I haven’t updated my blog in quite some time! I’ve been busy teaching and preparing students for their ABRSM music exams. These may now not happen due to the threat of flooding in the Thai capital.
Sitting in central Bangkok is something of a waiting game at the moment. Conflicting messages have been sent out by the Thai government over the past few weeks as to how bad or not things will be. In wanting to spare Bangkok, the Government has given prioity to building dams around the city in a vain attempt to divert the water through canals to the main Chao Phraya River which is already at a record high of 2.4 meters above sea level. Add to this the high tide which is about to come in and the water will have nowhere to go except to stay put in the city.
Speaking of staying put, that’s excately what the cat and myself will be doing during the floods. Claudine is going to Switzerland for a course next week . Whilst some people have been concerned (including Claudine), it’s not a war zone or an earthquake/tsunami situation. I’ve been building up a stock of water (with the help of a filter) over the past week, and being overweight, have a good investment in that direction! I am also very lucky in having the protection of the Swiss Embassy if needed and have been placed on their telephone chain list during Claudine’s absence. Even Olaf has been preparing for rising water!
More and more areas are being evacuated on the outskirts of the city but we are still waiting for the waters to arrive in our area. Indeed, Goverment offices are now closed until next week and an official holiday has been declared in order to give people the time off to deal with the floods. Whilst this is good, at the same time, many people won’t get an income (myself included) whilst no work is taking place. The music school in which I work decided to close on Tuesday afternoon. Everything on the ground floor was packed up and moved up to the third floor. I helped to move the musical scores in the shop. My only hope is that I can do something for someone who has really suffered after this is all over.
The real possibility of water arriving in the area where we live was brought home to me this morning by the sight of inflatable motor dinghys being unpacked and inflated by an industrious workforce. People here are either leaving Bangkok (which can be seen by the near empty carpark of the US Embassy onto which our apartment looks) or stockpiling essential supplies from the supermarket whose shelves are fast becoming depleted.
Meanwhile, work goes on as normal for many people as we’re all watching and waiting.
