World's Biggest Birthday Party

In the United States you hear about celebs' huge birthday bashes: who showed up, what was served, how much money was spent, and how they partied through the night. But does a whole entire country celebrate their birthdays? Why, no, and that what makes the King of Thailand's birthday oh-so-special.
Going into today I knew that the country had a strong allegiance to their king, who also happens to be the longest reigning monarch...ever. I was aware that hundreds of thousands of people were going to line the streets in Bangkok to catch a glimpse of his highness for his first public appearance on Father's Day in 6 years. I knew that if I did not wear yellow, the King's favorite color, that I would stick out even more than I already do. I did not know, however, how large the celebration would extend to Ayutthaya. At around 5 o'clock I had an idea of how big the celebration would be when I heard Gangnam Style blast and my room begin to rattle. I went outside and saw that not only was there a huge stage set up outside of our guesthouse, but that our whole street had been transformed into a huge market with carnival games, muay Thai rings, and projection screens.

Creeper shot: candle lighting

Though the festivities started out with a huge ceremony in front of town hall to commemorate the King, complete with Buddhist monks sending their prayers and giant fireworks, the rest of the evening was for the people to enjoy. Pick your poison: fried food, Thai dances and performances, musical acts, muay Thai fights, or movies. Being a novice to all of these things, we exposed ourselves to all.

My first muay Thai fight.

The muay Thai fighting was definitely the highlight for me. Muay Thai is a kind of Thai boxing that can begin training at a very young age ( 6, perhaps?). It takes great skill and agility, but is ruthless and intense. The fighters are incredibly agile and quick, and each of the rounds are quite short.

The Thai performances were extremely different than just about anything that could be imagined in the United States. The musical instruments vaguely sounded like the banging of pots and pans, and the glittery costumes were blinding.

As much as I enjoyed the King's birthday festivities, I am a bit bitter because though it was convenient to have such a short commute to and from the excitement, my bedroom will not stop rattling from the beat of the drum and the sound of the music from the performance outside, which just so happens to be on the largest stage in the whole celebration. I did see some of my students out tonight though, so I suppose I won't be the only one tired in school tomorrow.

right outside of our guesthouse

Kim and me dressed in yellow to honor the King.