No Biggie

At our new apartment we can almost set our clock by the sound of a sala-pao seller, who plies his doughy buns in the street below our window at shortly past 6:30 every morning. Today was no exception, which let me know that things would be business as usual, in spite of the sudden change in government here about nine hours ago.

I first learned of events after returning home around 10 from my usual Tuesday night soccer game. Chao, who works evenings as an editor for the country’s biggest-circulation newspaper, texted me a two-word message, which sent me scurrying to the Internet for details. At that time there weren’t many, as the soon-to-be-former prime minister was still planning to speak before the U.N. General Assembly.

After midnight my boss called a couple of times, first to say that the U.S. embassy would be closed Wednesday (and thus a day off for us too), and then again to report that the ambassador had judged the takeover to be so peaceful that we wouldn’t be getting a holiday after all.

As it turns out, Thai government offices are shuttered, including the Ministry of Public Health, where my office is based, so I’ll be working from home today. Report from our balcony: SkyTrain running normally, highway traffic lighter than usual, no sign of tanks anywhere!