The Pattaya area honored the memory of HM King Rama IX by doing good deeds on the second anniversary of his death.
As usual for a long holiday weekend, the roads leading into and out of town were jammed, with traffic moving at a snail’s pace both directions on Sukhumvit Road. But this holiday was different, as Pattaya party turned down a notch in observance of the solemn occasion.
Live music and boisterous entertainment on Walking Street and other nightspots around town was canceled for Oct. 13 and, from morning until night, people went out of their way to do good for society.
Top Pattaya and Banglamung officials kicked off the commemorations with an early-morning alms offering Oct. 13, laying flowered wreaths before a portrait of HM the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
At 7 p.m., Banglamung District Chief Naris Niramaiwong returned to the district office to lead the candlelight vigil for the late monarch with top Pattaya officials.
The crowd was full of both locals and tourists, young and old, including youngsters from the Child Protection and Development Center, who laid marigold garlands, chanted and lit their candles.
Everyone then stood and observed 89 seconds of silence, followed by singing “Phra Phu Song Pen Niran, the King who will live for eternity”. Photos of King Rama IX were given to al participants as they filed out.
During the day, the Provincial Waterworks Authority did its part as well by sending out inspectors to check people’s homes, fix leaky pipes and offer advice on water conservation.
On Jomtien Beach, Deputy Mayor Pattana Boonsawat and Sretapol Boonsawat, head of the local beach umbrella vendors association, kicked off a beach-cleaning along three kilometers of Jomtien shoreline.
Down the road at Central Festival Pattaya Beach, General Manager Lanida Rattanachaichot opened an alms-giving ceremony for 52 monks.
And on Soi Chumsai, Tuk Pailin residents and local food vendors cooked up a menu of dishes given out for free to the public, including noodles with fish curry, side dishes and ice cream.
Other good deeds were done in the late King’s name throughout the area, including cutting grass, distributing food and drink, collecting garbage, and helping poor people and children.
In Chonburi, Gov. Pakarathorn Thienchai kicked off a new volunteer program initiated by HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun in his father’s name.
In Sattahip, the Royal Thai Navy commemorated the second anniversary of the death of King Rama IX with a merit-making ceremony for 89 monks. Vice Adm. Banjob Poedaeng, commander of the 1st Naval Area, opened the Oct. 13 ceremony at the Air and Coastal Defense Command in Sattahip.
Sailors and members of the public joined to give dried food and rice to the monks, whose number represented HM the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s age when he died in 2016.
On Oct. 14, Chonburi volunteers spread across neighborhoods to eliminate wet breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry dengue fever and other diseases. They got rid of standing water, placed abate into other water sources and educated neighbors on the threat the mozzies pose. Others planted trees to restore the environment in the name of HM the late King Rama IX.
