On a day of announced protests last Sunday, police and soldiers mostly just hung around a busy intersection that is flanked by high-end malls.
It was only on the day after our arrival in Thailand that we saw any soldiers — four of them routinely directing normally busy traffic. No one paid attention to them, and they were as casual and seemingly bored as supermarket cashiers.
Click to see seated soldier’s smile.
On Sunday, our fifth and final day in Bangkok, however, the announcement of protests scheduled for busy intersections and upscale malls, a few of which were closed, resulted in a show of force. By closing two Skytrain stations and gathering at intersections, the authorities kept protests to a minimum and hardly inconvenienced tourists, except those hoping to browse the shuttered malls.
I remember reading about a single arrest, for someone using two fingers in a peace sign as her presumed symbol of objection to the military coup. (I may have missed a couple of others.)
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