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On Monday, Thailand officially ended a year of mourning for its late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, marking a reintroduction of color clothing by its population.
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May Kanokwattana wore bright yellow as she waited for transportation in the city.
“I wore black for one year. I needed to show my sorrow. Today is the first day I am wearing a different color,” May told Reuters.
Colors have a profound meaning for Thais. The southeast Asian nation assigns a color to each day of the week.
The monarch's funeral cost $90 million and took place over five days.
At the time of his death, 88-year-old King Bhumibol was the world’s longest-serving monarch, spanning seven decades.
Last week, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Bangkok’s historic quarter to bid farewell to King Bhumibol, who died in Oct. 2016.
Pattinya Mankongwongcharoen, who was clad in a peach-colored dress, said "won’t continue wearing black because the mourning period is officially over and to do so would be disrespectful.”
While others vow to continue to wear muted colors. “I‘m still grieving. I’ll wear black or gray for a few more weeks,” said Pimsuda Chatree, a shop owner.
The Thai people wore black from head-to-toe, for a year, out of respect for the revered monarch.
The black-and-white funeral bunting that had hung on the gates of Bangkok’s Government House for a year was taken down on Monday and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha made a televised announcement to mark the official end of the mourning period.
“The government would like to thank officials, both soldiers and civilians ... and the more than 10 million Thais who came to pay respects to the royal body over the past year,” Prayuth said.
The late king's remains were brought to their final resting place at the Grand Palace on Sunday and enshrined in two royal temples.
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