



An estimated 100,000 protesters shut down Bangkok’s commercial district Monday.

It’s where the deals are done and the wealthy of Thai society live.

Bangkok is a notoriously difficult city to negotiate, and that’s without the masses blocking off already-choked traffic lanes.

One faction of demonstrators has, according to The New York Times, given the prime minister until Wednesday to leave office and is calling for radical, anti-democratic change.

But the atmosphere is reportedly jovial so far, a stark contrast from the brutal crackdown three years ago that left many protesters dead.

Thailand has a very active political culture, with the interests of rural and urban citizens, as well as the rich and the poor, often boiling over in the capital.

— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer