From pirated DVDs and glass bongs to ping-pong tournament invitations, Silom Road looked its usual self last night, that is if you missed the uniformed soldiers patrolling in formation.
A few days after army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha mocked suggestions some of the nearly 200 military checkpoints should be prettied up, flowers have been added around some of the bunkers in a bid to make them less army-looking.
Thousands of soldiers are helping to keep the peace throughout the capital, but concerns over the militarization of its popular tourist haunts prompted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawra to ask the army to add some decoration. In response, Prayuth joked Thursday that they might use flowers and pink curtains.
Although no pink curtains were spotted today, several locations were indeed gussied up with some potted flowers.
“Some checkpoints have been decorated with flower pots,” Maj. Gen. Wara Boonyasit of the King’s Guard’s 1st Division said. “It is up to each division if it wants to soften the image of the checkpoint.”
The camouflaged bunkers are important for the safety of the soldiers, who are unarmed, Bangkok Post reported.
Photo: Twitter user Phattanan Songchai
