The Journey(s) of Ian

The land of the Thai’s is a quiet, peaceful country whose presence is rarely manifest in journalistic circles, and only then for stories about its cuisine, tourism or sex. However, for the last few days, or the last few months, or even the last few years (depending on ‘when’ a ‘crisis’ begins) Thailand has been troubled by increasing levels of political dissent. There is a background to all of this, and a full description is complex, and can be found below, however, I shall summarise the situation here. There are two major factions in Thai politics, the ‘old rich and powerful’ versus the ‘newly rich and want to be powerful’. That is to say, the ‘old guard’, the traditional aristocracy and high society, versus the newly wealthy capitalist class, who have engaged the help of the poorer elements of society. The interests of the two groups clash diametrically. The capitalists want economic reform ‘a free market’ and less restrictions, while the old guard want things just as they are or e...