The journey to the heart of the city’s shopping quarter allowed more white-collar workers to join the rally.

They let fly with their catch-cry of "Thaksin Awk-pai" (Thaksin get out!), but they were surely missing the homely atmosphere of Rajdamnoen Nok Avenue.

It was something of an adventure for the anti-Thaksin demonstrators, travelling from familiar ground near Government House to a completely new world in the middle of the concert jungle outside Siam Paragon shopping complex.

They must have missed the shady trees, the ample space to roam around, and the troops of friendly street vendors who offered up a variety of snacks.

Shopping is no doubt central to the majority of the protesters' lives, but it's a different story when it comes to public protest.

It was indeed an adventure for all of them, those who shared a common hope of gaining the support of the "silent ones" - those who had not yet publicly declared their anti-Thaksin stance.

Their wish came true . . . Wednesday's turnout was one of the largest in the marathon series of rallies aimed at ousting Thaksin.

The newcomers were mostly office workers from the Siam area.

"I'm so glad I finally have a chance to participate in the rally, because it moved here," said Oh, an office employee who walked to the rally from The Offices at Central World Plaza.

In addition to white-collar workers from the surrounding area, the demonstrators gained a moral boost thanks to a group from Chulalongkorn University, who marched as a bloc to the protest.

It was fairly obvious that the Rajdamnoen crew was well-prepared. They were the first to lay mats down and reserved some space shortly after the stage was erected and projectors set up.

It was quite humid at the beginning of the rally, with protesters lodged behind the beams of the Skytrain and in between Siam Square and Siam Paragon. It was humid and there was no fresh breeze to cool the masses, as there had been at Rajdamnoen.

Logistics were a challenge this time - the sound and projector systems had their fair share of problems.

But no one complained and no one moved around, even when they couldn't see anything on the projectors and couldn't hear anything from the speakers.

Were their actions robotic? Not quite, but they were too civilised to complain, for they knew they had not gathered for fun, this was a serious business.

And so they waited patiently, until early evening, when problems were ironed out and everything worked properly.

Missing from the scene were the BMA toilet trucks, but everyone managed to find their way to restrooms in a number of restaurants in the Siam Square area, the Novotel Hotel, and shopping complexes including Central World Plaza, Gaysorn Plaza and Erawan Sogo.

The street vendors - offering grilled Isaan sausages and fried fish balls - were replaced by 7-Eleven outlets, the "suki-yaki" chain and other high-end restaurants.

Protesters probably spent more money than they normally would. For Bt15, one could get a box of rice topped with an omelette at Rajdamnoen, from anyone of more than 10 carts. In the Siam area one needed to spend more to fill up.

But an advantage - and a major one at that - was access to the Skytrain. The very first reaction of regular protesters, after hearing of the Siam Paragon gathering, was relief.

Many demonstrators had found it difficult getting around by taxi.

Figures from BTS confirmed the demand from anti-Thaksin groups. There were 110,000 trips made on Wednesday, exceeding the number on New Year's Eve, which broke previous records.

Arriving on the BTS were more fashionable protesters.

This was a chance to make a fashion statement - young people added more colour to the rally, while there were fewer kids and pets compared with the Rajdamnoen gatherings.

As the rally plied the streets of the inner city and gained the support of the young and fashionable, there was a small price to pay.

The fun-filled political activities that had flanked previous rallies disappeared, casualties of the cramped surroundings. Yet there remained some street vendors, selling souvenirs and T-shirts, who offered their goods on mats. It was a political carnival for the newcomers, but for the Rajdamnoen crowd this trip was more an outing to meet new friends.

The saying, "There's no place like home", is a refrain that rang true for the protesters, out and about on the city leg of their protest.

Veena Thoopkrajae

The Nation