All Over, Bar The Fighting

Relax, it's all over. Until it happens again. In typical Thailand fashion its people will use their 'live for the moment', 'one day at a time' philosophy to turn the crisis into a fast-fading memory. A pragmatic approach in some ways - after all, why fret over that which cannot be changed. The main hope is that protest fatigue has set in after two years of building tensions culminating in demonstrations and, finally, the occupations of the airports.

Want to skip the politics? Click here... or here... I don't give a monkey's about Thai political games, I just want to look at some Thai boxing or more photos of ladyboys.

Or if you can bear some more serious stuff, read on...

In a country where it is part of the psyche to avoid confrontation at all costs, the Thais have discovered that they have the same capacity for conflict as the rest of us. The pressure just takes longer in the building, and consequently the damage is considerable when it is no longer containable, and finally explodes onto the streets.

(Remember, you can click on any photo in this blog - whatever the size - to see the full resolution images)


On the eve of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday, there is a slim chance that the Monarch will come up with a formula that will lead to peaceful resolution of these issues. He has refused to invoke article 7 before, a get-out clause allowing the Constitution to be set aside in the event of insoluble problems arising. So it will need to be an inspired speech. There is so much bad blood, and little if anything has been resolved, despite claims of victory from PAD. The main points of contention that led to PAD's formation are still an issue - PPP has simply been reborn as the Peau Thai party. The next PM will likely come from the Peau Thai ranks. PAD has warned that it will be back if that happens. Here we go again ...

In the Thai mix there is rife corruption, cronyism, and a disproportionate and and to a large extent unmerited, ingrained respect for the 'successful' elite - which has contributed to the belief that the latter have carte blanche to direct Thai society as they sees fit. As much as anything the latest conflict was born of the struggle for supremacy between these big players. For these, transferring power to the people in a new Thai democracy has been a bitter pill to swallow. All these powerful individuals retain influence to a degree; the only difference is that positions have, if anything, become more entrenched.

PAD overplayed its hand. Just as it seemed to be on the point of victory, it became overconfident and gifted its opponents with some high cards for the next game. The airport occupation has damaged its and Thailand's reputation, as well as the Thai economy. Recovery will be slow - although I would bet it'll only be a short while before surprised Thais are saying "the airports are open, why aren't the tourists coming back to the Land of Smiles?"

Some quotes, comments and figures from the last few days...

Apichart Sankary, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents told Reuters: "I have never faced this in my life". He went on to predict that there would be a drop of one million tourist visitors over the 'high' season (November to March) and that this would costs the tourist industry £2 billion. This figure doesn't include all those that depend on indirect income from tourism.

The Bank of Thailand confirmed these figures, estimating losses of £3 billion over the whole of 2009. This equates to 1.5% of Thai GDP.

The Novotel general manager stated that his hotels are currently operating at 10% of capacity. Occupancy rates at other major chains have dropped by between 50% and 80%.

"People are going to avoid this place like the plague", according to a Bangkok trade fair organiser.

Government ministers were not slow to comment. One suggested visitors from abroad during 2009 could fall to 6 million from a previous estimate of more than 14 million. Another bluntly stated that the PAD action in occupying the airports was akin to Thailand "shooting itself in the head".

Thailand has proved itself to be remarkably resilient in the recent past, tourism bouncing back despite bird flu, a tsunami, coup d'etat, Islamist terrorism spreading from the south of the country. But as the Bangkok Post suggested yesterday, images from the latest chaos "will take a very long time to go away"...
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Getting away from the politics...

Finally decided to get involved in the expat community a little, after trying hard to steer clear of farangs for the best part of two years. The Chiang Mai Photographic Group seemed a good place to start... With a digital SLR that I barely know how to use, some tips on composing and editing decent photos wouldn't be a bad idea for the blog. Unfortunately practical photography was hardly on the agenda at the first meeting I attended, which turned out more as an evening of close navel inspection in typical Anglo-Saxon committee style. Still, it was pointed out that this was just a blip and not typical of normal proceedings -so better luck next time... I hope!

I strolled through town, 9.15pm - Chiang Mai was deserted. At Thapae Gate an impressive display for the imminent 81st birthday celebrations of the King had been erected. A lonely hill tribe woman sat on the steps preparing her croaking wooden frogs and various trinkets in front of an empty square. It's unlikely to be the carefree celebration we would usually expect on such an occasion - there is a definite undercurrent of tension amongst the majority of Thais, even if unspoken... they seem embarrassed by the whole affair. Justifiably so I reckon - if the UK were to put a similar farce on display to the whole world, I would be mortified.


Up Loi Kroh, a beer in one of the bars of the Chiang Mai Entertainment Centre. The girls were somehow more effusive than usual, when a rare customer strolled in. Or maybe it was just the cold weather, any excuse to get out of their chairs and move about a bit, to try to keep warm. I suspect it wasn't my fatal charms. Mamasan from one of Chiang Mai's three go-go bars wandered past looking pretty pensive. Her establishment was just across the road, known locally as 'Star Sick' (with the emphasis on 'sick'). I've no idea why the Thais call it Star Six, seeing as it is in fact, according to the label (see photo), Star XIX - ie Star Nineteen (for those who don't speak Roman ;-) No point asking - such a question would only produce blank incomprehension. Gone 10pm now, and not a single customer had crossed the threshold since I'd arrived. So Star Sick is a pretty accurate description at the moment, given the number of potential punters in town...

A far cry from a year ago, on a typical November night in this glitzy, sleazy Chiang Mai nightlife area. Some thirty bars of loud music, pool, friendly girls, helpful hostesses, katoeys (so make sure you have your glasses on if needed), and Muay Thai boxing. Packed solid with tourists back then, especially on boxing night during high season. An evening of the real thing (boxing) usually only happens once or twice a week - back then it was on a Monday, starting around 9.30pm. On other nights the local Muay Thai club members just go through the motions. They have the annoying habit of going round with a collecting box every few minutes, asking the same people several times for a tip - so be firm and tell them to go away - (politely... they all pack a pretty mean right hook).

If you're feeling really brave (beware, it's usually the alcohol talking), you can pay a couple of hundred baht to go a round with one of the boxers. They will take it easy - so long as you don't take the mickey. One of the best moments (apologies in advance, warped sense of humour again) since I arrived in CM was when a fit-looking, muscle-bound American strutted up, cheered on by his equally loud and drunk pals, and climbed into the ring. He was literally twice the Thai's size, in girth, height and reach. He proceeded to insult the elaborate ritual dance pre-fight preparations by stupidly imitating his Thai opponent's moves, and carried on playing the fool, laughing at the "midget" Thai when the bout commenced. It was obvious that the Thai was finding it hard to keep his cool. Finally one particularly blatant piss-take proved too much. A solid left kick to the back of the legs to bring him down to reachable height, an right uppercut to the chin, and it was Goodnight America. There's something gratifying about seeing arrogant Anglo-Saxons taught a lesson now and again...

The programme starts with some youngsters who look as young as 7 or 8 years old, then gradually works through to the main bouts later in the evening. Around 11 there is usually a farang v. Thai fight. Although there are some pretty accomplished boxers amongst the Westerners who box here, they usually have one major weakness - kicking, and taking kicks - especially to the legs. Most are classically-trained, whereas the Thais have been taking kicks to the shins since they were barely out of nappies.


So any chances of success are usually down to a good defence, height and reach advantages, and putting the Thai's lights out with fists before he can do any major damage, rather than genuine Muay Thai skills!

A US boxer takes on a deceptively unfit-looking Thai. (Note the yellow shirts, a sign of love and respect for the monarchy happily worn a year ago on Mondays - rarely seen these days because of the association with PAD...).

This video clip shows some of the younger Thai boxers mixing it earlier in the evening...

Unfortunately before the main bouts of the evening, we have to endure the katoey (ladyboy) cabaret...

I just want to make it crystal clear that despite any impressions to the contrary, I was NOT enjoying myself, and the wild-eyed, glazed look was entirely down to the amount of alcohol consumed over the course of the evening...
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So, back to the present. Never one to shy away from trying something new (except for the above, I hasten to add), for lunch earlier that day I'd opted for an odd-sounding item on the menu (see photo) - "fried organ meats". Couldn't be any odder than grilled cockroaches, surely? It turned out to be nothing more sinister than liver (I think)... but still, I wasn't too keen. Time to leave the frantic ladies of the Entertainment Centre who refused to believe I was only good for a game of jenga ... to go and get a decent meal. On to the Kalare Centre in the Night Bazaar - which is usually packed out.

Not tonight...


Completely dead. Ultra quick service as a result at this (usually) popular eating place for locals and tourists alike. There's a voucher system, with a kiosk at the entrance. Cash isn't accepted, the theory is that this helps ensure standards of hygiene are maintained. Any leftover vouchers can be cashed in when you leave (but not the next day if you forget).

Great food, a selection of all types... Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, it's all there. Well worth a visit if you find yourself in Chiang Mai. Should you think it worth the risk of holidaying here in the next year or so, the north of Thailand is - for the moment at least - safer than the south. So long as you don't wear a yellow t-shirt...

Crisis in Thailand? What crisis. Mai pen lai ...

It was getting pretty chilly watching the DAAD pro-democracy concert taking place at the Three Kings monument in the centre of the walled city, a tribute to the founders of the city of Chiang Mai. No accident that this location had been chosen – symbolic of the protest movement’s determination to be seen and heard at the heart of the capital of northern Thailand, one of its strongholds.

However even the attractive dancers did little to warm things up in the unseasonal cold, and the music was at least as bad as the racket constantly bombarding listeners to ASTV, the PAD (People’s Alliance for, cough, Democracy) TV propaganda channel. What it must be like for the demonstrators on the spot at Government House and the airport, subjected to a combination of that racket plus megaphone indoctrination all day long, week after week... no wonder they’re all acting so crazy.

Click on any photos in this blog, small or large, to see the full-size photos

At the Chiang Mai concert red shirts were gradually being covered up with other hues of clothing. 6 pm; time to leave.

Plenty of free food on offer at the DAAD (Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship) concert - but with all due respect to this version of Thai music, my ears couldn't take any more

Multiple official warnings from nations around the world are being issued with respect to travel to Thailand, but they are hardly needed - the effects of the crisis are already beginning to bite hard. I mostly avoid the Chiang Mai Sunday Market – overpriced, heaving with bodies, even outside the high season. Usually it feels something like a Bangkok traffic jam – a step forward, a long pause... you spot a small gap to squeeze into, jump in... only for your new lane to grind to a halt as half a dozen battleship-shaped Germans coo over some trinket, oblivious to the effect they are having on traffic flow. The Thais, being excessively polite, never lean on their horns. Everyone waits patiently.

Pretty quiet around the market, whether handicraft or food stalls...

The most direct route back was via the Sunday Market, so I chanced it. Well into the ‘busy’ time of year, yet despite this a first for me – being able to stroll from one end of Walking Street to the other, barely having to break stride.

A group of US tourists without a care in the world... after a few glasses of ginseng wine

Yes there were some people about, but mainly Thais; the farangs were few and far between. The Thai traders’ smiles were firmly fixed in place; but was it my imagination – they seemed a little forced. It was a strange sensation, once out of the highly charged political atmosphere of the concert arena, back amongst ordinary folk just trying to get on with their lives. A recent poll suggested some 60% of Thais were losing interest in the whole long drawn-out debacle. I can understand that – apathy creeping in, along with embarrassment at the loss of face for Thailand on the world stage. But the same 60% also believed that the Thai constitutional courts were best placed to sort out the whole mess in an objective, unbiased manner. Now there’s naivety for you!


There’s so much to be admired about the Thai approach to life, the “sabai sabai, mai pen rai” attitude - roughly equating to the message of the Bob Marley classic “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” - has its good points. Why worry about those things you cannot change? But this mindset has its limitations, leaves Thailand’s people open to exploitation by the more unscrupulous. The “it’ll all turn out alright” approach plays right into the hands of those powerful puppeteers pulling the strings.

Drat .. wanted to avoid politics in this post, and I’ve slipped up several times already!

Still you just can’t avoid the evidence of your own eyes. Loi Kroh Chiang Mai, 8pm Sunday night, and deserted. A sad sight.


On the political front (sorry again ;-) PM Somchai flew back into Chiang Mai at lunchtime today to be greeted by crowds of supporters who ‘escorted’ him back to his home... New appeals were broadcast by military chiefs asking all those involved to step back from confrontation by way of respect for the Monarch’s forthcoming birthday... Ominous threats issued from the same sources however, aimed at the demonstrators (ie the DAAD pro-democracy supporters), warning them of serious consequences should they come out in force after the courts rule on the legitimacy or otherwise of the governing political parties, tomorrow, Tuesday. (I think we all can guess what that decision will be)... The police are dropping fliers from helicopters onto the main Bangkok airport, ordering PAD to leave the premises (riiiight – that’s bound to work)... 240,000 tourists currently stuck in Thailand trying to get a flight out, and counting, tens of thousands more trying to leave each day... violent incidents are spreading ... and even my flight back to France on December 18th is looking a bit touch and go right now.

Still, you never know what tomorrow will bring, so as the Thais say, mai pen lai ...

To finish on a positive note... with a knitting needle and some string ...


... these can be made. Never ceases to amaze me, the creative talents you see on every street corner.

Venus, Jupiter and the crescent Moon in conjunction tonight. Get the distinct feeling that they're having a good laugh at our antics ;-)

My good deed for the day...

Thai girls seem to be born with the innate ability to preen the egos and any other parts of the male anatomy that are in need of attention, without so much as a moment's hesitation, deviation or boring repetition. It just comes naturally. They may have been raised in a wooden dwelling in a remote part of Isaan in the NE of Thailand and hardly ever seen a Caucasian before. They may have stopped what little schooling they had by the time they were 12 in order to go weave baskets for as many hours of daylight as there are in the week, for a couple of hundred baht - say two or three dollars' worth. They may have come to the big city by the time they were 20 without a word of English, some barely able to read or write. But within months, sometimes just weeks, they will have pinpointed all those invisible buttons that self-imagined streetwise, educated, globe-trotting seen-it-all farangs - capable of holding their own in high profile meetings with the canniest of business competitors - were completely unaware existed for the pressing.

48 year old recent divorcee Alain had been in Thailand for a fortnight during the summer. By the time he was on his way back to France, exotic dancer Took had sworn her undying loyalty to him, and he to her. Some 600 euros were henceforth transferred monthly to Took, whose buffalo and relatives remained in surprisingly fine health until his return in October. Then just last week Took had reluctantly and tearfully revealed to him that she was actually still married, and that her long-awaited divorce had not yet come through. Soon to be ex-husband Aussie Jeff was attempting to recover half of the property he had bought - out of his own pocket, she admitted - and which he had placed entirely in Took's name (land and property) some months prior to getting around to marrying her three years before. He originally did this because foreigners (with the exception of US citizens due to some obscure Vietnam war era agreement) are not allowed to buy property in their own name in Thailand. (You can think it, but not say it ;-)

Ok... I'll say it. WHAT a wally.

Wally Jeff was now struggling to get by with the declining Aussie dollar, and had decided to take Took to court in an attempt to recover some of the 2.8 million baht he had "invested". Whether he's got a cat in hell's chance is another matter (no prenuptial, property put in her name BEFORE the marriage anyway), but he had engaged a lawyer and a court date had been set. Poor Took was frantically worried. She just wanted to be left alone, and for Jeff to sign the divorce papers so she could marry Alain, the love of her life, as soon as possible. But for some reason obstinate Jeff was refusing to sign.

Alain's help was desperately needed. He was her last hope. She had found a lawyer to fight her case, but she had to pay him 50,000 baht (roughly 1,100 euros) up front. Tomorrow. Buttons were being pressed by fingers strengthened by years of basket weaving, and Alain was within a whisker of caving in. Fortified by a few Long Island Teas, Mastercard at the ready, he was steeling himself for the trip to the ATM.

Which is where I came in. I bumped into an unsteady Alain at the No. 1 Bar, cocktail in hand. Had never seen him before, but hearing his French accent we got chatting.

Chiang Mai is a small town in many ways. There is not that much going on within the farang community without news of it spreading far and wide. Alain had struck lucky - I happened to have heard Jeff's story straight from the horse's mouth.

Thai girls don't actually tell untruths, as it happens. It's just that they may only tell you the part of the truth that they have decided you need to know. Sometimes that is not very much at all. In this case Took had omitted a few minor details. The key reason Jeff hadn't signed the divorce papers was that Took didn't want a divorce in the first place - at least, not until she'd got what she wanted. Why did she need so much money, just for a lawyer to argue over a house split? Because SHE was taking Jeff to court - not the other way around - in an attempt to relieve him of half of the value of his two condos (she believed it to be her right as a dutiful and loving spouse to half of his possessions now he'd left her... Jeff claimed that they'd split up because despite no longer dancing for a living, she usually came home from a night out with 'friends' in the small hours, 4, 5, 6 am even). Plus he was not paying maintenance for her, nor for her daughter from her earlier teenage relationship with a Thai boyfriend (what daughter, Alain managed to choke out?). To cap it all, she was suing him for arrears.

Alain nearly fell from his stool. Having done my good deed for the day, we bid our farewells, and I headed for a quick coffee just up the road in Loi Kroh.

Shortly after, on the way home in my tuk-tuk, there was this guy facing away from me at the Bangkok Bank ATM. Spitting image of Alain. Surely not .....

In the 'Spotlight' - slightly sleazy anecdotes on a rainy morning.

Depression - or at least recession - is affecting things quite badly at the moment. That and the 'troubles' in Bangkok. Mister Happy, my tuk-tuk driver, is certainly not living up to his name. Into the theoretical 'high' season now for Chiang Mai, and business is bad. Indeed Charlie of Charlie's Fish 'n Chips reckons bed occupancy is 50% down on this time last year, and that reflects the situation in many restaurants around town.

So maybe 'depression' is the right word. The girls down Loi Kroh can barely summon the enthusiasm for a "Hello welcooome!" these days. The Koreans and Australians are staying away because of the plummeting value of their currencies, the Brits and euro users aren't much better off. Many bars are deserted, with hardly a customer all day. And those customers that do drop by are not as eager to spend as they once were. Even the Americans, whose dollar has recovered a little, are hardly flocking back to Thailand in droves.

Mr Happy at the wheel. For tuk-tuk services, or lessons in Muay Thai, he's your man...

Back to Mister Happy; things must be bad, he informs me. For the farang boss of local go-go bar 'The Spotlight' was allegedly seen on the premises of its main competitor in Chiang Mai, 'Foxy Lady', the other night, presumably to find out how well (or badly) it was doing in comparison. Rumour has it that his not-so-secret spying mission led to a severe 'dressing down' of his own girls later that same evening. It seems that some of his dancers are not as exotic as those he'd just been ogling chez Foxy, one theory being that they are suffering from the inevitable consequences of a lack of exercise and too much junk food, the latter apparently accumulating in folds around the mid-section, and expanding bottoms. No excuse for a poor diet, it appears, as farang customers can hardly be accused of frog-marching their lady friends into the likes of McDonalds - there are simply too few of them in town these days, and most of the girls are astute enough to escort their gentlemen friends into more upmarket and health-conscious establishments. Perhaps their contortions on stage are simply not vigorous enough, who knows. Perhaps they are just not getting enough exercise away from work (although there are suggestions that this is at least partly the fault of their mostly ageing male consorts). Still, whatever the reason or reasons, times must be indeed be tough, for the go-go bar bosses to believe that they have to get their girls to go on a crash diet to attract the few single... unaccompanied anyway... male visitors to be seen in Chiang Mai at the moment! (I suppose if all else fails he could relaunch as a belly-dancing club?)

While on the subject of the slightly sleazy, this story caught my eye in last week's Pattaya People. A bar brawl at the peaceable Lovely Corner Bar resulted in the police turning up to find a drunken and blood-covered farang, who apparently did not want to press charges (either through embarrassment or inability to string an intelligible sentence together, take your pick). Allegedly, according to the lady cashier - for no reason whatsoever on paying his bill - he decided to hit her. However this resulted in his losing his balance. As he was falling, as incredibly bad luck would have it, a beer bottle precariously balanced on the bar counter was dislodged. It somehow landed heavily on his head, where it smashed into myriad pieces.

The police immediately accepted this clearly believable explanation of events, and the farang's expressed wish to be left alone. The lady cashier didn't want to pursue matters. Apparently the initial assault had left her completely unmarked.

Personally I think he was lucky to get away without being charged with damage to bar property...