December 1, 2008-Stuck in Bangkok
wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Walking on a quiet Street
This is supposed to be a sailing blog but you might have noticed we aren't doing much sailing. Like this weekend for instance.
We had tickets to fly to Phuket on Friday night to spend the weekend on the boat but the airport is closed; our flight was cancelled.
Thailand is in the middle of a political mess. There hasn't been a coup like there was two years ago but there have been thousands of protesters in the streets, some violence has occured and the government is in a real delimma about what to do about it. The government has been trying hard to avoid a confrontation with the anti-government protesters and they have successfully ignored the protests for several months. Now, however, the protesters have escalated by occupying the airports and this is getting everyone's attention, including ours.
We weren't thrilled to be stuck in Bangkok but it could have been worse: our part of the city is quiet and the weather is very pleasant this time of year. We chose to make the most of it.
On Sunday morning we took the train to Silom avenue to run some errands and afterwards we decided to have a lazy afternoon enjoying the really great December weather in Bangkok. We walked home.
wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Soup
We stopped at a street cafe for some Thai noodle soup ("A little of everything, please, and spicy") and a Chang beer. Then we continued walking.
wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Orchids
A stop at a flower shop was worth while; we brought home these nice orchids.
At the end of the afternoon we watched the sun go down from our apartment balcony and reflected on things: What will be the outcome of the political problems? Will there be fighting or a negotiated end to it? Will our next trip in 5 days also be cancelled? How will Wings feel if we don't come visit her?
We've learned that you can't predict or control things like this, and maybe that is part of the excitement of living in a foreign land: you don't know what is going to happen next.
That's cruising.
Fred & Judy, Bangkok
Click here to see a few more photos.
Walking on a quiet StreetThis is supposed to be a sailing blog but you might have noticed we aren't doing much sailing. Like this weekend for instance.
We had tickets to fly to Phuket on Friday night to spend the weekend on the boat but the airport is closed; our flight was cancelled.
Thailand is in the middle of a political mess. There hasn't been a coup like there was two years ago but there have been thousands of protesters in the streets, some violence has occured and the government is in a real delimma about what to do about it. The government has been trying hard to avoid a confrontation with the anti-government protesters and they have successfully ignored the protests for several months. Now, however, the protesters have escalated by occupying the airports and this is getting everyone's attention, including ours.
We weren't thrilled to be stuck in Bangkok but it could have been worse: our part of the city is quiet and the weather is very pleasant this time of year. We chose to make the most of it.
On Sunday morning we took the train to Silom avenue to run some errands and afterwards we decided to have a lazy afternoon enjoying the really great December weather in Bangkok. We walked home.
wingssail images-fredrick roswold
SoupWe stopped at a street cafe for some Thai noodle soup ("A little of everything, please, and spicy") and a Chang beer. Then we continued walking.
wingssail images-fredrick roswold
OrchidsA stop at a flower shop was worth while; we brought home these nice orchids.
At the end of the afternoon we watched the sun go down from our apartment balcony and reflected on things: What will be the outcome of the political problems? Will there be fighting or a negotiated end to it? Will our next trip in 5 days also be cancelled? How will Wings feel if we don't come visit her?
We've learned that you can't predict or control things like this, and maybe that is part of the excitement of living in a foreign land: you don't know what is going to happen next.
That's cruising.
Fred & Judy, Bangkok
Click here to see a few more photos.
posted by wingssail at 8:01 AM
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