Monks are Friendly

The other day, while touring the many wats (temples) of Chiang Mai, we stumbled on a sign that said: "Monk Chat: Come talk to a monk and ask all your questions! Don't just stare and walk away!" Which, of course, is exactly what we had been doing, if not sneaking a picture from afar. We also had been constantly asking each other questions we knew we couldn't answer. For example: "I know there's a big Buddha in each temple, but why are there 8,000 little ones?" OR "What DO monks do all day, anyway?"

So, sheepishly, we approached monk chat and sat ourselves down next to a younger, friendly looking monk in particularly bright orange robes. Here are some of the things we learned:

- monks eat two times a day only. They can eat whatever people give them (they aren't allowed to cook). This could be pizza, or even a Big Mac (our monk's favorite, apparently).
- everyone in Thailand becomes a monk for at least a day. This guy just decided he liked it (and his orange robe)
- monks get up at 4 am to meditate.
- All those 8,000 Buddha's in the temple are gifts from random Thai people trying to secure themselves a good reincarnation.

Chiang Mai is a pretty old city where monks are part of the daily life, and appreciated by all the Thai people. Quite different from America, where religion is not something we typically put on display, and if we do, it's sometimes looked down upon.

We're headed to the countryside for a little jungle relaxation....we'll let you know how it goes.