Thailand: Land of a thousand frowns and the occasional military uprising.

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So today marks the official beginning of imposed Martial Law here in Chiang Mai. For the past few nights in Bangkok, there has been a mandatory curfew for all inhabitants (starting at 8pm and ending at 6am) in response to the increasing violence there the last few weeks. The good news: The Thai military was successful in capturing six of the rebel leaders in the city center yesterday and, for the most part, cleared out thousands of the red-shirts. The bad news: All those protesters have returned to their homes, mostly in the north, mostly in Chiang Mai. Hmm...... So yesterday the red-shirts burned the governor's house to the ground and set fires in the middle of Chiang Mai's major bridges. Our university closed all classes (except for mine of course, since we're relatively autonomous) and the embassies have followed suit. I sent an email to the U.S. embassy in Bangkok the other day and received a polite and automated "sorry we're closed indefinitely" message. Oh what inconvenient things political uprisings can be!

If you're worried... well you should be. Thailand hasn't experienced this level of political turmoil since the last coup in 1992. The Thais I have befriended the past few weeks seem both worried and optimistic, which can perhaps be attributed either to their Buddhist passivity or their fear of expressing true inner feelings. OR :0) they might really think these things will just pass naturally soon.

Still, it's business as usual around here in Chiang Mai. We had classes again today and I was able to ride my motorbike around my part of town without seeing any signs of trouble. Traffic is a little slow due to the blockages on two bridges, but other than that, we're doing alright.

My friends and I will be on the first plane to Bali if things get bad (then they'll get great!).

As for the imposed curfew tonight, I've got cold beers in the fridge, a few new albums to get through, and a Champions League Final to watch on TV.

My love to you wherever you are,
Sanderson

Here's a pretty good article from BBC on what's going on in Bangkok. No one has written about the provinces much yet.