Yesterday, it was decided by the government that Bangkok and 23 other provinces were to be under a curfew from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. Thursday morning. This resulted in super markets and other shops closing early and it left the otherwise busy, traffic jammed streets of Bangkok completely deserted. The city that is famous for its bustling nightlife was last night reduced to a ghost town.
One of the people who experienced this significant change in Bangkok lifestyle was 27 year old Lars Taraldsen. He is a student and the sounds he heard from his apartment downtown were far from ordinary. For the first time, he heard cicadas, birds, and insects in his Bangkok home rather than the deafening roar of daily traffic.
But even though there appears to be peace and quiet in the streets below, Lars Taraldsen is staying indoors.
“We risk two years of prison time if we go outside,” he says to VG’s online website.
And not only that, the inhabitants of the Thai capital also risk being shot by snipers that are placed along the streets. According to the news bureau Norsk Telegrambyrå, the Thai police have received orders to shoot anyone who encourages to unrest.
Lars Taraldsen is suspicious:
“Because we can hear the sounds from outside, I bet there is something fishy going on,” he says about the unusual silence and absence of traffic noise.
Updated via Twitter
During the curfew, the student spent his time keeping up with the situation through the news on TV and the social network, Twitter.
“People are updating almost every second. There have been reports of people who have been shot around the neighbourhood and of or convenience store being attacked by a bomb,” he says.
