Thai beach town parties down as leaders leave

By John Ruwitch

PATTAYA, Thailand (Reuters) - Shirtless, sunburned and smiling, British tourist Roy Emerson had one tiny regret on Sunday, the day before his two-week visit to the Thai beach town of Pattaya was supposed to end.

A day earlier, thousands of anti-government protesters blocked Pattaya's roads and pushed through rows of riot troops, forcing the Thai government to cancel a major Asian summit in this beach resort 150 km (90 miles) south of Bangkok.

The government imposed a temporary state of emergency to evacuate leaders from around the region.

The turmoil hardly disturbed Emerson, 52, making his 10th trip to Pattaya, he said.

"I was sort of hoping they'd kick up a big fuss and close down the airport so we could stay a bit longer," he said.

But for businesses in tourism-dependent Pattaya, and no doubt elsewhere in Thailand, the abrupt end to the East Asia Summit at the hands of red-shirt clad demonstrators who oppose Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was another major disappointment.

Late last year, Thailand lost an estimated 130 billion baht ($3.7 billion) when protesters -- that time yellow-shirted supporters of the monarchy -- took over and closed Bangkok's two main airports for about a week.

Fears that Bangkok could again descend into chaos re-emerged on Sunday when "red-shirts" stormed into the interiorministry after Abhisit declared a state of emergency in the capital.