Junta Determined to Shut Down Protests

http://bangkokpost.com/news/politics/412517/bids-to-tame-anti-coup-protesters

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/human-rights-under-threat/

Settling in Chiang Mai

I'm finally settling into something of a quiet routine here in Chiangmai with a cheap but good hotel room:
 
 https://www.google.co.th/?gws_rd=cr&ei=YgOIU47rMIbmrAfK1YDwAw#q=rest+bull+bed+and+bar

The "bar" part of the "bed and bar" service is closed for the low season.  I'm also benefiting from a low season rate of almost 30% below the high season rate.

The monsoon season is just beginning so we've had overcast skies the past 2-3 days, but no heavy rains just yet.

The people I've talked to say it's definitely a slower low season than usual, but they don't necessarily attribute that to the recent coup and curtailed nightly business hours.

In this "old city" neighborhood, within the 700 year-old city walls, I have access to a couple good coffee shops, 8-10 restaurants that run the gamut of Thai cuisine, a couple convenience stores, 2-3 Thai traditional massage shops (about $12 for two hours), 3-4 laundry services (about $1 per kilo), and the famous Kasem store:

 https://www.google.co.th/?gws_rd=cr&ei=-wSIU-TSPMbnrAeg8oHoAw#q=kasem+store+chiangmai

This is a local institution where you can buy excellent baguettes, imported cheese, vegemite, Fruit Loops (for real!) and other farang goodies.

Also nearby is the Warorot Market:

http://www.visitchiangmai.com.au/warorot_market.html

As nice as it is to feel like I'm settling in, there's also a strange feeling underlying it all:  has it really been seven years since my last visit? (Yes, and it feels longer.)  Did I really live here for most of eight years in the 1990s?  (Yes, but what a world of a different time that was, and what a different city Chiangmai is now.)  Can I still speak and understand Thai?  (Yes, although I can tell my pronunciation of some of the tonal syllables is a little rusty.)

The youngest people I meet here--those under 25 years of age--weren't even born when I first visited in 1989.  At that time Chiangmai's population was estimated to be around 100,000.  Today, the city is at least five times that size with about 1.6 million people in Chiangmai Province. 

And while The Rose of the North has always been a top destination for farang travelers and tourists, the past decade or so has seen the city evolve into the premier weekend getaway destination for affluent Bangkokians and other middle class Thais.

Interruption of Facebook Causes Outrage in Thailand

http://bangkokpost.com/news/local/412255/facebook-temporarily-down

http://bangkokpost.com/news/politics/412357/udd-co-leaders-set-free

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/the-facebook-glitch/

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/lese-majeste-crackdown/

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/journalists-detained-and-threatened/

Taylor Swift Concert Canceled

http://bangkokpost.com/news/local/412035/sold-out-taylor-swift-concert-cancelled-after-coup-in-thailand

Bangkok Post Reporter Admonished

http://bangkokpost.com/news/local/412080/coup-chief-requests-easier-questions

http://bangkokpost.com/news/local/412047/chaturon-arrested-at-fcct

Thai Curfew Eased Somewhat

Yesterday I flew from Hanoi to Bangkok, cleared immigration very quickly, and bought a seat on the last flight to Chiangmai.

The BCC reported this morning that the army has eased curfew restrictions somewhat from 10pm-5am to midnight-4am.  This is better news for the economy which has been contracting all year because of the political gridlock which led to the coup, and the coup certainly hasn't improved that grim outlook.

Half the TV channels are shut down and replaced by an Orwellian screensaver with the name of the junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (Thai acronym Khor Sor Chor), and its red, blue, yellow, and brown seals.

All active TV channels have the Khor Sor Chor logo stamped on the upper right hand corner of the screen.

Thais are quite used to this sort of thing, but it sure looks awfully "funny" to Westerners.  CNN is still unavailable, but the BBC, for some reason, is allowed to air its reports on "spontaneous" demonstrations.

The opposition PPT website (or at least its "mirrored" version) is apparently unblocked by the authorities.  Maybe that's because the site is in English.  Check out the links below for PPT's newest online reports:

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/interview-with-released-political-detainee/

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/hrw-thailand-rights-in-free-fall-after-coup/

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/national-peace-and-order-maintenance-council-announcement-no-372557/

http://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/prayuths-press-conference/

Thai Academics Criticize Junta For Speech Suppression

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/411879/ncpo-under-criticism-after-trying-to-silence-critics

 https://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/cracking-down-in-the-provinces/

 https://politicalprisonersofthailand.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/ahrc-concern-for-detainees/