The former king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, passed away on Oct. 13th in 2016 and was cremated on Oct. 26th in 2017. He was so popular among his people and they had been mourning for him over a year. Then the Thai government declared on Oct. 29th that the mourning period ended.
My friend, who lived in Thailand, told us about the king's cremation and its related ceremonies, which was a big surprise to me. That was; The Thai government built the cremation facility only for the king during the mourning period at the cost of 16,000,000 USD and the total expense of the funeral ceremony of the king was 96,000,000 USD. Additionally, the high-profile facility would be pulled down after the ceremony. I wondered why the government didn't preserve that as one of the tourist spots. Anyway the facility would be open to the public before its demolition from Nov. 2nd to 30th., and lots of people, not only Thai, but also international tourists, were eager to see the cremation facility during this period of time. That is to say, we chanced to be in Bangkok at the perfect timing. Plus the Loy Krathong the previous night. I recognized the reason why there were so many people around.
People around us were willing to visit the cremation facility, which was to disappear soon. My friend, who was able to speak Thai, got to the entrance to check the waiting time and it was about 6 hours. Immediately we gave up the sightseeing of this area. We asked a Tuktuk driver to run his three-wheeler around the Wat Phra Kaeo and Grand Palace, and it was our sightseeing. Seeing our disappointment, my friend took us to a nearby famous brand shop of NARAYA, a chain of bag shops. My wife got a casual bag at a reasonable price. It's used in her everyday life.
ワット・プラケオと王宮
日本ではプミポン国王と通称されるBhumibol Adulyadej国王が２０１６年１０月１３日に崩御され、２０１７年１０月２６日に荼毘に付された。国民に大変な人気のあった国王でタイ国民は１年間の喪に服していたが、タイ政府は１０月２９日を以て服喪期間が終了したことを宣言。
友人から説明を受けて驚いたのだが、この間にタイ政府は王宮前広場に約１０ヶ月の期間と１７億円を掛けて火葬のためだけの施設を建設。１０２億円をかけた仮葬の儀が終わるとこの仮葬施設は解体するのだそうだ。そして解体前に１１月２日から３０日まで火葬施設を一般公開するとのこと。我々は実に絶妙なタイミングでバンコクに来たことになる。さらに昨夜はロイクラトン（Loy Krathong）祭りが重なった。人が多いはずだ。
もう２度と見る機会のないこの施設を見るために人々が集まっていたのだった。友人が王宮の入り口まで確認に行ってくれたのだが、中へ入って施設を見るとなると６時間くらいは待たねばならないとのこと。即、諦めた。トゥクトゥクで王宮と火葬施設の周りを回ってもらい、外からその風景をちらっと見て観光を終えた。バンコクはまた訪問せねばならない。しょんぼりしていると友人がNaRaYaという店に連れて行ってくれた。お手軽な価格でカミさんは手提げバッグを購入。帰国後、大切に使っている。
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