July 26th was Thaksin’s big birthday party, celebrated all over Thailand. Here in Bangkok three main venues of the festivities were chosen – Wat Kaeow Fa, Wat Uthaitharam, and the big Chinese table dinner at Mangkorn Luang Restaurant.
I went at 9 am to Wat Kaeow Fa first. Thousands of Thaksin’s supporters gathered there. The event was hosted by former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and his wife, Thaksin’s sister Yaowapa. There were many elaborate rituals, such as protecting Thaksin, and lifting curses laid by his opponents. One ritual, for example, countered a curse laid by the PAD some time before. Four upturned bowls on a table were, after chanting by four monks, turned around. This was to symbolize the lifting of the spell.
An amusing episode was when Somchai was to feed a few bulls with grass. One of the bulls was aggravated by the crowd wearing Red Shirts, and broke free. I think I made not the most courageous impression when I had to jump over several chairs to escape the mad bull running after me. If anyone thinks of going to attend the bull running in Pamplona – don’t!
The ceremonies ended with a phone-in by Thaksin, and the crowd sang ‘happy birthday’.
In the later afternoon, after some heavy rainshowers, I made my way to Bang Na, to the Mangkorn Luang Restaurant, a huge Chinese restaurant styled after a Chinese temple, with tiled roofs, walkways, a lake, and a tall pagoda. There were many pretty reception girls and beer girls, and waiters on roller skates. The venue was sold out in advance – a table for 5000 baht, a single seat for 500 baht. Organizers said that they expect to make a loss of at least several hundred thousand baht, so they could keep the dinner cheap enough.
Attending were many Pheua Thai MP’s and stars, and members of Thaksin’s family, including his sisters Yaowapa and Yingluck.
I had no chance to taste the food – the dishes brought to the journalist’s tables were attacked by my colleagues like hungry wolves (I managed though to snatch a small piece of the cake behind the stage – very nice!).
After many speeches Thaksin appeared in a video-link. The candles of the cake were blown out by Yaowapa and Yingluck, with Thaksin in Dubai simultaneously blowing out the candles of his cake there. The party ended with fireworks and songs by several stars, such as plaeng look thung star Takadaen Chonlada. The crowd cheered when it was announced over the microphone that the Pheua Thai Party-supported candidate won a Provincial Adminsitration Organization election over the Democrat-supported candidate in Surat Thani.
I went last to Wat Uthaitharam, hosted by Veera Musikapong, Dr. Weng Tojirakarn and Shinawat Habunphad from the taxi radio station. Many thousand Red Shirts had gathered there.
It seems that Thaksin Shinawatra together with his family might play a much larger role again in the Red Shirts, as was indicated by his increased presence during the Songkran riots and its run up, and in many of the new Red Shirt publications. It remains to be seen if this is a turn towards personality cult, or if the aspirations for a more open Democracy in Thailand will still be the main focus in the Red Shirt movement. Clear though is that Thaksin and the Red Shirts still have massive support, and show no inclination of giving up their struggle. The birthday celebrations were a PR victory for Thaksin over Abhisit, whose strategically well laid football game of government vs. foreign diplomats may have stolen some of the media attention, but did not get much interest from the Thai population.
17 responses so far ↓
1 Jana Wendt // Jul 28, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Great photos & report Nick. My ovaries yearn for Thaksin. Does anyone know what he said during the video link?
2 John Roberts // Jul 28, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I happened upon the celebration in Sob Ruak in the Golden Triangle, slightly less glamorous – food but no beer/whisky or pretty girls – a serious event with speeches and too much unaccompanied solo singing from the stage (embarrasing for singer and listener alike akin to the Tory party conference some years back in the UK) and not just from the man himself.
About 250 people but seats for many more – I would think they were dissappointed with the turn out, it was the only such celebration between Mae Sai, Mae Chan and Chiang Khong, would have thought a true grass roots organisation could have attracted more, honest of them not to offer whisky which would have attracted many more (less devout) supporters but made a bigger splash.
Everyone was very nice, despite my neutral shirt, fed me lamyai and talked about the good old days.
Scratchy signal during the phone in but message recieved, thought the magazine a little much but all very much appreciated by those in red.
Still slightly perturbed by the lack of concept (from both sides) that there may be some middle ground and that anyone but themselves might have a point.
Nice cake, interesting venue.
3 Bored of the ringpiece // Jul 28, 2009 at 2:01 pm
The biggest loudmouth in a country where one is practically tied down and forced to listen to boring obnoxious cretins. It’s a form of torture really. Indeed, it is probably one’s kharma for having been similarly obnoxious in a previous lifetime.
4 nobody // Jul 28, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Personality cult is the big thing in democratic poltics these days around the world.
Obama, Berlusconi, Sarkozy. Like em or hate em, you cant ignore them. The people are bigger than the policies. I doubt Thailand will buck that trend.
5 nobody // Jul 28, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Wasnt there another a birthday a couple of days later? A lot of people I know are comparing these. Now there is a surprise that is not making it into print.
6 Frank // Jul 28, 2009 at 3:52 pm
You can ignore the whole damn lot of them if you so wish. They are just a mark of how the mainstream have tried to dumb things down because they’re too lazy to deal with a bit of complexity. And Thaksin is a prime example of such crass politics.
7 Nicholas Farrelly // Jul 28, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Nobody,
Are you referring to a birthday that falls today?
Best wishes to all,
Nich
8 Frank // Jul 28, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Rentamonk!
9 michael // Jul 28, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Jana Wendt’s ovaries **yearn** for Thaksin. Jeezus, that’s a bit suss. You do know, Ms W, that he’s a Nasty Man, I hope. (Not that I’m rooting – in the non-Australian sense of the term, of course – for the opposition.)
Nice photos, Nick, again. Umm…are they ladyboys? The ones in the tops, I mean.
10 Regular Reader // Jul 29, 2009 at 12:36 am
An extensive coverage again Nick – good work.
You make mention of crowd numbers being in the “thousands” – to add more objectivity to the narrative, do you have any idea how many “thousands”?
11 Miss P. // Jul 29, 2009 at 1:10 am
“There were many elaborate rituals, such as protecting Thaksin, and lifting curses laid by his opponents. One ritual, for example, countered a curse laid by the PAD some time before. Four upturned bowls on a table were, after chanting by four monks, turned around. This was to symbolize the lifting of the spell.”
Where else in the world do politics and magic collide so beautifully?
ahh, god bless thailand.
12 Nick Nostitz // Jul 29, 2009 at 1:19 am
“michael”
Most definitely female of the first category. That is the look preferred in the better Thai places – light skinned, skinny, loooong legs.
And noses.
13 Nick Nostitz // Jul 29, 2009 at 1:07 pm
“Regular Reader”
It’s very difficult to state a correct number. At Wat Kaeow Fa it was impossible to guess due to the layout. I arrived at Wat Uthai only late, when many people left already, and different intelligence services gave widely differing numbers – from 4000 to 17 000.
4000 is definitely way too low, when i arrived there were still more than that, and i don’t know what the top number was.
The man whose estimates i usually rely on, and trust in the numbers game, has that day not been at Wat Uthai.
“Miss P.”
At times the religious aspect of this conflict aspect makes interesting images, indeed. The problem though is, that because the polarization of Thai society is not just political and social, but also religious and spiritual, it elevates it into much more dangerous levels than many people realize.
There are aspects that cannot be dealt with rational debate anymore, but happen on a purely emotional level.
14 blogskeptik // Jul 29, 2009 at 1:45 pm
And in your face
15 Regular Reader // Jul 29, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Thanks for the estimates, Nick.
I know what you mean about Wat Kaeow Fa, it is full of little pockets in amongst the trees and all – so quite difficult to tell.
In any case, it sounds like the figure is probably in the same range as those functions held at Wat Pakeow in Don Muang, where being in an open field, it was easier to estimate the numbers.
It would be intersting to know, if this crowd was much the same as the Wat Pakeow crowd, or were many there because of it being for Thaksin, or as you point out to “Miss P” for “religeous reasons”?
This might also indicate the size of the “rusted on” UDD constituency as opposed to the “day trippers” and Thaksin followers.
16 nobody // Jul 29, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Nich
yes about the birthday. I seem to have been a victim of muddled tenses or days
17 Curious // Jul 30, 2009 at 2:15 pm
One’s birthday is now being used to see one’s popularity. Let us see what happens on the 3rd of August, which is the birthday of our handsome PM. Some people have announced plans to wear black on that day. Perhaps sonthi Lim should also announce his birthday plans.
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