The Royal Barge procession to celebrate the King’s 80^th birthday, one of the most anticipated events of the year, will take place on Nov 5, and the crew is practicing hard. Lieutenant Commander Nattawat Aramklua, 45, talked to BK before a rehearsal about his side job as a chanteur in the Barge.

BK: Is this the first time you take part in a Royal Barge?

Lieutenant Commander Nattawat Aramklua: No, since I began my career in the navy in 1981, I’ve been in the Royal Barge eight times previously—this one is my ninth. My first experience as a chanteur was to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Bangkok. I started when I was 19, when I was very young, and now I’m old.

BK: What qualification do you need to be in the Barge?

NA: You must not be too tall or too short. Also you need to be healthy and fit. One need to be moderately handsome, like me [laughs]. It’s better to get people who are used to the water because they are easier to train. Most of the crew is from the army or from government offices.

BK: How long have you guys been practicing?

NA: There are many steps of training; there are 90-hours of land training for basic postures, 40-days of land training for fitness, two-weeks of training in a still barge, 26-days more training in a moving barge. There’s a lot of practice. And today is the rehearsal where everyone gets dressed up. We started in March continuing through the present.

BK: So what do you do as a chanteur?

NA: I chant, of course, on the Ananta Nakharaj barge. All I do is chant and now I don’t know whether I can say if it’s hard or easy because I’ve done it so many times. Most of the time, the difficulty is reciting the poems. They write new poems every time for a special occasion and a nicely written poem is easier to chant. Again, if you practice often then it becomes easier. And a chanteur needs to memorize the words, so that he can play with it.

BK: How long is a poem?

NA: They compose poems for two-hours of chanting. But if the tide isn’t strong, I chant for just 45-minutes and the procession reaches the destination.

BK: Do you look at the poem when you chant?

NA: A chanteur needs to memorize every word but in the real procession, we also look at the written poems. This is an important event and nothing can go wrong.

BK: Does a chanteur need to have a good voice?

NA: No question. But there are so many people who have good voice, but they also need other qualities. They have to be well rounded and can take charge of the barge also.

BK: Are you a singer also?

NA: No, I just like to sing karaoke with friends.

BK: How do you feel to be part of this event?

NA: I’m very happy and honored. I consider this task to be one of the greatest honors of my entire life.

BK: What’s the most memorable experience in your navy life?

NA: There’s no specific incident, but I try to do my best at everything I do. I love my job and I love this country so much.