May 27 | 9:13

A friend of mine has been living in Bangkok through the recent violence and rioting. Here's what he had to say about life on the ground:

The recent drama in Bangkok has suddenly turned the eyes of the world to Thailand, 'the land of smiles'. In a culture so famous for its tolerance, its aversion to any kind of confrontation, images of military battalions shooting civilian protesters in the streets have surprised many - most of all the Thais themselves. It's definitely not something I expected to see during my time here.

Thai culture is extraordinary in its ability to gloss over the big issues. Saving face takes precedence over recognition of all things awkward or inconvenient, such as the power struggles and class battles we have seen lately. This has sometimes played out to the advantage of the elite powerbrokers in Thai politics, who would prefer people ignore such issues and leave the balance of power in their hands.

Two months ago when the protests began, few would have thought they would end like this. I distinctly remember when 'protest' in Bangkok simply meant 'party'; the Red Shirts would parade about town, playing music, dancing, clapping their little plastic clappers and then retreating to the massage parlour when it got too hot. Any foreigner would be welcomed and offered food (and usually plenty of beer). Back then, the protests were more amusement than anything else.

That all changed on April 10, when the government decided it had had enough, and it was time for the protesters to go home. It's unclear exactly what happened that day and who fired first, but what was intended as a peaceful clearout of protesters left 26 dead and nearly 800 injured. As much as that shocked the nation, the reaction of the Thai people was even more extraordinary; whilst acknowledging the problem, they weren't exactly a nation in mourning or concern.

Two days later was Songkran, the Thai new year - traditionally a three day water throwing festival. In Bangkok, thousands took to the streets to celebrate. After the violence that had just happened, it all seemed very strange. On Silom road, water cannons which were there for use against protesters, were now raining down over a dance party of thousands; on Khao San rd, the crowds looked the other way as they passed outlines of bodies in the street where people had been shot dead two days earlier. The Red Shirts weren't going to spoil the party, but they definitely were not going to forget what hap happened.

From then on the protests took on a much more serious tone. Blockades of sharpened bamboo poles were erected all around the red shirts main site, razor wire appeared all over the city, and the government responded by increasing the military presence. All this led up to mid May, when violence exploded outside the main red zone. From my apartment off Sathorn road, I slept to the tune of gunfire and grenades, not something you'd expect in a city most people go to for holidays. This was about the time I decided to get out of the city for a bit. The city was burning.

Whilst the incidents following seemed haphazard at best, renegade at worst – the snipering of a general, fire fights in the streets and the eventual surrender of the red leaders - the final acts of the Reds were quite deliberate. By setting fire to the Thai Stock Exchange and the Central World building (a luxury shopping mall and the place to 'be seen' amongst the wealthy Bangkok elite), the Reds have made it clear who their targets are. The Bangkok wealthy powerbrokers will find it hard to look the other way this time around. Back in the city now things are cooling down. Everyone's trying to clean up and move on, but we still have a curfew in place, and the atmosphere still feels pretty volatile.