It's the fifth day of a pretty full-on urban war in Bangkok. Even more shocking to me and my neighbors is that our sweet little street is one of the hottest zones. I got out Saturday and have been staying at Nabeel's. The picture above, taken from his rooftop, is of the smoke rising from my neighborhood. I'd love to go back to my apartment and pack more of my things (I'm afraid it will be ransacked) but it's too dangerous. Bullets are flying about and people are being shot on the streets and even on their high-rise balconies. I kept waking Friday night to sounds of gunfire, blasts and sirens. We can still hear the blasts over here and dogs howling through the night due to the noise. I've been so glued to various websites and twitter pages that it never occurred to me to update this blog. It was Sarah who suggested it and I laughed: I had completely forgotten I even have a blog. When all this blows over, and I hope it does soon, I'll post about my recent trip to visit her in Indonesia. It was incredible and seems ages away now.Anyway, just wanted to let anyone checking this know that I'm safe. To be honest, I don't feel like writing much about it. It's about all I talk about and read about and at this point analysis has become mental paralysis. Maybe I'll write more when there's an update. Just please keep the Thai people in your thoughts or prayers. For most of them, watching their city turn into a virtual battlefield is devastating. And some people are still stuck in their homes with no electricity. This at the hottest time of year. No fans, no way to refrigerate or cook food, no way to boil the acrid water. I did read, though, that both the reds and the military are now bringing them food. I also saw that while people are losing their lives for him, Thaksin has more important things on his mind: http://tweetphoto.com/22802583. Shame, shame.
