May 18th, 2010
I feel I must apologize to all you sweet folks back home for our lack of communication during the remainder of our Thailand adventure. With the protests and ensuing violence in Bangkok (and the media's success in blowing it completely out of proportion) there's no wonder that you guys began to worry when the blogs stopped coming! But I can assure you that we are safe. We've been hanging out in paradise in southern Thailand (with little to no internet connection) and having the time of our lives!
(Over the course of the next few days, I will be updating the blog with our excursions in Chiang Mai and the islands....)
But back to it...
Both times we traveled through Bangkok, we never encountered any inkling of the turmoil. Aside from the sporadic red flag flapping behind a local's scooter -indicating it's owner's protest of the Thai government and support of the red shirts (followers of Thaksin Shinawarta, the ousted mega-millionaire former Prime Minister who is now in exile in Cambodia), we would have had no idea that there was any unrest at all. In their sensationalized reports, what the media fails to include is that Bangkok is comparable in size to the city of Los Angeles, and although we hear that the conflict is slowly spreading, it has been previously isolated to a few blocks. The city was never evacuated (as we heard on one news channel while we were in Phuket) and the Bangkok airport was never closed down (an untruth claimed by the media that caused tons of international tourists to cancel their trips).
This isn't to say that there is not real violence occurring in Bangkok. There have been lives lost and many people injured and displaced in that area of the city. But after traveling from the top of Thailand to the bottom, and speaking with so many locals who are seriously struggling from the blow to their country's tourism, it is difficult to not feel frustrated about the sensationalized reports (and in some cases blatant untruths) being spread globally by the media.
With that being said, we just wanted everyone to know that we are safe and that we appreciate all of your concern. We've made it back to Atlanta and I am writing this sitting comfortably at my desk in my office at home. As I begin to sort through all the photographs, I will get them posted asap!
Lots of love from the Burbridges...
