Birthday Celebrations Continue

One important thing to explain – is COLORS.  His Majesty was born on a Monday (like me :) and our color is yellow.  But in 2007, after spending several weeks in the hospital with heart problems, King Bhumibol reemerged exiting from the hospital wearing a pink shirt and pink blazer.  Royal astrologers had predicted that pink was good for his health, and, like wildfire, the entire country replaced their yellow shirts with pink ones.  Others speculated that this transition in color was conducted so as not to be confused with the “Yellow Shirts” – one of the two political parties here in Thailand, who is responsible for the coup in 2006.  Either way – there was no shortage of pink or yellow today!

There are a few facts most people may not know about the King.  His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej -- known in Thailand as King Rama IX -- was actually born in the United States on December 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He later finished his education in Switzerland and was crowned the King of Thailand on June 9, 1946.

Thai dancers at National Theatre

King Bhumibol Adulyadej rear-ended a truck in 1948 while studying in France. He lost his right eye after the accident, however, it was through this accident that he met the daughter of the Thai ambassador to France – the future Queen of Thailand.

The King of Thailand is not only the longest-serving monarch, but also the richest. His fortune was estimated in 2010 to be worth at least US $30 Billion dollars.

Dancer from Singapore at National Theatre

The name Bhumibol Adulyadej means "Strength of the Land." Considering that the king of Thailand has seen, encouraged, or put down over 15 coups during his 61-year-long reign, he lives up to the name well!  (Queen Elizabeth was formally crowned Queen of England in 1953, three years after King Bhumibol).

After the parade, we were all exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated.  We went to the first place we could find that was away from the masses and chowed down on food.  We walked the streets, taking in all of the celebrations, colors and sights.

We attended a free professional theatre performance at the National Theatre in celebration of His Majesty the King’s Birthday Anniversary, and were able to see dances from all over Southeast Asia – including Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Singapore and more.

Lighting a candle for His Majesty

We the grabbed food on the street, sat on the grass in the middle of Sanam Luang and waited for the fireworks.  The Prime Minister came out, we lit candles and sang the King’s Song and prayed for his health and continued happiness. 

All of a sudden, without warning, we felt like we were in the middle of a war zone.  Loud noises, massive flames, heat, everything.  I remember thinking to myself – is this supposed to happen, because fireworks in my country are NOT organized this way.  There were no indicators as to where the fireworks were situated on the lawn, and they would just all of a sudden jet up in the middle of the grass on the lawn where we were sitting and send people screaming and running.  It was incredibly chaotic, and as the giant red firework flames set the nearby trees ablaze, I for sure thought we were in trouble.  I certainly don’t remember fireworks for my sister’s birthday on the Fourth of July being this exhilarating!

It wasn’t even five minutes after fireworks, that we saw more fire floating in the sky, and had to get a closer look.  Glowing lanterns were lit and sent off into the sky in hundreds.  With my classmates, we bought one lantern, and together, we made wishes of happiness for our upcoming year together here in Thailand.  If it weren’t for seeing His Majesty, this would have been my highlight of the day.

The amount of joy in this picture is amazing :)

After the fireworks, we battled with over half a million people to exit the Grand Palace area and go home.  We had officially been out celebrating for twelve hours – at least six of which were in the hot sun, and we were tired, dehydrated, and sunburnt.  BUT, we got to see the King, and the Royal Family TWICE…so we were all smiles as we exhaustingly returned home!