Originally Posted by The Nation web site ... nationmultimedia.com
Seven Bombs Rock Bangkok, Kill two
Seven explosives went off almost simultaneously in Bangkok, injuring at least 20 people as the revellers were about to start celebrating the New Year's eve.
Two people were killed and 20 injured at the Victory Monument when a powerful bomb went off near a bus station at about 6.30 pm.
One person was dead near the Big C supermarket, Sapan Kwai branch, where witness saw a man dropped a grenade from a pedestrian bridge just over the police box.
At the Klong Toei area near the Na Ranong intersection, around the same time, a bomb hidden in a trash can near a Chinese spirit shrine exploded and injured two bypassers. The explosion caused a secondary explosion to a number of cookinggas cylinders that were situated nearby.
At the Seacon Square Shopping Mall, a loud explosion went off at the parking space, creating a panic but no injury. ...[story continues]
That's breaking news to subject to change, of course.
Source:
http://nationmultimedia.com
What about travelers coming here?
The common factor is the bombs were
not in foreigner or tourist areas of the city.
-- Edit next day: Later bombs were in tourist areas. --
All those areas are crowded markets and bus stations in working-class, Thai areas.
If I were planning to travel to Thailand, I would not abort those plans.
One remarkable aspect of Thai society is the way they continue daily life in the face of adversity or danger.
Their Buddhist premises support a calm fatalism.
The Jihad in Southern Thailand has had bombings and attacks every day for three years, but Bangkok has been remarkably free of the war.
2006 was an important year for Thailand.
It was the 60th anniversary of the accession to the throne of the current king: a sort of Jubilee year.
Seven bombs on New Years Eve are a signal that the unilateral, Jubilee peace has ended.
I expect Muslim attacks will expand to Bangkok, but, of course, only time will tell.
Personally, I'd rather take my chances with Jihadi bombs in Bangkok, than with the
Schutzstaffel security apparatus in all Western countries.
I'm staying.
-- Peter