Birthday Party for a King
It is a big day for Chaovachote Chanyasak, 17, a student at St Gabriel's College in Bangkok.
St. Gabriel's College
Founded in 1920, the Catholic boys' school is attended by students aged six to 18.
The Bangkok school has a good reputation and is known to produce students that make the cut for entrance to prestigious Thai universities upon graduation.
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"Everyone in our country respects the king," he says, as he gestures to his friends behind him. "We even hang a national flag at our house."
The entire school is involved in the birthday bash.
Preparations for the birthday bash begin long before this day.
Preparations Start Early
Gardeners have already planted flowers and pruned the trees along the city's major streets. Shops have stocked up on yellow T-shirts.
And in schools students have been preparing song and dance to pay their respect.
The Thais love their King for devoting his life to the country and its people. He is such a father figure to locals that his birthday is also known as Fathers' Day.
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Everyone's invited to this birthday party
Flags, lights and portraits decorate the streets and the noisy, traffic-clogged heart of Bangkok grids to a halt.
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand and is the 22nd most populous country in the world. It has a population of about seven million people.
Because many people live in Bangkok without a residence certificate, the actual number could be as high as 15 million. It is a busy city and about 20 million people travel to Bangkok and its nearby provinces for work every day.
The city's wealth of cultural sites makes it one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.
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It's Dec 5, 2007, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th birthday.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej
King Bhumibol Adulyadej has ruled Thailand since June 1946. That makes him the world's longest-serving monarch.
The prime minister makes all political decisions, but the king has intervened in Thai politics several times.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej is so dedicated that he used part of his wealth to fund over 3,000 development projects, especially in the rural areas.
He was born in the United States and educated in Switzerland. He is also an accomplished musician, artist, and sailor.
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To catch a glimpse of their King, about 100,000 people wearing yellow—the color that symbolizes devotion to the Thai monarch—pack the streets leading to The Grand Palace.
The Grand Palace
This is the official residence of the king that sits on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River. The palace is about 218,400 square meters and flanked by defensive walls about 1,900 meters high.
The king does not live there anymore. He now lives in Bangkok's Chitralada Palace. He moved there when his brother died on the Grand Palace grounds.
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After a few hours a stern-faced old man passes in a parade of motor vehicles. To greet him the crowd chants "Song Phra Charoen" which means "Long Live Your Majesty" in Thai.
This day is officially a national holiday in Thailand.
Schools get involved, too
Ms. Dymzak dresses for the day, but the Thai king is respected all the time!
All the Time!
Paying tribute to the king does not just happen on his birthday. Most Thai homes display a framed photo of the King.
And when he recently spent a month in hospital, hordes of well-wishers stayed up all night on hospital grounds.
Some think the King is a semi-divine figure. One time when he wore a pink pastel jacket during a public appearance, many people started wearing pastel pink jackets!
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Small yellow flags are hung all around the school. Teachers wear yellow T-shirts for the special day.
An enormous alter is set up at the school field. This is also where Chaovachote and his friends sing the song San Seng Pra Barami which means "respect the kindness of the King" in Thai.
After singing the songs, students walk up to the alter to pay their respects to the King. Teachers donning bejeweled traditional costumes do the same with a dance on the stage.
It is a day that teachers like Ms. Tipawan Dymzak take time to prepare for. The English teacher practices moves for a week so she can perform a three-minute dance to "appeal to gods to protect the King."
She says, "I cannot express how special being able to dance for the King is."
Chaovachote pauses for a moment between classes.
When the bash is over
Once the celebrations are over, it's back to school.
Chaovachote and his classmates leave the field in neat rows to go to their first class.
This is not much different from a regular school day when they assemble in the field at 7:40 am for 20-minutes to sing the Thai national anthem and say their prayers.
Sing the National Anthem
All the 5,000 students at St Gabriel's College sing the Thai national anthem every morning. It marks the beginning of the day.
For Chaovachote, it means the start of eight hour-long classes that range from biology and English to physical education and art.
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Although Thai is each student's first language and "everyone speaks Thai in Thailand", he explains, "English is compulsory and students attend English classes from Primary 1 because it is a global language".
In class—like in classrooms everywhere else—students sit on wooden desks in front of a blackboard.
Chaovachote hopes his diligent study habits will pay off. He wants to attend the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
His dream is to be a pediatrician because he loves children, and he has to work hard, but....
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