I was living and working in Bangkok during the coup of '06. It was relatively tame. There were armed soldiers and tanks on the streets, and there were similar restrictions such as the curfew and gathering size limit - but it was mostly incident free. The reasons for the distress were the same.
I remember calling the US embassy the night it began, and they told me to stay inside and hung up the phone.
While I could never live there again, I really miss the people and culture. Never was a coup so laid back. I hope this ends peacefully and quickly, but I doubt it will change much about the political situation.
I live here now, and while I have not really been outside yet (work work) this seems to be the case now also. Most everyone I'm talking to seems to be pretty laid back about it.
I am currently living in Bangkok, was brushing off the idea of a coup being serious since the country has constantly been on the cusp of one. Ironically enough it happened 3 days into my proposed 30 day stay. I am probably going to cut my stay to 10-15 days, as soon as I sort out my visa for my next destination.
That aside, it's really tame this time too, as you mentioned. I'm not concerned for anything more than large crowds clogging up transit lines and roads when I'm trying to go someplace. The coup is indeed fairly laidback, just like the Thai people.
I remember calling the US embassy the night it began, and they told me to stay inside and hung up the phone.
While I could never live there again, I really miss the people and culture. Never was a coup so laid back. I hope this ends peacefully and quickly, but I doubt it will change much about the political situation.