The Funeral of King Bhumibol in October

Written by Team Expique
Published: October 1, 2017

This month will see the funeral for the late King Bhumibol (Rama 9) of Thailand who died on Oct 13, 2016.

If you are in Bangkok over this period you should remain respectful to the events and also appreciate that this is a very special time for the nation. Whilst it may have impacts on your visit, it is also a historic time to be here.

October 13, 23 and 26 are officially public holidays and the royal funeral is scheduled to take place at Sanam Luang from October 25-29, 2017 with the actual royal cremation on 26th October 2017.

October 7, 15 and 21 there are funeral rehearsals – some roads will be blocked.

Funeral Schedule:

25th October: A royal merit-making rite will be held to mark the start of the royal cremation ceremonies in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall at the Grand Palace.
26th October: In the morning the body of the late King Bhumibol will be moved from the throne hall to the royal crematorium at Sanam Luang where the royal cremation will be held. The actual cremation will take place at 10pm.
27th October: Following the cremation, a royal ceremony will be held to collect the royal relics of the late King at the royal crematorium.
28th October: A royal merit-making rite for the royal relics will be held in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall,
29th October: In the morning a ceremony will be held to enshrine the royal relics at the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall. The ashes of the late King will be enshrined at Wat Rajabopit and Wat Bowon Niwet in the late afternoon.

Key Thing to Note:

Hundreds of Thousands of people will be trying to get close to witness the funeral activities so it is likely to be very busy. There will be street closures around the area and congestion. Exact street closures may vary.
Other plans and street closures may be announced last minute
The Grand Palace (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha Temple) will be temporary closed from October 1-29, 2017 to prepare The Royal Cremation Ceremony.
Nearby temples such as Wat Arun a likely to remain open.
While tourists do not have to dress in black please if not visiting the area of the funeral you should remain respectful – especially if visiting the Rattanakosin area.
It is likely there will be a ban on alcohol on October 26.

Our tours during this period:

We have officially closed all our tours from October 25-27 and our cooking school at The Market Experience will be closed from Oct 26-Oct 30. We believe we should be able to run our tours on all other days but there is possibility that tours on surrounding days (Oct 23-29 and also days of rehearsals) may be affected by increased traffic and road closures. However, we will do our best to adapt when appropriate to ensure a great experience. Note, that there is a tendency for last minute unannounced plans and road closures that we can not always predict but we will monitor closely.