Long Live The King
Though I am not sure of the coverage outside of Thailand, I am assuming most people are now aware this this year marks the King of Thailand's 60 year Anniversary of his Assention to the Throne. The current King of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the longest reigning monarch living today, so this marks quite a big event.
The royal family in Thailand is different from anything I have ever seen. It is not something that can be joked about, or even spoken about. It is hard to get a Thai person to talk about the royal family, good or bad, for they are worried about offending. The King is an icon. He is the most important person, hands down, in this country. And this event is marking a huge celebration that is taking over the country.
On Monday, June 12th, we have the day off, and the King will be making a (rare) public appearance on his public barge going down the Chao Phraya to celebrate the event. Since living in Thailand, The King has only been a ghost to me, as I have encountered him a couple of times, once in Phuket, once in Hua Hin, and part of his family in Chiang Mai. When The King, or any Royal Family member is going anywhere, the roads are shut so they can fly by in their cars at 180 km per hour. Police guard all sides of the road, but they are forced to face away from the road, as it is considered impolite to stare right into the car. I have been caught up in this many times, and it really affects everyone in the area, as there is already so much traffic anyway, and to close off major roads to allow them to pass through is a huge recipe for gridlock.
I have always been fascinated by The King, and perhaps even more by the country's respect and love for him. It is amazing to see. Currently we are asked to wear yellow shirts with The King's symbol on the chest every Monday for the rest of the term, (The King was born on Monday) to show respect. On Monday I went out to buy the shirts for our staff in an area called Banglamphu, right over the bridge. I went over and was amazed to see the sea of people wearing yellow shirts, buying shirts, selling shirts, etc. There are also wristbands that say "Long Live the King" on them for sale, and when you buy one you also get to send a letter to the King. I think I might be the only one in Thailand who doesn't have one of these wristbands. It is amazing to see the support.
In a couple of weeks I plan to see The King, somehow. I learned last night that people who own property on the river are charging 1,000 baht per person (about 25 dollars US) to see the King....at every location. This means that people who make about 4,000 or 5,000 baht per month are going to be forced to spend a big chunk of their salary to see The King. I found this to be quite disappointing...but I guess it's another way for them to make a buck, huh?
I would be interested to hear about coverage outside of Thailand. Apparently every living reigning monarch will be attending, which is a pretty cool thing, really. A gathering of Kings!
*thanks for correcting the misinformation about the King's reigning record...the rumors you hear and decide to listen! *
The royal family in Thailand is different from anything I have ever seen. It is not something that can be joked about, or even spoken about. It is hard to get a Thai person to talk about the royal family, good or bad, for they are worried about offending. The King is an icon. He is the most important person, hands down, in this country. And this event is marking a huge celebration that is taking over the country.
On Monday, June 12th, we have the day off, and the King will be making a (rare) public appearance on his public barge going down the Chao Phraya to celebrate the event. Since living in Thailand, The King has only been a ghost to me, as I have encountered him a couple of times, once in Phuket, once in Hua Hin, and part of his family in Chiang Mai. When The King, or any Royal Family member is going anywhere, the roads are shut so they can fly by in their cars at 180 km per hour. Police guard all sides of the road, but they are forced to face away from the road, as it is considered impolite to stare right into the car. I have been caught up in this many times, and it really affects everyone in the area, as there is already so much traffic anyway, and to close off major roads to allow them to pass through is a huge recipe for gridlock.
I have always been fascinated by The King, and perhaps even more by the country's respect and love for him. It is amazing to see. Currently we are asked to wear yellow shirts with The King's symbol on the chest every Monday for the rest of the term, (The King was born on Monday) to show respect. On Monday I went out to buy the shirts for our staff in an area called Banglamphu, right over the bridge. I went over and was amazed to see the sea of people wearing yellow shirts, buying shirts, selling shirts, etc. There are also wristbands that say "Long Live the King" on them for sale, and when you buy one you also get to send a letter to the King. I think I might be the only one in Thailand who doesn't have one of these wristbands. It is amazing to see the support.
In a couple of weeks I plan to see The King, somehow. I learned last night that people who own property on the river are charging 1,000 baht per person (about 25 dollars US) to see the King....at every location. This means that people who make about 4,000 or 5,000 baht per month are going to be forced to spend a big chunk of their salary to see The King. I found this to be quite disappointing...but I guess it's another way for them to make a buck, huh?
I would be interested to hear about coverage outside of Thailand. Apparently every living reigning monarch will be attending, which is a pretty cool thing, really. A gathering of Kings!
*thanks for correcting the misinformation about the King's reigning record...the rumors you hear and decide to listen! *
posted by isobella at 10:50 AM
8 Comments:
Haven't heard anything here either...Tell him I say hi when you see him. ;)
love cjfb
yo, he's the longest reigning monarch alive today, not ever. he's got a tiny bit more to go to beat ole queen vic.
i stumbled into your blog after googling for yellow king shirts, trying to find a photo to illustrate the phenom in my own blog. no good photos turned up so i will snap some shots at my son's school's shirt sale tomorrow.
i really enjoyed checking out your blog this evening. i'm living the late-30s, married-with-children bangkok expat life; i wish that at your age i'd realized what a crazy, interesting world was waiting out there. kudos to you for teaching kids and for being so adventurous. your post-tsunami narratives were heartbreakingly, eloquently expressed. i'm going to link to your blog and look forward to visiting in future.
A SUPPORTED BY THE DEVELOPER TOOLS? It was interesting. You seem very knowledgeable in ypour field.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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