Bangkok Lockdown Day 1

We have been hearing intermittent explosions since late last night and, gunshots after gunshot around our apartment. It almost felt surreal.

We were told that pretty much every road surrounding the area where we live will be sealed off; which meant that we won't be spared the inconvenience, as all exits from where our soi meets the main roads will no doubt be affected. That means, we will pretty much be like prisoners in our own home, with no real date of being "released".

Wondering how bad the extent of the road's accessibility (or in this case, the INaccessibility) will be, in case we need to make an exit if shit happens, we decided to take a walk to the end of our soi. Just so, we can get a feel of things. Walking halfway down towards the end of the soi, we literally stopped short in our tracks when we saw soldiers after solders emerging from a corner in a war-like stance as they moved towards us. I swear my heart started palpitating almost immediately!

Every one of them was armed, and within seconds, humvees and military trucks followed suit. Helicopters were seen circling around. It felt really intense, as if anything could happen at that very moment. I started getting jittery and thought that we should turn back! Silver Bullet had brought his camera gear along, and so took the opportunity to snap a few pictures, making ME feel extremely bothered and impatient. It felt like a very long wait! But! He does have a few nice pictures to boot.

We abandoned the thought of walking towards the end of the soi. At least for now, till it feels like it is easing out a little. Till then, we will be prisoners in our own home...

Here are some snapshots of the army marching right into our soi this afternoon: