Here's a combination people haven't thought about until now—coffee and coffins. This is something Kid Mai Death Awareness café in Thailand offers to its customers.
The themed-café craze has been popular all over the world, especially in Asia. In this part of the planet, there are numerous cat and dog cafés, mermaid cafes, and even a toilet-themed coffee shop.
As the newest project of the director of the Kid-Mai centre Dr. Veeranut Rojanaprapa, the Death Awareness Café challenges its customer's outlook of life and death as it exhibits a Buddhist spin on the café craze.
The coffee shop is the closest people can get to "dying for a cup of coffee" as they order appropriately named drinks such as "painful" or "death." The menu is even put on a skeleton on a couch.
The café's highlight is a white casket open for customers to lay down in when they want to take a minute to decide for their order, contemplate about their life, take an Instagram-worthy picture, or get a discount for their order.
The coffin is also a way to let people, especially the youth, think twice about their addiction to technology which has driven them away from the purpose of life, said the owner.
According to Rojanaprapa, when people are confined to the darkness of the closed coffin, they will be aware of themselves and remember all the things that they have not experienced or done in their lives. The owner also made a point of thinking about his death every night.
The café is situated in the middle of northern Bangkok's local community center. Although there are some people who might find the café disturbing, Rojanaprapa said that he still welcomes all complaints because it means it gets people to think about their life and death.
The café is located near a temple in Bangkok that is widely popular in Thailand for hosting symbolic funerals for its devotees to wash their souls of bad karma.
Buddhist Roots
The café is more than its gimmicky front. It is also a way to teach locals and tourists alike about the benefits that "death awareness" can bring.
Rojanaprapa said in an interview with Lonely Planet that when people are aware of death, it can significantly decrease their anger and greed. The owner believes that the people of Thailand, which is comprised of 90 percent Buddhists can relate to the café's exhibited philosophy of selflessness and impermanence.
"When one is aware of their own death, they will do good. This is what our Lord Buddha teaches," said Rojanaprapa.
The unique establishment was born because of Rojanaprapa's observation that young people these days mostly spend their time on cafes working freelance and doing online jobs.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
