We then got a tour of a second building that was built using traditional Northern Thai architecture. I have included a picture showing the roof style. The interior of the second building was adorned with pictures of the Royal Family. A large picture of the King’s celebration for his 60th year in power was also displayed on the wall—many of the world’s royal families attended the celebration. Thailand’s King has reigned since 1946 and is the world’s current longest-serving head of state. He is also Thailand’s longest-reigning monarch.
The second building housed a large green field surrounded by many government offices—social security, passport, etc. Many people dress in traditional Thai outfits on Fridays, so I was able to see many Thai people in more traditional garb. We were led first into a conference room that had microphones similar to a much smaller House of Representative chamber. We were then led into the provincial governor’s private office. Each of us greeted him individually with a wai and we sat down on very fancy couches, where two girls kneeled down and served us tea. The governor asked us how we were enjoying Thailand, and he told us about how he was trying to reform the public transportation system. He is also trying to solve the air pollution problem—many farmers from Thailand and Myanmar burn their fields after the harvest, which creates poor air quality. Trash is also burned here almost unregulated; recycling and composting are not very popular here. Lung cancer is becoming more and more prevalent in the “basins” of Thailand, like Chiang Mai. It will be very interesting to see the impact that นายสุริยะ ประสาทบัณฑิตย์ has not only on Chiang Mai province, but also on Thailand as a whole.
Love from Thailand,
Brenna