Tip Toe, whose real name I am not going to reveal here because the Hash House Harriers does have a certain air of anonymity in its ranks, recently passed away in Chiang Mai while traveling to a Hash event. I'm not joking when I say this, but this is one of those instances where a person dies doing what he loved. This isn't a cliche, it is a fact. He was driving to a Hash event when he abruptly crashed his motorbike into other vehicles and later at the hospital succumbed to his injuries and went to the great "On Up" in the sky.
Tip Toe was not Thai. He was European. I'm not at liberty to say which nationality he was and I honestly don't know. His accent sounded German but that is just my perception.
His family was immediately notified and came down to collect his remains. It turns out that Tip Toe desired to have his remains "dealt with" here in Thailand and this was written down and people were made aware of it by the person that he entrusted with this information.
These wishes of his was carried out at his closest temple to where he lived in Chiang Mai, Wat Chang Kong.
The ceremony was short, but the organizers (some of which were Hashers) organized a 9-monk salute and I apologize for not knowing what that is really called, but it is the "best" amount of monks to have according to Buddhists that I know.
This is not the first funeral/cremation that I have been a part of in Thailand and in all liklihood it will not be the last. If my own life carries on the way it is now I will be the one in the box at some point in the future as well.
As is often the case at these events, this was not a somber affair. I heard from someone that while you are supposed to wear black, tears and sadness are something that you are supposed to keep cooped up at these affairs because the idea is that we send Tip Toe off to the afterlife with nothing but happy thoughts surrounding him. People tried, but some people broke down anyway. Nobody is going to reprimand you for being sad.
It is polite or part of the protocol to contribute to funeral expenses and I was about to put a 1000 note into one of the envelopes when someone stopped me. I learned something that day and it is that odd-numbered amounts are lucky and I feel a bit stupid for not knowing this. Of course it is. I dug in my wallet and thankfully had 900 (a 500 and 4 100's) and this is apparently the "best" amount that you can donate. I guess keep that in mind if you ever attend a Thai funeral or bangsukun ceremony.
This just aren't that many pictures of Tip Toe and this was not because he was weirded out about having his picture taken. It was because much like his Hash-name suggested, he was always kind of in the background and not really wanting to be noticed. He was a very nice person, but I think he was just really introverted. This is why one of the few pictures I have of the guy is blurry.
The cremation of Tip Toe was highly attended by the Hash, but I didn't take any pictures because I was very afraid of violating some sort of protocol. Also, just generally speaking I am annoyed by the constant documentation of everything that happens. Since Tip Toe himself seemed really content to stay out of the limelight and the camera's lens, I thought it best to just take it in with my eyes and my memories and everyone who wasn't there can just take my word for it that it went very well. The weather held, people laughed and talked and smiled and traded stories about their times with Tip Toe, the way it is supposed to be.
I think it will be a while before we really start to realize what at Tip-Toe-less Hash is like because he was such an ever-present part of our events that it will honestly be strange to not have him coming back to the circle, last in line with a cheeky smile on his face like he always did.
But the Hash must go on. Tip Toe would not want us cancelling anything or mourning time after time. He will be remembered and revered as one of the greats in Chiang Mai, but the Hash will continue as always.
RIP Buddy
