You will find in many houses in Thailand a picture of a waterfall (not from Thailand) and a baby (not their own baby). You see these pictures everywhere and they are very tacky. Many households also have a picture of King Rama V. If you don’t know, Chulalongkorn is very revered by all Thai people although he died many years ago. October 23rd is the anniversary of his death and people lay wreaths at the foot of his statue. We have one here at City Hall in Samut Prakan and I am sure every province has one as well. I took the picture above in Bangkok this afternoon. Foreigners know this king best as the boy in the banned movie “The King and I”.

I also have a lot of respect for him as he achieved a lot in his lifetime. He did much to bring Thailand into the modern age. He was also the first king to travel widely abroad. His portrait is also considered a good luck charm for businesses. I wouldn’t object to hanging up his picture in the office, though I refuse to buy one of those tacky ones they sell at Big C and Tesco Lotus. I don't really understand why they want to put glitter all over the picture.

Talking of good luck charms, there are couple of other things I should maybe buy for the office. One is the Beckoning Lady which might be good for bringing customers into the book store. Second is a flower which I forget the name of at the moment. It is supposed to bring good luck and prosperity to the householders. It has a red flower and I think I saw it at the garden centre outside Big C the other day. Well, there was only one that seemed to fit the bill. I’ll have to do some research first.

Read more at: http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=24&title=king_chulalongkorn&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1.