Thailand Memories: Living Through a Coup (2.13)

Happy New Year everyone! The turning over of the calendar is
traditionally a time to look forward and hope that the next year
will be better than the last one. 2017 will be a big year in
Thailand - HM King Rama X will steer the country forward, the
push to change elements of Thailand's important Buddhist sangha
is gathering steam, and an election might happen.


(Direct download .mp3)


Why is that such a big deal? Well, because despite outward
appearances and contrary to what a lot of people probably think,
Thailand is a military dictatorship. Okay, dictatorship might be
a strong word, but the fact of the matter is that the Land
of Smiles and one of the world's busiest tourist destinations has
been under military control since the most recent coup of 2014.
So if an election happens this year, it will be a big deal.
So, seeing as Thailand has had 19 attempted and successful coups
in the last century or so, we thought we'd look back and
discuss what it's like to actually live through one in the
hopes that we won't have to live another one. From the first
message on his phone warning that a military takeover is
underway to the time he made a panicked phone call to a
friend to ask them what's going on, Greg has seen 2 coups in
his time in-country. He and Evo discuss what it's actually like
to know that a big change is happening while at the same time
hoping that no one starts shooting, and how an actual coup - at
least the past 2 in Thailand - are much different than what you
learn about in high school.