We also happenend to be there during the worst part of the government unrest. That was pretty interesting. Some of my early pics are of one sit-in/demonstration-type thing the anti-gov't forces (guys in yellow) were setting up. Supposedly they were protecting the TV station from being shut down by government censors. You can see from the pic that it really wasn't a very tense situation. But the night before someone had died in conflicts between the pro and anti-govt forces. So people were a little tense.
Thai politics is very convoluted, they've had 18 constitutions since they became a democracy in 1925, and about as many bloodless coups. Basically as far as I can figure out, instead of just getting fed up and voting the bums out every 4 years like we do, they replace their whole system of govt. But since the Thais are such generally mellow, non-violent people, they usually manage to do it w/o much physical strife. While we were there, the Prime Minister got indicted for hosting some kind of cooking show while he was in office (and taking money for it), and ousted. Pretty sure this was just some kind of way for them to get him out while he gets to save face. So life goes on in Thailand until the next unrest.
Everyone got along well. No one came down with Monkey Pox or any other weird diseases. We got to see one of the wonders of the world in Angkor Wat. Shelby said she could die happy because she got to have a monkey eat off her shoulder. We managed to eat a LOT of incredible food without putting on too many pounds. Shelby got to experience another culture for the first time (and try a bunch of new fruits). I got to know my stepbrother and stepfather a lot better. And Amber & Shelby had a trip of a life time. So I'm very very happy and smiling like a Thai :D
Thanks again Derek for being such a great host and working so hard to make sure the trip was a success!
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