Thaksin has never run out of old tricks to sell. He enjoys every photo opportunity. His cohorts also plant stories about him periodically to create the illusion that he is still in power. The underlying message is that soon he will come back to reclaim the post taken away from him by military force.

If you only look at his pictures in the newspapers without reading the captions, you could be led into believing he is still the prime minister. But there was one captivating picture showing him shopping for bananas alone on a London street.

Two weeks ago, Thaksin flew from London to China. He planned to somehow embarrass General Surayud Chulanont, the appointed prime minister, who was taking part in the Asean-China FTA meeting in Nanning. But the Chinese authorities intervened in time to prevent this incident from taking place.

Otherwise, the whole world might have been confused that the Kingdom of Thailand was being served by two prime ministers!

Thaksin played golf in China with his rich friends and complained about senior Thai Rak Thai members deserting his party at a time when he needed them most. How could they forget that it was he who handed them their ministerial portfolios?

Instead of going over to visit Thaksin in London, Somsak Thepsuthin quickly jumped ship. A week after the coup, he was seen playing football with General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the coup leader. Newspaper photos showed Somsak greeting Sonthi with a most respectable wai.

Last Saturday, Thaksin went to Hong Kong from mainland China before being joined by Suwat Liptapanlop and Chaiphak Siriwat on November 12-13 in nearby Shenzen. There they held a Thai Rak Thai meeting in exile. What will they do if the courts issue a verdict to dissolve Thai Rak Thai?

Noppadol Patama, Thaksin's lawyer, has been feeding the local media the possibility of Thaksin's returning to Thailand soon. Thaksin's family, charged with evading tax, would fight in court to defend its wealth.

A day cannot pass without news of Thaksin doing something, without counter-claims - at times from Chaturon Chaisang, the new Thai Rak Thai leader - that the military rulers are imposing martial law against democratic principles.

Then General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh went out of his mind by suggesting that Thaksin should be allowed to return home and be put under house arrest. This, he added, would make it more convenient for the government to monitor Thaksin's movements.

Generals Sonthi and Surayud could not believe what they had heard from the old general. What was Chavalit really up to? Did he really want to follow the Burmese model by having Thaksin put under house arrest like Aung San Suu Kyi?

In the end, Surayud had to assert that Thaksin could only return home after the general election. That effectively killed any speculation of Thaksin's imminent homecoming party.

From China, Thaksin flew to Hong Kong to create another operatic scene. All the time, the Thai Embassy people were looking after him, prompting calls in Thailand for the government to revoke Thaksin's diplomatic passport. But Thai prime ministers, past and present, carry a diplomatic passport until the end of their lives.

Pojaman joined him in Hong Kong, where they went shopping. A Hong Kong newspaper got a scoop with pictures of the couple, flanked by a bodyguard, shopping at one of the department stores. Again, it was like a reunion of the hero and the heroine, whose immortal love had been torn apart by the political upheavals.

On Wednesday, Thaksin flew to Indonesia, where he was bombarded by the paparazzi. He plans to celebrate his wife's birthday on the island resort of Bali. He played a round of golf at the Nirwana Golf Club, whose metaphoric name completely escaped his attention.

After Bali, he plans to head to Perth, Australia, or fly back to Shenzen or Beijing.

"I have been working hard for many years, I'd like to take some time to relax," said Thaksin. He added that he wanted to eventually return to Thailand, as "it is my home".

Can he return home? Or will he die in a foreign land like Field Marshall Plaek Phibulsongkram or Phao Sriyanond? No one can predict the future.

But at the moment, Thaksin is too divisive for the Kingdom of Thailand. He is cursed to move about like a lost soul in search of its body.

Thanong Khanthong