December 5th, 2009

For the last 60+ years Bhumibol Adulyadej or King Rama IX has been the king of Thailand.  He is revered by all Thai people and his birthday is a week-long celebration.  You can view a documentary about his reign in the following  King Bhumibol documentary (27:50).  I remember how large the celebration was when I attended it my first trip to Thailand in 2005.

One of Many Performances on Ratchadamnoen Road

First Trip to Thailand

When I came to Thailand for the first time in November-December 2004/2005 I was fortunate enough to attend the King’s birthday celebration event.  I was staying near Khao San Road which is a 5 minute stroll to the the Grand Palace and the home of the famous emerald Buddha Wat Phra Kaew. I was fascinated that so many Thai people attended the birthday celebration.

Sanam Luang which is basically a huge (30 acres) empty lot next to the Grand Palace was completely packed with people who sat and watched the performances, muay Thai, parades and fireworks while they occasionally sang.  The way the giant number (estimate later in post) of Thai people handled themselves during this huge celebration showed me a lot about Thai culture and the people of Thailand and really factored in my decision to move to Bangkok.

Lit Candles & Singing the Royal Song Before Fireworks Show on Ratchadamnoen Road

Getting to the King’s Birthday Celebration

What I Think is the King's Car Passing near Grand Palace

I now live far from the dinky hotel I was staying near Khao San Road when I was in Bangkok in 2005.  I got an early start because I knew traffic would be difficult if not impossible to get near the Grand Palace before the streets were closed off.

I took the BTS from Phloen Chit to National Stadium to bypass some of the usual Sukhumvit Road gridlock.  I knew I would have to ask multiple taxis because few will take me to the most crowded areas.  After asking 3 taxis the 4th guy decided to take me. I left just at the right time because as we approached the area there were tens of thousands of pink-clad Thais lining the streets to view the King’s motorcade pass.

They were on the verge of shutting down all traffic so my taxi driver actually had little traffic to deal with although security wouldn’t let him drop me off until we got all the way to the Grand Palace. After I got there I was ushered to a sidewalk amidst heavy security which was there more for traffic and people control than security.  They stopped everyone from crossing streets and I sat patiently on the sidewalk until the King’s motorcade passed and they let people move freely again.

An Absolutely Huge Gathering

I made my way to Sanam Luang (the 30 acre lot next to Grand Palace) which was filling up rapidly.   People were ushered to certain areas to create lanes which I soon found out was for parades.  You can see some of the parades in the video at the bottom of the post.  After the parades the area was getting even more filled up.

I wanted to take pictures which was very difficult in this area because the crowd was huge and it was all flat making it almost impossible to get a good vantage point for whatever was going on at the main stage.  I saw photographers on top of these tall utility trucks and thought about paying them for a spot but I knew there was a lot of things to see and photograph elsewhere. I started getting annoyed by the constant flow of people in the area so I walked away from the main action.

There was muay Thai, traditional Thai dance, snake charmers, loads of food and product vendors and more stuff I missed because I decided to move to a less packed area. How many people attended the celebration was a big question for me.  I attended new years even in Brazil on Copacabana beach which I have heard has 2 million people but the King’s birthday seemed to have even more people.

The 30 acre area of Sanam Luang was completely packed so I did a little math.  I read 6000+ people can fit in an acre so if Sanam Luang is 30 acres then 18,000 people were packed on it.  I think the estimate of 6,000 people fitting in an acre is way off as I remember college football games where crowds of 35,000 stormed the field and it seemed 3/4 of the crowd was on the field which is slightly larger than an acre.

I decided to find a less crowded area and decided to walk towards Democracy Monument.  The whole way from Grand Palace to Democracy Monument was completely packed with people to the point where I couldn’t extend either arm without touching someone.  There was more crowded areas but I highlighted the areas which were packed.

Approximate Area which was Completely Packed with People during King's Birthday

Enjoying the Festivities

As I made my way away from the super densely packed area and walked along Ratchadamnoen Road I could enjoy the celebration a lot more.  The whole area was still packed with people but I was able to put down the tripod to take some pictures of the many attractions.  Everywhere I turned was something different to watch or photograph.

At a certain time (I forgot) everyone lit the candles which were handed out along the way and the people all started singing the king’s song.  Anyone who spends an extended amount of time in Bangkok knows the song as it’s played in the city and park every day at 6pm when people stop what they’re doing, stand and listen to it.  It’s also played at movie theaters before the movie starts.

After the song one of the many fireworks shows began.  The fireworks lasted for around 5 minutes and then a parade of brightly lit floats began.  The floats reminded me of the boats that I saw during the Loy Krathong festival but this time they were on wheels and slowly proceeded down the street.  There were many Thai musical groups performing on a large stage just past Democracy Monument which was being recorded professionally for national television I presume.

One of Dozens of Moving Floats for King Bhumibol

Overall Impression

I had a great time although I’m not the biggest fan of large crowds.  I would recommend a visit to the King’s birthday celebration in Bangkok for anyone who happens to be in Bangkok the week of December 5th.  In fact I would also recommend the King’s birthday as a reason for anyone to travel to Bangkok and experience the Thai people and part of their culture.  I went on the actual day of the King’s birthday but from the fireworks shows I could see from my apartment window, I’m pretty sure the celebration is on for the entire week.   I will let the pictures and video do most of the talking for this post.

Fireworks for King Bhumibol and the Thai People