PHUKET: White Masks turned out at Phuket's Saphan Hin public park today to protest at the Government's lack of investment on Phuket.

There were plastic white masks, cloth white masks, cardboard white masks, and also a few white masks that appeared to have mysteriously turned yellow.

Phuket people tend to embrace political discourse wholeheartedly and never more so than in Phuket City this afernoon, where hundreds gathered to protest despite the wet weather.

With Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra caricatured as a plucked chicken on one side and Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi lampooned on the other, speaker after speaker assailed the government and its record on revenue.

There was plenty of cheerful applause when trigger words like ''corruption'' and phrases such as ''withhold taxes'' were used.

But it was also an occasion to make new and old friends and talk about what might happen next unless there's a change in Bangkok.

There were white masks aplenty, but no white heat. There were also plenty of yellow t-shirts. Most people sat on red chairs.

But then, red is for good luck so the color of the chairs was incidental.