The Thai King is on a visit to Vietnam this week, and his travel style is turning heads. Instead of stepping out of a chartered VIP jet, he actually flew the plane himself—with the Queen right beside him in the co-pilot’s seat. If you saw that on the tarmac, you would probably do a double take and figure being a modern monarch takes quite a resume.
To be fair, this guy commands serious wealth and power, with tens of millions of subjects and tens of billions of dollars in royal assets behind him. A slight breach of protocol anywhere near him usually spells trouble. But setting all the pomp and heavy security aside, the royal couple simply took the controls and flew their own aircraft straight across the border for a state visit.
Local reports say the itinerary is packed. We were sitting at a roadside stall in Phnom Penh sipping iced coffee when the news popped up on our phones, making for some good chat over the cups. Big-wig diplomacy might feel a world away from everyday life, but a king piloting his own plane certainly beats the usual motorcade for visual impact.
