I went back again, on the second week of April this year, to the place where the people love their king and nation so much they'd come to a complete halt and stand still as the national anthem played on the loud speaker, in a crowded weekend market, without supervision. It was an amazing scene, where all bargaining, chattering, eating, water fights would cease, like hitting a pause button on a recorded video, and as the anthem finishes, everything came back to live.
Going back this time didn't bring back memories from my previous trip. I didn't go alone this time, though with the same backpack, I had together with me, 2 colleagues, with their humongous appetite to shop and eat, mainly shop. Thus, gave me a completely different perspective of the city. Suddenly Bangkok wasn't this alien place with thick cultural background, its this city with loads of malls packed in it, and we were gonna roam it all.
Of course that didn't happen. It almost always does not go my way.
If you've been reading the news, 13th April of 09, the newscaster on Al Jazeera read the latest on the riot happening in Bangkok, quote "The most dangerous city in the world now", while we were getting ready to leave our hotel for a huge water fight party at one of the biggest club in town, in which 13th of April happens to be my birthday. Me being me, we went out anyway, and happy to report that we had an amazing time at the club, so amazing we went back again the next night, to the club as huge beside it, cept this time, we had a VIP seating (dance space), coz 1 of my friend in Bangkok actually owns the place. Pretty sweet.
A riot lead by Thaksin supportors broke out on the Sunday before, while we were happily shopping in Chatuchak, trying to bargain for a pair of pants which already cost next to nothing. it went so bad the PM annouced state of emergency in Bangkok. What a time to be there huh?
To sum it all up, riot sucks, but Bangkok rocks!
