The ‘khan Mark’ procession is accompanied by the exhilarating beat of long drum troupe Former Miss Universe Pornthip Nakhirunkanok recently cost American millionaire Herb Simon Bt9.99 million in cash, nine gold bars of five-baht weight each and Bt60 million worth of jewellery – not to mention the untold number of Bt500 tolls and the Bt430-million house in Los Angeles. Goodness knows whether Herb got his money back as a wedding present, but he stood more chance of that with a rich family than anyone would from a poor one.