So all those Thai lads are going to become Buddhist monks now, apparently

[Burney]

So that's not weird at all.

[Sir C]

So that's not weird at all.

Pretty well all young Thai men do a stint as a monk. It's just a part of their education really and perfectly normal.

[Burney]

Pretty well all young Thai men do a stint as a monk. It's just a part of their education really and perfectly normal.

Does it not mean a lifetime of poverty, chastity and obedience, then? What's the point in that?

[Sir C]

Does it not mean a lifetime of poverty, chastity and obedience, then? What's the point in that?

Nah, they do it for a few months and then go back to the gambling, boozing and whoring so beloved of the Thai male.

All in all, a great bunch of lads in my experience.

[Burney]

Nah, they do it for a few months and then go back to the gambling, boozing and whoring so beloved of the Thai male.

All in all, a great bunch of lads in my experience.

Fair enough, but it's not proper monking, is it? It's basically a sh1t gap year.

[Sir C]

Fair enough, but it's not proper monking, is it? It's basically a sh1t gap year.

I'm not sure how you define 'proper monking', but when you are fed by wandering around the streets in the morning with a bowl in which random people dump cooked rice, I'd say that's pretty fúcking austere. Mind you, the robes are a cheerful shade of orange. And I suppose when you get upset about something political you're supposed to set yourself on fire; that's pretty hardcore.