The Pokemon Go craze finally hit Thailand on Saturday with enthusiastic players braving soi dogs and freeway traffic to catch the cute critters on their smartphones.
The game arrived in time for the referendum weekend, but the Election Commission has warned walking into polling booths to catch Pokemon could be a breach of the law.
Som, a 33-year-old receptionist, said she was standing on the median strip in the middle of an eight-lane road when her phone started buzzing to alert her there was a Pokemon nearby. Players have to get close enough to "throw a ball" at the Pokemon to catch it.
"I took out my phone in the middle of the road and opened the game app and there it was, Pikachu -- the main and rare character -- standing right in the middle of the road. I know I shouldn't have but I had to capture it. Now I have him on my phone and I'm quite happy about it," she said.
FISHY BUSINESS: Pokémon characters pop up anywhere.
Panai, a 21-year-old student, said he faced down a fierce neighbourhood dog to catch his Pokemon. "I saw a big, mean dog staring at me in my phone. Then I looked over the screen and saw a real dog guarding the area. He started barking but I had to capture the Pokemon. As soon as I successfully captured it, I ran away."
Yong, a hairstylist aged in his early thirties who lives on the outskirts of Bangkok, said as it was hot yesterday and he was feeling lazy, he drove around in his car looking for Pokemon.
"One popped up on the dashboard of my car and I had to pull over to catch it. It was quite dangerous."
Yong said one of his friends told him Pokemon had shown up in weird places in her house including the toilet bowl and a cat cage, which "freaked her out".
But Rattikul Kamjan, a 28-year-old bank officer, was exhilarated to catch a Pokemon in her bedroom. "My friend sent me a message on Saturday morning to let me know that Pokemon Go is now available in Thailand. I didn't waste a second before I download the game. It's absolutely how I thought it would be," Rattikul said after Thailand joined 14 other countries across the Asia-Pacific region with access to the game.
Audrey, a 28-year-old cello student, said she was already addicted but added: "There's this anxiety because you're only half-aware of your surroundings."
Different types of Pokemon appear on the in-game map, which uses GPS for navigation. Audrey caught Pokemon in a Starbucks and a computer repair shop.
It is a "freemium" game and players can make in-app purchases but are not required to. Audrey has now captured 50 Pokemon and hopes to eventually have more than 100.
Players can visit Pokestops to collect eggs and Pokeballs, the latter used to throw at Pokemon to capture them. Pokestops include spirit houses, shrines, statues and shopping malls.
"I was able to pick up three Pokeballs in front of a portrait of Queen Sirikit," said Audrey. "I thought that was quite weird."
On Saturday morning, Kunyakorn, her five-year-old son and two friends walked around her housing project near On Nut to capture Pokemon. "I was walking around the pond when a man said to me, 'Are you capturing Pokemon? I am too,' " she said. "Usually no one uses their cellphone so seriously while walking."
The map in the game contains locations of gyms where players of level five or higher can battle other Pokemon players.
Yong said many points of interest on his map were located in spirit houses of private residences. "There's no way I'll be walking into another person's house to capture Pokemon," he said.
He said he was already bored with the game and couldn't understand why people were going crazy for it. "It's just a way to make money. I'm not buying it."