Skull Studded

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A mixed set of skulls adorn the side of a building in a residential neighborhood in Bangkok.

I'd passed by this building a hundred times before, thinking it was a simple ceremonial hall with a stage, albeit with odd, skull decorations adorning its outside. For a tropical country, I thought the addition of a chimney to the roof was completely unnecessary. Last week, I walked by and saw a gathering of people inside the building and a casket on the stage. That's when it dawned on me. The place was, in fact, a crematorium, being used to properly pay last respects to the deceased in this Buddhist society. So the skulls make sense after all!