BANGKOK - SAFFRON-ROBED monks sat cross-legged, lining the route of Thailand's adored King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Saturday as he paid his final respects to his beloved sister.
The 80-year-old monarch was flanked by the Queen and their children as he slowly walked the red carpet to the crematorium where Princess Galyani's funeral urn had been carried earlier in the day.
Taken up to the ceremonial building in an elevator decorated with gold leaf, King Bhumibol, who many Thais believe is semi-divine, walked past dozens of monks before sitting to light ceremonial candles in Buddha's honour.
Dressed in his formal white suit and yellow sash, the 80-year-old bowed his head in respect to the monks and sat to listen to ancient Buddhist chants that radiated around the grounds of the Sanam Luang funeral ground in the capital as the sun set.
More than 100,000 Thais had travelled from all over the kingdom to gather for the funeral of the princess, who died in January from cancer.
Thailand's rich and poor, oft-divided, sat together on the pavement along the procession route wearing their monochrome uniforms, united in grief.
Each province had its own ceremony on Saturday, but that didn't stop thousands of visitors flocking to the main event from all over the kingdom.
An elderly woman who travelled from the western province of Kanchanaburi said she was glad she made the effort to come.
'I have never seen this kind of ceremony before,' said Ms Noi Kongram, 79. 'It is worth the several hours I have been standing.' 'I slept here last night because I was afraid I would not get a good place.
But it was worth coming here to see our princess,' added Mr Somporn Nakhao, 36, from the southern province of Champhon.
'I came here with my friends, it does not matter if we don't have a place to stay. We can stay here.'
The grieving crowds offered the traditional Thai 'wai', or head-bow to the Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Princess Sirindhorn as they passed along the avenue - nominated by the king to accompany the princess' body to the crematorium site earlier in the day.
Thailand's elite - royals, politicians and high ranking military officials who often fail to get along in politics - sat together quietly inside the crematorium's pavilion.
The men wore their formal white collared jackets decorated with military medals, gold epaulettes and red sashes while the women donned traditional black dresses with their own sashes.
The last time there was a full royal funeral in Thailand was in 1996 and the rarity of the occasion was matched by the size of the crowds on Saturday.
Ms Karen Horn, a 62-year-old German woman who was on holiday in Thailand, said she had not expected to see such a grand display.
'I am amazed at the size of the crowd. There are some big processions at home, perhaps Oktoberfest, but not so many people,' she said. -- AFP
Read more at The Straits Times Thailand Correspondent Nirmal Ghosh's blog here.
