Outpouring of respect on social media

BANGKOK went quiet yesterday morning as residents focused their attention on the Royal Cremation Ceremony for His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Grand Palace and Sanam Luang.
However, people were active on social media to express mourning messages. People at the Royal Cremation Ceremony site were updating their feelings as they bade a last farewell to the late King, while people watching the live broadcast of the ceremonies also expressed sadness in messages written on black backgrounds. 
Scenes of the huge crowds of mourners waiting in long queues to offer sandalwood flowers at replicas of the Royal Crematorium were also depicted online.
In one example, Facebook user “Ting Pruckwattananon” posted a photo of a pamphlet reading “Forever in our hearts” on her wall. Many people also avowed their love of the late King Bhumibol by volunteering at and near the site of the Royal Crematorium. 
Facebook user “Jo Chakorn” posted “Volunteer-minded people are on duty as subjects of King Rama IX”, along with photos of himself in the volunteer uniform on duty at the funeral site.

Elsewhere on social media, Thais were thanking the late King for his many royal projects and initiatives that have benefitted the country. Many were also promising to follow the late King’s example. 
Facebook user “Wit Sittivaekin” wrote that he loved the King. “If the Kingdom of Thailand has been recognised by the world as one of the most pleasant places on Earth with immense happiness, bright smiles from the Thai people, an abundance of resources and supplies, the Thai people owe that to our respected beloved King Rama IX, [whose] 70-year reign (almost 10 per cent of 700 years of Thailand’s history) has laid the strong foundation for our nation. 

“We shall never forget. Our beloved virtuous angel, our father, shall ALWAYS be in our hearts. Several virtuous values that His Late Majesty cultivated in us will remain with us ... FOREVER.”
Every venue yesterday was packed with people who continue to queue to place funeral flowers for the late King despite the rain. 

Meanwhile, Thais overseas also joined to mourn the late King . Facebook user “Narudom Roongsiriwong” posted that he had placed a sandalwood flower for the late King at the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore, while “Aticharn Cherngcha-vano” also shared the atmosphere at the embassy in Japan.