Martial Law — which is when the military takes over power from the civilian government — was finally declared by the Thai military during my last day in Bangkok.
The news came through as I sat on a bus bound for Koh Chang, about to leave Bangkok’s Ekamai bus station, early on the morning of May 20th. I had just been on the BTS (public transport in Bangkok) where it seemed to be business as usual. People were still playing Candy Crush on their phones, smiling when giving me my change for my ticket, and walking through the streets on their way to work as though it were any other day.
Concurrently, as luck would (not) have it, something I had been waiting almost two years for finally happened – two of my best friends were visiting me from California!
Now, when I travel, naturally I want to have a good time. But, when friends and family visit, I really, really want them to have a good time. I want to be the best host possible, especially when they have to come so far and are using up precious vacation time that we get so little of in the States.
“Marshall Law’s been declared,” I typed to them via text, “I hope that doesn’t turn Thailand upside down.”
There had been protests around Bangkok that had turned violent in the seven months leading up to my return. I had been in Thailand in November for Yi Peng when they started and it all seemed to come full circle as I made my return to this country that I love so much.
(The sunset over Bangkok in the days leading up to the coup)
In Koh Chang it was still business as usual. There was no evidence of Martial Law there. We weren’t too worried as the military had assured the press that they were not going to carry out a coup. That was, until they actually did so a couple days later. At the same time, a curfew was imposed.
At first, the curfew wasn’t observed on Koh Chang. We still danced until the wee hours of the morning and enjoyed our time there to the fullest. Then, the next night, everything shut down at 10pm.
Nothing but a blue screen depicting Thai military seals was on the television. We had even heard internet was shut down in Bangkok once the clock struck 10pm.
(Beautiful Koh Chang)
We considered walking to the beach for something to do that night, but turned back towards our guesthouse when several locals told us it would be a bad idea.
We later found out the fine was 40,000 Thai Baht or 2 years in jail for violating curfew.
(The sunset on our final night in Koh Chang – it would turn out to be a very quiet one)
The next day we touched down in Chiang Mai where military tanks greeted us all throughout town. Protests were taking place, and the Sunday night market was even cancelled. Most of the street vendors I was used to seeing were gone, and by 10, Chiang Mai was a ghost town.
It was at this point that we got news of the shootings at our Alma Mater, University of California, Santa Barbara, where my visiting friends and I had initially met ten years earlier. It was a somber night spent in sadness coming from just about every angle.
The following days, we made the most of our remaining time together by taking a cooking course, meeting up with some friends of mine in Chiang Mai, playing with elephants, and even heading to Zoe in Yellow (a dancing club in Chiang Mai) until the curfew hit at 10pm.
(Kneeling during a holiday in Chiang Mai’s Wat Cheudi Luang)
(Enjoying a cooking class in Chiang Mai)
I did hear of violent explosions in the south, some big protests in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, as well as journalists even getting detained. None of this has involved nor affected tourists, however.
The difficulty is there is no way to know how long it will take for this to get worked out. Curfew has now been extended to 12 midnight which does help a bit, but there’s no clear sign of when things will be back to normal.
If you have tickets to Thailand and aren’t sure if you should come, just know that the past two weeks I’ve spent here, coup and all, have been some of the best I’ve spent in my cumulative 4 months in Thailand.
It’s still a place I love, and always will.
Danielle @ The-Lifestyle-Project says
Happy to hear that you’re safe and were still able to have such a good time with your friends despite everything going on. Is your family freaking out that you’re over there? I know that Thailand has quite a history of coups so hopefully they’re able to resolve this one quickly.
Kristin says
My family isn’t freaking out at all. I think they are pretty confident in my ability to handle things by now, and they don’t tend to read that much into the media. I really wasn’t in danger there and I don’t feel any tourists are.
Stephen Jones says
Sounds like you had a great time, coup or not! And it’s another thing to add to your list of experiences. Which, all said and done, is what travel is all about. 🙂
I really hope this does not impact too much on Thailand’s tourism industry. Though, I dare say some groups of people will cancel. But, from what I’ve been led to believe, right now, it couldn’t be safer to visit!
Kristin says
A lot of people have cancelled. We’ve heard from a lot of places saying their reservations are disappearing. I understand why, but it really is still a good time to visit. Not the best, but not bad for a coup situation.
Martin Jones says
My girlfriend and I land in Bangkok on June 10th and will combine a week up north in Chiang Mai as well as a week down south on some of the islands, AoNang and krabi. I have received messages from some locals who are friends with people I know living out in Thailand and they say that with the curfew now being reduced, everything seems a bit more normal.
I really can’t wait for my trip!
Kristin says
I’m sure you’ll have an awesome time!
Pat Pratish says
Welcome to Thailand. Don’t be afraid to visit Thailand. AoNang and Krabi are so beautiful. I really love the beach where you can sit in the sea and a lot of small fish swimming around you and you can even see them and touch them.
Collen says
Hi Kristin,
My girlfriend, Cynthia, and I have been living in Chiang Mai for two weeks now. We in Pattaya for two weeks before that. I think we have been very lucky in that we haven’t experienced any negative side effects from the Coup.
The military here in Chiang Mai is very friendly (as you showed in your pictures).
Good luck with your next adventure and hopefully you will be back in Thailand soon.
Kristin says
Thanks! I do hope to make it back soon. By the way, is Pattaya as seedy as it sounds?
Cindy says
Living in Thailand for over a year now, not much has changed. Calling it “a coup” really just sounds bad, and to me, it seems the western media are making a big deal out of it.
Ask around in Thailand, and most Thai will tell you they are happy the army took control because the situation was getting out of hand.
A coup is when someone takes power without being democratically elected, and yes, it is what the army did. But they don’t mean to retain power, they are waiting for both sides to come to their senses 🙂
Anyway, Thailand is still great !
Kristin says
Agreed and I saw that the curfew was just lifted which is great.
Michelle says
I lived in Bangkok for 14 years (left last year to move to Austria), and so was there for both of the last coups 🙂
Never once felt unsafe, never once had any problems. I think because Thai coups are unlike coups in any other country in the world — the Thais are just too peaceful of a people most of the time.
But unlike what Cindy said, in the comment above, it was most definitely a coup and the army do intend to retain power. It’s been three years now, and they are nowhere nearer to a democracy than they were right after the coup. In fact, they are cracking down on a lot more ‘freedoms’ including closing down every street stall in Bangkok this year — how crazy is that.
I miss Thailand every day, and will definitely live there again, but without a democracy it’s not going to be a country that moves ahead too fast. Sadly.