Bhumibol was a painter, musician, photographer, author and translator. His book Phra Mahachanok is based on a traditional Jataka story of Buddhist scripture. The Story of Thong Daeng is the story of his dog Thong Daeng.[137]
In his youth, Bhumibol was greatly interested in firearms. He kept a carbine, a Sten gun and two automatic pistols in his bedroom, and he and his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, often used the gardens of the palace for target practice.[8]:70
There are two English-language books that provide extensive detail—albeit not always verifiable—about Bhumibol's life, especially his early years and then throughout his entire reign. One is The Revolutionary King by William Stevenson, the other is The King Never Smiles by Paul M. Handley. A third and earlier work, The Devil's Discus, is also available in Thai and English. The latter two books are banned in Thailand, while the first has never been sold in the country due to its inaccuracies, despite having been written with royal patronage.[8]:162
Bhumibol's creativity in, among other things, music, art and invention, was the focus of a two-minute long documentary created by the government of Abhibisit Vejjajiva that was screened at all branches of the Major Cineplex Group and SF Cinema City, the two largest cinema chains in Thailand.[138]
Music[edit]
Bhumibol was an accomplished jazz saxophone player and composer, playing dixieland and New Orleans jazz, and also the clarinet, trumpet, guitar, and piano.[139] Bhumibol performed with Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Lionel Hampton, and Benny Carter.[139][140] Bhumibol wrote 49 compositions, including marches, waltzes, and Thai patriotic songs, but mostly jazz swing. His most popular compositions were Candlelight Blues, Love at Sundown, and Falling Rain, all composed in 1946.[139] Bhumibol's musical influences included Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Benny Carter, and Johnny Hodges.[139]
Bhumibol initially received general music training privately while he was studying in Switzerland, but his older brother, then King Ananda Mahidol, who had bought a saxophone, sent Bhumibol in his place.[140] King Ananda would later join him on the clarinet.[140] On his permanent return to Thailand in 1950, Bhumibol started a jazz band, Lay Kram, whom he performed with on a radio station he started at his palace.[140] The band grew, being renamed the Au Sau Wan Suk Band and he would perform with them live on Friday evenings, occasionally taking telephoned requests.[140] Bhumibol also performed with his band at Thai universities, composing anthems for the universities of Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, and Kasetsart.[140] Bhumibol performed with Benny Goodman in Bangkok's Ambara Throne Hall in 1956, and later played at Goodman's home in New York in 1960.[139] Many bands such as Les Brown and His Band of Renown, Claude Bolling Big Band, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band recorded some of Bhumibol's compositions and can still be heard in Thailand.[139] A 1996 documentary, Gitarajan, was made about Bhumibol's music.[139]
Bhumibol still played music with his Au Sau Wan Suk Band in later years, but was rarely heard in public.[140] In 1964, Bhumibol was inducted to the honorary membership of Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts. In 2000, he was awarded the Sanford Medal for his contribution in music from Yale School of Music. He was the first Asian in both cases to be honored as such. In 2003, the University of North Texas College of Music awarded him an honorary doctorate in music. Bhumibol's influence is widely regarded as one reason why Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, has for decades had a strong jazz and improvised music "scene" relative to other Asian nations.[citation needed]
Sailing[edit]
Bhumibol was an accomplished sailor and sailboat designer.[141] He won a gold medal for sailing in the Fourth Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games in 1967, together with HRH Princess Ubol Ratana whom he tied for points.[142] This accomplishment was all the more remarkable given Bhumibol's lack of binocular depth perception. On April 19, 1966, Bhumibol also sailed the Gulf of Thailand from Hua Hin to Toey Ngam Harbour[143] in Sattahip, covering 60 nautical miles (110 km) in a 17-hour journey on the "Vega 1", an OK Class dinghy he built.[8]
Like his father, a former military naval engineer, Bhumibol was an avid boat designer and builder. He produced several small sailboat designs in the International Enterprise, OK, and Moth classes. His designs in the Moth class included the "Mod", "Super Mod", and "Micro Mod".[144]
Radio amateur[edit]
Bhumibol was a radio amateur with the call sign HS1A. He was also the patron of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST).[145]
Patents[edit]
Bhumibol was the only Thai monarch to hold a patent.[146][147] He obtained one in 1993 for a waste water aerator named "Chai Pattana", and several patents on rainmaking after 1955: the "sandwich" rainmaking pat