BANGKOK/MANILA - It’s a little before 8.30am and tourists are gathering in the pedestrian tunnels beneath Bangkok’s Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Decked out in sunhats, shades and elephant pants, the tourists file behind guides holding colourful flags or soft toys aloft with long sticks.

“The toilet is over there,” one of the guides says in Mandarin. “After that, please come back here.”