July 2, 2025Jul 2 Considering you live in CM, you can donate your body for use by Chiang Mai University Faculty of Medicine at Maharaj Hospital. Attached is the back of the card they issue to you to carry in original Thai and English translation. For obvious reasons, I won't show the front of the card with my personal details. Have your Thai wife call them and they can tell you where in the Maharaj hospital complex their office is located. You'll need to supply them with a picture for the card. If they use your body for dissection, they provide cremation with a public (Buddhist) ceremony.
July 2, 2025Jul 2 On 6/30/2025 at 1:28 AM, Sheryl said: This place can arrange everything, including paperwork with your Embassy (important if you have any assets or entitlements in your home country, or relatives who might every need to prove you are dead for any reason) and you can prepay for it. While the site talks about funerals, they can and will arrange no frills local cremation without funeral. (though if your wife is still living she might be more conmfortable having at least basic Buddhist ceremony). https://www.amarinternational.com/pre-planning-funeral.html If you are a US Citizen, you'll want to review this information from the US Embassy. https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/death-of-a-u-s-citizen/
July 2, 2025Jul 2 22 hours ago, Photoguy21 said: I think you rest assured that if you pass on when you are on your own someone will take care of the remains. If they didn't there would be a pretty foul smell. There's a chord there
July 2, 2025Jul 2 On 6/30/2025 at 7:56 AM, The Fugitive said: My Thai wife was concerned about being unable to pay for my funeral. A Thai funeral is usually a elaborate affair where the body is kept at the local Thai temple and involves three days of Buddhist chanting by monks. It tends to be a village affair with a lot of the village showing up for free food. Then the ceremony to burn the body can also be elaborate using fancy coffins and shines. The whole shebang can cost upward of ฿200,000 THB. For Thais who live in villages, most pay into a village funeral fund which pays out ฿200,000 THB to cover the funeral expenses. However - reality? You only need a coffin which costs 500 to 2000 THB. Plain old wooden box. Most temples keep them in stock. You can arrange ahead of time with the local temple to take care of the cremation. It can be as simply putting you in a box and hauling you up to the cremation grounds to be burned without ceremony. Virtually every temple in Thailand has a cremation facility. The cost of the labor and donation to the temple shouldn't be much more then 10K THB and can be arranged in advance. "But if I outlive my wife what then?" Learn enough Thai to communicate with the abbot of your local temple and the local police. Make sure they know your wishes if you die. Get to know people at your local temple and make sure they know your wishes ahead of time. Heck - go buy your coffin and keep it in stock for the big day! Make a Thai Will and make sure it's somewhere easily found or given to a Thai you trust. If you're elderly and living alone, it might be a good idea to hire someone to do housework and to generally check-in on you. They should know what to do when you die and have access to the necessary paperwork to process your remains. Or? Use a third-party as Sheryl noted below. On 6/30/2025 at 1:28 AM, Sheryl said: This place can arrange everything, including paperwork with your Embassy (important if you have any assets or entitlements in your home country, or relatives who might every need to prove you are dead for any reason) and you can prepay for it. While the site talks about funerals, they can and will arrange no frills local cremation without funeral. (though if your wife is still living she might be more conmfortable having at least basic Buddhist ceremony). https://www.amarinternational.com/pre-planning-funeral.html
July 2, 2025Jul 2 10 minutes ago, connda said: A Thai funeral is usually a elaborate affair where the body is kept at the local Thai temple and involves three days of Buddhist chanting by monks. It tends to be a village affair with a lot of the village showing up for free food. Then the ceremony to burn the body can also be elaborate using fancy coffins and shines. The whole shebang can cost upward of ฿200,000 THB. For Thais who live in villages, most pay into a village funeral fund which pays out ฿200,000 THB to cover the funeral expenses. However - reality? You only need a coffin which costs 500 to 2000 THB. Plain old wooden box. Most temples keep them in stock. You can arrange ahead of time with the local temple to take care of the cremation. It can be as simply putting you in a box and hauling you up to the cremation grounds to be burned without ceremony. Virtually every temple in Thailand has a cremation facility. The cost of the labor and donation to the temple shouldn't be much more then 10K THB and can be arranged in advance. "But if I outlive my wife what then?" Learn enough Thai to communicate with the abbot of your local temple and the local police. Make sure they know your wishes if you die. Get to know people at your local temple and make sure they know your wishes ahead of time. Heck - go buy your coffin and keep it in stock for the big day! Make a Thai Will and make sure it's somewhere easily found or given to a Thai you trust. If you're elderly and living alone, it might be a good idea to hire someone to do housework and to generally check-in on you. They should know what to do when you die and have access to the necessary paperwork to process your remains. Or? Use a third-party as Sheryl noted below. Good and helpful info thanks! My wife has already decided that I am to have the same (elaborate) funeral as her brother and her mother recently had. She has two uncles who are both senior monks thus organisation isn't a problem. Regarding her passing before me; she completed chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy for breast cancer only last week. There is a definite chance of her predeceasing me.
July 2, 2025Jul 2 Author 8 minutes ago, The Fugitive said: Good and helpful info thanks! My wife has already decided that I am to have the same (elaborate) funeral as her brother and her mother recently had. She has two uncles who are both senior monks thus organisation isn't a problem. Regarding her passing before me; she completed chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy for breast cancer only last week. There is a definite chance of her predeceasing me. Me, when I drop/leave/discard my body, it means I no longer have any use for it. All this 'pomp and circumstance' becomes absolutely meaningless. If I 'really cared' (and could arrange for it), I would want my body left in the woods for other living creatures to feed upon. Sustaining other life...my contribution.
July 2, 2025Jul 2 20 hours ago, mikebike said: 80kg is about 175lbs... How many old farang are under 200 even 🤣🤣🙏🤣 Me, I bounce back and forth between 173 and 178. And I will celebrate my 76th year some place in SEA this year.
July 2, 2025Jul 2 Slightly off topic but an interesting story imo. My brother in law ( Thai ) had a stroke about 3 years ago and decided if/when he died he would like to donate his body for medical science. 1 year ago he was rushed into hospital with a suspected bleed on the brain, two weeks later he was pronounced dead and the paperwork for the donation of his body was produced by the only person who knew about the arrangement …. the oldest son . So, his wife, other two children and the rest of the family, including the mother, were all very surprised/shocked by this revelation. Some parts donated went to Bangkok and the remainder went to Chiang Mai ( a University Hospital i believe ). There was no funeral but a 7 day and 100 day remembrance service, both boycotted by his mother !! Now, after 1 year the Chiang Mai Uni will return his body for the funeral , will be interesting to see if the mother attends. I just hope it isn’t an open coffin !!
July 2, 2025Jul 2 33 minutes ago, The Fugitive said: Good and helpful info thanks! My wife has already decided that I am to have the same (elaborate) funeral as her brother and her mother recently had. She has two uncles who are both senior monks thus organisation isn't a problem. Regarding her passing before me; she completed chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy for breast cancer only last week. There is a definite chance of her predeceasing me. Your welcome. Just arrange everything up-front with the monks and you should be fine.
July 2, 2025Jul 2 28 minutes ago, tkramer said: Me, when I drop/leave/discard my body, it means I no longer have any use for it. All this 'pomp and circumstance' becomes absolutely meaningless. If I 'really cared' (and could arrange for it), I would want my body left in the woods for other living creatures to feed upon. Sustaining other life...my contribution. Me too. My wife has already talk to our son. She'll get ฿200,000 from the village funeral fund, but we'll have a family only affair and no real ceremony other than having monks chant at home - family only. My son gets whatever money is left over which should be most of it. The same applies to me. Cheap coffin, throw it into the temple mobile refrigerator for three days, give chanting monks donations for three evening chants, and pay for the local village cremation crew to burn my body on day three. Family only. I am Buddhist so the chanting is welcome, but...? Dhammapada 41: "Ere long, alas, this body will lie upon the earth, unheeded and lifeless, like a useless log." There ya have it!
July 2, 2025Jul 2 6 hours ago, tkramer said: Yeah, and steal all my guitars...?!!! Probably yes but at that time you wont care
July 15, 2025Jul 15 On 7/1/2025 at 5:58 PM, mikebike said: 80kg is about 175lbs... How many old farang are under 200 even 🤣🤣🙏🤣 I am!
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