Social media saw an outpouring of grief unmatched in modern memory yesterday.
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As heavens clear, netizens post eulogies of love
Post Reporters
Social media saw an outpouring of grief unmatched in modern memory yesterday as netizens brought a visceral intensity to their posts after viewing in person, on TV or online the royal cremation ceremonies for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, an historic occasion many felt was a "once-in-a-lifetime experience".
But the explosion of heartfelt comments was not to come until later in the day. Social media was eerily quiet in the morning as the nation was gripped from 7am by a spectacular series of ceremonies that had been a year in the making.
From Buddhist temples and mosques in the deep South to hill tribes in the North, millions were glued to their TV sets from dusk till dawn, many fighting back tears as they bade farewell to the world's formerly longest-reigning living monarch and a father figure to the country who passed away on Oct 13, 2016.
Facebook and Instagram messages began trickling in during the early afternoon hours when the cremation processions in Sanam Luang, where the royal crematorium is based, paused for a break. The ceremonies resumed at 4.30pm, about an hour before the first phase of the royal cremation commenced.
The cremation proper began at 10pm, a momentous occasion overseen by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun.
For freelance writer and journalist Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, the site of the Chariot of Great Victory slowly carrying the royal urn to Phra Meru Mas – the official name of the royal crematorium – was a touching tribute.
"The moment of parting is here and passing," she wrote.
"I sat, clapping my palms together and bent down on the road to pay my highest respect to the late King and saw him off on his heavenly ascension," she wrote, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
She said she could not forget a remark by the late King that his place in the world was among his subjects.
"He will occupy a special place right here in my heart, forever," she said.
Many Thais left their homes early yesterday to lay cremation flowers made from shaved wood at replicas of the royal crematorium nationwide.
Ms Apiradee, who was sitting on the pavement close to the passing processions in Suan Saranrom, said she swapped tales with other mourners highlighting their devotion to the revered former monarch.
One of these, an elderly lady named Onsri Boonmanarak, had booked a flight from Nakhon Si Thammarat several months earlier so as not to miss yesterday's event.
"I bought the ticket as soon as the government announced the date," she told Ms Apiradee.
Ms Onsri said she first saw the late King during a royal visit to her home province in 1972. "I was so young then and the King was so down-to-earth," she recalled.
As swollen crowds thronged Sanam Luang yesterday, Ms Apiradee had secured herself a prime viewing spot after two nights of camping out in the capital's old quarter and sleeping rough under the stars while braving downpours.
Another Facebook user, Onuma Chaisumrej, also arrived two days earlier and found a place to sleep at Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram. She said she woke up yesterday morning to find the Chariot of Great Victory parked nearby.
"It was still dark but the gleaming gold exterior of the royal chariot was so astonishingly beautiful and bright. It was almost surreal," she said.
"I felt a sudden, helpless burst of tears from the realisation the chariot was taking the King away."
