A Filipino writer shares his thoughts about Thailand, its people including the King, despite his being a true-blooded Pinoy.
The Thais mourn for the passing away of Thailand King Bhumibol Adulyadej after a seven-decade reign in the country but unusually, a Filipino writer also expressed his gratitude to the late monarch.
In his personal Facebook account, an editor at InterAksyon, Roby Alampay, posted his thanks to King Bhumibol.
Alampay has worked in Thailand as executive director of the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance or SEAPA.
In his post, Alampay said that he and his wife, Joy, originally planned to stay in Thailand for only a couple of years but as time went by, they found it hard to detach themselves and sticked to the country foreign from their own for another four years.
According to Alampay, during their first year in Bangkok, they immediately fell in love with the kingdom and its people so much, which made them stay there for a total of six years.
“The honest truth: It was hard to pry ourselves from Thailand. Joy and I always believed, and told ourselves, that we belong in the Philippines. But just one year in Bangkok made us fall in love with the kingdom and its people so much that a planned two-year adventure stretched to six… by which time we were convincing each other: Maybe there’s a way to have both worlds? There wasn’t. We either finally return or with each extra year make it more impossible to let go”, Alampay started his post.
Also uploaded in Alampay’s post was the King’s Anthem that is being played before every movie, before every show, and before anything in Thailand.
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