Today is Chulalongkorn Day, or Wan Piyamaharaj, a Thai national holiday observed every October 23rd that commemorates the life of King Rama V, one of the most beloved monarchs in Thai history. King Chulalongkorn (reign 1868 - 1910) is remembered for his major reforms and for helping to modernize Siam. You can find his image throughout Bangkok, including this portrait of him in his military regalia adhered to the windshield of a tuk tuk.
During the Thai rainy season, the tuk tuk business is not as lucrative as the rest of the year. Some people avoid riding in the open air vehicles in wet weather. It's a good thing that some drivers have plastic or cloth shields that roll down on the sides of their three-wheelers for those of us that like taking tuk tuks all year long.
I don't want to be the one to break the news to this tuk tuk driver, but his custom-painted red, white, and blue camouflage design on the inside of his vehicle isn't helping to disguise his tuk tuk. It's ironically creating the opposite effect of drawing more attention to his three-wheeler. I guess it's not a bad idea for someone who is constantly on the look out for more paying passengers.
The face on this windshield reminds me of the animated films, Cars and Cars 2. Perhaps for the third movie in the series, Pixar could have a tuk tuk with cool shades as one of the characters. Just a thought.
In Thailand, the number nine is considered to be auspicious. In Thai, nine is "gaao" which also means moving forward, hence it is believed to be lucky. Those who get caught up in the lottery here look for tickets with the number nine, and if you open a business or get married, you should do so on the ninth day of the ninth month at nine o'clock with nine monks present. If you're a tuk tuk driver, you should place stickers with the number nine all over your vehicle.
Who does the driver of this tuk tuk with an orange animal-print seat think he is? Fred Flintstone? These cushions would fit perfectly in Fred's stone age car.
