Royal Barge Procession graces Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River

A majestic royal barge procession graced Chao Phraya in Bangkok as Their Majesties the King and Queen travelled along the country’s main river to present traditional royal Kathin robes to Buddhist monks at the Temple of Dawn on Sunday afternoon.
The procession, the only one of its kind in the world, featured 52 barges and required 2,200 oarsmen. It was arranged in five rows and three columns, extending 1,200 metres in length and 90m in width. The fleet proceeded in the river to the sound of beautiful boat songs written especially for this occasion and sung live.
Their Majesties the King and Queen travelled on the Royal Barge Procession from the Wakusri Pier (Wat Rachathiwat Pier) to Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn). The total distance was 4.2 kilometres.
At the important Buddhist temple, Their Majesties the King and Queen presented royal Kathin robes to monks.
On the occasion, Their Majesties the King and Queen were accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya and His Royal Highness Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti.
Buddhists traditionally present Kathin robes to monks within a month after the end of the Buddhist Lent period. The Thai word Kathin means robes presented to Buddhist monks during the period.
The Royal Barge Procession and the royal Kathin presentation ceremony were organised to celebrate His Majesty the King’s 72nd birthday, which was on July 28.
Spectators from the provinces started to arrive at 14 arranged viewpoints on both banks of the Chao Phraya River from Sunday morning.
Some of them said they had been there since 4am to find the best locations to glimpse their beloved King and Queen. They said that they had viewed royal processions on television and had a strong determination to view such a special ceremony with their naked eyes once in their lifetimes.
The government did not halt traffic on five bridges over the section of the Chao Phraya River designated for the ceremony.