PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN - A man has moved his business with the dead to the next level by making coffins that look like a home for the person lying inside.
Opas Simfa has created the new coffins by designing them like houses to cater to customers looking for the best for the last journey of their loved ones.
Unlike ordinary coffins, the special caskets were made possible by wrapping computer-generated images around the exterior, making them look like luxurious houses.
"It started when some customers coming to buy coffins said they were looking for a 'house' for their departed parent," said the 46-year-old of the new offer.
The man who runs Thep Thong coffin shop in Thap Sakae district with experiences of almost three decades said he had adapted the idea from paper houses bought and burnt by ethnic Chinese for their ancestors during the Qingming Festival and Kong Tek (Gong De) ceremony.
Mr Opas said the new-look coffins had drawn positive reactions when they were shown to clients coming to his shop.
The house-like coffin can be tailor-made for customers who want designs that look exactly like their houses by using the supplied pictures of the places, he added.
But there is a price to pay.
A typical coffin costs a customer no more than 3,500 baht inclusive of transport service to the temple but the price tag of a house-like casket starts at 8,500 baht.