The day after hearing, late at night, about a crowd flocking to the Rajdamnoen area to celebrate the victory of the coup, Jesse packed her digital camera and caught a taxi. On the way, she called up a friend and arranged to meet her at the Royal Plaza where the soldiers and tanks were stationed.

"It was the spectacle of a big change for the country," Jesse recalls.

The 33-year-old post-grad student was there to take photos of the actors in this national drama, and videotape people's feelings to capture the ambience of the coup.

She wanted to join the crowd, who, as well as giving moral support, flowers and food to the soldiers, were busy posing as models with the tanks and troops.

At the plaza, it didn't look like the usual military takeover. Granted, the soldiers were keeping the city under strict curfew, guns in their hands as they patrolled in front of tanks on otherwise traffic-free streets. But for this bloodless coup, the square was filled with smiles, hospitality and cheerful chat between people and soldiers - something unprecedented for Thailand.

Posting a comment on The Nation website, Kirkket even suggested that we should call it "Sawasdee-coup" in reference to the friendliness of proceedings.

"It was as if everyone was relieved after a long year of political pressure, and wanted to celebrate and capture the historical moment," says Jesse.

Overnight, the plaza has turned into a different kind of tourist attraction. Camouflage is the latest hit among Thais. Sightseers are now taking tours of this new politically historical site, and students are making fieldtrips.

In the days following the coup, posing with a tank and soldiers has become the "in thing" to do, as documented by countless shots shown off on free websites.

Those shots also made the front pages of almost every local newspaper, while the international media seemed confused about what angle to take on the "friendly coup" phenomenon.

But, not everyone is so ecstatic. Some feel that happy snaps of the public with people in uniform are simplifying things too much.

First we had civilians posing with guns in front of the tanks, or wannabe teenage film stars pointing weapons at soldiers, then a dance troupe, wearing skimpy camouflage outfits, arrived on the scene to entertain the troops who had braved sun and rain for days.

Many think this is overstepping the line.

Chadchailai Woravittakorn, a 52-year-old employee of Asia Pacific Telecommunity, who had photos of herself taken with the tanks on Chaengwattana road next to her office, says the dancers were only interested in promoting themselves. "This is not a Vietnam War scenario that will drag on forever, so the troops don't need this kind of entertainment."

Taking snaps as souvenirs is fine as long as you know the limit, says Nuttina Suwatwittayakorn. She doesn't plan to take any photos - despite the fact that she lives in the area - and can't understand the crowds who have made it an obligatory thing to do over the weekend.

She is also unhappy with those who pose for inappropriate shots against the background of the coup, like the teenager pointing a gun at a soldier who was pretending to surrender: "Are they out of their minds?"

But 24-year-old Worrawut Timwon who posed with friends at the Rajdamnoen at the weekend didn't seem to take it so seriously. His gang was holding guns and making funny poses. "It's a special moment showing that military and civilians are living in harmony."

Worrawut has a point. The scene has become more like a  backdrop for photographers.

Wedding couples are using historical-bloodless-coup scenes as backgrounds for their photo shoot, rather than romantic botanical gardens.

Once proud guardians of the nation's sovereignty, the soldiers are now like actors in a theme park, offering their unloaded weapons to members of the public to give them first hand experience in this momentous event.

Although Worrawut thinks it's the right of each couple to find the right background for their moment, Tonrak Studio manager Itthipan Itthiratanakomol says there's always a better and often more memorable place for the couple's wedding shot. None of his customers have requested the coup as a background after all.

"It's like the middle class people going to Disneyland," says Thanes Wongyannawa, a Thammasat University political science lecturer. He sees the phenomenon as the victory for the middle class who'd always wanted Thaksin out. "They are glad to see the military out on the street and chasing [Thaksin] out."

Thanes comments that the tanks and the weapons are too old for shootouts with the enemy, and only good for defending themselves. Or in other words, they're only good for the photo shoots.

Nuttina is concerned about the image of a military which is supposed to be a robust and respected force for national defence. Many shots broadcast in the news have mocked the military for being too soft. A policeman complained to his friend that these pictures are destroying the people's faith in the military.

But political science lecturer Thanes doesn't seem so worried about the military image.

A soldier, he says, is ready to pull the trigger whenever needed. "It's only the honeymoon period. Anything is romantically sweet."

 Sirinya Wattanasukchai

 The Nation