The roads in northeastern Thailand are deserted. The only vehicles we pass are military trucks.
More than 130,000 people have now been evacuated. And we can soon hear why.
Close to the border in Si Sa Ket province, we hear the loud rumble and rattle of clashes with Cambodia.
The thump of artillery strikes, the fairly constant exchange of gunfire.
It’s the second day of fighting between these two neighbours and neither side seems willing just yet to back down.
So many lives have been uprooted so quickly here.
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About an hour from the border, at Baan Nong Sanom Temple, more than 500 people have spent the night sleeping on the floor.
They rushed from their homes in the early hours, most with only the clothes they were wearing.
Ruehtairat Bula has lived through skirmishes with Cambodia before. But this time feels different, she says.
“This time is more violent. The Cambodian side is using strong weapons. They’re dropping rockets into residential areas where civilians live.
“It’s killing people, including students.”
She, like many here, was surprised at the number of civilians killed – at least 15 people have died, while Cambodia says one.
“I’m afraid that this moment will set a precedent,” she says, her face full of worry.
“Cambodia and Thailand will be more divided and will feel the need to fight every time. And that’s scary.”
The youngest evacuee here is just one month old.
Others are in their eighties, frail and in need of medicine they were in too much of a rush to grab when they fled.
Ampan Kongkaew, another evacuee, looks blindsided.
“It all happened too fast. I knew there would be fighting, but I didn’t know it would be this quick.
“I couldn’t pack my things in time. Everyone here only has the clothes they’re wearing. There’s elderly and sick people.”
In the border provinces, it’s almost a mirror image. People huddled together at makeshift sites, looking dazed and uncertain.
The Cambodian government has accused Thailand of using banned cluster munitions, and officials say seven sites have been hit.
Allies on both sides are calling for peace, but neither Thailand nor Cambodia seem willing to back down just yet.
The fighting follows two months of tensions over contested territory.
But at the heart of this story is a feud between two political titans, two strongmen trying to influence this moment from the sidelines – Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen and Thailand’s former leader, Thaksin Shinawatra.
The test for this region is whether the road to diplomacy will trump the long shadow of political dynasties.
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The fighting is ongoing, but the political risks of a major escalation are massive for both sides.
An all-out war still seems highly unlikely – a ceasefire perhaps not far off. But days of pitched battles – that’s still very plausible.
