Well, apart from what I described in my last posting, I finally saw a "red shirt" rally in San Patong on Tuesday morning. A little bit after 10 AM I heard a bit of a
commotion on the main north-south road that runs in frint of our office. When I looked out of the window of my office, there were a couple hundred motorcycles
passing by on the northbound road. The pillion riders (often 2 or 3) were carrying large red flags and were wearing their eponymous red shirts. These motorcycles
were followed by several hundred cars and pickup trucks again decked out with various displays of red.
At the time, I didn't understand why they were having a rally since the government had agreed to dissolve parliment and hold elections which were the red-shirt demands.
However, it now seems that they more more demands and the protest sites that are paralyzing Bangkok's main commercial area are not being dismantled and that the
government is considering cancelling the election "promise." This anti-government protest appears far from over.
I am sure most of you have heard about the violent situation in Bangkok over the weekend and maybe wondering about what is going on in Chiang Mai.
Even in Thailand, it is hard to find news about Chiang Mai as the focus of all activity in the country is Bangkok.
From what I can see (which is limited) there are almost no protest activities here. On Saturday afternoon, I drove past the rear entrance to the Provincial Government
Office complex north of the city and there were only a handful of "red-shirt" demonstrators gathering. I also saw 2 fire department trucks equipped with water cannons
driving in the direction of the office complex but cannot confirm exactly where they were going. It is is possible they were going to fight a fire though I doubt it.
In the over 10 years I have been here, I have never seen or even heard of a building fire and only a few times have I seen them fighting a brush fire. The entrances
were blocked but that is not surprising since the offices are closed on Saturdays. Later in the night, I drove past the front entrance and was surprised to see traffic
going in and out. It seems that the police and military guarding the complex simply opened the gates after a little negotiation. It remains to be seen if they can take
back control on Monday morning. I doubt it.
Other than that, there are no organized protests in Chiang Mai and no disruption of everyday life. I think there are too many people looking forward to 3 or 4 days of
partying and water fights in the 40C to worry about politics over the next week. The only possibility of disruption would be if the airports in Bangkok were taken over
and nobody seems to be contemplating that.
Many of you have probably been hearing about the recent demostrations by the "Red Shirts" in Thailand. These demonstrations are for the most part going on in Bangkok and those of us living in Chiang Mai have been uneffected. However, last week I had to go up to the Provincial Government Office complex and found the security very tight. There were police checkpoints on the main road and the road to the back entrance was closed completely as were all the entrances except for one small side entrance which had another police checkpoint.
Once inside the entrance, the access paths to the building entrance were restricted to a narrow path with concrete barriers and razor wire. Normally there is a cursory security check at the entrance but in the 10 years I've been here, I've simply ignored it and walked in. This time I was stopped, given an entry badge and then photographed. I guess it worked because I didn't see 1 red shirted demonstrator anywhere near the complex.
One of the biggest festivals during the year in Chiang Mai is "Loi Kratong" or Festival of Lights. In Chiang Mai northern Thai dialect it is called "Yee Peng." Celebrants
launch a small raft (kratong) decorated with flowers, candles and joss sticks into a flowing body of water and make a wish. The chances that your wish will be realized
are enhanced by putting hair and nail clippings on your kratong.
One of the other things the festival is famous for is the launching of massive numbers of "kom loi" or paper balloons. With literally thousands of these balloons
floating in the night sky, it is a truly impressive site. However, I wouldn't suggest flying to Chiang Mai at night during the festival. The potential for disaster
is there.
Several years ago, I read an article in The Bangkok Post describing how difficult it is for the disabled to find jobs in Thailand mainly
because of the difficulty in getting to the work location. Since we deliver the materials to the producers home, I remember thinking that this was a chance for us to
help people without many other alternatives. However, nobody seemed to know how to locate them so I didn't make much progress.
Then one of my next door neighbors was in a serious motorcycle accident and severely injured his legs. A year and a half later, he still needs to use a walker and is unable to
work a regular job. Around the same time, his daughter gave birth to special needs boy and her husband headed for the hills. So now they work for us and are known in the
office as the "Nongkwai Group" after the area where they live. You can see them working on bags for our customer LunAroma, an Italian maker
of handmade soap.
13 May 2010
We have added a batik cotton place setting set with saa paper box as our first non-saa paper product. Please click here to
see details of this product.
23 March 2010
We have added 10 Christmas cards to our range of 02508 Layered Die-Cut Cards. Please click here to see these new Christmas cards.
19 February 2010
We have added Tri-Fold Cards in 2 sizes to our wide selection of greeting cards. Please click here to see these new cards.
15 February 2010
We have added 3 new Floral papers to our range. Please click here to see these new paper patterns.
10 December 2009
We have added 10 more Layered Die-Cut cards with a miscellaneous holidays theme. Please click here for more details.
4 November 2009
We have added 2 Polygonal Boxes. Please click here for more details.
17 September 2009
We have added a set of 10 Layered Diecut cards in 148x105 mm size. Please click here
for more details.
28 August 2009
We have added a set of 10 Tea Bag Fold cards available in both 148 x 105 mm and 140 x 140 mm sizes. Please click here
for more details.
24 February 2009
We are introducing a set of 3 sizes of folding lid boxes. Please click here to find out more about this box.
21 January 2009
We have added a new necklace box to our range of jewelry boxes. Please click here to find out more about this new box.
We have added a new choker box to our range of jewelry boxes. Please click here to find out more about this new box.
19 January 2009
We have added 2 sizes of a new Pyramid Jewelry Box to our range of jewelry boxes. Please click here to find out more about these new boxes.
17 October 2008
We have added a set of 3 wedge shaped flat fold boxes. Please click here to find out more about these new boxes.
14 October 2008
We have added a new set of 3 Flat Fold Basket Boxes. Please click here to find out more about these new boxes.
15 September 2008
We have added a new card design based on a technique called "quilling."
Click here to see all of these new cards.