Good One

Hi,

The daytime hours were rain-free today.  The afternoon was hot and by dinner time it was raining.  So goes the weather in Chiang Rai.

This week’s ‘Zany Day’ song has a few friends out there.  “And when I hold you, you’ll be my __, __ __ __.  We’ll walk through my __ and a paradise we will share.  Yes-a I, oh I’m gonna love you, oh oh, ‘cause nothing can stop me now, ‘cause I’m the __ __ __.  So hey yeah yeah yeah….”  Clue:  The first dash is for the title of the spouse of this royalty.  If you know this one, don’t be shy (555).

We woke up to a cool morning.  The air was crisp and Daku was ready to play.  It was clear that there had been rain overnight, but things were not soggy.  There was a forecast for rain later, so we just enjoyed the clouds.

Today was the big day, the day of ceremonies leading up to the cremation of The King.  We started watching the live feed from Bangkok, which started around 7:30am and the Thai PBS channel had an English-speaking commentator.  Many things were explained as the proceedings progressed.  There were three major processions this morning, all centered around moving the Royal Urn to a specially built monument that will be the final resting place for some of the ashes of The King.  It’s all very complicated, especially when there are two separate Royal Items that are called an Urn.  The pomp and spectacle was amazing.  We could tell that it had been rehearsed several times.  When you have hundreds of people involved in moving large objects, marching at a very slow pace there has to be practice.  Thousands of people were lining the roads leading to the Royal Palace and the temple Wat Pho.  

Today’s photos were taken from the live feed in Bangkok.  The first photo shows 200 soldiers pulling a giant 14 ton chariot that has been used since the late 18th Century, carrying the structure with the Urn inside.  The second photo is the final resting place where the cremation will take place.  It took almost a year to build.  

Meanwhile, in Chiang Rai, the main focus of attention was at the old airport, where cremation ceremonies were also held.  Officials expected around 20,000 people to attend.  In town at traffic intersections, bottles of water and rice were being passed out to the public who would be attending.  

At The Big Brown House, Cat came to visit for the morning and had lunch with us.  When we mentioned that we didn’t realize the Festival of Loy Krathong began on November 3 this year, she was also surprised.  It’s usually later in the month.  This year it will go on for 9 days, which is a long time for something like that.  It will be interesting to see how many people really celebrate for that long.  We will be going to Bangkok for the first five days of the month.  More on that later.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

                   Peace,

                             Danny

“Whatever you are,

be a good one.”

~Abraham Lincoln