MontanaRon

While on Ko Sukorn in January, I asked my friend Palm if he went home to his village after work each night or did he stay at the resort. The village is only a few kilometers from the resort, so I assumed he went home. “No,” he told me, “I stay at the resort because I’m afraid of ghosts.” He raised his hands to eye level and made a kind of clawing motion and a scary face, indicative of the apparitions. I thought it humorous at the time, but here is a Bangkok Post article that reports on Asians’ fear of ghosts [NOTE: The article is not available, so the link leads to a similar article on USA Today]. So, for them, it’s not really a joking matter–they do believe. The article points out that rituals and cremations normally follow the deaths of loved ones, but there are still thousands missing, so the ghosts will roam the beaches until their earthly remains are found and cremated. This belief is keeping Asian tourists away from Thailand, and elsewhere, by the thousands. Very interesting article.