KING BHUMIBOL'S REIGN
THE HELICOPTER HAS JUST touched down, stirring the dust of a parched land waiting for summer rains, when its door opens and silk parasols, borne by guards in the costumes of an ancient Asian court, float above the head of the slender, solemn man in military uniform emerging from the aircraft. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama
IX of the 207-year-old Chakri Dynasty, has arrived in Thailand's eastern Chonburi Province to consecrate a temple and to visit a small corner of his realm.