I spent a month in total in Thailand during stopovers on way to Nepal in July 2006 and returning from India in September. Before I left I managed to get an assignment from the editors at Mabuhay magazine to do a feature about “Bangkok on a Budget”. When I’m in Bangkok I like to stay in Thewet near the river because the neighborhood is usually quiet and there are lots of great restaurants and street food stalls around. The visit in September wasn’t as quiet because it happened to coincide with the coup that overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. For the next few days I could see tanks on the streets and soldiers gathered in front of the Thai parliament building. The story didn’t include any of the military events, though I did use a James Bond reference for the lede…