A Parade to End My Trip

I've mentioned the elections that are happening on Wednesday, and today I got to witness what happens in the final stretch. Just like in the USA, things crank up here. More people driving around with bullhorns and recorded speeches.

Today we ran into a parade of nearly 10,000 people all from the Sam Raimsey party (they have a single candle as their logo). That's the second or third largest party at the moment. They were out in full force. Pickup trucks that were teeming with human microphones, motorbikes, cars, even the occasional Lexus SUV.

The intersection where I took this photo is normally very busy. The road from the lake meets two other major roads, one that goes north to the temples and another that is the back way into the old market district. Having a solid wall of people flow through here was a major issue. Huge busses had to divert into incoming traffic, people and motorbikes had to start driving on whatever remnants of sidewalk were available.

Most people in a political caravan in the US would be waving and smiling. Most of these folks looked downright bored. I have to wonder if they were offered a little "something" for their time.

We eventually made it through the crowd by following the busses that were going the wrong way. When there was an opening in the traffic, we swung over to the right side of the road and made it to the cafe.

So tonight I'll pack my bags and get ready for my long trip back home. Hopefully when I get there we won't have any political parties sitting in my cul-de-sac with megaphones blaring about how their candidate is the best.