Thursday October 13th 2016 the King of Thailand passed away. It has been a huge shock for the entire country, in which every citizen adored him. On our bus ride from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai we started to see the country grieve. Not as many people were out, those that were wore black / darker colored clothes. The flag not only of Thailand, but the flag for the king is being displayed much more and is at lowered half-way. Stores, restaurants, markets that aren’t geared towards tourists are closed. Monks have started to put up ribbons in front of temples, schools and government buildings. Some are black and white, representing the funeral for the king. Others are black and yellow which represent the date of the King’s birth. These ribbons will be up for one year to remember the beloved king. And all civil servants have been ordered to wear black for a year as a sign of mourning.
The King was in power for 70 years, what will happen next is a little unknown. There will be a power struggle between the prince and the military. As of right now the prince has asked for time to grief, not wanting to take the thrown for at least a few months.
What does this mean for our group?
We don’t really know. We don’t think it will have a huge affect on us while we are still in the North but as we make our way down to Bangkok it might have a larger impact on what we will be able to do. But it also will give us all new cultural experiences that we wouldn’t have been able to experience otherwise. The body of the king will lie at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok for an unknown amount of time for people to pay respects to the King. We might have the opportunity to go.
Our deepest condolences go towards the whole country, it’s people and the Kings family.