"Excuse me, Captain can I get to the shop from here? Just the corner shop there...' 'Sure' he said 'take it easy.'
It would have most likely to have been either the Bangkok Post or The Nation, but I think it is a great piece of photo-journalism that highlighted the general tension in the city with frequent sniper shots throughout the streets and buildings as each side vied for position and sought to 'take out' various important people, and often succeeded in doing so.
There were firebombs here and there, RPGs, clatter of fire, bomb-disposal crews at the bus stop defusing something right there as you got on the bus...etc.
At the same time, life in the city went on and apart from the streets blocked by either supporters or the Army with their sonic-cannons playing Imagine by John Lennon before they turned up the amps... etc, life went on the same, people shopping, working, stepping out at lunchtime to pray at the street shrines and buying swimming goggles for the tear-gas from market vendors.
The nature of Thai people remains, for me, so individual and remarkable. One example was that when the rebels took over Parliament House they brought with them rented porta-loos and bus loads of masseurs. Radio stations ran sms competitions about who was winning etc and the prizes for getting it right were new Toyota Corollas.
It was a terrible time for Bangkok and for the people, for sure, but it was also amazing to experience that Thai calmness, and even some familiar smiling happening. The Thais did work that issue through pretty well without losing too much that was most important.
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