Thailand’s Military Coup: A Cocktail Party Anecdote

A Little Different Than the Movies

In the interest of full disclosure, the coup didn’t happen like the Hollywood visions that depict soldiers marching on capital cities to the tune of dramatic orchestral pieces. There had been weeks of increasingly tense protests and demonstrations between the two political parties. There were even leaked press releases about national curfews and internet censures. Nonetheless, one day, like the head of the household at an overwrought Thanksgiving dinner, the military leader showed up on everyone’s TVs and told them to sit down and shut up.

For the first couple days, not a lot changed. I frantically hit refresh on my news sites and expat twitter feeds, but otherwise I drove my moped to school, struggled through endless renditions of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” and ate the bugs and raw meats served to me as dinner by doting neighbors.

KARNT THASSANAPHAK / Shutterstock.com

On the second or third night I was sitting in a covered pavilion in the parking lot of my apartment, drinking Thai trench water — sorry, rice whiskey — with some fourth year high school dropouts (don’t judge me, I was “teaching”). We were Google translating our way through whatever it is that teenage boys usually talk about, when a couple of them got phone calls and texts. POOF. They were gone.

The way they scattered, I thought the cops had showed up to bust them for underage drinking. (Enforcing underage drinking in Thailand? That’s hilarious.) As I was taping the lid back onto our two dollar bottle of hooch, my phone started ringing. I answered.

“Ryan, the military has put a 10pm national curfew into effect and cancelled any government funded activity for the next few days. Please obey the curfew and we’ll see you at school next week,” one of my Thai co-teachers explained.

It was 9:55 pm.

Ryan Farley / Own Work