Many of the Thai soldiers deployed during the coup are little more than kids – young conscripts doing their military service. I snapped these two in the centre of Chiang Rai on Sunday afternoon.

On Monday, anti-government protesters turned the streets of Bangkok red, white and blue.

Thousands  set out from nine meeting points across the city and headed towards Government House.

There was no shortage of people who like the sound of their own voice espousing dubious agendas, but the heat had been taken out of the demonstration by a police stand-down a few days earlier and by PM Yingluck announcing a date for an election, so the march was peaceful.

Rounding the corner of Government House it was discovered that the police had taken off their protective helmets and put down their riot shields.

Most simply sat on the curb looking a little apprehensive, smoking cigarettes or snapping pictures on their mobile phones.

The arriving protesters were greeted with smiles and handshakes.

Many demonstrators then got to work dismantling the concrete barricades or waved the Thai flag aloft.

To be continued. Ad-infinitum no doubt.

There was an uneasy calm around Government House this morning. The air was filled with an acrid smell from burnt out police vans and the occasional firework still being launched toward the building. It soon became apparent that the police had retreated, leaving the rabble-rousers on the front line free to cross the razor wire and into the government compound, albeit cautiously.

Many immediately turned into opportunist thieves and took whatever what they could including the radio equipment from the few vehicles that remained unscathed while others showed off spent cartridges, claiming live rounds had been used by the police in the night.

More alarmingly several of them pocketed unused CS gas canisters. That’s right folks, somewhere out there in Bangkok a bunch of nationalistic bully boys now have a stash of CS gas at home…

Yesterday, the anti-government demonstrators here in Bangkok tried and failed to breach the defenses set up around Thamniap Rataban, Government House.

Repeated attempts to pull down barriers saw crowds pushed back by tear gas and water cannon.

Roads approaching Government House were fortified with concrete blocks and razor wire, behind which were rows of police in riot gear.

In the late afternoon, the demonstrators succeeded in toppling the first row of blocks and also cut through razor wire.

 Brute-force was used to shift the blocks.

There was a significant crowd but only a minority were involved in the frontline action.

As Groucho Marx once sang, “whatever it is, I’m against it.” It would make an appropriate theme tune for the kindergarten that is Thai politics.