Becoming a Monk....... Thai Boys who reach 20 yrs

Recently, a cousin of Sutiya reached 20 ... Most lads in Thailand who reach 20 go through a Buddhist ritual of becoming a monk for a few days / weeks... The evening before the big day, cousin has a few family around, asking them all for forgiveness for any previous wrongdoing(s), so that, he can be 'clean' before becoming a monk.

(Quite a turn out) The ceremony took place today, everyone gathering at a local temple and walking around the temple a number of times whilst bopping along to a mobile band who thump out a lively choon or two. If you attend one of these events its always a very friendly, sociable occasion, with some truly bad dancing (yes yes kettle black etc). That's cousin in the background under the umbrella, on some guys shoulders....

After the temple goers have walked around the temple a number of times, cousin enters the temple., followed by the rest of the buzzing crowd... Us, having a kid in tow, means we can gracefully bow out of all the walking bits and take a pew outside during the temple stuff... So for an hour we take in the cool winter climate beside the temple building, chuck the dogs some grub, and have a nice rest. Well done nipper.

Afterwards, we make a short journey to a local spot to get down to the serious task of eating.. On this occasion, a very nice Thai green curry, some grilled spicy chicken, and a large plate of thai pork salad... Yes.

But probably the best part for an English drunkhead like me is the beer Chang at the dinner table, with large bucket of ice. Being at a table populated by responsible Thai ladies, this unfortunately means I get lions share.. hmmm, is it beer o'clock already? 10.30am on a Sunday? Sounds alright by me ....

I really enjoy these monk-making ceremonies...

Comments

[Steve]

The ceremony could be a bit of a drag and I'm guessing if beer o'clock was 10:30 it all started pretty darn early. Oh but that pork salad and fried chicken all washed down with ice cold beer Chang...you're making a bloke jealous here!

[Ben Shingleton]

Steve - Yeah this one was an early start, fairly unusual in my experience... One of the things I like about these types of Thai ceremonies is they don't tend to 'hang about' LOL.. The good stuff at the end is always worth the wait! (and of course the ritual stuff is always interesting!)

[Mike]

Ben yes I enjoy them too, done a couple now. The bloody band and dancing always have me laughing!

On my last one the lad concerned only managed a couple of days at the temple, said he missed his home comforts-well he does still live with Mum :-)

[Ben Shingleton]

Ah bless, I think its a great tradition, and an excellent excuse for a beer with the locals!

[Ben Shingleton]

........ Mind you, don't know if I'd fancy it. I'd look a right tit without eyebrows.

[Stephen C]

A long long time back, I attended a friend's wedding ceremony in Lopburi and we arrived there real early like 6am. Actually, our friend getting married was on the minibus too.
Nothing to do till the ceremony at the auspicious time of something like 9:09. The first thing we were offered was curry dishes and a crate of Heineken. Never again have i downed three bottles of beer at such a terrible drinking time of the day.
For the Thais it's normal on such days as ordinations, weddings, funerals etc..

[Ben Shingleton]

Steve I love it. A beer at 9am without judgements from the misses and mother in law has to be praised...

[Martyn]

Ben I've never been to one of these ceremonies but I've read a fair bit about them, hopefully one day I'll get to attend one. The green curry looks good and the beer even better. I'll pass on the spicy chicken, a bit too early for me.

Your report makes it sound similar to speedway, three or four times round the track and then into the pits. The food looks a lot better than what's served at our local stadium. Good post.

[Lawrence]

Ben, great pics and great food. And beer. Taking photos at these crowded events isn't easy. A kid in tow makes life in Thailand a whole lot easier in lots of ways. But don't worry, they make it hard enough later.

[Ben Shingleton]

Thanks Martyn, yeah this was a good one, great food. I can sit there all day and knock back ice cold Chang. The events in the evening tend to go on a bit longer tho, this one was all over before it had begun if you see what I mean,..

Haha thank you Lawrence, I'm sure you are correct!

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