More Cheng Beng

This being the last weekend where one can perform Cheng Beng rites to the dearly departed (the 10 days before and after April 4), we finally done it (for Mum's side).

We picked up Gran in the new car (yes, it's finally here) and drove on to Section 10, PJ. Got caught in the traffic of churchgoers leaving church and people also paying their respects to their own departed relations at the temple, which is what happens when there's one too many places of worship concentrated in one area. *swears under breath*

There was Gran, all four of her daughters, 3 of her sons-in-law and some of the grandkids showed up (including yours truly). Both uncles and their families - no show.

Didn't help that the locally-based Thais were also celebrating their new year called Songkran - equipped with HUGE water-filled, fluorescent-coloured water guns and plaster, dousing each other in the spirit of washing away the bad to welcome the good.

Like the last round, we set out the food for both late grandfather and great-grandmother, lit some incense, paid the respects, and to pass the time waiting for the incense to burn, snooped around the other residents of the columbarium, including the ones in the new building right across the one they're in, which is more modern-looking and air-conditioned. Even the double lots weren't too shabby.

We also brought along the paper stuff to be burned: my aunt bought the boxes of clothes and other "necessities" - though I can't help but notice that the sets were a little "gender neutral"; erm, a pearl necklace, gold man's watch with a "leather" man's wallet in one package? I'm sure they could do better. My bro's contribution was a "carton" of cigs for Ah Kong, who was quite the smoker in his day. (It was either that or a paper radio as he also listened to the radio a lot too).

[Sorry, no pictures - maybe next year lah, haha]

My only thought about the matter is:

- There's no paper "iPod"; and the media hasn't picked up on it if someone somewhere makes, err...recreates and sell it (The Star likes to highlight the new and different items that are available for the dead around this time of year - stuff like laptops and such that dead people can use where ever they are).
- I think they should have mini paper Starbucks-es or something like that as well, haha - to which that brother of mine tells me that he'll burn for me when the time comes (and if available). Oh gee, thanks.

Once we checked if Ah Kong and the great grandmother was done "eating", we went on to burn the other paper stuff in their burn box. We let the guys indulge in the socially and culturally-sanctioned pyromania tendencies and let them burn the things before we went our separate ways back home.