Civil unrest...yawn
Who would have thought that street warfare and massive civil unrest could be so damn boring! I've been off school for a week because of what's been going on but I've also been practically a prisoner in my own home for the same amount of time. Believe me, you quickly run out of things to do when your world exists in 2 rooms. We're supposed to be back at school tomorrow and believe it or not, I'm relieved. It will be nice to get back to some form of normalcy and to get back to my usual "so busy I can barely breathe" lifestyle. It's been nice being able to sleep when I want and not have to deal with my usual 150 angsty teenagers but I'm ready to get back to reality. The MRT and BTS (subway and skytrain) are finally open again today which is a good sign and as far as I know only one station remains closed and only because it was torched in the riots. Me and my friend are planning on taking a scenic tour of the war zone today to see the damage first hand.
The curfew remains in effect in Bangkok which is dissappointing because I was expecting it to be lifted today. On a positive note, it has been moved back to 11pm-5am. It's still a pain in the ass since as I discovered yesterday things are still closing annoyingly early. All I wanted last night was some freaking sushi and figuring that curfew was at 9pm, we didn't think that showing up at the restaurant at 5pm would be a problem. We were unfortunately wrong and apparently a 9pm curfew means a 5pm closing time. BOO! Hopefully an 11pm curfew means that things will remain open until at least 6pm tonight.
I find that for the time being I have compeletely exhausted my ability to discuss the situation here. As I've said in many posts, I have had to completely rethink and re-evaluate the way I think about politics here. It is sometimes difficult to admit ignorance and sit back and say that you really don't have a clue what you're talking about. I have had to do this. I truely have very little idea about what is happening here. The issues run much deeper than politics and it is difficult to wade through the rhetoric and propaganda. If you aren't Thai and you don't speak the language, I think it is impossible to be able to make an informed decision on how one feels. For someone such as myself who prides herself on being politically informed and active it's difficult to do nothing. But from now on I will be giving my opinion with the firm realization that it could be way off target. That being said, as a foreigner who is attempting to educate herself , I guess I represent a large swath of the population here.
In other news, our scheduled half-term break is coming up. I actually only have to go back to school for 3 days before it's time to jet set down to Krabi for 4 days of diving and sunning. Tough life here, tough life. When we get back the remaning 3.5 weeks of school will consist of the following
1 week of exams
1 weeks of regular lessons
1 week of reviewing the exam in class
1/2 week of tieing up loose ends
THE END!
I will have a few days to pack and get myself together and then I'm off to Bali. I have booked a bit of stuff there (first 2 days, 5 days in Ubud a few days in and 2 nights in Sanur near the end) everthing in between is up in the air. The plan is to make it back to the Gilis for some diving (minus the food poisoning this time) and up to Amed to dive a Japanese WWII wreck then down to Sanur to catch a glipse of a sunfish. We'll see where I actually end up.
I have also booked a ticket to and from Surat Thani when I get back (it's the closest airport on land to Koh Tao, Samui and Phang Nhang). I have 2 weeks between when I show up and when I leave and I hope to hit up Tao to get my Nitrox, Deep and Wreck certifications and then over the bottle beach to get re-acquainted with the place made me fall in love with Thailand in the first place.
O.K I'm off to finish the last of my reports.
Cheers
J
Who would have thought that street warfare and massive civil unrest could be so damn boring! I've been off school for a week because of what's been going on but I've also been practically a prisoner in my own home for the same amount of time. Believe me, you quickly run out of things to do when your world exists in 2 rooms. We're supposed to be back at school tomorrow and believe it or not, I'm relieved. It will be nice to get back to some form of normalcy and to get back to my usual "so busy I can barely breathe" lifestyle. It's been nice being able to sleep when I want and not have to deal with my usual 150 angsty teenagers but I'm ready to get back to reality. The MRT and BTS (subway and skytrain) are finally open again today which is a good sign and as far as I know only one station remains closed and only because it was torched in the riots. Me and my friend are planning on taking a scenic tour of the war zone today to see the damage first hand.
The curfew remains in effect in Bangkok which is dissappointing because I was expecting it to be lifted today. On a positive note, it has been moved back to 11pm-5am. It's still a pain in the ass since as I discovered yesterday things are still closing annoyingly early. All I wanted last night was some freaking sushi and figuring that curfew was at 9pm, we didn't think that showing up at the restaurant at 5pm would be a problem. We were unfortunately wrong and apparently a 9pm curfew means a 5pm closing time. BOO! Hopefully an 11pm curfew means that things will remain open until at least 6pm tonight.
I find that for the time being I have compeletely exhausted my ability to discuss the situation here. As I've said in many posts, I have had to completely rethink and re-evaluate the way I think about politics here. It is sometimes difficult to admit ignorance and sit back and say that you really don't have a clue what you're talking about. I have had to do this. I truely have very little idea about what is happening here. The issues run much deeper than politics and it is difficult to wade through the rhetoric and propaganda. If you aren't Thai and you don't speak the language, I think it is impossible to be able to make an informed decision on how one feels. For someone such as myself who prides herself on being politically informed and active it's difficult to do nothing. But from now on I will be giving my opinion with the firm realization that it could be way off target. That being said, as a foreigner who is attempting to educate herself , I guess I represent a large swath of the population here.
In other news, our scheduled half-term break is coming up. I actually only have to go back to school for 3 days before it's time to jet set down to Krabi for 4 days of diving and sunning. Tough life here, tough life. When we get back the remaning 3.5 weeks of school will consist of the following
1 week of exams
1 weeks of regular lessons
1 week of reviewing the exam in class
1/2 week of tieing up loose ends
THE END!
I will have a few days to pack and get myself together and then I'm off to Bali. I have booked a bit of stuff there (first 2 days, 5 days in Ubud a few days in and 2 nights in Sanur near the end) everthing in between is up in the air. The plan is to make it back to the Gilis for some diving (minus the food poisoning this time) and up to Amed to dive a Japanese WWII wreck then down to Sanur to catch a glipse of a sunfish. We'll see where I actually end up.
I have also booked a ticket to and from Surat Thani when I get back (it's the closest airport on land to Koh Tao, Samui and Phang Nhang). I have 2 weeks between when I show up and when I leave and I hope to hit up Tao to get my Nitrox, Deep and Wreck certifications and then over the bottle beach to get re-acquainted with the place made me fall in love with Thailand in the first place.
O.K I'm off to finish the last of my reports.
Cheers
J
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