Lesson from covering Thai major events...

Over the last 25 months I have a bit of experienced on what to expect in Thailand when covering events such as the bombing incident yesterday.

The first thing I noticed is that the Thais are efficient in disseminating information and are very cooperative and helpful. You can get all the information required by contacting the officials. The field people also willing to give cooperation.
So information gathering also easy. The government, the police and military have designated officers as spokesperson and deputy spokepersons.

Many government ministries, police headquarters and so on have allocated a place for the media to work.

There are multiple sources of information.. the police the hospital, the Erawan Emergency Services, the Line chat groups (in Malaysia it is Whatsapp that is popular), and many more ..

But multiple sources mean multiple figures, not because many of them incorrect but because they are giving figures at different time.

The main language is obviously Thai. But there are people who can speak English. In Press Conference, unless it is international or involving foreigners, it will be in Thais. If there are foreigners, there may be translators. But not all translators will translate everything verbatim, some and there are many, will rephrase or just translate whatever they want.

So if you are foreigners and want information better talk to the people after the press conference.

Next issue is about romanised spelling. The Thais writing are almost similar to the Indian. But there are romanised spelling for many things. However, the spellings will be different.. for example .. Chidlom, or Chitlom? they are the same Sakeaw or Sakeo they are referring to same place.. so be correct, hear how it is pronounced. Thus, during the recent bombing, you can expect several versions of spelling for the name of the victims. that is sometime a dilema, guessing which one to use.. that is for now.

MINGGU SIMON