ท่าช้าง / Tha Chang is the "elephant pier," where a herd of thirsty elephants used to come down to drink water from แม่น้ำมูล / the Mun River. So I'm told.
For me, Tha Chang represents the final, final stop. You die. There's a funeral ceremony. A cremation. Some fireworks. And then, a couple of weeks later, the family heads over to Tha Chang. There's a going away ceremony. Then you all get on a boat. You go out onto the Mun River. At the right time and place, you pour your family member's post-cremation bone fragments into the water, and they sink down to the bottom.
Rest in peace, my departed-too-early brother. (Not my actual brother, but a member of the brother/sister-hood, for sure.)
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| Back home, where life in this world goes on--for now. 20230820 |
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