We've arrived in New Delhi, but before starting on my initial impressions of India - a matter on which I really do need to collect my thoughts - I'll record some final thoughts about Thailand.
Australians like Thailand, of course: they drive on the left, and eat with a knife and fork! English is widely spoken, especially by people with whom tourists are likely to have contact with (although perhaps not so much in the case of taxi drivers!). And the traffic, although challenging at times, has the benefit of some reasonable roads (a contrast to Delhi, at least).
The Thai people are all charming, of
course, although I do wonder if high levels of staffing sometimes
leads to a loss of efficiency (or, at least, don't compensate for this). It's come up on a couple of occasions, and while we don't have any complaints, the service on Thai Airlines so far hasn't had quite the edge that you find on at least some other airlines.
But right now, the Thai's respect for the monarchy is on full show. 13 October marked one year since the previous king's death. At 3.52 pm (the time of his death), many places observed 89 seconds of silence (he was 89 when he died). Several channels on the TV gave extensive coverage to 9 minute period of silence at the hospital where he died. All the nurses were out in the street, and I read in the Bangkok Post that there were a number of memorial events around town, with people being turned away from some.
The Post also reported numerous people being in tears and "heartbroken". Hmmmmm, I'm really not sure about this but I suppose I'd better be careful: under the extremely strict lese majeste law, an 85 year old historian is currently under threat of prosecution for wondering aloud three years ago whether a 16th century story involving a king of that era prevailing in an elephant battle with the then king of Burma (taught, I read, in all Thai schools) actually happened. Even the Post thinks this might be over the top.
 |
| Nurses (on TV) |
But right now, the Thai's respect for the monarchy is on full show. 13 October marked one year since the previous king's death. At 3.52 pm (the time of his death), many places observed 89 seconds of silence (he was 89 when he died). Several channels on the TV gave extensive coverage to 9 minute period of silence at the hospital where he died. All the nurses were out in the street, and I read in the Bangkok Post that there were a number of memorial events around town, with people being turned away from some.
The Post also reported numerous people being in tears and "heartbroken". Hmmmmm, I'm really not sure about this but I suppose I'd better be careful: under the extremely strict lese majeste law, an 85 year old historian is currently under threat of prosecution for wondering aloud three years ago whether a 16th century story involving a king of that era prevailing in an elephant battle with the then king of Burma (taught, I read, in all Thai schools) actually happened. Even the Post thinks this might be over the top.
No comments:
Post a Comment