สศŕ¸
October 2011
15/012/2554
DAY OF THE KING O
n October 23, the Kingdom of Thailand will stop and remember King Rama V, the nationâs most revered former monarch. Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua, otherwise known as Rama V or Chulalongkorn, was Thailandâs fifth king under the House of Chakri. Chulalongkorn Day, October 23, commemorates the passing of one of Thailandâs favourite sons with a public holiday across the Kingdom. Rama V was crowned King of Siam on October 1, 1868 when he was aged only 15, and reigned until his death, at age 57, on October 23, 1910. During his 42-year reign, he abolished slavery, fended off the colonial powers of France and Great Britain, and showed his great love for his people by dressing in peasant clothing and mixing with the poor to properly understand their problems. During his early life as Prince, Chulalongkorn was educated by European tutors, and unlike previous Thai
INSIDE
Good Pub Grub
P6
Driving Safety Tips
P2
Thailand Q&A
P3
Doâs & Donâts
P3
Map of Samui
P5
Thailand Fun Facts
P7
Romantic and luxurious: computer-generated image of the Conrad resort to be built on Samui.
Thailandâs fifth king under the House of Chakri, Chulalongkorn
kings, visited other nations to learn from them. Between 1870 and 1872, he travelled to Singapore and British India to gain valuable insight from the British colonies, which he later used to modernise Thailand. He established the Au-
ditor General Off ice, which was set up to create a single agency to collect the peopleâs taxes, eradicating a system which had been widely used by corrupt rogues. Today, the King of Thailandâs children are routinely sent to Europe to study, but
âPicture by ScorpianPK.
Rama V was the first to ensure his heirs would benefit from the liberal and democratic ideals that were sweeping across Europe at the time. But without doubt, King Rama Vâs greatest achievement was to abolish slavery. In 1867, almost a third of
the Siamese population was registered as slaves, but in 1905, Rama V enacted the Slave Abolition Act, freeing the slaves many of whom became merchants or farmers. The current King of Thailand, Rama IX, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is Rama Vâs grandson, is similarly revered by the Thai people. As October 23 is a Sunday, October 24 has been designated as a public holiday.