Protest at Myanmar Embassy

Myanmar nationals living in Thailand display a poster with a picture of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally calling for Suu Kyi's release, outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok May 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom)

Jeon Soojin, a South Korean activist dressed as Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sits inside a makeshift cell during a protest calling for her release, outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok May 18, 2009. Suu Kyi faced trial on Monday, charged with violating the conditions of her house arrest after American John Yettaw swam to her lakeside compound. (REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang)

Michael Bryan Smith

Thai police escort British fugitive Michael Bryan Smith to the criminal court in Bangkok on May 21, 2009. Smith is wanted by Interpol for embezzling $150 million from his employer in the United Arab Emirates. (REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang)

Michael Bryan Smith (C) is escorted by Thai policeman at the criminal court in Bangkok on May 21, 2009. Thai police arrested the Briton in Bangkok's red light district after he spent eight months on the run for allegedly embezzling 150 million dollars from a company in Dubai, police said Thursday. (AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

New Army Recruits in the South

Thai soldiers participate in a training session at a military camp in Thailand's restive southern Narathiwat province.

Thai soldiers participate in a training session at a military camp in Thailand's restive southern Narathiwat province. More than 3,600 people have been killed and thousands more wounded in five years of separatist violence across the three Muslim-majority provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.

Swine Flu Preparation

A quarantine officer monitors passengers walking through a temperature screening checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi airport April 27, 2009. Countries around the world have moved to contain the spread of a possible pandemic after a new swine flu outbreak killed 103 people in Mexico.

Tourists arriving Bangkok, Thailand pass through a thermal scanner at Suvarnabhumi international airport Monday, April 27, 2009.

Red Shirts Back in Bangkok

Supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra shout slogans during they protest at Sanam Luang in Bangkok on April 25, 2009. Hundreds of anti-government protesters gathered for a rally in Bangkok, a day after the prime minister lifted a state of emergency imposed amid violent demonstrations earlier this month.

A demonstrator holds a portrait of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a protest against the Government in Bangkok April 25, 2009. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ended a 12-day state of emergency in the capital on Friday, saying he wanted to foster reconciliation after violent anti-government protests killed two people and further eroded investor confidence.

Soldiers Guard Government House

Thai soldiers guard at the gate of Government House Tuesday, April 21, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thai soldiers guard at a building inside the compound of Government House Tuesday, April 21, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand's anti-government movement will stage new protest actions in the next few days following a military crackdown that ended deadly rioting last week, the group's fugitive leader Jakrapob Penkair said.

Army Still Guarding Bangkok

Thai soldiers stand guard at the Victory Monument in Bangkok ,Thailand, Saturday ,April 18. 2009. Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has joined his political rivals in calling for reconciliation after the mob violence that bloodied Bangkok's streets, but some of his supporters are refusing to give up their struggle to topple Thailand's government.

Yellow Shirt Leader Shot in Bangkok

Thai soldiers inspect the damaged vehicle that was carrying the founded the People's Alliance of Democracy (PAD) Sondhi Limthongkul, in downtown Bangkok on April 17, 2009. The Thai activist who led a blockade of the kingdom's main airports last year was shot in the head in an assassination attempt the government said was aimed at inciting fresh unrest. Doctors said that Sondhi Limthongkul, founder of the "Yellow Shirts" royalist movement that helped topple former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was in a serious condition and in surgery to remove a bullet from his skull.

A Thai soldier looks at the bullet riddled automobile of Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the founders of Thailand's "yellow shirt" movement Friday, April 17, 2009. Limthongkul was being driven to work before dawn Friday when at least two men in a pickup truck ambushed his car and opened fire with an M-16 and an AK-47, first aiming to shoot out the tires and then spraying the vehicle with bullets, said police Maj. Gen. King Kwangvisetchaichai. Sondhi was wounded in the attack.

In this handout photo made available by Asia Satellite Television, Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the founders of Thailand's Yellow Shirt movement, lies bleeding from head and shoulder wounds at a Bangkok, Thailand emergency room Friday, April 17, 2009. Limthongkul was being driven to work before dawn Friday when at least two men in a pickup truck ambushed his car and opened fire with an M-16 and an AK-47, first aiming to shoot out the tires and then spraying the vehicle with bullets, said police Maj. Gen. King Kwangvisetchaichai.

Thaksin Has Nicaraguan Passport

The Nicaraguan government anounced it has made fugutive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra a "special ambassador" and issued him a diplomatic passport. The passport was issued in January when Thaksin visited the country, and was given to him in February, when he met Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Red Shirts Quit and Leave Bangkok

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra leave the Government House area while soldiers watch in Bangkok April 14, 2009. Anti-government protesters began streaming out of the grounds of Government House in Bangkok on Tuesday, ending a siege of the Thai prime minister's office that had lasted almost three weeks.

A security officer takes pictures of Thai protesters showing their ID cards before they leave the site of an anti-government rally at the premier's office, in Bangkok on April 14, 2009. Thai anti-government protesters threatened with a military offensive abandoned a three-week rally at the premier's office, pulling the kingdom back from a potentially bloody showdown in the streets.

The Two Faces of Black Songkran

This has indeed been a black day for the people of Thailand. Literally, as the black smoke from burning tyres made it look like that the city was on fire. Today should have been a day of joy as people celebrated the start of the traditional Thai new year. Although Songkran activities were cancelled in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, the Thai people still managed to go out to have some fun splashing water at each other. In this first picture of Songkran that I took this morning, young children are using water guns to ambush a motorcyclist.

At the same time in downtown Bangkok, fully armed soldiers were marching down a deserted road. At the far end was their target. A group of several hundred red shirted protesters who had taken over an intersection. The soldiers shot live rounds into the air and the protesters threw Molotov cocktails and rocks. The government said that no-one was killed but dozens were seriously injured. The battle for Bangkok didn't just take place in this one location. The red shirts were spread out at various intersections.

This next picture shows the innocence of youth. While riots were raging in Bangkok, the children of Thailand were able to briefly forget the troubles of their parents and they went out to enjoy the greatest water fight of the year. Although the adults were fighting with real guns, these youngsters just wanted to have some fun. I took this picture this afternoon in Samut Prakan. Although we also have an emergency decree forbidding assembly of crowds with more than five people, the youth of Samut Prakan chose to ignore it.


Meanwhile, in Bangkok, the red shirt protesters had hijacked metropolitan buses and used them as barriers to block major intersections. They set tyres on fire and even at least one of the hijacked buses. In this picture by Getty Images, Thai soldiers are using a water cannon to put out the fires before advancing forward. Just last week everyone thought that the protesters would all go home at the weekend for the long Songkran holidays. No-one was prepared for a Red Songkran, let alone a black one like this. Although the soldiers retook this section of Bangkok today, the war is far from over. As night fell, reports came out of two deaths.

Songkran Cancelled in Bangkok

This is really not the blog that I wanted to write today. In the early hours of morning, Thai soldiers were on the streets of Bangkok trying to clear red shirt protesters who were blocking many of the intersections. Shots were fired and tear gas cannisters discharged. The red shirt protesters are claiming six people were killed including a monk. Thai authorities are denying this. Twenty fours ago I was preparing to write a blog with the theme "Thailand is safe to travel". This was due to the state of emergency that was declared in Pattaya City on Saturday. Personally I thought that Prime Minister Abhsit had overstepped his mark by announcing this as the red shirts had already declared victory and were heading back to Bangkok. Although the state of emergency was rescinded by early evening, the damage had already been done. Newspaper headlines around the world reported clashes in the tourist town of Pattaya and the state of emergency.

On Sunday morning, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) were desperately trying to do damage control. They feared tourists would stay away from Pattaya even though there was no longer any danger there. In fact, most tourists did not see anything of the protests at all. Steve was enlisted by the TAT to go down there Saturday night to do video interviews with foreign tourists. On Sunday I had a phone call from a TAT official who asked if I had a video camera that they could borrow. They said that the situation was getting desperate and they had been ordered to do more interviews with foreigners in Bangkok. However, all of their efforts became pointless when the PM announced a state of emergency in Bangkok and in surrounding provinces. I spoke to Steve on the phone and he said that the TAT had now cancelled the interviews and said that there was no point in him going to Khao San Road. The situation was going fast out of control.

Last night, according to the Bangkok Post, the Governor of Bangkok cancelled all Songkran activities in the city. "ML Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the emergency decree would disrupt activities and spoil the atmosphere of the water festival, so he decided to scrap the ceremonies. Songkran celebrations at Khao San road - one of the most popular activities hosted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration - were also cancelled as the political turmoil worsened." In Samut Prakan we are also living under the state of emergency which forbids groups of five people or more coming together. I went out into the city early this morning. Despite the emergency decree, there were hundreds of people at their local temples making merit as normal. The Songkran merit making ceremony organized by the city was also being held. A large group of people were giving alms to hundreds of monks. Afterwards they took turns to pour water over the hands of their elders. However, soldiers are guarding the entrance to city hall and the Songkran Parade through the town has been cancelled.

At the moment events are moving very fast. A number of countries are now advising their nationals from travelling to Thailand. They are saying that if you are in Bangkok at the moment then you should stay indoors. Other places around Thailand should be safe. Although the incidents in Bangkok are isolated and most tourists there won't see anything, I am personally not planning on going to Bangkok today. I was going to take pictures on Khao San Road of Songkran celebrations. But the situation at the moment is too dangerous and anything could happen. However, I just saw some live pictures from Khao San and it shows that there are some people playing there but certainly not as many as in previous years. There are a lot of foreigners staying on that road and I am sure they won't want to miss the fun. However, there just won't be so many people going to join them this year. I guess by this afternoon, though, things will pick up as more people see on television that they are playing Songkran.

I think it must be a very scary time for foreign tourists in Bangkok at this moment with young families. There hasn't been much news on the Thai terrestrial television stations as they mainly show their soaps and game shows. Even when they have news programmes with live pictures of the riots, everything is in Thai and they won't understand anything. Even the declaration of the state of emergency splashed over the screens are only in Thai. I think that is really bad of them not to do anything to help inform foreign nationals. At the very least they could put up subtitles with newsflashes warning people to stay inside or what areas in Bangkok to avoid. But nothing. The only news they can get is either from CNN if they are staying in an upmarket hotel or from the Internet if they can find an Internet cafe open. There are two nationals newspapers in English but of course their news is going to be a day old. However, you can check their websites for updates.

We are monitoring all the Thai tv stations including DStation which is run by the red shirts. On their channel at this moment they are giving speeches on the stage. I can see several thousands red shirts sitting on the ground in front of Government House.

Thai soldiers, anti-government protesters clash

Thai soldiers watch for anti-government demonstrators as they clear an intersection early Monday, April 13, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai soldiers unleashed hundreds of rounds of automatic weapons fire to clear rock-throwing anti-government protesters from a major intersection in the capital in the pre-dawn darkness Monday.

Thai soldiers charge and fire gun shots in the air to disperse Thai supporters of exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Ding Daeng intersection in the early morning, in Bangkok on April 13, 2009. Thai troops fired tear gas and shots in the air to disperse anti-government protesters in Bangkok, wounding 68 people amid a crackdown to enforce a state of emergency in the capital, officials said.

Army Tanks at Siam Square

Tanks have been mobilised in parts of Bangkok as part of the government's policy to maintain order under the state of emergency as declared by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday afternoon. Two tanks outside of Siam Paragon in Siam Square were captured by red shirts. The soldiers fled the scene.

State of Emergency in Bangkok

The Thai government Sunday afternoon announced the state of emergency for Bangkok and some districts in Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom and Ayutthaya. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban will be chief enforcer of the state of emergency measures. Police and soldiers as well as civil servants will assist Suthep in the operations to restore normality. Songkran parades and other activities in these areas are expected to be cancelled.

State of Emergency Declared in Pattaya

Supporters of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra battle with pro-government supporters during the 14th of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya on April 11, 2009. The summit of Asean leaders with dialogue partners has been cancelled and state of emergency declared in Pattaya after a clash of red-shirted and blue-shirted people outside the meeting venue and a subsequent invasion of the hotel. The government has announced a decision has been made to postpone the summit to a later date, in effect cancelling it.

Is Taksin in Cambodia?

Some people say that Taksin is in Cambodia. Is that truth? I have read in some news that some media found out him near Cambodia PM's house. It may be rumor. But still nobody knows the truth. I saw him on TV that he was giving a speech to protesters. Seem this is the last chance for him. According to some news, his family and brother-in-law already left Thailand. Thai political situation is a bit complicated nowadays. Protesters attacked Thai PM Abhisit's car when he was stuck in traffic in Pattaya on April 7, 2009. There are around 100,000 red shirts people in Bangkok yesterday. I hope they could solve the situation well without dying any people. I wish I won't hear any bad news. Good luck Thailand!

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (back) walks towards his car as security officers gesture after Abhisit's car was stuck in traffic in Pattaya April 7, 2009. Protesters attacked a car carrying Vejjajiva on Tuesday as a minister warned that opposition elements wanted to cause chaos at a big rally this week in a bid to topple the government. Abhisit was unhurt, but a window in his car was smashed when a group of red-shirted demonstrators surrounded the vehicle in Pattaya. (REUTERS)

A policeman pulls a motorcycle blocking the car carrying Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva after he was stuck in traffic as supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra try to attack Abhisit in Pattaya April 7, 2009. (REUTERS)

Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra scuffle with security men as they try to attack the car carrying Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva after he was stuck in a traffic in Pattaya April 7, 2009. (REUTERS)

Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin paint his body during a rally outside the home of Prem, chief advisor to King Bhumibol, near the Government House in Bangkok April 8, 2009. (Reuters)