Taya Starling

The current King of Thailand, His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej (or King Rama IX) is not only the longest reigning king of Thailand, but the longest reigning monarch in the world who is now in his 68th year as King.  December 5 is HM The King’s birthday and every year on that day Thailand pays homage to our esteemed King by decorating the city before gathering together to celebrate his greatness. And indeed it is nothing less than greatness for in his 68 years on the throne King Rama IX has never once taken his position lightly.  From the moment he became King after the unfortunate and unexpected death of his older brother, King Rama IX has done everything to be a man of the people.  He has in fact done everything for his people from making sure to touch the “untouchables” to trekking through jungles and forests to survey the land; he helped develop methods of irrigation, dams, flood prevention, artificial rain, renewable energy, and established new methods of educations for hundreds of thousands of children all over Thailand through Distance Learning via 15 educational television stations that were created, funded, and broadcast by the King from the Palace school in HuaHin to all over the country.  A King who has never been above getting his hands dirty in the soil of his land, never been above sitting with his people on the ground, and never been above hard work for the sake of working hard so others won’t have to.

The King being highly educated himself from America to Switzerland and back to Thailand has never missed an opportunity to improve himself or his country.  More often than not the King is seen with a map in hand and a camera around his neck.  He is multilingual, musically capable of playing the saxophone, clarinet, and piano, has a great love of art, science, and an undying passion for improving the lives of every citizen in Thailand.

It’s truly one of the most spectacular things to witness- Dec, 5th in Thailand.  A day and night in Thailand where the entire country is bonded together in love for a single man who is considered a father to us all, thus making Dec 5th, Father’s Day in Thailand.  The whole city is decorated, the citizens dressing in yellow (the color of the monarchy) or pink (the color of the King), flags fly in every direction and hundreds of thousands of people congregate wherever the King is- not to see him, but for him to see his people and be present in their love, admiration, and respect.

On his 60th anniversary on the throne, the King was joined by all the monarchs in the world in celebration of being the longest current  reigning monarch in the world.

If you’d like to know more about the King of Thailand, the History Channel recently made a beautiful documentary about him which aired on his birthday this past week.  My mom and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I highly recommend it simply because there is so much inspiration to be found in a man who refuses to do anything but love and nurture his country, regardless of its condition or fate.

“The development of the country must be fostered in stages. It must start with the construction of infrastructure, that is, the provision of food and basic necessities for the people by methods which are economic, cautious and conforming with principles. Once the foundation is firmly established, progress can be continually, carefully and economically promoted. This approach will prevent incurring mistakes and failures, and lead to the certain and complete achievement of the objectives.”

– From the King’s speech at Kasetsart University, July 19, 1974