Most of the anti-government protesters, or the so-called red shirts, who had camped out in central Bangkok for more than two months in a tense political standoff are from Thailand's rural north.

Following last week's violence in the Thai capital, the anti-government movement and the government are bracing themselves for more violence to come.

Observers say the opposition movement has grown far beyond Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister, with more professionals joining the push for regime change.

Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen travelled to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, where many of the group's leaders have now gone underground.