The Great Firewall

I’m already beginning to feel the effects of China’s internet censorship, and I haven’t even booked my flight out of Bangkok.

Apparently, Blogspot (the site that hosted my travel blog) has been added to an expanding list of websites that are blocked by the Chinese government in what Chinese bloggers have termed, “The Great Firewall.” So I welcome you to my new travel blog (hosted by a site called WordPress, this time), which I can happily access in Shanghai without breaking Chinese law.

I’ve heard one can draw the attention of the censors by using banned words or phrases as well (bloggers have taken to using acronyms for the more popular banned phrases, which has even lead to the banning of certain acronyms), so this blog may one day find itself in the clutches of The Great Firewall, too.

Until then, read and enjoy.

You can read about The Great Firewall here and check out one of the many sites offering advice on how to get around it (notice how the author uses the acronym “GFC” to avoid using a banned term).

An update on the 100-day mourning period: Officially, the mourning period is still in effect for the full 100 days (which will end in mid-April, just in time for the Thai New Year’s festival). But at this point, most people have stopped taking it very seriously.

Music is now being played just about everywhere I’ve been. I just saw Body Slam, one of the biggest bands in Thailand, play a show in a club in Khorat called Living Bar (450 baht for a ticket and three Singhas!), and there was live music playing in Lopburi this weekend and in Khon Kaen the weekend before that. None of those are tourist towns and two of them are in Isaan, so it’s fair to say that the music ban has effectively, if unofficially, been lifted.

The teachers are still wearing black here at Satrichaiyaphum High, though, and that should continue for the full 100 days.