A crimson tide of protesters snaked its way through the streets of the Thai capital Saturday, traveling in a caravan of thousands of cars, trucks and motorbikes to drum up support for their campaign to oust a government they call illegitimate.
The "Red Shirt" protesters plan to follow the march with a giant painting made from their own blood Sunday, the latest shock tactic in their weeklong campaign to have Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve Parliament and call new elections.
The raucous procession, which organizers said wound its way through 40 miles (70 kilometers) of city streets, was met with curious and often sympathetic crowds, revealing a level of support in the capital that the conventional wisdom of the Thai press had underestimated.
"I haven't seen any opposition from Bangkok people. People were thankful. They came to cheer us from all walks of life. They gave water and food to us," said Kotchawan Pim-ngern, 40, a flower seller, on a pickup truck.
"Just seeing them come out made me happy," she said. "They all want democracy back."
The caravan stretched at times at least six miles (10 kilometers) along Bangkok's streets, and Vichai Sangparpai, a commander in the Metropolitan Police, estimated the number of participants at 100,000, though the department later gave a figure of 65,000 people traveling on 10,000 motorcycles and 7,000 cars and trucks.
The protesters consist of supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption, and pro-democracy activists who opposed the army takeover.
They believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional ruling class and that only new elections can restore integrity to Thai democracy. They also believe a new vote would bring Thaksin's allies to power. The Red Shirts' opponents believe they are puppets for Thaksin to regain power.
The week of protests may have dented the government's credibility.
Government officials had warned of possible violence, including the prospect of sabotage and grenade attacks. But the protesters have been disciplined to the point of stopping for traffic lights as they wend their way through town.
Abhisit was also criticized for sleeping and working from an army base for the past week to avoid the demonstrators.
At the same time, the protesters _ formally known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship _ may have regained some credibility with Saturday's turnout.
Before the protest began a week ago, they had billed it as a "million-man march," but attracted numbers just cresting over 100,000 by most estimates. The numbers fell by as much as half during the work week.
They also came in for criticism for their "blood sacrifice" tactics, which saw thousands of Red Shirts donate blood to spill at the gates of Abhisit's office, the headquarters of his ruling party and his private residence.
Protest leaders say they have 15 jugs of blood left and plan to use it to create a massive work of art on Sunday.
"Artists and Red Shirts will be invited to partake in a blood painting," said a protest leader, Jatuporn Prompan. They plan to unfurl a giant white cloth on which supporters will be invited to paint pictures, scrawl poems and express political statements.
"The theme of this artwork will be the history of the people's fight for democracy," Jatuporn said.
Large crowds cheered Saturday's protest caravan from the sidewalks as it passed with red flags and ribbons fluttering and car horns honking. Some motorcyclists plastered their license plates with stickers reading "The Red Shirts love Bangkok people."
"Please come out into the streets to change Thailand. Time waits for no one. No matter what color of shirt you wear _ it doesn't have to be red _ you can join our cause if you love equality and democracy," a protest leader, Natthawut Saikua, said as onlookers showered him with red roses.
Protest leaders have been portraying the weeklong demonstrations as a struggle between Thailand's impoverished, mainly rural masses and a Bangkok-based elite insensitive to their plight.
Dusting off vocabulary last used during the era of absolute monarchy that ended in 1932, the Red Shirts describe their struggle as one between "phrai," the common people, and "amataya," upper class bureaucrats and other members of the elite.
"The Red Shirt movement has gone beyond a fight for Thaksin. It began that way, but thanks to good campaigning and media promotion, more people now want to see a change in society," said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, an associate professor of political science at Bangkok's Thammasat University.
"There is no solution or exit to this conflict, not until either the Red Shirts or the government has an upper hand. Right now each side is waiting for the other to make a move, but all they can do right now is to prevent the situation from going out of control."
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