Monks in the toy stores. Monks in tuk tuks smoking cigarettes. Monks at the counter in Starbucks (the best photo I missed of the trip). Monks on cellphones. There are monks everywhere, doing everything. It was so strange at first, but eventually we got used to it.
This novice glued to his cellphone cracked me up. When he looked up and caught me staring at him, he gave me that universal teenager face I know so well.
I went to a “Monk Chat” in Chiang Mai, an open forum at a monastery during which monks are available for conversation. Tourists ask questions, and they practice their English. I sat with a few monks in their early 20s, all practicing as monks on a temporary basis in order to get an education–they all planned to leave the monastery once they graduated. I got into quite a debate with one when he told me that he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to get married because women were so much weaker than men and he didn’t really want to take care of a wife. I guess it’s a lack of context and maybe undeveloped social experience that would contribute to his feelings about marriage, but it was interesting that he was so confident in his opinion that he didn’t think twice about sharing these thoughts with me!
Follow