Long live the King…

One wacky thing happened a couple days ago that we forgot to write about. The 1st night we were in Bangkok we were wiped out and a little homesick so we went out to see a movie at a large movieplex/shopping center called the Siam Paragon near our hotel. We found out later that the King owns this, but that’s not important right now.

For kicks, we splurged on a fancy theater that included drinks, food and big couches instead of normal movie seats. The theater was called “Enigma, the shadow theater.” No, I have no idea why it was the “shadow theater".

We were definitely the only foreigners in the theater, and we were happily watching the previews sipping our drinks when suddenly the rest of the audience stood up as the final preview came on. We looked around, and then decided to be followers and stand up. It turns out that it was a short preview that basically showed the good works of the King and heart-lifting things that he has done around the country.

Most of the preview was in Thai and in English writing, and at the end of the preview it faded out with the words “Long live the King.” It felt like a cross between the Pledge of Allegiance and meeting the Pope. (I’ve done one of the two, so I can compare). It actually brought a tear to my eyes, partly because it is such a wonderful country with such nice people, and partly because the King really does seem to love his people, and the people absolutely love their King.

The King is worth somewhere north of 30 billion dollars, which is a lot by anybody’s standards, but when you consider the average Thai dentist makes $700 per month, and the average chamber maid makes around $120 per month… compared to the Thai people the King is REALLY rich. But he spends the vast majority of his time travelling, meeting his subjects (always with camera in hand) and sponsoring projects to improve the country. Look him up, it’s actually a fascinating story, and he truly does seem to be an amazing man.

Long live the King.