"I talked to prime minister Thaksin this morning and he is in Hong Kong now. He has no official engagements there," lawyer Noppadon Pattama told AFP.

"Thaksin will be in Hong Kong for rest and recreation for maybe a week or two," he said.

Thaksin's wife, who turned 52 Wednesday, could join him there later in the day, he added.

Thaksin was in New York when the military overthrew his government on September 19.

He then spent a month living in London, where he has a home, but this month he has travelled around Asia, circling Thailand with visits to Beijing, Hong Kong and Bali.

Thaksin, a self-made billionaire believed to retain enormous popularity among Thailand's rural poor, has avoided speaking about politics during his travels, instead often joking with the media as he shops or plays golf.

The junta that ousted him is deeply worried that he will try to return to Thailand and that his followers could take to the streets to support him.

They have appointed a new government and parliament, but have maintained martial law because of anti-coup "undercurrents" they said they had detected in northern Thailand, where Thaksin's support is strongest.

Agence France Presse