Update!
Just for this time, no photo's; I've been trying to finish this post for weeks and couldn't get Internet that would do the business! It's a bit out of date already, as the army have stepped in; not a full scale coup, as such, but they are now running things. For the folks in Chiang Mai, everything goes on as usual except for a nightly curfew (10.00 p.m.- 5.00 a.m.) and there are serious limitations on the use of the Internet (switched off during curfew).
We have spent a few days around in the UK and France, heading North from tomorrow!
Chiang Mai 2014
We are watching the sun go down over the
river Ping; the old Iron Bridge is lit up downstream and the snaking path of
the water is dotted with patches of shimmering light from the gently glowing
paper lanterns that sway in the soft, warm breeze. Scorpion tail boats silently
skim along the river and bats are swooping. The sky fades from a deep bronze
glow through to pale straw, with masses of inky blue trees, silhouettes massed
along the rivers banks. By day these trees vibrate with the scorching yellow or
blazing orange of their blooms, but now they form a dense backdrop to the
awaking night life of the river.
We love riversides. For me, as a Londoner,
a view of the Thames at twilight is high on my list of evocative settings for
an evening to remember; however, Chiang Mai is no London. It has charms, many of them, but right now,
for the first time in the two years we have been here, there is an unsettled
feeling in the air.
Since last week the ousted Prime Minister
of Thailand, Yingluk Shinawatra, came to stay in Chiang Mai. She is well
supported here; the Northern, more rural areas where a strong hold for her
Government’s supporters. Whilst accompanied by senior Police as she “went
shopping” and the people begged to be photographed beside this famous sister of
former Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra, who was supposed to be the one pulling
the strings from behind the scenes during her regime’s years in office.
We have come out tonight just to get away
from our work for a while. We tend to frequent places most tourist avoid;
tonight we are the only westerner’s in, we don’t mind either way, but we find
the gentle spirited, locals polite friendliness, restful after a day spent “on
call”.
Mr. Ed, yes, that really is his name, is as
welcoming as ever; scurrying off to see that we get “same same” he always sends
a glass of ice too, because we once asked him to! Elvis, no, that’s not his
real name, is not here yet. A young lad is playing acoustic guitar, a mixture of
traditional Thai folk and contemporary songs; he’s very talented but his
playing goes unnoticed on the whole. When Elvis starts up later with his
Western songs, everything from Frank Sinatra to the Bee Gees, the diners will
barely notice the difference.
A few weeks ago it was the Song Kran festival
and the City was alive with people; locals and tourists alike, joining in a
vast City wide water fight; throwing iced water over each other, firing high
powered water pistols, coating each other in scented, talc and celebrating with
the joyful exuberance that is characteristic of these remarkable people.
In ancient times, Chiang Mai was the capital
of the Lana Kingdom and the main City is still surrounded by the ruined walls
and a moat built to defend the City from invaders such as the Burmese and the
vast Mongol Empire. Today it is visited by up to 5 million people each year
perhaps 2 million of which are farangs (foreigners); they still flock here, in
spite of the political tensions.
But these tensions, obvious in Bangkok, are
not totally absent here; though they are not overt: no road blocks, no chanting
crowds or blockades around Government Offices; but none the less, there is still
a scent of impending change in the air.
Only last week, like some Old Testament
portent, an earthquake shook Chiang Mai, and whilst no one was hurt, the
resulting fright and worry was another turn of the screw. The ousting of the
Prime Minister and most of her cabinet by the Courts is not viewed in the North
of Thailand in the same way as in the South.
Chiang Mai is to Bangkok, in some ways, as
Manchester is to London. Chiang Mai might even have more Man. United fans
living here! English Premiership football is followed, easily as avidly here in
Thailand as in England. The North/ South divide, too, is essentially about
economic prosperity and educational advantage, or lack of them!
We have been made welcome here; not just
here at the Antique House, a riverside restaurant bar, we frequent, but in almost
every place go. Here and now, however, I am sensing that there are things
developing that we have no comprehension of and what’s more, no likelihood of
grasping any-time soon.
We are due to fly out of Thailand on Friday
for two months. Who knows what we might be returning to in August?
More protests on the streets, more bombs
and tear gas? Perhaps even Civil War or Military Coup; it wouldn't be the first
time in Thailand’s recent history. By the time we return there should have been
another election, but what are the chances of this one being any more decisive
than the last, even if it does go ahead?
We are leaving this beautiful Kingdom
wondering, will things be the same when we return? Will the revered King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, the longest reigning monarch alive today, have decided on a more
direct intervention in the situation, because whilst it’s never vocalized, what
happens next as far as the King is concerned is far more important in the hearts
of his subjects than even the complexities of the machinations of the politicians? Just who will be in control in Thailand, by
the time the rains come this year?
