Banner Hides the Real Bangkok

Anxious to present a sanitary image of Thailand to George Bush and his fellow leaders in Bangkok this week for an economic summit, the prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has covered a slum with a huge banner.

When the visitors watch a procession of royal barges tonight on Bangkok's Chao Phraya river, their view will not be spoilt by the grubby shacks that line the bank. Instead they will enjoy a panorama of scenes from Thai history and culture painted on a tarpaulin 500m long and four storeys high.

Mr Thaksin has been working on a series of fronts to spruce up the city for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

He has banished beggars from the streets, with many foreign beggars being deported, as well as clearing litter bins and roadside foodstalls until the summit ends.

He has also closed schools and annoyed go-go bar managers and dancers.

The prime minister even drew on the help of two pandas, on loan from China, to schmooze the Chinese president, Hu Jintao.

Kham Ai and Kham Eouy are loving their temporary home, which just happens to be in Mr Thaksin's home province of Chiang Mai, the prime minister reassured Mr Hu.

Bangkok's thousands of go-go dancers are disgruntled after Mr Thaksin asked owners to tone down their acts and urged patrons to stay away until Wednesday. The result is that most of the girls have only their poles to dance with as the banks of seats in front of them are largely deserted.

"Takings are down almost 50%," said Suree Kaewponong, the manager of Tilac ("Darling" in Thai), a bar on Cowboy Street. "The girls are getting bored and frustrated as they are not getting their usual tips."

The one benefit of all this social engineering is the city's usually clogged streets, devoid of traffic as residents obey their leader's orders to take a holiday. To encourage them, he has closed schools for the week.

Journeys that normally take an hour now take a fraction of the time. The congestion is expected to return by the end of the week.