Lion dancers

While walking past one of the “People’s Democratic Reform Committee” anti-government protest sites here in Bangkok the other day some pickup trucks arrived, full of lion heads, drums and dancers. They were obviously going to provide the entertainment in between speeches so I waited around to watch.
First up on stage were the lion dancers and some other characters, with the drums beating away in front of the stage.

Then the action moved down to ground level, with some gymnasts building a human pyramid, four levels high, with a young boy of about five or six years old at the top. I was starting to think how that would probably upset the child welfare lobby back home in the West, but things are different here.

Kids, don’t try this at home !

Then came another lion dance on stage, just one big lion at first before it was joined by another two, this time with people inside the lion standing on the shoulders of it’s “legs”. They even managed to walk up the stage steps like that !

The finale was a balancing act at the top of a long bamboo pole, around 10 metres high. I’ve seen this done before, but never that  high.
The young boy was at the top again, after being carried up on one of the older boys shoulders.
No, I don’t think that would be allowed back home …..

Hopefully Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown will not be affected by the ongoing political strife here in Bangkok. The government has just introduced a state of emergency decree, which allows them to declare a curfew if deemed necessary, as well as banning protest marches and large political gatherings but that has not affected tonight’s rallies from what I saw on TV. I don’t think they have enough police , or jail cells, to arrest tens of thousands of people !