Reuters, Bangkok :
Amid beating drums, the whistle of an ancient flute and an artillery salute, Thailand began a lavish and elaborate ceremony on Thursday steeped in ancient rites for the funeral and cremation of revered late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn takes a part in the royal cremation procession.
Hundreds of thousands of black-clad mourners lined the streets of Bangkok to watch the
funeral procession, with buildings on the route draped in yellow marigolds before his cremation.
Mourners slept overnight on thin plastic mats on pavements near the Grand Palace in the Thai capital so they could get a good view of the procession. “This is the last goodbye. I really love and miss him. It is very difficult to describe,” said a tearful Pimsupak Suthin, 42, who traveled to Bangkok from the northern province of Nan.
King Bhumibol, also known as King Rama IX, died last October aged 88 after ruling for seven decades.
Amid beating drums, the whistle of an ancient flute and an artillery salute, Thailand began a lavish and elaborate ceremony on Thursday steeped in ancient rites for the funeral and cremation of revered late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn takes a part in the royal cremation procession.
Hundreds of thousands of black-clad mourners lined the streets of Bangkok to watch the
funeral procession, with buildings on the route draped in yellow marigolds before his cremation.
Mourners slept overnight on thin plastic mats on pavements near the Grand Palace in the Thai capital so they could get a good view of the procession. “This is the last goodbye. I really love and miss him. It is very difficult to describe,” said a tearful Pimsupak Suthin, 42, who traveled to Bangkok from the northern province of Nan.
King Bhumibol, also known as King Rama IX, died last October aged 88 after ruling for seven decades.
