We found Thailand in mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on October 13, 2016. He was the world’s longest-reigning monarch when he died, and he is viewed by many Thai people with a saintlike (even cult-like, some would say) reverence. His photograph—and bunting, bunting, and more bunting—was everywhere. This was on a sidewalk out in front of a cafe…
.. and this was on the counter at an iced tea and coffee shop:
The king’s body lay in state in the Grand Palace in Bangkok for a full year, and the time in which visitors could come to view the body was drawing to a close. This meant that families were streaming in from all over Thailand to wait in line to pay their respects. I learned this firsthand when I tried to visit the temple at the Grand Palace. Instead of finding the famous golden spires, I found impassable sidewalks and mobs of people waiting to view the king’s body.
It was entirely impossible to get anywhere near the palace grounds (I know, because I walked and walked and walked around it). This is the best — and only — view I got into the Grand Palace complex gates:
You can see the spires I was aiming for — entirely blocked off — in the distance:
I took a much more profane pilgrimage of my own to Chatuchak Market, Bangkok’s enormous and crazy weekend-only market.
Much of the nearby area was blocked by tents and pylons and fencing, by guards and military personnel and news vans and construction crews. That last group was building a giant cremation complex on a parade ground reserved especially for royal funerals on a parade ground that exists especially for royal funerals.
I took a much more profane pilgrimage of my own to Chatuchak Market, Bangkok’s enormous and crazy weekend-only market.
It’s a mystery to me that there’s a market for some things:
My friends and I had lots of fun poking around:
I found myself inexplicably drawn to small fruits and vegetables …
… and small fake cacti …
… and small real cacti …
.. and small fake flowers…
… and whatever these things are:
Chatuchak can get incredibly hot during the day, especially if you are in the outdoor areas (one of which, for some reason, is right up against a burned-out building).
To cool down, we stopped for coconut ice cream in coconut shells.
You can watch a guy nearby hacking away at coconuts using a cool machine to get them open for drinking:
Food in Bangkok is amazingly good and cheap. Here’s some pad thai we had near our hotel — yum!
