bombs in bangkok

after getting back to Bangkok for Vietnam, we decided to hang out for a few days before heading back to Chiang Mai. my uncle (that we always stay with) tore his gastrocnemius dancing, so he was immobile and home a lot. chris and i spent a lot of time talking to him and trying to keep him company in between eating a lion's share of farang (foreigner) food, shopping (yay year end-sales!) watching movies (we saw Deja Vu and The Holiday), and hanging out with our Thai friends - Nan, Mon, and Krit (fried chicken, papaya salad, and karaoke). i also had a chance to read both Haruki Murakami's 'new' collection of short stories, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Memories of My Melancholy Whores. Chris and I also got a chance to meet up with James (Fogarty fellow, S. Africa) and enjoy some quality time together.

For New Year's Eve, we didn't have any big plans and thought it would be nice to spend it with my uncle. before heading home from siam, we did some small good deeds (donated money to homeless and disabled people on the street, helped an elderly man buy a Skytrain card). We ate dinner at UFM Noodle House (totally empty, except for us) and bought some dumplings and noodles for my uncle even though he was like, "i don't need anything, i already ate." when we got home, he scarfed it down, saying "i'm not really hungry, but i'll eat it anyway" so that was good. it was then that we also heard about the bombings throughout Bangkok that had happened about half an hour earlier. about seven bombs went off within a 15-minute period at major destinations in Bangkok (including Victory Monument Bus Station, Seacon Square Shopping Mall parking lot, and Big C (like a Meijer or Target) Saphan Kwai, etc.) Everyone injured/killed in these blasts were Thai. After the news of the bombs came out, major countdown celebrations (think of the Bangkok equivalent of Times Square) were cancelled/moved up three hours. Some people ended up going out anyway, but a lot of people cancelled their plans and stayed home. We ended up calling Derrick and his gf and telling them to come home immediately; they did and stated that cops were swarming Siam and shutting down all the dept stores early.


i ended up going to bed at 10 pm and then chris woke me up a few minutes before midnight to watch the fireworks display from the roof of my uncle's condo. shortly after midnight, we saw a bunch of police cars and heard sirens heading towards downtown. i was like, 'i wonder what's going on?' i also thought i heard something that sounded like a bomb, but it was difficult to distinguish between all the fireworks. we didn't find out until the next day that there were more bombs at gaysorn plaza (another mall, and one of the corners of central world countdown) and at a seafood restaurant close by. this is about two-three blocks from my uncle's place, and down the street from where i used to live when i was on my fulbright. more thais and some british citizens were injured. after that, it's been peaceful. we heard that there had been some bombings in Chiang Mai but our neighbor (we came home yesterday) said she hadn't heard anything; im not sure what the real news is.

the press states that it's unlikely that the bombs are related to the 'Southern insurgency' . Word on the street is it's most likely due to some unhappy people in the ousted government, but who knows? it's a difficult situation now, and unfortunate for Bangkok, where I'm sure there will be less tourists for the New Year.