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So as i mooched back to my hotel i saw a stream of black sedans parked just up the street with a number of tense looking men in suits, their eyes constantly swivelling.
So i decided to lurk.
I was actually on the LHS of the door pictured and stood for around 5 mins. During that time two of the men edged closer and closer to me and eventually another man approached and asked me what i was doing.
"I'm a tourist just passing through" with my 5d in full view and a Bloomingdales bag in my left hand(don't ask)
"A terrorist," he replied raising his voice in mock surprise taking a step back and putting his hand on his holster.
"Tourist" says I
"Oooh it's your accent" he said with the hint of a smile. He then told me that i had to move on and that they were closing the sidewalk but i could move to either end of the block or across the street.
I asked him who this was all for to which he replied "No one you are interested in" My reply was "Well that actually does make me interested"
"Sir you'll have to move".
So i did to the other side of the street from where this (cropped)photograph was taken.
Don't know who the South American looking fella was who i glimpsed but it was a bit of craic to watch the secret service in action.
They do have a funny sense of humour using their guns to try to intimidate.
Just like the security guard of a bank security van who earlier in the day had told me to step back as i tried to take a photo of his workmate and the money trolley. He too had reached for his gun. I did move of course but not before i called him an arsehole.
I looked back and the two of them were laughing away.
What a city.
Uh... I don't think he's going to make it...
Featured on Life In Plastic: nerditis.com/2013/07/05/life-in-plastic-toy-review-warrio...
I have had this photo on Flickr for some years, but I am just putting it on today for a short time with all the celebrations of the first climbing of Everest.
This photo was taken just over a year later. I am the smaller boy!
Same paper -- two different front pages. Grrr! We think it is because a vase was thrown after midnight and can just picture the paper yelling "STOP THE PRESSES A VASE WAS THROWN OHMIGOD ALL HELL HAS BROKEN LOOSE." So, two different headlines and two different photos. LAME.
Buddhist symbolism on the Monument of the People Revolution, Laksi Circle, Bangkok.
On 15th October 1936 the Monument of the People Revolution (Boworadet Rebellion) was unveiled at the Laksi Circle, near Don Muang airport.
It was the first Bangkok memorial constructed to celebrate that the old, absolute rule of monarchy and king's had been rid and that now a civilian and military government were to run things differently. And with a constitution.
In 1932 it had kicked off around Rattanokosin Island nd the Dusit Park with a military coup forcing King Rama VII to switch from absolute monarch status to constitutional monarch status. Royalist revisionist history as taught in Thai schools today (2015) prefers to teach that Rama VII brought in "democracy" as his suggestion. It wasn't like that. As a useful piece of branding and a wondrous example of conflict avoidance, the civilian / military government decided to use the monarchy as a uniting figurehead to serve their means. Let Rama VII be a constitutional monarch, what could possibly go wrong?
However, when power shifts, so does wealth and so does inherited privilege; and thus some folk aren’t going to be too happy. There were a few rich folk that weren’t chuffed with the developing status quo.
In 1933 Pridi (a government leader) had presented an economic plan that was ever so slightly socialist, and one that got dubbed ‘communist.’ Remember that it wasn't that long since the Chinese peasant rebellions and landlord beheadings, so things were a tad tense right across Asia when it came to property and farming changes. It stirred up all sorts of a kerfuffle in the previously super rich royals. So Pridi's cabinet pals passed an anti communist law and Pridi retreated back to Paris to do some agricultural economics studying and keep his tete under the parapet for a while.
He’d only been gone three months and a new prime minister decided to haul him back to Bangkok. By the time he had unpacked his bags a grandson prince of King Chulalongkorn - who in the old scheme was the Minister of War (smashing title huh?) - was really very narked up. That spoilt, have a title on a plate rich, Prince would be Prince Bowaradet. Bowaradet had lost a lot of power and had lost a lot of land. Oh was he cross.
Bowaradet travelled away from Bangkok and up to the Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima) garrison, the one at the gateway to Isaan. There he teamed up with his miffed army chums and grotchy air force fellahs. He also got on board some mates in Saraburi and Ayutthaya. Together they all marched, and railed, their squaddies down to Bangkok and took on the government boys in the capital who were ‘fomenting communism’ and therefore natural hierarchies and thus ‘disrespecting the King.’
Well they only got as far as Don Muang airport. And it kicked off big style. We’re not talking three days of wearing yellow and singing daft songs, upsetting the tourists in the air conditioned departures hall. No. We’re talking three days of full on fighting and aerial bombardments. Anyhow,
Bowaradet lost, did a runner, and ended up running away like a stuck cowardly pig dog all the way to Saigon.
So it was whoo hoo. The first victory for the anti royal military government and a marvelous reason to make a monument dedicated to all the patriots that fought for the national cause. There are no royal images on it. Not one. (See how this busts the Rama VII, giver of democracy fable?). We get a Thai family (sporting the new short hair styles and modern style shirts as then ‘suggested’ by the department of culture). We get a Buddhist wheel. And we get an armed forces motif. A constitution on the top. Miltary, defending the civilians and religion and constitution. 1 2 3. No look in for royalty.
The monument proved to be a simple dry run monument for the Democracy Monument that was designed around the sae time and to go up on Ratchadamnoen Avenue in 1939. And if you look at that one you will see the same, a military celebration, showing the armend forces leading and protecting the civilian, Buddhist religion and the constitution.
Oh, and another thing, because of the Bowaradet Rebellion the military government banned any new displays of royal imagery and they cut out the plans to show Rama VII's constitution ceremony on one of the bas reliefs at Democracy Monument.