December is the holy month for Thailand. The much-revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej turns 87 on Dec. 5.
The king has been on the throne since 1946 and now becomes the world's longest reigning monarch. In the past seven decades, Bhumibol had been able to transform the once-unpopular monarchy into Thailand's most powerful political institution.
Throughout the country, tourists find it perplexing to witness a colossal human wave clad in yellow. Yellow is the color of the Monday on which the king was born. Thus the yellow shirt was made a royal symbol.