Moving house is such a pain. Not that I live in anything as grand as a house, but the sentiment is much the same. After the exhausting anticlimax that was yesterday’s lengthy court ruling, I had to leave Bangkok with half of my possessions crammed into two large bags and make my way to Phuket, which is where I will be living for the next nine to twelve months, give or take. The move itself was painless, although taxis from Phuket airport are ridiculously expensive. It cost me 400 baht to get from the airport to Yaorawat Road, and even that involved the taxi driver getting lost half a dozen times. I’ve also noticed that I’ve acquired a kind of headache since the One2Go aeroplane descended from 30,000 feet. Out of nowhere I got this sharp, intense pain above my right eye socket as my ears were popping. Although the pain has largely subsided, I can still feel it there. I don’t know what this means or if it’s fatal, but it sure is odd.

My new place is reasonably priced at 6,000 baht a month, although to be honest I feel like a rockstar. I now have cable TV, wireless internet access, a small fridge, a balcony, a telephone, and, here’s the kicker, hot water! These things are all new to me since I arrived in Thailand two years ago. The area of Phuket which I will begin to call home is peaceful with more restaurants than anything else. The only internet I have in the absense of my laptop is at one of a number of incredibly noisy internet cafes frequented predominantly by gormless children. The most popular games involve dancing and they make such a din that I will be thankful to have my laptop down here with me.

Tomorrow I have to find out where my new office is and do a number of visa/work permit-related things before going back to Penang for a new visa and some great Indian food. If I could go to Penang more I would. The cuisine there is second to none; and it’s cheap.

I’ve indulged in a lengthy, personal blog post here, but I don’t feel up to writing anything more meaningful in the presence of screaming children.

Techno’ tags: Phuket, Thailand, Travel

Supporters of Thai Rak Thai are currently converged outside party headquarters at Navasorn Building on Rama III Road. I was there from around 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. The overall mood was calm and there was significant police presence for the small group of no more than 300 people. The group was gathered around television screens and there were projectors set up for people to watch the verdict. People did not appear irate, but they looked unhappy. There were throngs of photographers and representatives from all the major television networks. I spoke to a journalist from AFP and gave her some quotes; I hope they don’t end up in her report.

The case of the Democrat Party is being read out presently (3 p.m.), although the actual verdict is not expected until 4 p.m. with Thai Rak Thai’s fate to follow. Thai Rak Thai will hold a press conference after its fate has been announced.

Speeches made outside TRT headquarters were very anti-junta and pro-1997 constitution. Speakers also made the point that dissolving of a political party in the manner proposed is illegitimate because it belongs to the 1997 constitution (Nation). Those don’t sound like the words of a confident party.

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AIS, DTAC, and True sent SMS messages to all users saying: “All Thais should embrace HM the King’s words of advice. Be conscious. Cherish unity. Be sensible and Respect laws…from CNS”

Respect laws? This looks like an attempt at damage limitation. It’s amazing that the CNS would send out a text message in this way. They are evidently very, very worried. Surayud has already been quoted as saying that he is ready to impose a state of emergency.

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The Democrat Party is “not guilty of maligning Thaksin’s party Thak Rak Thai and persuading people to vote no,” a judge read out to the crowded courtroom. “It did not mislead voters about Thaksin’s popularity as the election commission alleged.” (AP)

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It’s 5.30 p.m. and this whole thing is being dragged out into the evening. The courts have successfully made this one of the most boring events in Thai political history. I suspect any protesters will get so frustrated with waiting around listening to this monotone verdict that they may just go home. Was this a ploy by the CNS? Possibly.

I will be going to Sanam Luang soon and will snap some more pictures and see what’s happening around that area. I have a feeling I could take a quick nap and grab a bite to eat before I get there and the verdict for TRT would still not be in.

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I still believe that TRT is going to be punished today. The lengths the CNS has gone to in order to make this mess as tidy as possible are extreme. They are expecting something to happen, and it looks as if TRT is also expecting something to happen. Honestly, I think they have to penalise TRT or else what was the coup for? But, this really is completely up in the air.

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Even Surayud got bored and went home! He left government house before 5 p.m. That’s awesome. TRT supporters are so bored that they’ve taken to ranting against the junta again. The CNS really knows how to kill a buzz.

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I’ve been getting the impression that there are hardly any people on the streets today. I don’t honestly believe there are 13,000 soldiers out there. The few soldiers I saw around the TRT building were sitting around watching TV. There was no military presence around Siam, Central, Victory Monument, or anywhere in the center of Bangkok. This sounds like scaremongering. I’ve not been to Sanam Luang yet but it seems there are only 300 people there. If the CNS was genuinely concerned about unrest then there should be military presence in all major areas, as was the case after the Bangkok bombings. The CNS themselves said that there may be bombings today; hence they said they would block mobile phone signals around the time (six hours and counting) of the verdict (although they did send out an SMS asking everyone to respect the law).

So where are these 13,000 soldiers? Have you seen them?

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At 9 p.m. tonight there were around 300 people at Sanam Luang listening to speeches about democracy, censorship, Thaksin, etc. The speeches were delivered powerfully and onlookers cheered and clapped throughout. So much for the enormous groups of people who were supposed to be wreaking havoc on the city today.

The taxi driver who took me back home from Sanam Luang seemed a little down so I asked him if he liked Thai Rak Thai. Of course, he said. “Chob Thaksin.” I asked him why and he told me that Thaksin helped poor people and that he helped people outside of Bangkok. The taxi driver also said that without Thaksin there would be no Suvarnabhumi Airport. All of this is true, but it is demonstrative of a subjective point of view.

The driver went on to say that Surayud has not done anything. It is easy to see why Thaksin was so powerful. After all, why should Thailand’s poor care about where money comes from or what purposes that money has if they can benefit from it? Thaksin gave people what they needed; there’s no reason why they’d ask questions.

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Kuthep Saikrajang of Thai Rak Thai noticed how bored people were getting and told them all to go home and watch the verdict on TV. You’ve got to wonder how long this will go on for.

Is Thai Rak Thai heading for a fall? This just in from The Nation:

The Constitution Tribunal finds former TRT deputy leader Thamarak Isarangura and ex-deputy secretary general Pongsak Ruktapongpisal guilty of involving in paying and hiring politicians of Pattana Chart Thai party to run in the April national election.

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After today’s nine-hour marathon they disbanded Thai Rak Thai. I’m so sick of this whole thing that I don’t care any more. 189 pages of verdicts has taught me that Thai judges certainly don’t know how to have fun. Apparently all the tribunal members “looked exhausted.” I know the feeling. There were never going to be any riots; there was never the danger of unrest. This has all been one huge CNS-led fiasco with the intention of boosting the junta’s powerful image.

I don’t think that anybody in Bangkok actually cares about this. If people wanted to protest in the city center they could have. The media has been severely misleading people.

Techno’ tags: Bangkok, Thai politics, Thai Rak Thai, Thaksin

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Today’s the day that could change the face of Thai politics forever. Bangkok Pundit has listed the seven possible outcomes; check his blog throughout the day for updates.

There was nothing of note to report on the streets of Bangkok: no heightened security around victory monument, Siam, or Central World Plaza. Nobody at the office is discussing what is going to happen; truthfully, today I have nobody to talk to about this. This should be a hot topic but the feeling I get is that when something like this is going on, people just want it to be over as soon as possible so that everything can get back to normal.

The Bangkok Post is reporting that many schools in the city have canceled classes ahead of today’s ruling. The Australian, British, Canadian, French, Japanese and American embassies have all issued warnings about the possibility of mass demonstrations today and tomorrow. Checkpoints have been set up throughout the city, and security is tight in certain areas, particularly around the Constitution Court.

There has been a lot of censorship leading up to today. Many pro-Thaksin websites have been blocked for fear they would inspire unrest. The Associated Press is reporting that mobile phone signals will be cut during the giving of the verdict, which is scheduled for around 1.30 p.m.

Reporters and leading Thai Rak Thai and Democrat Party members have now arrived at their respective headquarters, according to The Nation. More to come.

I will be going to the Thai Rak Thai head office at lunchtime today. It’s on Rama III Road, in the Navasorn Building. Will report back with pics.

Techno’ tags: Bangkok, Thai politics, Thai Rak Thai, Thaksin

The word is that there will be bombings tomorrow. Advice from those in the know is to stay away from Central, all malls, public phones, and trains. Take this for what it’s worth, but it came from a pretty high source. Tomorrow could well be a day to remember. Stay safe all. Keep an eye out at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

I am not making this up.