The Songkran War (The Five Dangerous Days of Songkran)

Van Bangkok-April2009

As hoped for, the Sri Lanka flight was excellent, good food, splendid champagne, but a female trainee as hostess, too bad the cute male steward (no doubt a PLU) was serving the economy class :-)

Upon arrival in the Méridien, we got our suite 2101, and the lounge gave us a special Sonkran reception: although the snacks hour was long passed, we were sprayed with huge single malts and dry martinis - fortunately in a glass!

Reading the Bangkok Post of today, there are some articles that are worth summarizing, about the last problems in Bangkok:

Alan Dawson remarked: 4 people died and 123 were hurt in five days of political violence and army crackdown nationwide. But in the "five dangerous days of Songkran" (plus two holidays), 373 people died in traffic accidents and 4.332 were injured.

Another reporter informs:
* hundreds of thuggish men, armed with axes, machetes and other weapons, attempting to take over Bangkok;
* an angry mob trying to kidnap Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and breaking the ribs of his secretary general Niphon Phromphan;
* gas trucks planted in different areas in Bangkok (their explosions could wipe out entire city blocks);
* and the final question and answer of the reporter Voranai Vaijaka: People's revolution? Nope, mob rule.

The last remark is interesting. What is the difference between a people's revolution and the mob rule? As far as I can remember, the mob is always used in people's revolutions to be served as cannon meat?

Meanwhile, enjoy with us the single malt and dry martini of Le Méridien! And the swimming pool, of course!


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