At about 2 p.m. this afternoon, I left the main red shirt stage at Ratchaprasong Intersection and headed East towards Chitlom. I had heard that riot police were gathering there. By this time, the red shirts had already started to use trucks to block the six lane road.
This is the scene that greeted me as I approached BTS Phloenchit. There was a large group of red shirts with more coming all the time.
On the other side of them were hundreds of riot police all lined up. They were all standing in the shade of the BTS sky train station.
This is a view from above looking down at the stand-off between the riot police and red shirts. They were expecting the worst as they were handing out masks. I had my own towel and I bought a bottle of water from a nearby petrol station which was strangely still open. Other shops were quickly closing their shutters.
There were several dozen foreign tourists on the pedestrian bridge watching and taking pictures of what was going on down below.
The stand-off went on for several hours until finally the police just gave up and left much to the delight of the red shirts.
Up above, the BTS station had already closed its doors. Not only here but the whole line had closed down. They were saying it was done for passenger safety. But, what about the people who were left stranded here and at other stations? The road below was closed and we were forced to walk out.
- Posted from my iPhone
better than KFC and McDonalds lol but the name...
Thailand Voice | Riot Police vs. Reds at Phloenchit
10/04/2010 at 7:18 pm
[...] by: Richard Barrow Read more: Riot Police vs. Reds at Phloenchit at My Thailand (iPhone) Blog by Richard [...]
Update on Red Shirt Situation: Bangkok Protests Turned Violent | Bangkok | NileGuide
13/04/2010 at 10:57 am
[...] Not so this last weekend. The tear gas came out, as did rubber bullets, and sadly, live ammunition. Soldiers attempted to clear protesters out from some key areas and Red Shirts fought back. (See these blogs from travel writers who were in the heart of the action: Jodi of Legal Nomads and Richard of My Thailand Blog.) [...]
UPDATED: Deadly Protests in Bangkok | Legal Nomads
07/05/2010 at 3:42 pm
[...] This part of town was not the only source of conflict today, as the reds and the army also faced off at Chidlom BTS Station, and other areas of the city. For some incredible pictures of the army faceoff, see Richard Barrow’s blog Riot Police vs. Reds at Chidlom. [...]