Sometime before three, out on Suthep Road at the entrance to Wat Suandok, traffic is still moving normally. But a sudden flurry of cellphone calls, police walkie-talkie chatter, and a noticable tightning of security, signal that the head of the procession has turned the corner from the moat road. It is now less than a mile away. People have begun to gather along the road side, police are checking vehicles entering the wat, and, though the procession is still thirty minutes distant, heads are turning in that direction.
Monks are gathering in the shade near the local police station..
..while across the entrance way others have secured a shady spot of their own.
Many students were among the onlookers. Wat Suandok is also the site of a prestigious Buddhist university- most of the monks in these earlier photos attend there, and the main campus of Chiangmai University is just a mile away.
The closest monk in this photo seemed to be more than just an observer. I saw him in different places during the afternoon, sometimes giving instructions but most of the time carefully observing. He seems to be looking at me but if you zoom in it's apparent that someone or something in the the crowd behind me has his attention.
Traffic on Suthep Road comes to a standstill as the lead vehicle in the procession approaches.
With just one exception, the entire procession was on foot. Mid-afternoon temperatures in Chiangmai this time of year are in the 90s. They had been walking for more than three hours on baking pavement, most wearing only flip-flops on their feet.
The one exception.. I wondered if he was now the senior abbot at Wat Buph Pharam. He looked so young, but obviously he was highly ranked. He held that pose- no movement of his hands, no turning of his head, not even a glance, as he passed.
Did they stop to rest? Did they get to change positions or switch off? How could she still manage to still look serene?
Led by the eldest, hundreds of monks moved into view. The rope you see looped back on both sides for 30-40 yards. At the far end it was attached to the funeral wagon bearing Pha Thep Veehsutthikhun's casket. Some of the monks were laboring in the heat and other monks were closely watching them.
As the senior monks turned into Wat Suandok a hush fell on the crowd. Some watched silently while others folded their hands in respectful wais. Still others recorded the event from favorable vantage points. The funeral wagon, with his casket visible in the curtained tower, began it's final turn.
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