- (DPA) -- A German tourist, who took home a piece of decorative
glass he found at a sacred Thai temple and then suffered a two-year run
of bad luck, has returned the souvenir.
-
- News reports yesterday said he expressed "remorse
for his ignorance".
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- Chakrarot Chitrabongs, permanent secretary of the Culture
Ministry, was quoted by The Nation newspaper as saying the tourist mailed
the glass fragment from Germany to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
in an effort to improve his soured fortunes.
-
- He said the 2.5 centimetre-long green, polygon-shaped
shard was believed to have broken off from an old pavilion at Bangkok's
Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Thailand's most sacred shrine.
-
- The tourist, who identified himself only as Juergen Z
in his letter, claimed a tour guide suggested he keep the fragment as a
souvenir after praying for "permission" from the Emerald Buddha.
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- "Since returning to his country, Juergen suffered
bad luck both in his personal and work life," Chakrarot quoted the
letter as saying.
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- "It was just like a curse. Previously such things
had never happened to him."
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- The tourist was advised by a Thai friend to return the
glass fragment.
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- "He said he felt remorseful for his ignorance, and
he urged the TAT to put the glass back into its place," Chakrarot
said.
-
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- ©2003. The Sydney Morning Herald.
- http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/01/1070127349890.html
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