On December 5, the entire nation of Thailand celebrates His Majesty The King’s birthday (and I’m not talking about Elvis). Today, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has reigned as Thailand’s King since 1946, turns 83.  Throughout the country, all government agencies, businesses, stores, and restaurants are closed for the national holiday, which is also considered Father’s Day in Thailand. Portraits of the King are hung in store windows, and yellow flags representing the royal family are flown everywhere. Thai people visit Buddhist temples to make merit and then attend celebrations in the evening filled with fireworks, music, parades, candlelight processions, etc.

Interesting fact:  H.M. The King was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and lived there for less than a year, while his father attended Harvard.

This evening, the entire town of Mae Sot converged on the local school’s campus for a carnival, fireworks, food, music, dancing, etc. It must be an unofficial rule that everyone is welcome to celebrate H.M. The King’s birthday safely, because many thousands of Burmese migrant workers and their families turned out for the event, and they usually disappear after sundown on any other day. Our friend Sofia even saw a few of her students, and they would normally avoid public places at night for fear of getting questioned or detained by police.

Anyway, to get into the spirit of the celebration and truly remember this day in my mind, I did something that has been on my “Thailand to-do list” for a long time – I ate an insect. Not just any insect, but a two-inch long deep-fried cricket!

At first, it took a while to get over the mental hurdles of eating an insect before I could even begin.  And once I actually ate the thing, it took a long time to chew. What did it taste like, you ask? Good question. It could best be described as tasting like a burnt, greasy, salty, BBQ-flavored potato chip. Amber and Sofia thought it was gross to watch, and yet they were unable to turn their eyes away. In fact, Amber took pictures while Sofia filmed it!

And so, for the first time ever on www.steveandamber.net, we have live video footage in addition to the pictures below. Please be warned, the video is real, raw, graphic, and unedited. It may not be suitable for people with weak stomachs. Bon appetit.

Tags: eating, King, Mae Sot