More about the weather
We learned that the "controlled" flood will start at 4:40 pm today. Naturally we decided to leave the house around 4 pm and return late after all the water is gone. We left the house and realized that the flood came early.
Here is the view from our hotel:
We knew that the main street would be flooded so we took the back streets and avoided most of the water. We quickly arrived to our favorite restaurant just a few blocks away. At the time the water was barely reaching it:
We ordered a bunch of food and watched how the whole thing progressed. More water was coming in, and it was getting further and further and spilling to side streets.
The atmosphere was mostly cheery. Kids and dogs playing in the water. And adults are keeping busy keeping garbage away from the manholes (to make sure that the water drains as quickly as possible) and keeping an eye on their barriers.
There was constant traffic on the road. But eventually the water got too high and we saw a stalled motorcycle and tuk-tuk.
Eventually our favorite restaurant started to flood and kids of the owners worked hard to get rid of the water. While men ran back and forth between two entrances trying to seal them as much as possible. We tried to help but they wouldn't let us.
The restaurant was ok. Before we left they managed to drain most of the water.
Also we learned that the "controlled" flooding is not so controlled. It comes with the tide. And the next few days are expected to be worse. The store owners spend the day preparing and building higher barriers.
We looked at the sky that turned dark, and knew that its better to head home.
And we stopped by a hostel that we stayed at 2 weeks ago. We heard that it may be under water so we didn't stay there this time. The poor guys were flooded about waist deep.
We wished them good luck and ran home. Just in time for the rain. And by rain, I mean a typical tropical downpour.
Tomorrow morning we are off to Chiang Mai. We are told that the roads should be dry by then. Let's hope for the best...
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| 2011.10.25 Bangkok flood |
