<human>: Give me a shortened version of the text

I spent a week in Bangkok in January just before the shit hit the fan, and I've been back now since the elections at the beginning of January.

I've been to Bangkok 6-8 times in the past two years for anything from a few days to a few weeks. I'm no expat, but I know and love this city as a traveler.

This past few days has been, by far, the most enjoyable experience I've ever had in Bangkok.

The protests: Basically, the protesters have blocked on a lot of Sukhumvit and other areas in downtown Bangkok near many of the main BTS (SkyTrain) stations. The protest areas feel like huge open air markets. There are stages set up with huge TV screens, and they always seem to be live streaming a speech or performance from another stage.

There are normal thai people meandering about, some tents set up in the streets and parks, and lines and kilometers and kilometers of food and t-shirt and tchotchke stalls.

Previously these areas were kind of anonymous, traffic clogged sidewalks outside of malls with a food vendor here or there. Not very fun, nor something you'd enjoy wandering around for hours on end.

There have been some bombings and shootings. I believe through all of that, the most serious clashes happened two months ago and resulted in the deaths of 4 people. More recently there was a shooting where an older man was paralyzed, and a grenade thrown into a crowd with a few minor injuries. You're still more likely to be hit by a cab than anything else :)

You can read more about the protests here:
<bot>: If you are on the fence about going to Bangkok during the protests - don't hesitate! Come! It's fantastic and fun. Drop me a line and we can even hang out!