Bangkok Paralyzed

The Reds started their protest today by erecting a stage at the busyRajprasong intersection in front of the Phra Erawan Shrine. They used 6 wheeler trucks to block the intersection causing nearby traffic to be heavily congested. Meanwhile one of the Red leaders, Veera threatened to burn down the office of the National Anti Corruption Commission claiming double standard in their law enforcement and to besiege the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( BMA ) for collecting blood samples used in their protest two weeks ago for testing without their permission ( just yesterday they assured Hilary Clinton there would be no violence in their demo but today .... )
The test results showed that the blood used in the demonstration were contaminated with various viruses like Hepatitis and even HIV ( not suprising at all ) and had been mixed with blood drawn from cows and pigs too. ( I think that's why they are angry because their secret of using animal blood has been exposed )




















( pity the police, there were made to stand and watch like robots but given no authority to take any action )















Who says protesters are bad people. These guys even shared their drinks with the police












Relaxing police












They used lorries and trailers to block the intersection


















Erecting their rally stage right in the middle of the busy intersection


















The completed stage ready to be used
















" Stage opening ceremony " Monks blessing leaders of protesters. Earlier this week, Abhisit commented the hitting the road to protest is not something that monks should do but the monks said, they couldn't sit still to watch the country downhill without taking any action.
















Come on everybody, let's shake out butt























Representatives from southern Thailand - the Malay Muslims















When feeling sleepy, anywhere will do



























Protest or no, lunch must not be missed

















Support from afar















Photos for remembrance


















Whereas some energetic ones are having a good time


Model showing latest fashion craze in Bangkok






















While the other resting under the bridge which has been their home since the protest started more than 3 weeks ago















Tourists joined in. Though some tourists were upset by the protest ( for spoiling their holidays ), most were unfazed nor afraid because the demo was like a carnival
























For some, this protest is the time to make more money




















Indecent exposure madam
















Have you seen a mobile temple before ? Well here is one complete with a Buddha statue and monks

















By noon, the intersection occupied by the Reds had been completely closed to traffic. It seemed like the Reds wanted to punish Bangkokians for protesting against them yesterday. All activities near the area have been severely affected, businesses are closing, gas staions not selling gas, shopping malls including the popular Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery and Central World have closed, parents unable to send / pick up their children from schools and functions at a few of the 5 star hotels in the vicinity were disrupted because guess unable to turn up on time or not turning up at all, skywalk to a subway station has also been closed. The Police Hospital located very near to the area was almost inaccessible causing worry that blood and oxygen might be disrupted. The situation is unlikely to get better tonight because unlike in the previous weeks where the Reds called it a day by evening, today they will occupy the intersection through the night thus paralyzing all the activities near the area. Infact they pledged to stay there " for a long time ". The crowd was expected to peak at 60,000 and was reported to be getting more aggressive compared to previous weeks.
( They "seized" the tourist and business heartland of Bangkok )




















At the same time the Reds wanted Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to send mobile toilets to their protest site. They threatened to use the area as "mass toilet" if their demands for mobile toilets were not met. For the time being, 2 malls though closed, allowed the protesters to use their toilets. Police have begun negotiating again with the Reds to open up a lane at the intersection to ease traffic problems, however so far a favorable outcome has yet to be reached.
( The Central Mall was closed for business but the management allowed the protesters to use the mall's toilets )
















A spoilt rich kid. An 18 year teenager was arrested by the police after slamming his Porsche at parked motorcycles belonging to the Reds near a hotel

















( It was fortunate that he got arrested fast by the police otherwise he would probably be beaten to death by the Reds )




















(This is the kid who was later identified as a son of a former deputy PM of Thailand)

























The police had engaged in another negotiation with the Reds to leave their protest site but failed to come to an amicable solution. The government warned that obstructing and blocking public roads is liable to one year jail and if the Reds failed to leave the area by 9pm, they would be charged. 9pm had come and gone but so far no action has been taken against anybody. The Reds were adamant that they would stay there through the night. Earlier Thaksin phoned in to express how proud he was at the Reds and ended his call by telling the Reds " I worship you ".

When the night falls


















Receiving encouragement from Thaksin

















It's barbeque time


Let's see what they have in store for us tomorrow

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Additional Colour In Thai Protest

Here it goes again. Protest in Thailand continues. Actually i had wanted to stop posting on the protest after last week's post because it has become like a routine and boring affair for people like us who are not directly affected by the demonstration but it seemed like readers out there like it. This blog registered a significant higher hits on the days i posted on the protest in Thailand. So i guess I'll just continue to do so. For those of you who have got bored with it, just skip this post.

After 2 unsuccessful peace talks with the PM, the Reds will be out again, infact they were out today afternoon. However the highlight would be tomorrow's protest because the leaders of the Reds have boasted that tomorrow's rally would be the largest to date. Earlier this afternoon a relatively small group of Reds gathered at the US Embassy to send a letter. to the US government. Last Tuesday, the US issued a statement saying that it hoped a peaceful resolution would be reached and viewed last week's peace talk as the right approach towards achieving peace. This statement was not being taken well by the Reds. It appears to them the US is supporting Abhisit's government and accused the government of using the US to discredit their leader Thaksin. One of the leaders who participated in last week's peace talk, Weng managed to hand over a letter to officials from the US Embassy. In the letter addressed to US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, they thanked her for her concerns and assured her that the Reds would not resort to violence to achieve their goals. After handing the letter to officals from the embassy, the Reds left the embassy at about 1.50pm

Heavy presence of policemen at the US Embassy















Weng, whom many said had the worst performance among the 3 Reds who took part in peace talks with Abhisit last week, handed over a letter to US Embassy. It was obvious they were not happy with the US but instead of showing their displeasure for the US, they thanked the US Government for its concern
















Meanwhile another group of protesters has emerged to add colors to the protest. A group of academicians and business owners in Bangkok have come out to protest against the Reds for affecting their lives and businesses over the past 3 weeks and to oppose the dissolutoin of the House. These group who claim to be apolitical, call themselves Pinks and will wear Pink color shirt in their protest. Their first protest started at around 1pm today by gathering in the hundreds at Lumpini Park. They had earlier planned to hold a rally in the compound of Chulalongkorn University but cancelled the plan after the university was closed for 4 days to avoid any confrontation with the Reds whom had warned that they would march to the university if the rally was allowed to be held there.

When the Reds passed by the park on their way to the US embassy this afternoon, verbal attacks were hurled at each other and had to be stopped by the police who have been anticipating of possible confrontation between the two groups.
Some of the Pinks carried banner " Please stop it, we want our normal life " and some booed at the Reds. The Reds accuse the government of using the Yellows ( supporters of the Democrats ) disguising as Pinks to counter their protest and warn that they cannot rule out any possible confrontation if they were being provoked by the Pinks.

The Pinks in action

Hello Miss, protest for all you want, Thaksin is enjoying his time in Russia now























Looks like the Pinks are running out of patience. Earlier in the evening, a group of Pinks attacked two passerby Red supporters and only with inteference from the police that the situation was brought under control. The Reds should be commended for keeping to their promise of no violent protest so far but the Pinks turn violent on the 1st day of their rally. The police will surely have a tough time maintaining order tomorrow and thereafter with the emergence of a new group of protesters.

This old man has gone berserk

Cool down Madam, cool down

Yellow turns Pink . Hhmm !

Meanwhile take a look at the antics of the Reds' supporters

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Buddha Relics Controversy

About a month ago, i made two posts on Vietnam welcoming 3 Buddha Relics from India as it was a rather big event in Vietnam. Today, this holy event unfortunately has turned into a controversy. It all started from an article in a newspaper where its author questioned the need of excessive spendings by the organising committee for the event.

A delegation of more than 100 memebers, consisting of monks and officials was sent to India by a chartered plane, belonging to Vietnam Airlines to collect the relics and was back in Vietnam on the very same day. Upon reaching Vietnam, the relics were carried by monks in 3 rented luxurious limousines ( Cadillac and Hummers ) from the airport to a temple in Ninh Binh province where the relics would be placed. These three limousines were accompanied by a convoy of more than 1000 vehicles to the temple.




The author questioned the wisdom of spending so much money for the whole event ( 1 million Vietnamese dongs or about USD58,000 ). If Buddha himself abandoned his royal palace to seek enlightenment as a poor monk, how could his followers justify being so extravagant in their spending. The cost of renting just one Hummer a day would be enough to build a simple house for a poor family, the article stated. It was later revealed that a prominent businessman who wished to remain anonymous had donated USD100,000 for this cause.

Many parties have come to the defense of the organiser. They said that the relics are sacred in Buddhism which deserved utmost respect and a dignified welcoming ceremony for the relics must not be viewed as an exageeration. The ceremony wasn't a private affair involving just a few monks but of national importance. It was also to show the gratitude and appreciation of Vietnamese people to India for giving away the much sacred relics to Vietnam. Apart from this, factors like punctuality and security also needed to be taken into consideration.

Some also drew comparison with events held in other countries like the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics and China's National Day celebration as well as the inauguration ceremony of President Obama where millions of dollars were spent.They said that these events have brought a sense of pride to the Chinese and American people which cannot be measured in any monetary term. The welcoming ceremony for the Buddha relics was no different. Vietnamese people who are mostly Buddhist feel honoured to be given the much sacred relics by India to be enshriend in a Vietnamese monastery. More than 15,000 Vietnamese Buddhist gathered at the temple to welcome the relics and the ceremony was also shown in Thailand and Taiwan.

Last but not least, they said that the money spent was not from any public or government funds but solely from public donation. They cited that Buddhism encourages sharing and donating for a good cause but it does not dictate any particular amount in doing so.

OK, now my opinion.

I have to agree with the article. I think the organiser had overspent. Eventhough i do agree that the relics deserved a dignified welcoming ceremony and a certain grandeur to it but I do not see the need of sending such a big delegation to India to collect the relics. I think sending a much smaller delegation and putting them in 1st Class on a normal commercial flight would have been good enough, there was no need to charter a flight. On the limousines, if the organiser really wanted to use limousines then one would have been enough to ferry the few monks who carried the relics. Other accompanying officials could travel in normal vehicles. I do agree with the organiser to hold a grand welcome ceremony for the much sacred relics ( which i think it should be ) but a grand ceremony must not always be extravagant. A grand ceremony could still be held without excessive spendings.Buddha relics have travelled around the world but as far as i am concerned, other countries did not spent that much of money on ceremonies to welcome the relics.

Having said that, i hope by now this controversy has already been laid to rest. Perhaps organisers of such event should be more vigilant in their spendings in the future

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Rico Kwok

Name : Kwok Lik Hung
Nationality : Hong Kong
Date Of Birth : 23rd April 1977
Profession : Singer

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Buddhist Personality : Yang Wei Han

Name : Yang Wei Han
Nationality : Malaysia
Date Of Birth : 1971
Profession : Singer / Stage Actor

He started his singing career in 1997 but today is more known as a stage actor/singer than a pop singer. In 1999 he landed a lead role in a musical, Siddharta playing the role of Lord Buddha. Playing that role for 10 years has greatly influenced his religious life. He is more knowledgeable on Buddhism now and has become a vegetarian.







Siddhartha The Musical premiered in 1999 and has since being performed 45 times in 4 countries Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and South Africa, the last was last year in Malaysia to celebrate it's 10th anniversary. Just for this blog, i sent an email to the company that produced this musical to enquire about the next show. They replied me that they would inform me when the time comes. If you happen to have a chance to watch this musical in future, don't miss it.

Rehearsal photos ( during their last performance in Malaysia in 2009 )

















Promotional videos of the musical ( for last year performance in Malaysia )

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