Early this morning, I went to the King Rama VI statue in Lumphini for a mass merit-making ceremony that included representatives from the five major religions in Thailand.
Due to light traffic, I arrived early at about 5.30 a.m. I drove up and down Ratchadamri Road all the way to Ratchaprasong and noted that they had set up tents at regular intervals for local people to come and make merit by offering food to the monks.
The main event took place in front of the Rama VI statue near the Sala Daeng Intersection. The guest of honour was Bangkok Governor Mr. Sukhumbhand Paribatra. It started with a Brahmin ritual and was followed by Buddhist chanting.
The merit-making ceremonies were dedicated to those who had died. However, it was also a way to boost the morale of Bangkok people and to bring “good luck” back to the city. After the chanting, the Governor led thousands of local people in offering food to the monks.
In this picture, you can see some people from Bangkok offering food to a monk in front of the King Rama VI statue at the entrance to Lumphini Park.
Along Ratchadamri Road, many tables were set up so that local people could stand and wait for an estimated 1,000 monks to come and collect alms.
The MCOT presenter on the right called out my name and said she guessed who I was. Seconds before she went on air, she quickly took a photo of us together with her Blackberry. Apparently she follows me on Twitter! Although I took my regular DSLR camera, I found myself using my iPhone exclusively for all these pictures.
- Posted from my iPhone
better than KFC and McDonalds lol but the name...