Eerie quiet remains

We had taken a taxi to Patpong. Soldiers inspected each vehicle passing by. We started late in the morning. Although it was daytime, one could see instantly that it was different than normal days there.

Although Patpong is a popular area among foreigners, only a few were eating at a restaurant there. Amid the quiet atmosphere, guests and waitresses at the restaurant were tense or on the alert. They exchanged strange looks, watching every time somebody entered the restaurant or walked past each table.

A few foreigners hung out at a beverage shop nearby.

An ATM machine in front of a Foodland outlet had run out of cash. An officer at the bank told the shop manager it was too dangerous to transport more cash to fill the machine up again.

We walked along Surawong Road. Some vehicles passed by and some shops were open. Aside from soldiers on patrol, and police at their checkpoints, there were just motorcycle taxi-drivers, waiting in groups along the road.

We turned right to Rama IV Road and were stunned at the view. Almost as far as we could see the road was empty, except for razor wire.

At Sala Daeng intersection, we met people loitering around who had lost their jobs at the burnt-out CentralWorld. There were also foreigners who had come to take pictures of this rare atmosphere - of a normally crowded road.

Sala Daeng has been different since it was a strategic corner of the red shirts protest down at Rajprasong, as well as a rally site for local residents and others opposed to the red shirts.

On April 22, a woman was killed and 75 others injured when five M79 grenades were fired at hundreds of people gathered under Sala Daeng Skytrain station to counter the red-shirt protesters.

And recently, Sala Daeng intersection was full of bunkers created by the protesters.

By Friday, these small red-shirt 'forts' had been cleared away. It was just an empty street, being cleaned by employees from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The McDonald's outlet on the corner was open until 2pm. Only beverages were available. Staff said it was open only to test the machines after a period of closure. They expected it would provide normal service tomorrow.

In recent weeks the fast-food outlet was hit with marbles and rocks fired from across the road near Lumpini Park.

We took motorcycle taxis to visit a senior photographer from The Nation shot in the leg last Saturday, now recovering in hospital.

The taxi-drivers were from Thon Buri and said they had made lots of money because of the rally. One said he had had lots of passengers, free meals and stayed overnight sometimes at the rally site.

We went down Henri Dunant Road, past Siam Square and continued on Phya Thai Road.

The popular Siam Square was very quiet and gave an eerie feeling. The parking areas were empty. Piles of merchandise boxes were seen on the roads inside. MBK, another popular shopping mall, was also closed.

Along the route, we saw empty roads, checkpoints, patrolling soldiers and police, and huge groups of taxi motorcyclists.

Both of us and the motorcycle taxi drivers had to show passes and official media cards to get down the blocked-off road.

Later, we surveyed Makkasan and Pratunam.

These roads used to be among the most crowded in Bangkok.

Again, it was quiet and gave a haunting feeling. Besides checkpoints, bunkers and patrolling soldiers and police, the roads were blocked with coils of razor wire and littered with rock debris here and there.

Most of the soldiers were still young.

Only a few shops were open. Old ladies greeted us, wishing us luck and peace for the country.

Here again it was unusually quiet with some people walking without talking; all were in small groups. Nobody walked alone.

Some were carrying big bags as if they had just come back from staying somewhere else (we assumed they had fled and stayed somewhere else until they felt it safe enough to come back.)

Some were carrying big bags full of food. They handed out the food to soldiers and hurried to go back home.

A resident said: "The reports that Pratunam residents are hostile to soldiers is not true. We want them to stay as comfortable as possible. We try our best, but we have to be careful not to be the target of attacks. It's useless if we lose our lives and cannot help the soldiers further."

Influential people in the areas have many people to watch and report what goes on.

Another resident said she never thought she'd see a time when Thais would kill each other.

One resident said it was good that security officers were there. The residents also hoped drug addicts living in the area would be removed.

A soldier said he had been in the Army for about a year. He never thought that in the two years he serves as a Private, he would have to go into a battlefield. It was an experience he can't forget.

"At the time, when I saw the red shirts firing at soldiers heavily, I had no choice but to shoot back," he said.

In a sad mood, we took photos of the empty roads.

As evening came, we left while the troops changed shifts. We walked past the rock debris, the blinking traffic lights and razor wire lifted by officers before the sun set. This Bangkok was very different from the one we knew.