a rugby scrum outside the door of the bus.) I was lucky, they called for passengers traveling through to CM first, so I got a seat. People traveling shorter distances had to stand. After a few miles, people started getting off at the roadside to go to their little villages so more and more people got to sit. Of course the scene repeated itself at Kamphaeng Phet and at Tak. After Tak the crowds thinned out, and it was no longer standing room only. But traveling second class is still no picnic. The seats are hard and narrow, and the space between rows is small, so it becomes very uncomfortable very quickly. No in trip meal, no movies, no toilet, and no rest stops. the trip was almost 8 hours. So I sat for the entire period, only getting up once to allow the woman next to me to get out at Tak. Eight hours without a restroom break isn't easy, but I had prepared. No coffee that morning and only a couple of small bottles of water to get me through the day. Still, when I got to CM the first thing I did was head for the restroom.
I did have company for the first part of the trip, an older American who was traveling to Tak sat opposite me, (When he finally got a seat). He teaches English in BKK and we compared notes on our travels in Asia, and the experience of teaching in Asia.
Despite the difficulties, it was a good trip, and it definitely did me good to get out of CM. I will have to try and make a trip to Bueng Boraphet some other time.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Update
I am on vacation this week and next. I have been relaxing, reading, writing, visiting friends, and cleaning. I was going to go to Nakhon Sawan yesterday, but I wasn't feeling all that good. So I decided to postpone my trip till after Christmas. I will probably go on the 27th. I have enjoyed the last few days (mostly) although I know I will be thoroughly bored by the end of my vacation. (If I were rich I could find plenty of things to keep me from being bored, but I am not rich.)
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