guys at the bar, talking about Her Highness

          I was invited on one of her tours, to visit the railway construction already mentioned, specifically the digging of a right-of-way alongside a mountain.  This was heavy blasting and excavating work, and the smoke plus heat was oppressive.  Nevertheless she graciously greeted the workmen who were obviously thrilled to meet her and touch her hand.  It is apparently not forbidden here, as it is elsewhere, to touch the monarch’s person, though of course she was initiating all the touching.  To do this she departed from the carpet set in front of her and climbed fearlessly and almost casually over a mound of rocks, still upright as if balancing a pile of books on her head.  Her feet are so tough by now that it seemed no strain.  She accepted a hard hat from one of the sweating miners and though she could not put it on she posed next to him, holding the hat up as if it was an extra crown she was proud to own.

          It was, as I say, an uncomfortable journey.  Like everyone else I was glad to get back to the Palace and shower myself off.  The rooms here, though small and not equipped with modern conveniences like electricity or telephones, are quaint and comfortable.  Despite the culture’s general disapproval of alcohol there is a well-stocked bar in an alcove hidden next to the front hall, one assumes for the convenience of foreigners.  I chatted with the bartender, who is originally from Siam, and a few visiting businessmen.  There was some heavy drinking going on, perhaps to compensate for not being allowed to smoke, and I confined my conversation to the less inebriated.  A banker from London was there, involved with the railway project.  As he put it, “These people are small-timers but unusually honest and punctilious.”  The size of the account did not really warrant his traveling such a distance but he enjoyed visiting here -- no doubt in large part because of the young and attractive monarch who is always nude.  Such a fact, as noted, is not widely known, and perhaps it is best that way.  Perhaps that was another reason for her hesitation as to putting her image on currency and stamps.

          I ventured to the banker that her nudity might be taken in the wrong way, at least by Westerners.  He agreed (I share that concern).  A scholar from Burma, who was in the country to make notes of local Buddhist shrines, told me that in the minds of the people here her naked body has become a symbol of her country and is not thought of in a sexual way.  Rather, her lack of clothing denotes purity and honesty (as in “the naked truth”); also a freedom from assertions of status which clothes unavoidably signify.  We were joined by an American businessman resident in Japan.  Lubricated a bit by alcohol, they speculated what her own opinions might be as to the clothes-wearing world she stands apart from.  Possibly she sees the wearing of clothes as a human weakness that must be gently tolerated.  She seems careful not to insinuate that she is superior in her nudity, if that is what she really thinks, though they doubted it.  All royalty are required to act and speak a certain way in public, and she seems comfortable with her role (as opposed to, say, certain British monarchs we remember).  In fact according to those in the Palace who deal with her outside the public eye, she is as reserved in private as she is in public, modest and soft-spoken to the point of being actually shy.  When not called upon for her duties she tends to stay in her suite.  She prays in private every night to her personal shrine (during which she is not to be disturbed).  She has had a typical “classical” education, having studied abroad as a child, knows several languages, and reads a lot, being a curious person.  Her main interest and concern seems to be the physical well-being of her people; she has studied widely in the fields of nutrition and diet, just as Emperor Hirohito has an interest in marine biology.  Perhaps, like him, she will write a scholarly paper someday.

          Later that night when I was getting ready for bed I heard gentle splashing outside.  I was fairly close to the pool, being on the second floor, and I saw Her Highness swimming there, alone, the moonlight hitting her sleek wetness as she dove and surfaced like a dolphin and with a dolphin’s grace and agility.  In school, boys used to swim naked (they don’t any more) and I remember how good it felt.  I was close enough to see, for the second time, a spontaneous smile, as she enjoyed a pleasure she no doubt deserved.