Flooding has huge effect on Thailand's capital

While 60 percent of Bangkok and much of Thailand is flooded, the downtown area where I'm staying on my way back from consulting in Bangladesh is dry.

But signs of the flooding are everywhere.

Overpasses are lined with cars parked to keep them high and dry. In anticipation of more water, many shops and businesses have erected temporary barriers of bags or small concrete blocks a couple of feet out from their storefronts, forcing people to climb over them to get in.

 Street vendors selling sandals have added calf-high plastic wading boots to their inventory.

A Bangladesh regulator told me that he had to return early from medical treatment in Bangkok because nurses and technicians either couldn't get into the hospital or left to help family in flooded areas.

Thai media provide constant updates and reports of consequences ranging from rescue efforts to pictures of policemen crossing intersections on bamboo rafts and stories of imported serums to treat poisonous snake bites.

Bangkok is frequently a layover for me on consulting or adventure trips, and every so often I inadvertently find myself behind barriers of some kind. In 2006, my walking group somehow wandered behind barbed wire fences erected during protests by the "red shirts," one of the country's political movements.

In 2008, it happened again. This time, I found myself behind tire barriers erected during protests by the "yellow shirts," the other political movement. Two days after I left Bangkok, the demonstrators shut down the airport, stranding passengers for days.

This time, I'm behind water barriers. I've felt no need to worry here, but I wonder about once again being lucky enough to leave just in time.

A big mass of water still surrounds Bangkok. At the time of this writing, the deluge is slowly creeping into new roads and intersections. 

One side of the city has been told that nothing can be done to drain the water mass from the main canal. Another major canal is expected to overflow soon.

The Skytrain and subway are still running, but some underground subway exits have been closed as a precaution.