Fear in Bangkok as bullets fly close to home

Almost everything in the area is closed: restaurants, supermarkets, Bangkok’s ubiquitous massage parlors and even the go-go bars on Patpong Road, one of the city’s most famous sex-bar strips, which is now lined with water cannon trucks and military vehicles.

Outside the city center, life goes on somewhat normally. People are buying groceries, taking their morning jogs and sipping lattes at outdoor cafes. But there are inconveniences — the elevated Skytrain will remain closed Monday for the third day and all schools in Bangkok were ordered closed for at least a week starting Monday.

“You get a lot of calls from home, from people asking if you’re OK. They see the one shot on the news of a bus burning and they think all of Bangkok is the same,” said Dutch businessman Ruud van der Linden, 52, who has lived in Bangkok with his family for six years.
Even from relative safety, there are new rules to live by. Notably, stay away from the center of Bangkok.

See the full article from “The Associated Press”




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