| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Thais pray for hospitalised king |
| 2009-12-03 |
| [Straits Times] MONKS chant. Elderly women pray. Schoolboys draw cheerful faces on get-well books. As Thailand gears up to celebrate King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 82nd birthday on Saturday with fanfare, thousands of Thais are flocking daily to Siriraj Hospital to pray for the revered monarch, who has been in hospital since Sept 19. Dozens are camping out overnight this week, looking forward to a rare appearance on his birthday on Saturday. 'It is going to a big day. I am waiting to see his face again and I think the whole country is waiting with me,' said Suwana Kennamtheung, a 54-year-old housewife who has been to the hospital every day since September. Royal astrologers determined in 2007 pink was an auspicious colour for the monarch's health and well-wishers arrived in pink shoes with pink bags while some men wore tailor-made pink suits. Wearing a pink shirt with a pink wristband, Suwana prayed at the famed Temple of the Emerald Buddha for the king's health. But the king's disappearance from public view - in his longest hospital stay in recent momory - has left his people nervous. His traditional birthday eve address has been postponed indefinitely along with an annual military parade, though he will grant an audience to royal family members, cabinet ministers, top government officials and politicians on Saturday. 'My heart sank when I heard he would not give the speech,' said Duangporn Saibumrung, who sells egg noodles at a stall near the hospital. 'But I felt better when I saw that he would still appear at the palace on his birthday.' |
| Posted by:Fred |