drinking-water and other basic necessities are pretty much still impossible to find in stores that are located in the center (main parts) of bangkok. the message that thailand's ministry of education has obscurely-communicated by shutting down ALL schools until november 7 (a far-away THIRTEEN DAYS FROM NOW), is extremely worrisome. the government has declared tomorrow and the day after---thursday and friday---national holidays in order for people to evacuate or flee. thailand's death toll from the floods is also rising and currently stands at 373 lives.
the thai media is reporting that while the first wave of floods has hit the capital city, a second wave is to come again this weekend. however, the flooding-situation seems to have been going on for some time now with a lot of contradictory reporting, so it's difficult to say whats's going to happen at this point. since the flooding became a credible threat to bangkok, the media and government have been assuring residents that everything will be fine, but in actuality things seemed to just have continued to get worse. i think in situations like these, it's easy to jump to conclusions and be melodramatic---which i always try to avoid---so i'm trying to stay grounded and calm until i know there's a credible threat to my area. but all i know is that with each passing day, the water seems to be reaching closer and closer into the center of the city, which is where i live, and i'm starting to hear of more people that are deciding to flee the city and the country.
the flooding is on everyone's mind and while it's impossible to not be affected by it, life for the most part is still moving on. while some places have closed, most stores, restaurants and other establishments i've passed by in the unaffected parts of the city have all remained open but with a wall of sandbags protecting them. the mood of the un-hit parts of bangkok is still relatively calm as well. however, if you go into stores and supermarkets, the air is filled with this nervous energy as people uneasily scramble to stock up on whatever they can. i was in a supermarket earlier today trying to buy some lunch, and immediately left because i could feel myself getting anxious and tense just from being in there and surrounded by the frenzy.
thankfully though, i was able to score some bottled water earlier in the week. on monday, i accompanied this korean mom to her son's parent-teacher conferences at an international school in order to translate for her. the school was on the outskirts of bangkok and one hour away from where i live. while there, we randomly stopped at this nearby, small mom-and-pop convenience store to purchase some cool drinks, and lo' and behold, the store actually had some drinking-water available. there wasn't much remaining, but i was able to score two 12-packs of small bottles of good quality bottled water. i have to note that they were good quality because even though there's a large selection of bottled water that's sold here in thailand, sometimes i'll study the labels and be reluctant to allow it to enter my body. nevertheless, i was so excited to have scored some water that afternoon---and then my paranoia kicked in. when we left the mom-and-pop store, the owner put each of the two packs inside individual, clear plastic bags. since i already sometimes get puzzling looks when riding the city buses due to the fact that foreigners rarely take them, i didn't want to attract any more attention to myself with my priceless bounties. so when we rode a taxi back to the korean mom's building, i asked her to spare two non-clear plastic bags. she asked me why, and i told her that i needed them in order to cover up the water for my 30-minute bus-ride home (i'm from nyc and i always just have this gut instinct to protect my shit). i'm happy to say that i made it back to my place with no issues that evening, and i now have enough water to last me about a week (if i ration it and drink it sparingly).
i google-mapped bangkok's flooding situation, and the images below are how the city is standing as of this very moment. bangkok is nearly surrounded by water on all sides. i'm so grateful that where i live is still unaffected, and hope that it will stay this way. but it's really upsetting to see all the effected areas while imagining the 2.5 million lives that have been altered or destroyed from this natural disaster since it began.
please send your well-wishes and positive thoughts to thailand, and keep the country and its residents in your prayers.
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