Monk Watching

Trip Start Feb 14, 2006
1
11
22
Trip End May 14, 2006


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Thailand  ,
Friday, March 24, 2006

Waiting for my songthaew to school a couple of mornings ago I spied a very elderly monk walking down the alley towards me. I was standing outside my guesthouse and in absolute people-watching mode. Head bent and concentrated, each step brought him inches along his journey. He was beginning to pass by the market shop, just across from my guesthouse, when a woman came out and went up to the elderly monk. They talked. He stood while she disappeared back in, and seconds later came out again with a plastic chair and set it down infront of her stall. He was invited to sit, which he did, gladly I think. She pulled a baht note from her sleeve and between hands set in wai position, offered it to him. He tucked the note inside his robe, smiling. She dashed back in again and this time brought out her grey-haired mother. Mother kept the seated monk company while the woman pulled a high nelly bike from the side of her stall, got on and cycled down the alley. My attention came back to the old monk and the grey-haired mother 01_Life is not all beer and skittles!
01_Life is not all beer and skittles!
 . They chatted and smiled, again great deference was shown to the monk by the elderly woman, and a respectful physical distance maintained. All guide books say women must not touch a monk!
I wondered if the younger woman would reappear before I had to leave, and tried to guess what she might be doing; could it be a search for food or another particular form of alms for the monk. She did indeed come back around the corner and following her was the first, and most beautiful, samlor I've seen in Thailand. (A samlor is a bicycle tuk-tuk.) This one was a little gem, in fantastic condition. It could have been out of Alice in Wonderland. The back of the samlor was half-teacup shaped, it's rim was ornately decorated in a simple geometric pattern. It looked like inlaid work, shiny pearl-coloured pieces. Woman, bike and samlor pulled up outside the shop. The old monk pushed himself slowly up from his seat, stood for a few moments, joints probably needing time to mobilise, and was guided into the samlor by the driver.
The final and last gift offered to the monk by the woman, just before the samlor sped off, was a bottled drink with straw already inserted.
So the monk went on his way, much more speedily than he had first imagined, with a baht note tucked inside his robe and a drink to refresh his journey. And if the woman earned merit for her good deed, she deserved it, as it was a good deed done with style!!
Slideshow Print this entry Chiang Mai hotels