Regular readers of NewMandala (I am sure there are some!) will have noticed that Nich Farrelly has gone missing. Earlier this month he was sighted diligently blogging in northern Thailand.

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But since then he has gone very quiet. No more blogs on Bangkok nightlife, McDonalds or the popularity of yellow shirts. He was last seen boarding a songthaew bound for Chiang Mai. The driver was clearly committed to Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai.

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So perhaps Nich has been recruited as a Thaksin canvasser and let loose in the north armed with a swag of populist policies. Or perhaps he let his Democrat inclinations slip (a product, I understand, of a high-school stint in Thailand’s south) and was abandoned on a remote country road… In fact he is currently undertaking field research well beyond the reach of internet and mobile phones. I am confident that he will emerge in due course with many tales to tell. I’ll keep you posted.