Wed, 19 May 2010 5:00a.m.
Mike McRoberts in Bangkok
I’ve spent a bit of time in Bangkok over the years and stayed fairly close to where I’m staying now – the difference in how this area looks today defies belief.
Even before we’d got to the city thick black smoke from burning tyres drifted across the normally congested motorway from the airport.
Traffic today was light, and once we got into the city it was almost non existent. In the normally frantic shopping and tourist district our hotel is in it’s like a ghost town.
There are military and police road blocks everywhere and vehicles, like the taxi we were travelling in, aren’t allowed through.
Read our breakdown of events with a Q & A on the Thailand crisis
In order to try and make it to the live point for my first news cross I had to leave my cameraman “Dutchie” with the gear on the side of the road and jump on the back of a motorbike.
As it turns out this is the mode of transport being used now by most journalists covering this story.
The motorbike ride took us through the heart of the red shirts camp – often referred to as “makeshift” but parts of it looked fairly well entrenched to me. There were hundreds of people I could see going about their daily business eating, washing, cleaning and sleeping.
On the outskirts of the camp mountains of over-full black rubbish bags are growing on the side of the roads, and the stench in the warm Bangkok weather is foul.
Most of the shops in the area are closed and office buildings and car parks remain empty. The sky train and subway aren’t running either and apart from sporadic gun fire it’s virtually silent.
From my hotel room window it looks like a scene out of some apocalyptic movie where all life has disappeared.
My hotel is inside the military cordon, the only people staying here are journalists, many of whom are completely kitted out in flak jackets and helmets. It’s a very bizarre sight as you see them wandering through the foyer or coming out of the lift like any normal guests.
Like the protesters sleeping on the steps of a designer clothing store there are many images here that just seem out of place.