I'm en route to northern Thailand through the main valley that stretches between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Meanwhile across the country, Thais are flocking to the polls in record numbers. Purple orchids hang from trees along a Bangkok street as we creep through the noisy sea of vehicles on our way to the Grand Palace. Vendors walk among the standing traffic to sell jasmine garlands which can be offered to Buddha. To each side of me, political posters for the upcoming senate election are hung in store windows, strung across bank buildings, and pasted on lamp posts.
Every candidate is identified with a number.
Number 104 is a middle-aged woman who reminds you of the high school teacher who could silence a roomful of rowdy adolescents with just a glare. At the end of the day we wait to board our train at Bangkok's Hua Lamphong railway station. Thai passengers waiting for trains to take them to their home provinces to vote tomorrow are not as lucky. There is not enough transportation to handle the unexpected rush of 100,000 people leaving Bangkok by train. March 2, 2000.