Fifty years ago this Sunday, a man stepped onto the moon, and Thailand lived under military rule.
Three months after Neil Armstrong returned from his “small step” onto the lunar surface and emerged from quarantine, he came to Bangkok along with Apollo 11 crew members Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins.
We talk more about the Apollo 11 crew visit to Thailand in the second half of our latest episode of The Coconuts Podcast, and much more. Give it a spin!
In this Film Archive Thailand video, Armstrong and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (and their wives) are received by military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn (and his wife) on Oct. 28, 1969, at the Government House.
Bangkok was one of 24 stops on the moon landing victory-lap. Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, were the only other stops in Asia.
Given the bloody intensification of its war in Vietnam that year following the Tet Offensive, the United States likely included Bangkok as a gesture toward its best ally in the region.
In the video, Thanom welcomed the astronauts with gifts while his wife, Jongkol Kittikachorn, handed swag to their wives. Public protests would force Thanom to step down four years later.
Armstrong, who would return a couple months later for a Bob Hope USO Christmas Show, also visited Surin, where he met with Peace Corps volunteers. Here’s some images of unknown historical provenance, by way of corps alumni group Friends of Thailand.
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