The plughole that is Bangkok has had too much water to handle lately, and the floods endlessly continue, with little sign of respite. I think this has been a baptism of fire for the current PM, Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, who has fared fairly badly during the whole drama....
Proving that 'style' definitely triumphs over 'substance' in Thai politics, she appeared early on at some of the poorer flooded neighbourhoods of Bangkok, sporting a fetching pair of 15,000 baht Burberry boots. If that isn't bad enough, she was also slated for using the same sound bites she used three months prior to win the election... 'thai people must stand united,' 'we must be strong in the face of adversity, 'watch out for that bloody massive crocodile swimming up soi 5' etc
(pic above - street in Sai Mai, which was not flooded two days before this photo was shot... The bloke on the bike does eventually 'go for it', although it took him about 10 minutes of deep consideration!)
So Bangkok remains a complete mess for the time being; last year the protests and army, this year widespread flooding... What the bloody hell is gonna happen next year?
(Side note: I wonder, for all the Abhisit haters... Do you think Abhisit might have handled this whole affair a little more competently?)
I'm not in BKK...hell, I'm not even in Thailand any more. I usually stay right out of politics, even in my home country, however ;) maybe Yingluck was fed too much conflicting/incorrect information by different flood authorities? That would make anyone appear incompetent, wouldn't it?
Posted by: Snap | November 19, 2011 at 12:23 AM
I suspect it goes deeper than that Snap.. When I got married in Thailand in 2006 my wife's province (Suphanburi) was completely flooded, at the time it was explained that this method was used to 'save bangkok'. This year, the province of Suphan is bone dry for the most part! So why hasn't it also been flooded to 'save Bangkok'.
I think Yingluck is having a difficult time right now, mainly because a lot of more experienced politicians are holding out, or going out of their way to ensure this (all I can say is.... welcome to thai politics!)
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | November 19, 2011 at 01:22 AM
Could be worse - you could be in Egypt. Or Syria.
Posted by: Dan | November 24, 2011 at 08:30 AM
Haha, no thanks... Don't really fancy either of those.. I'll stick with the floods ta :)
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | November 24, 2011 at 12:41 PM