Bangkok's notoriously congested streets were unusually quiet and commuter trains were empty yesterday as heavily armed Thai soldiers wearing yellow sashes patrolled key intersections.
Beyond the presence of the troops -- sporting yellow out of loyalty to King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- and tanks posted outside government sites, there were few other signs the country had suffered its first military takeover in 15 years.
In the capital's main business district, only the lack of traffic jams -- a mainstay of a Bangkok morning -- betrayed that something was amiss.
PHOTO: EPA
"Normally the traffic is heavy in this area," said Boonchou Reukamlang, a 40-year-old taxi driver who plies one of Bangkok's key business and tourist thoroughfares.
The city's light rail system, usually crammed with people vying for standing space, was almost empty early yesterday, with just a handful of bleary-eyed passengers pouring over the newspapers and thrilled to have a seat for once.
Another taxi driver, Wanchai Boonrat, compared the scene to a quiet Sunday morning, with people wandering the streets stocking up on newspapers and milling outside cafes and food stalls to discuss the previous night's events.
Most workers and students stayed home for the day, while some curious onlookers flocked to greet the troops who had toppled the divisive Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York for a UN meeting.
Reungchai Chanarong, a trader, came from Nonthaburi Province on the outskirts of Bangkok to see history in the making.
"I want to follow this closely," the 51-year-old said, stuffing four newspapers with headlines proclaiming "Coup!" into a plastic bag.
"The country is in trouble. I think the situation will be better when the army has a coup because this is what is needed to adjust the national situation," he said.
Others simply shrugged at the news of the coup, which took place without the firing of a single shot.
Wararat Nithithimaneerat, 52, who works at a street-front noodle restaurant near Government House, said she heard the tanks rumble up the street at about 10pm on Tuesday.
"About six or seven of them drove by my house," she said. "I was in shock and I felt like something would happen. But this was not my first time -- I have seen a coup d'etat before."
"We get used to it because something always happens like this," her sister-in-law Sukanya said with a nonchalant shrug.
Two tanks and six humvees, still bedecked with yellow ribbons symbolizing allegiance to Thailand's king, blocked the main road to Government House, where armed troops late on Tuesday gathered against Thaksin.
But while hundreds of bewildered people had crowded around the tanks trying to gather information late on Tuesday, yesterday Bangkok residents adorned the military vehicles with white roses and bouquets of flowers.
One women rushed up to a soldier with a bag of fruit and energy drinks.
"I feel pity that the army has to work so hard, they might be tired," she said.
Most people AFP spoke to in Bangkok said they backed the military's move, calling it the only solution to street protests and political chaos that have gripped the country since the beginning of the year.
"I have wanted the army to take control with a coup for a long, long time, because there have been many protests," Boonchou said.
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