Was down in Ranong doing my visa yesterday. When I got to the Burmese side - later than usual - a large pleasure cruiser had just docked at the Burmese mainland. There must have been a queue of at least 100 Burmese waitng to get back in.
My boat landed on "The Beach" and after trudging through the crap and broken glass that goes for a beach there, I found myself approaching imm from the opposite direction to normal.
There was a large crowd, mainly taxi drivers and hawkers, milling around the entrance to imm, by the barbed wire. In their haste to try and get some custom, some folk, maybe 30 or so, were encroaching into the imm area and mingling with the new arrivals.
There were three or four police dressed in civies and a couple of MPs, all of whom were armed with lengths of garden hose. They were screaming at the mob to retreat and swinging out indiscriminately at anyone or anything. I was wondering whether it was safe to try to get to the hut myself, until a young boy took me by the hand and led me through the carnage - he got 20 baht for his troubles.
I didn't actually see anyone getting hit. It certainly would have hurt. Mind you, I didn't hang around too long!! Scary stuff.
Crowd control - Burmese style
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Randy Cornhole
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